Chapter 6: A Changed Man Is A Better Man
It's been about three weeks since Gajeel and I broke up. This Friday was the Winter Formal. Wendy helped heal some of my boy's wounds, but she didn't have enough energy to heal Elfman. A week since the incident, Miss Porlyusica came back from her vacation in the States. She was able to heal Elfman pretty quickly.
Gajeel and i cut our sessions to three times a week. Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Since there was no playing around, we got the work done fast. Even if he wasn't my boyfriend and I hated his guts, I made sure to help him pass some of his classes. He went from F's to C's in a few weeks. Everytime he went up a grade, I'd give him an animal eraser top. I already gave him a lion, a cat, a penguin, and a frog.
Other than Gajeel, I have had no issues. Except one thing. I changed my act. And everyone except Gajeel knew why. I've only gone through it once, when my parents left me. Whenever I feel heartbroken, I turn into a completely different person. It's one of my triggers for my personality disorder. I'm the same person. It's just if someone wants to start a fight, I'll be the first to join in other than Natsu and Gray. I'll do anything to take out my frustrations on people.
Today I was going drinking, for the first time in my life, with some of Class 2-B's girls. Wendy was upset that we didn't allow her to join.
"It's not fair! You guy's are underaged as well!"
"But we have, uh, the 'body' to pass as twenty-one year-olds." Evergreen reasoned.
Wendy glared and pointed at me. "Levy doesn't have the body for that either!"
I gritted my teeth, clenching my fist tightly.
"I can fit her in one of my push-up bras and my stilletoes." Lucy reasoned. "Then she'll be good."
I sighed, sorting out the books in the SCI-FY and FANTASY section.
And thus, I was in my shared apartment playing dress up.
We decided to bring a dress for the the other person to wear.
Everyone laid the dresses on the couch. I saw Mirajane eyeing the one that Evergreen brought. Lucy had her sights set on the one Cana brought. Juvia was just sitting and whispering "Gray-sama!" with a longing voice.
"3...2...1!" Erza's yelled, snatching up Lisanna's dress and pulling it on. Did I mention everyone was in their underwear?
Lucy lunged for Cana's dress and Cana went for Erza's. Evergreen took mine. I blinked. I ended up with Mirajane's dress. The magenta push up bra worked. Lisanna got Juvia's and Juvia got Lucy's.
My dress was Mirajane's black mid-thigh length dress. It had a blue bow at the hip with a blue ribbon around the was. Blue frills dropping down from the bow. It was exactly like her barmaid dress except the pink was black and the white was blue. I think it worked for me. Whoever's dress we took is the person who we had to do their hair for. I was doing Mirajane's hair, making soft waves. Evergreen was tying my hair up save a few pieces in the front to frame my face. I thought they were going to let me keep my glasses, but they took it away and forced me to wear my contacts.
Even with Lucy's black stilettoes with silver buckles, I was still a bit shorter than the other girls. The only person that was close to my height was Lisanna.
They were coming at me with eyeshadow and lipstick but I pulled back, growling at them like a rabid dog. "Chapstick and mascara. That's. It."
Lucy pouted. "You're no fun, Levy-chan!"
At last they agreed to leave it too blue crazeberry chapstick and blue mascara. I've only ever put on black mascara, so blue was a big change. I thought it looked pretty good.
"Alright! Off we go to Fairy Tail Academy's Bar!" Lisanna yelled, her fist in the air. Everyone joined in.
I blinked. "Wait, Fairy Tail Academy has a bar?"
"Yeah, it's for the teachers. Gildarts runs it in secret. Cana was able to convince her dad to let some of us go, since only seniors are allowed to go in there. I work there part-time. I think Kinana is on her shift right now, seeing as I got off a while ago." Mirajane stated thoughtfully.
"Alright," Erza said, putting her hands on her hips. She was wearing a purple dress with red flowers. "Whose car are we going to be using?"
"Juvia vote's that we take Lucy's!"
"I DON'T HAVE A CAR!"
"Then why don't we use my car and Lisanna's since we dropped most of you guys here."
3 Tacos and 2 sodas later we were at Fairy Tail Academy's club.
Lisanna and Evergreen were partying on the dancefloor, Mirajane somehow got stuck with helping Kinana at the bar (so she says -_-) Lucy saw Natsu here and started a long talk with him, though he was stuffing his mouth with marshmallows that he and Happy brought (I wonder how he got Happy past security). I was sitting with Juvia, listening to her rant on about Gray. Erza showing off her kitten armor (if that even counted as armor...) All in all, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"Would you like anything to drink, Levy-san?" Kinana asked. She was working behind the bar while Mirajane was on the floor delivering drinks.
"I've never really had alcohol before-"
"Don't worry, I have the perfect thing."
She scrambled around and came back with shot of pinkish purple liquid.
"What the hell is this?" I poked the glass and the liquid swishing along the sides.
"My specialty, Wee-Woo."
"Wee-Woo?"
She laughed at the way I pronounced the name.
"It's a drink for light-weights."
I debated on whether she said I wasn't fat or not, then damned it to hell as I downed the shot.
It tasted like mango, pineapple and a whole bunch of Russian vodka.
"More?" Kinana asked when she saw the look on my face.
I raised the shot glass. "More."
She poured more of her specialty drink. "Tastes good, huh?"
"For sure. How did you make this?"
She held a finger to her lips and winked. "It's a secret."
"KYA! GRAY-SAMA IS HERE!" Juvia squealed.
I looked up and there Gray was, stark naked, waving his junk around on one of the tables.
"Gray! Put some clothes on!"
"Lucy, stop looking!" Natsu yelled, covering Lucy's eyes.
Juvia's eyes went to Lucy and her aura went dark. "Love Rival!" she growled in a monotone voice.
Erza was smashing her fist in Gray's face. I guessed it was her way to tell him to get dressed.
It was pretty funny, and the scene definitely brought me back to the times when Fairy Tail Academy had just been built and we'd all been freshmen. I smiled at the thought. I missed those days.
Mirajane popped in front of me with Lisanna. "What's wrong, Levy?"
I pulled back, too close for comfort.
"Um, nothing, just drinking." I held up the shot glass as a demonstration, but Kinana thought that I wanted more and poured Wee-Woo in the glass.
She must've read the look on my face and smiled. "Don't worry, it's in the house."
God knows how many Wee-Woo's later, I was drunk as hell, swinging my hips off-beat to some unknown song that talking about women's assets.
"You know that nastiest word that's ever been created?" I asked Lucy, who wasn't the least bit drunk. My speech was slurred and I couldn't hold my own weight.
"What?" she asked hesitantly.
"PEANUT BUTTER!" I hollered, waving my hands in the air.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're drunk, Levy-chan."
"You just realized that now?" Erza asked. She was still in her kitten armor.
"NEKO-CHAN!" I squealed, tweaking the cat ears that came with her armor.
She twitched her tail and grabbed my hands. "We need to find a way to get her out of her intoxicated state."
Lucy gasped."I know! We'll get her a book!"
"Nee, nee, play with me, Neko-chan!" I pouted, tugging my hands from Erza. She had a tight grip.
The flapping of wings caught my attention. I looked up and saw a black cat with a white tip tail. He had long black wings. "Neko with wings?"
"Oy! Lily, get back here!"
Gajeel P.O.V.
I never expected to end up at the bar. Panther Lily said he wanted to come here to meet up with Happy. Something about planning the sky dragon's birthday. Or was it her cat?
Lily lurched forward and flew over the heads of people to where Happy was. He was with the infamous Salamander, munching on... marshmallows?
Suddenly a familiar scent hit me, one of ink and alcohol.
"Oy! Lily, get back here!"
Lily turned around and sat on my head. "What is it?"
"Tell me, do you see her?"
Lily scanned the crowd of warm bodies "Her? I've only got a vague description of that woman, how am I supposed to find her in the midst of- oh. Found her."
He pointed a claw to a short bluenette that I knew very well.
My eyes bulged when I saw what she was wearing. "W-what the hell is that?"
"I believe it's a dress." Lily answered.
"Shut up and go with Happy."
Lily left.
"There she is." he whispered. "That little Shrimp doesn't look like a shrimp."
Levy turned around and spotted him. She gasped then grinned. "HI MISTER!"
I looked around to see if who she was talking to was really me. When I looked back she was right in front of me. "What's with you? You're so jumpy."
"Um, uh, Levy, look I-"
She furrowed her brows and poked my chest. "How do you know my name, Mister! I never told you!"
Bunny girl noticed me in her search of where Levy had probably disappeared. The moment she saw me she grabbed Levy and pulled her behind. "What do you want, Gajeel?"
"I just came with Lily. Nothing serious. I had no idea that Shrimp was going to be here." I raised my hands as if to prove my innocence.
Some girl that had a barrel of beer in her arms noticed me. She became sober in an instant. "Oy, you better get out of here."
Titania must've sensed the fighting mood and appeared next to Lucy. "Stay away from Levy, Gajeel. She's not in her right state of mind and I won't let you take advantage of her."
"Neither will I!" Great. Salamander was in on it too. "I'm not going to let you hurt my nakama." A flame enveloped in his hands.
Levy squiggled between Bunny girl and Titania and stood in front of me. "Don't pick on Mister! He hasn't done anything wrong to any of us!"
Titania seemed taken a back. "You don't know who he is?" she asked cautiously.
She turned around and looked at me carefully. "Ah! Yeah I know who he is!" Levy tuned around and told everyone with a happy grin: "HE'S THE GUY THAT DELIVERS NEWSPAPERS TO OUR FRONT DOOR!"
The club fell silent. Then everyone burst into laughter.
I groaned. That stupid Shrimp. But she did save my life in a weird way, even if she didn't remember who I was.
Everyone went back to what they were doing, but kept a sharp eye on me.
"Mister, I actually think I've seen you elsewhere."
Her eyes started to water and her tiny fists rubbed the tears away. "You look like this really mean guy I met. His name's Gajeel Redfox. He saved my life. And he looked super heroic when he did it. Did you know that we ended up dating? Yup. It was pretty strange at first, since I was knew to all of this lovey dovey stuff. The only people I've ever come to care about is Jet, Droy and Lucy. I used to care about my parents, but they abandoned me." he tone became dark, "they said I was a burden, that I was nothing more that a useless tool after they had gotten all the money they needed."
Levy brightened up when she saw Bunny girl trying to take away the marshmallows from Salamander. "But ever since Lucy took care of me, I've opened my heart up a bit. She taught me how to love. It's too bad that Gajeel made me feel hate again. I don't think I can ever love after what he did to me. It hurts too much."
She looked up at me. "You look just like him, you know. You have piercings and red eyes and pretty black hair."
"Oy, I don't have pretty hair!"
She giggles and ran behind me, tugging on my black hair. "It's so soft, like feathers."
Levy got sad again and she hopped onto the bar stool, swinging around like it was some ride.
"I guess I just wish that he'd realized that I care about him." she got out of the serious mood when a purple haired barmaid said, "You probably should stop drinking, Levy."
Levy growled, her mood completely changing. "Don't tell me what to fucking do!"
The purple haired woman didn't seem scared one bit.
"Calm down, Levy." she said, placing her hand on Levy's shoulder. She shrugged her off. "Wee-Woo."
"Wee-Woo?" I turned to ask the girl what it was but she ran off to get something. She came back with a purplish-pink liquid. She started to pour some in a fresh shot glass, but Levy stopped her hand. She had a sparkle in her eyes.
"Wee-Woo... IN A YARD GLASS!"
Barmaid girl paled. "Uh, I'm not sure. Even though this is a light weight drink, that much could really damage your system.
One look from Levy and the barmaid girl had a yard glass in her hand within seconds. It certainly lived up to it's name. She started to pour the Wee-Woo in, making more after one foot was gone. Thankfully she didn't fill it to the brim.
"YOSH!" Levy howled, then chugged the entire yard glass full of this strange Wee-Woo drink down.
She set the glass down and started running in circles maxing plane sounds and flapping her arms up and down. "Look, look, I'm a plane!"
"I see that," I muttered, grabbing her waist and lifting her up and placing her on the bar stool. She gripped the corner of the black grantie countertop and begin spinning around extremely fast. The barstool was tipping.
I set my hands on either side of her bar stool, holding it in place, and looked her dead in the eye. "Levy, I'm taking you home!"
She slapped me and laughed lightly, hiccuping in between. "Don't be ridiculous! You have to go to first base, then second, then third! Then we can get married, silly!"
"No, I mean I'm taking you back to your house. In your state, anyone could drag you out of the club-"
"Like you're doing now?" Levy cut it with a smile.
I sighed. "Please, Levy, I'm doing this to protect you. I don't want you to get hurt."
She hicupped. "Okay, but I trust you Mister, so you better not betray me or I'll smash you with Iron."
"And I'd eat the iron." I reasoned to myself. She must've heard it.
"Really? No way! That's so cool! Gajeel was able to eat iron. He's an iron dragon slayer, you know. And he's so hot! You should meet him, he's my-" Levy stopped, then laughed awkwardly. "What am I talking about, he doesn't care about me. He wants girls with big boobs and and a big ass. Sometimes I wonder why he even dated me."
I shrugged as we walked out of the club. She could barely stand on her own two feet so I gave her a piggy-back ride. "Maybe he was trying someone different."
She snorted. "Yeah, right, I'm just a sampler. Who's he gonna try next, a girl with big lips? All I have is a big brain."
"That didn't come out right. what I meant is maybe he's getting out of fantasy and facing reality. I don't think this Gajeel person would play around with other feelings. He sounds really rough, Maybe he's been through a lot and doesn't know how to love, just like you."
Levy set her chin on my shoulder. "Either way, I won't forgive him. Just like I haven't forgiven my parents."
"But they're gone," I pointed out, "And I'm-I mean, Gajeel, is still here, isn't he?"
She nodded. "I guess I'm just cautious. I don't want our relationship to end, to be honest. But I don't want to be with someone who's unfaithful to me.
"Maybe you should give him another chance. He might prove himself to be more than what you think."
I set her down in front of her house.
Her dress had hiked up a bit, showing more of her creamy thighs-NO! Stop it! CONTROL YOURSELF, GAJEEL! I inhaled and exhaled.
"Okay. I'll think about it. Thanks for dropping me home Mister. How did you know where I lived?"
"Newspaper boy here. And I'd think I'd remember where a pretty young lady like you would live."
She smiled and gave me a punch in my shoulder. I smiled back, but to be honest, it hurt like hell. Not the punch, but to see her so happy with another man. I mean, it was me, but she thought I was some other man. I had no idea how much I truly hurt her. In all honesty, I wasn't serious in the relationship we had. But I was somewhat conflicted after I left the hospital. I felt like going after Levy and begging on my knees for forgiveness. But my pride got to me.
I watched Levy walk in and close the door behind her after waving good-bye, then began walking back home. It started raining and thundering.
When I was three streets away from my house, I spotted Juvia talking to the stripper. I smiled. It was nice to see her happy. Juvia and I went to the same school since we were in kindergarten. i thought of her as a little sister. I went to TLC for several school semesters because people were bullying her. My freshman through Junior years were spent there. The first day of school, someone would insult her and I'd rip their tongues out. Literally, Since Juvia had lots off money, she'd bail me out of prison. But I'd still have to go to TLC during the school year. And from the information I had gotten from Juvia, I never once crossed path with Shrimp on the first day of each school year since I'd always beat someone up and put them in critcal condition if they insulted her.
I knew everyone before, like Stripper and Salamander, Titania as well. Once in a while they'd be sent in TLC for a week or so. Property damage or something. I met Bunny girl for the first time when she came by to drop lunch for Natsu, which was a lighter. She was dressed in a bunny suit and had the sky dragon and her Exceed chasing after her.
I got along with Titania more than I did with Gray and Natsu, but only because they wanted to fight all the time. I had grown respect for her. She was a very powerful woman.
"Gajeel-san?"
"I told you to call me Gajeel, Juvia."
She ignored me and continued to walk with me, holding her pink umbrella over both of us. The magic made the water dissipate within a five foot radius.
"Where's your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?"
"Stripper."
Juvia grinned. "You thought that Juvia and Gray-sama were dating? How sweet! Juvia is so happy!"
She looked like she was struck by one of Cupid's bow.
"He left to his house. He dropped Juvia off to her house. But Juvia saw you and decided to join in the midnight stroll."
We finally reached my house. I could tell Lily was there because I heard the faint whimpers. He was scared of lightning.
"Be careful on your way back." I called as Juvia skipped happily down the street.
I opened the door and got a face-full of cat fur. I pried Panther Lily off my face and set him down.
Thunder clapped once more and he latched himself in my hair.
"Damn cat," I grumbled, pouring him a glass of milk.
He took it, his ears flat against his head, and started chugging it down, like Levy.
Levy. Levy, Shrimp. Shrimp, Levy. I missed her, even though I wouldn't dare say it to her face. I missed her small body. I missed seeing her with her red glasses, which looked super sexy on her. I missed how she would kiss me. I missed holding her. I missed having her warmth next to me.
I sighed, thunking my head against the fridge, then putting back the milk.
"What am I going to do, Lily?"
The black Exceed merely wiped the milk off his muzzle. "The Island trip is next week. Since your in the same class, you'll be there. Too bad Juvia won't be there. There's an amusement water park of the island that they're going to. In fact, after they finish their project, the first place they're heading to is the water park. The Winter Formal is this week, so you can make amends with her there."
"How do you know all this stuff?"
"I talked to Happy. Could I have some more milk."
I left the milk out for him to finish, then showered. My phone vibrated, falling off the edge of my nightstand right as I came out of the shower.
I picked it up. It was an unknown number. "Hello?"
"Hey."
"Bunny girl?"
"I got your number from Juvia. I want to thank you for dropping Levy back."
She ended the call before I could answer.
I saved her number. I was going to put bunny girl, but changed it to Lucy.
I was going to start changing. I was going to be the man that gets his thoughts and feelings straight before stepping out in the field. Because I don't think I can play with Levy's feelings anymore. I had to come out straight. No lies. I had to tell her thee truth about everything.
Including the incident with her friends...
Okay guys a few quick notes:
1.) the water park is the same as the one in Fairy Tail Ova 5
2.) send me some names of Japanese islands
3.) I have writers block
R&R please. :-)