Summary: daydream (n); a series of pleasant thoughts that distract one's attention from the present.

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

Day 4: Daydream

trance

He was always staring out the window.

No matter what time of the day it was, or what class they were having, his line of sight was permanently fixated on the outside world, his studded face unreadable. He was a puzzle not only to her but to the class as well, his menacing appearance automatically putting him at a distance with the rest of the school.

But Levy had always been curious about him. Of the genres of fiction she enjoyed, mystery was always her favourite, and it was no surprise that she had naturally been drawn to the real-life mystery in front of her.

It wasn't that she was easily distracted in class, definitely not; she had always been considered the most hardworking student, the result of her concentration in class reflecting in her above average grades. Despite her interest in the lessons, she couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of her eye, trying to catch any movement from his still figure. There was none.

Even the teachers had long since given up on attracting his attention towards studying – no amount of yelling or threatening would work, and apparently calling his parents didn't, either. The teachers found no need to pull him out of his zoned out state as time passed, however, as his maintained a constant passing grade regardless of his distracted state of mind.

Levy had always wanted to speak to him, to get to know him. She had so many questions she wanted to ask – What are you always looking at? Aren't you bored staring out the window all the time? Doesn't your neck hurt? How do you maintain your grades? Are you really an orphan? – but she could never muster up the courage to. In her head, she had already asked him all these questions thousands of times, the various simulations always resulting in the different answers, each vastly changing the story behind his perplexing character. However-

"Ms McGarden!"

The loud call of her name snapped her out of her thoughts, and she stared wide-eyed at the teacher who had called her name, her surprise eliciting giggles from her classmates.

"Levy, there are other times for daydreaming."

Her tall, skinny teacher narrowed her wrinkled eyes at the bluenette, peering at her through the classes perched on her narrow nose. Fighting the embarrassment apparent on her cheeks, Levy nodded shyly.

"Sorry miss…"

"As I was saying, we will be doing our first group project of the year. And due to my leniency, I will allow you to pair up. I'll give you 2 minutes."

However, Levy was one that always believed in fate and fortune, and when she knew he wouldn't have a partner for the project and when the fortune cookie she had that day told her 'Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point', she decided that it was time to approach the school's infamous outcast and find out about his life for a change.

"Um, hey…" Levy awkwardly began, raising a hesitant hand.

His head whipped around as he sensed her hovering over his table, his garnet eyes narrowing as he eyed her. "Ya gotta speak louder," was his gruff reply.

Levy was taken aback but his deep voice, but had to admit that it was appealing to her ears. Squaring her shoulders, she cleared her throat and started again.

"Would you like to partner up with me for the project?"

"Ya can't be serious…" He frowned, his studded eyebrows pulling downwards.

Puffing out her cheeks, Levy pulled the adjacent chair up to his table and sat herself down. "I'm Levy."

"I ain't gonna-"

"Perfect! Everyone has a partner, even Gajeel!" the teacher mused. Her single sentence was sufficient to pull the attention of the class onto the two, and the bluenette kept her gaze focused on the table in front of her as her cheeks began to burn. "Now, let's get on with it, chop chop!"

Sighing in relief as everyone else went to work, Levy could finally get a good look at her partner's face for the first time.

Although his piercings were already widely known throughout the school, they seemed even more menacing up close, and she knew she would be dizzy trying to count them all – she even wondered if he had piercings aside from his face and arms, but she quickly pushed that thought away before it could escalate.

"Yer a funny one, Shorty." He grunted, his ruby eyes burning into her hazelnut irises.

"Shorty?!" she asked incredulously. The way he called her that seemed to be way too familiar sounding to be his first time, and she wondered if he had ever thought of her using that nickname.

He blatantly ignored her question despite the tips of his ears tinging pink, and he leant back against the chair slowly. "Why'd ya even want to work with me? I bet yer little friends are scared of me."

"I'm not scared of you," she bit her lip. "I'm just… curious about you, Gajeel."

His studded brows immediately pulled down at her mentioning of his name, and for a moment even Levy feared that she had been too casual with someone she was speaking to for the first time ever.

But then he laughed. It was just a light snicker, but she knew she had never heard a laugh like that before. It was a strange laugh, comprised of two syllables, 'gi' and 'hi, and it was a distinctively higher pitch than his usual tone of voice.

"What do ya wanna know?" He asked, regarding her calmly.

Her excitement rose at his invitation for her questions, the millions of queries she had flashing through her mind too fast for her to grasp even one to ask. Her eyes zeroed in on the metal decorating his face, her first question tumbling out of her mouth before she could even filter it.

"How many piercings do you have?" She blurted, big eyes staring at him with so much curiousity in them that he couldn't help but laugh again, the short, two-word laughter.

"Why don't ya find out for yerself?" he smirked.

Levy's eyes widened at his implied flirting, her cheeks unknowingly beginning to burn. Her mouth opened and closed in a lack of words to say, despite her usual eloquence at the area of language.

"Relax, Shorty," he grinned, revealing his unusually sharp canines.

"Again with the nickname…"

Gajeel only nonchalantly waved her accusation away, turning to look out the window once more.

"Ah! That's it!" she cried, causing him to glance over, his slight curiousity seeping through his crimson gaze. "Why do you always look out the window? What is it that you see?"

He raised a studded brow at her question, a rare smile taking over his features.

"I ain't lookin' at anything," he says, looking out the window again. "I dream."

She stared. "What…?"

"Yer the smart one, don't ya know what dreamin' is?"

"I- I do, but… what do you dream of?"

"Everything. Everything and anything. I've been lookin' after myself since I can remember. There ain't no one to to give me good life, so I gotta dream of it myself."

Levy could only look at him with a light frown on her face. Despite his nonchalant tone, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness overwhelm her at his words.

"Sometimes I dream of flyin', too." He says, his thoughts lost as he stares at the blue sky. "Like a dragon, ya know? Like a big, strong dragon. Cause ain't no one dares to pick on dragons."

"Dragons are really majestic," she agreed, the corners of her pink lips curling up into a small smile.

The two quickly fell into a light conversation, being surprisingly at ease with their banter despite only having just met.

"Are ya really interested in what I'm sayin', Shorty? People don't usually talk to me, ya know." Gajeel smirks, as their chatter slowed to a comfortable silence.

"You're actually pretty fun to talk to, you know?" Levy laughs, crossing her legs unconsciously.

"Gihi, Shorty, ye're not so bad yerself."

She smiled at the bond that they had formed in the short period of time, certain that it was the start of something more, and she was glad that she can taken to initiative to get to know the mysterious Gajeel Redfox. However-

"Ms McGarden!"

The loud call of her name snapped her out of her thoughts, and she stared wide-eyed at the teacher who had called her name, her surprise eliciting giggles from her classmates.

"Ms McGarden, there are other times for daydreaming."