Oh em geeeee I'm so excited to write these next middle chapters. Here's chapter 11 aka the start of everything. I hope you all enjoy, and leave a review!

Juvia stood up from her seat, walking cautiously to a specific person two rows away. She walked through the hum of various conversations around her, before sitting into an empty desk. She cleared her throat. "Hello, Gajeel." she greeted.

Her black haired friend turned around. "What's up, Juvia?" he asked, leaning towards her.

"Juvia needs your help." She lowered her voice. "With Lyon." This wasn't a rare occurrence: he and Juvia had been friends since they were little, and she always went to him for advice.

"Lyon? What about him?" he asked, pen clicking in his hand.

"Well, Juvia thinks she likes him. As a crush. But she doesn't know how to take it further. Juvia is still trying to get over Gray, and…" she looked up from her hands. "Has Lyon mentioned Juvia?"

Gajeel nodded. "A few times."

A pink blush dusted her cheeks. "Wow, what an honor…" she smiled to herself, twirling a lock of blue hair in her hand. "Do you have any advice?"

Gajeel shrugged. "Why don't you just tell him?"

"What? But that's- that's so bold! Juvia could never do that!" she stammered.

Gajeel paused, biting on the silver end of his pen. "Look, if ya like him, then make it obvious." Juvia tilted her head in confusion. "...Which means telling him. Being clear is the best way to go about it."

"But what if he doesn't feel the same?"

"Then he doesn't. You move on."

"Doesn't that make Juvia look...stupid?"

"Nah, this is Lyon. He'll look stupid either way, trust me."

Juvia laughed. "Thank you, Gajeel." she thanked him, bowing her head in appreciation. "Juvia is very glad to have you as a friend."

Gajeel nodded. "Anytime." he responded. As soon as Juvia left he turned back around, only to see Levy staring right at him. He jumped in surprise, shaking his head. "Shit, Shrimp, don't do that. You look like a bug, starin' at me like that…" he muttered.

"Being clear? That's interesting, huh?" Levy asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"The advice you gave Juvia." she leaned towards him. "I might have to follow it myself."

"...Okay?" Gajeel shrugged.

"That's it? Just 'okay?'"

He frowned. "This is exactly how you were acting at dinner last week, yeesh. What's up with you?"

"I'm allowed to act any way I want." she stated, crossing her arms. "And by the way, chewing your pen is gross. Even if it's metal."

Gajeel scowled, not even realizing that his pen was in his mouth. "Look, if you have something to say, just say it."

"I've said enough. Besides, talking to you makes me mad, so I'll stop." she responded, turning back around.

"Wait- " Gajeel groaned, knowing it was useless- she wouldn't talk to him for the rest of the day now. He sighed himself, leaning back in his seat. What was up with her?

"Hey, there she is, the woman of the hour!" Gray announced, smiling as he handed Erza a small box.

Erza, on the other hand, was frowning. "I do appreciate you getting me a lunch," she spoke, taking the box into her hand, "but I don't appreciate you skipping school to do so."

"Eh, whatever. It's not like Clive is gonna mark me absent; I got Cana an A on her last math test." They walked to the school courtyard, grass soft underneath their feet.

"An A?" Erza asked, surprised. "Was there any cheating involved?"

"No. Probably because I threatened to take her alcohol stash if she did." Gray laughed, the two stopping to sit in the grass.

"A daring move. Props to you."

"Yeah, I'm the best, I know." Gray laid on his back while Erza sat, the sun shining down on both of them as they ate. "This is off topic, but...do you think Lyon has a thing for Juvia?" Gray asked.

"Juvia? I thought it was Meredy." Erza responded between bites.

"What! He has two girls? And one of them is Juvia?!"

"Be nice!" she scolded, slapping his arm. "You didn't know her that well. Lyon might see her in a different light than you."

"I certainly hope so."

"Still mean!" she responded, slapping him again. "Different people look for different things."

"Still weird." He snorted. "What could they see in him? He still wears footie pajamas."

"...I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Erza shook her head. "But still. Don't you look for certain qualities in girls?"

"Qualities?"

"Yes. Characteristics, traits, what have you. Don't you look for things when you're into someone?"

He gave her a suspicious look. "Right..." he trailed off, turning back to his food.

"Seriously? I guess you're dimmer than I thought." Erza snickered at his frown.

Gray crossed his arms. "I'm not dim. I just didn't think I'd be talking about this stuff with...y'know, you." he pointed out, blushing slightly.

"Well, if you won't take this seriously, I will." She looked up at the blue sky. "For me...they have to be good looking, of course. And they have to be funny, but naturally funny, and make me happy...and they have to tolerate my assertive and determined mindset." she finished, a proud smile on her face.

Gray snorted. "Please. You'll never find someone as bossy as you are."

She smacked him again. "Shut up. What about you, though? What do you look for in a girl?"

"Well..." Gray paused. "I guess a girl who's smart, pretty, knows how to take charge…" He looked up, seeing Erza's worried expression. "What?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, it should be nothing, but…" She nodded at something away from them. Gray followed her gaze to see Ultear and Jellal sitting together on the other side of the courtyard. Erza sighed, "I've been seeing them. A lot. And it's not like I've haven't seen them before, I mean they are friends, but he looks so happy, and...it hurts."

Gray frowned. He had spent all this time on Erza, trying to get her over Jellal, but she was still sad about him? He felt the same sinking feeling in his stomach. "Come on, he's not the only happy one."

Erza looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're happy too. You've been spending more time with us, you seem good, you look great…" He shrugged. "You're both finding happiness in your own ways."

Erza couldn't help but scoff. "Since when did you get so philosophical?"

"Don't know. Must be all the meetings I have with Lyon." he laughed.

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Gray."

"For what, the lunch?"

"...Sure."

"Yeah, I'm on my way out. I just had to get a book from my locker." Lyon spoke into his phone.

"That's fine! I'll meet you there." Meredy responded cheerfully before hanging up.

Lyon tucked his phone in his pocket, taking a deep breath as he walked down the hallway. School was over, and he had followed Gray's advice to get to know Meredy better. And what better way to do that, than to hang out after school? He had reached his locker, spinning in his combination, hoping to retrieve his chemistry textbook quickly.

"Lyon?" a voice called.

The white haired boy looked up from his locker to see Juvia walking towards him. His heartbeat immediately quickened. "Juvia, hey, what's up?"

"Nothing really. Heading home, but Juvia saw you, and…" She looked at the ground.

"What?" Lyon asked curiously.

Juvia looked up suddenly, meeting his eyes. "Would you like to hang out sometime?"

He froze. His heart had been beating rapidly seconds ago, but now it was stopped. Gray's words echoed in his head- this was exactly what he was talking about. "Erm, yes, uhm, yes. I would like to."

Juvia's face broke into a smile. "Oh! Great!"

"Yeah!" Lyon found himself smiling as well. "I'll text you, but right now- "

"-Lyon!" He turned around, eyes widening in fear as he saw Meredy walking towards him.

"Meredy!" He looked frantically between her and Juvia. "Look, I can explain- "

"Juvia, hey!" Meredy greeted.

"Hi, Meredy." Juvia responded as warmly.

"Have you started the French essay yet?"

"Nope. Juvia still hasn't looked at the rubric."

The two shared a laugh. Lyon looked between them worriedly, the two girls unaware of his current panic. "Wait- you two- you're friends?" he stammered.

Meredy nodded. "We have French together."

"And physics!" Juvia added.

"Duh, how could I forget? We nailed that lab practical."

Lyon watched as they high-fived each other. "Wow, that's- what a coincidence. Wow."

"Yeah, it's all fun." Meredy smiled, and turned to him. "Did you get your book?"

"Um, uh, yeah, I did." he responded, patting the textbook under his arm.

"Great, then we should get going." She turned to Juvia. "I'll see you later, Juvia!" Juvia waved after them, exiting the other way. Meredy turned back to Lyon. "There's a new ice cream place downtown, and I thought we could- " She stopped, finally seeing his bewildered expression. "Uh, you good?"

"YES, of course, I'm great, yeah!" Lyon nodded, shaking his hands.

"Okay!" Meredy continued talking. But Lyon was still out of it, walking numbly beside her. Could he get out of this situation? He shook his head. He couldn't date both of them, that would be way too complicated-

"-Is that okay?" Meredy asked, looking to Lyon for approval.

Lyon shook his head. "Sorry, what?"

"Wow, you're just like my dog…" she laughed to herself, "I said I mentioned you to one of my boy friends."

Lyon stopped, frowning. "Boyfriends?" he asked worriedly, the word halting his thoughts.

"Boy friends. With the space. As in one of my guy friends."

He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his senses go back to normal. "Oh, that's good. Is he captivated by my charm and wit?" he asked, flashing her a cheeky grin.

Meredy rolled her eyes. "I think you'll have to work harder than that." she laughed. They continued walking, eventually getting to Lyon's car. But all the while, Lyon's mind was preoccupied with the previous interaction between Juvia and Meredy. They're friends, good friends… He silently cursed himself. How was he supposed to decide between the two now?

Hibiki was in his car, parked on one of the side roads of the school. He was waiting for Cana: it was another Tuesday, which meant meeting in their usual spot and getting tacos. His eyes lit up as he saw the brunette walk into view, crossing the street from school.

"Cana!" he called, waving his hand. The brunette smiled, almost reaching him, but…His face fell as he saw her stop at the car in front of him, getting inside. He poked his head out the window, confused expression on his face. "Cana?" he called again, just as the car was pulling away.

The car stopped. A second later Cana peeked her head out, seeing him behind her. He gave her a wave.

"Hang on, Drew, this'll take a second…" she told the boy sitting next to her in the car. She got out, walking to Hibiki's open window. "What?"

He flashed her his trademark smile. "It's Tuesday."

"So?"

Hibiki looked at her expectantly. "Taco Tuesdays? Y'know, the tradition we've been having for a month now." He leaned forward to kiss her cheek, but she stepped back. "What?" he frowned.

Cana put a hand up. "Hold up, what? Since when did we have a tradition?"

Hibiki arched an eyebrow. "Since we've been hanging out nearly every week...and weekend...and- "

"Oh." She shrugged. "Sorry, I have plans."

"Plans?" He almost laughed. "Good one. Who would you have plans with?"

"Drew."

"Who's Drew?"

"He goes to Magnolia University. I met him the other day, and we've been hanging out."

"And you didn't bother to tell me?"

Her frown deepened. "Why would I have to?"

His expression faltered. "...Because I kinda thought we were a thing."

Cana scoffed. "You thought we were a thing? As in a dating thing?"

"Uh, duh." Hibiki looked at her, searching for her hearty laughter that was soon to come, and how she'd tell him this was all an elaborate prank to get him to trust her.

But instead of smiling, Cana snorted. "Right." she snickered, but stopped, seeing Hibiki's serious expression. "Come on, really? What made you think that?"

Hibiki gave her a sarcastic smile. "Oh, no reason. Maybe because we hang out all the time, we're happy to see each other, I get along with your dad, and what's that? Oh yeah, we bang every weekend- "

"Okay!" Cana held up her hand, stopping him.

He smirked. "Alright. So are you done playing games? Because those tacos aren't gonna eat themselves."

But Cana remained still. "Look, Hibiki, we're cool, but I've told you this: I don't date. And I definitely am not dating you." She spun around, walking to Drew's car before he could say anything else. She sat in the passenger seat, slamming the door shut.

"Everything okay?" Drew asked beside her, the two driving again.

"Yeah, it's nothing." Cana responded, crossing her arms. Her words echoed in her head: in her mind they seemed like the right things to say, but...She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the bitter feeling settling inside her.

Weeeee the next few chapters will be up soon! Hope you liked dis one ;)

-Pinky