Author's Note: Here's chapter four, with some competitive Zeref and Ajeel, as well as a commanding Mavis ;) Please leave a review, and enjoy~
Mavis stuffed her clothes in her gym locker, and slammed it shut. She waited impatiently with the rest of the girls in the gym locker-room for the teachers to tell them to come out. Finally, Mr. B. yelled for them to go, and the girls streamed out into the spacious gym. Ropes and other contraptions were wrapped up and hung from the rafters of the high ceiling, causing her to glance up at them every time she set foot in there. Mavis made her way to her assigned spot in the gym while other girls clumped together and chatted instead. She sighed; the girls of her grade never missed an opportunity to gossip, despite being scolded many times by the middle-aged P.E. teachers. She sat down on the dirty floor, wincing as she imagined the stains her just-cleaned gym shorts must be obtaining. Slowly, she let her vivid green orbs wander over the crowed as she leaned back on her hands. Mavis's eyes snapped towards one of the gym doors as it burst open, spilling out a mob of boys in their P.E. uniforms. Most of them were laughing loudly or talking animatedly, causing her to cringe at the noise they were making. She watched as the spread out, their laughs being amplified in the huge room. Her eyes rested in one boy in particular, and she felt her lips curve into a slight smile as she watched him joke and throw friendly punches with his friends. She looked on in appreciation; his uniform shirt clung to him like a second skin, not leaving much to be imagined. Through the thin white cotton, she could make out the dark areas where his tattoos resided. The shirt didn't cover his arms, and she could see the tattoo on his right bicep stretch and curve as he smacked his friend's head, the muscle underneath moving.
Mavis didn't realize she was staring until Mr. B.'s shrill whistle cut through the air, signalling the beginning of class. The students dispersed, breaking apart from each other as they went to their assigned spots. Once everyone had settled down and attendance done, Mr. B. announced the game they were playing.
"We're deciding to let you brats skip warm-up laps today," he began, his loud voice echoing across the gym, but was quickly drowned in the cheers of the students. He smiled, the edges of his eyes crinkling as he waited for them to die down. "Anyways, the game for today is bucket-ball." Once again, the students burst into excited whispers. Mavis smiled; she loved this game. She turned her attention back as the teacher reviewed the rules. They were pretty simple; two teams, and the goal was to get as many balls into the opposite team's bucket as possible, without getting hit. If you did, you had to do five push-ups to get back in.
When he finished, Mr. B. picked two students to be team captains- Zeref Dragneel and Ajeel Ramal. Mavis got up with everyone else and lined up against the wall as they began picking people to join their team. Slowly, the pair chose all the athletic boys, and moved on the most athletic girls. One by one, they were picked, when Mavis felt a pair of eyes on her. She saw Ajeel looking at her intently with his honey-brown eyes, his tanned arms crossed as he waited impatiently for Zeref to take his turn. Mavis saw Zeref glance over at his friend, and followed his gaze until he too was looking at the petite blonde. She felt her face grow hot under their stares, and it deepened as a wicked smile took over Zeref's features. "Mavis," he called.
Mavis blinked, the blush leaving her face as surprise claimed her for a moment. She blinked again, and made her way to where Zeref's team was standing.
Ajeel stared at her forlornly as she took her place. "Hey!" He yelled indignantly, turning his attention to Zeref as his dark brows pulled together in a frown. "I was gonna pick her!"
Zeref smiled at him cheekily. "I know," he smirked, his black eyes gleaming with mirth.
Ajeel glared at him. "Then why did you pick her if you knew that I wanted her?" He demanded.
"Because," he responded. "Mavis is a great player. I couldn't exactly let you have her, could I?" He drawled, raising an eyebrow and crossing his muscular arms.
Mavis could feel the heat rising to her cheeks as they argued over who got to have her on their team. More than one girl was looking at her jealously at Zeref's blatant compliment. Oh, God, she thought. Please don't make a big scene, she silently pleaded as more and more students looked at them curiously. The tanned captain huffed, annoyance written all over his face as he turned to pick someone else.
Soon, everyone was picked, and the teams went to their respective sides. They touched the wall, eyes focused on the stuffed balls that lined the halfway mark of the gym. At the blow of a whistle, all of the students rushed forward in attempt to get a ball. Almost immediately, the air was filled with colored balls and noise. Among the chaos, Mavis darted around, using her small form to her advantage as she wove between bodies. She saw a ball on the floor and snatched it up right away, lest someone take it. She took aim, and threw. Mavis watched in satisfaction as the purple ball landed in the garbage-sized bucket on the other side of the gym.
"Great job, Mavis!" A voiced called. She looked up to see Zeref grinning at her. "I knew you were good at this!" Mavis smiled and blushed, before scurrying away in search of another ball.
When the game finished, everyone sat and caught their breaths as the captains counted the ball in the bucket. Mavis watched as Zeref pulled one, two, three, four, five, six, seven balls from their team's bucket. She turned her attention to Ajeel, who began his own count. Her eyes widened when he finished; her team won eighteen to seven. Mavis smiled while she panted, amused at her teammates' enthusiasm and Ajeel's utter disappointment. She picked herself up and walked to where the moody teenager sulked. "Hey," she said softly, smiling up at him. "Good game."
Ajeel peered down at her, his wild spikes of dark brown hair pulled back with a bandana. "You beat us eighteen to seven," he stated flatly.
Mavis waved away the comment. "It doesn't matter who won," she replied. "What matters is that you guys tried hard. And I'm congratulating you for that."
"But we didn't win," he retorted, arms crossed. "Your team won. You alone scored six points."
Mavis sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll try to play on your team next time, but only if you stop sulking," she compromised. She watched in amusement as his entire demeanor changed, his features brightening as he beamed at her.
She let out a sound of surprise as he leaned down and hugged her tightly. "Thanks, Mavis!" He cried. Mavis stood surprised for a moment, but she relaxed and hugged him back, a smile adorning her face at his reaction.
A voice broke into their little sibling-like moment. "Don't get too excited, Ajeel. I plan on having Mavis on my team for the rest of the year," it said. The pair looked up the see Zeref standing nearby, a smirk on his face.
Ajeel released her, and jumped up to confront his friend. "Yeah right! Mavis is gonna be on my team next!" He yelled.
Zeref shook his head. "Not happening," he argued.
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
Mavis facepalmed at their childish behavior. "Boys!" She yelled sharply, using her vice-president voice to silence the bickering pair. They turned to her, surprise etched on their faces. "First off, we don't know if you two will even be captains next time. Secondly, we might not even be on the same team. So stop arguing!" She said, pinning them with a stern look.
Their reaction was almost comical. They looked at the ground sheepishly. "Sorry," they muttered.
Mavis nodded her head in satisfaction. "Good. Now go clean yourselves; you stink," she ordered. They boys mumbled their "okays," before turning to walk out of the gym. She looked after them, arms crossed.
Only when they left did Mavis feel hundreds of eyes on her; she looked up to see everyone staring at her in shock, mouths agape at the petite blonde who managed to humble two of the school's worst troublemakers with nothing more than a look and a couple words. Mavis glared at them "Quit staring!" She yelled. Everyone hurriedly averted their eyes and turned away, not eager to be on the receiving side of her piercing eyes and sharp tongue.
Once everyone had stopped ogling her, Mavis turned on her heel and made her way back to the girls locker room. She started a shower, because despite what she had told the boys, she didn't smell so good herself.