The sky of Magnolia town was far brighter than any other Levy Mcgarden had seen. It was only her second day in the magnificent city and she was already in love with the place. The atmosphere was warm and an occasional breeze brought along with it the salty scent of the vast ocean. This was one of the few places Levy would categorize as 'heaven on earth' with its cheerful inhabitants and most importantly, the largest library in all of Fiore.
Just yesterday, she had been exploring her new territory when she had bumped into a blonde at 'The Strauss', the best cafe in Magnolia, as she had found during her research of the town.
She had mumbled an awkward apology because it had been her fault; the blonde had been facing the counter and Levy had been carelessly engrossed in a book and had walked right into the girl. But the girl had been very sweet and brushed aside the accident before insisting upon buying Levy something to drink the minute she found out that Levy was new.
So she had found herself seated with the blonde, who had introduced herself as Lucy Heartfilia, an amateur writer. Lucy had chatted with her for almost an hour and had even invited Levy to her home for the weekend. The girls had exchanged phone numbers, promising to call each other soon. And thus, Levy had successfully made her first friend in the city and that too on her first day there!
Levy had also found herself a comfy room in an all-girls apartment complex, 'Fairy Hills'. The owner, Mavis, was a friendly woman and had cleaned and tidied the room for her one day before her arrival, which had left Levy with only the tedious task of unpacking.
She had also already acquainted herself with two of her neighbours; Erza Scarlet, a women's right lawyer and Juvia Lockser, a neonatologist. The two women had come over to her room to meet her and had gifted her strawberry cheesecake, a bottle of grape juice and a tin of Earl Grey tea.
It was an understatement to say that Levy was feeling pampered. She liked the new town and that was that. She had a week before she would join as an editor at 'W!tch', a subdivision of the weekly magazine, ' The Sorcerer's Weekly'.
And her second day and first morning in Magnolia had started off better than she could have imagined. She had treated herself to pancakes coated with an extra serving of maple syrup and a cup of black coffee for breakfast at The Strauss before proceeding to walk around the town square, taking in the bustle of activities. She had then stood on the road like an ignorant fool for a few minutes with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, contented with the moment which was ruined by the fright of her life when she had been almost run over by a motorcycle.
She had then walked to the gift shop, mentally thanking her quick reflexes that had saved her from an accident, hoping to find something to send back to her friends Jet and Droy, who she had had to leave behind. She hadn't found anything of interest, so she had cut short her shopping and decided to move to the library. She'd spent some time there and then depart for lunch and maybe she would invite Lucy along too.
And that was how Levy found herself standing before the humongous arch doorway that opened to her paradise.
She pushed the door open and gladly welcomed the cool air from the air conditioner, mixed with the fragrance of books and pages.
Levy stepped inside the library and looked around her, mesmerized by the number of people walking from aisle to aisle picking and reading books. If Levy had been alone, she would have run around like a madman but since she wasn't, she settled with dignified walking.
Levy was excited as she paced along the aisles, running her forefinger along the spines of the books. It was always hard to decide on what to read; there were always too many options. But she finally made up her mind to read about the history of Magnolia. After all, she might as well learn about her new home as soon as possible. She found a quiet table by a corner and settled down, book in hand.
Minutes ticked by and people looked at the petite girl as she read each word with utmost care. Levy was a concentrated reader; it was quite hard to break her out of the trance she seemed to fall into while reading.
A couple hours had passed when Levy suddenly felt that she was being watched. She looked up from her book to see Juvia in front of her, a pleasant smile adorning her face.
"Miss Levy!" she greeted. "Juvia didn't expect to find you here!"
Levy hadn't expected to find Juvia at the library either, but it was a lovely surprise and she returned the smile.
"I didn't think I'd find anyone here at this time." Levy admitted. "Didn't you have work today?"
Levy remembered her conversation with Erza and Juvia the other night and recalled that Juvia had said that her work demanded long hours.
"Juvia did." She grinned. "But Juvia's on her lunch break and she thought she would stop by for a book."
"Woah! It's lunch time already?" Levy questioned and checked her watch. To her horror, she saw that it was almost one. She sighed. She'd have to wait another day to ask Lucy to lunch, since Lucy's break ended around the time.
"Anyway" Juvia spoke again and Levy looked at her, rising from her seat. "Would Miss Levy like to join Juvia for lunch?"
Levy considered the offer. "I would love to."
Soon afterwards the book had been returned to its righteous place, the duo made their way out of the library and walked side-by-side to '8 Island', the pizzeria, occasionally chatting about books and common interests.
"Juvia has another friend meeting her there." She said. "She hopes Miss Levy won't mind."
"Oh no!" Levy exclaimed and then laughed. "I like meeting new people." And it was true. It was extremely nice of Juvia to ask her along for lunch and it looked as if Juvia only associated herself with nice people. So in all honesty, Levy didn't see a problem in meeting a friend of Juvia's.
They walked for another five minutes before Juvia stopped in front of a signboard reading '8 Island'. "We're here." She said and grabbed Levy by her hand and pulled her inside while laughing. "Juvia's hungry!"
They made their way to window side table which was already occupied. The occupant had his back facing the girls and so, the only thing Levy could make out was messy jet black hair.
"Gajeel!" Juvia called out before jumping onto the said person and wrapping him in a tight hug. Thankfully the guy had gotten up at the instant she had yelled his name so he was at least capable of trying to pry her off him.
"Oye! Move away!" He was pushing away her face with one hand and unsuccessfully attempting to release himself from her death grip.
"But Juvia hasn't seen you for a month!" She cried and battled against his push.
Levy watched, amused by the exchange between them. A few minutes into their struggle, Juvia seemed to recall that she had brought Levy along with her. She suddenly pulled back from him and pulled Levy towards her.
"Gajeel, this is Juvia's new friend and neighbour, Miss Levy." She introduced. "And Miss Levy, this is Juvia's best friend, Gajeel."
Now that Levy could see Gajeel up front, she had a change of mind regarding Juvia's friends. Gajeel had piercings all over his face; on his ears and the bridge of his nose. Also he didn't have eyebrows. Instead, he had piercing where his eyebrows should have been. He looked downright scary, like the kind of people who could send children running home on Halloween.
"Shrimp." He cocked his head to the side and addressed her, producing a weird noise.
"Excuse me?" Levy asked, dumbfounded.
"You," he drawled on "look like a shrimp." He made that weird noise again.
"Gajeel!" Juvia chided. "Behave! And don't laugh at her!"
Levy took in a deep breath. She wondered, shortly, if that weird sound he made was laughter. How could that be a laugh? It sounded more like 'gihihi' to her.
"It's okay." She said to Juvia, completely ignoring Gajeel. "Can we please order? I'm hungry."
"Of course!" Juvia slid onto the seat and Levy took the spot next to her. Gajeel sat across from them and winked at Levy, a mocking smirk on his face.
Levy glared at him as she reached for the menu. But her good luck seemed to have worn off since the menu was already seized by Juvia who was suggesting a few of them for Levy to try. "Yeah sure." She replied to whatever Juvia was telling her. It wasn't her fault, really. The screwed up idiot sitting opposite her had somehow managed to silently challenge her to a staring competition. And there was no way in heaven or hell that Levy McGarden would lose. But he turned his head away with a snicker and looked at Juvia, who was scanning the menu.
"Where did ya fish the shrimp from?" He asked, waving a French fry in the air.
Levy pouted and stuck her tongue out at him, like a silly schoolgirl. But this guy was too much.
"Hmm?" Juvia looked up at him. "Gajeel." She had warning tone in her voice. "Be polite to Miss Levy. She's new in town."
"Is she now?" Gajeel looked back at her an amused look in his eyes. "Well well well."
"Yeah." Juvia mumbled. "Ooh! Shall Juvia order this one, Miss Levy?" She pointed at the menu, showing it to Levy. Levy nodded. "Good choice."
Gajeel was smirking at poor Levy who had no choice but to endure this hideous creature of a human. She didn't want to leave the pizzeria; Juvia would be hurt. So all she could do was put up with the guy for some more time.
"So sprinkler," Gajeel guffawed, pulling the menu from Juvia's hand and setting it down. "How's the job goin'?"
Levy looked at Juvia and was amazed to see how her face lit up with pure pleasure. "Oh, Gajeel!" She chirped, excitedly. "Juvia's finally got called for the interview at Fairy Hospital. She's not as experienced as they require her to be, but she hopes her records make up for it."
Gajeel laughed again, but more genuinely this time. "Good for ya, kid." He leaned back on his seat as the server brought them their pizzas and set them on the table.
Levy caught a whiff of the rich pizzas with all its cheese and pork and made a mental note to always, always, take Juvia's suggestions on food.
As she thanked the server and took a bite of her slice, Levy thought her taste buds would explode. So good! She thought.
"It's really good, right?" Levy heard Juvia inquire. "Juvia and Gajeel come here for their pizzas often."
"It really is!" Levy agreed wholeheartedly. She took another bite and made small talk with Juvia.
The conversations mostly stayed between either Juvia and Levy or Juvia and Gajeel. Levy occasionally glared at Gajeel for his sarcastic and tasteless commentary on what she told Juvia. After Juvia had taken a few more bites of her pizza, her cell phone lighted up with Erza's picture.
After a few minutes of quiet conversation on the phone, Juvia announced that she had to leave. She looked serious. "Juvia apologizes, Miss Levy." She bowed politely. "Erza wants to meet Juvia as soon as possible."
"Oh, that's fine!" Levy cried, happy that this could be her way out of Gajeel's presence. But then Juvia dropped the bomb.
"Juvia is, again, very sorry. But she insists Miss Levy stay and finish lunch. Gajeel can keep you company." She smiled and turned to Gajeel, serious again. "And Gajeel, please behave." With that warning, Juvia fished out her purse to grab the payment.
"Geez woman." Gajeel chided. "Just get lost. I'll pay."
"Really?" Juvia looked at him quizzically.
"Don't ya trust me?" Gajeel feigned hurt.
Juvia looked at him for a few more seconds and sighed in defeat. "Fine then." She agreed. "Bye, Miss Levy." She hugged the petite girl, bid farewell to Gajeel with another hug and walked out with a final wave of her hands.
"Such a stupid woman." Gajeel grunted.
"Excuse me?" Levy raised an eyebrow.
"Gihihi!" He laughed. "She's dumb if she thinks I'm gonna pay." Gajeel laughed again, particularly amused by Levy's dumbstruck expression. "What?" He burst into another round of laughter. "Did ya think I was gonna pay?"
"You-you... Oaf!" Levy cried, her face in a pout.
"Interesting." Gajeel stated, impressed with the feisty girl. "Well, this one's on ya. Bye shrimp." Gajeel picked up another slice of the pizza, stuffed it in his mouth and walked out holding up a hand as if to say farewell. He briefly looked back at her and smirked. "Oh and don't tell Juvia. Not that it'll do any good, either. She'll let me off the hook. Again." He emphasised on the 'again' and gave Levy a thumbs-up. And then he walked out the door.
Levy sat in her seat, astounded, watching his retreating figure. Her face felt hot as the waiter came up to her with the bill.
What an ass! She thought haughtily, as she pulled out the money.
But then she giggled.
He did have a pretty ass.
A/N: Review Please! Also follow me at fairyofsouls on tumblr! :)