Chapter 4: The Next Step

Gajeel had heard Shrimp's friend. His mind immediately began to go 100 mph. 'Was she really talking about me?' He thought, not sure what to think. He was sure of one thing though, the thought of her liking him made him feel... happy. Juvia, now looking back at him, noticed his slightly reddened face and raised a brow.

Feeling eyes upon him, he turned his head slowly, noticing that not only Juvia, but Gray and Natsu, who had been standing near them this whole time, were now staring at him. Juvia, though, seemed relatively angry.

'Ah, shit.' Was his initial thought as she grabbed hold of his arm.

"Juvia needs to speak to Gajeel this very second!" The darker blue haired girl announced as she pulled him into an empty classroom, closing the door behind them.

"What have you been hiding from Juvia?!" The girl puffed out her cheeks, rather upset that her longtime friend hadn't told her about his new girlfriend (crush).

"I haven't been hiding anything." Gajeel said calmly, trying to get out of this in one piece.

"Well then what was that?!" She continued, "Juvia and Gajeel have a pact! We are supposed to tell each other everything, even the little things." Juvia was feeling betrayed, even though she really had no reasons to. His girlfriend (crush) was his and had nothing to do with her, but she really abided by their pact and didn't want to taint it.

"Look, it's nothing. I barely know her. We've only talked a few times…" He tried staying chill. He didn't want to blurt out anything that would make her imagination run wild. Even though, he was pretty sure it already had.

Juvia took a deep breath. She didn't want to make him angry for nothing but she did want to know the truth.

"You like her, do you not?" Juvia asked bluntly causing Gajeel to become flushed. When he thought about it like that he wasn't sure what to think. He had never really had a major crush and the way his feelings for her had blossomed so quickly without really knowing her, Gajeel didn't know which way was up. But, he knew one thing for certain, "Yes, I like her."

Juvia grinned, squealing with glee. "Gajeel finally has a girlfriend! Juvia is so excited, you must let me meet her!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, knowing from the start that her mind would go there. "She isn't my girlfriend! We barely know each other… Not to say I don't want to get to know her, just saying that she isn't my girlfriend, damn it…" He tried defending himself to the best of his ability but his best friend was already lost in her own wonderland with thoughts of her very own.

"C'mon, let's go to class. The bell's about to ring." Snapping out of her daze, Juvia followed her best friend out the door and to their first class.

The first half of the day went rather quickly. Lunchtime had finally come which meant the pressure was on. Juvia hadn't stopped talking about Gajeel's crush since she found out. She had sent countless notes during the classes they had together and texts during the ones they didn't. Now, she knew everything that he did about Levy. His over-imaginative best friend was now ready to meet her and would do anything to do such.

"Juvia's going to go over to her table to say hi." She told Gajeel as they entered the lunchroom.

"Juvia, the fuck, hell no!" The tall, dark haired boy tried pulling his friend back but it was too late. She pulled herself through his strength and made it to the table that held, Levy, Lucy, and Natsu. Feeling completely embarrassed, he tried not to make any eye contact with any of the members at that table. Juvia smiled and said, "Hi there! I'm Juvia and I just wanted to introduce myself to Gajeel's new girlfriend."

Immediately Natsu spit out his juice and Lucy almost choked on her food while Levy sat there in a dumbfounded state. Face palming harder than usual, Gajeel ran over to Juvia and grabbed her by both arms not caring if she dropped her food. Pulling her away without saying a word.

The three members at the lunch table were flabbergasted as they watched the two walk out of the lunchroom and onto the patio.

Gajeel stared at his best friend with much anger in his eyes. "What. The. Fuck. Was That?" He asked, ready to blow up in her face.

"Juvia's sorry! Gajeel knows Juvia can get carried away sometimes. Juvia promises it won't happen again."

"Ya damn right it won't. You cannot talk to her unless we are together and have made a full script on whatever it is you're going to say! How can your imagination just run wild like that?!" Gajeel was so infuriated but seeing how hurt Juvia was, he couldn't find it in himself to stay mad at her. "I'm sorry I snapped on you, just think before you speak next time…"

The darker blue haired girl nodded coyly as they finally sat to eat lunch. A couple minutes before the bell, Levy came outside to find Gajeel.

"Uh, Juvia thinks she will go now. See you later Gajeel." His longtime friend smiled, waving slightly at Levy before throwing out her plate and walking away from the them.

The two sat in silence long enough for the bell to ring for the next class. "Uh, hey I'm sorry about Juvia. She has a wild imagination and a fast mouth." Gajeel admitted, not moving from the lunch table even though he had heard the bell. Levy, equally ignoring the bell, smiled, "It's alright. It was rather alarming but it wasn't really a big deal." They sat in silence a little longer before Gajeel decided to man up and ask her out.

"Hey…" The two ended up saying in unison. "Uh, you go first." He said as the anxiety of the question he wanted ask started to build.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to walk with me to class…" The petite girl asked ever so timidly.

"That sounds like a plan." They both grinned, Levy more than Gajeel. The two got up and began walking toward the classroom. "This is probably the first time I've ever been late to class." She admitted, a bit embarrassed by her good girl image.

"Can't say the same for me." He joked, trying to make her laugh. He succeeded. They got to the door of her classroom and before Gajeel let her enter her class, he finally spoke up, "Hey, would you, uh, like to go out with me…?" The usually confident and cool guy image fell as he asked her, feeling pretty shy and vulnerable for the first time almost ever. Levy's heart was beating faster than ever but she was jumping for glee inside.

"You mean like a date?" She asked just to clarify. He nodded, "Yea, like a date."

Her grin was brighter than ever. "Yes, I would love to." Once she had replied, he grinned alongside her as his heart began beating as fast as hers. "Alright, great. Friday sound good." The dark haired boy more so declared than asked.

"Friday sounds great." The blunette agreed.

"Awesome. Friday then." He reassured.

"Okay." Both of them didn't know what to do or how to respond and before they knew it, the tardy bell had rung. Honestly, neither of them cared at that moment. Finally saying their goodbyes, they went their separate ways, both having permanent smiles on their faces for the rest of that day.

This chapter came out of me really quick. I was feeling inspired and I hope you all enjoy! RxR