A/N: A break from studying to bring you this update! I have midterms next week, so do not expect an update until those are over. I will do my best to get the next one done & up as soon as possible.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Fairy and Tail
Chapter 14: Rosemary
Erza stared out the window of the tour bus, watching as the trees flashed by. Every once in a while she would see livestock, and farmers out protecting and harvesting their crops.
"Erza!" The redhead was startled out of her thoughts by a cheerful Lucy. "We are about 15 minutes away from Rosemary." Erza nodded in response, offering a small smile. She turned back to the window, and suddenly a childhood memory overtook her thoughts.
A little girl with scarlet hair rushed through the streets, following her friends, one of them a blue haired boy. Erza tripped, scraping her knee on a rock. Tears stubbornly dripped from her eyes, and the little boy stopped the procession.
"You guys keep going!" He yelled, hanging back with the crying child. "It's okay Erza. I'll get us out of here." Jellal smiled down at the girl, who stopped crying to stare at him in wonder. He grabbed her hand, and pulled them through the streets.
Jellal sat in the bus, pen in hand. He clutched a paper, staring off dreamily into space. It was very hard to write a song when the past clung to you like a dark cloud. He glanced down at the lyrics, smiling softly. With the right tune, they could certainly end up as the next big hit.
"Flip a coin, roll the dice…" He sang softly, under his breath. Jellal experimented with different tunes, trying to find the perfect match.
The bus lurched to a stop, knocking the papers from his grasp. Jellal's eyes connected with a paper. It was the song he had begun to write for Natsu.
He plucked it out of the air, and stuffed it in his pocket. It seems that all he could write lately was half finished songs, or whole songs without the perfect melody. Jellal was grateful they were on a short tour, but he could still feel the pressure to produce more music.
"Oi, tattoo!" Gajeel yelled from the front of the bus. "We're here!"
"Coming!" He called. Jellal tucked the papers safely away, to a place where only he knew. Once of his terms about writing for the band was that they wouldn't look at the songs while they were still in development. Jellal hated to give the group incomplete, imperfect work.
Levy smiled brightly, stepping off the bus into the cool air of Rosemary. She stretched her legs, and looked around. Rosemary had grown from what Erza had described she noted. Juvia too glanced around, instead picking out a music shop. She had yet to find the perfect pick. It had been a week already, and she still felt that she could perform better with the perfect one. But sadly, she still hadn't gotten one.
Mirajane emerged from the bus after Lucy and Erza, ushering the girls outward.
"The concert starts later on tonight, and lasts about 4 hours, thanks to Wendy and Romeo's hour before you perform. So, that means you have free reign just, stay out of the way of any cameras. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me or Laxus." She tossed her snowy white hair over her shoulder, and then walked confidently across the parking lot over to Tails Down's bus.
Levy glanced to Lucy, who smirked. The two ran back into the bus and grabbed baseball caps and crammed them on their heads before splitting up, heading in opposite directions into town. That left Juvia and Erza, that latter who hadn't moved an inch since getting off the bus. She was deep in thought, not acknowledging any attempt at conversation Juvia offered.
Juvia, dressed in a black hoodie and hat, finally gave up trying to converse with Erza. She shoved her hands in her pockets and took off toward the shop.
Gray stepped off the bus, eyes searching for her. He knew since it was a new town, and therefore a new shop. His found her, his eyes trailing after her figure as she left the parking lot, head down, headed for the music store. He pushed Natsu out of his way, chasing after her.
Natsu was still half asleep, an after affect of the medicine he took for motion sickness. Gajeel too, was stumbling around. Wendy, who had become like a little sister, fluttered around them anxiously, trying her best to help with their ailments.
Romeo too, looked concerned, but more over the girl than his fellow performers. After all, he had become quite close with her after many hours of practicing and performing.
Jellal walked briskly through the streets of Rosemary, keeping his head down. There was only one place he wanted to visit before the concert, and that was Meredy's café. He smiled, surprised that the woman still kept the spare key under the flowerpot in the back. It had been only 2 years since he had joined Tails Down, following to breaking up of his original band, Crime Sorcerie.
He entered in the kitchen, finding his way through the maze of cooking utensils. Finally, he found who he was looking for. Meredy stood next to Ultear, baking pastries for the café's display. They laughed quietly, arguing over just how much sugar to add.
Jellal knocked on a tin, making his presence known.
"Hello." He said, his voiced barely above a whisper.
Meredy and Ultear turned in that instant, and the sugar bowl clattered to the floor.
Erza walked, her feet guiding her path. Her mind was blank as she retraced the steps of her hometown, blindly experiencing her old haunts for the first time in years. She found herself in front of Milliana's pet store.
Without a second thought, she entered the store, and went straight to the register.
"Why, it's Scarlet!" the old man at the counter addressed her, referring back to her childhood nickname, without alerting the other customers to her presence.
Milliana came rushing from the back. She grabbed Erza and brought her to the staff room.
"It's been a while Er-chan." She stated, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips.
Gray caught up to Juvia, panting heavily. He slipped into the store, undetected, and disappeared behind a row of guitars, watching the woman from a distance. He had to admit, this woman puzzled him. Why would she go through such trouble to find a pick? It would take him too long to try and remember all the picks he's broken. Why go through such a trouble only to have the spoils broken later?
Juvia Lockser was a mystery to him.
She trailed along the glass case, admiring the high dollar picks with great reverence, a blue curl slipping out of her hoodie.
He watched as her eyes lit up as she scanned the box, and then darkened when she didn't find what she was looking for.
Gray's keen senses went on hyper alert as he observed a person pull out their phone, trying to get a picture of Juvia, the telltale blue curl dangling above the case.
In that split second, he acted.