Chapter SIX
Lucy glanced subconsciously at Erza, who looked ready to faint. Jellal stood there as the guild stared at him. Master came out from his office to see why everything was so quiet all of a sudden. He too, froze as he stared at the new comer.
Finally, Jellal himself broke the silence. "Hello, Master Makarov."
Makarov blinked. "Hello Jellal, what can I do for you today?"
Jellal smiled. "I'm here because I have something very important to do. However, I'll be staying in Magnolia for a few days. I would also like to spend some time in the guild, if you will allow, that is."
Makarov grinned ad nodded. "Of course, you're welcome here."
The moment Makarov gave his permission, the guild swarmed over to Jellal, asking questions. Everyone froze when they heard a deadly aura and they slowly turned around. Erza stood there, glaring at her guildmates. Everyone quickly stepped away and Erza stormed over to Jellal.
Jellal smiled. "Hi Erza."
Erza opened her mouth. "H-hello J-J-Jellal." She stuttered. The guild stared at her sudden personality change. She looked so stiff Lucy worried that her friend might snap.
'Hey, what are you doing?'
"What?"
'I told you, that's your partner. Go talk to him.'
Lucy hesitated. "But Erza-"
There was a poof of smoke and Darque appeared, standing on the bar counter. Everyone, including Erza and Jellal turned to look at her. Jellal's eyes slightly widened, but no one noticed.
Darque crossed her arms. "Now, go!" She ordered.
Lucy sighed. "Maybe later." She muttered.
Darque sighed. "Why? The sooner you end this, the better, right?"
Lucy groaned, and looked at the spirit. "Force gate Closer." She said, and Darque exploded into black mist.
'Jeez. Just having fun, ya know? Hey, guess what! Since Jellal is also a Shade, and he's also my owner, he can summon me too!'
A static sound filled Lucy's head. The moment it cleared, Lucy's hands flew to her key pouch and sure enough, Darque's black key was nowhere to be seen.
Jellal stared at Darque in surprise and shock. She could only be summoned by her owners, right? Did that mean Lucy was Darque's other owner?
Since he was too far away, he couldn't hear Lucy and Darque's exchange but he noticed that after a while, Lucy had force closed Darque's gate. Then the now familiar weight around his neck appeared and he looked down. Yep, that was definitely Darque's key.
'Hey, summon me!'
Jellal sighed. "Why?" He whispered.
'Come on! Later, I'll introduce you to your partner, but for now, let me have some fun!'
Jellal sighed again before taking off her key and sweeping it across in front of him, muttering the summoning words under his breath. Darque appeared a few meters in front of him. She waved cheekily at Lucy before turning and darting out of the guild.
'Just going for a little walk.'
Jellal nodded absent mindedly as her words faded away. He looked up as Lucy groaned, a hand to her head. He was still too far from her but he was pretty sure the Celestial mage had muttered 'Stupid spirit'.
Lucy leaned towards the bar counter. She slammed her head against the table in annoyance then bolted back up, rubbing her forehead. Had she slammed it that hard?
Why had Jellal agreed to summon the spirit? If Darque had decided to stay at the guild and make Lucy's life miserable, she would have delivered a Lucy kick right into Jella's face.
She could hear the guild's usual brawl going on. She slowly turned around and looked towards where Erza was seated with Jellal along with team Natsu, Wendy, Carla, Juvia and Lisanna. (Lucy still didn't know if Lisanna was a part of Team Natsu.)
Lucy noticed the way Erza was sitting close to Jellal, and she also noticed how Jellal looked uncomfortable. The others didn't seem to notice. Natsu was too busy challenging Jellal into a fight, which Jellal declined almost instantly. Gray was trying to get Juvia off his arm. Wendy and Carla were talking quietly to one another, occasionally offering their opinion towards the conversation Erza and Jellal seemed to be having. Lastly, Lisanna was busy clinging to Natsu's arm, who didn't even acknowledge her. Lucy didn't know how she felt about that.
Lucy then realized with a start that the Crime Sorcière guild mark was gone from Jellal's cloak.
Lucy turned back to the bar and half listened to Mira going on about how Jellal and Erza looked like a couple.
Lucy was still lost in thought when she felt a sharp gaze burning holes into her back. She slowly turned around, worrying it was Erza for some reason. Instead, she met Jellal's brown gaze. She held it for a moment before dropping her gaze to the floor subconsciously. She slowly looked up and saw that Jellal was still looking at her.
Lucy suddenly felt a tingle and she slightly shivered. She still wasn't used to the feeling. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Jellal sit up and shake his head, as if he had felt the tingle too. She instinctively reached with her hand to checked her key pouch. Darque had just returned.
Said spirit appeared with a poof and looked at Lucy.
"How was your walk?" Lucy asked.
Darque grinned. "It was fun. Nearly everything had changed and was new. Next time, you can come with me. It'll be more fun!"
She dove into Lucy's arm and gave her a hug. "It was amazing." She whispered. Lucy inwardly smiled. Maybe Darque wasn't always a pain in the neck. She could be childish if she wanted to. She changed her mind a second later. Darque burst into black mist, leaving Lucy coughing. Her giggles faded along with the smoke.
No, Darque was a devil.
When Lucy finally managed to stop coughing, she looked at Jellal and their gazes met again. He slowly reached down and tapped the side of his hip, where Lucy had her key pouch. Lucy smiled and faintly nodded. Jellal grinned and pointed at her key pouch. He then mimed wiping his forehead with his hand. 'Darque sure is a handful.' He mouthed.
Until now, some part of Lucy had denied the fact that Jellal was her partner. That Darque was just messing with her. However, now she was ready to accept it. He didn't seem so bad. Yes, Jellal Fernandez, former criminal, definitely was her partner.
Here's chapter six!
Was Jellal a bit OOC? Tell me what you think!
Don't forget to Review~ X3
The votes for pairings are still ongoing. Vote at the poll on my profile, PM me, or just post as a review.
Pairings so far:
Jellal x Lucy: 33
Midnight x Lucy: 19
Cobra x Lucy: 15
Laxus x Lucy: 14
Rogue x Lucy: 9
Sting x Lucy: 6
Natsu x Lucy: 5
Gajeel x Lucy: 3
Ideas and suggestions are welcome.
