A/N: Hi minnaa! As promised, chapter released a lot earlier than before! Enjoy~ (^o^)

Disclaimer: I am not Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 28

Levy is not really the most open person when it comes to her feelings. Sure, you see it, but she will never talk about it overtly. So when she mentioned his name, I couldn't help but squeal.

For a moment there, I forgot everything that happened earlier and focused all my attention on my best friend. "I knew it! I knew it!"

"Knew what?! What do you know?!" she freaked out.

I giggled, "Nevermind. I just meant I knew there is something!"

She started stuttering, "B-but how?! How did you know? I-I mean I never told— and there's nothing really!"

"Of course I know! You're my best friend. Even if you don't tell me, I know! Anyway, don't mind what I said. Just tell me what you were about to say!"

She sighed, once again. "Okay, so here it goes. The other night I was on my way home, alone. It was kinda late because I had to run a lot of errands. Later on, I felt some people following me. I tried to shake them off but I failed. There were three guys and they all came to me when I was about run. They were drunk and well, you know how drunken people are. I tried not to make a scene and politely asked them to leave, but of course, that was a dumb thing to do. I was so scared I couldn't even shout. I thought I wouldn't make it back home in one piece… luckily, he showed up."

"He… you mean Gajeel, right?"

"Mhmm. But there were three guys, so he also caught a couple of punches. I took care of him yesterday and—"

I squealed once again. "Yesterday?! You mean like the whole day?! And in his room?! Only the both of you?!"

"Y-yes but that's it! I mean, is it wrong? That I took care of him? I don't know! I—I… think I may like him a teeny tiny bit…"

"A teeny tiny bit?!" I chuckled, "You're kidding, right? Of course you like him! So, what do you wanna do? Do you wanna repay him or something?" I asked her that but in my head I was already thinking that taking care of him was already enough.

"Well, yeah… but not really. I mean I think taking care of him is already showing a bit of affection-"

Yes it is, Levy.

"But I haven't told him anything yet. And I don't know what to say, so can you help me?"

She called me to ask how she'll thank him? I've never seen (or heard) Levy like this, I guess she really likes him so much that she's having butterflies in her stomach just thinking about talking to him.

"Okay… I guess you can tell him this…" I tried to think of something not too cheesy but showing a bit of her feelings. "Okay! Tell him something in this structure: Thank you for what you did. I appreciate them all, I appreciate you. I just want you to know that ever since, I've always liked you and—", before I could finish, my boss showed up, eyes twitching either with disgust or annoyance.

Out of reflex, I bid her goodbye and told her that I would talk to her later or maybe tomorrow. I put down the phone and smiled at him, "That was—"

"I don't care who that was. Listen, I don't care if you have a lot of admirers—"

Admirers?! Where'd he get that idea?!

"On working hours, the one you should prioritize is me."

"W-wait sir, that wasn't an admirer, that was—"

And just then, Natsu showed up.

"Oh look, here's another one of 'em." He said as he sarcastically smiled, led him to me, and walked out.

"What the hell is his problem?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know…"

"Well, no one ever does anyway." He chuckled. "Anyway, I got the details we were looking for. All we need to do is meet my friend in the place he said. He told me that he's not sure if she is willing to cooperate but perhaps if he can get her to listen to us, she might actually agree with what you want."

"Okay. I really do hope this works."

"I think it will."

"Really?"

"Yup. Honestly, it's hard to turn you down. Plus, you're doing this out of good will, it's not as if you'll get a higher pay if you pull this off. I think your pure intentions will be key."

"Well, he kinda told me some stories about her and I don't really know what will happen."

He was in the middle of helping me plan my plea until once again, Gray calls my name.

I entered the house and then his room. "Yes, Sir?"

I saw him slightly "tch" before he told me, "What were you still doing outside?"

"A-ah, I was just—"

"You haven't cleaned my room yet." He slid his finger on his windowpane. "See? It's so dirty. If I get colds because of this, I'll get my talent fee from your salary!"

I slightly chuckled. He looked serious but I just found it funny how he would say things like that. It sounds as if he's not just asking me to clean.

I don't know if it's just me but it almost sounds like he demands my attention.

And come on, I've been with him for a while – I kinda already know the difference of his "be scared because I am angry, Lucy" face from his "I am not really mad but let's just pretend I am" face.

And I swear the latter looks so cute.

For a while there my response was not "Okay, Sir. Immediately." Instead, my eyelids slowly dropped until I looked half awake, sighed, and even slightly smiled.

He saw my reaction. I thought he was going to shout at me again and ask me, "What the hell do you think you're doing standing there still doing nothing?!" but he didn't. Instead, he looked away and said, "Just go do it", and walked out of the room.

I took the feather duster and couldn't help but think about his reaction. Am I overthinking this again? Perhaps he just wasn't really in the mood to get mad at me? But come on, who deliberately gets mad at someone who isn't doing anything wrong? Maybe he's just tired of getting angry so he just let my weird response slide? Or perhaps he just thought that my reaction was so weird that it's not even worth getting mad about?

I don't know… but I am guessing it's one of those three. I mean, I really want to think that he's just that because he demanded my attention and I saw through him so he didn't know how to react properly. But let's be real, that is waaaaaay out of my league. Being with him always kinda makes me like him even more. Ironically though, being with him always also makes me begin to accept that I am just this and he is way up there and my dreams will always be just dreams.

But if I know that, I wonder why I still try.

'Hope' may be a word more powerful than we think it is.

To be continued…

A/N: Sorry if you see mistakes! The next update will be Gray's POV! Please feel free to review, etc.! Thanks! \(◦'')/