I promise my updating time will get faster woooooooo here's chapter 5

Levy was waiting outside the chemistry room, lips pressed in a thin line. She tapped her foot nervously, watching as the hallway clock ticked closer to the start of second hour. "Levy!" a voice called from down the hall. She turned around, sighing in relief as she saw Gray jogging towards her.

"Gray, I'm gonna be late!" she grumbled when he finally reached her.

"Sorry, I was changing." He stood up, displaying his outfit. "How do I look?" he asked.

She pursed her lips as she studied his wardrobe change. She nodded approvingly at the white button down shirt and crisp black pants that replaced his usual plain t-shirt and faded jeans. She almost complimented him, when she noticed another new addition to his ensemble. "Who did you steal those from?" she asked, almost laughing at the strange glasses he was wearing.

"These? They're mine." Gray responded defensively, pushing the lenses up his nose.

Levy squinted suspiciously at the black frames that adorned his face. "Those aren't real, are they?" she examined, leaning towards him, "They kinda look like those 3D glasses with the logo scratched off…"

Gray rolled his eyes. "Okay, besides that."

She gave him a final look-over. "You look...suitable for an enjoyable learning environment whilst discreetly catching the attention of a girl in your class."

"I'll take it." he shrugged. "Notes?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Levy nodded, handing him her notebook. They were interrupted by the loud bell ringing, signaling the start of second hour. "Ugh, now I'm late!" she whined, turning to leave.

"Your class is right over there!" Gray scoffed, but she was already running down the hall. "Wait, Levy, what do I do with this?" he asked, holding up the notebook.

"Just read my answers!"

"Okay, tha- " Gray started, but the blue haired girl was already out of earshot. He sighed and turned to his class, determined to ace his plan.

Erza took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Class was starting in one minute, and she had completely forgotten about the chemistry homework assigned the night before. And to top it all off, Mr. Conbolt's new seating assignment made Gray her lab partner. She scanned the room, feeling more secure as she realized Gray was nowhere to be seen. She may be worrying about her forgotten homework, but at least she didn't have to worry about Gray.

The bell rang, meaning second hour was starting. Mr. Conbolt stood up from his desk at the front of the room, students slowly dispersing from their social groups. "Alright, alright, sit down everyone. And take out your homework." he announced.

Erza's stress heightened as she saw Mr. Conbolt take out his grade book. I've never gotten a late assignment in my life! She frowned, trying to think of what she could do. But Mr. Conbolt was getting closer to her row, checking the open notebooks of her classmates and nodding in approval. She took a deep breath. I can't write anything. I'll just have to accept it and-

The door opened loudly. She could hear Juvia gasp from her seat, and for once she agreed with the blue haired girl- she felt an unexpected blush warm her face. "Gray, nice of you to join us." Mr. Conbolt commented sarcastically, continuing his homework check.

"I apologize for my tardiness, Mr. Conbolt." Gray announced.

Mr. Conbolt arched his eyebrow. "Since when did you apologize for your tardiness?"

"I always have. You class is very valuable to me and I have benefitted from it in many ways."

"...Right. Well, find your seat and take out your homework, then." Mr. Conbolt instructed, a skeptical expression still on his face.

"We got new seats?" Gray asked, pointing at the new seating arrangement that was displayed on the board.

Mr. Conbolt followed his gaze, frowning in confusion. "I don't remember making a new seating chart…" he mused, but shook his head regardless. "Yes. It appears you sit next to…" He squinted at the board. "Erza." Gray nodded, and made his way over to the other side of the room.

The first thing Erza noticed was his outfit. His dark hair was still slightly messy, and he still walked ever so casually, but..something was different. Maybe it was his clean white shirt, the way it complemented his skin tone perfectly, or his crisp black pants, or the fact that although his shirt was buttoned and tucked in enough that you could still see his V-shaped body, or how the silver chain of his necklace was placed perfectly so that its charm disappearing under his black v-neck, or maybe just the fact that he looked...hot.

She was still staring when Gray reached her. "Hey." he greeted. Erza looked down as she tucked a hair behind her ear, trying to hide her evident blush.

"Did you do the assignment?" she asked, hoping he didn't hear the desperation in her voice.

"Why, did you not?" he smirked.

She frowned at his smile. "What makes you say that?" she lied.

"The fact that your stress wrinkle has made yet another appearance." Gray snickered, nodding at the faint line in Erza's forehead. She opened her mouth to counter his comment, when a voice interrupted them.

"Gray, please sit down." Mr. Conbolt spoke. Gray obliged, taking his seat next to Erza. Panic filled Erza's body as her teacher looked at her expectantly. "Homework, Erza?"

"I- Mr. Conbolt, I completely- " she stammered, when she saw something on the lab table. She and Mr. Conbolt turned to see Gray holding his notebook out to them.

"We worked on it together at the library yesterday." he stated. Erza stared back at him, astonished. But Gray remained unfazed, his notebook still held out in front of them.

Erza nodded eagerly. "Yes! The library!" she blurted, turning to Mr. Conbolt. The teacher glanced briefly at the notebook but shrugged, and continued down the rest of the row. Erza waited till he was far enough away, then turned to Gray. "I can handle this myself, you don't have to- " She suddenly stopped. "Since when did you wear glasses?" she asked, noticing Gray's new accessory.

"Oh, these? I've had them forever." Gray responded, nonchalantly shrugging as he looked through his notebook.

Erza ignored the blush that was coming back. "No, no no. I've known you forever, you don't wear glasses!"

"I guess you've never noticed." he shrugged.

She scoffed. "Of course I've noticed!" I would've noticed something this..enhancing. "What are you- "

"-Erza, because you're so talkative today, would you expand on the significance of hybridization in VSEPR theory?" Mr. Conbolt interrupted, now at the front of the room and staring at Erza expectantly..

Erza looked at him in a panic. "Um, yes sir, I can, in a second…" She hurriedly shuffled her notes around, trying to find the answer to Mr. Conbolt's question.

"That's okay; perhaps Gray can assist you, seeing as his hand is raised." Erza sat up in shock, watching as her teacher turned his attention to the boy next to her.

"Well, VSEPR Theory determines the form of the molecule based on electron repulsion. Basically, without this theory we wouldn't know what the molecule looked like." Gray explained. Erza's jaw dropped. She couldn't help it; the perfection of his analysis stunned her. Does he even know what electron repulsion is?! she thought.

"But, sometimes the theory doesn't work because of overlaps. So we use hybridization to show the overlap bonds. They can't exist without each other, even if it seems like the theory doesn't need hybridization." He chuckled, "But that's just my answer, anyway."

"Excellent response, Gray. You covered some of the most important points in this chapter." Mr. Conbolt complimented, nodding in approval. "Let's talk more about these orbitals…"

But orbitals were the last thing Erza was thinking of. She stared at Gray, completely baffled. She studied his new appearance, looking for something that could explain what was going on. How is he doing it? Gray, on the other hand, was completely unaware of her thoughts. The dark haired boy simply continued writing in his notebook, pushing his glasses up every so often. She scrunched her face. This is something new. she thought, turning away from Gray to hide the blush that was becoming more apparent.

As soon as she turned away Gray looked at her out of the corner of his eye, a confident smirk on his face.

Lucy was walking to English, when she saw a familiar redhead walking down the hall in front of her. "Erza!" she called, but Erza continued walking. She sighed quickly, before jogging to catch up with her. "Erza." she repeated, falling into step with her friend.

Erza turned to her, surprised. "Lucy, hello." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I've been especially spacey today." she apologized.

Lucy snorted. "Since when have you ever been spacey?"

"I've been faced with some...little distractions."

"'A little?' What 'little' things could be distracting you this much?"

Erza frowned. "Well…" Her voice suddenly lowered. "This might sound strange, but it's about Gray." she admitted.

Lucy's ears perked up upon hearing Gray's name. "Oh? What do you mean?" she asked, trying not to look as interested as she felt.

"Well, for one, he looks oddly presentable today. You and I know he doesn't know a thing about fashion, but for some reason I haven't found a single flaw in his outfit. And on a normal day I lose count of how many times I find his clothes on the ground somewhere in this school, but guess how many times I did today?" She leaned in. "Not a single time!"

Lucy almost broke out laughing. "C'mon, Erza. You're telling me you're this distracted, solely by Gray's change in wardrobe habits?"

"It's in other things too. He's also been doing a thorough analysis of everything we do in class. He summarized the end of the book we're reading in English, and I'm 96.7% sure he hasn't read past chapter two!" The redhead sighed in exasperation. "And to top it all off, in every class I have with him, we sit right next to each other." She shook her head, "It's like today was meant for me to notice him."

Lucy shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know Erza. It sounds like the constellations have finally aligned, and all these interactions with Gray are signs of that."

"Lucy, I already told you, I don't believe in any of that horoscope-y constellation-y mumbo-jumbo that you're interested in."

"All I'm saying is," she nudged her friend's side, "maybe someone here as a newfound interest in our very own Gray Fullbuster?" she winked. She looked at Erza with anticipation, waiting to hear the redhead admit her appreciation for the dark haired boy.

Instead, Erza shook her head. "It's like he's a completely different person." She was about to continue, when a faint buzzing sounded between them. She reached into her bag and grabbed her phone, but her expression darkened when she looked at the screen.

"What? Who is it?" Lucy asked, confused at her friend's sudden frown.

Erza shrugged, swiping a finger across the screen. "Wrong number." she responded flatly, putting her phone back in her bag.

x

It was another day and another lunch period, everyone eating peacefully...that is, until Lucy slammed her hand on the table. She groaned in frustration, earning everyone's attention. "It's not working!" she whined, slumping over the table.

Cana rolled her eyes. "Lucy I told you, you gotta put the ointment in the refrigerator and then apply it, otherwise it'll-"

Natsu snickered, "You use ointment? Why would you need ointment?"

Gajeel, who was sitting next to Lucy, suddenly jumped back in shock. "-What? What ointment? You guys know I have sensitive skin- "

"No! Cana shut up, I wasn't saying anything about any ointment!" Lucy shouted, flailing her hands between her friends.

"Oh. Oops." Cana shrugged, sending Lucy a cheeky wink.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Anyway, as I was saying, it's not working."

Natsu shook his head. "What's not working? I'd say these pastrami sandwiches are working juuust fine- "

"I'm talking about you and Erza!" she exclaimed, holding her hands out to Gray. "It's been two whole weeks, and all she's said is that you're 'different' and nothing more."

Gray leaned forward. "What? That's all she's said?" He scoffed. "Shit, if I were a girl and saw me, I'd be saying a whole lot more than- OW!" He was suddenly pulled to the table's surface, Cana's hand planted on his head.

"Gray, you look semi-presentable at best. Let's not get ahead of ourselves," the brunette warned.

Lyon shook his head, turning to Lucy. "But why are you frustrated? You're not either of them."

"Because I hate when my ideas go to waste!"

"Hold on, I wouldn't necessarily say they went to waste." Mira disagreed. "You want Gray and Erza to get together, right?"

Gray suddenly sat up. "Whoa whoa whoa, no, this isn't to get us together. It's to get Erza over Jellal!" he corrected.

Mira rolled her eyes jokingly. "C'mon Gray, let's be real. Clearly you and Erza are finally developing that little childhood crush you had for each other- "

Gray shook his head in annoyance. "No, it's not like that. I just want her to be my friend again." He stood up from the table, lunch bag in hand. "I have a paper to print out." he announced, before leaving towards the library.

Lucy watched as he left, and frowned. "He's obviously denying something." But she put her head back in her hands. "I don't know where to go from here."

Mira leaned forward, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "I have an idea."

"What?" Lucy asked flatly, her face still hidden by her hands.

"It requires time, and a lot of effort, but...it's definitely possible."

Gajeel frowned cautiously, taking a swig from his water bottle. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what are you suggesting?" Levy added, leaning forward in curiosity.

Mira lifted her head proudly. "I'm thinking," she smirked. "An intervention." The four-syllable word was enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Yes!" Lucy and Levy cheered, high fiving each other while Cana nodded in agreement.

The boys, on the other hand, exchanged confused glances. "Um, what?" Lyon asked.

"What do you mean, 'what?' We're having an intervention with Gray and Erza." Mira repeated.

"But...what does that entail?"

"Like locking them in the janitor's closet and forcing them to be friends?" Gajeel joked.

"No, it's- "

"Or leaving them in a supermarket and forcing them to bond?" Lyon added.

"That's not- "

"Or leaving them stranded on an island, and letting the crab people come for them?!" Natsu added, nodding in excitement.

"No! No closets, no supermarkets, no crab people!"

The pink haired boy tilted his head in confusion. "Then what are you saying?"

Mira sat back down, sighing in annoyance. "I'm just saying we give them...you know, a little push."

"This is Gray and Erza we're talking about, they're gonna need a lot more than a 'little' push." Cana snickered.

"You know what I mean. Do you get it now?"

Gajeel sighed. "You know how I feel about your stupid, creepy matchmaking shit, but in this case…" He nodded. "I can see them benefiting from it."

While everyone shared statements of agreement, Mira smirked to herself. They won't be the only ones benefiting from it.

Gray strode into the locker room, phone in one hand and water bottle in the other. "Yo, I just got your text. What's up?" he asked, setting his stuff on the bench.

Lyon shut his locker door, grabbing his own water bottle from the bench in between them. "I have something I need to ask you." he spoke, his tone oddly serious.

"What? Is it about the match we just played?" Gray asked, referring to the practice game they had just finished.

The white haired boy sneered, the mention of the soccer game making his seriousness disappear. "What about that game? You finally realize I made more goals than you?"

Gray snorted. "Yeah right. I'm waiting for you to realize that I'm a better player than you anyway."

"A better player that nearly got a concussion last game for using his head more than his feet?"

"Hey, that was quick thinking! I play with the cards I'm dealt."

Lyon suddenly cleared his throat, stepping towards Gray. "No, but really, I have to ask you something."

Gray arched an eyebrow. "Okay. What is it?"

"It's very, very important." He was fumbling with his hands now.

"Yeah, I get it. What is it?"

He took another step forward. "It is imperative to my success."

Gray laughed, "Okay, now you're talking like Erza- " Lyon suddenly put his hands on Gray's arms. Startled, Gray stepped back. "What the- is something wrong? Why do you look so nervous- "

"You might be mad at my asking- "

"Did you eat the school pudding again? I told you, you can't- "

"I'm only asking because I know you won't- "

"Why are your hands so fucking sweaty- "

"IT'S ABOUT A GIRL!" Lyon finally blurted out.

Gray stopped, expression slowly changing into a smirk. "A girl? And you? Wow, who woulda thunk!" he joked, laughing heartily.

Unbeknownst to Gray, Lyon's face was getting redder and redder as he got more and more embarrassed. I can't tell him it's Juvia, he thought as his friend continued laughing, he'll just make fun of me! So he smacked the back of Gray's head. "Not about me, you idiot. It's a question for a...friend."

"A friend? Who? Freed?"

"No, no no, no." Lyon responded, shaking his head. "So I have this friend. And he's starting to like this one girl. But there are a lot of weird misconceptions about her and he knows if he starts showing an interest in her, people will start to question him. Should he go for it or not?" He stared at Gray, hoping he wouldn't suspect anything.

And of course, because it was Gray, he didn't. "So people don't like her?"

"Yes. Well, no. I feel like they don't know her well enough."

"Then go for it."

Lyon's eyebrows raised in shock. "W-what?"

Gray simply shrugged. "Go for it. If your friend is worried about what other people think, then that friend has the problem, not the girl."

Lyon almost laughed, nodding in agreement. "Exactly! I'll do just that!"

"I thought this was a question for your friend?"

"...It is. Thanks, man." Lyon clapped a hand on Gray's shoulder, before leaving to the showers.

Gray stared after him, still confused. "Weird."

Freed stepped into the desk behind the library, only to scrunch up his nose. The first thing he noticed was the smell. It wasn't strong or overwhelming, but the fact that he could smell it despite its subtlety was annoying. And if that wasn't annoying enough, the person he thought of when he smelled it was nowhere to be seen.

"Freed!" Mira greeted, standing up from her spot behind the desk. "I was reading this article about these weird hieroglyphics, and I thought you'd really- " She stopped, noticing the green haired boy's frown. "What?"

He looked around the room. "There's a smell."

Mira tilted her head in confusion. "A smell?" Her face broke into a smile. "Well, Natsu was in here to check out a Philosophy book, and he did mention something about a burrito- "

"No, no, not that! Trust me, I can definitely tell when Natsu's- " His eyes settled on a black leather jacket that was hanging over a chair. "That." he stated, pointing at the garment.

Mira followed his finger. "Oh, yeah, that's Laxus's." She looked up just in time to catch Freed's brief scowl. "What?"

"What was Laxus doing here?"

"Relax, he was just checking out a book. An opportunity shared by every student at this school." she responded, giggling at Freed's frown.

"You hear how he's always trash talking the school! In my opinion, he shouldn't be allowed in here."

"It's fine, Freed. I'll give it to him later."

"Why would you waste your time to do that?"

She crossed her arms, tilting her head in confusion. "Why don't you like him? I thought you guys were really close."

Freed fiddled with the book in his hands. "We are, and I do admire him, but we just..." His gaze fell on Mira, "We don't see eye-to-eye on certain things."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Nothing." He turned away, hoping she didn't see the faintest bit of pink on his cheeks.

Ultear looked around the library, scanning the after-school crowd that was seated at the tables. Her heart was beating faster than normal. One part of her hoped she found Jellal, and the other really hoped she didn't. She walked forward, continuing her search, when she ran into someone. "Excuse me." she apologized.

"Ultear!" the person she bumped into greeted.

Ultear turned around and smiled. "Hey, Meredy." she responded, cheerfully greeting her pink haired friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I have a huuuge project about Middle Eastern Art due tomorrow, and guess what?" She leaned in, a hand cupped around her mouth, "I haven't started!"

"Yeah, but what's new?" Ultear pointed out, and the two shared a laugh. She hadn't hung out with the other girl in a while, but they had been close for a long time. They even were in a friend group with Jellal, but that was when they were younger.

"Fair enough. What are you doing here? I feel like I never see you anymore!"

"I'm here to tutor someone. It's actually our first session, and I'm a little…" She paused, unable to find the right word. Was she scared? Wary? Nervous?

For what?

"Worried?" Meredy suggested, but shook her head. "If you got me from a C to an B+ in Environmental Science, you can definitely work with anyone!" she asserted, placing a reassuring hand on Ultear's shoulder.

The purple haired girl gave her an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Meredy. But you know that was you focusing on the material and less on the boys that were in the class."

"You know how frustrating they are!" Meredy laughed. She leaned in, her voice lowered. "Speaking of boys, are you and Jellal good? Are you still mad at him for...you know…"

Ultear almost flinched at his name. "We haven't really talked about it...but don't worry, I'm over it."

"Over it? That quick?"

"Well, not exactly- "

"-Hey Ultear, you ready to go?" a new voice interrupted. They turned around to see none other than Jellal Fernandes standing behind them, calculus textbook in hand.

"Wait! He's the one you're tutoring?" Meredy asked, pointing between the two.

"Yep." Jellal confirmed. "Calc isn't as easy for me as it is for Ultear."

Meredy arched an eyebrow as her lips formed into a smirk. "Well, I'm sure you two won't be doing much studying if- "

Ultear stepped in front of Jellal, blocking Meredy and her comment from his view just in time. "Jellal, go save us one of the big desks back there?" she asked. He nodded, walking away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Ultear turned around, glaring at her friend in annoyance. "Really, Meredy? Really?"

"You're no fun!" she pouted, but her face soon turned into a grin. "And to think you told me you'd never be involved with him again." She playfully slapped Ultear's arm. "But look at you now! I told you, you two are the epitome of- "

"-Meredy. This is just a favor. He's really having a hard time, and he doesn't want his grades to slip."

"So, there's no interest at all…?"

Ultear shook her head definitively. "It's a favor."

Meredy's shoulders sank in disappointment. "Oh, alright."

Ultear nodded. "Anyway, I better go. I'll see you in 2nd hour tomorrow?"

"Of course!" she agreed, and the two exchanged goodbyes. With every step out of the library, Ultear's words repeated in her head. It doesn't make sense. Meredy turned around again, catching Ultear sitting next to the blue haired boy. Her friend did look a little hesitant, but she saw how naturally Jellal greeted her. She smirked to herself. Or maybe it does? she thought, walking out the library doors.

I'm happy to include Meredy in this story because next to Ultear, Erza, Lucy, and Cana she's one of my favorite female characters in Fairy Tail. Also about the part about Lucy and her ointment, I've had this headcanon where although Gajeel is all tough and brash most of the time he also worries about little things like sensitive skin and how many pencils he can let people borrow at one time, ya feel? :) I hope you all enjoyed, and leave a review if you did!

-Pinky