late
summary; "we're the only ones who didn't get the email about class being cancelled" au
He wasn't normally the type of guy who cared about going to lectures. If he missed one, or two…or seven a semester because he had a particularly bad hangover and going to a 9am lecture would just result in him vomiting over his desk, he thought of it as more as a favour to his lecturer not to attend. If he was a few minutes - or, in one case, almost a full hour - late to a lecture, he figured "well at least I showed up!"
Which was why it was a little strange to see Gajeel Redfox, quite literally, dashing down the crowded corridors of their campus, determined to make it to his lecture on time. After several non-attendances and even more late arrivals, his lecturer had sat him down one evening and not so politely let him know that if he was late one more time, he was getting kicked off the course. A little harsh if you asked him…but, whatever.
He slid to a halt outside the doors to the lecture hall, took a second or two to recatch his breath and then burst through the doors.
"I'm not late! I'm exactly on time so you can take your crappy ultimatum and sh-" he paused as he took in the lecture hall. The completely empty lecture hall. Apart from one lone figure sitting in the front row.
She glanced up at him as he approached, a soft smile on her face. He realised that he vaguely recognised her. She was the girl who hung out with Juvia's friend Lucy. …Lena or something like that. Awkwardly, he hadn't even realised they were in the same class.
"You didn't get the email either, huh?" she asked, her voice gaining a soft lilt at the end as she chuckled a little.
"Email?"
He hadn't checked his university email since the first day of term, and that was just to find out what his timetable was.
"Professor Freed cancelled the lecture, he's ill apparently," she sighed, "Lucy just text me, wondering why I wasn't home."
Gajeel slumped across the edge of her desk and let out a very loud groan, "I ran here. Ran. Haven't even had breakfast," he grunted, his stomach taking the opportunity to let out a particularly loud rumble.
She giggled a little as she began stuffing her notebook back into her satchel, "I didn't run here, but…I haven't had breakfast either. Next time we'll both have to make sure we check our emails, hm Gajeel?"
The use of his name caught him off-guard a little. He only knew of her…and that was a very vague recognition.
"Yeah…Le…Lena?"
She laughed again. A loud laugh that sent a large ripple through her body as she threw back her head and laughed.
"I knew you didn't know my name!" despite the rudeness of the fact, she didn't seem to be too bothered.
A faint blush began to creep onto his cheeks, "uh….well…well you know we've never really spoken before…"
"I lent you my pen last week…I would ask for it back, but I've noticed you chewing it relentlessly so you can keep it!" she said brightly.
"OK, well…apart from that…"
"And I let you borrow my textbook once. Again…I would ask for it back, but I haven't seen you with it once since that day. I try not to think about what horrible life it's leading now," she chuckled.
He frowned a little. She'd apparently noticed him a lot more than he'd noticed her. The idea made him want to smile a little.
"It's Levy," she said, the same bright smile on her face, "for future references, my name is Levy."
She eased out of the row and the two began walking towards the exit.
For future references, he thought to himself, his lips twitching ever so slightly. As they got to the door, he placed a hand on it to stop her from tugging it open and turned to look down at her, a smile that mirrored her own tugging at his lips.
"I don't think I've made a good first impression," he laughed.
She shook her head and laughed, "you've made a great first impression, Gajeel."
"Eh," he shrugged, "it could be better. So…uh…let's start again. I'm Gajeel, d'you wanna go and catch a bite to eat?"
A soft blush appeared on her cheeks, and her smile seemed to turn more shy. She cleared her throat a little and looked up at him, "I'm Levy…and yes…I'd love to."