So I started to think about a modern AU with a blind Jellal. This happened.
"Laxus," Principal Makarov Dreyar began, facing his grandson, Laxus Dreyar. "You know why you're here."
"I tried to start a fight club," Laxus mumbled, slouching in the seat across for his grandfather in his office.
"You tried to start a fight club to see who the strongest student was," Makarov repeated. "You ended up causing a lot of trouble, and a lot of wounded students."
"They shouldn't have been getting in the fight," Laxus mumbled.
Makarov sighed, "I have to say Laxus, I'm very disappointed in you."
"I know that," Laxus mumbled.
"I can hear you, you know," Makarov said before he continued his tirade. "As I was saying, I'm very disappointed in you. You have been getting into one fight after another, always getting in trouble."
"So what? Are you going to suspend me?" Laxus challenged.
"I was thinking about that," Makarov continued. "But then a new student came here today. Your punishment will be to help our new student get around. You may leave your class early to get to his class, but you are expected to get to your classes on time. He will give you a copy of his schedule."
"How long do I have to do this?" Laxus asked. He couldn't decide whether he should be happy or not, he's not getting suspended but he has to hold some kid's hand during their first week of school.
"For as long as he needs," Makarov answered. "Now go. He's waiting outside of my office."
Laxus grumbled something incoherent before pushing through his grandfather's office doors to enter the main office.
And lo and behold, a kid with blue hair and sunglasses sat in one of the chairs set aside for students and parents. He was fingering a cane, the one blind people carry with the red end. Laxus figured that he would have this assignment for a while.
"Yo," Laxus greeted the kid, as he didn't get a name from his grandfather.
"Hey," the kid replied, turning his head in the direction Laxus was talking, though he couldn't see Laxus. "So you're the guy that's going to help me get around the school?"
"Yeah. Laxus Dreyar," Laxus held out his hand for the kid to shake, but he quickly took his hand back because the kid couldn't see that he was holding out his hand.
"Are you holding out your hand?" the kid asked.
"No," Laxus answered.
"Good, because I can't see it," the kid stood up and faced Laxus. "I'm Jellal Fernandes."
"Nice to meet you," Laxus replied. "So, where are you classes?"
"Here," Jellal shoved a piece of paper into Laxus's gut with the force of a punch. Laxus doubled over and snatched the paper out of Jellal's hand. "Sorry."
"It's alright," Laxus replied, looking over Jellal's schedule. It was first hour at the moment, but second hour would start soon. "Okay, let's get going."
"Give me your arm," Jellal held out his arm.
"Why?" Laxus asked.
"Because I need to be guided around," Jellal tried to explain.
"And you want us to hook arms?" Laxus asked.
"Yeah," Jellal replied.
"No!"
"Why?"
"That's gay," Laxus tried to define his sexuality.
"I really don't care," Jellal replied.
"Shouldn't you have like a service dog or something?" Laxus asked.
"My brother's allergic to dogs," Jellal answered. "Just give me your arm."
"No," Laxus replied.
"Fine, just make sure I don't slam into any walls or turn down any wrong hallways," Jellal replied and turned towards the exit. "Let's go."
Laxus quickly stepped in front of Jellal so he could open the door for him. Jellal was swinging his cane around, having a hard time trying to find the door. Laxus got impatient and grabbed Jellal's shoulder before pushing him through the door.
"You wouldn't have had to push me through a door if you'd taken my arm," Jellal retorted to Laxus as they walked down the hallway.
"It's still gay," Laxus grumbled.
"Yes and you're a big, straight man who needs to insert his heterosexuality into every conversation," Jellal argued.
"No! I just don't want to hook arms with you," Laxus argued. "Turn left in a few feet." Jellal turned down the wrong hallway, "The other way."
"Sorry," Jellal did a 180 and continued to follow Laxus. "Maybe you should just hook-"
"No," Laxus replied. He grabbed Jellal shoulder before guiding him to a specific door in the hall. "This is your second hour. Wait until the bell rings to go in."
"You gonna take off now?" Jellal asked.
"Yes," Laxus answered. "I still have to get my homework from my first hour and get to my second hour on time."
"Am I standing right in front of the door?" Jellal then asked.
"Yes," Laxus answered. Jellal took a step to the right, which landed him right in front of another door. "You're still in front of a door."
Jellal took two steps to the left, which landed him in front of someone's locker, "Is this better?"
"Yeah," Laxus replied. "See ya later!"
"Just don't leave me hanging!" Jellal replied as Laxus began to walk away. "I don't want to be left alone in a classroom!"
Erza was putting away her books into her locker and grabbing her lunch when she heard someone run into a wall near-by her locker. She was near the corner of the hallway, but she couldn't see how someone could run into it.
The person crashed into the corner with the perfect, cartoonish, 'DUOPH' noise. As a reply to the person running into the wall, Erza could hear her older adoptive brother reply.
"Don't run into walls," Laxus criticized whoever ran into the wall. Erza then heard a voice she never thought she would hear again.
"Well, you could help by hooking up arms with me!" Jellal Fernandes replied. Erza looked down the hall and saw that Jellal was actually here in the school and was actually talking to Laxus.
Erza quickly shut her locker and moved down the hallway swiftly to intercept Jellal before he disappeared with Laxus.
"Jellal?"
Erza got Jellal's attention and he turned towards her, "Erza?"
"You know Erza?" Laxus asked.
"Yeah," Jellal turned back to Laxus. "Why?"
"She's my little sister!" Laxus replied.
"What? Last time I saw Erza she was an orphan," Jellal answered.
"Laxus's grandfather adopted me," Erza explained.
"But then wouldn't you be Laxus's aunt?" Jellal asked.
"No," Laxus and Erza answered at the same time.
"Anyway," Erza turned back to Jellal. She quickly studied him before moving on with the conversation. Jellal had grown quiet a lot since they were kids, some could say that he was handsome but Erza didn't let herself think that. He carried a blind man's cane, and Erza could see the end of scars behind the sunglasses he wore. It was hard to say that she didn't have a crush on him still. "What are you doing back in Magnolia?"
"My dad got a job back here," Jellal answered. "My mom's still with Siegrain and Mystogan back in our old home. They wanted to finish the trimester at their private school before transferring here."
"So where are you headed next?" Erza asked.
"Lunch," Laxus and Jellal said at the same time.
"I have to escort him around the school as my punishment," Laxus added. Erza knew about Laxus's crime of trying to start a fight club. He was in the middle of fighting Natsu and his half-brother Gajeel when it all got busted. Natsu forgot the one rule of fight club: you don't talk about fight club, and you definitely shouldn't talk about fight club to Erza. In the end, they did find out who the strongest person in school was: Assistant Principal Gildarts.
"You have C Lunch, right Laxus?" Erza asked her brother.
"Yeah, why?" Laxus asked.
"Go to your class, I'll escort Jellal," Erza offered.
"You don't have to do that," Jellal stated, blushing behind his sunglasses.
"Why?" Laxus asked.
"I want to get reacquainted with my old friend," Erza explained.
"Alright," Laxus shrugged and began to walk away. "Just don't try and make any moves!"
"Uh, who are you talking to?" Jellal asked.
"You!" Laxus shouted back as the two-minute bell rang. Laxus then began a mad dash for his fourth-hour class, leaving Erza and Jellal behind.
"So, the lunch room is this way, right?" Jellal asked, pointing in the direction he was walking earlier.
"Yes," Erza replied.
"Do you mind hooking arms with me? I don't want to walk into anymore walls," Jellal asked, holding out his arm.
"No I don't," Erza replied. Luckily, Jellal couldn't see her blushing as she hooked her arm around his and began to lead him towards the lunchroom.
Jellal and Erza sat in the farthest lunch table in the courtyard. It was a beautiful day outside, and it would be waste to eat it inside. No one really sat at the farthest table, so it would be a quiet place for the two of them to eat and catch up with each other.
"Are you sure I'm not keeping you from your friends?" Jellal asked before he took a bite of his sandwich.
"They won't mind," Erza replied, taking a bite of her own salad. That led to an awkward silence between the two of them as they chewed on their food.
"So I guess we should talk about the elephant in the room?" Jellal asked after he swallowed his food.
"How did you become blind?" Erza asked. The Jellal she remembered as a kid had lovely brown eyes, and always commented on the color of her hair.
"Accident," Jellal answered. "A really bad, messy accident."
"What type?" Erza asked.
"Car crash," Jellal answered. "I was the one sitting in the front next to my father, and I ended up with glass in my eyes. I got off better than my dad. He couldn't work for a couple months as he was healing."
Erza didn't know how to reply to something like that, so she continued on with another question, "Was it hard adjusting?"
"Yeah," Jellal answered. "I couldn't do a lot of things I wanted to do, but soon my other senses heightened and I could get around, and I learned how to read brail. That helps. There are still some things I can't do, but I'll try. Eventually, Siegrain and Mystogan will drag me away so they can do it themselves, but at least I try."
"Good," Erza smiled, imagining the image of Jellal being dragged around by his brothers.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Jellal asked.
"Yes," Erza replied.
"Is your hair still scarlet?" Jellal asked. When Erza didn't answered automatically, Jellal added, "I know that's a weird question, but I'm just curious."
"Yes," Erza answered, a bit surprised by the question. "Do you mind if I ask you another question?"
"What?" Jellal asked.
"What do you miss the most? Now that you're blind?" Erza asked.
"Everything," Jellal answered. "I can't do everything I want to do, and I miss all the colors. It's hard living in all of the darkness."
"If you could see one color one more time, what would it be?" Erza asked, though she was pretty sure she knew what the answer would be.
"You'll think it's creepy," Jellal answered.
"Just tell me," Erza replied.
"The color of your hair," Jellal admitted. "I'd like to see it one more time."
"That's not creepy," Erza informed Jellal. "After all, you gave me my last name based on the color of my hair."
"I know," Jellal replied with a half-smile, remembering that day.
"Do you mind taking me to my fourth hour?" Jellal asked Erza. She had hooked up arms with him again so she could guide him inside. "Since you said Laxus had C Lunch, so he can't come and get me."
"I don't mind at all," Erza answered and they began to walk through the crowded hallways.
"Hey Erza! Where were you at lunch today?" Natsu pushed his way through the crowds, making a beeline towards Erza. He had to stop for a moment as he noticed that she was hooking arms with a stranger. Natsu paused, before shouting, "Erza has a boyfriend!"
"What? No!" Jellal and Erza denied at the same time.
"Erza has a boyfriend!" Natsu shouted again before Erza bonked him over the head.
"What!? You have a boyfriend Erza!?" Lucy, who was following Natsu quickly asked the scarlet-haired girl, noticing her arm candy.
"No!" Erza and Jellal denied again.
"Then who's your arm candy?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not arm candy!" Jellal denied.
"I'm helping Jellal around, it's his first day," Erza explained.
"And I'm blind!" Jellal added.
"Oh, sorry," Lucy quickly apologized.
"Erza and Jellal sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-" Natsu began to sing, but he got caught again by another bonk on the head.
"Jellal is going to be late for his fourth hour class!" Erza said before she began to drag Jellal away.
"You will too," Lucy added, but they were already half-way down the hallway.
"Thanks for taking me to my fourth hour," Jellal thanked Erza as they arrived in front of his fourth hour.
"No problem," Erza answered.
"We'll have to get together sometime," Jellal answered.
"Right," Erza began to blush, thinking about hanging out with Jellal more, with just the two of them, alone.
"You could show me around town," Jellal suggested. "Since I haven't been here in seven years and I can't see anymore."
"Right," Erza agreed, as the two-minute bell rang. "Well, I have to get to my class! I'll see you around. Bye!"
"Bye Erza."
Jellal stood outside of the classroom, his ears filled with the noise of students shuffling to their fifth hour. He waited for Laxus to come along, and was surprised when he heard the man's voice to his right. Jellal wasn't good in loud, crowded places, and he didn't know this school well enough since it was just his first day.
"So, I heard a rumor that you were dating my little sister," Laxus suddenly appeared in Jellal's dark world.
"What?" a wave of terror surfaced in Jellal. Erza had explained to him why Laxus was in trouble, and he really didn't want to mess with anyone who was on the football team, even if he wasn't the captain. "No-no-no-no-no! Erza was just taking me to my fourth hour and we had looped arms so I wouldn't run into any walls and this one kid named Natsu or something said that we were a couple but we aren't! We've been reunited for about an hour or two we won't get together in that time frame! Besides, she probably doesn't even like me!"
"Are you sure? Because she's told me about a blue-haired boy she had a crush on when she was younger, and I'm pretty sure you are it," Laxus explained to Jellal. Jellal felt as though Laxus was getting closer to make his threat, and that Jellal should call for help pretty soon.
"What! No! I may have had a crush on her when we were young but-darn it I didn't mean to say that I meant-" Jellal's mouth failed him as he tried to explain the situation to Laxus. "WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!"
"Alright, don't need to shout," Laxus replied. "But if you try to make a move on her, god so help you that-"
"Why are you making threats to a blind kid?" Jellal asked, quickly remembering the loophole that got him out of everything.
Jellal could hear Laxus taking a deep breath in then out, like he was a raging bull, "Fine. Just don't hit on my sister."
"Alright," Jellal replied, and he could feel as though the weight of Laxus's shadows was taken off of him.
"So, to your fifth hour?" Laxus asked with a much friendlier tone.
"Uh, yeah," Jellal replied, he could feel that the atmosphere had shifted dramatically as though Laxus was going to ask to be friends right after he threatened him.
Laxus grabbed Jellal shoulders and roughly directed him through the halls of the school.
"So, I was thinking," Laxus began.
"Are you going to ask to be my friend?" Jellal asked.
"How'd you know?" Laxus asked.
"I sensed the change of the mood," Jellal replied.
"That sounds-"
"Gay?"
"Romantic."
"So gay in your books?"
"Just shut up about that," Laxus groaned. "Do you want to hang out with me and friends this weekend?"
"Uh, sure?" Jellal agreed, even though Laxus was just threatening him about dating Erza.
"Cool, I'll call you later," Laxus answered. "Here's your fifth hour."
"How'd you get my phone number?" Jellal asked.
"It's on your schedule which your gave me," Laxus explained.
"Oh, right."
"So have fun in history bro. See you later."
Laxus left as Jellal entered the classroom. One minute, Laxus was threatening him, and the next he was calling him bro.
Jellal was so confused.
