I yawned as I woke up.
When did I fall asleep?
When I attempted to move my hand, I realized I couldn't, and when I looked over, I smiled. Jellal was sitting next to me, holding my hand.
"Hey, Erza," he smiled, his voice barely more than a whisper. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his hair was slightly longer than when I'd last seen it.
I frowned but quickly replaced it with a smile and quietly greeted him. I didn't like seeing Jellal with bloodshot eyes. It made me feel bad for falling asleep so often while I was gone.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good," I responded, "How has school been?"
Jellal frowned slightly, "I-It's been better. After three days, it was decided I'd have to read out of the English textbook instead of learning in class. That was nice."
"You got into fights…?" I quietly guessed.
Jellal sighed and nodded slightly, "O-Only a few…"
"Did you get hurt at all?" I asked, lightly squeezing his hand.
"Barely," Jellal mumbled, not looking me in the eye, "Only once did somebody punch me back…"
"Oh…" I whispered, "Why'd you punch them?"
Jellal squeezed my hand, "Multiple reasons. Rude things."
"Oh, okay," I forced a smile, "How has Meredy been?"
"Good," he smiled once more, "Still has a huge appetite."
I chuckled, "That's good."
We were silent for a moment before I spoke again, "Jellal, I know I said I wouldn't apologize, but I'm sorry I ran off."
Jellal paused before responding, "I-It's okay, Erza. I forgive you."
He shouldn't forgive me… I don't deserve it.
"I don't see how you could even think of forgiving me, but thank you," I replied.
"I forgive you because you really did nothing wrong," Jellal insisted, "Yes, you could've done better things, but you didn't purposely do anything wrong."
"I didn't go home," I whispered, shaking my head, "That's what I did wrong. I didn't even start to go home."
"Which isn't exactly wrong," Jellal argued, "I'm not going to lie. It wasn't the best choice, but it's not like you purposefully got kidnapped."
I sighed, "I suppose you're right… But I still feel bad. I made you worry, and from the looks of it, you haven't been sleeping very well."
"Oh?" Jellal rubbed his eyes slightly, "I've been getting enough sleep. It was really bad at first, but on good nights I could get up to eight hours."
"No," he shook his head, squeezing my hand once more, "My eyes are red because I cried so much upon learning that you were okay."
"R-Really?" I stammered.
I thought they gave up… I should've known better. Jellal wouldn't just abandon me like that. He's not like the other people I've met.
I wiped away the tears that started forming in my eye.
"Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry…" Jellal mumbled, "Sorry about that."
"N-No," I shook my head, "I'm just r-really happy."
"I lost hope after a while," I added, "But now, I realize that a lot of the thoughts I had then… Were wrong."
We were silent for a moment as neither of us could think of what to say. Jellal held my hand tightly.
"I love you, Erza," he whispered before kissing me on the cheek.
"I love you too, Jellal," I smiled, hugging him. He hugged me back and stayed like that for a while, neither of us wanting to move.
"Don't go messing with Erza's heart monitor, Jellal," Mary warned, chuckling. We quickly parted.
I chuckled, "Hi Mary. It's nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too," she smiled, heading over to the side of the bed. She sniffled slightly, "I'm s-so glad you're okay…"
"Father didn't get nearly as drunk as he has in the past," I explained, "I don't know why…"
"Probably because he's done this before," I whispered, frowning.
"Hm?" Jellal raised an eyebrow, "What was that last part?"
"My father has done this before…" I repeated quietly.
"Oh," Jellal was quiet for a moment before continuing, "Well, you don't need to worry about that, okay?"
"But…" I started, looking down, "But I never noticed that they were there… They were suffering, and I was oblivious to it."
"There's a chance they were there before you were even born or after you'd left," Jellal countered, "Even if that's not the case, I'm sure your father made sure you wouldn't know."
"Yeah but…" I slightly shook my head and sighed, "You're right."
"Thank you," Jellal chuckled, "I know I already asked this, but how are you?"
"Good," I forced a smile, "Well… Sort of…"
"Erza…" Jellal sighed, "I suppose that's close enough…"
I gave him a weak smile, "Sorry… It's a habit to try to lie about that…"
"That's why I asked twice," he chuckled, "Don't worry about it."
"Okay," I nodded, pulling him into a hug once more. He hugged me back.
"I love you, Erza," he whispered.
"I love you too," I murmured, hugging him slightly tighter, "I would kiss you, but I'm sure that would be considered messing with my heart monitor…"
"Yes," Mary sighed, "Also, we are going to have to leave for a bit to eat…"
I hesitated for a moment then shook my head, hugging Jellal slightly tighter, "Nope. Jellal's stuck with me."
Jellal chuckled as Mary sighed, "We're not allowed to bring food into the rooms, and Jellal hasn't ate since yesterday during school lunch…"
I glared at Jellal, "Why didn't you eat dinner last night?"
"I uh w-wasn't hungry…" Jellal stammered, "That's all."
"He was fairly upset after school and went to bed early," Mary clarified.
I lightly hit Jellal's forehead, "Bad Jellal."
Jellal chuckled, "Sorry, Erza…"
"Go eat," I smiled, softly chuckling, "But be prepared for me to hug you again when you get back."
"Got it," Jellal hugged me once more before parting. They left to go eat, which Mary promised would only take around a half hour as they would be eating in the building.
Even after they left, I was still smiling. I was really happy to have been able to see them and talk to them again. I stared up at the ceiling and counted the seconds once again. It was surprisingly kind of fun.
I eventually fell asleep.
Simon was pressed up against me, and I attempted to push him away. It wasn't working though as his hands soon left my waist and grabbed my wrists, holding them down.
"S-Simon, let g-go of me…" I whimpered as his grip tightened.
He started kissing me, and I struggled even more. I knew all too well where this was going.
All too soon, he started to take off my shirt, and I yanked myself away from him, causing my shirt to rip and me to fall on the ground.
I woke to someone shaking my arm. I flinched at the touch, but they stopped upon seeing me awake. I could hear the heart monitor beeping rapidly behind me.
"Are you okay, dear?" a nurse asked me. She looked a little frightened, "I came in to see why your heart monitor was going so fast, and you were shaking…"
"S-Sorry," I stammered, "I-It was just a bad dream…"
I took deep breaths in attempt to calm myself down. It wasn't really working, but it at least helped a little. The heart monitor wasn't beeping as quickly anymore.
"Ah, it's okay…" the nurse sighed, "D-Do you need anything?"
"N-No," I shook my head, "I'll- I'll be fine."
"O-Okay," the nurse smiled, "You're family will be up here shortly, I bet."
"Okay," I nodded, "Th-Thank you."
"No problem," she smiled once more, "Again, tell me if you need anything."
"Yup, w-will do," I mumbled quietly.
The nurse nodded and checked on the medical equipment before leaving the room. Sighing, I stared up at the ceiling and continued to try to calm myself down. It wasn't long until I was near calm. I wasn't exactly calm, but I was as calm as I was going to get.
Wait… Shit, I apologized for a dream again.
It wasn't long before Jellal and Mary entered the room once more. Jellal immediately went to my side.
I quickly hugged Jellal and murmured, "Now you're stuck with me."
"Guess so," he chuckled, hugging me back.
"I suppose Jellal and I can stay the night here…" Mary suggested.
"Yay!" I cheered, hugging Jellal slightly tighter.
"Hey, I did just eat…" he chuckled as he hugged me even tighter.
I chuckled, "You're stuck right here, just like this because I'm not planning on letting go of you anytime soon."
"If you insist," he murmured, "I won't let go either."
"Good," I whispered, kissing his cheek. He didn't say anything back; he just kissed my cheek as well.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Mary sighed.
"Okay…" I mumbled, hiding my face behind Jellal's shoulder. I heard the door shut as Mary left the room.
"You doing okay?" Jellal asked once more.
"Yeah," I nodded slightly, "I'm doing just fine…"
"Liar," he whispered, "Try again."
I sighed, "I'm… I'm scared…"
There was no way I'd be able to get away with lying around him.
"I had a bad dream again and…" I trailed off and slightly shook my head.
Jellal pulled away from me for a second only so he could kiss me on the lips. I kissed him back and pulled him slightly closer. He hugged me once more.
I couldn't decide whether I should be afraid or happy. Part of me wanted to pull away in fear, but another part of me didn't want to stop kissing him. After all, it had been awhile since I got to kiss him.
"I know it's been awhile since you've seen each other, but do you really need to make out in the hospital?"
We both jumped, pulling away to see Meredy at the door, laughing.
I blushed and awkwardly looked down, "H-Hi Meredy…"
"Hey Erza!" she smiled and headed over to the bed. Jellal turned and sat on the edge with me, and he awkwardly raised a hand in greeting.
I smiled and held Jellal's hand, "How have you been, Meredy?"
"Good!" she leaned against the wall between this room and the bathroom, "A little trouble here and there, but overall good."
"That's good," I nodded, "How has school been for you?"
"Alright, I suppose," she shrugged, "It's been hard occasionally. The term ended and although I got okay grades last term, I'm worried about a few classes this time around…"
"Oh, that makes sense," I mumbled.
"Shouldn't you be at school now?" Jellal questioned.
Meredy laughed, "Yes, I should be."
I smiled, "Of course you'd skip school."
"Well, yeah…" Meredy rolled her eyes, "Which isn't exactly helping my grades… but seeing you is more important."
I chuckled, "Well, thank you Meredy. I appreciate the extra company."
Did she really have to come while I was kissing Jellal though…?
"No problem!" Meredy smiled as Mary entered the room once more.
"Sorry guys," Mary sighed, "But the nurses say we should let Erza sleep…"
"But I've slept enough…" I complained childishly, lightly squeezing Jellal's hand.
Plus, I don't want to risk having anymore nightmares…
"Doctor's orders," Mary sighed, "They probably want to check up on you too,"
I frowned and mumbled, "Fine… But you three better be back as soon as possible."
"Of course!" Meredy promised, "I'll return Jellal as soon as possible,"
"Wait, what?" Jellal raised an eyebrow.
"Good, you better return him," I chuckled, ignoring Jellal.
"I-I'm just going to go…" Jellal sighed, kissing my forehead before standing and heading to the door where Mary was waiting.
"See you later," I waved, smiling, "Be safe."
"See you later," Mary smiled back as the group left the room. I frowned as they left. I really didn't want them to leave, not after I finally got to see them again.
A few minutes later the nurse from before came into the room.
"How're you feeling, Erza?" she asked, closing the door behind her.
"Good," I forced a smile.
"Any aches or pains?" she smiled back.
"None," I responded as I awkwardly began to pick at my nails. The nurse frowned slightly, but didn't say anything about it.
Jellal wouldn't like me lying…
"That's probably because of the painkillers," she noted, "Are you okay with me lowering the dosage slightly?"
"Yeah," I nodded, "Go ahead."
She headed over to the equipment beside me and started to adjust a few things. I started to bite my nails. It hurt when I bit them too short, but it kept me calm. I really didn't like being around people I didn't know well.
"There we go," she mumbled, stepping back slightly, "We're going to let the new dosage kind of kick in. Is there anything you need?"
"Not that I can think of," I quietly responded.
"Okay, then I'll leave you be for now," she smiled once more, heading to the door.
"Alright, thank you," I smiled, shifting slightly to get into a comfortable position. She soon left the room.
Sighing, I continued to pick at my nails while waiting for Jellal to return. However, soon my fingers began to bleed from it.
"Uh… I don't think I've done that before..." I quietly muttered.
I stared at my fingers for a moment before reaching over to a kleenex box that was nearby and grabbing some kleenexes to wipe off the blood. It kept bleeding, so I wrapped it around my finger. It faintly stung.
Mumbling a couple of curse words, I closed my eyes and attempted to fall asleep. If I stayed awake, I'd probably end up making my fingers bleed more by picking at my nails even more.
I heard the door open once more, but I stayed still and tried to control my breathing. Whoever it was came closer to the bed.
"I know you're awake, Erza," Jellal sighed.
I smiled and murmured, "Hi Jellal."
"Hey," he reached over my back and grabbed my hand, "What happened?"
"Nothing," I mumbled quietly, turning towards him. I kept my eyes closed.
"Ah, okay," he chuckled, "You tired?"
"Nope," I shook my head, smiling once more, "Just bored."
Jellal didn't say anything, but I heard him move slightly in no particular direction. Moments later he kissed my forehead. I opened my eyes, slightly blushing.
"How long do I have to be here?" I whispered, sitting up and hugging him.
"I can't say," he admitted, hugging me back.
"I want to go home…" I mumbled, a few tears rolling down my cheek causing me to hug Jellal slightly tighter.
"I want you home too," he agreed, hugging me tighter in return, "Hopefully it won't take too long…"
I nodded in agreement, not quite trusting my voice. Sighing, I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes once more.
"Other than obvious wounds, I think they said you were really dehydrated…" Jellal trailed off.
"Yeah," I nodded once more, "I barely got anything to drink."
"You'll likely need to eat something soon, too," Jellal noted.
"Yeah," I murmured, "I'm not too hungry though. I ate just before they found me…"
"Still," he sighed, kissing my cheek.
"I know," I whispered, "Don't worry, I'll eat when I have the chance."
"Got it," Jellal mumbled, resting his head on my shoulder.
"I love you," I quietly murmured.
"I love you too," Jellal whispered back.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how adorable (and unrealistic) their relationship is? Anyway leave a review or something. There's three chapters left plus an epilogue.
