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Prompt (submitted by my friend): Levy has a problem with keeping her colored pencils organized, but Gajeel sharpens the blue one to make it short to represent her and places it beside the black pencil.
There will be a second take on this prompt since I thought this one was... a tad bit dark.
...
2. OCD (Colored Pencil Prompt Take One)
One of the most unique features of Levy McGarden was her organization. Everything about her was well kept and perfect.
Her blue hair, though tousled and seemingly messy, had always looked exactly the same. No lock of hair was ever out of place. It had always been the same length from the moment it reached the middle of her back. Though sometimes, the headband on her head varied, the rest of her hair was always picture perfect. Many of her classmates could testify that even in her baby pictures, Levy's hair looked exactly as it did now.
Her school uniform was always pristine and freshly pressed. There was never even one wrinkle in sight. The blazer fit snugly over her shoulders and though it was black, there was never any lint on it. Her white blouse was immaculate, the buttons always neatly buttoned. Her tie was always perfectly tied, never crooked or off center. And her skirt was always exactly 3.5 inches above her knees, her blouse tucked in neatly and the skirt freshly ironed. Even her white socks somehow remained immaculate, looking as if they were brand new every single day of the week, every day of the year. Her shiny black shoes were scratch free and glossy as ever.
Her schoolbooks were always stacked neatly on her bookcase as soon as she got home and her desk, both at home and at school, was neatly organized and clean. Her purse was neatly organized, her filing cabinets and dresser drawers were labeled.
Of course, it could be that Levy McGarden was someone that was very organized, a model student, a model lady, a model person. It wasn't unusual for someone who was extremely organized to exist, so one would think that no one would really think of Levy McGarden's extreme organization to be anything strange.
However, Levy McGarden actually suffered from OCD, Obsessive-Compulsion Disorder, a condition that makes her obsessed with keeping things perfectly in order. If anything was out of order or not the way she wanted, it would drive her insane. Yes, insane. This insanity was not to be taken lightly. When she was only 2 years old, the condition had set in, leading young Levy McGarden to tear through the house, crying whenever something was out of place. Her obsession with organization sent her mother to the hospital, for she had been injured by a horrified Levy.
Seven year old Levy McGarden took control her disorder very well, especially at such a young age. She compressed it so that it was simply an obsession with keeping everything as perfect as humanly possible. She didn't throw too much of a tantrum and had not sent anyone else to the hospital since.
However, even little, perfect Levy McGarden suffered from the bullies that plagued her second grade class. Many knew that she had a disorder, though they wouldn't have known it if not for the teacher's public announcement on the first day of school that Levy McGarden was a special student with some disabilities. This led to many children stalking their classmate after school hours, ambushing her and pummeling her with their tiny fists. Her perfect uniform and orderly hair would be thrown awry, sending poor Levy McGarden into a panic attack and sending her assaulters running, fearing for their lives.
One of the things that seven year old Levy was most obsessed with was her colored pencils. Each pencil must always be at the exact same height, sharpened the exact same way, and the pack must always be arranged in rainbow order. The darkest shade of red was first. Then it faded into orange, into yellow, into green, into blue, into purple. Colors like brown, gray, black, and white would begin with black and fade to white. The case in which they were placed in was always neatly polished with not a scratch in sight.
Levy had established specific rules for her colored pencils. If one pencil was broken, it was necessary that all of the 49 other colored pencils be broken so that all might be sharpened to the same height once more. Each pencil must be kept track of, for it one pencil was lost, the balance of the entire pack was thrown off, arousing the need for a new pack. If one was to borrow her colored pencils, they would need to abide with these rules along with many basic rules: no biting on the pencils, no scratching them, no denting the edges, etc. With such strict rules, not even her class bullies would dare approach her to ask to borrow one of her precious colored pencils. No one dared. Levy McGarden had become off limits, an outcast.
So, Levy never expected anyone but her teacher to talk to her. She was perfectly okay in her solitude since it meant that no one could mess up her perfectly organized belongings.
One day, she had finished her classwork early, as she always did, so she colored a picture of two cats: one pink, one maroon. She had carefully traced the pictures with each color before filling in the spaces, shading so that the colors would pop and make the adorable kitties seem realistic. When someone plopped into the seat beside her, she looked up in surprise.
A much taller boy sat in the plastic chair, grinning toothily down at her. Her eye twitched as she took in his messy black hair, his untucked shirt, his wrinkled slacks, his crooked tie, and his muddy shoes. She gripped the pink pencil in her hand tightly, taking deep shaky breaths to calm herself.
"The name's Gajeel." The boy grinned, flashing his pointy teeth.
"Levy." She said politely though she wished he'd move. She searched his face frantically, hoping to see one organized part. She relaxed when she saw the symmetry in his eyebrows and piercings. Piercings. A panic attack nearly took control of her. One of her bullies had had piercings. Could this be him? She scooted her chair back one centimeter… exactly one centimeter. If it had been any closer or further, she might have screamed. He flashed her another grin and she managed a grimace. The boy pointed at her pack of colored pencils.
"Those are really nice. Can I use the blue and black ones?" He asked. Levy followed his finger and focused on her precious colored pencils.
"Don't break them." She said, carefully removing the two pencils and handing it to him. He grinned, and she cringed. He took the pencils into his gigantic hands and she watched as he headed back to his table. She shuddered in horror as she imagined what he could do to the poor pencils. Her breaths soon became ragged as she imagined the doom that befell her.
A few moments later, he returned, clutching the pencils in hand. He slipped them back into the pack and stood back, grinning brightly at her, waiting to see her reaction as she focused her attention on the pencils he had replaced. She nearly fainted in horror.
The blue pencil had been sharpened so that it was much shorter than the black pencil, making it a lot shorter than every other pencil in the entire pack. Both the black and blue pencils had been placed in the incorrect places so that they were next to each other, in a corner far away from all the other pencils.
"W-What. W-What…." She stammered. He beamed.
"The blue pencil is you! The black pencil is me! The other pencils are everyone else! See? I will always be at your side!" He nodded smugly at his handiwork.
The entire classroom, having listened to the exchange, gasped. The room fell silent, each and every person clinging to their chairs. This was it. This was the end. Gajeel Redfox would be sent to the hospital with a few broken bones and a black eye. There was a glimmer of hope, however, that Levy McGarden would be suspended, expelled, arrested, and sent to the mental institution where she belonged.
However, for the first time ever, Levy did not scream in frustration over the destruction of her beloved colored pencils. This gesture… it was almost sweet. It wasn't someone trying to provoke her as it had been any other time her pencils had been ruined. A smile snuck its way onto her face as she gazed at the blue and black pencils. A friend? At her side? She looked up at him, searching his face questioningly. His smile reassured her of his intentions and she beamed in response. Her gaze flitted back to the two pencils.
The class was on the edge of their seats, anticipating Gajeel's punishment, though they were confused by the blue haired girl's smile. They were astonished when Gajeel spoke again, having been silent, waiting for Levy's reply.
"So?" He offered her his hand and a crooked smile. The class nearly fell off their chairs when Levy placed her miniature hand in his large one and returned his gesture, smiling sweetly at him. She turned back to look at the pencils once more. Gajeel followed her gaze and was suddenly nervous, knowing about her condition.
"Look." He said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to make 'em uneven. I was just tryna prove a point. Don't get mad or anything."
Levy stared at the pencils. A realization seemed to sink into her mind, the glinting in her eyes was a dead giveaway.
"Wait, are you calling me short?"