AN: Yay, I'm branching out on pairings! I just wrote this because… I dunno, really. I'm not sure if I got my characters right, but who cares? I know that I'm waaay to critical of Loke in this, but I needed somebody to be a player.
Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing. Not even my mind.
Levy McGarden was a nice girl. A good student, avid bookworm, loyal friend and strangely determined midget. She wasn't exceedingly pretty, but her bright smile attracted good people like moths to a flame.
…She was not a clubbing girl.
No, definitely not. The life and soul of the party was her friend Lucy. Oh, Lucy. How easy it was to envy her soft blonde hair, wide coffee brown eyes, smooth skin, curvaceous figure…
Levy mentally berated herself for thinking such thoughts. True, Lucy was beautiful, smart and popular, but Levy was one of the few people who knew the girl behind the smile. The girl whose mother had died several years ago, the girl whose father treated her like an ornament, the girl who was forced to constantly strive for 100% perfection.
Yes, Levy envied Lucy in many ways. But when she thought about it, being just plain old Levy with her plain old family and plain old life seemed altogether more favourable.
Lucy had different ideas. She was insistent on Levy raising her low self-esteem and confidence. The blonde kept saying that maybe Levy should go out more, enjoy herself a bit more. Last weekend had been a house party, before that was the cinema…
…This week was a nightclub, and it was definitely the worst of the lot.
She had been forced into an all too revealing dress and had her hair straightened (though it had curled again rather quickly) then was dragged out of the door and into that club.
The problem was that it was hard to hate Lucy- Levy knew that her friend was only trying to give her a fun time. What Lucy didn't understand, however, was that Levy's idea of Saturday night enjoyment was rather more calm and toned down; a good evening spent in the library or at a poetry reading was fine, or even just sitting in her room with music playing and some quality literature.
Lucy hadn't even let Levy bring a book with her to the club.
The blue haired girl groaned and rested her head on the bar counter, hands over her ears in an attempt to at least muffle the loud, auto tuned dance music reverberating throughout the building (to no avail). Searching for her friend, she easily caught sight of the blonde who was currently dancing with a rather attractive looking man in sunglasses (sunglasses? Indoors? Levy would never understand fashion). Once again, she felt a pang of jealousy- Lucy was sporting a black strapless dress with neon coloured stripes. As with everything Lucy wore, it looked stunning.
No. Bad Levy.
With a groan, Levy lay her head on the counter. Denying it was helpless; she was jealous of Lucy. And it made her feel guilty to think so because Lucy was her best friend. But no, she was still a green eyed monster.
Clink.
Looking up, Levy saw that a glass of clear liquid had been placed in front of her. As her eyes travelled higher, they rested on the face of the bartender, a muscular man with long black hair and several piercings- and not the kind of guy she was usually fraternise with.
"I don't drink alcohol." She told him.
"It's water." He replied before smirking. "After all, they don't let little kids like you drink, do they?"
At this Levy sat upright, crossing her arms and pouting. "I'm eighteen!"
"Sure, sure. Keep on saying that, shrimp."
Now that made her angry.
"I didn't ask for a drink anyway!"
The bartender growled at her. "Sorry for the charity!" he barked before turning his attention to cleaning shot glasses.
A minute or so went by with the guy and his sloppy glass cleaning. Levy observed the way he would accidentally end up cracking the glass, then try to inconspicuously throw it away and start on the other one, somehow managing to not clean it despite his best efforts.
Eventually, she smiled slightly.
"..But thanks anyway."
He grinned. "Any time, shrimp, any time."
As they made their way home, Lucy was flushed and bright, giddy with happiness. Apparently, she'd met this guy whose name sounded like a drug and had fallen head over heels in love. Cutting off her friend's monologue, Levy asked a question.
"Lucy, you met the guy an hour or so ago. Honestly, be more cautious."
The blonde went silent, and Levy sighed. "Why do you like him?"
Lucy looked up at the night sky. "…He told me I had a wonderful personality. It's nice to meet a guy that doesn't like me for my looks."
Levy sensed something off, but didn't say anything. It was nice to see her friend so happy, even if she had a nagging feeling that it wouldn't end well.
Besides, maybe next week would have the same bartender.
And so they ended up at the club once again the following week. Levy had decided that she may as well make an effort (so as not to look a lump of coal next to the gem that was Lucy) by wearing a fairly simple purple dress and tying her hair into a curly ponytail.
…But honestly, did she have to wear heels?
The moment they had click-clacked their way in, Lucy disappeared to look for her 'love', who had promised to be there. Levy was worried for her friend, she really was. Sure, Lucy had a nice smile, but the girl was fragile and already partly broken.
No, Levy would let Lucy be. Her friend was happy now, and that was all that mattered.
Once again, she sat at the bar; this time, she had snuck a book in and was now immersed in a fictional world. This was her world, her domain. Levy could be lost in good literature for hours on end. And this book was magical. Just starting the confession scene…
Clink. "You know, we don't see many of those round here."
Levy looked up at last week's bartender, frowning. "You mean books?"
"Yeah. Those. Most the girls that hang around the bar are whores."
Huh. Blunt.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what's to say that I'm not?" She counteracted, trying to catch him out.
"Whores don't read books, shrimp."
The girl ignored his new nickname for her. "You don't exactly seem like the reading type yourself."
"And? Who needs to read when you can punch?"
Levy rolled her eyes. "Of course. You're one of those?"
"Huh?"
"The tough thug who solves problems with his fists."
"Yeah? And you're the shrimp bookworm who just tags along with her slut of a friend."
Now, that was below the belt.
Levy hissed venomously. "Lucy is not a slut."
"Sure, sure. That's why she was getting it on with Loke last week."
She narrowed her eyes. "Look, just because Lucy is attractive does not mean she is a slut. Neither does the fact that she was 'getting it on with Loke'. And if you insult my friend again I swear, I will castrate you."
She then got up and headed for the toilets to let off some steam. Yes, she felt protective over Lucy; the girl was already damaged as it was, and hearing such insults made Levy angry.
The blue haired bookworm kicked open the door and stormed in, only to go quiet when she heard a soft sobbing sound. The moment her heels clicked loudly on the floor, the sound stopped; instead, sniffles and the occasional hiccup could be heard. Full of concern, Levy knocked on the door of the stall, causing whoever was inside to squeak.
"You okay?" the girl asked.
There was a pregnant silence, neither side daring to speak.
"…Levy?"
It was then that Levy realised. She realised who it was crying, and she knew who had caused it. So much for calming down; she was full of murderous intent.
"I. Will. KILL. Loke." She snarled, already leaving to give this guy a piece of her mind- a hand, however, grabbed onto her wrist.
Lucy looked at her with puffy red eyes, mascara smudged and hair a mess. "Please, Levy…"
The blue haired girl kept herself in check. She was the voice of reason, not a violent thug. She had to support her friend. Leading Lucy to the sink and ordering her to wash her face, Levy asked what Loke had done.
Lucy stared at the water, now a charcoal grey thanks to her washed off mascara. "Turns out I was just 'girl of the night'. He couldn't even remember my name." she spat out the words in disgust. "Seeing the cheap whore hanging off his arm… how stupid was I?"
Her friend managed to refrain from cursing; calm, Levy, calm. "…I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"I knew this would happen. I should have stopped you."
Having finished cleaning off her makeup, Lucy perched herself on the edge of the sink, looking at her best friend. "No…I think I'm glad. Now I know what guys to avoid. Thanks, Levy." She finished, enveloping her friend in a hug.
Levy smiled. "Let's head home, shall we?"
"Are you sure you want to go?" Levy asked incredulously. Lucy grinned at her- it had been a week since the Loke incident.
"Duh! It's been ages since Natsu, Gray and I had a gaming marathon! Besides, I want to see if I can still beat them at Halo Reach."
"…You want to spend Saturday night playing shooter games against two morons?"
Lucy giggled. "I suppose I do."
And so Levy walked into the club by herself. This week, she decided to screw dressing up; jeans, a top and a nice jacket seemed to be all that was necessary. People gave her weird looks, but did she care?
No, she most certainly didn't.
Once again, she sat down at that bar; except he wasn't there.
…Somebody else was. She knew this because an arm had just been flung over her shoulders. Turning, she saw a face that she so desperately wanted to punch in.
Loke smiled sleazily at her, already partly drunk. And then he proceeded with a classic pickup line that caused Levy to use all her strength not to go psycho on him.
"…You know, if I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together." …Original.
Levy opened her mouth to reply, but shut it again when she heard a rather violent slam on the counter.
"Really?" the bartender growled; had he still been holding the glass he'd slammed, it would have been crushed by his anger. "Cause I'd put F and U together."
Loke turned to the bartender. "Jeez, stop killing the fun."
"If you want whores, go pay for them."
Levy took this as an opportunity to dump her water on the player. "That." She said simply. "Was for Lucy."
When he'd cleared off, Levy turned to the bartender. "Thanks for the save."
He mumbled something and turned away, but she spoke again.
"I forgive you for last week."
He left anyway, but was back in a minute, flopping her book down on the bar.
"You left this."
Levy traced the cover illustration and title absentmindedly with the tip of her finger before looking up. The bartender was flashing a jagged grin that, whilst intimidating, was also strangely attractive. No, not attractive. Not at all.
She tucked a curl of hair behind her ear. "Hi, I'm Levy."
He put down the glass he was cleaning. "The name's Gajeel."
AN: …Yes, that was the best I could do. Anyway, the review button needs friends. Could you help?
Hasta luego!
~Meg