Chapter 7
A/N: Sorry for the wait. :( Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL- IT BELONGS TO HIRO MASHIMA!
"Miss Scarlet, what are you doing?"
All heads turned to face Erza, who had her head down for the past few minutes.
Erza gave a sudden jerk of her head. "I'm so sorry Professor Gildarts... It won't happen again." Her face was turning red with embarrassment. She had never implied such disrespect to her teachers before.
Professor Gildarts sighed. "Anyway..."
Ever since Lucy delivered the message from Jellal to Erza, she couldn't think straight. To make things worse, she hadn't decided whether or not if she would meet him tonight.
"Erza?" Professor Gildarts stared at Erza with great confusion.
"Yes professor?"
"You still haven't answered my question."
"O-oh... sorry. Can you repeat it for me, please?"
"What factor has the greatest influence on the weathering rate of Earth's surface bedrock?"
"That would be regional climate, sir."
"Correct, but please pay attention next time so I don't have to repeat myself." And with that, he turned to the board and continued to lecture the class.
...
Back in her dorm room, Erza was wrapping up her homework when Mirajane arrived. It was 5:32 p.m; she still had time to ponder over the matter.
"I heard what happened to you in Earth Science class..."
"The rumor's out, huh?"
Mirajane turned to face Erza. "Is there something bothering you?"
"Mira, if that were the case, I would've told you by now."
Mirajane's eyes traced Erza's. "Alright, but if you need anything..."
"I know. Thanks."
Mirajane walked towards the couch, sat down, and opened up her laptop to start her assignments.
"Say... Mira, what would you do if an old acquaintance of yours wanted to meet up with you again?" She knew that she could always count on Mirajane when it came to socializing.
Mira looked up from her work and stared at Erza with great interest. "Why? Is this something to do with how you've been behaving this past week?"
"I guess you can say that..."
Mirajane laughed. "Well, I've never been in that kind of situation before, but I would definitely meet up with them."
"Is that so?... Thank you, Mira." Erza wasn't ready to tell Mira more than this. She couldn't drag her into her problems, after all.
That was when Erza decided to give it try, even though she already gave Jellal countless chances in the past.
...
Erza half-heartedly walked to the bakery. Despite it being her favorite place to order strawberry cake, she would have to meet the one person who caused her the most pain in the past...
When she arrived, she immediately spotted a man in a dark cloak. "That must be him." She muttered.
She didn't have to greet him; he had already spotted her. Jellal took a few steps towards Erza. "Hi..."
"What do you want, Jellal?" Erza asked this question with a bitter tone in her voice.
Jellal flinched. "Erza, I admit I've made many mistakes in my... no, our past."
Erza didn't move, nor did she respond; her lip trembled. Although she strongly disliked him for what he had done to her many years ago, she couldn't help but notice that his voice was full of guilt. It made her feel sorry for him.
"Let's go inside; it's getting cold out here... And you owe me an explanation." Her eyes avoided his.
Once inside the bakery, they seated themselves across from each other; Erza ordered a strawberry cake, and Jellal ordered a cup of coffee. They sat in silence for awhile and continued to avoid eye contact.
"So... about that letter..."
"Yeah... Sorry for being so vague."
"Actually, it's the opposite... Thank you for inviting me over; to be honest," Erza began to lower her voice, and a light shade of red tinted her cheeks. "I don't understand it myself, but... I've actually wanted to see you ever since we went our separate ways..."
Jellal looked down at his knees and noticed how much his palms were sweating. He looked up at Erza and noticed that tears began to form in her eyes. He grabbed a tissue and gently wiped her tears away.
"Sorry."
"Anyway," Erza stared at Jellal as if nothing happened; her expression was passive. "Simon told me his side of the story. I want to know yours."
Jellal gulped. So this was it. He began to tell Erza his side of the story.
...
It has been a year since Jellal saved Erza from Ultear's "torture tactics". They have been best friends ever since. Jellal introduced Erza to his friends; Simon, Wally, Sho, and Milliana. They were very pleased to meet each other; Erza hang out with them ever since.
After awhile, they began to fall for each other. Then came the senior dance. Jellal asked Erza if he could be her date, in which she joyfully accepted. They were now more than just best friends.
One day, while everyone was heading back into the school building towards the end of recess, Ultear came out of the blue and asked Jellal to come with her. Erza was worried; what was she planning?
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." His smile was enough to reassure her.
"Let's go, Er-chan!" Milliana called.
"You guys can go on without me. I'll stay here and wait for Jellal. Little did she know what Ultear had up her sleeve...
"What is it, Ultear?"
"You know what I want. I have a bone to pick with you too, I suppose."
Jellal rolled his eyes. "Enough talk. My friends are waiting."
Ultear smirked. "Oh, you won't be calling them your 'friends' anymore once I'm through with you."
"What are you-"
Ultear pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and held it up so that he could see. Jellal recognized it at once; it was an old Valentine's Day card he had written to his mother; only that it hadn't been addressed to her, since she was dead.
"How did you get your hands on that?"
"Guess what I'm about to do with this?" Ultear cooed, and completely ignored Jellal's question.
"Don't tell me... You wench!" Jellal snarled, and attempted to lunge forward, only to be stopped by Meredy and another one of Ultear's cronies.
Ultear laughed. "That's right! I'm going to make Erza think that you're cheating on her!"
"You... son of a..."
"Oh come on, it's YOUR fault for not addressing this card to anyone in the first place," Ultear sneered. "Before I let you go, however, I need you to do something for me..."
"I'm not doing anything for you."
"Oh really?" Ultear sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to send this letter to Erza after all!"
"No!"
"Yes," Ultear cackled. "Unless you'll do as I say."
Jellal winced. He had no idea what Ultear was up to, but if it were to protect his and Erza's relationship, he would do anything.
"I accept the conditions." He replied in a low voice.
"Good... Now, I want you to tell Erza that you'll be taking ME to the dance, not her," Ultear chuckled. "And make sure you sound like you mean it."
Jellal shivered. "I can't!"
"Oh, you will. Remember, if you don't, I'm sending the letter. You are dismissed."
Meredy and the other girl released Jellal and ran after their leader, leaving Jellal to think about his actions.
"There you are!" Erza sighed with relief when she saw Jellal walking towards her. Despite this, he looked down. "Jellal?"
"Erza," He inhaled. "Forget about what I said to you about the dance."
"W-what do you mean? Jellal, are you alright?" Erza attempted to ask.
"GO FIND SOMEONE ELSE!" Jellal screamed. He immediately regretted yelling at her this way.
Tears slid down Erza's cheeks, and she started to run.
"I'm sorry, Erza..."
A/N: To be continued...
