Chapter 10: Give A Little

She sat staring down, the bright lights reflecting on the on the glossy surface of her hot chocolate. She made slow swirls with her spoon, watching the marshmallows dissolve into her dark reflection. It was the second time she had been to IHOP with Gajeel in less than two weeks.

He yawned again, blinking sleepily. She guessed that he was still feeling hung over, his pancakes hardly touched. But he grinned at her, even as she blew her bangs out in annoyance. "Stop staring at me," she pouted lightly, aware that her makeup from last night was far from ideal.

He shrugged. "Where do you wanna go today?"

She blinked in confusion. "Go? We're going somewhere?"

He snorted. "It's Saturday."

She thought about it for a second. "I have class at five."

He yawned and stretched himself across the table, latching on to her petite forearm and twisting it to glance at her watch. "It's barely seven AM."

She sighed. "But why are we going somewhere?"

"I'm taking you on a date, of course," he responded cockily, indicating that she didn't really have a choice in the matter. "I owe you, right?"

She couldn't stop a small smile from slipping. "Aren't you buying me breakfast?"

He flicked her on the forehead. "Then choose a place where I won't have to spend money."

She recoiled, shooting a mini glare at him, but his smile only grew wider. "I don't know. We can stroll around the city center, I guess."

He sat up straight. "Yeah, that reminds me. There's a really cool place I want to show you. Are you done eating?"

"I guess so…?"

"Okay, let's go then." Before she could react, he had laid out the bill on the table and was dragging her by the wrist, out the door and on the way to the subway.

"You seem oddly happy here," he observed, noting the light spring in her step and the subtle smile that played on her lips as she glanced at the bustling shops and lights. A chill in the air swept over them and a breeze toyed with her scarf, but her cheeks were flushed with happiness.

She shrugged. "I like the city, it's beautiful."

He couldn't help but think that the color of her hair matched the kind of beauty she was talking about.

He quickly shook his head to get rid of the thoughts.

She hummed quietly, taking in the crystal lights and clean street shops. Almost out of habit, she found herself reaching for Gajeel's swinging hand, hovering near hers. She caught herself at the last second and frowned, pulling away and admonishing herself.

He did not miss the slight disconcerting flash. "What's wrong?"

She gave a start. "Huh? Oh, nothing. Just cold for a second…" she trailed off, as he stared into the distance, not listening to her reply.

"Shit," he muttered, and she followed his gaze, confused. It was directed at somebody in the distance. She squinted, but couldn't tell exactly who he was looking at. "What the hell is she doing here?"

Still confused, she opened her mouth to ask, when she noticed a girl approaching them. She was slightly taller than Levy herself, with light blonde hair, so light that it bordered on white. Her eyes were pale, as was her skin. She looked petite, and delicate. She was, simply put, beautiful.

"Gajeel! How unexpected to see you here. How are you?"

His face had lost its usual cocky edge. Instead, he looked nervous. "Fine."

She hesitated. "I'm really sorry. You know I am."

"Yes," he responded, stiffly. Her gaze fell on Levy, mouth slightly open as she fitted the pieces together.

"So…who is she?"

Gajeel seemed incapable of response. Without really knowing what she was doing, a sudden urge overtook Levy and she latched on to his hand. "Levy McGarden, nice to meet you. I'm his girlfriend."

It was a moment before she responded. "Yes, I thought so. Well, congratulations, Gajeel. I'm glad you found someone. I have to go… Jeremy's waiting for me. Nice seeing you." And then, like a graceful ghost, she was gone. Levy shivered, and then realized she was still holding onto his hand.

She tried to let go, but he gripped it tighter. "I fucking hate her. I can't believe she just- I-"

Levy shushed him gently. "It's okay."

He shook his head; his expression was so broken and disturbed that Levy could feel a tiny crack in her own heart. "Can we go somewhere? I'll show you my favorite place."

She nodded, and off they went, running down the street like maniacs, twisting and curving. She was ninety percent sure he didn't actually know where he was going, but she didn't say anything, and just kept running as fast as her short legs could take her. She almost ran out of breath, but she could feel him slowing down to accommodate her.

It wasn't long before they passed into a different neighborhood, somewhat removed from the city. He turned a couple more corners before stopping at a tall granite wall, ivy snaking up the gray bricks.

"What's this?" She managed to gasp out. He let go of her hand and then kneeled at the bottom of the wall.

"C'mon. I'll give you a boost up."

Shooting him a quizzical look, she pushed herself up and placed her foot on his hands anyways. With minimal effort, he lifted her enough that she could climb over the wall by herself, before he leapt and boosted himself over.

She looked down at the other side of the wall and was surprised to find a quiet, mossy enclosure, leading into the forest. "What is it?"

He shrugged. "No idea, but there are always a couple around these parts, since the forest is right there. I just headed in a general direction. It was probably originally used for some camping or hiking thing, but they've been abandoned. I come here to think."

He sat down on the slightly shriveled grass, and leaned against the wall. He patted the place beside him, and she hesitantly sat down next to him.

They didn't speak for a couple moments.

"So… your ex," Levy finally said, softly.

He clenched and unclenched his fist in the moss. "She's beautiful, or she was, and I fucking hate her."

Levy remained silent as he searched for the words.

"She was such an strange person. Wild, unpredictable. Sometimes she'd be affectionate out of her mind and some days she wouldn't talk to me. But she was always so addicting. After she cheated and left I just- I didn't really know what to do. I thought I was special, or something. I guess I was stupid for thinking that. It took me months to get over her- she was everywhere. I saw her in the morning because I thought I was holding her, not my pillows. I could see her in the bathroom mirror hugging me around the waist before I remembered she wasn't really there. The apartment smelled like her- she smells like warm cinnamon apples and it drives me fucking nuts. Even after it didn't smell like her anymore, every time her favorite song came on it was like she was sitting right next to me. I couldn't get away."

"And… I don't know. I guess I've just gotten used to it being like that, dreaming about her sometimes and waking up in a cold sweat. I hate her, but god, I miss her so much."

He stared off into the distance and Levy could almost picture what he was seeing, clean white sheets and messy blonde hair in the morning.

"Beautiful people often have the capacity to hurt," she said softly, by way of comfort. "That's just how they're built."

He looked at her. "You're not like that."

"No, I'm not."

"But you're beautiful, aren't you?"

"I don't believe so."

He was silent for a while. Then, he tore up a handful of grass. "You're beautiful, but you couldn't hurt anyone."

She laughed, a little bitterly. "I'm never on that end- I'm the give, not take."

She squeaked slightly when he roughly snatched her closer by the waist. "Maybe that's why it hurt so much. I'm always the take, but she took everything of mine," he murmured into the top of her head.

Levy was sleepy, and tired, and not really thinking straight. She relaxed into the warmth of his body. "Maybe if you learned to give a little, you'd feel better."

It was several long minutes before he could find an answer. By then, Levy had sunk into the comfortable rhythm of his rising chest, and was fast asleep. "Maybe you'll end up teaching me."

"Shit!"

Gajeel's eyes fluttered open to a distressed Levy, sunken on the floor, glancing at her watch from the faint light of a faraway street lamp. "I missed my class! Why the hell didn't you wake me up?"

A closer inspection of the sky showed that it was already darkening. They had managed to sleep through the majority of the day in the quiet, undisturbed enclosure.

For some reason, the image of her running her hand through her hair, glaring at her watch, sweater sliding off one shoulder, caused him to smile a little, barely repressing a small laugh. "I fell asleep, too. Sorry."

She threw up her hands. "Great. I'm gonna fail my exam now."

He couldn't stop the laugh from slipping this time. She pouted, giving him an unhappy look. "What the hell is so funny?"

He stretched and yawned, standing up. He extended a hand to her.

"Since you missed your class anyways, why not take a nice walk with me and eat dinner in the city?"

She crossed her arms, still pouting. "We're lost. You had no idea how to get here, you know."

He shrugged.

"Then we'll find our way home together."

(I fixed the line breaks on this chapter)

-M