Another milestone! We have finally reached the fifteenth chapter. Wow, that was fast. Remember when we only made it to the tenth chapter?!
Once again, thank you for everyone's continuous support! Without you guys, I would've never made it this far! CHSama will continue to work hard until the end.
Disclaimer: CHSama wishes that Fairy Tail belonged to her. Instead, it belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Jellal blinked at the page. He hoped that something would magically make sense to him, but it didn't. He blinked again. Then again. Nope, nothing was changing. He was still his helpless self.
It was already Thursday. With midterms coming up, students were stressing about their worse subjects. For Jellal Fernandes, there was no other subject worse than. . .biology.
Suddenly, Jellal heard the familiar tune echo through his bedroom. He unzipped his back pack and fished out his phone. He glanced at the screen to see the caller ID. Soon, the bright hope in his eyes changed to bitter disappointment. "Why does Mom call me everyday?" he mumbled.
He swiped the screen to receive the call. "Moshi moshi. Jellal desu."
"Evening, Jelly. " It was the same gentle voice Jellal had heard as long as he could remember.
"Yes? At least I call you 'Mom' and nothing stupid?" Jellal was trying to hide the longing of his mother in his voice. He could clearly imagine her on the other side of the phone. . .Her blue hair, gray eyes, and a red tattoo that resembled his.
"I know. I love you too, sweetie." His mother read him like an open book, and the boy didn't know if it was good or bad. "It's already five. You're back home now, right?"
"Yeah." As soon as he said that, he could already imagine her warm smile to follow.
"Are you doing well? How's the summer there?"
The boy shrugged. "Not bad. Considering I'm at the southern part of Fiore, the temperature is starting to climb really quickly. When it does, I stay indoors. It's simple."
"Jelly! You have to understand that the heat. . .plus you. . .doesn't equal a good reaction. It's like chocolate with ketchup! You're going to go crazy! Literally!"
"I'll figure out a way," the boy assured. "And when I do, I'll ask for your approval, 'kay?"
There was a long pause from the other line. "Okay," his mother finally answered. Jellal understood that she was earnestly worried about the summer ahead. He, too, did not want to be brainwashed by the heat. He shivered at the thought of the things he may accidentally say.
"How is it lately?" the woman asked.
The boy snapped out of his trance. "Oh. It's just work. I feel like I won't survive."
"You will, Jelly. Midterms are quite stressful, but I know that you won't. . ."
"But there's biology."
"Oh." Just like the bluehead, Mrs. Fernandes wasn't the brightest when it came to the subject. "Well, that's different. Even your father hated biology. It's like the family disease or something."
"Please help me."
"No. You have your own work, I have my own," she reasoned.
"Please. You're my mother."
"I'm sorry, Jelly. Nope, bio is just not my thing."
Jellal noticed the other side of the line went silent. "Hello?" he repeated. He took the phone away from his ear to glance at the screen. "What?!" He tapped the screen. "She hung up on me," the boy admitted to himself. He inwardly groaned as he lowered his head to his the desk. "What am I going to do now?" He sighed.
The bluehead silently sat at his desk. As an attempt to propel his thinking, he pulled out a drawer and fished out the box of Chocolate World truffles. Two of the truffles remained. He could've finished the package in one shot, but he picked only one instead. He propped the chocolate in his mouth and allowed the sweet, creamy vanilla overtake his taste buds. If only he could make chocolate as good as that.
Jellal was about to reach for the last piece until another consideration hindered him. The last one is vanilla lava flavor. Did Erza ever eat that before? He was about to disregard the consideration until he realized how guilty he would feel afterward. "Some people make me lose my mind," he angrily muttered. Jellal snatched the box and headed out his bedroom door.
Jellal ran up the marble staircase to the third floor. He instantly spotted the girl's door in the hall. The bluehead was about to reach for the doorknob and knocked the door.
A soft voice answered. "Yes, what is it?" It was Erza.
"It's Jellal. Are you free?"
The door swung open. "Who?" The redhead was in loose fitting clothes with a binder in her arms. "Oh, Jellal."
It could've been his imagination, but Jellal could've sworn that her eyes lit up when she saw him. Nope. I'm just imagining stuff. I'm always paranoid, he argued.
Erza shifted to one side. "Come in, Jellal."
The bluehead gladly accepted the invitation. When the bluehead walked into the room, he caught his breath. The beautiful chandeliers, the lace curtains, the elaborate furnishings, the balcony that followed glass doors. . .He felt like he had truly walked into a queen's room. The more he glanced around, the more he realized how different the Scarlets' world was compared to his.
"Sit," a voice called. Jellal snapped out of his reverie. He saw Erza close the door and plopped down on her bed.
He've seen Erza in many situations, from her poised look as a student to her crying by the seaside. But this?! The redhead had a loose sweater, jeans, and she looked like a zombie with her messy hair. She looked so energetic a minute ago. "What happened?" the boy asked.
"I-it's nothing, Jellal. You don't have to worry about me. I'm. . .I'm just exhausted," the redhead replied. "I've spent every free minute I had reviewing for the midterms. I feel. . .miserable."
"Er, okay," Jellal's eyes darted around the room. . .until a sudden realization hit him. W-wait! I'm alone with Erza in here! This is bad. This is REALLY, REALLY bad! I've got to get myself out of this somehow. . . "Um, Erza. I'm just going to leave this box over here. It's a truffle. You can have it. I'll be going soon." He headed to her desk and placed the box there. He was about to head back until a certain packet caught his eye. "The biology packet!" he said a little too loudly.
The redhead stirred. "Biology?" Just hearing that word perked her up. "What about it?"
Jellal, now embarrassed, shifted away from the desk. "Er, it's nothing much. It's just that, I'm. . .really bad at biology," he sheepishly admitted.
"Oh! I can tutor you!" The subject always invigorated the redhead. Even though she had been reviewing for hours and hours, nothing could beat her love for science. She bounded towards her desk. To Erza, biology was her passion.
To Jellal, not so much. He slowly backed away from the desk. "Um, Erza. It's okay. I will figure it out on my own. . .Maybe." he quietly added.
The girl vigorously shook her head. "I'm perfect fine!" She said as she secretly stifled a yawn. "B-besides, w-we should help each other s-since we're friends."
Friends. . .That hit a spot. Erza was so innocent and honest with her feelings, it caused frantic palpitations in Jellal's chest. "I still think I shouldn't bother you," he said.
"B-but. . .I feel indebted to you. You're always helping me, but I never repaid your kindness," she replied. She patted the seat next to his. "So please let me repay you. Just this once." The girl's pleading eyes made the bluehead feel guilty.
"Fine," the boy finally answered. Jellal took the seat next to the redhead. "Just know that I get bored easily, since it's bio," he warned.
The girl gently smiled in response. She handed the biology packet to him. "What is it that you need help in?"
He suppressed a groan when he saw the much loathed sheets. He regretted his stay. "Is it bad that my answer is everything?" he carefully questioned.
The girl shook her head. "We have plenty of time." Though she said that, she was overwhelmed with fatigue. But she didn't want to fail the bluehead. She started reviewing some topics here and there and strangely, he understood everything much better.
The redhead pointed to the next section of the page. "Shall we go on?" the girl asked, to which the boy nodded to. Slowly, the two finished reviewing one page after the other. Erza thoroughly explained each question, as Jellal attentively listened. Though Erza was tired, the bluehead's perky, incorrect answers bought a smile to her face. As for Jellal, the girl's warm smile was contagious. Secretly, both wished that this bubble of happiness. . .would last. . .forever.
"Are you sure you understand everything so far?" Erza questioned one more time. By now, they were up to the eighth page. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her upcoming yawn. As each minute passed, her drooping eyes were getting more and more difficult to resist.
The boy frowned. "Are you okay, Erza?" He couldn't ignore the fact that the redhead was continuously yawning. "Am I boring you?" He stood. "I'll leave so you can catch up on some sleep. I'll study on my own later."
The redhead shook her head. "Liar. You know that you would never study this by yourself."
Jellal gulped. He was caught redhanded.
"We have a few topics left. Sit," she directed. She turned to a biology terms refresher page. Following that came a list of questions. "How about you complete this?" Her voice were mumbles.
Jellal's gaze shifted from the page to the redhead. He wanted to reject the task, but he didn't want to force Erza to tutor anymore for the day. He could clearly tell that she was exhausted, despite her efforts. He decided to keep quiet. "Sure," he agreed. He grabbed a pencil from the side before scanning the long list. When he finally completed the page, he slipped it back to Erza's side. "Here."
Soon, he noticed that the girl wasn't responding. He craned his neck to the side. Just as he had assumed, the redhead was sound asleep in the seat next to him. Erza had rested her head upon her arms and was dozing off. Wondering if it was a prank, he wove his hand in front her of her face. "Hello?" He started waving two hands instead. "Hello?!" he repeated. Jellal sighed. "I told you that I should've left. Look at you," he said, though he knew there as going to be no reply.
Taking it as a chance to also rest, he also laid his head on top of his arms. He purposely faced the wall, so he wouldn't have to stare at the redhead. He knew that if he did, his heart would start a marathon. Now that he thought about it, was he the first person Titania napped next to? Then again, there was Natsu, Lucy and Gray. He pouted. Gray Fullbuster was always ahead of the game. Jellal couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.
He switched his position to glance at the redhead. . . and when he did, he caught his breath. The redhead was peacefully sleeping on top of a stack of papers. Jellal smiled at the scene. "Thank you, Erza. . .Scarlet," he murmured. It had been a long time since he last called the girl by her full name.
The boy was quietly enjoying the silent moment. There was nothing to disturb them. Looking at how relaxed the redhead was made him feel the same.
Most of all, he couldn't stop the rapid thumping of his chest. Erza's face was close to his. Her long, dark eyelashes were tipped with tears from yawning. When the girl exhaled, the gush of air felt so warm when it grazed against Jellal's skin. And every breath that he took in had the faint smell of the redhead's shampoo. He reached out to tuck a strand of Erza's red locks behind her ear.
Jellal took a deep breath. "Did I ever tell you that I'm sorry?" Those words have been locked in him for so long. "I'm sorry, Erza Scarlet. I could apologize a hundred, or even a thousand times, but it would never be enough. I did something I should've never done. I. . .I. . ." His voice trailed off. The bluehead exasperatedly sighed. "I've already messed up," he muttered to himself, referring to his inability to continue his speech. For now, he was rehearsing in front of a sleeping Erza. He took another deep breath. "I missed you, Erza. I missed you so much." His green eyes searched for a reaction.
His eyes laid upon the redhead's lips. Her lips were shiny and soft-looking. Little did he know that he was slowly being washed by his feelings. He knew that he shouldn't have any feelings towards Titania. . .he had promised that he would punish himself. He had to stay away from the redhead. But he couldn't help it. He was slowly starting to inch closer and closer to the queen, his eyes locked on her smooth lips. The breathing of the girl started to become more audible as the bluehead came closer. Her breathing was so steady. . .so even. . . By now, the bluehead was just millimeters away from Titania's face. If he could just move in a tiny bit more. . .
BAM! The sound of the slamming door rung throughout the room. Jellal jolted upright, his heart pounding. He turned to the door, expecting someone to enter. When no one came in, he realized that someone exited. His heart stopped. If someone had exited, that meant that s/he was previously in the room. If the person saw what Jellal was doing, he would be in hot water. Like, fire hot. The boy ran outside the door. He scanned the hallway, but it was clear. Whoever was here, isn't here now. Could it've been the butler he met earlier? Oh sh*t! My life is ruined! he mentally screamed.
He reentered Titania's room as he inwardly groaned. He could only imagine what would happen to him. As Jellal took his seat, the redhead stirred. Erza's eyes slowly fluttered open. Most of her exhaustion that had lingered in her eyes had vanished. "W-what happened?" she asked before rubbing her eyes. "I heard loud noise."
Jellal was getting nervous. What was he supposed to say?! "I came from the bathroom. I accidentally slammed the door shut," he lied. "Sorry if I woke you up."
Erza gave him a confused look. "W-what? Woke me up?" Then her eyes rounded. "What! I-I fell asleep. Oh! I'm sorry! How long have I been asleep?!"
The boy checked his watch. "Around an hour."
The redhead gasped. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she repeated over and over. "I really didn't mean it!" She scrambled for her watch. "What! It's already seven o'clock! Why am I so stupid?!" She turned to the boy. "I'm sorry! I r-really didn't mean it! There's really no excuse for myself."
"It's okay," he reassured. "We're friends, remember? And friends forgive each other, right?"
Erza slowly nodded. "Jellal?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm happy that we're friends. I'm very, very happy." Her bubble of joy allowed her to paint a smile. It was a beautiful smile that reflected her happiness in a natural way. It was so genuine. . .so warm. . .so endearing. . .He especially loved the way Erza's eyes crinkled from the smile. The boy had the urge to pull her into his arms.
But he was so close crossing the line today. He had to control himself, or else he would be ogling at Titania forever. "Now, you're wasting my time with your numerous apologies. How about we get back to work?" he suggested with a friendly grin.
"Oh! Okay!" The redhead cheerfully answered. She was glad that the boy had forgiven him. "Um. . .what were we up to?"
Jellal handed the Biology packet to her. "Please check this page." He pointed to the list of biology terms.
The girl nodded. "As I do that, you can go back to your room."
"Can't I just stay here?" he asked innocently. "Even if I go back, I'll have nothing to do. . ."
Erza shrugged. "Sure, why not." She was already consumed in her work. As long as the bluehead didn't bother her, she wouldn't mind his presence.
Jellal smiled in response. He rested his chin on his palm as he watched the redhead skim through the page with her pen. He knew that Erza was a hard-worker, but he'd never seen it in action. Being this as his first time, Jellal enjoyed the scene. The sound of pen on paper and the soft but bright lighting of the room. And, of course, there was the Mona Lisa of the painting. . .Erza Scarlet.
Erza, if I asked you to forgive my wrongdoings, would you?
Chapter 15. . .FINISHED!
Once again, thank you to my beloved readers! Your support means so much to me, since this is my first continuous fanfic! I can't believe that you have beared through my slooooooow updating! Next, thank you to my amazing siblings who always brighten my day when I bang my head during writer's block!
I love you all!
Let's work together to make it to the 20th chapter! I wonder what bonus I should add for that.
Stay tuned for the Q&A! ~CHS