Fiore's Games

Confusion

The sound of wind chimes twinkled through the air. The school in 12 had wind chimes to make it more cheerful. It was a dismal building, with just enough rooms for the different grades and a couple of extra curriculum rooms. School had just ended. Levy was leaving the school building, just ten years old at the time. Jet and Droy were horsing around out front, both eleven, and Droy was shoved into a tall boy. Tall even at that age, Gajeel glowered at the two boys, his red eyes piercing. "Watch it." He growled.

"Why don't you watch it, Redfox?" Jet sneered at him. Even then, Gajeel was a bit of an outcast. He must have been having a particularly bad day, because he threw a punch at Jet. It sent Jet flying to the ground with an 'oof' noise. Levi's eyes widened and she ran forward, throwing herself in the way of the next hit, towards Droy. Gajeel decked her clean across her jaw. She fell down, but glared up at him with her golden eyes.

Gajeel looked remorseful of his actions, like he never meant to hurt the blue-haired girl, but as soon as she spit out the blood that came from a bit lip and glared, he let his own glare return. "That's what you get for getting in my way. Let this be a lesson, shrimp. You won't survive being tiny and weak in this hell." With the last insult to her, he started to leave.

"Hey! You don't hurt our baby sister!" Droy yelled. Jet, who was getting back up, also growled at Gajeel for harming Levy. A fight broke out, but it didn't last long. Gajeel was the clear winner, even if the Peacekeepers hadn't yanked the boys apart. That night, Levy was taught by their mother how to tend to cuts and bruises, and even stitches since one of her brothers needed them. She didn't like that tall boy with the red eyes, he hurt her brothers. She didn't know what to make of him, really. In her observations, he seemed like a loner, who didn't care about what others thought about him. She didn't think he had a good home either, which couldn't help matters. After that, he tended to avoid her. Not that they spoke much to begin with, but now he made an effort to do so. Until...

Levy McGarden woke up with a start, confusion rushing her mind. She had forgotten about that memory. Had Gajeel also forgotten? She didn't know. He hurt her once, then avoided her. At the time he seemed ashamed, until she tried to stand back up to him. Then he was more angry, ready to clock her a second time. It seemed to her that he liked power, control. She was on the ground and he did that, but he felt bad about causing that pain to her. As soon as she fought back, he became angry again. He had no problems picking fights with other people, but her... He avoided her. It was strange. She lay in bed for a few moments longer before finally getting up and dressing for the day with her usual headband placed on her head. She went to the main dining area, like every morning, but what surprised her was that Gajeel had beaten her to it. He was deep in conversation with Makarov currently, not even noticing her presence.

"Good morning Levy! I hope you rested well. Today we'll prepare you for a televised interview with Ichiya tomorrow." Evergreen said cheerfully, bringing the two boys attention to Levy. She smiled at everyone, sitting down and quietly munching on the breakfast served. Bacon and eggs and warm biscuits.

"Levy. There has been a change in plans." Makarov spoke up in a serious tone. She looked up at him as she sipped fresh (fresh! Oh, how anyone would kill for this back home) orange juice. "Gajeel has asked to be trained seperately." That made her cough on her drink a little. She set her glass down with a surprised look at Gajeel. His face was clear of any emotion except for his usual slight glare.

"Why?" Levy asked carefully. They were getting along, being friends even. Why would he change that?

"I don't have to tell you." He snapped at her. With that smack of reality, he stood sharply and left the dining area. Levy's appetite diminished quickly.

Shortly after the breakfast spectacle, Evergreen took Levy to a separate room, where she was giving instruction on proper presentation for the Capitol. "Make sure you stand and sit straight. It's important you give off that air of knowing what's proper." She stated. She had Levy wear high heels she could barely walk in, to give her the appearance of some height. Evergreen had to continually remind Levy to smile, even though the heels hurt and she was in the worst place she could imagine, besides the actual Arena. "You must act like a proper young woman. You seem to know more about manners than others from your district, so that's a start." Evergreen said offhandedly. Levy was a little offended at the comment about her district, but she thought Evergreen honestly didn't know that she was being insulting. She though she was being factual.

After hours of presentation prep with Evergreen, she met with Makarov. He had... an interesting tactic to discuss with her. "I'm going to be honest with you, Levy. You're small, you're weak. You're very smart, and that alone can help you survive the bloodbath and first few days, but you've got a real disadvantage. Now, Gajeel doesn't have any except that he comes across as hostile. It will be hard to get him sponsors. You, you're friendly and pretty. However, you need an edge." He explained carefully. He looked almost nervous for what he was going to say to her. He took a swig of some alcoholic drink to steel his nerves. "Ichiya will probably ask you if you had a sweetheart or someone you liked back home. I want you to say yes."

"Yes? But I didn't." Levy frowned in confusion.

"You did. You do, if you want this edge. And he came with you here."