chapter eight

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"Spill." Lucy instructed, grabbing Levy by the elbow and steering her to a table.

"Hey, Lucy!" Levy cried as her coffe swayed in her grip, and a few drips splashed down onto the table's surface.
"I meant spill your information, not your drink!" Lucy said, handing Levy a few napkins to mop up the coffee.
"Honestly, Lucy..." Levy grumbled, wiping the table.
"Yes, I'm sorry, it's totally my fault, but I'm so excited Levy, I don't even know what to do!" Lucy said, bouncing up and down in her seat, her chest jiggling like two large water balloons. Levy sometimes wondered if Lucy's boobs had only grown so large in order to serve as comic relief.
"About what? It's not like anything happened." Levy said, taking a sip of her now less-than-entirely-full coffee. Lucy scoffed at her, twirling her spoon around her own frothy cappucino.
"Oh please. You guys never came back to the restaurant, so I can only assume that you two walked home together... come on, the whole situation screams romance." she said, beaming at Levy, who rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'll tell you what happened-" "I knew it! I knew it! Something happened!" Lucy squeaked. "But I just want to warn you that you will be disappointed, because nothing happened." Levy continued through gritted teeth. Lucy shook her head.
"I don't believe you. Your idea of 'nothing' is completely different from my idea of 'nothing', Lev. I'm sure." She said with a confident smile.
"Yeah, yeah.." Levy sighed, smiling anyways, helping herself to a pinch of Lucy's cinnamon bun.
"So, dish." Lucy ordered, propping her chin up on her fists.

"Well, I mean, I thought it was pretty normal... we just went for a walk. And then he asked about the stars, so we talked about that for a while-"
"Romantic!" Lucy cooed.
"...Sure. But then he asked which was my favourite," Levy continued. "Oh wait! Um, when I was pointing out the stars, I was sort of holding his hand... sort of... kind of..." she mumbled into her coffee, glancing up at Lucy, who looked as though her birthday had come early.
It's not like it had been real hand-holding, Levy thought as Lucy squealed, her hands pressed to her cheeks. Real hand-holding was more romantic. This had just been... practical. But really... she hadn't needed to hold his hand, had she? She just... did. Levy's cheeks turned pink, so she cleared her throat and continued the story, hoping Lucy wouldn't notice and ask her about it.
"Anyway, I told him the story of Lillimarion... oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you something!" Levy remembered suddenly, putting her coffee down.
"Sure, what's up?" Lucy asked, sitting up straight and smiling.
"Um, well, it's nothing very important-"
"Just tell me, Lev." Lucy interrupted, and Levy sighed.
"Well... I may have... I mean, I was telling the story... and then I looked at Gajeel, but he was already... I mean he was already looking at me, which wasn't weird in itself, but then like I didn't know what to do so we were just looking at each other for ages, and it got kind of awkward, and I didn't know what to do-" "YOU SHOULD HAVE KISSED HIM!" Lucy exclaimed, bring both hands to her face and making a weird unintelligble moaning sound.
"You okay?" Levy asked.
"ARRrrgghmrghrmnwerghrmrnrgrh..." Lucy grumbled, her hands sliding down off of her face. She looked very disbelieving. "Levy, Gajeel was watching you while you were telling the story instead of looking at the constellation you were talking about, right?"
"Right."
"So either it's a coincidence, which considering the circumstances, it is not, or he was watching you because he admires your knowledge, or because you looked pretty, or because you fascinate him, all of which I genuinely believe are correct!" Lucy said, her hands gesturing wildly in front of her.
Levy felt a little shocked and cornered as the words fell out of Lucy's mouth faster and faster, and her hand gestures became more and more erratic. "And then when you looked at him, I bet you anything he wanted to kiss you! He was thinking about it, I bet, but then he wasn't sure if he should (because he's a moron), and... do you not realize, Levy, that you held The Gaze?"
"What gaze?" Levy asked, finding her voice at last. Lucy sighed very dramatically, raising her hands up, then dangling one limply off of her forehead, her eyes seemingly beseeching the ceiling of the cafe to grant her friend some sense.
"The Gaze of Unresolved Sexual Tension. The ultimate gaze of anything ever!" she said, as though this were the most obvious thing in the entire universe. "But... but... what!?" Levy exclaimed, now quite convinced that her friend had gone off the deep end. Lucy sighed a worldly sigh.
"I mean that you two have held a should-I-kiss-them-or-not gaze. The gaze of ultimate romantic potential. The gaze never ends in a kiss, because it is unresolved. Well, at least now we know that my plan is working. You two clearly have UST up your butts." Lucy said, now looking more like her cheery self. "Whatever you say, Luce.." Levy said, pushing a stray lock of hair back behind her ear.
"So, what then?" Lucy prompted.
"Nothing. We heard a noise, I twisted my ankle, he went to look, he came back, and he carried me home."
"That's great, that's so great!" Lucy sighed, beaming. Levy put down her coffee and cleared her throat.
"But what are these amazing plans you said you had?" she asked, and Lucy straightened up, pushing her smooth blonde hair back and giving Levy a conspiratorial grin.
"Today, I am setting up a huge game of truth or dare. After what you told me, I considered letting you guys have a quiet day, however," she continued, biting her thumb thoughtfully, "we have to show Gajeel that if he doesn't make a move, somebody else will." Levy frowned.
"But... but nobody else is going to make a move on me, Lucy. And there's nobody else I-" she cut herself off, turning pink.
"You are so cute!" Lucy sighed, smiling affectionately and patting Levy's hand. "I know that, Lev. We both know that, but does Gajeel? That's the point. But this might be tricky... We have to show him that you might be taken away from him, but you've got to show, somehow, that you don't want to be with anyone but him." she said thoughtfully, nodding slowly as she figured things out.
"Well that'll be easy." Levy muttered.
"Good. I brought it up at the restaurant last night when you guys had left, so I'll just get everybody ready. I'll drop by when things are all figured out, but how about I walk you home?" Lucy said, standing up and stretching.
"Thanks!" Levy said, picking up her empty coffee cup and throwing it out as they exited the cafe.
"No problem, Lev." Lucy said, linking arms with her best friend.

Outside, the air was still chilly, as it had been when Levy had dragged herself out of bed that morning, but now the sun was glittering through the trees overhead, brightening the path and warming their faces.
"You know what this whole thing reminds me of?" Lucy said after a few minutes.
"What?" Levy said, grinning and rolling her eyes. She had a feeling that Lucy was about to...
"Sha-la-la-la-la-la my oh my, look at the boy too shy, he ain't gonna kiss the girl..." Lucy sang, swinging her arm around Levy's shoulder and serenading her as Levy burst out laughing, trying to shake her off.
"Sha-la-la-la-la-la ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame, too bad- he's gonna miss the girl" Lucy crooned as they turned the corner and began to walk along the bridge. By the time they'd reached the door to Gajeel's apartment, Lucy had got all the way through the verses.
"Okay, bye, Lucy!" Levy said, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"You've got to kiss the girl! Why don't you kiss the girl? You gotta kiss the girl!" Lucy continued, now purposefully off-key, twirling around as Levy laughed loudly. "What the hell is that?" Gajeel grumbled loudly from the kitchen, and Levy laughed even harder.
"Kiss the girl~" Lucy finished dramatically, holding the last note until Levy pretended to shut the door in her face.
"It's just Lucy!" Levy called over her shoulder.
"I should've guessed." Gajeel muttered as he walked out of the kitchen behind her.
"Ouch!" Lucy exclaimed, giggling.
"Okay. I'll get Jet and Droy to drop round and take you to the party." Lucy said, perhaps in a louder voice than was necessary.
"If you're trying to make him jealous of them, honestly, I don't think it's going to-" Levy hissed, but she was interrupted by Gajeel, who suddenly appeared behind her.
"What party?" he asked bluntly. Lucy grinned up at him, but kept her eyes on Levy for a half-second longer as Levy glared at her.
"There's a party this afternoon, but it'll probably go on until this evening, at the guild hall. The theme is 'Lonely Hearts Club Band'." Levy raised her eyebrows- that was certainly the first she'd heard about that.
"What does that even mean?" she asked, and Lucy shrugged.
"I don't really know, I was just feeling creative... but don't worry about that, I've got a costume for you."
"Uh-huh... you know, I'm not exactly as big on dressing up as you are-" Levy began, but silenced herself when Lucy shot her a look. Levy was still very aware of Gajeel's presence behind her.
"Anyways, it'll be really fun! There'll be truth or dare, seven minutes in heaven, spin the bottle... Basically a party completely devoted to ship tease!" she said brightly.
"Um, you've lost me." Levy interjected, but Lucy just laughed, told them it would probably start at two, and repeated that she'd send Jet and Droy to pick Levy up.
"...You too, Gajeel, if you'd like to-"
"I'll go." Gajeel grumbled, folding his arms and returning into the house. Levy watched him leave.
"Lucy, he really looks annoyed, I'm worried-"
"See? He must consider Jet and Droy enough of a threat to-"
"To possibly beat them up?" Levy interrupted, biting her lip nervously. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"What do you think this is? A play? He's just sulking." Lucy said dismissivelly before skipping down the road, waving goodbye.
"Honestly..." Levy muttered as she waved back and shut the door.

Half an hour later, Lucy turned up again and dropped off a paper bag with a wave and wink, and was gone again.
"Honestly..." Levy murmured once again as she carried it back to her room, not even daring to imagine what was in it.
"Something the matter?" Pantherlily asked her as he floated into the room. Levy smiled at him and shook her head.
"Nope! I'm just a little concerned about this party... did Gajeel tell you about it?" she asked as she dropped the bag onto the bed and sat down on the couch. "No, he didn't. I've been out most of the morning." Lily said, landing beside her and folding his arms.
"It's not a big deal or anything, it's just..." Levy blew some hair out of her face and leant her head back. "Lucy's organized this party, with some strange love theme, I don't even know..." she muttered, smiling when Pantherlily rolled his eyes. "I'm just worried, because she might be... um, encouraging Jet and Droy..." Levy trailed off, not even sure what to say.
She wasn't really concerned about that, as Lucy was just using them to make Gajeel jealous, but... as nobody had filled the rest of team Shadow Gear in (for obvious reasons), they might get the wrong idea.
"Jet and Droy, huh? Gajeel doesn't like them very much, does he?" Lily said thoughtfully.
"No, he doesn't." Levy agreed, reaching over and stroking Lily's ears softly."I wonder why." she murmured. "You know Lily, when you're in this form, I sometimes forget that I'm living with two really tall and strong guys, instead of just one!" she said with a giggle, lifting up the kitty and placing him down on her lap. Pantherlily folded his arms, looking a little ruffled.
"You know, Levy, if I were less fond of you, I might smack you upside the head." he said, frowning, but his humorous tone gave him away. Levy giggled and put on an apologetic face.
"Please, find it in your great and furry heart to forgive a callous, unthinking fool, I beg of you, mighty and brave Pantherlily." she said, slipping off the couch and bowing down to Lily, who chuckled and flew over to the bed, poking at Lucy's paper bag.
"What's in here, then? A costume for the party?" he asked. Levy shrugged and walked over to it.
"Let's have a look." she said, and tipped the contents out. "Jeez, Lucy... she sure goes all-out..." Levy murmured, wondering just where her friend got all these clothes as she took in the garments which had fallen out of the bag.
Laying on the bed were a pair of red and pink checked thigh-high stockings, trimmed with red lace; a red and gold drum majorette's coat; shiny red boots; white silk gloves; a red hairband, decorated with little pink hearts; a pair of white shorts.
"Holy crap." Levy breathed when she spotted a cat-sized feathered conductor's hat, and a similar outfit for Gajeel.
"I think... this is for you." she said to Lily, pointing to the tiny red hat, which he held up distastefully.
"I look forward to telling Gajeel about all this." he said, popping the hat on his head with an eye-roll, and with that, he flew out of the room.
Levy put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. Either Lucy had way too much time on her hands, or a fancy-dress store was going out of business.
With a sigh, she gathered up all the clothes and headed to the bathroom to change, giggling to herself at the thought of Gajeel's reaction to the outfit Lucy had prepared for him.
"He'll probably have a stroke." she muttered to herself, grinning.

Fifteen minutes later, Levy was changed and was running her hands through her hair, wondering if Lucy would expect her to make more of an effort with it when there was a knock on the door. She trotted down the hall, but Gajeel had already answered it. Levy grinned when she saw Jet and Droy, dressed up like she was, and clearly quailing under the glare Gajeel was probably giving them.
"What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly.
"They're here to take us to the party! Hey guys!" Levy said brightly, sliding under Gajeel's arm and grinning at her team.
"Levy! Where did you go last night?" Jet asked her.
"Levy, you look so cute! She's so cute!" Droy said, turning to Jet, who told him to get a grip.
"You're not wearing Lucy's outfit!" Levy said accusingly to Gajeel, who gave her a look.
"Did you seriously think I would?" he asked her, folding his arms and leaning against the door frame.
"No, no I didn't." Levy said with a smile, hopping down the steps and linking arms with Jet and Droy. "Are you coming? And where's Lily?" she asked, but just as she did so, Lily came flying out the door, scowling, his hat on his head.
"See? Lily dressed up." Levy said teasingly to Gajeel, who just snorted and shut the door behind him. "Let's go, guys!" Levy said cheerily to Shadow Gear, who set off, chatting happily about Levy's outfit and wondering what the party would be like.

Levy glanced behind, caught Gajeel's gaze, and smiled. The corners of his mouth twitched up, but turned down again in a scowl when Jet put his arm around her shoulders. Levy turned away again and glanced up at Pantherlily, who was flying overhead.
Now that they were actually on their way, Levy was beginning to get concerned about what was actually going to happen at the party. Lucy had promised all sorts of games -games that would surely involve lots of embarassing situations- and now Levy was very tense; she trusted Jet and Droy more than anyone else, but she wasn't quite as confident that they wouldn't get the wrong idea, or embarass her. She sighed to herself and wondered why all of Lucy's plans so far had somehow ended in humiliation for Levy. A few blocks later, they arrived at the guild, the outside of which had been decorated with heart-shaped decorations and red and pink streamers.
"When Lucy has a party, she has a party," Levy murmured, looking up at the building.
"Well, guys, we're here." she said with a smile that was half-forced as they walked inside.

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