Fourteen - Erza Scarlet

It had been a few weeks since the incident with Siegrain, and Erza hadn't returned to the Fernandes house once. She didn't know how she would react if she saw him. She even kept her distance from Jellal as much as she could. He made her just as flustered as Siegrain did, though he wasn't trying to. It wasn't really fair to him, she supposed.

He seemed very dejected recently, and she wasn't sure why. He rarely made eye contact with her, even when she was interacting with him. In Home Economics, on Friday, she decided she would try to cheer him up. She sat down next to him and he glanced up at her. She smiled, but he only halfheartedly returned it.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hello," he mumbled, staring at his hands, which were clasped on the table.

"Guess where we're going today?"

"'We' who?" he asked.

"You and I," she clarified.

"You and I," he repeated slowly, "together?"

"Yes," she said, amused by his slightly dazed expression. "We are going to the planetarium."

"Why?" he asked. "Not that I don't want to!" he added quickly. "I just don't understand why."

"Because you seem sad and I feel like I haven't hung out with you in awhile," she said. "And you like the planetarium, right?"

"Yeah," he said, a small smile finally appearing on his face.

"I think he wants to go for an entirely different reason," Mirajane whispered, sticking her head in between them.

Jellal turned bright red and Erza looked away. Mira had to go and make things awkward.

"He likes stars, Mira," Erza grumbled.

"And you're the brightest star in his sky," she sang, returning to the front of the room and leaving Jellal and Erza to get over their blushing.

"So, do you want to go?" Erza asked eventually.

"Yeah, of course," he responded with a genuine smile. Erza loved to see that expression on his face. Then it faded slightly. "What about Sieg?" he asked.

She grimaced. "What about him?" she asked.

"Doesn't he want to see you tonight?"

She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter what he wants, does it?" she asked.

"Doesn't it?" Jellal asked confusedly.

"I want to go to the planetarium with my best friend," she said. "And I'm going to."

Jellal turned away, but not before Erza saw the look of joy mixed with incredulity come over him. She smiled, but couldn't say anymore, since Mirajane had started teaching.

-.-.-

The moment the end of school bell rang, Jellal was on his feet and grinning at Erza. She smiled back and stood up, gathering her books. Gym had been substituted for health class that day, so she hadn't brought a bag with a change of clothes. That meant that she had to carry her books, but she didn't really mind. Jellal, however, lifted them out of her hands.

"I'll carry them," he said with a smile.

"You don't have to-"

"I want to," he insisted, holding them out of her reach until she acquiesced.

She couldn't stop the flutter in her heart. She was walking down the hall with the guy she liked, who was carrying her books for her. It seemed silly to be so pleased about it, but she couldn't help it. Jellal seemed happy as well, so she just sighed and followed him outside. When they got to the parking lot, she realized that she had a problem.

"Oh," she said. "I don't know how we're getting there."

Jellal tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?" he asked. "We're driving, right?"

"I don't have a car," she pointed out.

"No," he agreed. "But I do."

"Since when?" she asked.

"Since my dad left on yet another business trip and gave me access to his," he shrugged.

"You can't be serious," she said, recalling that his father's car was extremely expensive and not at all practical to let a teenage boy drive.

"I'm always serious."

Jellal held up the keys with a smile. Erza just sighed and shook her head in amusement. He seemed very excited about the planetarium. She blushed as he grabbed her by the wrist, but he was only pulling her along to the very pretty car near the front of the parking lot. He opened her door for her and she felt like she was going on a date.

A date! she thought frantically. Is that what he thinks this is? Is that what I think this is? Are we going on a date? She looked down at her clothes as Jellal shut her door and went around to the driver's side. "I'm not dressed well enough!"

"Well enough for what?" Jellal asked, dropping into the driver's seat and looking at Erza in confusion.

"Ah! Nothing!" she said. "I'm only talking to myself."

"There isn't a dress code for the planetarium," he said. "Even if there was, you look nice, but I sure don't in a t-shirt and hoodie."

Erza was hardly hearing what he was talking about, focusing on how he had said she looked nice. She smoothed her skirt nervously.

"I just don't normally go places in my school clothes," she mumbled.

"You look beautiful in anything," he said, starting up the engine. "So, don't worry about it."

Erza was unable to speak for several moments. She failed miserably at keeping the blush from taking over her face.

He's so much nicer to me than Sieg is, she thought. How could I ever be confused?

-.-.-

The car ride was fun. Erza wondered if Jellal had been trying to impress her as he sped around. He kept smiling over at her and making her heart thud against her ribcage. When they got to the planetarium, he insisted on opening her door for her again. Her plan to cheer him up seemed to be going well, but it also was making her so flustered that she could barely function.

"Two tickets for the First-Class show at four-forty-five," Jellal said when they reached the ticket window. Erza started to pull out her wallet, but he placed his hand over hers. "I've got it," he said.

"Jellal," she protested, trying to ignore the feeling of his hand on hers. "I'm the one bringing you here, remember?"

"Because I was sad, right?" he recalled. She nodded, but he didn't remove his hand. "Well, if you want to make me happier, you'll let me pay for us."

"Uhh," she said, her resolve weakening when he smiled down at her. He had already paid for the tickets by the time she collected her scattered thoughts again. Still grinning, he led her to a door with a large number one on it. "What is the First-Class show?" she asked.

"The best one," he said. "The other ones are only there for field trips and small family outings."

"And what is this one for?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Special occasions, I guess," he said. "It's worth the extra cost. You'll see."

"How much extra cost?" she asked. "On their website they don't list a First-Class show. They only list the regular shows for twelve dollars a ticket."

"Well, you have to know the show is there," he admitted. "And it does cost a bit more than twelve dollars."

"How much more?" she asked.

"It's not important," he said, holding the door open for her. "Just enjoy the show."

"Jellal," she said. "Tell me how much you just spent on me."

He drew closer, as if to whisper in her ear, so she leaned in, waiting for his answer.

"No," he whispered.

"Jellal!" she protested.

"Shh!" he said. "The show will start soon. We need to get to our seats."

Erza grumbled, determined to figure out the answer later. She forgot her frustration as she entered the room.

"Wow!" she gasped, looking up at the massive, domed ceiling.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he said. "Come sit. It gets better."

She followed him to two empty seats near the center of the room. A few other couples were seated already, which confirmed Erza's suspicions that she was on a very date-like outing. The chairs they sat in were very comfortable and reclined almost completely. There were only armrests on one side of every other seat, so there was nothing separating Erza from Jellal but about four inches of air. She tried not to think about how close they were.

The lights went down, everyone reclined their seats, and the show began. Stars studded the dome, creating a remarkably realistic image of the night sky. Though, it was the sky seen from up in the mountains or way out in the country, where there were no city lights to get in the way. It was breathtakingly beautiful as it moved and as the audio playing over the speakers brought attention to various constellations. Jellal quietly pointed out ones the tape missed.

"Stars must be your favorite thing," she whispered playfully.

He gave her a sidelong glance that sped her heartbeat up considerably. "Yeah," he said slowly, though, Erza got the distinct impression that he wasn't agreeing with her. "That's why I was excited about coming here."

He's lying, she thought. Why? Is he trying to flirt? Or am I reading him all wrong?

He continued telling her about different stars, and she tried her best to look at the stars and not at him. Occasionally, she would glance over at him and his eyes would meet hers. Was he watching her, or was he coincidentally looking at her every time she looked at him? She couldn't help but watch his face as he looked back up at the false sky and quietly told her stories about the stars. He pointed out Aquila.

"Altair is Aquila's brightest star," he was saying. "It's part of a myth related to another bright star, Vega, in the Summer Triangle." He pointed toward Vega. "Altair represents a royal herdsman and Vega is the Sun king. The herdsman falls in love with the king's daughter and marries her, but they are banished to opposite sides of the river." He swished his finger down the line of the Milky Way. "So, they can't be together anymore."

"That's sad," Erza whispered. He nodded and dropped his arm to his side, his hand falling so close to hers that they were nearly touching. She wondered if he would try to hold her hand, but he didn't make any move to do so. Disappointed, she decided to speak instead of think about it. "So, how have you been?"

He shrugged. "Better today."

"Are you missing your dad at all?"

"I hardly see him as it is," he said. "Besides, I've been at Ultear's house most days since he left."

Erza stiffened. "Ultear?" she repeated.

"Didn't you notice I wasn't home?" he asked. He almost sounded hurt, but Erza wasn't sure why. How could she know that he wasn't home? She hadn't been to his house in weeks. "She's been helping me sort things out," he murmured.

That was it. Erza's world was shattering. She had been reading him wrong. He didn't think they were on a date. He didn't even like her.

"That's nice of her," Erza said, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. "You like... You like hanging out with her?" she asked.

"Sure," he said. "She's been a good friend."

"I thought she was friends with Sieg," Erza remarked.

"You can be friends with more than one person, Erza," Jellal said, looking at her with a strange expression. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I just didn't realize that you and Ultear were so close."

She wasn't fine. She knew she was being silly and unreasonable. It wasn't fair to be upset that he didn't want to be with her. Still, she felt crushed. She had finally decided on her feelings and it didn't end up mattering.

"Thank you for coming to our show!" an announcer said as the lights came up.

Erza stood up and took a deep breath. Jellal looked concerned, but didn't say anything. They walked out to the parking lot in silence. He still opened her door for her, but it didn't seem as special as it had before. She just sighed and slid into her seat.