Author's Note: Please forgive all the annoying bold lettering. I realized how hard the different sections would be to read with just italics. This site won't let me double space either. So I had to make a choice.
Unknown number: Hi.
Erza scowled at the face of her phone as she sniffled. She angrily smeared the tears from her cheeks and snatched the phone from her bedside table.
Erza: Who is this?
Unknown number: Who is this?
Erza: Simon, this isn't funny.
Unknown number: Who is Simon?
Erza: Don't fuck with me. I know Wally keeps stolen burner phones under your bed.
Unknown number: Should I call the police and report this Wally for you?
Erza: Fuck off, Simon. I said all I have to say.
She switched off her phone and stuffed it under her pillow.
"Wow," Milliana gasped. "You really broke up with him?"
Erza stuffed her hands into her jacket pocket and glared out at the rain. "I can't give him the things he wants."
"Oh, no. Was he banging on the 'together forever' drum again?" Milliana shook her head slowly. "He's always been a little intense about you, Erza."
"It wasn't just that. He says he doesn't care what he is to me so long as we can be close. And, honestly, I don't think I like how that makes me feel."
"Have you spoken to him since Saturday?"
Erza sighed heavily. "He was texting me from one of those stupid phones Wally sells on the side."
"What?"
"I don't know. It was weird."
"What did he say?"
"Dumb stuff. He made a joke about the police? I don't know, Milli."
"That doesn't really sound like Simon. He must be a mess."
"You know how he gets when he's drinking."
"Well, at any rate, I'm your friend first and I just want you to be happy."
Erza finally smiled. "Thanks, Milliana. I'm afraid I won't have too many friends left once Kagura hears. She's weirdly defensive of her brother."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Besides, he's graduating this year anyway."
"True."
"In a few months he'll be gone. I heard he got a job offer in Crocus! He won't even be in town."
"Yeah, I know. He wanted me to drop everything and go with him."
Milliana's eyes widened. "What? That's crazy!"
Erza's stomach rumbled dangerously. She wanted to drop the subject of Simon altogether. "I'm starving." She glanced up at the still-dark sky and her frown deepened. "We'll have to brave this rain if we ever want to eat today."
Unknown number: Hi.
Erza: Simon, I swear to god…
Unknown number: I'm not Simon. Or Wally.
Erza: Do I know you?
Unknown number: Probably not. I don't know you either.
Erza: You do realize how creepy this is, right? How did you get this number and why are you texting me?
Unknown number: Graveyard shift and I'm bored? I found this number in a library book.
Erza's face felt hot. She hadn't ever thought anything would come of that. In her first year at the university she and Milliana had thought it a funny joke to leave their phone numbers on random pages of random books in the library. But that had been three years ago.
Erza: Well just go ahead and lose it.
Unknown number: The library book? My job? Your number? Be more specific, please.
Erza: I don't care which so long as it ends with you not texting me anymore.
Unknown number: Still stressed out about Simon?
Erza: Go away.
Unknown number: Breakups are shit.
Erza: How the fuck would you know?
Unknown number: My girlfriend of two years is having some other guy's kid. You could say it put a damper on our relationship.
Well, damn. Erza's finger hovered over the power button on her phone, but her curiosity won out.
Erza: You win.
Unknown number: I didn't realize it was a contest.
Erza: Did you love her?
Unknown number: I guess. Even if I didn't think she was endgame for me, the death of a two year relationship is difficult.
Erza: You guess? How can you not know if you loved her or not?
Unknown number: Did you love Simon?
An indignant huff escaped her throat and she tossed the phone aside. Erza left her bedroom and gathered her shower supplies. The steam and hot water always helped her clear her mind – even in a communal dormitory bath.
She wrapped her wet hair in a towel and reached out to defog the mirror. Her mouth was still set in a hard line and she stared at her reflection critically. With a frustrated groan she grabbed her belongings and returned to her room. Her phone still sat on her bed, deceptively unassuming.
Erza: No. I didn't love him.
Unknown number: Then why are you so upset?
Erza: Because I wanted to.
Unknown number: Ah, but that's not how love works. We can't reshape ourselves into something we aren't without paying a high cost.
Erza: I couldn't ever be what he wanted and still be me.
Unknown number: Absolute truth is without regard for perceptions or perspectives. If you didn't love him, let it go.
Erza: Waxing philosophical now? You're a true academic.
Unknown number: Well, I try.
Group activities were awkward. Erza and Simon shared a number of mutual friends and their breakup had similar results to that of a community divorce. He kept Wally and his sister – who never stopped giving her the evil eye, and Erza ended up with Milliana and Sho. However, Sho being Sho, he couldn't really make up his mind and played mediator. Erza hated it. Everything that had once been fun and easy was now strained.
Even though the awkwardness wasn't Erza's fault, she still felt like it was and began to withdrawal from her small circle of friends. She knew that in a couple of months Simon's departure would ease the tension but in the meantime she was spending more and more evenings in her room. Milliana understood completely and didn't pressure her to reconsider the isolation. Sho, on the other hand, insisted she was being ridiculous and prodded constantly.
Erza wasn't particularly outgoing and didn't have many other friends. The three other girls in her quad were nice, but she hardly knew them. Only Lucy had ever made more than passing attempts at friendliness. Cana appeared to be an alcoholic getting a free ride on her father's dime, and Juvia only spent half her time in their living space. The other half, Erza guessed, was spent hanging off her boyfriend.
Spring brought a lot of rain to Magnolia and Erza told herself it didn't matter that she was in her room on purpose. The only break in the monotony of studying and her private pity party was the person she'd come to simply refer to as Unknown Number. He usually texted her around nine at night and she'd banter with him until she passed out. Their conversations were light and distracted her from the implosion of her social life.
Unknown number: I forgot my umbrella today. My socks are soaked.
Erza: How could you forget something like that? It's been raining for days.
Unknown number: I was distracted.
Erza: I knew you probably looked at porn on your phone.
Unknown number: Only in private and never before class.
Erza: That's fair.
Unknown number: I have an astronomy final coming up and it's going to kill me… not unlike my mother should I fail.
Erza: So you're studying space and are also a space cadet. Would you say that's irony or a coincidence?
Unknown number: Coincidence. It's not irony until I remember my umbrella on a sunny day.
Erza: Just checking to make sure you knew the difference. I couldn't keep talking to you otherwise.
Unknown number: You snob.
Erza: A girl's gotta have standards.
Unknown number: I have to wonder though, would it even be irony now? Since I put it into words does that make it a prophecy?
Erza: A self-fulfilling one. I'll keep my eye on the obituaries and have a eulogy ready. Unknown Number couldn't keep his head out of the stars and now he's floating amongst them.
Unknown number: Don't you dare be a smart ass at my funeral, Library Girl.
Erza didn't go to Simon's graduation ceremony. Instead she began the tedious process of packing up her room. For the last three summers she'd packed and unpacked and the idea of only one more year was a huge relief. The cost of shipping wasn't something she liked to think about but it was covered in the education fund her grandmother had left behind. Even though she had no remaining family, Erza would still be happy to return home. Magnolia was nice but it wasn't Rosemary.
With half her belongings in boxes or stacked and awaiting transfer to a box, Erza flopped onto the bed. Her phone buzzed and she reached for it thinking Milliana would be ready to go for drinks. She glanced at the clock and decided to accept whatever invitation was extended – regardless of awkward company.
Unknown number: Quit my job today.
Erza raised an eyebrow. That would explain the earlier than normal message.
Erza: Why?
Unknown number: Because it's summer and I can't afford to stay in the city this year. Besides, my mom needs help moving and I can't say no.
Erza: I'm going home for the summer, too. It'll be nice to get away.
Unknown number: It's been a bad year, I think. But I'd say you're in better shape than when I found you!
Erza: I beg your pardon? You didn't find me! You texted a random phone number you found in a library book! Rather impertinently, too, I might add.
Unknown number: I'm hurt, Library Girl. Here I thought we'd bonded over my cheating ex and your demanding one.
Erza: I will admit I've enjoyed the conversation.
Unknown number: There, now! See? We're practically BFF's.
Erza: Will you be back in the fall?
Unknown number: That's a pretty personal question, Library Girl.
Erza: My eyes are about to roll right out of my head.
Unknown number: Yeah, I'll be back. I've got one more year and then I can fruitlessly search for a job with my nearly useless degree.
Erza: Such optimism.
Unknown number: What about you?
Erza: I only have one more year, too.
Unknown number: Well, I hope you have a summer filled with sunshine and I'll even throw in a prediction for a romantic fling to drag you from your Simon-funk.
Erza: You are too kind.
Erza dragged her only suitcase next to her as she approached the platform. Her train wouldn't arrive for another two hours but she had nowhere else to be. A tearful hug from Milliana and a promise to reconnect when classes started again was behind her and Erza was tired of her surroundings. Even the walk to the train station reminded her of Simon and how he'd managed to infiltrate every last corner of her life. She hadn't even realized it until he'd asked her to walk away from her degree program for him.
On a whim Erza pulled her phone from her pocket and her thumb hovered over the Unknown Number thread. She'd never texted him first before and she wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. Their last conversation hadn't left any loose strings. Still, though. Her nameless, late night text buddy really had managed to make her smile in a truly frustrating time. Erza felt like she owed him a final goodbye.
Erza: Thanks for finding my number.
Unknown number: Thanks for not tracing my location and pressing harassment charges.
She smiled and felt the presence of someone taking a seat next to her on the platform bench.
Erza: I would've visited you in jail.
Unknown number: I'd be the talk of the prison house. Scandalous!
Erza bit her lip in annoyance. The guy beside her didn't have his phone set on silent and his notification sound was obnoxious.
Erza: It would be hard for you. No phone porn and all.
Unknown number: True, but I'd have gotten to meet you in person – well, as in person as separation by plexi-glass can really be.
Erza: I'd have slipped you one of Wally's burners. I'm that kind of friend.
Laughter drew her attention from the conversation and she frowned at the young man next to her.
Unknown number: I'm a lucky guy!
Erza: Luckier than this asshole next to me at the train station. I'm about to smash his damn phone. Who uses barking dogs as a text alert?
Unknown number: I don't know that sounds pretty sophisticated to me. I prefer the small dog sounds. It really stands out.
Erza's eyebrows furrowed and she turned to face the other person on the bench.
"Excuse me, but…" It couldn't possibly be him. She sighed and plowed forward anyway. "Your text tone is horrible."
He shrugged. "Not as horrible as its weak vibration feature. I like to know when people are texting me."
Erza scowled and quickly typed out a text reply.
Erza: When did you say you were leaving?
His phone barked again and she stood abruptly from the bench.
"You're Unknown Number! You and that awful barking! Of course your phone makes a sound like that."
He smiled and reclined against the back of the bench. "Library Girl? Why does it bother you so much?"
"It's beyond rude to let your phone just… bark in public."
"Only in the library." He winked.
Erza's cheeks flushed pink. He was an attractive guy with messy hair and a unique tattoo-like marking around his right eye. She hadn't expected him to be so… astonishingly handsome.
"Well –" She retook her seat on the bench. "I suppose you can't call me Library Girl forever. I'm Erza."
"Jellal." He smiled and took her outstretched hand.