Before the chapter beggins I would like to remind you, and myself:

Fairy Tail and its characters all belong to Hiro Mashima! :D

Go watch it again even if you did already, hahaha

.

.

Chapter 5: Motives

.

"Erza, where are you going?" Lucy asked, seeing her friend getting up and starting to leave.

"Ah, I forgot something at the dorm, next class starts in 30 minutes so I think it's better for me to go get it now." Her red haired friend answered, calmly.

"What about lunch?" Lucy asked again, even though she knew Erza won't probably eat, because she was always in a hurry.

"I'll grab something on my way to class. See ya there Lucy." She said and disappeared before Lucy could say anything more. She face palmed. What to do with this friend of mine.

…

Jellal and Ultear were walking slowly, discussing about what they would take to eat once they get to the school's canteen, they didn't check on the menu today, so they were making suppositions out of boredom.

"So… What was that aura between you and the president before? You two looked like two cute kids who didn't want to lose to each other." Ultear changed the subject laughing more than she thought she would when she saw Jellal flinch to her question.

"W..What are you saying? We were just talking about… sciences." He said, nervous.

"Yeah, of course… And I was talking with Mirajane about a pig I saw earlier, flying…" She teased, laughing again at her own comment.

Jellal sighed nervously, he wouldn't possibly tell her Erza knew he lied about studying with her.

"Well, she was pesting me about studying more seriously… It's your fault I got stuck with the mighty president to begin with." He lied, trying to change the topic.

Ultear glanced over him and studied his face. "You know, Erza may be strict but she is very kind towards people she doesn't even know. She won't think twice about helping someone in need." She said changing her amused tone to a more serious one.

Jellal, taken by surprise at her sudden change of tone, was thinking about what Lucy told him before, something about Ultear's backstory.

"Talking from experience?" He asked, trying to seem like he didn't know a thing.

Ultear jumped at his question, only now realizing she said too much, but she knew it didn't matter anymore, she got past everything already and she didn't want it to bother her.

"Well, kinda…" She said, still looking at Jellal. "I did have a problem last year, and Erza did help me a lot, but I wasn't really trying to bring that up. I know Erza is like that with anyone and I only wanted for you to understand she might have her reasons to be like that, like I had mine when I had a breakdown."

Jellal didn't know either to be shocked at her honest answer or not, to be honest he didn't expect her to answer like that, but at the same time he could tell Lucy was right when she said she was alright now, she had friends and she got past through her problems, and that is why she told him the truth.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked, knowing she wouldn't anyway.

"Not really, it's over and to be honest it doesn't really matter anymore." She answered, sure of herself.

"Hm… So, what did you mean the president being 'like that'? You mean everyone saying she is scary? Or her being by herself most of the time?" He continued mostly because he was bored when they arrived at the canteen and had to wait behind a line of hungry students.

"I mean her being responsible and strict, her being by herself is when she gets workaholic at the student council. Ah… I think you didn't know but I was really annoyed at her at the beginning though." She was smiling, recalling the beginning of their now friendship.

"Eh? Why?" He asked amused, it was rare to see Ultear actually being annoyed at someone, well he thought maybe that was because he didn't know Ultear from before anyway, when she was having her own problems.

"You know, when I actually met her after my breakdown and all, she always got stuck inside the damn council office, I tried so many times bringing her out with us to the karaoke or even to eat something, but she wouldn't just move until she finished the damn papers!" She started facing the line of students now, being unconsciously annoyed at the thought and talking louder. "So, I really thought she was a damn workaholic but Lucy then explained to me she was like that because she didn't like to depend on anyone and she didn't ever ask for help, which annoyed me even more, somehow." She sighed, then glanced at Jellal still annoyed. "She is so stubborn!" She exploded.

Jellal sweat dropped. "Do you think that is really you reminding the past? It looks like you still think that way to me."

"So then…" She kept going, completely ignoring Jellal. "I tried to make her more feminine, like lying to her about wanting her to study with me and Lucy, only to make her try new dresses… even though I hated studying. Or try to get her a boyfriend, which always ended up being a failure, she always saw through my lies!"

Jellal really thought how ironic this was but he couldn't say nothing about it, he did understand her lying about studying, he did the same not long ago and he gritted his teeth with the memory, now he got why Erza was so quick to understand it was a lie, she surely was pretty used by now with Ultear's past attempts.

Also, he didn't even wanted to comment on the boyfriend thing, it didn't make any sense why would she try getting her one, more like, it was obviously fake since most of the guys here were scared of her, right?

"So, the thing is…" She continued changing to a serious but sad tone. "Lucy told me how she got like this after her mother's death. She was left with an old friend of her parents and was taken care of, but she was really depressed at first. Lucy said she didn't want to befriend her at first either, she didn't trust anyone, she didn't want anyone to get close to her, she was afraid of suffer losing someone again…" She explained while walking with him and sitting at an empty table somewhere at the canteen, they had already picked up their food.

Jellal suddenly was listening intently to what Ultear said, it wasn't like he was really interested on Erza and Ultear friendship at first but, he just felt like listening to it now, he didn't really know how hard her past would've been, seems like Ultear was right and everyone had their ulterior motives to be as they are.

Also Jellal felt Ultear needed to get it all out, like she was just trying to get someone to understand a really hard Math exercise she had solved before.

"Eventually she ended up accepting Lucy but when that old man died she decided to take life more serious, she was forced to get a part time job while she was only 14, she couldn't really work because of her age but she found someone who was willing to pay to her illegally. Lucy wanted to help her but Erza always wanted to do it by herself and didn't want to bother Lucy about it, even when she was sick she wouldn't say a word. That's what really bothers me about Erza, even though I still get annoyed because of her attitude, it really makes me sad for her." She said lowering her gaze to her untouched food. "Lucy told me all this one day, when Erza was sick at home, she was really worried about her so she told me about it while crying, it made me really annoyed too, cuz she helped me a lot last year, yet, she never wants for anyone to help her."

Jellal listened to it all quietly and somehow there was something that was bothering him this whole time, so he decided to ask her about it. "Hum.. You said her mother died.. What about her father? Did he also...?"

"Oh…" She glanced up at him again, taking some food to her mouth, feeling calmer now that she got it all out. "I tried asking her that too, but she just muttered he died and walked away… Lucy later told me he wasn't really dead but even she doesn't know what happened between them, seems like that topic is taboo for Erza. Maybe that's why she wouldn't trust any man too." She said joking, even though he knew that was probably the exact reason why.

Jellal crossed his arms over his chest while thinking. Ultear sensed he was digesting all of her story and went back to eat her food, leaving him to his thoughts.

It seems like she had some kind of problem with her father too uh, she kinda reminds me the ME from before, before being like this, simply ignoring everything and just do as I am told… He remarked, a little disappointed on the him from the present.

But what matter is, she doesn't have anyone now to take care of her… that is why she seems so mature and responsible, she would get strict and annoyed at others with a more carefree life and they would get scared. Not that Jellal could blame it on her, the way she kept pushing the others away from her life was probably only her way of protecting herself, like she created an invisible armor that couldn't break.

"She seems like an idiot." He whispered to himself, half smiling.

His phone started ringing snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced down at it and read the message he just received.

"I am waiting for you outside your school, come see me in five minutes." He read in his mind, it was his father.

He sighed annoyed at it and he heard Ultear ask him what was wrong.

He knew his father was going to ask him if he got anything on the 'freaking annoying case' he had to help him with.

He suddenly remembered about the letter and tried to ask Ultear, now that he had the chance.

"You know, the other day I caught a glimpse of you being annoyed at a poor letter in your hands and then you suddenly threw it away." He said smirking. "What was the deal with it? A letter from your boyfriend?"

She jumped at the question and a vein popped out in her forehead. "W…What are you.. so suddenly…" Ultear didn't know why he suddenly told her about THAT, or why... but decided to answer anyway, she didn't want anyone to think what Jellal was exactly thinking right now.

"It wasn't mine." She answered, slightly annoyed at her blue haired friend. "I was annoyed cuz I didn't really want to open it but at the same time I didn't want to go around and ask who that letter was for, or bring it to the principal's... so I threw it away!"

Jellal smirk increased when she told him that. "You are really bad at making decisions." He simply stated, making her even more annoyed at him.

Now that he knew it wasn't hers, like he already thought, he excused himself saying his father was waiting for him, leaving Ultear eating the rest of her food and shouting something like "This doesn't end here." To him.

…

Jellal walked slowly towards his father and observed how his father spotted him and didn't move a muscle to greet him.

"How is school going for you these first days?" He started, with a cold but calm tone.

"Great." He responded, not giving much interest to his father's fake questions.

"Did you find something interesting?" Finally he got to the main point.

Jellal hesitated but decided to give him the letter he found, he knew it wasn't Ultear's, and honestly had no idea who it could be, so he didn't have anything to be afraid of, also, he was curious to know if it really was his father's doing and to possibly get more information about this whole thing.

"I don't know if it has anything to do with you but, it seemed suspicious enough." Jellal stated, lending him the letter.

His father grabbed the letter and read it, his eyes widened for a second before going back to his usual cold calm face. Jellal thought he may be behind all this after all.

"Good job... so who had this letter, did you find the girl?" His father asked him, while shoving the letter on his pocket.

"Unfortunately I found it on the ground so I have no idea. I tried to search for it but the person I thought was linked to it, at the end, it really wasn't." Jellal said, sincerely.

He saw his father's face change to annoyance for a second, before looking calm again.

"Well, only two weeks passed, I think you didn't really had the time to it, it was lucky enough you found this letter, this confirms she is indeed at this school. And to think her father is still sending her those under my nose..." His father commented in a cold murder tone, it made Jellal want to puck.

"Do you want me to ask the principal to search for the owner?" Jellal proposed, it wouldn't be sure they would find her, but at least it gave them more possibilities of doing so than to just hide the letter.

"No, not the principal, he shouldn't get involved in this." He discarded the option. "I just need for you to find her yourself."

"If you gave me more information about it, I could obviously search faster." He stated, getting tired of this.

"You don't need any information about this matter, just continue bringing me anything you find." He spat, coldly. "You really are like your mother, trying to get your nose everywhere, that is the reason she got killed, can't you understand that?"

Jellal's fists clenched, he knew his mother got assassinated by someone who hated his father and his work. It was all his fault, being in that dark underground job. He glanced to his father, fury in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that insolent, are you challenging me?" Angry, he started raising his arm, ready to slap Jellal at any moment.

Jellal was about to say something when one known scarlet haired girl got between him and his father.

He blinked in surprise at her back and knew immediately it was the council president.

"Who do you think you are, sir?" She asked the man, pointing a finger at him.

Jellal sweat dropped, what was she thinking?

The blue haired boy's father slowly stared at the girl, getting his raised arm down again. "I am this his father, now if you would excuse us…" However he got cut from his words as an annoyed Scarlet girl interjected.

"You… call yourself a father and yet, you speak to your son as if he was some kind of rat." She was angry.

Jellal didn't know what to think about the rat part… but getting back to reality, he didn't understand why Erza had got in the middle of his stupid father and him, she should mind her own business. He wanted to stop her, but mainly because he was afraid of what his father could do.

"Oi, you..." He tried, but his father got ahead of him.

Jellal's father was even angrier now, he stared at the red haired girl with an angry expression and demanded. "And who are you?" Her unnerving eyes made him think about a certain someone, he hated that.

"I am the student council president and I am going to ask you to be less rude in front of our school.. Your personal matters can be discussed anywhere else!" She said, letting her arm go down on her side before her fist clenched. She didn't know why but after what she heard about Jellal's mother and how he lift his hand to probably hit him, this man made her really irritated.

Jellal could see his father shocked expression, he was like he was somewhat afraid or nervous of Erza's stare, he didn't really know why but seeing his father unsettled by someone's actions was really interesting and rare to him.

His father suddenly laughed and turned away. "This school really has some unnerving students uh? I don't mind that at all, we will continue this talk later Jellal." He said as he left, he had nothing to lose, his conversation with his son could wait and getting an unwanted attention on him was something he wanted to avoid.

Jellal sighed in relief and glanced slightly down to Erza, she had saved him from doing whatever he was about to do, but it made him kind of annoyed knowing she got in the middle of it, who knew what his father could've done.

Why would she do it? He wondered.

"You know, Erza may be strict but she is very kind towards people she doesn't even know. She won't think twice about helping someone in need."

He recalled Ultear's saying it to him and sighed again, his pride wasn't really happy with this. This girl…

"Oi." She started, turning around and facing him, startling the boy. "If you let him say those things to you every time, he just won't stop doing it!" She scolded him.

Jellal's eyes widened with her comment. He knew things wouldn't change if he didn't get to his father and stop him, but he was somewhat afraid, and he knew what he was capable of. He knew he couldn't go against him, at least for now.

His fists clenched and he was about to say something when he saw her glancing down and starting to mumble, suddenly.

"I… sorry for meddling in your family problem, it just… really made me angry hearing him saying that about your mother…" She said making him flinch with the mention of it. So she heard that.

"A father shouldn't say those things to his child, a real one should raise you well, play with you, comfort you, making you laugh..." His eyes widened one more time. "...buy you sweets, hold your hand and protect you from harm…" glaring down at this red haired girl and listening to her thoughts made him really unsettled and tears could be seen appearing on his eyes, while his memory traveled to the past, some of the moments he shared with his father was forming in his mind, not much of them being any good after his mother's death.

But he knew she wasn't only talking about him, but of herself too.

"Idiot." He said turning around so she wouldn't be able to see his tears. He started to walk away, going inside the school again.

Erza glanced up at his comment, confused. She didn't hear what he said but she tried to change the conversation quickly, watching him going away.

"Ah… wait, I want to give you back your pencil, which is why I ran towards you when I saw you out here!" She said starting to follow him.

"It's okay, you can keep the pencil. I have to hurry to class, don't follow me!" He didn't want for her to come near.

This girl… Ultear was right.

And so was he, she really was an idiot. He thought, smiling.

.

.

I hope you enjoy today's chapter, leave a review if you want :D