1. The Rock City Boy
Fairy Tail Academy is situated in the heart of Magnolia city, a large school with an equally large dorm appropriately divided between males and females. Everyone who attended the Fairy Tail Academy are not strangers, and welcomed newcomers with open arms.
Fairy Tail Academy had various rivals among the city, where there were other major Academies of nearly equal, if not equal at all, strength in their academic and sports qualities. For a long time these academies have stayed without disturbing other academies, so there were not many disagreements. However, that is not to say that none of these academies had problems that at times affected neighbouring academies, although these problems were often dismissed as minor problems.
Levy McGarden had been in Fairy Tail Academy since she was six years old, and some have been in the Academy from a younger age. Regardless, Fairy Tail Academy is her home and she grew up with her childhood friends here.
Around three months ago, a newcomer named Lucy arrived. Lucy was actually found by Natsu Dragneel, a long time member of Fairy Tail Academy, and she was introduced to the academy by him. Lucy and Levy became close friends instantly, and Lucy was also able to fit into the academy easily.
Fairy Tail Academy also had guys from inside the academy and outside the academy, falling head over heels for the girls in Fairy Tail. There was Erza, a red headed beauty; Cana, the feisty yet friendly brunette; Mirajane, the gentle fairy; Levy, the smart and cute book lover, and now Lucy has risen to become part of the group.
But the academy has its fair share of good guys too. Although he is a little blunt and clueless, Natsu was still popular among the girls. Gray, despite his strange habit of taking off his clothes, did not lose to Natsu's popularity. Then there were others such as Elfman, a tough yet gentle guy who is also Mirajane's younger brother; Loki, a flirtatious yet handsome young man, and Jellal, who apparently is notorious, but equally popular among the girls.
Regardless of all of that, Fairy Tail prided itself on its close-knit community, and the students helped out each other whenever they could. Most of the students of Fairy Tail had tragic pasts and this is why students in Fairy Tail stuck close together and treasured each other. When a student of Fairy Tail was found in trouble by another student from outside the academy, there would always be aid from other students in Fairy Tail.
Thus our story begins, on a fateful yet seemingly mundane day in Fairy Tail Academy.
On her way to school, Levy McGarden takes the train from her dormitory to school. As she waits for the train, she flips open her book, a novel of romance and drama. Although it was cheesy at times and she cringed at these moments, she continued to read. It was sort of like her guilty pleasure. She hardly read these kinds of books since she preferred to read thrillers or fantasy, but occasionally she liked to read romance novels.
She takes a break from reading after three pages and the train still hasn't arrived. God, really? Has the train broken down or something? She thought, and she looked ahead, seeing the platform across her.
There she saw an ominous looking guy. His hair was kept long and he had studs around his face and ears (and possibly other areas), and he just looked a little menacing. He stood there, with the collar of his uniform blazer unbuttoned and he looked untidy.
Now, Levy wasn't the type who judged people by their looks, but she couldn't deny that she would feel uncomfortable if he was near her. She looked at the logo on his blazer. It looked very similar to the Phantom Lord logo, another academy situated in Magnolia. Right, he's from Phantom Lord. I shouldn't worry too much, since he's not going to be in Fairy Tail.
Just then she noticed that his gaze was upon her. And she felt uncomfortable, as though he was scrutinizing her every being. Hearing the train nearing, she closed her book and placed it back into her bag. Averting her eyes from him, she waited for the train to come, but not without noticing a frightening grin on his face.
Once the train appeared, she hopped on to it hastily, and she even imagined him having a snicker similar to a "Gihi".
Reaching the gates of Fairy Tail Academy relaxed her and warmed her heart instantly. Oh, she would never get tired of this place, and of the people here. She would be sad if she ever had to leave this place, and this will be her one true home. But until she leaves, she will treasure every moment of her life here.
"Levy!" She heard a familiar voice call her. She turned around and saw Lucy running towards her, catching up with her as they entered the school together.
"Hi, Lucy!" Levy smiled. "Oh, I just had the worst experience in my life when I was waiting for the train. Some guy from Phantom Lord Academy was on the platform across mine, and he looked really scary." She said, shuddering at the memory.
Lucy was concerned. "You shouldn't have looked at him! Or maybe…" She paused, and a teasing smile lit across her face. "He thinks you're cute."
Levy grimaced. "Please, Lucy. As much as I'd be flattered to hear that, I'd rather not have someone scary from Phantom Lord think that I'm cute." She said, as she slid open the door to their classroom, the two taking their respective seats beside each other. Levy started playing with her tie which had the Fairy Tail logo on it's tip. "And I'm worried he would actually come here to poke around and pick fights, or something of that sort." She said to Lucy.
Lucy's smile faded. "I know. I'm kind of worried about that too. But look at Fairy Tail, we have tons of strong guys and girls. No one would ever think of picking a fight with Erza and Mirajane. Plus, we have teachers who could kick ass too." She said.
Levy giggled, and what Lucy said was true. Erza was someone no one from Fairy Tail would ever think of picking a fight with. Mirajane may be the sweetest girl you've ever seen, but she was once called the 'demon'. While Lucy has yet to see Mirajane's demon form, Levy has. And it was not sweet.
"And who's to say we can't kick ass either?" Lucy said. She was right again. Even though Lucy and Levy didn't match up to Erza and Mirajane, they were capable of defending themselves. It might be a little strange, but Lucy was skilled at using a whip, and she's not afraid to use it. As for Levy, she's small and quick, and she was quite skilled in making use of whatever she could find on her or around her.
"If anything happens though, Levy, you have to let us know." Lucy said. "We'll do our best to help you."
Levy nodded. "I know. Thanks, Lucy."
During lunch break, Levy went to buy some food, since she woke up too late to cook her own lunch in the morning. As she was buying a sandwich and a small carton of milk, she heard a few students taking among themselves in a table nearby.
"You know, I'm not really sure whether I'm right, but I think I saw Gajeel outside the school just now." Student A said.
"Gajeel?" Student B said incredulously. "Are you sure your eyes weren't playing tricks on you? Why would he come here? There's no reason for him to be here."
Levy was curious, but it didn't seem as if they were sure of anything, so she headed back to class where Lucy was waiting for her. Who is Gajeel, anyway? She felt as though she heard the name before, but she couldn't remember where or who he is.
After classes finished, Lucy had to hurry back home for a reason that she wasn't quite clear of, as Lucy was running past Levy and saying, "Sorry-Levy-gotta-go-there's-something-happening-at-home-bye!"
So Levy, who did not have to rush back home, decided to go to the library and borrow a book, and after that she bought a small carton of milk to drink on the way to the train station. Not too far but not too near from the school, she noticed a familiar dark, long haired man with studs on his nose and elsewhere on his face, snickering at her.
Levy panicked, although she kept a calm exterior. Why is he here? She thought. She sipped her milk as nonchalantly as she could, walking past him a little hastily.
"Hey, aren't you too old to be sipping milk like a baby?" He teased.
She turned around and looked at him with narrowed eyes, irked by his teasing and cocky expression. "Well, aren't you a gentleman." She said sarcastically. "Are you here to make friends, or piss everyone off?" She asked menacingly, or at least she hoped to sound menacing. His face scared her enough, so she doubted her tone of voice fazed him at all.
He snickered, a familiar "Gihihi" heard. "Didn't think you'd be a feisty one." He said, walking closer to her. "Here I thought I could just grab you," He grabbed her arm harshly, earning a yelp from her. "And leave you here as a warning to Fairy Tail."
Levy dropped her carton of milk. Suddenly, she remembered who he is, and she remembered the conversation that the two students had during lunch. "Gajeel," She whispered, looking up at him with her eyes wide in surprise and fear.
"Pleased to meet you," He grinned as he punched her hard in the stomach, releasing her arm and watching her fall to the ground, writhing in pain from his punch. He watched her for a moment when he heard voices.
"Gajeel! Why did you hurt Levy?" Natsu yelled at him, running towards him and ready to hit him.
Mirajane ran to Levy's side and picked her up gently, looking at Gajeel threateningly. "Is this you acting on your own accord, or is this Phantom Lord?" She asked with a venomous tone of voice.
Gajeel snickered again. "What I do is what Phantom Lord wants." He kept a twisted grin as he dodged Natsu's and Gray's punches. "See ya around." He said, leaving a concerned Mirajane, Natsu and Gray next to an unconscious Levy.
The next morning, an announcement was heard by the principal of Fairy Tail Academy, Makarov. "We are disheartened to hear the events that transpired yesterday, and our dear student Levy who is now taking her rest from the attacks of Gajeel from Phantom Lord Academy." He said, and then his expression turned dark and frightening. "We shall not forgive what Phantom Lord has done to Levy McGarden, and thus I hereby declare that Phantom Lord will not be left alone after what has happened."
"Even though Master Makarov said Phantom Lord would not be left alone, what could he do that isn't the same as what Gajeel had done to Levy?" Natsu asked Erza, Gray, Lucy, Mirajane, and Elfman.
Lucy had a guilty expression on her face. "If only I didn't leave Levy alone yesterday. How stupid was I?" She clenched her fists, disappointed in herself.
Mirajane placed her hand on Lucy's fist. "It's not your fault. We weren't around too. If we had noticed earlier, Levy might not have been injured as she is now."
Natsu nodded. "That's right, Lucy. Don't blame yourself. What we should do now is to kick Phantom Lord's ass and let them know that they should never pick a fight with Fairy Tail!" Natsu growled.
"Are you sure you're okay now?" Jet asked Levy.
"You can still take a break from school if you're not feeling well." Droy added.
Jet and Droy were Levy's close friends, and although they lived in the boys' dormitory in another building, they frequently visited Levy's room (without the knowledge of the dorm heads). It was obvious that they had feelings for Levy, and they had confessed to her a long time ago, but she turned them down.
"I'm fine. I can't afford to miss another day of classes." She said, grabbing her bag and walking out of her house, but not before telling the two to get ready for school as well.
On her way to the train station, her eyes darted warily in every corner she could find. She placed her hand over her stomach where he punched her. To think she could be in danger again by him, especially when they could be at the train station at the same time, even though they were going opposite ways.
But he couldn't possibly do anything again, right? News went around fast, and there's no way people didn't know what happened. Right…? She quickened her pace, until she realized she took a wrong turn and she was in an unfamiliar area and no one was around.
"Heh." She heard a chuckle behind her. She whipped her head around, only to have a hand wrapped around her stomach where he punched her. She winced. "Why bother coming out if you're not even well?" He asked her, although he didn't even show any hint of care.
She shivered in fear, turning to look at Gajeel's grinning face. A devil, she thought before he punched her in the same place once again, making her faint and being carried over his shoulder like a doll.
And with Levy's sudden disappearance, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Jet, and Droy could not simply stay still, knowing that Phantom Lord must have had a role to play in this.
Notes:
Oh God, Levy sounds so useless in this chapter, but I'll promise to make her stronger than she seems. Anyway, this is not a one-shot. Yes, the chapter title is the song title "The Rock City Boy" by Jamil. I actually cringed at hearing the song at first (I mean, the lyrics don't really make sense) but I started to like the song after hearing it a few times. Also after listening to the song, it sort of inspired me to write this story.
I will probably be naming my chapter titles after the names of songs that I like and think fits with the chapter, and I will be writing them here just in case anybody is curious and would like to listen to it.
I hope this first chapter is not too bad. Please review, I'll be looking forward to any critiques as well as encouragement, and I will be writing the next chapter.