"Lisanna!" Erza's voice drew Mirajane from her mud puddle of thoughts. She swept around the side of the desk and snatched the slip of paper from Lisanna's hand. Mirajane bristled for no real reason. "Ooh, it looks like you'll be in a bunch of Jellal's classes. Watch out or you'll be at the nerd table for lunch."

"She'll be fine," Mirajane snapped, taking Lisanna's schedule back and smoothing it on the surface of the desk.

"I think if the nerd standard in high school is Jellal, I don't know that it'll be so bad to sit at their table." Lisanna and Erza's laughter echoed in Mirajane's head like pennies in a tin can. Their boy-related chatter pissed her off when it shouldn't have. Of course Lisanna had an eye for boys now. She was fourteen and pretty and friendly and… and… Mirajane's anger flared.

"We should go," she said curtly.

"Go where?" Erza shook her head. "It's my job to give her the tour. You're late for practice, Mira. Just go. I'll handle it."

"She's my sister."

"What's your problem?" Erza asked, reaching for the schedule. "You know how this works."

Mirajane sucked in a deep breath and opened her mouth to snap back with a retort but realized both Erza and Lisanna were staring at her oddly. She supposed she deserved it. With a great amount of effort Mirajane swallowed the barbs and smiled.

"You're right. Sorry. I'm a grouch today."

"Only today?" Lisanna muttered.

"Too many extra shifts, I guess. I'll see you later, Lisanna. You're going to do great." She reached for her sister's hand and squeezed it lightly before whirling around and leaving them both behind in the office.

The hallways were empty and her athletic shoes hardly made any sound at all on the linoleum. Mirajane made it halfway to the gym before her anxiety twisted into nausea. She ducked into the bathrooms and dashed to the closest stall. Her breakfast had only been buttered toast but Mirajane still felt hollowed out. Dry heaves turned to tears and she flushed away her breakfast before perching on the edge of the seat. To her dismay, the stall was devoid of toilet paper.

"Of course," she sobbed. Mirajane swiped at her tears and stood. She dropped her bag in front of the row of sinks. Without looking up at the mirrors, she bent over to wash her face and rinse her mouth. Never in her life had she been more grateful for her obsessive hygiene habits – Mirajane had not one but two toothbrushes in her athletics bag.

With a mouth tasting of baking soda toothpaste and a face still dripping with water, she stood straight and met her own gaze in the mirror. Her neck was splotchy. Her eyebrows too thin and her cheeks too pale.

"You look sick," a voice behind her said gruffly. Mirajane spun around and scowled.

"This is a girls bathroom, Laxus. You aren't allowed."

"I saw you run in here and when you didn't come back out I got worried. You okay?"

"No," she snapped. "I'm fucking pregnant."

Laxus's expression fell and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Sorry."

Mirajane sighed and leaned against the porcelain sink that poked from the wall. She reached for her bag but straightened again when her stomach turned.

"Here." Laxus pushed off the wall and grabbed the bag. He held it open for her as she tucked away her toothbrush and toothpaste. She let him zip everything closed and settle the strap over her shoulder. "I don't know what to do."

"Join the club." The words came out more harshly than she'd imagined them but Mirajane was past caring about Laxus's struggle with ineptitude. She was the pregnant one. She was the one who'd shoulder the social fall out of a fucking baby at sixteen. In less than a year Laxus would graduate and be beyond the clutches of high school social politics. She tried to shove past him but his grasp on her shoulders was firm.

"I have a job already, Mira. We won't…" He pursed his lips when her scowl didn't go away. "This isn't the end of the world."

"Not for you," she hissed. "Never for the guy. I'm the one taking all the shit and risks."

"Mira –"

"Just fuck off, Laxus." She pushed him away and made for the door. "Don't call me. I'll… I'll call you. I need space."

Mirajane thought he said something else but she didn't quite catch it.

Lisanna jumped when a boy she thought she recognized but wasn't sure plopped into the seat directly across from Jellal. The tension at the table was the silent, creeping kind. She recognized it as the kind of stifling silence that kept Natsu and his brother in separate universes despite living in the same house.

"Calling dibs on the new girl already, Fernandes?"

"Can I help you, Simon?" Jellal muttered, not glancing up from the open laptop and the mess of papers between himself and Lisanna.

Simon, Simon, Simon… Lisanna wracked her brain trying to figure out how she couldn't remember a boy so large and imposing.

"Just making sure you're not over here lining them up."

"Fuck off," Jellal's words were in the same nonchalant tone but he tapped the keys of his laptop just a little too roughly.

"I'm Lisanna," she cut in with a fake brightness.

"Mirajane's little sister, yeah, I know." The boy smiled and Lisanna thought it just as fake as her friendliness. "You were in sixth grade when I was eighth. Simon Mikazuchi."

Lisanna's eyes widened. "Wow, you got kinda big!" she blurted, instantly feeling immature and stupid. Simon, however, preened.

"I took an All State title in wrestling last year." His eyes slid back over to Jellal. "I wasn't riding the bench all year like Fernandes here."

"Better to ride the varsity bench then have to brag about a JV title nobody gives a fuck about." Jellal's words were barely audible and Lisanna felt very much like this was a conversation everyone else had a script for but her. She bit her lip anxiously. Jellal finally glanced up at her and then turned a bland expression on Simon. "Was there something you needed? We're kind of busy."

"Just saying hi." Simon stood and the chair he'd been sitting in tumped over. He didn't rectify it. The chair was still on its back when he disappeared into the library stacks.

"Is that really Simon Mikazuchi?" Lisanna whispered. "Did he stumble into some gamma radiation or something?"

Jellal laughed and Lisanna blushed. His smile was softer than Natsu's and she could understand why Erza loved it so much.

"I think the color green would suit him pretty well."

"It's the color of jealousy."

"Exactly." Jellal capped his red pen and handed her worksheets back to her. "This is all good work, Lisanna. I think if we made time a few days every week you'll be caught up pretty quick."

"You think so?"

"Oh, yeah. You're way ahead of where I was at your age. It's pretty impressive, to be honest."

"I don't want to intrude on your schedule. I know you've got sports and Erza and stuff."

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged and shut his laptop. "Just don't forget me when you become the next Doctor Banner."

"I promise I'll mention you in my published papers."

"Fair enough." He smiled again and Lisanna could not stop blushing. "Are you into comics? There's a club that meets on Tuesdays, I think."

"Yeah, Natsu told me about that. I don't know. Mirajane thinks I need to focus on studies."

"You can only cram so much stuff into your head before you need to release the pressure. I'm sure Natsu would take you home after the meetings."

Lisanna grimaced. "I think that would be the only way I'd be allowed to stay."

"Mirajane runs a tight ship, huh?"

"She doesn't like me at the park."

"Oh, right." Jellal's expression crumpled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean –"

"It's fine, Jellal. It's been a year. Mira just doesn't want me in the park after dark. Natsu is usually pretty good about getting me home on time."

"Well, think about it. I have soccer every day but Fridays. We can stay here in the library if you want or wherever. I can come to you, too, if you're stuck at home. I don't mind."

"You're too nice."

He laughed and slid his laptop into a flat compartment in his bag. "Erza says I'm like Sugar Daddy chews. I lure you in with soft sweetness and then, before you know it, you're teeth are stuck."

Lisanna's face felt as if it might catch fire. Jellal laughed again and stood as the bell rang.

"Just between you and me, Erza isn't the best with delivering a joke or a pun." Jellal ducked under the strap of his messenger bag and turned back to her. "You can sit with us at lunch if you want or…" He trailed off and raised an eyebrow.

"Natsu said he'd meet me by the soda machines. He's kind of excited about me being here."

"I believe it." Jellal dug in the front pocket of his bag and tore off a slip of notebook paper. He scrawled his number in neat numerals and slid the paper across the table. "Text me later when you have a better idea of how your weeks will go. We'll set up a time to study together."

"Okay." Lisanna smiled and knew she was still pink in the cheeks. She couldn't help it. Jellal was an older boy with a perfect smile and heartbreaking dimples and – Lisanna watched him weave through the tables toward the glass doors of the library – it wasn't too bad to watch him go either. She sighed.

Erza tapped her fork against her plate and scowled.

"What is it?" Eileen asked dully.

"I hate this stuff. Why can't we have normal food?"

"Erza," Eileen said in the nonnegotiable tone she always took when Erza questioned her – the one that made her so good at her job. "This is a perfectly good sauce. It's dairy free and packed with appropriate protein for an athletic girl your age."

"It's gross. Jellal's mom –"

"Jellal's mom doesn't work. I'm sure she has all day to whip up a flawless white sauce with imported cheese and wine." Eileen dabbed at her lips with a napkin. "I spend one weekend a month shopping and prepping."

"I can cook."

"Boxed macaroni and cheese isn't a dietary building block."

Erza felt her mother's eyes on her as she slumped in her chair already thinking of the bag of beef jerky and rolls of candy chews she kept in her bedside table drawer. When she glanced up she watched Eileen swirl the red wine in her glass.

"How's the year shaping up at school?"

"Fine."

Eileen nodded and sighed. "I know you're frustrated with me, Erza," she said softly at a volume she rarely took. "These hours are brutal. But I have a real shot this year to get on the bench. We'd be set for life if I get that appointment."

"I know, mom." Erza tried to smile. "I know you're working hard. I just wonder when we won't have to anymore. When will it stop?"

"It won't, love." Eileen's smile was painful. "This is the price we pay to be free of your father."

"He seems to be doing fine," she murmured spitefully.

"Does he still send you emails?"

"Yeah." Erza leaned forward and poked at her pasta and sauce again. "I wish he'd just go away. We both know he doesn't care. He just wants to watch you trip up."

"This is what I mean, Erza. We can't trip up. We will shine the way we always do. You and me. Women have to work twice as hard and in a backwoods place like this –"

"You'll get that bench, mom," Erza said firmly, straightening in her chair. "Fuck those good old boys and their stupid boys club. You deserve it more."

"I really do." Eileen's grin made Erza smile. "I saw one of the Heartfilias down at the courthouse today."

Erza quirked an eyebrow with interest.

"Looks like Layla is back in town with that daughter of hers in tow."

"Lucy?" Erza whispered.

"I didn't have a chance to talk or see what was going on but I know the attorney with her today specializes in divorce. Maybe she finally left her husband."

"You get all the best gossip, mom."

"Government buildings are just as juicy as hair salons in a small town." Eileen polished off her wine. "You don't have to finish that if you don't want to, Erza. I admit it didn't freeze as well as I'd have liked."

Erza took one more bite and choked it down.

"I know you have a drawer of snacks anyway." Eileen grinned as she gathered the dirty dishes. "I'm going back to the office for a bit, okay?"

"Okay." Erza pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped out a quick text to Jellal. She tried to have her phone hidden when her mother returned for the glasses, but wasn't quite fast enough.

"Don't forget to latch the window when he's gone," Eileen said smartly. "Maybe he'll bring you a burger."

Erza flushed.

Jellal took the cheeseburger wrapper and crumpled it before tossing it in the bag with her dirty napkins. He stretched out across her bed and reached for the folded over square of soft plastic on the side table. Eighteen pink pills were laid out in rows of seven. Two were already poked through the foil backing and the bottom row was plain white.

"How long until these things are trustworthy?" He asked. Erza licked a glob of ketchup from her finger and sucked down half her bottle of water.

"A month, I think?" She shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't read all the papers."

"Why not? This is kind of important."

"Because it's a bunch of tiny print and it would take a week to get through it all. The important thing is that it's ninety-nine percent effective."

"After how long, though?"

Erza rolled her eyes and turned around to crawl over him. "It's been two days, I'm sure that's fine. We should still use condoms anyway, though. Just to be safe."

"Finally!" he said, returning the pills to her side table. "Something you've said that doesn't give me a panic attack."

"I was never worried."

"You should be! My dad would have my head on a pole if you got pregnant."

"I won't." Erza pulled off her shirt and reached behind her to tug at her bra clasp. Jellal's fingers dug into her hips.

"This week has been exhausting already. Did you know Lisanna was as smart as she is? I had no idea."

Erza tossed aside her bra and tugged at his belt buckle. "I don't want to talk about Lisanna Strauss right now." She paused at his zipper. "You did bring the condoms, right?"

"Yeah." He shifted beneath her and Erza dug her fingers into his back pocket.

"There's nothing in here, Jellal."

"Are you sure?" He awkwardly twisted and tried to pat down his pockets. "Damn… damn!"

"Where is your head lately?" Erza demanded. She slid off him and fell to her back. Her head rolled to the side and watched as he bit his lip in thought.

"You take the pills at the same time every day?"

"Yeah."

"So technically we should be good, right?"

"Technically."

"I could pull out."

"You could," she agreed.

Jellal sat up and kicked off his jeans. When he settled between her thighs Erza wrapped her arms around his neck. They'd never dared to try anything but a quick handy in the back of his truck without a condom before. She liked his bare skin against her. Jellal had nothing to say but a groan she felt all the way in the tips of her toes.