A/N: Sorry, I didn't proofread this, but I'll promise to do so from the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews, everyone!

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail is not owned by me.

The First Chapter

I shut my eyes, trying my best to ignore my surroundings. Normally I wouldn't do that, but today I just was not in the mood to listen to our English teacher drone on and on about things nobody really cared about. I didn't laugh with the rest of the class at Natsu's jokes, cringe whenever someone asked a dumb question, learn about how Laxus was the star of today's match, or just do anything at all. I simply shut my eyes.

I was never the kind of person who took rejections lightly. I didn't know why, but I just did not possess that strength. I went through a fair share of rejections before, so I should get used to it by now. It shouldn't hurt so damn much anymore, but it did and that just sucked.

Erza could have been the one. Hell, maybe she even was! I loved her, I knew I did. The only difference was that she didn't love me back.

I closed my fists in frustration. Did she really not love me? I mean, it couldn't have all been a lie, could it? Somewhere in the middle she probably loved me back too, as someone more than a friend, but I'm sure she just didn't realize it. My luck couldn't be that bad. I mean, yes, most of the times when I like someone it's really very one-sided, but with Erza too? I just didn't buy it.

The bell ringing caused me to open my eyes, as I grabbed my schoolbag and left the classroom along with everyone else. I kept walking quite absentmindedly, until I suddenly froze upon seeing someone. Her.

She looked so amazing. Everything about her just drove me crazy. The way she smiled, the way she interacted with people, the way she always put others' needs before her own. She was beautiful both in her appearance and personality. But her thoughts on me probably were not the same.

Gathering what strength I had, I left that area immediately before she noticed me. She just looked so happy. Chatting with her friends, occasionally pulling a strand of her scarlet hair behind her ears, laughing about the day. I didn't want her laughter to stop and those eyes to look at me with guilt. No, I knew better than that. Letting Erza be was hard but for the best. I didn't even realize how fast I was walking till a voice called me from behind.

"Yo, Fernandes!"

I stopped in my tracks to turn around. The voice came from across the campus, in the benches of our football field not far away. There I spotted a raven haired boy casually laying on a bench. Gray Fullbuster, I mentally recognized and somewhat grimaced.

Gray kind of had a bad reputation going on in our grade. I didn't keep track of the social lives of people in our class, but judging from the very little I knew, Gray Fullbuster wasn't exactly a person I'd like to be seen around with. Yet, when he motioned at me to come to him, I followed out of pure curiosity.

"Gray," I addressed once I got to him.

"How's it going?" he asked.

"Not good," I honestly said. I was in a pretty bad mood right now where pretending to be fine came of no use.

"Yeah, I heard."

"Huh?" By this point, I was quite confused. "Heard about what?"

"About that Scarlet chick breaking your heart," he told me. Right now I was in a mixture of feelings. A part inside me felt anger at him addressing Erza as 'that Scarlet chick', while another part felt hurt towards her. Did she go around bragging about rejecting me? Was that what she was laughing about with her friends? Me? I mean, what, was this some kind of an achievement?

"How did you hear?" I asked him.

"Word's been going around, Fernandes. Not just this, people know about your previous rejections too. I guess you were the one who never had an idea," he suggested.

I hesitantly nodded, since I always thought nobody knew about the times I got rejected. Now that I made a new discovery, I started feeling quite self-conscious. Maybe the rejections which followed after the first ones were because people had heard things.

"But I'm pretty sure you didn't call me to show sympathy," I said. "Cut to the chase, Gray."

"Right to the point?"

"Yes."

"Okay then," he said, sitting up a bit straight now. "I bet you really hate her, Fernandes."

"I don't hate Erza."

"I know you do, you just don't want to admit it."

"I already told you, I don't hate her."

"Oh yeah? So you don't hate how she broke your heart and isn't the least bit affected? You don't hate how she doesn't feel the same feelings you feel for her? You don't hate how she can't just darn see that you're the one for her? You don't hate any of it? Come on, is that really what you're telling me now?"

I paused for a while. Since when did Gray get so insightful? I didn't really know he understood these things. And now that I thought about it, I kind of did hate her for those things. Why couldn't she just see that I loved her? Was it really so hard?

"I– um, I don– uh–" I was left at a loss of words, not really knowing what to say ahead. "I guess I... yeah, maybe. I kind of... do hate her... for those things."

"Told you," Gray said, giving me a smug expression which kind of boiled my anger.

"But," I raised my voice, "what's it to you?"

He sighed, and then leaned back against the bench, putting him arms behind his head. He closed his eyes and spoke, "nothing, really. I mean, I couldn't care less about your heartbreaks, Fernandes. But recently I just feel a little... well, kind."

"Kind?"

"Yes, kind. Which is why I have decided to be kind to you."

"How so?"

He cracked open an eye, and smiled, "by helping you get revenge, of course."

"Re– what?!" I was pretty confused at this point. This guy just kept getting weirder. His words made no sense to me as they suddenly switched directions.

"Let me explain," he straightened up, clearing his throat. "You hate Erza, we've got that clear. Which means you hate the other girls who broke your heart before, too. Don't even try denying it, Fernandes."

And I don't know why, but I didn't. He stared at me like he expected me to give an effort, but I simply motioned him to continue which most likely pleased him.

He smirked, "There. Well, now we know you hate these people very much. So, why don't you just... get revenge on them?"

"Revenge?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Revenge; payback. They broke your heart, now it's your turn; you'll break theirs."

"But... why?" I asked, to which he looked shocked.

"Why?" he repeated. "Don't you want them to suffer like you did? Get what they deserve for hurting you?"

"They didn't want me, so they rejected. I mean, I cannot force them to like me."

"You won't. You'll just give them a taste of their own medicine. They've been inconsiderate, why not show them that?"

"Bu–" I stopped myself, thinking over his words. You know what? He's right. They've all been so inconsiderate to me. They pitied me, toyed with me. How dare they? I can't... It... It won't hurt to let them... understand what it feels like, will it? I think it's safe.

I was in pain and I couldn't think right. It was probably the situation which made my dark side take over as I uttered those next words, "...Okay, how?"

Gray smirked once again. "That's more like it," he said before slowly getting up, stretching, and then grabbing his bag. "You meet me here tomorrow, Fernandes. Third Period."

With that, he started to leave. I shouted behind him, "HEY! But... I have class third period!"

"Ditch it," he yelled back.

"I've never bunked a class before," I admitted.

He stopped dead in his tracks, then slowly turned, a small smile curving on his lips, "Well, Fernandes, they say... there's a first time for everything."