A/N: I'm proud to announce this chapter is on time! Also I'm so close to catching up with the current FT episodes. I'm on episode 31 of season two, and there are currently 53 episodes, yasss. Also I'm already caught up with manga, so half of my mission is complete. As a sidenote yesterday was National Sibling Day, but it's not to late to give your sis or bro a hug and tell them they rock!
Chapter 10 – You Be Sherlock and I'll Be Holmes
Lucy mentally slapped herself. The nosy architecture major had been spying on her best friend's meeting with Jellal, but things were not going so well. She shifted to get a more comfortable position in the bush she was currently hiding in and sighed. Things were amazing at first, Erza and Jellal had the perfect lunch. It's that kind of lunch where you meet a long lost friend, catch up, and then leave. The thing is, the blue haired boy suggested they take a walk afterward, and that's why Lucy ended up in a bush in the first place. She wished that their conversation would end because a) Jellal was being way too friendly and b) if she sat in there any longer she would turn into the bus itself, green leaves and everything. At least she was close enough to hear bits and pieces of what they were saying, she was located right behind the bench they were sitting on.
"Gosh I can't even," Erza began to say but she couldn't even finish her thought because she was laughing way too hard.
Jellal just shook his head and gave a small laugh. "I know I know, pushing at the store door instead of pulling it seems simple, but I was seriously suffering from some major jet lag."
Lucy so desperately wanted to smack Erza's head to a wall so she could knock some sense into her. "He's playing you, so what does he want? The cogwheels of her brain were spinning so much it gave Lucy a slight headache. But she was sure of one thing, Erza was going to get interrogated later.
"Hey wanna get ice cream right now? I know this killer ice cream place that reminds me of the store we got it from when we were kids." Jellal looked at her expectantly, Erza couldn't resist anything sweet so sooner or later she would crack.
"But we just had lunch," Erza said uncertainly.
He gave her a knowing grin, "Awww dang it, I guess you're missing out on the new strawberry cheesecake flavor."
At the mention of her favorite food Erza literally jumped off of the park bench and got into a fighting stance. "You have two options, show me this place or get a black eye." She smiled sweetly and added, "Don't think you're off the hook. I'm still mad at why you left and now suddenly turn up. I also don't appreciate people accusing my Gray of wrong, especially you."
"Your Gray?" Jellal asked, a mix of concern and confusion his face.
"Shut up, you know what I mean. Gray deserves an apology from you later."
He remained silent for a few minutes, and all the lightheartedness seemed to leave with the gentle wind blowing east. Jellal looked at her sadly, a serious expression on his scarred face. "You can't ignore the fact that he's been using you all this time," he told her as they stared to leave Hargeon Park.
At the entrance to Larson Hall, the two childhood friends were discussing their afternoon while a certain stalker was intently listening and congratulating herself behind a campus tee. "What even happened?" a very confused Jellal began. "On our way to ice cream I almost got ran over by a taxi, you got attacked by a goose, and when we finally made it to the store we both mysteriously got salsa on our cones." He ran a hand through his hair, astounded at how one peaceful afternoon quickly turned into mayhem.
"Don't forget about that little old lady, she totally beaned you with her purse!" Erza pointed out while gasping for air, trying to stifle her laughter. "That was the highlight of my day, thank you so much for the entertainment."
"Yeah, that's gonna leave a bruise in the morning for sure." Jellal gingerly touched his head, afraid that even the slightest moment might send out excruciating pain.
Erza had now regained her composure, and realized that she was still confused about her feelings toward him. The day had been a whirlwind of fun, except that part where he stubbornly told her that Gray was a problem. She suddenly felt really tired, aches suddenly sweeping over her entire body.
"When I said thank you, I meant it. Coming back has shown to me you're not as big of a jerk as I thought you were, but I still don't trust you. Why are you even here? I'll give you time for your answer, prove to me that you can think of someone besides yourself." With that she walked away from the man who was bringing her present to a screeching halt. He was literally a walking memory of the past, and she didn't like that one bit for some odd reason. Erza stopped midway in the door and looked him straight in the eyes, "That is, if you don't run away again." He met her gaze back with silence.
That afternoon, at the same time Lucy was creeping on Erza and Jellal, Natsu was trying to get Gray to open up about his odd behavior toward Erza. Gray was warming up with his team before the big game with the NHL scout, and now he regretted asking Coach Elfman if Natsu could help with his drills. He scowled at his hockey stick, as if somehow it could magically shut Natsu up. Gray didn't want to talk about Erza, it made his head hurt. He swung and the puck neatly but forcefully grazed the top of Natsu's helmet.
"Geez watch where you're aiming your shots!" Natsu cried. "Dude, the aim of the game is to hit the puck into the goal, not me." Gray continued to ignore Natsu and pelted away with pucks until there was none left.
This had been going on since the beginning of warm ups, Natsu pestering him with questions regarding Erza and occasionally about food, while Gray ignored most of his comments. Finally it got too much to bear, and since Natsu was his best friend, although I hate to admit it, he decided to give an abridged explanation to his bro. "Natsu, you and that big mouth of yours better not tell anyone what I'm about to say to you, especially Erza and Lucy."
Natsu was about to respond with a complaint but stopped, he could sense that Gray really needed to open up a bit and then focus on the game. "Alright ice geyser, I'm all ears."
Gray skated up to him and explained what's up in a hushed tone, afraid that Erza herself would walk through the doors. It felt nice to tell Natsu, yet his head still felt pent up. What broke Gray's chain of thought was Natsu. "Hey, hang in there, ok? Now go kick some butt while I'm lamely stuck watching you beat up the enemy from the bleachers," Natsu grinned. Those kind of comments from his best friend never failed to cheer Gray up, and he grinned back.
Coach's whistle blew, signaling that the match would start in 10 minutes. If you wanted to play, you better be in the locker rooms for the pre-game meeting. Gray skated off towards the lockers, glad that Natsu always has his back. Then his thoughts turned to the match, forget Erza and focus.
Lucy greeted Natsu with a, "It's about time you showed up," look. She was tired from her epic spy shenanigans earlier, so she wasn't in the best of moods. Natsu had texted her that he'd meet her at 7:00 p.m., but minutes turned into hours so it wasn't until 9:54 when he showed up at Lucy's dorm. Erza told her she was going to the library to do some late night studying, so Lucy figured her secret meeting with Natsu would work in her room.
"Sorry Lu, I really wanted to see you earlier but Gray dragged me into his post-game bowling party. I'd bring you a bowling ball but I don't think the bowling alley would appreciate that." He rubbed his head sheepishly, "You know I don't like being late. By the way, why am I here again?"
"It's so we can figure out what the stars is happening. There's so much Gray and Erza drama going on we need to meet up every so often to compare notes and keep it all together."
Natsu's midnight eyes lit up, "Oh I get it! We're kinda like detectives." He snapped his fingers and grinned, "I've come up with code names. You be Sherlock, and I'll be Holmes."
"Natsu, you do realize that those names are the same person right?" Lucy mentally face palmed, although she was tempted to it in real life.
"Are you serious? My teacher from 5 years ago lied to me?!"
Lucy let out a small laugh, "Well you know Natsu, there's like 1 minute before guys aren't allowed here so let's make this quick. I spied on Erza and Jellal and l'm not gonna lie, they have the weirdest relationship. Sometimes they laugh and get along, while other times Erza shows a lot of animosity towards him. I don't know about that Jellal guy either, something just seems off." She stared at the ceiling thoughtfully, trying to figure it all out. "I'm definitely going to ask Erza about it, she doesn't know I was with her the whole time," oh boy does that sounds creepy. "I hope I don't blow my cover," she mused. "What did Gray have to say for himself?"
Natsu hesitated, "I don't think that it'd be a good idea to tell you. I kinda made a promise to Gray not to say anything."
"Aww c'mon," Lucy fake pleaded. "I'm going to be so mad if the information you're withholding hurts our friends."
Natsu was in a dilemma, should he tell her or not? Maybe if he told Lucy half of the story it's be alright, after all Lucy and Erza deserved to know this information too. "Alright, you've convinced me. You can't tell Gray what I'm telling you or I'll be shunned. He told me that-" Natsu was cut off by a quick rap of the door and a jangle of a key opening the lock.
Lucy realized what was happening before Natsu did. "Noooo," she cried as she ran towards the door. Lucy made it halfway across her room before Juvia the RA walks in.
The blunette immediately recognized the expression on Lucy's face, she's seen it many times before and she smugly pulled out her bullhorn. "LUCY HEARTFILLIA AND NATSU DRAGNEEL ARE CAUGHT PAST CURFEW. BOYS AND GIRLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HANG OUT PAST 10:00 P.M. PLEASE REPORT TO CAMPUS OFFICE PROMTPTLY AT 7:00 A.M. TO RECEIVE DETENTION." Juvia looked at Lucy's face of pure horror compared to Natsu's annoyed expression and laughed evilly.
A/N: Heyy, I'm hope you guys aren't too confused with what's going on. Feel free to tell me what's confusing in your review, I'd be happy to clear things up. Hahaha, but not too much that it'd ruin the story. xD I also hope that I'm doing justice to Jellal, he is one tough cookie to portray. Alright, the shout-out corner is here to end things on a happy note.
BridgeBurn100 - How do you like them apples? I updated one day earlier than expected, take that wait time! I loved your review btw, that was hilarious. xD
WelcomeToTheAnimalParade - Yeah, I've been trying to get my sister to love anime but no, she's being lame. :P Also I love your stories, keep them coming! :)
Iceberry2666 - Awww, that was such a sweet review. :D Thank you for the support!
OhMigawdFairyTail - Haha yeah, wouldn't it be cool if your fave characters were real? Thanks for your review!