CHAPTER 16

A/N: WORST WRITERS BLOCK EVER! I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG GUYS. I was really stuck, till the point where my twin had to threaten me to not Beta for her. So for those of you who are reading this, thank you for sticking with me and my block.

DON'T FORGET MY POLL FOR THE FUTURE LOVE RIVAL! Each choice comes with its own unique twist XD

I'm a little bummed coz I got my first hate review and it was for my 2-shot. But I'll get over it coz I have all you great readers who tell me how much you love it.

Anyway; here's the chapter, let me know what you think by leaving a review XD

When Lucy left for school the next day she was absolutely exhausted. Her dad had given her so much grief last night what with him throwing a tantrum and passing out that she spent the whole night calming him down and fretting over his health.

Seeing Levy waiting at the bottom of the shrine steps for her made her forget her troubles for a bit.

"Ohayo Lu-chan!" said Levy as cheerfully as usual.

Lucy yawned loudly, a tired tear formed on the corner of her eye "Ohayo Levy-chan" she said in-between a yawn.

"I take it your dad didn't take the news too good huh?" she asked sympathetically as Lucy got to the bottom step.

"What gave it away?" asked Lucy sarcastically.

Levy giggled slightly and they made their way to school. The walk was unusually quiet but not awkward. They were both just so overwhelmed by yesterday's events that they had yet to absorb it all.

"Wanna know the really funny thing about my dad's reaction?" asked Lucy suddenly.

"Hm?" questioned Levy tilting her head slightly.

"The first thing he freaked out about was the fact that I didn't call him when I was done" she said with a small giggle.

Levy sweat-dropped, Lucy's dad was really overprotective, it was almost scary.

"W-wow Lu-chan, if he freaked out about that I don't even want to know what he said about the inter-school thing. Oh god, you didn't tell him about Salamander did you?!" asked Levy nervously.

Lucy's breath hitched and she paled slightly and began to laugh nervously.

"Well, not in so many words-"

"WHAT?!" yelled Levy in shock.

"It just slipped out, I didn't get a chance to go into detail coz he sort of feinted when he found out that a boy took me to the infirmary…" she said as she nervously rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh Lu-chan! Is he alright?" asked Levy in concern.

"Yeah, I think so. I made sure to ask Capricorn-san to watch over him while I'm at school. I'm just glad he was there this morning to help" said Lucy with a small smile.

Levy smiled "Well, he's been with your family since you were a baby, I'd be surprised if he didn't help" she said as she hooked her arm into Lucy's.

"True I guess" said Lucy with a giggle.

They made their way to their homeroom class, as they entered they noticed that Juvia was in her seat but she was spacing out and had a strange look on her face.

They looked to each other in confusion and then made their way to her.

"Ano… Juvia?" asked Lucy curiously.

Levy poked her shoulder to try and get a reaction from her.

Juvia blinked suddenly then shot up in her desk in shock.

"When did Juvia get to school?!" she yelled in shock.

Lucy and Levy blinked in surprise, then sweat-dropped when they registered what she said.

"Ano, Juvia, are you alright? You've been spacing out since yesterday. Your normally not this… well… ditzy" said Lucy in concern.

Levy nodded her head in agreement.

Juvia blinked then sat down in her seat from embarrassment, her head facing the floor in shame.

Lucy and Levy looked at her in concern.

Juvia suddenly became fidgety in her seat "Well, that is… J-Juvia has something she wants to say… is it alright?" she asked nervously as she poked her index fingers together, a nervous habit of hers.

"Of course Juvia! You can tell us anything!" said Levy with determination.

"Yeah!" agreed Lucy.

Juvia smiled gratefully, then a blush formed on her cheeks.

"W-well J-J-J-Juvia thinks that… J-J-Juvia might be in love…" she said softly.

Lucy and Levy blinked once.

Twice.

"Eh?"

"EH?!" they yelled in shock.

"W-w-what are you talking about Juvia?!" yelled Levy with a red face.

"W-what do you mean you're in love?!" yelled Lucy with an equally red face.

Both grabbed Juvia by the shoulder to stare at her in confusion. This sudden confession came out of nowhere.

"Ahh! Juvia said it out loud!" said Juvia as she hid her red face in her hands.

"Who!? How?! When?! I need more information than that Juvia! Tell us right now!" yelled Levy as she shook Juvia by the shoulders.

"Levy-chan, calm down, if you shake her anymore she might pass out!" yelled Lucy as she tried to pry Levy off of Juvia.

Levy's eyes had become swirls, it was more likely that she was going to be the one to pass out than Juvia.

"Deep breaths Levy! In and out!" said Lucy as she tried fanning Levy with her hand.

"Juvia couldn't help it! Before she knew it she realized that she was in love! Oh what should Juvia do?!" she said with her hands covering her red cheeks.

"Whoa whoa whoa, Juvia, first tell us who the guy is! And when this all happened! Levy can't take much more" said Lucy while still fanning Levy.

Juvia went back to tapping her index fingers again, looking everywhere except her friends.

"W-well, actually you both met him yesterday…" she said nervously.

"Hah?!" asked Lucy in confusion.

"He was just so handsome! And he reminded me so much of Haru, he even had the abs to match. Not to mention he was so kind and caring~" swooned Juvia.

"Wait wait wait wait! Y-y-you've seen him naked already!? W-w-what have you guys done?! How long have you known this guy Juvia?! D-d-d-don't tell me you've had some sort of secret fling this whole time?!" yelled Levy in shock.

To think, the second she regained consciousness she had to hear something that crazy.

"What are you talking about Levy-san? You and Lucy-san saw his abs too remember?" asked Juvia curiously.

Levy stopped panicking for a minute to absorb what Juvia had said, and Lucy blinked in confusion.

Levy suddenly gasped in realization which made Lucy jump in shock.

"You mean that weird stripper guy that we only met yesterday?!" she yelled in shock.

Juvia sighed in bliss and held her red cheeks when she remembered yesterday's events.

"Eh? Really?" asked Lucy in slight shock.

"Juvia calls dibs Lucy-san, you can't have him!" she yelled while pointing a finger at Lucy accusingly.

Lucy blinked in confusion then raised her hands in a motion of surrender at the glare Juvia was giving her.

"I don't remember ever saying I was interested in him though?" she said with a sweat-drop.

Levy was on the ground after passing out, her soul trying to leave her body in the process.

"Kyaaa! Levy-chan!"

Jellal was dazed. He couldn't focus on any of his classes the whole day, even now during lunch in the cafeteria he struggled to pay attention.

Unfortunately for him a certain Senpai noticed his dazed state. She had a pretty good guess about why he was like that, and being the sadist that she is she didn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation for her own amusement.

"Sooo, something on your mind Fernandez?" she asked with an amused smirk.

"Hn" hummed Jellal without even glancing over.

Ultear raised a brow at this. It was one thing to be in a daze, but to ignore her presence like that? Oh she was so going to take advantage of this, she thought with a sly grin.

Ultear slipped into the seat opposite his and watched as he started drinking his black coffee, she figured now was the right time to start.

"So how do you know Erza Scarlet?"

Jellal snapped out of his daze immediately, chocked on his drink and spat it out to his right. He erupted in a coughing fit while Ultear tried to stop herself from laughing at his reaction. It was better than she expected.

"Wh-what?" he groaned out while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, a shocked expression on his face.

Ultear couldn't hold her amusement any longer and she erupted in a fit of laughter causing Jellal to scowl at her.

"Oh man, if your lecturers had known that it only takes one person's name to get you to focus they'd owe me big time" she said with a giggle.

"Ha ha, very funny, let's all laugh at Jellal" he said sarcastically.

"Oh now, don't be like that. Anyway, your answer?" she asked with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"My answer to what?" he asked with mild annoyance.

"How do you know Erza? Don't tell me you only came back to reality when I mentioned her name?" asked Ultear in surprise.

Jellal felt his cheeks redden and turned his head away from Ultear's gaze.

"I've known Erza since we were kids, she's an old friend of mine" he said defensively.

Ultear raised a brow at this; with the way he was reacting that couldn't be the whole story, 'old friend' didn't seem like the kind of title that fit her well when it came to Jellal.

"So the last time you saw her was when you were a child?" she asked curiously as she recalled that he only recently got back to the country.

Jellal nodded his head in confirmation and tried to take another sip of his coffee.

"So what do you think of her matured body now that she's all grown up?" she asked with a sly smirk.

Jellal spat his coffee out again; he was beginning to think that he should just give up on drinking it anymore, and sent Ultear an incredulous look with a red face.

What did he think? Well of course he thought she had matured nicely. Her short red hair was long and lustrous; looking even more beautiful than before. Her slender figure coupled with her voluptuous curves gave dangerous ideas to his imagination.

She was gorgeous to say the least, and she still had that aura around her; that said she was tough and not to be taken lightly, she could have commanded an army in a past life for all he knew. But that's what made her shine in his eyes, she wasn't a weak girl who needed protecting all the time, she was strong and kind; almost like a queen.

Just thinking about how she looked on her uniform had his brain frazzled; it was the sole reason he couldn't focus today at all, she wouldn't leave his mind!

Jellal hadn't realized he spaced out until he heard Ultear clear her throat, amusement visible on her face.

"You done fantasizing yet?" she asked with an amused smirk.

"Oh shut up" he said with an annoyed scowl.

"You gonna make a move on her anytime soon?" she asked with a grin.

Jellal's scowl dropped and his face became sombre. Ultear blinked in confusion at his change, that wasn't what she had been expecting at all.

"I don't have the right to even consider such a thing" he said monotonously.

"Huh?"

"If you'll excuse me, I have to get to my next class" he said as he sat up, grabbed his bag and left.

Ultear sat in her chair, confused. He clearly held feelings for Erza, and it was obvious at least to her that Erza had some for him as well.

So what was the problem?

Once lunch time came around Natsu had finally managed to stay awake, he had slept through most of his classes and even when Erza came up to him to beat him awake he wouldn't stir.

When he woke he wondered why his face and head hurt so much, the last thing he remembered was taking out his lighter and being angry at Gray.

'It must be Gray's fault then' he thought angrily as he rubbed his bruised head.

"I told you he'd wake up during lunch, that moron has an internal clock that only works for food"

Natsu turned his head to the door only to spot Gray and Erza staring at him with their arms crossed.

"Be that as it may, that is still no excuse for sleeping through class" said Erza in a strict tone.

"Hey, you already beat him up, no point in adding more punishment right?" asked Gray nervously, Erza could be so cruel when it came to Academy rules.

"You boys are still my slaves, so when I expect you to be awake, you better damned well be awake. Anyway, I don't have time for this nonsense, I have a meeting to go to. Later" she said as she walked away with a scowl.

Natsu and Gray eyed her retreating figure with confusion; Erza was acting strange, she was a lot more angry and no-nonsense than usual.

"What's up with her? Its not the first time I've fallen asleep during class, she shouldn't be that mad about it?" asked Natsu in confusion as he rummaged through his bag for his lunch.

"Not sure, she's been in a weird mood since the whole fight yesterday, I think it has something to do with that blue haired guy with the tattoo she met. It looked like she knew him from somewhere" said Gray in thought as he pulled out a chair to sit in front of Natsu.

"Oh yeah, she was acting really weird around him, like… girly and shit, it was so unnatural" said Natsu with a shudder.

"You do know she is a girl right?" said Gray with a pointed glare.

"Well duh, but she never acts like one" Natsu retorted.

Gray opened his mouth to respond, but kind of agreed with Natsu's opinion. Realizing that made a shiver travel down his spine.

Erza walked down the halls with her eyes glued to the floor. She was not feeling like her usual self ever since she ran into Jellal yesterday.

She wasn't surprised he had grown up into such a handsome man; she felt herself blush just remembering the way he looked yesterday. He definitely built up some muscle over the years, and to think he was studying criminology. She was never one to mention things like this, but she found that so hot she could hardly stand it.

Then she remembered that they hadn't seen each other since they were in elementary school; since his family moved away overseas. He didn't even say goodbye when he left, he just left her a note in her mailbox saying that he was leaving, and when she went to his house it was completely empty.

In a way she understood why they moved. His parents always wanted what was best for him, and it was a difficult time for Jellal. It didn't matter that Erza stuck by him, in fact she thought, it may have made him feel worse.

She shook her head and slapped her cheeks to get rid of her depressing thoughts. She had no time to think about the past, she has to move on and look to the future.

She walked the halls until she reached the doors of the student councils office. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then opened the door…

Only to find chaos.

"What do you mean you can't find the budget form?! Its not something you just leave lying around!"

"Where are the logs for the nurses office?!"

"Who hid the end of day announcements?!"

"Laki, please switch your damned cell phone off!?"

"Will someone please pick up the papers on the floor!? Someone's gonna trip-"

"Waaah!"

"-just like that!"

Erza felt her eye twitch in annoyance, if this was the chaos during lunch she feared to imagine how it would be like at the end of the day. Kinana had just tripped on the floor and dropped all the papers she was carrying, Laki was on her phone having an argument with someone, Evergreen was typing like a maniac on her laptop, and Bisca was shuffling through bookshelves desperately trying to find something.

"What in the name of Madam Mavis is going on in here?!" she yelled, effectively silencing everyone.

"Oh thank Kami you're here Erza! Its absolute chaos!" whined Kinana with comical tears running down her face.

"I can see that, my question is why?" she said with a stern glare.

"Long story short, we're swamped with extra work coz of this stupid inter-school counseling thing. We don't have octopus hands!" whined Laki with her cell phone in hand.

"Huh?"

"She means we don't have enough hands to get all the work done in time" Kinana translated.

"Very well, looks like I'll have to take it from here. Leave all the documents for the inter-school counseling thing on my desk, I'll handle it on my own. In the meantime you guys get back to doing your usual jobs" said Erza as she put on her glasses and sat behind her desk with a determined look.

"Are you sure Erza? Don't you have too much work already?" asked Kinana in concern.

"As student council president I cannot allow the workload to pile up. I'll manage so don't worry about me" she said while overlooking some documents.

"As expected of Erza" said Evergreen while she typed on her laptop.

"Ok, if you say so" said Kinana hesitantly.

"Can't we call in your man-slaves to help out?" asked Laki.

"NO!" shouted everyone in unison.

"You want us to work until dusk?!" yelled Bisca.

"Yeah, if anything those boys will only make an even bigger mess!" yelled Evergreen.

"Yeesh, sorry I said anything!" yelled Laki in annoyance.

Erza rolled her eyes at their behavior, she glanced out the window; the midday sun providing a natural light on her work. She sighed softly when a sudden thought came to mind.

"I wonder how Mermaid Heel is handling this drama."

"I need the budget reports to be placed in column B! The sign in sheets for the nurse's office placed in column C! Beth, have the days announcement's been written and delivered?!"

"Hai Kaichou!" yelled Beth with a salute.

"Good work, Risley, have the emails been sent to the parents about the counseling?!"

"Don't underestimate my efficiency Kaichou!" said Risley with a smirk as she typed away on her laptop.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Arana, any school uniform issues?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about Kaichou" she said with a proud smile.

"Excellent, Milliana… oh right, I sent her to fetch Heartfilia-san and her two friends"

Kagura was sitting at her desk signing and stamping documents while giving orders at the same time. She was like a robot of efficiency that would tear down any obstacle in her path. Unfazed and unobstructed, well, maybe a little wound up, but that just came with the job.

"Ah, I thought she wanted you to call her by her first name Kaichou?" teased Arana, she knew how easily embarrassed Kagura could get and she found it so adorable.

Kagura blushed slightly and puffed out her cheeks childishly.

"U-Urasai, I-I'm still getting used to it" she said looking away.

"Ara, there's that tsundere persona" said Risley with a grin.

They all giggled at Kagura's flushed expression as she huffed and continued with her work.

"Who's a tsundere?" she muttered silently.

"By the way, why do you need to speak with Heartfilia-san and her friends?" asked Beth curiously as she sorted her files.

"Ah, well they are sort of a special case Beth. They are the only people who have to take part in the inter-school counseling and aren't part of the archery club" answered Arana.

"Heeh~ Oh is that coz she took part in the tournament while Sakura is nursing her injury? But why her friends too?" she asked as she scratched her head in confusion.

"It's a long story Beth, just be glad that you weren't there or else you'd be in the same boat as us right now" said Kagura with a sigh.

"Hai" she said with a nod as she continued filing.

Kagura let her mind wander back to yesterday's events. She couldn't believe she let her anger get the better of her, she was more mature than that wasn't she?

But seeing Erza always brought out her childish side; she could never forget the pain caused to her in their childhood days.

The loss of her older brother weighed heavily on her mind and made her the way she is today. She once looked at Erza as an older sister, but now all she feels is betrayal and anger.

'Its all his fault, why does she still defend him?' she thought bitterly.

Jellal was the reason her brother died, although people kept telling her it was an accident she refused to believe them. Simon and Jellal were always fighting with each other, and the whole reason they fought in the first place was because of Erza. They would always try to find new ways to impress her or make her happy, if one showed up the other they would break out into an argument and start fighting; which only served to enrage Erza anyway.

In hindsight it was kind of obvious that Erza had a crush on Jellal, she would always blush around him, and if he wasn't around Erza would unknowingly glance around to spot him.

But she didn't think about it back then, all she wanted was for Erza to be her big sister, and what better way for that to happen than to marry her big brother?

'I was so naïve, even as a child' she thought with a frown.

Finally the day came when Simon decided it was finally time to confess to her, but being the nice guy that he was he had decided to do the gentlemanly thing and tell Jellal his plans.

Kagura never found out what happened while he was gone. The last thing she said to him as he walked out the door was 'Good Luck with Erza-nee'.

She then got a call from one of her brother's friends; Wally, in a panicked state saying that Simon had been in an accident. When she got to the scene, out of breath from running so fast, she screamed at what she saw.

Simon lay covered in blood and motionless in Erza's arms as she cried for him to stay awake, a car had crashed into a nearby tree and smoke was coming out of the engine. All of Simon's friends were on the sidewalk crying and screaming for help, while Jellal just stood there in shock; unable to move.

Sho, a blonde friend of Simon's ran up to her and held her tight with tears streaming down his face. By the time the ambulance arrived Simon was already gone, the shock was too much for Kagura that she passed out.

When she woke up again she was in her bedroom and a crying Erza and Jellal were sitting next to her. When they saw her awake Jellal started apologizing and begging her for forgiveness while Erza just silently held her hand.

Kagura then remembered why Simon left home in the first place; it was to go see Jellal. She didn't know why they were in the street in the first place, but since Jellal was there it had to have something to do with him.

'It's all your fault, you're the one who killed him!' she said.

After she had said that Erza and Jellal bore shocked expressions, Erza immediately jumped in to defend him while he just sat there with a shocked but guilty expression.

Jellal had moved away a week after that, without giving a reason or telling anyone, even Erza. And Kagura was never on friendly terms with them again.

A few years after that Millianna had been adopted and became her little sister. She was already friends with Erza and their other friends before being adopted so she somewhat understood Kagura's feelings, but she still wanted to be friends with Erza, Kagura never interfered with that. For who was she to project her feelings unto others.

Snapping out of her reverie, she glanced from the work on her desk to the window of her office. Lunch would be over soon and she was only half-way done with her work, as efficient as she was even this much work was taking a toll on her.

She sighed softly when suddenly she heard a knock on the door.

"Kagura-nee, it's me!" said a chirpy Millianna "I have Lucy-chan and Levy and Juvia like you asked!"

Kagura smiled to herself, as serious as she may be, Millianna always had a way of making her smile.

"Come on in"

A/N: DONE! Hope you liked it, leave a comment in the box below.

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