Gajeel Redfox was sitting in his math class, looking horribly bored, and doodling in his notebook when Levy McGarden walked in. Now, this is not your clichéd, oh so dramatic, tale of love at first sight. When he saw her, he was not impressed. She was drastically colorful and carried far more books than she could possibly hope to read in a day. Her blue hair was pulled back and she wore a smile. She was cute, he supposed, but not beautiful. She was too tiny.

She bounced up the rows between the desks, and to his annoyance, sat by him. He expected her to start talking endlessly, but she didn't. She picked up one of her books (he noticed it was about ancient runes) and began reading. So, his conclusion was massive nerd.

Which is why he never expected to fall for her.

There was something about the messiness in her hair, the lightness in her eyes; like they'd never seen anything bad, never known pain. The way she bounced around like nothing could bring her down. How she carried those goddamned books around, even when she could barely balance the stack, with the brightest smile. She was just so fucking beautiful, and he didn't even know her name.

Gajeel ignored her existence for weeks, of course. He actually had never planned on talking to her, but one day she dropped a book in the hallway and something compelled him to pick it up.

"Romance?" He asked, looking at the cover. She simply stood there, stunned, as if something as simple as him helping her was unbelievable. "Oi, Shorty. Wake up," Gajeel waved the small volume in front of her face. She cautiously tugged it away from him.

"It's not polite to tease people you've never met."

"Gajeel Redfox. Now we've met."

"We- we haven't properly met. You still don't know my name, Gajeel Redfox," her cheeks were pink as she fumbled to return the book to its stack.

"I'm not helping you with those."

"No one asked you to!"

"I'll carry your books, Levy!" Two shouts came from a distance. Gajeel wasn't sure where they came from, but two boys came running up to either side of her a moment later.

"Please let me help, Levy-chan!"

"Who are you?" Levy exclaimed.

"No, I wanna help Levy!"

"No, me!"

Shortly after that, Gajeel realized the two stalkers had begun to engage in a fight of sorts, one that involved much screaming and slapping and pulling of hair. So, he took her books from her and heaved her gracefully over his shoulder, carrying her away.

"That was hardly necessary," Levy propped her elbows up on his back and rested her face in her hands.

"Rule number one: the boy who rescues you is always right."

"That was a Cassandra Clare reference, Gajeel Redfox."

"I don't know what yer talkin' about."

"Where are we off to, noble steed?"

"Do you have a class?"
"Not for another few hours."

"Perfect."

"You're not going to rape and murder me, are you?"

"'Course not, Shrimp. Who would I tease?"

"Levy."

"What?"

"Levy. My name is Levy McGarden."