Authors Note: This was originally going to be a three part short story in this AU. I still might change my mind but I've lost motivation for this one. SO uhm, enjoy this blurb.

Rating: T

Prestigious AU

GaLe

"Todays the official last day of the 'Get to know your fellow club'," Lucy remarked about the administration lead event. The blonde's tongue was poking out in concentration, the nervousness evident.

"You know what our president of the beautiful Duke always says: 'We're a tight knit and bright community'" Levy teased gently, always willing to poke fun at the president's silly behavior; while it was true that Duke was aspiring to be a more inclusive and diverse college it was still notoriously hard to get into, which was perfect for Levy. While her family didn't necessarily have the type of money to carry her four years at this educational bloodsucker her grades had and who was she to turn down an Ivy league comparative education on expensive private institution money…was that really any different (now that she thought about it had Brown's tuition been cheaper)? With a sigh the bluenette reaches forward, moving her white rook to h5 and grabbing Lucy's black knight, "What was the first-place reward again?"

"I think he said it was $100 gift card to that Italian place downtown," Lucy was staring at the chess board with confusion before swinging brown eyes up to hazel. "That wasn't conventional."

"Well of course not, but you left an opening for me to try my hand at the Fischer play from the Portoroz Interzonal Chess Tournament in Slovenia in 1958," Levy responded with a smile, "I read about it last night and just ended up moving the piece without thinking. Now this game can go a few ways."

"You're not actually trying to beat me,"

"You already got a stamp from me," the blue haired woman laughed, "I'm allowed to mess around…especially if it's against you Lulu." Both women stopped talking, the pieces moving around the board in a flurry and disappearing even faster. "Check mate!" an elated squeal.

"I expect nothing less from the Chess club president," Lucy hummed with a stretch and a yawn, "Has…uhm…actually you know what that was going to be a stupid question." an embarrassed throat clearing, "has anyone from the football program come to try to earn a stamp from you?"

"No," Levy answered lowly, resetting the board, "How many stamps did you end up getting Lu?"

"I managed to get 12 out of the 50 clubs participating. So many essays, scripts and 'short' stories were due this week, not to mention peer reviews and one on one meetings with our professor. A pain," The blonde grumbled, "I still have to finish three of them up by midnight tonight."

"If it makes you feel any better, you're one of eight that got a stamp from the Chess club." That made Lucy snort.

"If I didn't earn a stamp from you I would have never heard the end of it."

"That's not true, I would have just b-" Levy was cut off by tentative but loud knocks on the door.

"Sorry to Interrupt but uh –" an awkward laugh, "I was hoping to earn the stamp from this club. Ya busy right now?" Levy would recognize that voice anywhere, which was funny considering they've never actually spoken more than a sentence to one another. She felt the butterflies take flight in her stomach and turned her attention to the man at the door. Whenever she looked at him, she felt like she was transported back to the time her eyes had first landed on him:

"Who's that?" Levy found herself asking Erza. It was Levy's second official week as a college freshman, Erza being a sophomore and the only person on campus she had known.

"Who?" Erza asked uninterestedly, the redheads eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she looked intently at her phone.

"Him!" Levy hissed, japing her elbow into Erza's unprotected side.

"Jeez,"

"Can you hurry up before I lose my nerve," the bluenette whispered, her tone lowering as they passed a larger group. Levy barely managed to jerk her thumb back in the direction of the person she'd indicated earlier. "The tall one, covered in all those piercings and surrounded by all those…people."

"Gajeel. He's the left tackle on the football team. Also, a sophomore. A bit of a womanizer never really had a reason to talk to him though so I can't give you more information on him. Why?" How was Levy supposed to tell Erza that her eyes gravitated to him. After catching sight of him the first time, the rest of the week they've sought him out and whenever they landed on him she felt happy. Her friend would probably think she was crazy considering Gajeel looked like trouble. Piercings all over his face and ears, long black hair usually tied up in a knot on his head and an air of importance around him.

"Are you allowed to even have that many piercings playing a contact sport?" Levy mused, ignoring Erza's initial question.

"Never thought about it."

"Levy?" Lucy's voice brought her slowly out of the memory. She didn't notice she was twirling a lock of her hair around her finger, a nervous habit she's always had, her eyes still trained on Gajeel. She blinked nervously when their eyes connected.

"I'm not busy," She smiled briefly in Gajeel's direction and dropping her hair before turning her attention back to Lucy, where it was safe, "I'll see you tomorrow, my place?"

"Your place!" The blonde responded with a wink and then she was gone.

"Sit, please." Levy said after an awkward few second of them staring at one another, "Do you care what color you are?"

"Nah," Gajeel grumbled while wedging his muscular body into the sitting chair Lucy had been perched in earlier. "You pick."

"Ah okay, I'll be black. You go first." Levy stated, spinning the board around expertly and tucking her legs under her and settling excitedly in her chair. She was always eager to play someone knew, the possible challenge was what she craved; the mental stimulation was its own natural high for her.

"You think that gives me an advantage?" Laughed out, "I've seen how you ruthlessly took over the chess club and how you show no mercy during any of your matches."

"You watch the chess matches?" Levy asked. It took everything in her to ask if he's watched her play. Obviously he had, but she wanted to confirm she heard right. She was so startled by his revelation she almost didn't see him move his pawn to e4.

"Well yeah," Gajeel grumbled, his focus on the board, "I like the strategy of the game. Same for football…though one requires more brains than the other. I ain't only a meat head."

"I didn't say you were," Levy countered back while moving her pawn to e5.

"Then why did you sound so surprised when you asked if I watch the chess matches?" White knight to f3.

"I was just…" black knight moved to c6, "I…was happy you came to watch me, which is funny cause it's not like you know who I am or …" Levy trailed off. She could feel her face heat and nervously pushed her orange glasses further back on her head, keeping her bangs out of her eyes. She didn't mean to let that slip; she'd essentially admitted that she's been pining for him for the last three years.

"I accidently knocked into you two years ago." Gajeel responded, moving his bishop to c4. "You scraped your palm and…"

"I remember you tracking me down to hand me back my calculus textbook," Levy breathed, still to nervous to look at him. Her Bishop moved to c5, "I don't remember scraping my palm though."

"You left a smear of blood behind, I felt bad. Anyway that's when I started to see you around campus. Everywhere I turned there you were, behind a book or playing chess on the lawn with the blonde." He stopped talking suddenly, a pink tint coming over his ears. his second pawn to c3. "I grew curious as to why your eyes seemed to follow me." Levy didn't trust herself to answer right away, it seems she was busted. She bit her lower lip as she moved her second knight to f6. The next few moves carried on in embarrassed silence, neither wanting to acknowledge what was said between them.

"I…felt drawn to you." Levy finally choked out, her confession startling the larger man in front of her. Her frown deepened as she moved her rook to f3 and leaned back, "Checkmate."

"huh?" Gajeel grunted, looking back down at the board with a frown.

"I win."

"That ain't fair! I've been practicing for the last week so I could impress you by winning, but you had to drop that shit at my feet and distract me!"

"Impress me?"

"I was hoping to get the stamp for the club to ensure I'd win the gift card…I had planned on asking you out on a date…if…you'd be interested." Levy sat gob smacked, well aware her mouth was hanging open. "…only if you wanted too anyway…I…you know what…never mind. Forget I even said anything." Gajeel stumbled over himself, eyes looking everywhere but at her as he stood up abruptly and headed towards the door.

"Gajeel."

"W-what?"

"How about a rematch? Loser buys dinner."