A/N: How long has it been? :/

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Poetry In Motion
the final downpour of metaphors

Chapter Thirteen: The Game Plan

Jellal's eye twitched.

It had been nearly a week since he last talked to his roommate, and the glances and short conversations did not count as they never did satisfy him.

Is she avoiding me?

Maybe.

Why?

That he didn't know; but he was determined to find out.

During lunch break the ultramarine searched high and low just to find her. He scurried every hallway, went to every nook and cranny of every building and only failed in doing so. He ran a careless hand through tousled cerulean locks and felt a strange pang in his chest.

Is she avoiding me?

Yes.

Why?

And he felt it once more. The weird sensation of his muscles contracting—like he had been running in circles and at the same time forgetting how to breathe. It was that uncomfortable and unbearable.

Is she avoiding me?

Irritated, he brushed it off and blamed it on his goddamned injuries.

"Fuckin' wounds." he muttered to himself and finally walked down the path away from a group of squealing and giggling girls who were acting more like high school students.

Jellal found himself inside the elevator heading towards the fifth floor. He didn't know why but his feet just magically dragged him to. It was still a mystery even to him because he never did invest any time to head to the fifth floor where the library was located.

It simply was a surprise.

The moment he was inside, he signed up and headed mindlessly through the numerous shelves that contained the thousands—millions even—of pages from both old and new editions of books, encyclopedias, almanacs and everything that contained ink and paper. He sauntered to the left, randomly looking at anything that may be interesting.

He stopped short in front of an old and worn-out book.

"That looks interesting." he said, his hand reaching out to grab the reading material.

"I didn't know you'd be a Fitzgerald fan."

Jellal froze.

Not because he was caught and found inside a shabby facility—as he would've described—such as a library, but because he knew that voice all too well.

He turned sharply from where the voice came and nearly lost his ability to breathe when he saw her. He didn't know why she had this effect on him. In fact he was annoyed to even react this way. Here she was, his roommate who he spends hours together and inside a small room, miraculously avoiding any sort of meeting and contact for the last few days and here he was, the cool and popular guy who couldn't care less about women and their interests but he was weirdly drawn to her.

"Erza." he managed to choke out.

"Are you gonna read that?" the said woman pointed out to the book that the ultramarine was clutching.

He stared at her dumbly and then back to the reading material.

"You're avoiding me." he cursed mentally because that sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Yes I am." she flatly responded.

"You didn't even flinch."

"I didn't."

"You didn't even hesitate." he dumbly continued.

Erza massaged her temple as if attempting to stop a headache from surfacing.

"Look, unless you're going to give me that book because apparently, you've got no hots for the author or I'm going to take my leave and look for another copy."

"Why are you avoiding me?" Jellal blurt out before he could stop himself. What was this feeling? This relentless search for an answer from her. Why did it matter so much to him? Surely he found her cunning and attractive and all the good things in that sexy package but it was more than that.

"Because I'm done with whatever this is."

And that answered all his questions. It was as a subtle but direct hit to his gut. He knew exactly what she was talking about and he knew exactly what this meant.

"Why?" he felt a deep and hollow pit forming in the bottom of his stomach yet he couldn't stop the queries from spilling.

"Because!" she hissed, keeping her voice down for they were inside the library but still loud enough to be audible and recognizable. "I keep reaching out to you yet you keep pushing me away!"

"Is this still about my injuries? I told you—"

"It's not about the injuries you idiot. It's your personality. You keep leading me on and then leave me hanging there. Suspended. And then let me fall." she was practically gripping her bag so tight she feared she might rip it.

"Are...are you saying you like me?"

"No. You fucking, asshole."

Jellal stopped.

He stopped nagging. Stopped complaining. Stopped asking questions that were supposed to be damned statements.

He stopped breathing. All in all, he stopped functioning.

His mind had reached its limit and that's why he hadn't noticed how the redhead rolled her eyes, and how she turned on her heel and left, and how his arm seemingly itched to reach out to her, and how his hand grasped her wrist without any hint and signs of letting go.

"I don't know what to say." he lamely told her and regretted it afterwards.

Erza gave him a sympathetic and disappointed smile. It was so eerie that it sent chills down his spine.

"You don't have to say anything," she paused then licked her lips as if to force the words right out of her mouth. "I know what we are—and I know what we're not."

With that the conversation had ended.

She decided to go back to their dorm that day. Erza just didn't feel like attending her classes.

The redhead was frustrated and more upset than usual because she knew what was causing her distress and that there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

She inserted the key and turned the knob, hoping to all the angels and saints in heaven that the silence and space of the room would be enough to calm her nerves. Unfortunately, her prayers were unheard and unanswered.

There in the middle of the living room was a relaxed figure of a man with a book she immediately recognized from the distance.

Erza was ready to shake her head and blurt a sarcastic and snarky comment out but a voice inside her head stopped her.

Let it go.

And she chose to walk away and head towards the comfort of her room.

"His name's Zero."

The redhead went still.

"What?" she managed to ask.

Jellal heaved off a sigh, placing both his hands on his face before turning to her.

"The man who did this to me," Erza cringed as the ultramarine lifted his shirt to show the almost healed wounds on his torso. "His name's Zero. Or at least, that's what we call him."

"We?" she tugged on her bag, preparing herself for more. Her heart was suddenly beating faster and her palms were sweating.

This is a first, she thought.

"Me, and some others you're not familiar with." his expression darkened but that didn't faze the redhead from further pressing the questions. Not when he's already opening up to her.

"Who is this Zero? Is that his real name?"

"It's a screen name. A pseudonym."

"Why does he need one like that?"

"Because he's—never mind."

"No, this is good. We're getting somewhere." she softly told him and Jellal returned an expectant look.

"Getting where exactly?"

They locked gazes with each other and then it both hit them like a surge of adrenaline.

Their lips locked and they were both everywhere. Hands roaming, lips fusing, noses bumping—and while he was busy indulging that unique taste of her, Erza was already reaching for the phone that vibrated and beeped on the coffee table. She immediately brought his face to the length of her neck, distracting and drawing his attention away from his phone and she locked him there, allowing him to bite, nip and place kisses on soft and smooth skin while she took this as an opportunity to at least get a glimpse of the text.

She froze upon seeing it with her very own eyes. It was a message from Zero and if she were to describe the tone and mood of the text, it was definitely warning and threatening Jellal.

Next time, it'll be the kids.