CHAPTER 11: Best Friends

Morning came and a strand of sunlight rested on Levy's face, waking her up. She was still wearing the spirit clothes Virgo dressed her up in and her skin felt all of the potions Mirajane used to heal her. She yawned heavily and decided to take a shower before going to the guild and have some breakfast.

An hour later, Levy felt refreshed after a well deserved alone time to sort her thoughts out (well, just one thought that kept piercing her mind with his red eyes) and found herself blushing. Levy tried to keep her mind busy by sorting out her clothes and picking some for the day, but those eyes kept staring at her thoughts. She dressed mechanically and headed out the door without looking around her. Only when she got to the main gate of the girls' dorm, a voice brought her back to reality.

"Levy-chan! Finally! I thought you decided to stay in." Levy blinked surprised, seeing Jet come up to her and hugging her tightly.

"What are you doing here?" Levy pondered out loud.

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and I decided to keep you company. That is if you don't mind." Jet played with a strand of grass.

"How... long have you been in the neighborhood?" Even if both Jet and Droy had a crush on her (and she knew it), they rarely came to pick her up, let alone wait for her. Especially Jet, who was always hyper due to his speed magic.

"Hmm.. a couple of hours, I think." Jet looked ahead, trying to avoid Levy's suspicious glare.

"I see..." Levy had an idea about what was going on, but decided not to jump to hasty conclusions, so she let Jet keep her company. "Why didn't you come with Droy?"

"He had... other stuff to do. Why, don't you like my company after all these years?" Jet snickered.

"No, silly, it's just... I got used to both of you keeping me company, that's all." Levy linked her hand with her friend, making him blush. They walked in silence through Magnolia, Levy waving here and there to the townspeople who knew her well. They reached the guild the same time Gajeel did, Levy brightening up as soon as he looked casually her way. Levy waved happily, but Gajeel turned around and left, not bothering to wave or smile back. The bubble of joy quickly burst, seeing Gajeel take his breakfast and drink and heading quickly to his normal spot, in a far corner of the Fairy pub.

"Thanks for the ride, Jet." Levy smiled brightly at the Speed mage, a blush reddening his cheeks.

"It was... don't mention it..." Jet watched Levy as she headed for the bar where Mirajane was serving as usual.

"Morning, Mira-nee!" Levy sat on a high stool in front of the white haired mage.

"Levy! How are you feeling?"

"Much better after a hot shower." Levy ordered some breakfast and chattered away with Mirajane until Droy completed the Shadow Gear.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered. You're not gonna believe who was waiting for me outside the dorm this morning." Levy leaned closer to the bartender, curiosity taking over Mirajane. "It was Jet." Mira looked confused at the bluenette, knowing they were best buds since childhood.

"I thought you were gonna say Gajeel." Mira joked, but Levy's cheeks started burning.

"Why would you think that?" Levy tried to usher Mirajane's thoughts about her and Gajeel with a hasty wave.

"No reason. So why do you think it was weird for Jet to wait for you?"

"Well... Usually both Jet and Droy come to pick me up. Besides, he said he waited for me. A couple of hours. Isn't that strange? For Jet, I mean."

"I think he was just worried, that's all. We all were." Mira looked at Levy with sadness, remembering how Gajeel looked like when he brought Levy on his arms.

"I dunno... Jet and waiting... The two don't mix up really well..." Levy pondered out loud.

"He looked more worried that the rest, to tell you the truth. Him and Gajeel were..." Mirajane stopped suddenly when Levy snapped her head up to look at her. "Never mind, you don't need to think about anything else but rest."

"Oh, please... You're worse than a mother." Levy tongued playfully.

The day went by quickly enough for Levy thanks to her fellow Fairy members, who were constantly keeping her busy. At one point, Freed came to her table and spoke to her about Rune magic. This kept her focused enough to forget the time. Cana was the one to notice Levy was still at the guild at such a late hour. Levy was shocked to see it was past midnight, so she grabbed her stuff hastily and ran through the main door, heading to the girls' dorm. She was a couple of houses away when a whooshing sound made her stop and turn.

"Wait for me!" Jet was by her side in a matter of seconds.

"Jet? What's up?"

"Nothing, I just thought you might like some company on your way home."

"Well, since you're here, why not?" Levy started walking again with Jet next to her.

"Uhm, so I was wondering..." Levy looked at him curiously. "For a while now, actually... I noticed you and Gajeel-san are close..." Levy's cheeks exploded.

"No, were not. Whatever made you believe such a thing?"

"Well... the whole guild noticed he's... different around you... and I saw you a couple of times under the fig tree on that small hill just outside Magnolia..."

"You... are you spying on me?" Levy was outraged.

"No, no. I came to get you a couple of times and he happened to be there and I thought you two were..."

"Stop making up stories where there are none." Levy puffed part from embarrassment, part from indignation.

"So you're not dating him." It wasn't a question.

"Jet, why the 20 questions?" Levy stopped at the base of Fairy Hills, looking suspicious at his long time friend.

"I wanna... I thought maybe you and I could..." Jet looked down, clearly fighting with his emotions.

"Spit it out." Jet looked into Levy's eyes for a long moment before deciding.

"I want us to go on a date." Levy looked stunned at him longer than she expected before understanding what Jet meant.

"You... and I ... a date? Jet, but we are best friends, what are you saying?" The young man was blushing furiously.

"I... listen, we've known each other ever since we were kids, and we formed Shadow Gear a long time ago... and you're smart, and kind, and beautiful... It was a matter of time before one of us would fall for you..." Levy stared dumbstruck, not being able to speak. A shadow behind a tree made her turn her head from Jet, who was trying to confess to her.

"I... I love you, OK?" The silence that followed was tones heavy and Levy had no idea how to answer him. She expected to feel something, butterflies in her stomach, dizziness, maybe even her heart pounding harder than normal, but she felt nothing but the fact that Jet was like an older brother. And it felt weird imagining herself on a date with him.

"Oh... I didn't expect you to... I mean... I love you too, but not like that... I love you like family..." Jet dropped his shoulders and wanted to look away from her. "Don't turn away from me, I'm not finished." Levy grabbed his arm and made him face her. "Both my parents died, you know this. And you and Droy were the only ones who came to me, all smiling and welcoming... I grew up with both of you, and I never imagined myself with either one of you on a date, or even more... It would feel weird. You guys are closest thing to a family I have in this world. Please, don't get mad at me for not loving you like you would want me to…" Jet looked away, sighing heavily.

"I could never get mad at you… I'm sorry I said anything, please forget we ever had this talk." Jet turned around and started walking back to Magnolia, not bothering to run away. "Lucky bastard…" Jet whispered as he passed a couple of trees. Levy was left feeling bad for denying his feelings, but she couldn't accept them, considering her heart was already taken. She lifted her hand and placed it where her necklace usually rested, remembering it was no longer there. She turned and walked to her room in silence.

The shadow moved from behind the tree after watching Levy disappearing through the girls' dorm, placing his hand in his pocket and grabbing a hold of the small, iron rose, smiling to himself. Gajeel looked up at Levy's window, turning around when the lights went on and leaving Fairy Hills.

TBC

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