Thank-you for the support! I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this fic. FAIRYTAIL is owned by the fabulous Hiro Mashima.
Gajeel never imaged that he would meet someone that would have the guts to stand up to him, or let alone even talk to him. That small blue haired girl had left an impact on him more than he wanted to admit. I mean, she was just an annoying little girl that looked like she barely went through puberty. This childlike woman was nothing compared to the voluptuous woman he had previously been with, yet there was something about her. She was different, maybe it was the way she held herself or the she had stood up to him. Heck he didn't even know her name. As Gajeel walked back to Fairy Tail dorm he couldn't keep a certain girl out of his mind and tit was driving him crazy.
While making his way back to his dorm Gajeel tried to made an effort not to bowl over the numerous students that stood in his way. His attempt at being polite was soon dashed when two men slightly smaller than Gajeel burst in front of his path almost knocking him over. "You slanty eye freak what did you just say to me?" One of the two men with bright hair pink hair yelled back at the other who for some unknown reason was half naked.
The second man snarled in his reply, "you heard me, pea for brains." The two men continued to throw punches at each other causing a large jeering crowd to gather.
"I bet fifty bucks on Natsu." A slender man with orange hair exclaimed to the stout man standing next to him.
"No way man, Natsu gets too worked up and blows his chances at winning. I bet Gray has this one in the bag." The two men continued to argue over who would win the fight. Through observing the reactions of the crowd, Gajeel determined that this must be a common occurrence at Magnolia University. Regular occurrence or not, Gajeel was not about to let Gray or Natsu almost knock him over and get away with it. Gajeel had an image to uphold, and a forgiving one wasn't it.
"Hey you too idiots over there," Gajeel growled lowly. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Both Natsu and Gray stopped their bickering and looked up at Gajeel in complete and utter shock.
"Huh…" Natsu cocked his head to the side with a glint of curiosity and fear in his eyes. "Who are you?" Natsu asked, a sly grin spreading across his face. Gajeel was taken aback by how Natsu had reacted. Most people would have shitted their pants if he had talked to them like that, but Natsu was calm and looked rather friendly. Was Gajeel losing his touch or were the students of Magnolia University too idiotic to be afraid of him. "I'm Natsu and this is Grey." Natsu pointed in the direction of the half naked man next to him.
"Gajeel Refox, I am… uh... new here…" Replied Gajeel hesitantly. Gajeel was most definitely losing his confidence he had earlier. For once, he didn't feel like fighting and asserting his dominance. The students here didn't view him as a menace but rather just as one of their fellow students.
"Eh really? Well, welcome home." Grey patted Gajeel on the back.
Did he just say home? There was no place in the entire world that Gajeel had ever called home. He had always been alone, except for his most trusted friend Juvia. Gajeel was at first uncertain about Magnolia University, but after much persuasion from Juvia there was no arguing, Juvia was boss. As long as he could remember Juvia and him had been best friends. They had been both raised in the same dysfunctional orphanage. The orphanage that they grew up in was named Phantom lord; it was hardly the most inviting name and was the farthest thing from a home. The orphanage was just a front; both Gajeel and Juvia had grown up in an underground agency that specialized in the assassination of important people. Gajeel had been forced into this life when his parents died when he was very young. The reason that this covert agency had been so successful up until its demise, was the fact that it used innocent children to carry out the assasinations. Numerous people had fallen by the hands of Gajeel, and he was reminded of that each and everyday when he looked into the eyes of people who would never know the same pain. This was why Gajeel distanced himself as far as he could from others. He put a cage around his heart, locking it, vowing to never open it to anyone or anything.
"He big guy… Your name?" Gray snapped Gajeel back to reality.
"Uh… Gajeel, Gajeel Redfox…"
"Nice to meet you man; sorry about that earlier, me and Grey just get a little bit carried away when we get into a little scuffle." Gajeel scoffed at Natsu, a little scuffle? He had seen honey badgers get into a little scuffle and it was nothing compared to the likes of those two. "Hey, if you're not busy later come over to the Fairy Tail common room. We are having a welcome party for all the new students. See you then!" Natsu and Gray waved as they walked away, getting into another argument over who had won the previous fight. Gajeel stood there, and an unfamiliar fuzzy feeling crept up. What was this foreign feeling?
Gajeel stood awkwardly in the corner while students milled about in the Fairy Tail Lounge. The spacious room was packed with students excitedly talking about how they had spent their summer. It was only nine o'clock and the party was already in full swing; the alcohol was flowing and people were singing, everyone was enjoying each others company. Much like the rest of Gajeel's University experience, the party and the atmosphere in Fairy Tail was completely foreign to him. The lounge was cozy; the furniture was well worn with indents in to couches and the rug looked like it had seen better days. If Gajeel knew anything about what a home was like, he would think it would have looked similar to Fairy Tail dorm.
It was then that he saw her. The little blue hair girl was curled up on the couch, a book in hand, reading and ignoring teveryone around her. She sat there, red glasses perched on her nose, so enthralled in her own little world that she wasn't aware of what was going around her. To Gajeel, it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The way she flipped through the pages, moving her lips along with the words she read, Gajeel was mesmerized. He wished that he could achieve the same meditative calmness that seemed to be upon her. He wanted to know more about her.
"Gaajeeeeeeeel." Juvia drunkly cooed into her best friends ear. "Why aren't you out there dancing, there are so many pretty girls here tonight. Juvia thinks you need to losen up!" Juvia fell into a fit of giggles and leaned sloppily on Gajeel. Juvia lowered her voice and leaned in closer. "Can Juvia tell you a secret? I think Juvia is in love *hiccup* His name is Grey and he's soooo dreamy." Juvia giggled as she stumbled away, off to look for Grey who had been unsuccessfully avoiding her all evening. Gajeel remained in the corner, arms crossed and a stoic expression plastered across his face. Unlike Gajeel, Juvia had always been able to make friends easily. She didn't let her past define her like Gajeel did; a long time ago she had decided to move on and live life to the fullest. She had easily opened her heart to others, Gajeel was jealous of her for that reason. Gajeel's thoughts were broken when he heard a quiet "excuse me" come from his right. Much to his surprise Levy was standing next to him looking up at him expectantly. Gajeel did not know how long she had been standing there but by the look on her annoyed face, he must have been in his thoughts for a couple minutes.
Gajeel cleared his throat."Yes..?"
"Just wondering why you're standing in the corner all by yourself." She took Gajeel's huge calloused hand that dwarfed her soft delicate hand, shaking it, sending a jolt of electricity up Gajeel's arm. "Levy McGarden, I'm the girl you oh so rudely knocked off her feet earlier." She smiled up at Gajeel, not a hint of fear or resentment in her eyes. This girl baffled Gajeel entirely.
Gajeel was never one to apologize for anything, but the words that escaped his mouth next surprised even him. "Look I'm sorry about earlier", Gajeel grunted. "I really should have apologized earlier." Gajeel looked sheepishly down at Levy quickly looking back up when he realized how pathetic he must look.
Levy giggled, a giggled that resembled the tinkling of a bell. In all her life she never had met someone who intrigued her so much. "And I already know your name, Gajeel." Levy looked up at the lumbering man and thought she saw a blush creep across his face. "I accept your apology, but I also must apologize for my behavior. I never have been good with people criticizing my height." Levy looked down at her feet. Was she always this confident? She couldn't remember the last time she actually talked to guy she didn't consider family. "And well... I also wanted to come over here to say welcome. I noticed that you were new to campus. We don't get that many new faces here. If you wouldn't mind, would you like to be friends?" Levy blushed at her boldness, she was definitely more confident than her usual self.
Beneath his cool exterior Gajeel was secretly thrilled that Levy had come to talk to him. He replied indifferently with a,"gihi, sure shrimp."
Levy cocked her eyebrows. She hated it when people commented on her height, but for the first time his comment didn't bother her as much as it initially did. She felt a blush creep across her face; what was she getting herself into? "What dorms are you staying in?" She asked casually, secretly hoping that Gajeel would be in the coed dorm of Fairy Tail.
"This one shrimp. Why? Do you want to see it later?" Levy squeaked and turned bright red at Gajeels comment. Gajeel chuckled. "I am only kidding. I'm in room 302 with some guy named Lily."
"Really? I am in room 304." Levy answered Gajeel calmly, but in her head she was pleased that she would be in such close proximity of him. "If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask, I remember how terrifying my first time was at Magnolia University but you eventually get used to it. The people here are really friendly and the students in Fairy Tail are like family."
"Levvvyy" The two men that Gajeel had seen betting in Natsu and Gray cam sauntering up to Levy's side.
"This is Jet" she said, motioning to the slender man with orange hair. "And this is Droy," pointing to the stout man with dark hair. "These two dorks are like my brother, they are in Fairy Tail too!" Both Jet and Droy pouted at the mention of them being introduced as brothers. Levy had known that the two were in love with her but she did not reciprocate the same feelings they had for her. She loved the two men so much that she didn't want to jeopardize what she had with them already. They were friend zoned. Deep.
"Levy," Droy whined, " let's go check out what drinks Mira is serving at the bar." The two men possessively dragged Levy away, paying no attention to Gajeel.
Levy called over her shoulder flashing the most adorable smile Gajeel had seen; "see you later." And with that Levy was gone, enjoying her evening with her friends.
Gajeel didn't know why, but those two pissed him of immensely. Maybe it was the way they possessively wrapped their arms around her shoulders. Or maybe it was because Gajeel was secretly jealous it wasn't him next to her. Gajeel chided himself, he barely knew the girl yet there he was obsessing about her; and as far as Gajeel knew, innocent girls like her did not fall for cursed men like him.
Thank-you so much to those who have liked and followed this story. It would be super appreciated if people would leave reviews. I am having so much fun writing this and can't wait until we get to the juicy stuff. ;) i will try to update each week; I posted next weeks chapter today because I have finals coming up. Thanks for reading. Love you all.