12. Once Upon A Dream
Levy woke up the next morning as usual, and got ready for school, as usual. She remembered everything that had happened but kept asking herself whether she was confused with a dream. It could very well be a dream, because how could such a dream become reality? She looked at herself in the mirror as she dressed in her school uniform. I'm starting to wonder if I just made everything up in my mind, she thought to herself, when she heard knocks on her door.
Fully dressed, she walked towards the door and opened it. She stared at the looming figure. It was Gajeel. Her mouth was slightly open as she let him in. "Good…morning…?" She said as she let him in.
"Morning," He said gruffly. "I told you I'd be here." He said.
She remembered him saying that. "Yeah…" She said, walking to the kitchen as though she was walking on air.
"You still can't believe what happened yesterday?" He asked amusedly.
She blushed. "I do! I do now!" She said, embarrassed.
"You do, now?" He asked with a snicker.
Purposely ignoring it, she turned to face him. "Breakfast?" She asked, though she had already started cooking for the both of them.
He snickered once again.
They walked to school together, and people familiar with them stared at the new couple, but Levy and Gajeel did not care one bit. Levy was skipping as Gajeel walked at his normal pace which matched Levy's skips. While they were only walking side by side, and that was all they did, it stirred up rumours in the school.
Not that it bothered Levy and Gajeel.
Two days later, everyone was sure that Levy and Gajeel are in a relationship, and they weren't all that surprised. Levy and Gajeel's closest friends (or in Gajeel's case, Levy's closest friends suddenly became his closest friends) were happy and welcomed the couple. While the bullies Levy faced still hated her, they dared not go near her now that Gajeel is her boyfriend.
And so Levy felt victorious, in a way. Any girl would be happy when the boy she likes becomes her boyfriend, and she is no longer being bullied by fan girls. "Bliss." She sang as she spent her lunch with Gajeel. While she ate her usual sandwich and drank milk, he was lying down at looking at the sky.
"What are you talking about?" He asked quizzically.
She shook her head. "Nothing, I just really like spending time with you like this." She said cheerily, and her words earned a faint blush from Gajeel. "Oh, silly, getting embarrassed over that." She giggled.
He rolled to his side, showing her his back and refusing to face her. Levy laughed as she placed a hand on his arm. "Are you mad? I'm sorry. But I'm not lying about what I said." She patted his arm.
Gajeel still didn't face her. "Well it's great that you're happy." He said. Although it sounded sarcastic at first, Levy realized it was his way of trying to be caring without sounding strangely gentle. But he was so nice yesterday, she thought.
"Hmph, you can't even face me? And yesterday we even kissed." She said with a fake huff.
And then Gajeel sat up, facing her again. "Want another?" He asked nonchalantly, to her surprise and shyness. Then his lips formed a grin. "We could even go further."
She blushed deeply at that, starting to stutter. "I-I…" She twiddled with her fingers.
He snickered. "It's alright." He patted her head, and the bell rang. He stood up and started to walk towards the door. He turned to face her. "We'll be late if you don't hurry."
She collected her rubbish and went beside him. I wanted a kiss though… She thought to herself shyly.
However, not everything was cloud nine for her. In the next few days, she started to realize that Gajeel would sometimes disappear. Not that she wanted to be a clingy girlfriend, but sometimes she wondered where he could have gone. But she didn't let it bother her too much, since she knew that distance was equally important for the individuals in a relationship. Even Lucy and Natsu didn't spend time together always, despite Natsu being the one who always imposes on Lucy's privacy in her home—her bedroom, in particular.
But Levy also had concerns. Sure, she would be anywhere he could find her, but he was often not anywhere she could find him. It irked her, and it worried her. What if he was hiding something? What if he didn't want her to find him? She knew those were silly thoughts in her head which she should let go of, since every time they were together, be it in their homes or outside, they had fun. She enjoys being with him, always.
Didn't he feel the same way?
No, no, Levy! You can't think like this! She chided herself mentally, when she heard two voices from deep within the park of the school. It was an area where hardly anyone went to, because why would you want to go so far inside in a place that was so…deserted? But she felt that she heard a familiar voice, and so she walked further in to see who it was.
"Things change, and you've got to learn." She heard a voice say, and she knew that voice, she made no mistake. It was Gajeel. Who was he talking to?
"It's just…Juvia thought about our time before a lot, and can't let go of it." A girl said, and Levy hid behind a tree to see the two people. It was Gajeel, and that's…Juvia Lockser? She held back a gasp and silently stood there, knowing well that she was eavesdropping into their undoubtedly private conversation. Levy couldn't help but be suspicious. Was Juvia his ex-girlfriend? From the things they were saying, it sounds like they were quite intimate.
The bell rang, and the two headed out of the park, each of them taking different ways. Levy hid behind the tree and away from their sight, and once she was sure that they were gone, she made her way out from the park as well.
No, she shouldn't jump to conclusions yet. Besides, even if they were formerly in a relationship, it's different now. She's dating Gajeel. He wouldn't be dating another girl.
He wouldn't.
She was tired herself of complaining about being the class head, but someone would take over in the next year, and that was something she looked forward to. The surprising and awfully sweet thing was that Gajeel offered to wait until she was done with everything she had to do, and he told her he would wait inside their classroom. Surely what she saw earlier was just something that wasn't so important. Maybe Gajeel was telling her that he isn't into her anymore, and that he's going out with me, she thought as she carried a stack of papers to the teacher's office.
And when she was heading back to the classroom, she spotted from afar a blue haired girl leave the classroom, and she felt something stuck in her throat. It's not good to jump to conclusions yet, Levy. She must have just…um, you know, talked with Gajeel about stuff, nothing important, she thought as she entered the classroom and a sullen looking Gajeel sitting in his seat. "H-Hey, I'm done." She said as she grabbed her bag. Perhaps she spoke a little softly but she was sure it was loud enough for him to hear. Despite that, he didn't turn his attention on her. "Gajeel," She called out a little louder. Still no response. "Gajeel!" She said, a whole lot louder this time, and he turned to face her, startled.
"Oh, you're back. Let's go." He said, getting up. He didn't notice the concern etched on her face as they walked back home together.
"That's…well, I don't want to just think that he has something to do with her which is, you know, more than just friends." Levy said as she consulted Lucy about the current thoughts troubling her. Lucy knew Juvia, although she was in another class. Juvia was also from Phantom Lord, and she was apparently quite close to Gajeel, but whether it was because they once dated was another question. "It's not that I'm upset he's talking to his previous girlfriend, if she was, but it kind of makes me…jealous, I guess. And worried. Old feelings can return."
Lucy placed her hand on Levy's own. "I think it's good if you talk to him about it though." She suggested. "I can't blame you for feeling insecure. I feel that way when Natsu and Lisanna spend time together but Natsu has assured me that I'm…the one he chose." She blushed lightly and had a smile on her face. Levy couldn't help but smile as well for her friend. "But you know, this also happened because I talked to Natsu about it, so I know it'll do you good if you talk to him about it." Lucy said.
Levy pondered for a moment. She was, to be honest, scared to bring it up. Bringing it up would make it seem as though she was accusing him of cheating on her. It also meant she was bringing up the past, when he was in Phantom Lord, and she knew he wasn't keen on talking about back then. Not when she was involved in it. But she couldn't simply wait and let things happen until it might be too late for her to do anything. She nodded at Lucy, and smiled. "I guess I should."
But should she really bring it up? After all, she only saw them together twice.
She only saw them twice. Who knows how often they've actually been meeting.
There has to be a way to bring it up subtly, yet straight to the point. She was nervous. She had asked him to spend the day with her, and there was no problem for them since it is a Saturday. The problem is, how were they going to spend a day together without it ultimately being ruined with her question? No, trying to make the day perfect was just wishful thinking. When she brings up the matter, the day would surely be ruined.
When they met at the large fountain in the park—Levy being fifteen minutes early, despite she told Gajeel that she only waited a few minutes—Levy was a nervous wreck, but she hid her inner emotions easily. Gajeel, on the other hand, was oblivious to what was going to happen later. Despite that, they spent the day as usual, and went to places where dates usually take place. But all through the date, she was contemplating on whether she should bring up the topic. I have to! If I don't know, I'll be bothered by it for a long time! She thought to herself.
After dinner, Levy decided to walk around in the park. "I want to talk about something," She said, making Gajeel curious. And so they took a slow walk in the park, but Levy didn't say anything for the longest time.
"Just say it." He said gruffly. "What's to be scared about?"
Levy stopped walking, and seeing her stop made him stop. She looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "W-Well, I saw you and Juvia talking in the school park the other day…and the day before yesterday, when I went to hand the stack of papers to the teacher. S-So I was wondering what you were talking about, and who she is…to you." She said, a small weight on her shoulders lifting from finally letting her concerns out. But it was too soon to be relaxing.
There was a pause that dragged for a minute or two. She was starting to become worried, and she didn't want him to take it the wrong way. "It's okay if there was once something between you two; I just wanted to know what you were talking about—"
"I don't want to talk about it." He said, looking away from her.
She felt a lump in her throat again. "Why not?" She asked. "I mean, it's not like there's anything to hide, right?" She looked at him, but he refused to look her way, and eventually he turned around to walk ahead. She followed after him. "Gajeel, why won't you tell me?" She asked, and was irritated, and then agitated. "Tell me what's going on!"
"I don't need to tell you what's going on, and you don't need to know!" His red eyes looked irritatedly at her, and they pierced through her heart.
The lump in her throat was still there, but her arms dropped to her sides and she looked up at him, unemotionally. "Fine." She said, turning around and leaving him. She felt tears well in her eyes, but she held them back. She was not going to cry. She gritted her teeth.
If Gajeel won't tell her, then she'll just talk to Juvia Lockser.
Notes:
Oooooh drama. I wanted to finish this but I thought of having this turn of events.
Chapter title is Once Upon a Dream from Disney's Sleeping Beauty (I do love that classic).
