Fairy High

Chapter 6

A Shot to the Heart

"You guys were amazing!" Levy sang from the crush of bodies hugging around her. "And I can't breathe anymore, so if you wanna step back, that'd be good!"

The cheerleading squad stepped back to give Levy just enough time to enjoy the respite before Droy barrelled into her and she had to repeat herself.

"I was so worried!" Droy wept, tears flowing down his face. "Seeing what that beast did to Jet makes it all the worse!"

"No!" Levy cried, trying to pry him off. "It wasn't Gajeel who did this!"

"What did you say?" Lucy asked, her face contorting into an expression of confusion as she held Loke at arm's length. "You said that he was the one who attacked you before!"

"I was scared and shocked, Lu-chan! The more and more I remember the attack, the more sure I am that it wasn't him. The other man had much colder eyes, but I'm not sure who it was."

"You're wrong," Droy stated firmly. "He attacked Jet today, to prove that he had done it. You're just confusing yourself."

"I am not!" Levy retorted, puffing out her cheeks in an adorable gesture of annoyance. "I know Gajeel; he is my friend and I trust him."

The statement was met by silence from the cheerleaders. How could Levy call that brute a friend? They couldn't be any more different. Cana looked around, her expression souring. "If he's so innocent, where has he gone?"

===][===

Gajeel had seen Jose leave the stadium in a hurry. He knew where the principal would be heading and went straight there, tearing off his bulky armour to just his undershirt. His heavy footsteps pounded on the pavements as he headed for his school.

It was late at night now and Phantom High was deserted. So the unlocked front gate confirmed his suspicions. He drew a line through the campus to the main building that housed Jose's office and entered through the now unlocked door. He went up the stairs to the second floor, following the light pouring out of the open office door.

"Damn it!" Jose cried, rifling through a mound of paperwork on his desk. "How is this possible!? I have to get out of here!"

"That's what happens when you owe a lot of money," Gajeel stated, entering the office.

"You!" Jose barked. "How dare you show your face around here, you little piece of shit!? You've ruined everything with your failure. Have you any idea how much money was riding on that game?"

"Dunno," Gajeel shrugged. "But the sort of circles scum like you go in probably aren't full of nice people. I bet your friends will want their money back. And won't mind breaking a few legs as collateral."

"You think this is funny?" Jose hissed. "I can end you, just like that. You'll never have any form of education. You'll spend your worthless existence as a burger flipper before you finally work up the courage to end your pitiful life."

"No. I'm going further," Gajeel stated. "You, on the other hand, can't doctor any records if I break every bone in your fingers."

The sound of the gun firing made the world seem to cease. Jose had drawn it so swiftly from his desk drawer that Gajeel hadn't the time to react. He looked down dumbly at the red mark in his chest before his legs gave out and the floor rose to greet him harshly. His heart pounded in his ears, the universe shrinking around him as his consciousness began to fail. Jose stood over him smugly.

"What a shame, Gajeel-chan! No-one knows that we are here! I can flee this wretched hellhole of a country and start up a life somewhere much nicer. You, you will bleed to death here."

"N-no," Gajeel gasped. Was this it? It was true; no one knew he was here. There was no help coming. No. No! He had to do something! His arm reached out, trying to support his weight, but instantly collapsed. His strength was gone. There was no chance. He was dead. His ears were ringing, a constant wail… like the sirens on a police car.

"What!?" Jose snapped, running to the window as blue and red lights strobed through the windows. He ran to the door, and the second he got there an elbow slammed into his face, breaking his nose. His assailant pushed through the doorway, expertly disarming with a violent wrench. Jose had enough time to snarl angrily before repeated blows took him to the side of the head, sending him to the floor.

"Gihi… you glorious… son of a bitch," Gajeel muttered before he passed out.

"Just hang on," Bacchus said, kneeling over him. "The paramedics are on their way."

===][===

Loke grumbled as he pulled up outside the school. He'd had a busy day of being a chauffeur and it didn't look like it was over yet. He had three girls in the back. Along with Lucy and Levy, he'd picked up a brunette called Cana. Apparently her father had called and needed her to come over, something about Bacchus and Gajeel. Lucy had offered his services and here they were.

Phantom high looked like a crime scene all right. There were police cars everywhere, along with one ambulance. Loke watched as Levy ambled over there with Lucy's support. Cana ran off to confront a tall policeman.

"Dad!" Cana shouted. "What's going on? What's happened to Bacchus?"

"He's fine," Gildartz reassured her. "But right now, he's sitting in the back of my squad car. This is a hell of a tangled mess that he's gotten wrapped up in." He grinned lopsidedly. "Not how I expected to meet your boyfriend, I'll tell you that."

"What's going on?" Cana reiterated, trying to ignore the last comment.

"Your boyfriend gave us a call a few minutes ago. Said that there was going to be some kind of violence going down here and also ordered an ambulance. His quick thinking might have just saved that boy's life."

"That's Gajeel. He was the one who attacked Levy… though she's changed her story since."

"It would be odd for her to rush to her attacker's side," Gildartz agreed, watching the other two girls reach the ambulance. "I'm not in a position to question either of them at the moment though. And now we've also got Jose Porlia implicated… this is going to be a nightmare to get to the bottom of. We'll have to question your boyfriend too."

"But Bacchus hasn't done anything wrong!"

"We found him in the office with a smoking gun, a badly beaten Jose, a shot Gajeel and more alcohol than any seventeen year old should be carrying on them. He's certainly got a lot of explaining to do. But the fact that he called us should stand well in his favour." Gildartz placed his hands on her shoulders. "Go home and rest, Cana. I promise you that we'll get to the bottom of all of this."

===][===

"Gajeel!" Levy cried, running up to the ambulance. She couldn't see him properly from the ground, elevated on the gurney in the back of the vehicle.

"You family? We gotta go!" The paramedic working over him said quickly. Levy was about to explain when Lucy shoved her forward onto the ambulance saying that she was his little sister and whispering that Levy would thank her later. As Levy stood up on the decking, she gasped to see Gajeel so pale, his chest bared and wound clearly visible.

The driver slammed the door shut and she had to fight to maintain her footing as the ambulance began to speed towards the hospital. Not easy with her injured legs.

"Gajeel," she whispered so quietly that no one heard her.

"He's unconscious," the paramedic surmised. "We've done everything we can to stabilise him, but we have to get him to the hospital now."

Levy felt so helpless to watch him lay there, his chest rising and falling shallowly. She'd never thought that she could see the strong man look so vulnerable, so weak. Why had he run off after Jose by himself? Why couldn't he just ask for some help?

After what felt like eternity, they arrived at the hospital, piling out of the vehicle to be greeted by a gaggle of nurses and doctors. Levy tried to keep up with them, but her legs were aching and she'd left her walking stick behind. A nurse kindly led her away to a waiting room. She stayed there for a few minutes before someone else was wheeled by on a gurney and she went after him.

"Jet!" She cried, grabbing his attention. He smiled, looking a little out of it on pain killers. She tried to hobble along next to him. "How are you?"

"Ah, doc says I'll be fine. A hairline fracture. I'll get a cast, a couple of weeks R and R and I'll back good as new! Hey… have I told you how pretty you are?"

"Not now, Jet. You're a little lightheaded," Levy replied kindly.

"No, I mean it," Jet said, looking a bit confused, as if it was obvious. Levy slowed, allowing the porter pushing him to get away from her rather than continue the conversation. This was getting a bit confusing for her. She went back to the waiting room, trying not to think about Gajeel.

She wasn't very good at it.

===][===

"Not wild at all," Bacchus grumbled. He was sitting in a holding cell at the precinct, cross-legged on the simple bed, which was pretty much a raised platform with no padding. When he'd seen Gajeel and Jose leave the stadium, he hadn't hesitated at all. He knew the stubborn Gajeel would get in over his head and had instantly called the police. He'd kind of forgotten the detail of Cana's father.

The cell door banged open and Cana marched in, now dressed in more appropriate clothing. Bacchus could imagine the catcalls her uniform would elicit here.

"Oi! Are you going to tell me what's going on here?" Cana demanded. "I don't know anything!"

"I was trying to do a good thing," Bacchus groused. "It doesn't feel like it though. I'm being treated like a criminal."

"You idiot!" Cana snapped. "You're a minor found in possession of alcohol and charged with violent assault! You are a criminal!"

"I was trying to stop him from getting away and shooting me in the process!" Bacchus shouted, swaying to his feet. He was clearly wound up. "Gajeel was dying! I did what I could to help him! Why is no one focussing on that? I thought your school didn't turn its back on its friends!"

"Gajeel is no friend of ours! He is a violent thug who hurt Levy and broke Jet's leg!"

"No he didn't!" Bacchus snarled. "Well, yes he broke that guy's leg, but if you just took a minute to look beyond that exterior, you'd see that he's better than that!"

Cana threw her hands up in disgust. "I thought I understood you. Apparently, I was wrong."

"What are you saying?" Bacchus asked, his eyes flaring with sudden concern.

"I'm saying that we're done. I'm out of here." As Cana turned to leave, Bacchus gestured helplessly for her to stay, but to no avail. The door slammed shut, leaving him alone in his temporary prison. He slouched back down onto the bench.

"Lord, I want a drink right about now."

===][===

His eyes opened slowly, looking up at dreary tiles coming slowly into focus as his eyes adjusted. Gajeel groaned, feeling pain in his head like a jackhammer. How long had he been unconscious? Slowly, the memories flooded back to him and he remembered the gun firing. He started, staring down at himself. He very briefly noticed the gauze wrapping his wound, but instantly his attention swung to the right where Levy's head lay against his bed, snoring like a little kitten. The cuteness was so anathema to his current situation that he almost burst out laughing. The roaring pain in his chest convinced him that this was a bad idea.

Why was she here? Shouldn't she be back at the game, celebrating with her friends? He frowned, confused. Maybe a day had passed. Maybe two. He looked around, but there wasn't a clock on the wall, let alone a calendar. In fact, the only thing in the ward to attract his attention was the girl sleeping. He scowled, not liking his train of thoughts. Just because she was the cutest thing since baby pandas didn't mean that she was attractive! Right? Damn her! He wasn't supposed to be falling for a girl! This wasn't part of his plan! Which mostly involved fighting, sleeping and eating with a bit of time for pooping. Not really much of a plan at all.

But still… he was amazed by how quickly this girl had swept into his life and taken over everything. Hadn't she been the focus of his every waking moment in the last few weeks in some way or the other? He made a noise of annoyance and she awoke, making him panic ashamedly.

"Gajeel!" She cried, a happy smile spreading over her face even as her eyes began to tear up. "You're awake! Oh, I had been so worried! I'm so glad to see-"

"Shrimp. Calm the fuck down. What's going on? Where am I, and don't say fucking hospital!"

"You were shot. You were very lucky that the bullet lodged in one of your ribs. It means you have a broken bone, but managed not to puncture your lungs. Do you remember what happened at all?"

"Yeah, I remember. God damn Jose. I didn't think he'd be packing. I was stupid. God damn it! I didn't find out a fucking thing! I didn't find out who attacked you!"

"It doesn't matter," Levy said airily, waving a hand. "Jose was the one who gave the order."

Gajeel didn't agree, and would still happily break the bones of the person once he found him. Still, he had more pressing issues at the moment. "When is it?"

"You've been out for almost a day now. I've been sleeping, but it's about noon, I think." As if to underline her point, Levy's tummy growled. God damn it! Even her bowel movements sounded fucking adorable! He told her to go eat, annoyed. To his amazement, delicate fingers clamped around his hand. "No, I'd rather stay here with you."

"What did you say!?" Gajeel asked in an unusually high pitched voice, his face flushing red. His heart felt like it'd taken a harder shot than last night!

"What did you say!?" The curtain pulled back to reveal Jet lying in the next bed in the ward. His leg was up in a cast, suspended in the air.

"He he he, is that the time!? I guess I should get lunch after all!" Levy cried, fleeing for all her might, leaving the two boys to glare at each other.

===][===

In a school computer room in Cerberus High, a young woman typed away on a keyboard, preparing her proposal. She was a formal kind of person and wanted it in the strongest legalese possible. She would deliver it to Fairy High soon. She didn't look up as another girl entered the room.

"Kagura-chan!" Milliana greeted warmly. "Don't you want to go outside? It's such a beautiful day!"

"Not now, Milliana," Kagura replied stiffly. "I want to finish this first. I want the Fairies to be ready. I don't want them to have any excuses. Besides, if Bacchus gets convicted, our team will have lost its star player. The other boys are just like puppies compared to Fairy High."

"You really think that they'll agree to this proposal?" Milliana asked, cocking her head inquisitively.

Kagura smiled coldly. "If I know Scarlett, there's no way she'd back down from a challenge like this!"

Apologies for any similarities with the fate Gray suffered recently. It was purely coincidental.