Ok I lied, I got this chapter done quite quickly. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it though. I hope you enjoy it!
Gajeel tried to make it a point not to be up before the crack of noon, but some mornings he just couldn't sleep in. Not with the dreams he'd been having recently.
Scratch that, most of them were nightmares. They'd start out good, often dealing with Levy, but quickly turned south. Sometimes he swore he could still hear her screams after he woke. Lily was even beginning to grow worried, but he always waved the cat off.
These feelings were strange to say the least. He wasn't naïve though, he knew he had feelings for the script mage, but not what to do about them. He resolved to keep quiet for the time being. Telling her would only push her away. After all, she couldn't possibly have feelings for a person like him.
'Even if she did, I don't deserve her. Not after everything I've done…and what I've done to her.'
He really needed to resolve this situation somehow, before it drove him batshit insane. How such a little girl could occupy so large a part of his mind was beyond him.
Running helped him keep his mind off of things for a little while. The brisk morning air removed most of the scents of the city. It helped to clear his mind.
When he stopped to catch his breath, Gajeel found himself standing near the book store he and Levy walked to the week before. A small, middle-aged woman was outside of it, struggling with some boxes.
'The owner?' he wondered as he walked towards the woman who was quickly going to lose the content of one of her boxes. He deftly caught it before it fell to the ground. It was filled with books of all sizes.
"Oh my! Thank you."
He grunted a reply and began to walk away. Something told him to turn around.
"Do you need help with those?" he suddenly asked.
She gave him a surprised look that confused the hell out of him.
"Actually yes, I would appreciate that. I just received them all from my mother, she passed away recently."
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright dear, it wasn't unexpected. Now here, I'll show you where to put these boxes."
Her store was small, but homey. It was lined floor to ceiling with shelves packed full of books and scrolls. There was a small area with tables and chairs in the loft. It looked more like a library than a store. He could see why Levy would like it.
"It's not much, but it's home."
Gajeel smirked to himself, he knew that feeling.
"My friend loves this place, she was wondering where you went."
"Your friend?"
"Levy McGarden."
"Oh, you're a friend of Miss Levy's! Are you in Fairy Tail as well?"
Gajeel nodded.
"Well let me get you something for your trouble." She handed him a small sum of Jewels.
"I should be open again here in the next few days, if you'd let Miss Levy know."
"Yeah, she'll be excited."
'That's an understatement, she'll be downright fucking giddy.' He tried not to think too hard about her reaction.
"I'm sorry to admit, at first I was intimidated by your appearance, but you are a lovely young man. I guess of all people I should know not to judge a book by its cover. And of course, if you are a friend of Miss Levy, then you must be a good person. I swear, she knows how to see right into people's hearts."
A small blush crept onto his face and he quickly excused himself from the shop.
'God dammit, why does everything come back to her?' He thought as he shoved his hands in his pockets and stomped down the street towards his house.
How was he supposed to get this girl out of his head? Did he even want to? What the hell was he going to do?
This was fucking torture.