The Lightning Empress [Cobra/Erik x OFC x Laxus] DISCONTINUED

Finding Her Interest: Basketball

"Laxus, what happened?" Evergreen asked, causing Freed and Bickslow to turn and look at the blond entering the classroom.

Laxus' right hand was bandaged.

"I hurt my hand, so I found the healer." The blond roughly stated.

"You mean the nurse?" Bickslow smirked.

"Whatever." The word was growled out.

"Um, anyways," Evergreen spoke up again, hoping to ease the tension. "so, I did some asking around. Turns out that breaking this curse might be harder than we thought."

"How so?" Laxus asked.

"Well, apparently in this world or realm or whatever, you've got history with Jasmine and Cobra. The entire student body knows that you 'have a major crush' on Jasmine even though she's already dating someone. Apparently, this history goes back to junior high."

"So that's why . ." Laxus trailed off, remembering how Jasmine addressed him not too long ago.

"Because they know, they're all on guard." Freed added.

"Yeah, I got that." The blond scoffed. He decided, in order to keep them updated, to tell them about his attempt to win her back. Of course, he doesn't tell the embarrassing parts, but he does explain how he injured his hand.

"I see." Freed hummed as he nodded.

"We've got a lot of work to do." Bickslow sighed.

The school day went by for the "foreigners" rather slowly, but it was finally over. The group of four was exiting the school building when they spotted Jasmine talking with Angel.

Jasmine had a duffle bag that hung on her left shoulder and her hair was now in a ponytail similar to the one Laxus remembered from the Grand Ball. The blond was going to - no, he wanted to go talk to Jasmine, but it probably wasn't such a good idea.

He wants her to fall for him, yes, but he doesn't want to annoy her in the process. That would be bad.

So, Laxus turned his head away from her and attempted to swiftly walk pass them.

"Laxus, shouldn't you go talk to Jasmine?" Freed whispered.

"What for?" Laxus whispered back, looking over his shoulder.

"To try and not seem like the annoying, luckstruck guy that she and the whole school think you are." Bickslow said bluntly.

"Don't say it like that!" Evergreen scolded, elbowing him in the abdomen. "Just start small." She spoke to Laxus this time, "Find something she has an interest in and use that as your connection to her. She has a bag with her, so she's obviously about to do something."

"If you guys say so." The blond sighed before uturning and approaching Jasmine and Angel.

"Good luck, Laxus!" Freed whisper-shouted.

Laxus rolled his eyes at the action. Could you be any more obvious? He groaned in his head.

Once he was close enough, he saw Angel glance at him before looking back at her friend and whispering something to her.

"Oh great, Thor's here." Angel joked with a smirk. Laxus raised his eyebrow at the nickname. Who the heck is Thor? He thought, not knowing whether it was an insult or a complement. Judging by Angel's facial expression, however, he deemed the comment to be an insult.

Jasmine turned around and came face-to-face with Laxus. "Hey, Laxus." She gave him a forced smile and he could tell it was forced. "Is there something you need?"

"I was just wondering . . ." He trailed off thinking of something to say. Then he remembered the duffle bag. "Are you up to something?" He asked, gesturing to the bag hanging from her shoulder.

"I have basketball practice in a few minutes." She replied.

"That's great!" Laxus declared, probably a little too soon. He honestly had no clue what basketball was, but Jasmine was interested in it, so he would be too. "M-Mind if I come watch?" He asked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Angel rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I've gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, Jasmine." She said, waving goodbye before walking away.

Jasmine waved back at Angel before turning her attention back to Laxus. "Sure, I guess so." She answered his question, shrugging her shoulders. Turning around and walking toward the gym, Jasmine didn't bother to make conversation as Laxus followed her.

She didn't know what to say. What do you say to someone who wants to be more than friends with you without making it awkward? She knows that Laxus knows that she's dating Cobra, so she doesn't really know what to do whenever Laxus comes around. Unlike her jealous boyfriend and quick tempered friends, Jasmine tries not to blame Laxus for his actions.

She's a nice girl; she knows that it's not his fault that he fell for her and can't get over her. She also knows that he doesn't have that many friends because he's so antisocial. So, she makes an effort to be his friend.

But she sees the longing in his eyes. Like the rumors say, Laxus is a lovestruck lost puppy toward Jasmine. He's always asking her to hang out with him, preferring it to be just the two of them. This annoys the heck out of Cobra and it has for years. So, every once and a while, she'll remind the blond that she can be with him as friends, hoping that he will slowly start moving on so that they can actually be friends without any awkwardness.

But that hasn't happened yet.

As the door to the gym creeks open, the basketball members who were already there turn their attention to the two individuals who were entering.

"About time you showed up!" Minerva yelled from across the gym. She wasn't on the court with the others, stretching. Rather, she was sitting lazily on the bleachers while blowing large bubbles of gum.

"And Laxus is with her." Cana mumbled quietly so only Minerva could hear (Cana was also sitting down and NOT stretching).

"Like that's new."

"He's always following her around. If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was dating Laxus."

"Don't let Cobra hear you say that."

"Cana! Minerva! Jasmine! Start stretching!" The female's basketball team captain, Erza, ordered.

Groaning, Minerva and Cana for up from their sitting positions and headed to the court.

Jasmine, on the other hand, still had to put her bag down and change her clothes. She nonchalantly tossed her duffle bag at the bleachers, letting it slide across the waxed gym floor. "It might not be that fun to watch, but sit and make yourself comfortable." She said to Laxus as she began digging through her bag to get her clothes.

Laxus didn't say a word, he just shuffled around the girl and sat to the left of her bag. He scanned the gym with his eyes, seeing the basketball players: Erza, Minerva, Cana, Kagura, Risley, and Ultear (and, obviously, Jasmine).

Now, he was curious to see what this "basketball" entails.