When the final bell rang at the end of the day, I gladly left Mr. Toro's gym class. He was a little too handsy for my liking.
I met Lucy at our lockers and checked my notebook for my weekend assignments before getting the books I needed. I was in the process of shoving the book I'd borrowed from the library into my already full bag when Cana sidled up to us.
"Party. My house. Tonight."
I sighed. "Cana, we have tons of homework."
"And?" she rolled her eyes. "Save it for Sunday."
I opened my mouth to protest, but she interrupted me.
"Come oooon," she whined. "We haven't partied since summer!"
"You party every weekend," Lucy pointed out.
"That's different," Cana pouted. "I'm not with my besties every weekend. You guys can even sleep over after!"
"I think a party could be beneficial," Erza agreed, joining us.
"I'll invite the Iron Giant and his friends," Cana told me, poking my nose and smiling suggestively.
I frowned. "It's not like that."
"Oh yeah? Where'd you go when you left the cafeteria."
"The library." It wasn't a complete lie.
Cana scoffed and crossed her arms. "Boring."
I closed my locker door. "And we may have bought a pizza and shared it," I mumbled.
Lucy gasped. "Levy!"
"What? He offered! Was I supposed to say 'no'?"
"Uh, yes? You're a good girl and he- well he's..." she trailed off.
"He's actually not a bad guy," I said defensively. "He writes songs and reads and he's really sweet." I felt the heat rising to my cheeks.
Cana grinned. "Little Lev's in love you guys," she cooed, pulling me to her and stroking the top of my head like a mother would.
"Oh, grow up, Cana," I grumbled, pushing her away. "I'm gonna go home," I said, heading toward the school entrance.
"Hey! Party tonight! Don't be late!" Cana called after me. I waved in return.
It wasn't a far walk to Fairy Hills, the housing the school provided for female students. If our parents traveled a lot for work or weren't living anymore, we could stay there. Erza, Evergreen, Kinana, Laki, and Juvia lived in the dorms as well. Cana could if she wanted since her dad traveled so much, but she said she liked the privacy her dad's house provided.
I was about a block away when an engine revved next to me. I turned my head and Gajeel was there in a large black Jeep.
"Need a lift?" he asked, one hand on the steering wheel, the other hanging casually out of the open window.
"I'm almost home," I replied.
He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Shrimp. It's gonna rain," he said, peering at the sky.
I followed his gaze, and sure enough, storm clouds were rolling in. I thought for a moment about whether or not I could beat the storm. With my short legs? Doubtful.
Sighing, I made my way around the front of his Jeep and climbed into the passenger seat.
"Don't be like that, Shorty," he grinned as I buckled my seat belt. "We already had our first date, why shouldn't I drive ya home?"
I whipped my head around to look at him as he gave his signature "gi-hee" and started off down the road.
"Fairy Hills, right?" he asked, but I was still stuck on the "first date" comment. He glanced at me. "Shrimp?"
"F-first date?"
He shrugged. "Pizza and chatting in the library. Not exactly coffee at the cafe, but I can work with it."
"I- you thought-" I sputtered.
"Relax, Shrimp. I'm messin' with ya," he took a turn into the driveway of Fairy Hills just as the rain started coming down in sheets. I definitely wouldn't have made it home before it hit if I'd walked.
Sighing, I tried to look relieved but felt a twinge in the pit of my stomach as I opened the door, groaning at the amount of rain I'd have to walk through to get into the building.
"Here," he said, tossing me a large leather jacket.
"Wh-," I said, looking from it to him.
"Keep it," he said, getting ready to pull out of the driveway.
"I'll get it back to you on Monday," I mumbled, blushing as I pulled it on. It was HUGE on me.
I hopped out of the Jeep, water sloshing around my ankles. I turned to thank him but he said something before I could.
"See ya at the party, Shortstack," he winked, leaning over to pull the door closed.
My stomach did back flips.
I pulled his jacket closer around me and sprinted through the rain into the dorm.
Kinana and Laki were in the common area and both gave me knowing looks when they saw me.
"Shut up!" I snapped and they giggled.
"Sooo," Laki said, smirking. "Gajeel Redfox, huh? Who would think you'd be into THAT, Lev-Lev?"
Scowling, I walked across the common area toward the staircase.
"Use protection!" Laki called after me.
"Laki!" Kinana hissed.
Once in the safety of my room, I closed and locked the door and covered my face with my hands.
He'd transferred at the beginning of the year, same as Juvia. Why now? It was almost Halloween. Had Erik or somebody put him up to this? Was he messing with me?
My phone chimed. I pulled it out of my skirt pocket and saw a text from Cana. The party was starting at nine. I had time to wallow in self pity, thank God.
I hung Gajeel's jacket on a hook by the door and kicked off my sandals. I was soaked through to my skin and it was freezing in my room. I turned the heat on and padded over to the bathroom. A hot shower was exactly what I needed.
As I let the water heat up, I peeled off my clothes and tossed them in my hamper. When I stepped under the perfectly hot stream, I sighed happily, letting it soak my hair and run down my body.
I washed up with vanilla scented body wash and cherry blossom scented shampoo, then just stood under the water, thinking about what had happened today. It was definitely different. I didn't take risks. I'd always dated safe guys, eaten lunch at the same table with the same friends, wore the same plain clothes, and read the same books. Today was a change and it felt good. Right, somehow.
I turned off the shower and stepped out, reaching for a fluffy towel. I wrapped myself in it and reluctantly stepped out of the happy little steam bubble I was in. I blow dried my hair then stepped out into my main room.
My books were on shelves and in stacks. My bedspread had sunflowers printed on it. My walls were yellow and covered in posters from my favorite books and book-to-movie adaptations and pictures of my friends.
I pulled some leggings, fluffy socks, and a comfortable sweatshirt out of my dresser and changed into them, hanging my towel over the back of my bathroom door.
I sat at my desk and set off to do my weekend homework but found it impossible to focus on the poetry prompt for English or the chapter summary for History.
Finally giving up after an hour of erasing my work and starting over then erasing it again, I closed my books and got up, stretching. I decided I should probably decide what I was going to wear to Cana's party. I'd never hear the end of it if I wore something I wore every day.
I flipped through my closet and kept coming up with nothing. I thought about asking someone in the dorms to borrow something, then laughed. As if anything they owned would fit me. They all have curves in all the right places. I'm flat as a board.
Finally, I saw it. A green plaid pleated mini-skirt Cana had made me buy over the summer. I'd completely forgotten about it, stuffed in a box in the back of my closet. I pulled it out and shook it, trying to smooth out any wrinkles. I pulled out some tights and a black tank top out of my dresser and found a pair of black booties in the closet.
Once dressed and satisfied, I packed an overnight bag with some pajamas and toiletries. I put in a clean outfit for tomorrow for good measure then went into the bathroom to start on my hair and makeup.
Here, I needed help. I usually only did mascara and lip gloss. Sometimes I'd wear eyeliner. I really, really didn't want to ask HER for help, but I had no choice. I gathered up my makeup bag and set off down the hall to Evergreen's room.
She looked like a kid on Christmas. She'd been begging to give me a makeover since I moved into the dorm.
"Are you sure it's supposed to take this long?" I finally asked after what felt like hours, moving my hand to brush some hair out of my face.
She smacked my hand away with a fan I didn't realize she'd been holding. "You can't rush a masterpiece, Levy."
A few more strokes with her brush and she finally let me look in a mirror. She'd put smokey eye shadow on my eyelids, and winged the eyeliner. My lips were a dark blood red. I looked hot.
I couldn't suppress my grin as I thanked her and got up to go back to my room. Erza would be leaving soon and I was catching a ride from her.
"Wait! Don't you want your nails done?" Evergreen called out as I hurried down the hall to get my things.
"I can handle that!" I called back.
Once in my room, I did one last sweep to make sure I had everything I would need for a sleepover at Cana's. I don't know why, but I felt wrong leaving Gajeel's jacket here, so I pulled it on before I headed downstairs to wait for Erza.
I checked my phone and responded to some texts I'd missed from Jet, Droy, and Lucy as I sat in one of the armchairs in the common area.
Finally Erza came down from her room and we set off. As usual, she had way too many bags for a one night stay at Cana's, and she was one-upping everyone with her outfit. Erza's motto when it came to dressing was "Go big or go home".
"Ready?" she asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
I gulped. Nobody was ever ready to ride in Erza's car. She didn't know the meaning of "slow".
I fidgeted with the black headband I'd put in my hair.
"As I'll ever be."
