Embrace
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Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters.
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On that muggy Friday in the beginning of August when she was eleven years old, Erza tried to say goodbye to her best friend without actually saying goodbye.
Saying goodbye was a trickier business than she thought it would be- at least, saying goodbye to Jellal was. He was her best friend and had been her neighbor since the beginnings of first grade. All her goodbyes had been said, except this one; saying goodbye to Jellal felt like she would be admitting defeat, and accepting that she really had to go.
Her family was leaving in an hour, to a big city with its flashing lights and spaghetti freeways and many people. Her dad said that the move was good for everyone, that there would be more job opportunities and a better school with more after school programs and harder classes. Her mom said that she would make friends easily and that Erza should be grateful they weren't moving in the middle of the school year, where she would immediately pegged as the new kid. Despite that, Erza still wasn't too happy about the move. Despite Erza's unhappiness about their moving, her parents didn't call it off.
So Jellal and Erza laid on her front lawn in the shade of the U-Haul van, waiting for the inevitable. To pass the time, they read Jellal's copy of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The book sat in the middle as they rested on their stomachs, their shoulders touching. Jellal always finished the page before Erza, and would wait for Erza to be done, doodling planets and stars and roses from the bush on the front lawn into the corners.
The neighborhood was silent as they read, no birds chirping or people chatting on their front lawns. With the combination of 100 degree Fahrenheit heat and high humidity, the neighbors understandably preferred the company of their air conditioners to each other.
Erza's mom broke the quiet, when she opened the front door and called: "Erza! Get up! We are leaving in five minutes."
Her stomach twisted. Unable to look at Jellal, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground as he placed the bookmark between the paper pages and closed the book. The bookmark marked the page in the middle of chapter 14: "The Triumph of the Witch", the chapter in which Aslan was humiliated, placed on the stone table and killed as the Pevensie sisters watched. Both she and Jellal had read the book before, but Erza felt like she finally understand how brave Aslan was. He gave himself up, and suffered through, just to save someone. And while saying goodbye isn't nearly the same thing as being killed, Erza figured that she would never be as brave as Aslan was in that moment.
But she could try right? And Erza did, pushing herself off the ground as she puzzled over how and what to say. Before she could though, the book was thrust against her chest.
"Here," Jellal said, a sheepish smile adorning his face. "Keep it."
Erza looked down, baffled as to why the book was clutched in her hands, why he was telling her to keep it. "But it's yours! Your dad gave it to you. I can't-"
Jellal laughed. "It's a gift, Erza. You can't turn down a gift."
She hugged him.
It was quick and hurried, her arms barely wrapped around him before she let go. But the butterflies still fluttered in her stomach at the short embrace.
"Thank you," she muttered. "For the book and for being my friend."
And as she clutched his worn-down copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Jellal smiled a boyish smile, the way only boys could, the way that made her heart thump.
He was still smiling that smile -albeit, a bit sadder- as Erza ran to her mom's car to leave, her dad driving the U-Haul behind them, presumably to never see him again.
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Author's Note:
Thank you all for reading this! It was written for Jerza Week, based on the Day 1 prompt "embrace". Reviews are welcomed- whether it be compliments or constructive criticism.
