Good Meets Bad

Chapter Twenty-Four

Regret
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Erza stepped in her house, face weary and fingers trembling. "I'm home," She whispered to no one in particular. With a heavy sigh, she locked the door to her house and dropped her bag on the floor. On the way to the stairs, she allowed her jacket to fall off her shoulders and her dress shirt to drop to the floor, leaving her in a white tank top and her school skirt.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and entered her room. She fell back on her bed and she closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. Why did she ever love Jellal? Why did she feel happy when Lucy was shot? Why was she still happy that she's in coma? When was she ever that evil to feel glad that someone she knew was half dead? She could imagine Jellal's disregarded face, asking her why she felt those things, asking her why she would think that.

Her shoulders started shaking violently, sobs escaping her lips. She covered her face with her hands, sniffing. She could hear his voice, telling her he was disappointed at how she acted. He was going to tell her that he would never love her for what she did. She could hear him say it so clearly.

"I'm very disappointed in you."

Erza released a loud shuddering cry, feeling her chest squeeze. Why was she smiling when Lucy suddenly jumped in front of Jellal? Why was she whispering her thanks to the blonde when her eyes closed? Why was she hoping that he would love her now that Lucy was absent? How could she ever think that when she knew that Jellal loved Lucy dearly? And why would he ever love her back for thinking of those things?

With another scream of frustration, the redhead threw the picture frame on her nightstand to the floor and it shattered in pieces. She curled her fingers in her scarlet locks, hearing his voice louder and clearer. He was telling her that she was horrible. He was telling her that she was despicable. She wasn't worthy of his friendship.

She writhed on the bed and the half of her body fell down. Her head hit the floor and she saw something. She tried to lift her head and when she did; her sobs grew louder once again. Jellal and Erza had their arms around each other, a wide grin on their faces. On the lower right corner of the picture, there was a message.

"You're a great friend, Erza."

No, she wasn't.

With that thought stuck in her head, the redhead's body landed on the floor with a thud and she fell asleep.

Gray used the crutch to get to his house and he fumbled to find his keys. He found them and quickly unlocked the door to his house. He stepped inside and was grateful to find it empty. He locked the door and stayed there for a while, listening to the pounding of his heart. His bangs fell over his eyes and he felt the temperature rise.

Seconds later, he stood with only his boxers and his bandaged leg being supported by a crutch. He heard dogs barking and crickets humming. Then, the ticking of the clock was loud and clear, each tick clicking in his ears and matching with the beating of his heart. He shakily raised his free hand and stared at it. He could still see the gun in his hands and the way his fingers pulled the trigger. He could still picture the moment when the bullet spiraled out of the gun and hit Lucy's chest, barely missing her heart. He could see the way her eyes widened and her body dropped to the floor.

He could read her lips moving, begging him to not shoot. He heard her yell but didn't listen to her. He could remember everything, from when Lucy apologized silently that she couldn't love him back to when Jellal's tears mixed with hers. Now, he could hear nothing but words of disappointment and hate directed towards him.