A puzzled Lucy was being dragged by Mirajane into the guild. The white-haired barmaid was usually so fond of gossips and yet she unexpectedly pulled Lucy out of a girl-talk instead of joining in. Her favorite topic these days was Levy and Gajeel and their frustratingly dense yet adorable flirting. It was such a big fuss right now that a betting poll had been created, hosted by Cana. Lucy wanted to tell Levy-chan about it but she couldn't really see how it would benefit her to know that her friends were once again going overboard with their tease and games. It would only embarrass her and nothing could possibly undo Cana's betting business. Levy just had the bad luck of catching their attention this month. The only thing Lucy could do out of solidarity was not participating.

The blond mage sighed and imagined that Mira wanted to involve her into her scheming. After all, the barmaid had bet that GaLe would be canon, following the Spring Festival, which explained her pushiness this morning and if the new rumors of Levy's new suitor were true, it would interfere with her bet. Lucy was always impressed by her best friend, always being so patient and composed despite having such troublesome guildmates. Maybe the fact that she lived with them since she was a little kid had helped thicken her skin. As for Lucy, it still made her lose her cool when they were being too much...well, for too long.

Right now, she was just feeling annoyed. She wanted to know what Levy-chan was about to tell her. She was about to make some sense out of this baseless rumor about her having a "mysterious hot date". Strangely enough, it connected with something else that had happened earlier. It made her think of their little payback joke about a secret crush to get them off Levy's back. How strange that a twist of faith had made it seem like their fake secret was actually true. What was up with that new guy, coming out of nowhere? Levy said she wasn't even interested so why was everyone making a fuss as if it was true? Yet they should know better, especially with their dumb bet. How could they change their minds so fast?

"...So long story short, don't jeopardize anything, okay?"

Lucy snapped out of her thoughts. She hadn't realized that Mira was talking to her. She was so engrossed in her own pondering that she completely disconnected, just like when she's writing.

The thoughtful move would have been to agree and figure out the deal along the rest of the conversation, acting like she wanted some precisions, but being as dumbfounded as Lucy was, she only managed to say:

"Jeopardize? Who? How? ...Whaaaaaat?"

Along the way Mirajane had let go of Lucy's arm. She was now several feet ahead of her blond friend. She turned around. Pinching the bridge of her nose and half-closed eyes, Mira let out a sharp sigh. She then looked up, her eyes being dead-serious.

"Please, don't go gossiping with Levy. I'll explain everything to you after the Festival."

This, explaining nothing at all, Lucy asked again:

"What? Why?"

"Please, just trust me. It's for the best."

"Says the girl who's visibly scheming something suspicious," said Lucy.

Regular thuds echoed on the first floor. Someone was coming their way. Lucy was at the bottom of the stairs and saw a tall guy, coming down. It took her a moment to get a good view of the guy as she had forgotten to put her lenses today. She squeezed her eyes, giving her a suspecting expression. His features finally aligned and before his handsome face, Lucy gaped.

"Oh. My. God. Nathaniel? I mean, you're L...?"

As quickly as the lightening, Mira came back near Lucy and covered her mouth with her hand. She welcomed the newcomer with a nod.

"Yes, yes, he's Levy-chan's new admirer and more than probably current date."

Combing back his caramel-coloured hair into an intended neglected hairstyle, a casual gesture that made him look at his best, showing off his sculptured body through the thin fabric of his shirt, he smiled at the girls. His charm was subtle enough to make Lucy wonder if she was just very focused on his handsomeness rather than him straight out showing off. Surprise shook off her previous train of thoughts and left her astonished and speechless.

"Those are dangerous assumptions, miss, as they do raise my expectations and might end up in broken hopes.

This time, louder thuds resonated in the hall and Gajeel slid down the stairs' rail, a book in hand. Ignoring his arrival, Mira said to Nathaniel, letting go of Lucy:

"Silly boy. Yes, our sweet Levy has many fans but, unfortunately, no suitor brave enough to actually ask her out. Oh, hey Gajeel."

The Iron Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes, annoyed by the lack of subtly of people, and turned away from her. He held out the book to Nathaniel.

"Obtuse is a fancy word for dumb, if you're still looking for one."

Nat tilted back his head and let out an amused snort. Mira, interested, looked both alternatively, as if she was expecting a show and even Lucy thought that there might be a confrontation that could spark between the two men. My, Levy really was popular.

The elegant man took the book and held his rival's gaze a second too long, turning the ambiance slightly awkward. Breaking the tensed silence, he thanked Gajeel:

"Very appreciated. I must admit my thoughts are agreeably filled at the moment and make me forgetful at times. I bid you three farewell. Dear Levy is waiting for me and this book so I should be on my way."

Mira briefly waved. He then left behind the three guildmates behind and exited by the backdoor. Gajeel turned back to the girls and apostrophised Lucy, still staring off into space.

"Oi, Blondie, why did you let Shorty alone? She's injured."

Lucy came back into reality. Maybe she lacked sleep because she couldn't seem to stay concentrated.

"N-no, I don't think so but she's still waiting for you."

"Ok. Still, better safe than sorry. I didn't find any bandage in the infirmary room. Can one of you tell me where I could find some?"

"Probably in the backstore of the bar. With all the brawls occurring, we moved the bandage downstairs."

Gajeel nodded to the logic of the statement.

"Also, She-Devil, what's the address of the girl you talked about last week?"

Mira came him a knowingly look and smirked. For the blond woman, the Dragon Slayer's demand came like a slap. She put her hand on Lucy's shoulder and asked her:

"Lucy-chan, could you in the meanwhile fetch the bandages for Gajeel?" she asked before turning to Gajeel with a now a smug face on. "So in the end, you grew enough balls to ask."

"If nagging is the only thing I'll get from you, I'll manage on my own."

"No, no, wait!" said Mira. "I have her number somewhere."

The barmaid started rummaging in her things behind the bar counter. Lucy couldn't believe the conversation she was witnessing. There had been a spark between Levy-chan and Gajeel one hour ago. Why ask for some girl's number all of the sudden? A random girl introduced by Mira, at that. Why would Mira do that? Not only was she crazy for GaLe but she would never go and hurt Levy-chan, whom she viewed as a little sister.

Then it hit her. Wasn't there a tension between the two guys over Levy just now? Then what was Gajeel doing? Did he simply give up because his rival was handsome and posed more serious threat than Levy's usual suitors? Was it all it took for him to move on? She doubted it. She saw how he looked at her blue-haired friend. It was obvious for everyone except for those two dense love struck dorks.

Then, what the hell was going on? It came in total contradiction to what the gossip-loving barmaid would do. Things made less and less sense to poor Lucy. There was no logical explanation for it. The only thing she was sure of was that she couldn't let Gajeel ruin his life. She had to intervene for Levy's sake.

"Gajeel... You can't be serious. Think about Levy-chan..."

What Lucy meant was "You can't be serious about chasing another girl just because of a new rival. Think about Levy-chan and how you two are so obviously in love with one and another." She didn't say that in those exact terms, as she considered it wasn't her right to deliver her best friend's feelings to him in her stance.

However, if she hadn't let such nuance or details interfere and prevent her from clearly verbalizing her concerns, Gajeel wouldn't have understood it as "You can't be serious about interfering. Think about Levy-chan and step down. She has finally found someone worthy of her." He did think that the blonde knew that he was going to the ball and was going to ask Levy out. Lucy, however (and logically) did not know.

This gray zone let him to think the harshest possibility since he was often quite hard on himself and, therefore, always saw the meaning that would try to keep him away from the girl he liked but didn't think he "deserved".

Unfortunately, communication is tricky. Words are mysterious spells that never have quite the same effect each time they're casted, as the aura of nuance blurs their true shape. Besides, many things can and are left untold. In all this confusing maelstrom, interpretation catches what it can.

Quiproquos can be frown upon in books but emotions too often get in the way and there's little to do about it but to accept it and move on forward. Even here, the reader can struggle to see who misinterpretate first and who has left too much unsaid. All he or she can see are Gajeel and Lucy getting more entangled in a vast quiproquo as he interrupted curtly her:

"Stay out of my business. I know what I'm doing."

Once again, if Gajeel wasn't so econome about his words, maybe would Lucy have caught that he wasn't meaning that he knew that it would hurt Levy if he was seeing with another girl, but rather that he had a plan to keep her away from an untrustworthy guy. Lucy was no mind reader and was taken aback by what she considered a douchebag attitude. She wanted to express her indignation but before she could do so, Mira, having found the number but seeing that Lucy hadn't done her "part", reminded the girl of the query. Reluctant, the blond-haired woman went to the backstore, not without glaring the Iron Dragon Slayer beforehand. Lucy wasn't done, but neither did Gajeel know or care about it. He had much to do and all his attention was focused towards his new goal. Once she was out of sight, Mira said, a bit too mischievously:

"I'm sure you will be happy to have reconsidered this."

Outlining his actions' course in his head, Gajeel absentmindedly brushed off her statement with his hand, as if her voice disturbed the making of his carefully crafted plan. Not the least offended, she held out the paper on which the number was scribbled on. He took it and gave her a vague "thanks". He didn't notice the enigmatic because seemingly satisfied smile that Mira wore. It would have rose questions but he was already pulling his lacrima phone from his pocket and dialing the number. After a brief exchange, a meeting was arranged and he hung up. At the same time, Lucy was coming back with disinfectant and bandages. In a hurry, he snatched them, thanked again and left, not seeing the displeased blond-haired woman and not hearing the start of a rant that begun as such: "Is he for real? How rude! But is he letting himself get discouraged and give up simply because a famous guy has a crush on Levy? ..."

Not only was his vision in tunnel mode, but all his senses. Gajeel didn't even acknowledge Nathaniel passing by with a ladder in his hand nor did he notice the guy's amused look.

Levy was sitting on the outside stage, legs stretched and eyes looking up at the starry sky. Visibly daydreaming, she seemed peaceful. Imperceptibly, Gajeel had slowed down, not wanting to disturb her pensiveness. He often saw her like that, lost in her mind, a book resting on her legs. Her beauty was highlighted in her stillness and he could have starred at her for hours. Unfortunately, doing such a thing is frown upon by societal norms and decency, he reminded himself.

Still he was absorbed by the view of her and didn't see the leveling of the stage and therefore tripped on it. The stud and the brief curse startled the petite mage. Gajeel would have slapped himself. Such a foolish entrance. Way to look cool in front of her, metalhead, scolded mentally Gajeel to his unusual clumsiness.

Levy stood up in a swift move and hurried to his side.

"Are you alright? Are you dizzy from your injury?" she asked.

Before he could brush off her concerns, she gently took his face between her hands and pulled it closer, examining him, or rather the little injury he had on the forehead. He held his breath, bewildered by the sudden closeness. He felt his face heat-up and his heart beating furiously against his ribcage. She brushed his hair off his forehead. All he could feel was the softness of her hands on his face and all he could see was her cherry red lips. Feeling conscious about his behavior, he freed his head, looking away. Here again, misinterpretation made his way and did his thing.

Realizing how bold and, in this case, invasive she had been, Levy agitated her hands and apologized profusely. He grasped why she was suddenly nervous and didn't know how to make her understand that he hadn't been annoyed or displeased, but rather because he didn't want her to see him as a blushing mess, without confessing clearly his feelings. Embarrassed by her distress, he said with his natural tact:

"Why the hell you apologize for?"

"I-I didn't mean to get in your personal space. Sorry…"

The message hadn't come across her. He re-tried.

"Don't overthink it, Shorty. It takes more than a scratch to knock me down."

"B-but I could have sworn you had a fever. You were burning up."

Obviously, he couldn't say that it was because of her closeness that his heart nearly burst out of his chest. He chose a different explanation.

"I'm naturally hot."

If he said one more stupidity, he swore he would punch a hole in the wall with his good-for-nothing head of his. Levy looked at him, bemused, and her features softened with a fond smile. She held back her nod of approval. Too much boldness in one day wouldn't make any good for her over-thinking brain.

"Your ankle seems fine," added quickly Gajeel, changing subject, wanting to divert the attention from the fool he made out of himself.

Startled because lost in her thoughts, Levy looked down on her own legs; as if she wanted to confirm what he had just implied.

"Ah, yes. Sorry, you went for nothing to the infirmary."

"No problem. It was my fault in the first place. Knocking that stupid ladder, I mean," Gajeel felt the need to clarify.

"You caught me. So, everything is okay."

A long silence followed. They just stood there, looking at each other. It wasn't awkward but a certain anticipation hung in the air. Each unconsciously was waiting for the other to comment on it, to take a step forward, to offer an opening. From an outside perspective, they seemed to look at each other with hope and love.

Suddenly, a flash of realization came across Gajeel's face, pulling him back into reality.

"Gotta go, but glad you ain't hurt. Good night!"

"Oh…" she whispered before speaking up, masking her faint disappointment. "Yeah. Good night. See you tomorrow…?"

Her farewell had shifted into a question. They usually saw each other at the guild, practically every day, but tomorrow it was Spring Festival. And the ball. It was known that Gajeel liked neither. Levy didn't have high expectations but their recent conversation made her wonder nonetheless. Was he going to turn up tomorrow after all? The Dragon Slayer had already jogged a few meters but turned around and jogged backwards. Being farther gave him a bit of courage and he said:

"Yeah. Look forward to it, because you're up for a surprise."

He faintly smirked, said goodbye again and went on running to wherever he needed to go. A surprise? If she wasn't waiting for Nathaniel back, Levy would have run after him. She didn't like to be kept in the dark even if it was well-intentioned. When he was out of sight, she already had come up with 23 different possibilities of what this "surprise" could be. Most of them were wild hopes and she chased them away. Her overly-fed imagination was a double-edged sword. She wondered if she would manage to sleep tonight… Damn, why had he said that just as he was leaving? She had to come back at him. What a tease! But just for an evening, she could let herself believe that he was coming to the ball and that maybe they could dance together…

Her gaze up in the stars and her guards down, Levy didn't feel the presence creep behind her until a blade was pressed against her throat and an arm firmly immobilizing her. The bluenette tensed. She couldn't see the features of her assaulter as a large hood hid her, but the body pressed against her back was indubitably female.

"I'm warning you once. I've been following you for a week now and so I know. I saw how you look at him and how you long for him. But, he's mine. Stay away from the man I love or else your friend might have an... accident," hissed the hooded woman.

Levy had waited for her assaulter to divulge her intentions or motives before knocking her down. Her body moved on its own, remembering the self-defense moves it had so often practiced. First, she lifted slightly her stronger leg, the right one, for a momentum and, with her heel, struck the toes. The woman cursed, but as she let go of Levy, she pushed her on the ground. A good reflex, because the bluenette's next hit was going to be in her stomach with the elbow. Though she doubted that the hooded woman wanted to kidnap her, she couldn't let her get away. Quickly, she was back on her feet, but the woman had already vanished. Her eyes darted in all directions, ready to defense herself at any given moment. She was really gone. But how did she do? Either her magic had to do with speed, with teleportation or even with illusions.

Adrenaline had rushed through her veins but was now slowly fading away. Her breath were shaky as well as her legs. She dropped on the ground. It wasn't the first time she got attacked. Being a mage (plus, being part of Fairy Tail) wasn't a walk in the park. It was dangerous but she was fit and ready to fight since she was 10 years old and a bit more each year.

However, the reason hit a core. It was not work-related. It was personal and it horrified her. It had to do with Gajeel. The woman had waited for Gajeel to leave Levy alone before assaulting her. A girl had threatened Levy over Gajeel and even wanted to involve Nathaniel into this. A girl she never heard about before. A girl that seemed possessive, jealous and seriously dangerous.

The girl had followed her a whole week and she hadn't notice. Not only was it a scary thought, but it was also foolish, as a Fairy Tail mage, to not be more alert. She knew there was currently a stalking problem in Magnolia and should have act accordingly. Wait. What if this incident was linked with what just happened? She should investigate. But, now she had less than 10 hours before the day in which she must complete the mission with Nathaniel, do the daily chores at the guild, help with the preparation for the Festival and the ball she was not ready for and Gajeel's surprise... Wait...Was his surprise...this girl? Was he going to present her his new (or soon-to-be) girlfriend? This same girl friend who just came to take "claim" in the most disturbing way possible? It couldn't be that…could it?

Burying her face in her hands, Levy felt distressed. What was she supposed to do now?

Author's note: Yeah, succeeded to post this chapter within a month (or so) from the previous :D Getting a bit more constant!

So, this chapter is a bit different, but I wanted to experience:) Don't hesitate to criticize (grammar, syntax, plot, portrayal), I'm always super happy to receive a comment (they motivate me!)~

See you soon

P.S: Obviously, I still do not own FT and its characters^^