A/N: Thankyou guyssss for the feedback :) Here's another one!
WARNING: RAW FILE
Disclaimer applied
Poetry In Motion
the final downpour of metaphors
Chapter Nine: All The World's A Stage
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that right." Erza could hear her pathetic voice resounding in the halls of the dormitory. Surely she knew how crazy enough he was to pull surprising antics out of his sleeves but there was a limit to how unpredictable a person can be, right?
Because if her head wasn't messing everything up, and her auditory nerves were still functioning properly, then truthfully, she hadn't misheard anything at all.
Jellal lazily stretched, his lithe form being accentuated by the pull and contraction of his muscles.
"A play." he flatly stated like the two words explained everything.
"As in...?" she innocently asked, still ignorant of the topic they were discussing.
What play? Playback? Playbook? Playstation? Play-Doh? Fore—
Jellal smirked and the glint in his eyes made her almost lash out at him.
"You sick—!"
"Yup, a mini, improvised, theatrical play."
Whatever string of curses the redhead had planned to utter came out as a tangled mess at the tip of her tongue, making said bad words a sequence of incoherent noises. Jellal had unfortunately mistaken it as enthusiasm as his grin widened in satisfaction.
"I like you to play Red. You know, the same Red from Little Red Riding Hood."
Erza turned for a moment to compose herself.
What the hell was I thinking? He's the pervert not you! Get your act together Scarlet, there's no way in hell that he'd request something as absurd as that!
"That's..." she trailed off, unsure of what else to say and still unable to make up her mind. Obviously, she hadn't expected something like this.
"I know, but do you accept?" It was the almost non-existent tone of sadness and rejection that made her snap her head up to meet his gaze. Unfortunately though, the redhead hadn't gathered her thoughts yet, so she came up spontaneously with another pitiful remark.
"But Red is blonde."
Seconds passed and both of them were staring into each other's eyes, both weighing the fact that left the woman's lips. It was Jellal who broke the awkward atmosphere off as he brought his hand to cover his face, soft but audible amused snorts being muffled into his palm.
"W-Was there something that I said?" Erza asked, her cheeks being eventually adorned by a flush of red hues.
"S-Sorry," the ultramarine bit his lower lip, restraining himself from releasing the boisterous fit of laughter. "I thought you were concerned with your acting skills, but it seemed to me that you were pondering and worrying more about the insignificant details."
Erza slapped him—a playful one—on the arm and blushed even darker.
"But that isn't insignificant! We all know Red's blonde. Like how Goldilocks and Alice are." she pouted, crossing her arms on her chest.
Jellal refreshingly stared at the woman who could make him laugh at the simplest formation of words; the same woman who could outwit him in an exchange of words and leave him dancing on the palm of her hand. He knew right at that moment that this woman, Erza Scarlet was someday going to be the death of him.
"Alright, alright." he conceded, knowing how relentlessly stubborn his roommate was. "We can just drop the hair color issue, how does that sound?"
"Fine," she sighed; but in attempt to prolong the conversation, she added. "But only if I get to wear a blonde wig."
Jellal smiled before nodding.
God she's such a kid!
"Shouldn't you be more worried about your acting skills?"
"It's a children's story turned into a play," Erza shrugged. "So basically it's going to be child's play."
That certainly was a declaration of challenge, Jellal guessed. The corners of his lips tilted up as a thought crossed his mind.
"Speaking of children, do you want to meet the kids?"
Erza was thrilled. Ever since she was little, she had always enjoyed watching plays on television. It was the Mikazuchi family that had introduced her to the theatrical world after all.
Jellal had noticed the redhead's hands curled into tight fists on her lap and he couldn't quite make out if it was excitement or nervousness, or maybe just both. He secretly smiled to himself as he watched her fidget beside him uncontrollably.
"How long until we can reach the first one?" she asked, breaking the silence that settled between them for quite some time now.
"About another five minutes or so." Jellal replied, checking his watch to estimate the time left.
The ultramarine raised both brows when Erza scooted closer to him. That was a move he had not expected at all, especially when he often harassed and teased her. Normally, she should have stayed seated at the farthest space that the cab provided like the time when he picked her up during that rainy night. But with her questionable action, it just seemed that she had already forgotten, or had left bygones be bygones.
"How many kids are we visiting?" she asked.
"A lot." came his smug reply which the redhead refused to mind.
Erza frowned visibly.
"You do know going from house to house would cost us both a lot right? If in case you're not even aware yet, the last time I checked, the meter's still running."
"That's not a problem." he confidently replied.
Erza pouted and pulled out some bills in her wallet.
"That won't be necessary." he assured her, chuckling at the way she gave him a confused look.
"What? Why?"
Jellal looked outside where the familiar sky blue painted walls came into view. The same childish calligraphy he had grown used to remained as the signage and he was pleased to see the playground repainted with a livelier color. The whitewashed fences tickled a side of him that eventually made him smile.
The cab's tires screeched to a stop right at the same shelter he had seen from a short distance and he caught the redhead's attention by tapping her shoulder gently.
"We're here."
Erza should've known he would take her here. Although she had failed to hear the details regarding their destination when Jellal told the cab driver, she should've suspected at least. Perhaps she was too engrossed with the idea of staging a play to care about the children. Somehow, the thought itself made her feel a bit guilty and selfish about herself.
"Jellal, this is..."
"Yup, let's get inside and meet the kids shall we?"
The orphanage was named—for some unknown reason—Tower of Heaven. Erza would've bothered to inquire right away but the moment she heard the familiar sound of high-pitched giggles and small stomping strides, she had completely shoved the question down.
"Oh, you're back."
A tall and dark-haired woman approached them, greeting the ultramarine with a serene disposition and to Erza's delight, the woman had acknowledged her presence as well.
"Ultear." he warmly greeted back.
"Jellal nii-chan!" a blue-haired little girl giddily skipped past the rest of the kids to reach said man. Jellal effortlessly carried the girl off the floor and a few more kids entered, trapping and sandwiching Jellal in the middle.
Erza found the scene refreshing. It tugged on her heartstrings and somehow, the knot that had been bothering her for a while now seemed to have loosened a bit.
She realized that she was smiling at the view before her.
So he isn't such a dick after all.
"It's been a while." stated the woman who was in charge of the kids.
Jellal remained kneeling while he paid attention to the kids, his reply half-hearted. "Busy in college."
"I figured. Say," the dark-haired woman turned to face Erza. "Who might this beautiful lady be?"
"Is she your girlfriend Aniki?"
Erza darted her gaze alarmingly to the kid who had offensively assumed such a horrid thought. Sure Jellal wasn't much of a spoiled brat in the tiniest sense, but he's still a dick in a much larger scale when it came to sexually offending her and she didn't like that. Not one bit. Hell, they barely know each other. Who in their right minds would just assume that they're even a couple?
Erza mentally slapped herself.
Oh right. Of course, they're kids after all.
Jellal merely laughed at the expression that his companion was making but decided to cut her some slack.
"No Romeo, she's not." he stated.
"So who is she Jellal nii-chan?" squeaked the young girl with the same shade of hair color as the ultramarine, ogling the woman who was now having an internal battle whether to introduce herself or remain silent.
Jellal stood up and motioned Erza to come closer.
"Wendy, kids, this here is Erza nee-chan." he chuckled.
The redhead gave him a pointed look, her pursed lips blurting the words she could not say.
You like the sound of that don't you?
Jellal communicated with her telepathically as he smirked.
Only because you always manage to amuse me with your priceless reactions.
The girl named Wendy slowly approached the tall redhead, her huge eyes focused on the striking strands of her tresses.
"Can I touch your hair?" she sheepishly asked and Erza's heart fluttered at this.
Nobody liked her hair.
Nobody.
Not even her.
So it must have been her body reacting on impulse that she nodded and knelt down to her level.
Wendy hesitantly reached out, her small fingers experimentally combing through the tendrils of scarlet waterfalls.
"It's so soft and silky!" she declared and the rest of the kids were now flocking to Erza in an attempt to touch and get the feeling of her hair.
"Uh," Erza chuckled nervously, her hair now being pulled everywhere.
"Is this natural?" the boy named Romeo inquired, clearly fascinated at the color.
"Yes it is." Erza replied, her eyes lingering on the children before they pleaded to Jellal for help.
And the devil that he was, he merely smirked. It was thanks to the woman named Ultear who managed to control the kids.
God she could hardly feel the roots of her hair!
"Alright kids, you don't want to scare Erza nee-chan off."
The adults all heard the children's disheartened groans and protests but they retreated so Erza could fix her now tumbleweed of a hair.
The redhead cleared her throat and Jellal finally decided to properly introduce his companion to the kids.
"Remember what I promised you kids?"
The children all hummed in unison, their head nodding vigorously in anticipation.
"Erza nee-chan's going to play Red!"
Erza was expecting a few disappointed looks from them but she was a bit surprised to have been met with cheers and smiles.
Jellal scooted closer to the redhead as he whispered in her ear.
"Told you no one cares if Red was blonde or not."
Erza rolled her eyes but she had to admit, he was right. The kids didn't seem to mind the trivial things.
"We haven't worked out on the details yet." she said, and Jellal simply shrugged.
"We'll just find time later. By the way, you seem excited rather than pressured. Love plays that much?" he teased.
"Honestly, it's the kids." she softly stated, her thoughts drifting away already.
The ultramarine was about to ask if the situation had brought upon a sour memory of her childhood, but was interrupted when Ultear approached them.
"Hello Erza, I'm Ultear. It's nice to meet you." she smiled as she offered a hand which the redhead pleasantly took.
"The pleasure's all mine."
The redhead was about to keep conversing with the lady named Ultear but a pull on her hand dragged her down and she reflexively grabbed Jellal's wrist. The ultramarine was slightly taken aback by this but he noted to himself that it was just pure coincidence that she pulled him down together with her, because the kids pulled her down and were now coaxing her to play with them.
"Wow, first meeting and they already love you." Ultear commented.
"We all have to play now!" the kids yelled, their small arms encircling the remaining two adults.
"Um, I'm guessing we'd have to join the fray?" she laughed weakly.
Jellal chose to flash his signature lopsided grin before a slightly evil glint formed in his eyes; Ultear recognized this immediately and her eyes flickered with the same malice—hardly malicious at all.
"Let's show Erza nee-chan how we play."
Erza could have sworn she had never ran so much in all of her life. And if anything, she could now barely feel her legs. The game of 'It' had never been so tragically devastating that when they got back to Fairy Hills, her legs were basically shaking and trembling violently. She had changed into a shirt and shorts, and reaching the couch on the living room before collapsing was the furthest her legs could take her.
God those kids are far more dangerous and faster than stampeding bulls!
Jellal who seemed to have noticed her dilemma chuckled to himself as he took out two bags of ice.
Erza pouted, her legs refusing to stand and get away from the man who had caused her fatigue. But if she was really honest with herself—the man who had brought joy to her today.
"How are your legs?"
"I can't feel them." she honestly told him.
"Stay put, Ginger."
The ultramarine sat down on the floor and without warning, applied pressure on the redhead's exposed calves with ice. She hissed in both pain and relief.
"I didn't know a game of 'It' was going to cost me my ability to walk, let alone stand. Geez." she complained, taking one ice pack from Jellal and gently rubbing it on her right calf.
The ultramarine chuckled.
"Perhaps you're just out of shape."
"Am I?"
Maybe it was because she was tired, or maybe it was the numbness that settled on her calves because she extended one exposed leg and rested it on top of Jellal's shoulders before softly speaking in words that were unknown to her.
"You tell me..."
Jellal's jaw tightened, an obvious battle running through his head of whether removing the long and creamy leg of the redhead inches away from his face or letting said body part linger on so that he could examine it and tell her what he really thought of her figure.
Erza was already grinning, thinking that she had the ultramarine caught in her web like a moth before a sharp and cold sting bit into the skin and muscles of her leg.
Jellal had pinched the underside of her leg, making her withdraw the distracting body part back.
"H-Hey! That hurt you idiot!"
Jellal threw her the ice pack before leaving without another word.
"Uh, did I say something wrong?" Erza asked apologetically at the drastic change of Jellal's behavior. Little did she know that the ultramarine was already blushing furiously and that was something Jellal Fernandes could simply not show her.
God, she's really going to be my undoing.
A/N: Didn't really occur to me but how many times did I use the word GOD? Oh Lord, forgive me.