III

INSOMNIA


Better judgment convinced Erza not to incur the wrath of her asshole boss again so soon— not if she planned to finish the school year. Cautiously she creaked open the faculty office door to peek inside and survey the surroundings. Oddly, barely a soul was present fifteen minutes before the bell rang. Ultear is leisurely shifting through a large stack of documents on her desk. Evergreen is by her cubicle busy perming bronze tips with an iron curler. Principal Makarov sat behind his large pine oak desk, snoozing as his guttural snore droned through the glass walls of his office. Laxus and the rest of his posse were nowhere in sight.

"What in damnation's name are you doing, Scarlet?" Caught red handed, Erza jolted in surprise and is met by her boss's number one suck-up.

"G-Good morning, Instructor Justine."

"Hmph." Freed pushed open the faculty door and she entered right behind him. "If you're out sniffing for the boss, I'm afraid you're an hour too early."

From her spot, Ultear smiled to acknowledge the redhead's presence and Erza nodded in return. "Huh? I thought we have those daily standups before class," she asked the green-haired man.

"Why yes we do," Freed sarcastically quipped. "Unfortunately, the boss has been taking drastic measures on avoiding the inexplicable nightmare that befalls this school every morning."

"That reminds me, Freed, doesn't this catastrophe directly fall under Instructor Scarlet's jurisdiction?" Evergreen cooed from her seat, while twirling a lock of hair in front of her vanity.

Totally lost on what's happening, Erza furrowed her brows at the pair. "Nightmare? Catastrophe?"

"Here we go again," Ultear called out from her seat and pointed at the wall clock five minutes before the bell rang. Looking directly at Erza, the ebony-haired secretary looked like she was suppressing the urge to laugh. "I suggest you pick a spot by the window to witness what our colleagues are referring to."

On cue a feminine chorus of shrieks and squeals erupted, the vibration of which could only be described as glass-shattering. Erza squinted through the solar flare to see if the world outside is indeed coming to an end. Teenage girls, from various levels and classes, were pouring out like a battalion of ants from every nook and cranny of the school building. Catastrophe was the accurate word to describe it.

Erza's one eye involuntarily twitches. "Erm, I disagree. I highly doubt this falls within my jurisdiction... or my capabilities..."

Ultear appeared next to her by the window. "They want you to fix the root of the problem." The secretary then pointed to the epicenter of the pheromone infested swarm.

A shiny candy blue motorbike stood in the middle. Its bright sheen reflected against the sun like a surge of electric plasma. Perched on the vehicle is the object of the ladies' overt affections. He took off his cycling goggles and combed a hand through his spiky raven hair. Maneuvering himself off the bike, he marched to the entrance of the school like a king ready to be greeted by the plebs.

Erza turned to Ultear in sincere bewilderment. "Fullbuster, really? Guy doesn't even have the common sense to wear a freaking helmet on that thing."

Ultear wagged her brows in agreement. "Mhm. Word is, that's the latest model in the premium line of Kawasaki motors. Apparently, it costs 700,000 yen in the market today."

Erza rolled her eyes in disgust. "Unbelievable. Are all the kids in this school rich and spoiled?"

"Spoiled— yes. Definitely, spoiled."


Gray yawned and extended both arms skywards. Arching his back, he stretched his elbows behind his head. The commotion around him suddenly intensified tenfold. He panicked and immediately checked himself. As he figured, his unbuckled pants are on the verge of dropping way below his waistline. His innocent morning exercise has ridden up his untucked shirt giving his thirsty audience quite the frontal view of his lower abs. He mentally cursed his annoying stripping habit and hastily fixed his uniform.

"Yo partner!" The sea of rabid fangirls instantly parted revealing a highly amused Loke. His pal confidently strutted to greet him, shamelessly basking in the eyeballing of his fans. "I tell ya, man, one day your strip show's gonna be the cause of a school wide heart-attack." Loke then tipped his head to the blue-haired girl, who's— for the lack of a better word— obsessed with him. She appears to be vigorously breathing in and out of a brown paper bag as a means of preventing herself from fainting.

Gray broke eye contact at once, cringing to himself. "Piss off. You know it's unintentional."

"Right. I'm sure all this attention is nothing but a major pain on your ass—"

"It absolutely is," the raven haired boy countered without missing a beat and pushed his way out of the crowd towards the building entrance.

"GRAY-SAMA!"

Juvia's sugarcoated high-pitched voice caused a chill to run down his entire spine. He clicked his tongue in disdain. He wonders if he should just keep walking and feign deaf— never mind that her outbursts were always loud enough to reach the other side of the world. Before he could formulate an escape plan, the girl has already latched onto his arm like a lovesick remora.

"Hi Juvia…." he replied through gritted teeth.

"Gray-sama! Juvia has something to show you!" The girl managed to drag his dead, reluctant weight using her so-called power of love all the way in front of the school bulletin boards. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama will be proud of her work!" Plastered all over the board were multiple posters of Laxus' scarred angry face photoshopped on a hairy golden gorilla's body. Despite himself, Gray choked and burst into a fit of laughter. "Gray-sama's enemies are Juvia's enemies too!"

"Okay, you got me. This is pretty hilarious," he snickered.

Juvia giddily squealed like a child and once again dragged him to the adjacent bulletin. "Juvia thinks Gray-sama will appreciate this one more!" This time she proudly presented him with a wide array of a certain redhead's smug face pasted over a bikini model's torso. Loke, who by then had caught up with him, stood behind laughing his ass off at the spectacle.

Gray's eyes narrowed into slits. He remained silent. His full attention zeroing in completely at that pixelated face staring back at him. Turning to Juvia, he snarled, "It's fucking ugly."

The girl flinched and instinctively backed away. With his arms finally freed, He wasted no time tearing down all the posters at that specific board in rabid rage as the crowd around him could only watch in silence. Once he's done littering the ground with a tall pile of trash, he turned to face his audience and crossed his arms in a show of dominance. "Let's make this clear, Erza Scarlet's my prey. Nobody touches her, but me. If any of you bitches are dumb enough to do something like this again, I'll personally destroy you myself."

Juvia whimpered at his venomous words and camouflaged herself back into the crowd. Loke idly clapped his hands in the corner. "Ohh so it's personal now, is it? How many does this make it now? I'm starting to lose count with your impeccable track record."

A low echo of hummed awe followed as Gray turned to leave. Everyone now dreaded for their darling instructor's well being— as they should. Gray Fullbuster declaring to take matters into his own hands meant she's guaranteed to be gone overnight.

Erza fucking Scarlet. She hasn't left the forefront of his murderous thoughts, ever since she gave that creep Bickslow a free pass. His burning hatred for her is exponentially more than all five of their past teachers combined. She is different alright— different in a way that she is able to get under his skin like no other. She almost fooled him into trusting her too. Luckily for him and unfortunately for her, he had always been guarded by default.

Juvia is so fucking stupid to even think that her shitty photoshop skills are enough to drive that woman out. If there's anything he learned about Erza Scarlet, it's that she should never be underestimated. No amount of physical bullying would bring her to her knees. She is strong— but more dangerously— she is smart. He's admittedly impressed that she was able to play that bastard Laxus out of his own game. All the better, for him. He's grown so bored by all the dimwitted teachers their school only ever hired. A challenge like her is a welcome change. Never before has Gray been this eager to test his personally designed psychological trap on someone.


Their stubborn scarlet-haired instructor could very well be enacting a sermon to a room full of ghosts. She proved successful in unifying their class on one thing— the unanimous goal of ignoring her. His likely intoxicated backmate is in the middle of another fortune-reading session with her clique. Loke is unabashedly flirting with his latest squeeze at the other end of the line— never mind that electronic gadgets were top of the school's confiscation list. His infatuated groupie remains yet undeterred by his earlier explosion and is probably back to doodling her surname hyphenated with his, encircled by a sickening abundance of hearts. Gray cradled his chin in sheer boredom and resumed counting down the seconds before his real day began.

"Alright, if none of you have any questions— at all— which I doubt… No more homework for today, since last time everyone just copied off Ms. Heartfilia's anyway," the redhead groaned in frustration. "Let's make each other's lives easier, and just read in advance, okay? You're all—" The bell rang and almost everyone has literally disappeared in seconds. "—dismissed…" She sighed once and started shoving her books a little too forcefully into her bag.

The pea-brained idiot wasted no time on cornering the teacher's desk and giving her a strong slap on the back, earning him a glare in return. "Woohoo, no homework! You're the best, Erza!"

"Natsu, call her 'Instructor Scarlet' in class!" Lucy hissed next to them. "Erm... Instructor? Would you happen to be free tonight? Natsu and I were planning on trying this new sushi place in Ginza and uhm— Would you like to join us?" the blonde girl stammered, blushing lightly.

Erza furrowed her brows at the pair. "Ginza? Isn't that part of town a little too overpriced?"

"It's Lucy's treat!" Natsu excitedly announced. "Don't sweat it, Erza. Lucy's super loaded, and she splurges on the most useless things. Like this one time, she spent six digits on frilly underwe—."

"Too much information!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs.

Gray rolled his eyes and stood to leave. Natsu is a simpleton, and Lucy is simply too nice. He, though, won't be easily swayed by flamboyant speeches and herculean strength. No, he wasn't that shallow.

"Uhm, Gray? Would you like to join us too? It's my treat…" Lucy courteously offered while fidgeting on the spot. The blonde girl hesitantly barred his exit, as she had been doing for the past week, ever since he walked out on them at the park. He felt sorry for her, to be honest. She always made it a point to play referee among the boys. Unfortunately this time, his grudge wasn't directed at the usual dumbass.

"Sorry, not interested."

Lucy's shoulders slumped in defeat. On cue, a slur of jabs and insults were thrown at her face by the atrocious female students still present. They were quick to call her colorful names and mocked her for desperately failing to take the hint. Gray, who's grown utterly sick of this bullshit, turned to open his mouth and defend his friend's honor, but her idiot best friend was faster. "Stripper's a killjoy. Forget him, Luce. 'Sides, we got Erza and she's way cooler than that loser," the moron proudly boasted.

Erza. Erza. Erza. It's always fucking Erza now.

Perhaps the idiot wasn't as dumb as he poses to be. If anything, he damn well knew which particular button to mash at this given moment. Gray drew his most villainous grin and faced his rival. "Yeah? Well, you're a fucking pig, peabrain, always shamelessly leeching off your bitch's coffers." He felt like a total dick for referring to poor, innocent Lucy with such a derogatory term— nonetheless, he had nerves to pluck. Two can play the game.

Natsu literally hurdle jumped over the teacher's desk and was onto him. Although, Gray who's been anticipating this exact scenario to play out was two steps ahead this time. He managed to throw the first punch, sending the loudmouthed idiot crashing into the tumbled chairs. Lucy instantly rushed to her knight-in-shining-armor's side. She threw Gray a look that was the meanest he'd ever seen her give anyone to-date.

Gray instantly averted his eyes from the pair. Oddly, his clenched fist throbbed in pain from that one blow. He was ready to make his retreat and call it a day, when he is suddenly faced with her. In a hilarious twist of irony, Erza Scarlet now bore her infamous glare upon him. Her back completely shielding someone else from his harm. "Apologize," she half-ordered and half-threatened him.

"Or what?" Gray challenged, smirking deviously at her. "You gonna punch me back? Maybe expel my delinquent ass on the spot?" He fisted the front of her loose button up shirt and pulled her up close centimeters away from his diabolical sneer. The intensity of her glare persevered through his own reflection from the lenses of her framed glasses and into the very depths of his rotten soul. She remained silent and stationary much to his chagrin. "No? I didn't think so. Bitch like you? You're so fucking self righteous, letting scum like me off the hook— all the goddamn time," he violently shoved her backwards and finally leaves.


Dusk fell into the horizon of the faculty window, when Erza finally finished the paperwork that Laxus assigned to her— last minute, of course. The office was empty at this hour; her colleagues have all gone home ages ago. She supposed, unlike her, they had other lives to live outside of their jobs. If not here, she would've found herself drowning in another pint at Wally's watering hole anyway.

The phone on her desk buzzed. It was a message from Lucy, informing her that they managed to get a reservation for three in the aforementioned sushi place. Erza smiled to herself and relented, letting them know she was on the way. It was sweet of them to offer, but she definitely had every intention of paying for herself and maybe treating the kids as well depending on the bill. She was in the middle of contemplating whether how much Natsu could possibly fit in that stomach of his, when the faculty door creaked open.

Gray Fullbuster, the same brat who boldly went against her hours ago, entered the room and approached her cubicle. Erza automatically stood to greet him in alarm. "Why are you still here? Do you know what time it is?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he monotonously replied. "Relax, I came here to apologize like you asked."

Erza crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, you're talking to the wrong person. It's Natsu and Lucy who needs to hear your apology. Not me."

Gray nodded as though in silent introspection. "Still, I do owe you one too, don't I?"

"I don't really care," she shrugged and began collecting her things. "If that's all, go home. I'm leaving too." She walked past him, but he immediately grabbed her by the arm, spinning her to face him. "I stayed and waited hours for you, Instructor. Don't I at least deserve a minute of your time?" he pleaded.

Erza furrowed her brows at the boy's sudden change of heart. "Okay...? How can I help you?"

His grin was a little too wide for her comfort, almost like the Cheshire cat's. "There's something I want to show you. Why don't you leave your stuff behind? I promise it won't take very long."


"So Laxus moved his disciplinary camp in here?" Erza squinted inside the pitch black room.

Gray had led her to the library building's back door and into what's seemingly a segregated storage room of antique books. Inside, she could make out the narrow aisles and tall shelves blanketed in thick layers of cobwebs. The shattered windows were all barred with planks and the fluorescent had long expired for what seemed to be years.

"I saw them throw him in the back. They must've knocked him out cold from their beating. Why don't you check if he's still in there?"

Erza bit the inside of her cheek and stepped into the room. It would be highly irresponsible of her not to, in case there was indeed a student trapped in school and left to rot overnight. She made her way into the back. A few seconds passed as her eyes accustomed themselves in the dark, revealing— nothing. The room was completely empty save for her. A loud bang and the click of a lock were heard from behind. Suddenly, darkness was all there was.

"You're pretty gullible, aren't you, Instructor?" the muffled goad of her captor came from the other side of the door. "Did you seriously buy my fake ass apology? I wasn't exactly planning on using this on you just yet. Too bad you really ticked me off earlier."

Erza scoffed at herself. Figures. Brats like these don't change their hearts in a blink of an eye. Just as her boss had accurately foretold, she was now at the receiving end of the beast's fangs.

"Well then, why don't you make yourself comfortable for now? I'll be back to check on you in an hour, give or take— your grace period, out of the abundant kindness of my heart," he sarcastically sang. "You better be ready to resign by then, otherwise it's gonna be a long, cold night for you."

Erza obediently did as she was told. She gathered her skirt behind her knees and found a place to sit on the dust-covered wooden floor. They were quick to call her gullible, but she knew better now. Her hero had faith in her, when he had no reason to. He showed her how it felt to be at the receiving end of such warmth. She, in turn, chose to espouse his teachings on a universal scale— upon every single soul she met, so that none may ever suffer as she once did. She won't be easily deterred by one angry manchild's petty tantrums. The light inside of her will be more than enough to illuminate this darkness— and his.

Chocolate dilated pupils scanned through the surroundings like a nocturnal being's in search for the tiniest sliver of hope. Randomly reaching out to her side, Erza ran her open palm against a neat lineup of dilapidated books. Her smooth movement is suddenly obstructed by a single book spine wedging out of place among the rest. Pure intuition compelled her to pick it out.


For the hundredth time, the annoyed Lucy swatted Natsu's wandering hands away from the sushi plates she specifically reserved for their instructor. Erza's last text came in thirty minutes ago, since then their teacher has gone completely radio silent on them. Natsu convinced her that it was probably just rush hour by now. She, though, could no longer ignore the vibrant red flags she'd been sensing from earlier that afternoon.

"Hey Natsu, don't you think Gray has been acting really weird lately?"

"Eh? Has he? He's a pervert at best and an exhibitionist at worst; asshole's always had a few screws loose."

"Sure, but a while ago…."

"You're ruining my appetite, Luce," Natsu grumbled. "Trust me the next time I see him, I'm gonna sock it in him— hard. Bastard can call me stupid all he wants, but calling you that is extremely below the belt."

Lucy sweetly smiled at her admittedly overprotective best friend and slid one of her half-eaten plates to him as a sign of her gratitude. "Listen, I can't help but notice he's become exceedingly worse ever since that day."

Natsu wasted no second thoughts on devouring Lucy's kind offering. "It's normal. The douche's hatred for all teachers is unparalleled— not to mention— borderline mental," he mumbled while unmannerly chewing a fat slice of sashimi. "Chill, Luce. Erza would've single handedly snapped that pervert's neck off, before he could even lay a finger on her."

"I'm not so sure... Erza's gone easy on him a while ago too. She doesn't see him as an enemy at all; not the same way he sees her. What if... you know… What if, he also put her in the room?"

Natsu's jaw went still, the caveman-like munching came to a complete halt. His naturally squinty eyes bore down into Lucy's widely distraught globes. "Shit. It's bloody freezing outside to be using 'Iced Shell' right now!"


Gray hiked his leg over the motorbike and strapped in his cycling goggles. He hated having to wear a helmet, because it hampers the chilling thrill of letting the night breeze pierces through his skull. He set his watch timer to an hour and frowned, incrementing another half hour for good measure. It wouldn't be wise for him to start underestimating her now. Mashing the buttons once more, he set the timer to a solid two hours— double of what he's ever done in the past. Smiling triumphantly, he rode out to greet the evening.

Once upon a time, he was stupid enough to voice his condition to his good friend, Loke; needless to say he immediately regretted it. The dumb fuck just laughed at his face and told him the greatest moments in this world takes place at night. His friend dragged him to club after boisterous club, pointing out which types of women would be more than happy to aid him in his ailment. "Allow her to screw your brains out until you pass out," the lion told him.

He, though, knew better than to give in to fleeting euphoria. Loke's solution was a temporary distraction, whereas he longed to find a permanent cure. He wanted to achieve serenity— a constant peace of mind, yet chaotic dance music and moaning perfumed women are the exact opposite of that. Still, his friend insisted that it was a better alternative to the four suffocating walls of his solo apartment. Ghostly shadows of limbs meshing together into a homogeneous blur was better than being met with the unhealthy pastime of staring at his caving ceiling in total darkness.

He had nothing to say to that, so instead he bought himself a bike.

This is the main reason behind his shamelessly self indulgent purchase. The school's wild reception of his baby pales in comparison to the relishing high he achieves by running his nightly course. Unrelenting stamina has helped him memorize which highways and overpasses are frequently empty by the hour of the dead. He'd ride himself to the point of exhaustion or until the city lights diminished one by one— whichever comes first. Nevertheless, his extravagant means of escape proved ill effective unless he completely knocked himself out with fatigue by the time he hit the cushions.

His nightly sightings often made him wonder if he's the only one suffering from such a curse. Loke and his fellow party animals celebrate the night away dreading the mornings after. He, on the other hand, wishes for the darkness to pass him by. He drowns the eerie silence with the loud roar of his engine, lest his mind volunteers itself by unearthing all his repressed memories. All those things he wished he could've re-winded and done differently. He wonders who the curse that looms over him would swallow next. He wonders when it would end— when it will finally be his turn.

It was the exact same thoughts that led him to develop the psychological trap, notoriously known as 'Iced Shell' among the delinquents. Surely, even teachers no matter how lame and overbearing weren't prone to being driven insane by the darkness. It worked like a charm with the past three teachers whom he had single handedly coerced into handing in their resignation. Lock them up overnight, and it breaks their psyche faster than any other form of bullying could do. Not even physical violence could compare to the fragility of the human mind when forced to confront their own demons— he should know.

Gray rounds his to bike by the curb. He checks the timer, noticing there is still thirty minutes left on the clock. He figures that the spell should've taken effect by now. Another thirty minutes would've made little to no difference. Besides, he's far more excited to see how this one particularly grovels at his feet.


The wooden door swung open with a loud thud. Particles of dust fluttered through the dark moonlit room. By the tiny crack in the barred window sill, on the floor she sat. Legs curled to support her elbows and back leaning on the wall. She appears to be deeply engrossed reading one of the books found within the vicinity. Erza yawned and stretched, upon sensing his looming shadow approaching. "You're late. I've gone through this book ten times since you left," she drawled. Rising to her feet, she patted her skirt using the same book to remove the thick dust.

"Ready to call it quits?" Gray crossed his arms and glared at the redhead's soiled appearance. In spite of her filthy outward look, she's far too composed for his personal liking. Her predecessors would've been kissing his shoes and swearing off their profession by now. "I sure hope you've learned your lesson in the past two hours. Unless, of course, you'd prefer to greet the day as a frozen corpse."

Erza nonchalantly flips her long scarlet hair, fanning it behind her in a swirl of powdered dust. "I've learned three things to be exact— all regarding you. By the way, I'd have to thank you for bringing me into this goldmine of yours."

He snorts in absolute dismay. "Goldmine? Well, someone's snapped."

"First," she smugly cut in. "You're quite the cheapskate, aren't you? All that money you shell on your expensive ride, but not on books? This place is your secret hideout, isn't it? The books are too disorganized for this to be a closed storage space. Apparently, you're too cool to return them in the proper order after reading. On top of that, you've been vandalizing them with your chicken scratch handwriting." As proof she opened the book she's been holding and pointed out his random scribblings.

Gray smirked and raised both hands in a show of surrender. "Guilty as charged. I do have the keys to this place." He brought out his keys and began tossing it up and down, while leaning on the door frame. "As to how I got them, that's a secret."

"Second, you're actually pretty smart. The reading materials here aren't exactly advanced, but you like to read things that are somewhat philosophical. You're not as dense as you pose to be in class. Perhaps the type who greatly excels in the subjects he's interested in, and doesn't bother with those that bore him."

He darkly chuckles in response. "Hm. Seems like I have to murder you now, my delinquent reputation is at stake after all. Either way, you're two-for-two. What else have you discovered about me?" His bitter spite was gradually evolving into amusement.

Erza merely looks him dead in the eye. "You're suffering from a severe case of insomnia, aren't you?" Gray blinked. His smirk faded and his whole face fell. He stopped tossing his keys altogether. She, too, is pretty smart. "Yeah? So what if I am? What's your spin on me?"

"You're smart, Gray. I think you know what I'm talking about." She shows him the cover of the thin book she's been holding.

A Clean Well-Lighted Place

He swallowed hard as she finally approached him by the doorway. Erza stops only when she's centimeters away from him. Her sharp features now illuminated by the single fluorescent bulb that hung above them from outside. "You're particularly fond of this one. Good choice, Hemingway is a genius. I had to read it multiple times to figure out what he's trying to say. At the end, the old man was wrong to brush it off as insomnia."

Gray studied the thick lashes framing her slanted eyes in their proximity. She looked entirely different without those ugly glasses. "You're right," he clarified, entranced by having this kind of conversation with his victim no less. He once again found himself threading a dangerous territory with her. His inner voice screamed 'maybe'. Maybe— just maybe, he was right about her the first time after all. "What do you think it was?" he whispered.

"Loneliness?"

He scoffed weakly and clicks his tongue; his heart ached in pure regret. "Wrong." The shields were once again summoned to surround his icy fortress. "Thirty or so pages and you think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" he vehemently spat at her.

"Not exactly. I'm missing an important piece of the puzzle."

"And that is?"

"How can someone like you be lonely? You have all the money to satisfy your wants. You have people— girls— fawning over you like sheep. You're a jerk, but you're not exactly friendless either."

"Wow. You really do lack empathy, if you think that's all there is to me," he sneered.

"Then tell me what am I missing? Why isn't it adding up?" she pressed.

"Because you're fucking wrong!" he screamed and then sighed, bowing to shake his head in disappointment. "It's not loneliness. It's something else… Read it again. Maybe a billion dozen fucking times until you develop a proper sense of human touch," he deadpanned.

Erza furrowed her brows at him; her expression twisted in painful agony. "Gray, I want to help you, but you're not making it easy for me."

He buried his whitened knuckles deep inside his pants and turned his back on her, walking away from the building. "Maybe that's exactly the point," he mutters under his breath.

"ERZA!" Natsu's voice broke through the night. He swiftly climbed over the fence gate like a berserk monkey and landed on the other side in perfect stance.

"Erza! Gray!" Lucy remained at the other side, repeatedly sizing up the obstacle barring her way. "Natsu, stop!"

"You fucking perverted asshole!" Natsu growled in rage. "How dare you do this to Erza?! How dare you lock her up in your pigsty dungeon like a caged animal!" Natsu ran in their direction fist ready to deliver the punches he's notorious for. Gray still rattled by the earlier conversation stood motionless, defenseless as Natsu's fist hit him squarely in the jaw, sending him to the ground. Natsu didn't lose any second to jump on the guy and rained down his fists in a wild fury. Erza quickly pried Natsu off of Gray, toppling the pink-haired boy to the far opposite direction.

She bent her knees and supported Gray up, her arm around the back of his shoulders. He tried to touch his busted lip, but she gently closed her hand around his fingers and squeezed. Instinctively his eyes meet hers, and he immediately wish they hadn't. Her eyes were laden with worry for him— him who did this to her.

In the distance, Natsu bounced back to his feet and was charging into them at full speed. "Natsu, that's enough. Don't make me hurt you," she snapped. Her eyes remained locked on Gray's guilt-ridden ones.

She didn't even have to turn her head and glare at Natsu for the warning to take effect. He stood dead in his tracks and shouted his anger to the sky. "Erza, don't you fucking dare protect this stripper maniac! I'll clobber him to death myself! No one messes with my friends!"

Your "friend" now was it? She's a teacher, you moron. That's all she's paid to do. I'm your friend, the one you just hit.

Lucy made her way to Natsu's side in hopes of placating him with her mere presence. As to how she's climbed her way over the gate in that skirt, none of them really noticed. "Gray! How could you do this? Can't you see? Even now Erza's protecting you, you big fat dolt!"

Erza finally removed her imploring eyes from his to face the angry pair. "You two. Go home immediately. We're all trespassing school grounds at this hour. I'll deal with this guy."

"Stop it," he pathetically wheezed. Harshly, Gray dug his fingers around her arm and pulled her closer. With his lips directly next to her ear, he unleashed all the venom he could muster while those piercing eyes of hers are turned the other way. "I don't need your pity. I don't trust you. I'll never accept you. You're not my friend. You're just a goddamn teacher. I'll get rid of you yet. I swear it. I fucking hate you, bitch."

Natsu's jaw slacked open, his nose flared with the vivid intent of murder. Lucy eyed Gray as though he was the biggest scum on the planet, and perhaps she is onto something. Though she whom he longed to detest him the most, simply loosened her grip on his shoulder and retracted herself away from him. Laying him on the ground as gently as possible, she stood. She didn't utter a single word. Her breathing was steady. Her eyes were veiled by her scarlet bangs, but he highly doubts that she was crying. She picked up the book she's been using to dissect him and patted it clean from the soil.

"E-Erza…?" Lucy hesitantly spoke.

Erza simply walked towards Natsu who seemed ready to attack his decrepit form and stop only when bones remain. She put a hand on the seething pinkhead's shoulder. "Time to go home, guys." Her voice held no malice, no awkward fluctuation. She merely sounded tired.

Shortly after, they all left him to rot on the ground just as he intended them to. He didn't move from that position for a couple more minutes. The night sky littered with opalescent stars looked so peaceful compared to his tumultuous mind. Surely, his old friend would visit him once more tonight.


Erza can't believe her grand fortune of being once again smothered by the unobstructed view of her boss's giant ass. The burly man is practically bent over the cubicle partitions, flirting with Mira. Regardless, this implied that no one found any rotting delinquent's carcass lying out in the open that morning. She lets out an exasperated sigh and flips back to the book she's been reading over and over since she got home. She wonders if she's anywhere close to achieving— what did he say again— a billion dozen fucking times? Probably not.

A light tap on her shoulder woke her in surprise, as her one true ally finally made her presence known. "Morning, Instructor Scarlet. What's gotten you so worked up this early? That was the tenth time I heard you sigh in a span of fifteen minutes."

"Hey, Ultear, just the usual, dealing with the best class ever…" she winced.

"Oh? Who is it this time?"

"Sorry. I'd rather not talk about it." Erza fisted her scarlet hair and buried her nose back into the book.

"Interesting. It's Gray, I see."

"Huh? How did you— I mean no! It's collective. They're all causing me a major headache!" she stammered defensively.

"Please, I'd recognize that book anywhere. And no. You won't be finding any answers there no matter how many times he tells you to read it."

Erza blinked in surprise, and turned to face the other woman in astonishment. "Can you read my mind?"

The secretary tilted her head sideways and smirked teasingly. "Depends. Are you trying to read his?"

"Yes!" she blatantly exclaimed, slamming both palms flat on her desk. "I'm not a freaking therapist! Why is that brat hellbent on making my life so difficult?!"

Ultear bit her lip in serious contemplation. "Here's my advice, don't take it personally. The boy already came with a ton of mental baggage to begin with. Issues that no one probably can help him resolve…. at least not anymore."

Erza furrowed her brows at her ally. "What do you mean? Do you know something that I should?"

Rubbing her chin in a feigned show of uncertainty, the shrewd smirk was back on the secretary's lips. "Wouldn't it be cheating him out of his game, if I told you?"

Steadily composing herself, Erza released another labored sigh and meet Ultear's obsidian gaze. "I don't care about his stupid childish games. Please. I really just want to help him."

Ultear's teasing smirk gradually shifted to a genuine smile. "Alright then. What I'm about to say might give you your biggest breakthrough yet."


Gray arrived at school on his usual ride, at the usual time, with the usual entourage that worshiped his every stride. He still couldn't comprehend how Erza was stupid enough to even suggest he was this shallow of a being.

Loneliness? Suck my dick.

He'd trade all this revelry for one decent night of sleep. She only ever did see the surface, just like everyone else. He should definitely commend himself for being such a good actor. His standing ovation performance last night left everyone speechless.

That should do the trick— for now.

If she wasn't the type to resign from his "Iced Shell" prison, then at least she'd stop pestering him altogether after that. Having her nose about what's formerly uncharted ground left him admittedly impressed yet equally perturbed. She got extremely close into zeroing down on him given those thirty pages alone. He couldn't ignore the lingering ache he felt, when she eventually gave the wrong answer. For a brief moment, he truly wished she knew better. He wished there would finally be somebody out there who'd deliver the light of dawn into his cold dark suffocating room.


Erza brisk walked out of class as soon as the bell rang. She has a lunch appointment with Ultear that might just be the tipping point of everything to follow. She didn't even bother paying any attention to him in class after the tirade he vomited against her. No, approaching him would have to wait until she had a solid gameplan in motion. Besides, both Natsu and Lucy were already glaring daggers at the guy. She had to pull them aside and specifically threaten Natsu not to kill Gray when she wasn't present.

Still, she couldn't help but think that it was all just for show. It's a stretch, but she could've sworn he was desperately pleading her for the right answer before she messed everything up. He is lonely, not because of the lack of friends or admirers, but because no one truly understood him. For someone who repeatedly claims that she lacked human touch, he too is struggling to form a connection with those around him. Something is holding him back. Perhaps that something was what he wanted her to understand the most.

Ultear was already waiting for her in a brunch cafe outside the school. She demanded strict privacy for what they were about to discuss and Erza automatically agreed.

"Did he give you any more trouble in class?" Ultear cautiously inquired.

"Not really. He just looked... really tired."

"That's nothing new then. He hasn't been sleeping well from what I heard. It's a recurring thing."

"What, like nightmares?"

"Thoughts mostly. Dark thoughts that only visit you at night."

"I get those too. I just drink them away."

Ultear chuckled weakly. "It's different for him— something deeply rooted in his childhood past. You can probably classify it as a type of trauma."

"Wait. How do you know all this? Did you know Gray for a long time?"

"We basically grew up together. He's like a little brother to me. My mom was his preschool teacher, you see. She took him in when both his parents died in an accident and raised him as her own. The boy was only five at the time," Ultear smiled to the distance. "He came into our household as a snotty little rebel, but my mom was patient with him. She claimed the boy had this hidden potential that she wasn't going to allow him to waste— not on her watch. He was subjected through quite the honors student crash course program, and it worked wonders. He was the top of his class in elementary."

"Your mom sounds like an amazing person, Ultear," Erza beamed.

The secretary smile's suddenly turned bittersweet. "You think so? She reminds me of you, to be honest. I wish you could've met her when she was still around. I think you'd get along very well."

"Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't…"

"It's fine. It's been years. I've learned to move on and pursued a career in education in her honor. It is only Gray who's never stopped blaming himself for her death. He feels responsible for yet another accident."

"Another? What happened?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just another day after school when she fetched him home. It was a car accident. He was a child, so naturally she shielded him from the incoming bus."

Erza bit her cheek to suppress the urge to express her condolences once more, allowing the other woman to continue.

"He gradually shut down after that. First, he stopped studying, until his grades fell to the point that warranted expulsion. He's been skipping school for years. I personally sought him out and offered to enroll him here. It's what my mom would've wanted. Honestly though, I think he only accepted it out of his lingering guilt towards me."

"You never blamed him though."

"Of course not. I even tried convincing him out of his guilt multiple times, and he still couldn't look me in the eye to this day. My mom who served as his substitute parent specifically lost her life to save his. He believes he's cursed at this point."

Erza nods and looks at the book she's been carrying. Scattered pieces of the broken jigsaw puzzle began fitting into place.

"That book. How did you get it? He put you in the room, didn't he?"

"W-What? What... room?" she tried her best to not meet Ultear's questioning stare.

Ultear sighed. "It's nice of you to keep covering for him, but where do you think he got a copy of the keys? At first I thought he was using the area to study, but recently I heard rumors of teachers being locked overnight in that room. So it was true, after all…"

Erza reached out and squeezed the forlorn woman's hand. "Ultear— please don't do anything. I believe I'm— this— close to getting him out of his shell."

"Really? After all that you've just heard, you're still determined to help him? I told you earlier. It's nothing personal. This is something that can only be fixed by rewinding the past."

"I understand. That's exactly what I'll do," she confidently declared.

Ultear eyed her warily and slowly retracted her hand out of the other woman's grip. "Erza…. You'll tell me, if you're planning anything remotely illegal right?"

She stood and bowed at the other woman. "Thank you so much for telling me this. I promise to bring him home... in one piece."

"What? Wait, Erza! Your bill!"

Erza hastily made her retreat as the astonished secretary called after her. She found herself a secluded corner and speed-dialed one of the quick save contacts in her phone.

"Hey Sho? I have a favor to ask. Can you please tune in my old Kawasaki in your garage? — Yes, if you kindly could. I'm taking it out for a spin tonight."


NOTES:

Fast update, because this is actually one of the first chapters I wrote for the story. :)

I really wanted to incorporate books in Gray's character as a small reference to FT. And yes, the book choice isn't random and plays out in the theme I'm creating for his character.

I have the next chapter fully typed up, and it will be up next Friday.

I plan to allot two chapters each per character focus arc, so it wouldn't get super messy trying to stick everyone in all the time.

That said, next chapter is 100% strictly Gray and Erza interactions only, though not exactly in a purely shippy sense. He still needs to learn his lesson lol.

Once again, thanks for all the lovely reviews!

(To my Guest reviewer, I extremely appreciate your lengthy review! And yes, I have something planned for Mira. Don't worry!)