Requested by @alahniscc! Sorry for the late update.
Her hair fluttered in the wind and I smelt her scent. She smiled innocently. I could no longer see anything but the dark. I longed for her too much. And letting myself hurt her was the most horrible thing I've done in my entire life.
This is punishment.
“Jellal,” Meredy called me, her eyes were lonely and I had no idea why. “Are you alright? You were screaming her name.”
I sat up. The moon's brightness was the only thing that served as a light. “Sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“No, I'm fine. I couldn't sleep in the first place.” She frowned, looking away.
“Were you taking about her again?”
“Yeah. Kinda. Geez, I really miss her. I treated her like my mother and she treated me as a daughter. You know, sometimes, I wish I could go back to those days.. when she was with us..”
“Yeah..” was all I could say. I wanted to comfort her and tell her everything's fine. But, how can I tell her a thing I don't believe, too?
“What's up with that face?” In a split second, her cheerfulness came back. “Really! You look worse than I am! You need to take a break!”
“Break...? Sinners don't—” I insisted
“Oh come on! Please? Just for a while?” She looked at me with puppy eyes. “I mean, look at you! Despite being a sinner, you're a human too!”
“.. I see..”
“Don't give me that! Get up and take a break!” She pushed me on my back, causing me to fall.
“R-Right now?”
“Well, there's no other time than now.” She smiled, encouraging me.
~ • ~
The sun rises with the same color as her hair. I chuckled. Almost everything reminds me of her.
“Jellal!”
Her voice whenever she calls my name was still imaginable. These where the things I wish to never forget. Her face is starting to get a bit blurry every time I think of her. Does that mean anything, I wonder?
I then felt a presence behind me. The scent of the figure was all too familiar. I hastily look at my back, and I met black, beautiful eyes that almost melted me away.
“I've been calling you for a while now.”
She sat beside me as she gaze at the sun rise. “E-Erza,” I breathed her name out, and I felt a wave of nostalgia hit me. I hadn't called her like that for a while. It was so innocent, like I've done nothing wrong.
Like how I used to call her back then.
“I couldn't sleep.” She confessed, not making any eye contact with me. “I-I was thinking of an old friend.”
I wondered why her cheeks were red, but then I thought, it was probably because of the sun. Or, could it be..?
“Oh.. Me too.. I was thinking of an old friend..” I chuckled, forgetting for a while what I've done to her.
“So? Tell me more about this old friend of yours.”
“Ah.. This old friend of mine, you see, she's very... pretty..” Staring at the sun once again, I answered wistfully. I felt my cheeks grow hot.
“Prettier than I am?” She asked teasingly with a hint of loneliness. We laughed, knowing who I am talking about.
“This friend of mine..” she started. “He's kind and gentle.. and really handsome..”
My heart skipped a beat and I had to hug my legs and bury my head in it to hide my growing blush.
“Oh.. More handsome than I am?” I retorted. She chucked and laughed and seeing her like this was the thing I wished for the most, I realized.
“Yes. He's really handsome..”
“I see.” I found myself smiling like an idiot. “But y'know, I love this friend of mine.” I then realized I just confessed. She blushed furiously.
“H-Hah?!” I couldn't almost tell the difference between her hair and her face.
“.. I-It was a joke! Really!” I lied, but I know she could tell whether I'm lying or not. Because, to be honest, I really love her.
“W-Well, I l-love this friend of mine, too. Probably more than you love your friend, actually.”
I blushed and I could tell she was as embarrassed, too.
“A-A-Anyway, I think it's time to go.” She stood up.
“Y-Yeah.. I think so too.” I stood up and brushed my clothes that was dirtied by the ground we were just randomly sitting on.
“Hey, say hi to this friend of yours for me.” She said as she waved her hands.
“Yeah.. Goodbye.” I waved back. Her hair fluttered in the wind and I smelt her scent. And I couldn't stop smiling innocently.
