Minutes later, I was in a baggy, comfortable hoodie, a pair of leggings, and my slippers, and had lugged my hamper down to the laundry room. Laki and Kinana were already there and had set up Laki's laptop with some old movies to watch while we were waiting for our laundry to finish.
The laundry room was in the basement, along with some private study rooms. In the laundry room, there were six washer and dryer sets, a large couch, and a coffee table. Some of us liked to stay while we washed our clothes and others liked to set a timer so they knew when to come back to get their clothes. I usually went to Cana's to do my laundry and homework with Lucy and Erza, but I didn't know where our friendship lied at this point.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Laki said when I voiced these concerns as I was putting a load of laundry into the washing machine. "You're allowed to do things without Lucy and Cana. You have other friends."
I sighed. "I know, I just wish she wasn't so judgmental." I poured the soap in and started the machine before joining Kinana and Laki on the couch.
Laki turned on a movie but we weren't really paying attention. Mostly, we vented about our friends, and the unfair way Gajeel, Erik, and their friends were treated. After all, Juvia was from the same background and everyone had accepted her without any protest. So what was it about the others that made everyone judge them?
Around noon, we headed upstairs to the dorm kitchen to get some lunch. Kinana insisted on cooking, so Laki and I sat on bar stools at the island to watch. She was making fried rice with tofu and shrimp. Realizing I'd left my phone in my room, I excused myself and headed upstairs.
My room was a bit of a mess. Gajeel's jacket and my boots from the night before were still on the floor and my homework and school books were still scattered on my desk.
I quickly retrieved my phone from my bathroom and texted Laki that I'd be back in a minute and started straightening up.
My boots went back into the closet, Gajeel's jacket went onto a coat hook by my door, and all my school things went into my messenger bag ready for tomorrow. I went into the bathroom and straightened up my makeup. Once I was satisfied, I flipped through my closet to find an outfit for school. Halloween was a week away and it was starting to get chilly outside. I settled on an orange sweater dress with cutout shoulders- and a matching headband of course- with some black tights and brown booties. I laid them out for the next day and headed back down to the kitchen for lunch.
Kinana was truly a great cook. Honestly, she could open her own restaurant if she wanted to. Later that afternoon, with our bellies full and our laundry washed, folded, and back in our rooms, we sat on Laki's bed, talking about our Halloween plans. Cana was probably going to throw another party but Laki and Kinana weren't too keen on the idea. Gajeel's band was playing that night at a festival in the town square.
Guilt swelled in my throat as I thought of the idea of blowing off my friends for a guy.
"Lev, you don't need to feel bad. You don't always have to do what Lucy and Cana want to do. Missing one party won't be the end of the world," Laki said, patting my hand soothingly. I gave a weak smile. Still, I felt bad about fighting with Lucy.
I thanked Laki and Kinana for inviting me to hang out with them and headed back to my room, pulling out my phone and dialing Lucy's number on the way.
"Hello?" she picked up on the first ring.
"Hey, Lu," I said, hoping she could hear my smile.
"Hi, Levy," she said. It sounded a bit cold.
"I'm sorry about this morning. I was out late last night-"
"Were you with him?"
I blinked. "Well, yeah, but-"
"So you lied. You said you were with Kinana and Laki."
"I can be with more than two friends at the same time, Lucy."
"Like they would be caught dead with him."
I pulled my phone back from my ear and glared at it before bringing it back and responding. "I really don't appreciate your whole attitude about Gajeel and his friends, Lu. For your information, Kinana, Laki, and I went to see Gajeel's band play last night. And we had fun. Sorry I decided to do something without you guys, but I didn't think I needed to check with you before every decision."
"Levy, I-"
"Don't worry about it," I said. "Have fun at Cana's Halloween party this weekend. I'm going to the festival."
I hung up before she could say anything else. I didn't even notice I had started crying. Lucy and I had been close since she moved to Magnolia a year ago. I just didn't know why she was acting like this about Gajeel, and for that matter, why she was upset that I'd been out with other friends. She hung out with other friends without me all the time.
Back in my room, I lay down in my bed and stared at the wall. My bulletin board was covered in movie tickets, pictures of my friends, and ribbons from school events. It all felt fake. Wrong somehow. I sat up and took the bulletin board down.
The pictures used to feature Jet and Droy, but recently, Lucy and Cana had taken over. I dug through my bedside table's drawer and found my Polaroid camera and some pictures I hadn't hung up.
I took everything off the board and started to work rearranging everything. The first new addition was the set list from the gig last night. After that, I added an old picture of me, Jet, and Droy in the park, a picture of Lucy and Natsu with Natsu's cat Happy, a picture of Erza eating some strawberry cake at her last birthday, a picture Cana had taken of herself with my camera, some tickets to movies I'd seen with my friends, and some dried flowers. It still felt like something was missing.
As if on cue, my phone buzzed with a text from Gajeel. It was a picture of him lying on a couch, a black cat curled up on his chest. He'd captioned it "asshole won't get off me".
I smiled and responded that maybe I'd have to take the cat's place, then sent it before I realized what I'd said.
"I didn't mean it like that!" I quickly sent.
"Any excuse to get you to my place, Shrimp," he texted back.
My face was bright red.
"Stupid Gajeel," I muttered, trying to regain my composure.
"Need a ride to school tomorrow?" he texted again.
I responded that I'd love one, and told him what time I'd be ready.
I looked around for something to do. My room was clean, my homework was finished, I didn't have any laundry left, and since it was a school night, there wasn't really anything happening in town. I decided to call Jet and Droy. It had been a while since we'd just hung out together.
Fifteen minutes later, we were in the common area of the dorm, a scary movie on the TV and popcorn in our laps. Seated between them, I felt like my old self again, and it felt good.
As it neared midnight, I said goodbye to Jet and Droy and headed upstairs to bed. Once underneath the covers with the moonlight illuminating my room, I decided it was time for a change.
The next morning, I found myself nervous for no real reason. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, pulled on Gajeel's jacket, and grabbed my phone, keys, and schoolbag before heading downstairs for some coffee and breakfast. My nerves wouldn't allow me to eat even some yogurt and berries, so I grabbed one of the travel mugs and poured myself some coffee to go, then went outside to wait for Gajeel.
I didn't have to wait long before the large black Jeep pulled into the driveway.
He grinned at me when I climbed into the passenger seat and buckled the seat belt.
"Do ya ever take my jacket off, Shorty?"
"Only when I'm bathing," I teased.
"Gi-hee," was his only response as he drove off toward school.
I wondered what my friends would say when they saw me show up to school with Gajeel. After a moment, I realized I didn't really care. I was happy. That should be all that mattered to them.
