The Contract

Chapter 22

WARNING: story will back track a bit

After Natsu carried Lucy away, Levy relaxed a bit. Sighing, she runs her hand through her hair. I feel like Lucy was hiding something, she thought to her self. She dragged me around all day, I haven't had the chance to approach Gajeel...Was she...No. There is no reason to. Levy's eyes roam around her, searching. His back is what she saw first, then his long black hair. Gajeel.

Gajeel turns his head for a moment, making her heart pound. She watched his eyes roam, towards her...No around her. Gajeel waves his arm, calling Laxus over. Disappointment washed over her, as she just stared at him. She couldn't just wait for him to approach her, no, it felt like he was avoiding her. Why? Was it the kiss? Was it bad? Was it because the mood wasn't right or maybe it was rushed? WAIT, what if he thinks the kiss was a mistake?

Her mind felt like it was going to explode.

"Levy, Levy." She looks up to see Mira standing there.

"Steam is coming out of your ears."

"Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"You should talk to Gajeel about it, though I don't even know why he hasn't come up to you yet." Mira said noticing Levy's face go red.

"How-How did you-"

"You were staring at him this entire time."

Levy fidgets a bit, remarking, "That is embarrassing. I bet he even noticed." She sighs again, adding, "I don't know how to confront him."

"When Laxus first confessed to me, I was belated. I had love him since I was a teenager, but Laxus didn't even look my way. So I thought. After the kiss, he distanced himself from me. I was conflicted, and hurt. I just went right up to him, and asked him. Turned out, he was so embarrassed and shy about it. He didn't even know what to do." She giggles at the memory, making Levy smile.

A confession, she thought, then froze. That's right, there was no confession.

Mira read her expression and blinks her eyes. "He didn't confess?"

Levy shakes her head no, answering, "Neither did I. That time, we talked about why I chose him. I told him, because he was the first one i noticed...To tell you the truth, when he rescued me, I liked the look of his hair. It's soft...Then when we got off on the wrong foot, I grew curious about him..."

Mira smiles at that, remarking, "You wanted to know more about him. His likes, his habits."

Levy nods, her eyes once again looking at Gajeel. Thinking about it, he never trusted me, and to suddenly kiss me. Maybe he is confused?

Standing up, Levy bows in appreciation. "Thank you, Mira. I think I know what I need to do."

"Good luck." Mira said, giving her the thumbs up.

Levy starts to walk towards him, taking a breath. Right at the same time, Lucy passes Gajeel, mumbling to herself. He looks at Lucy, before turning away again. Is she coming towards me?

Halting, she prepares herself to stop Lucy, only to blink as Lucy passes her, causing confusion. Lucy turns her head, watching her then turns her head to see Gajeel walking towards her now. Her heart pounded seeing him, walk confidently. His expression was serious, while his eyes were looking straight ahead. She noticed his lip was pierced, reminding her of there kiss.

Concentrate!

She moves, putting her hand up, motioning for him to stop. "Ga-" He passes her, not even acknowledging her. She just stood there, before putting her hand over her heart, scrunching up her dress. It hurts...Why does it hurt so much?

"Levy?" Mira calls her name, with a sad tone.

I can't face her.

"It's okay...I'm going to go for a walk. I will see you later." She starts to walk away, until a hand grabs her arm.

"Levy."

Turning her head, Larcade would be standing there with a worried expression. His white hair as usual, looked fluffy.

"Can I join you," he asks, already pulling her along, his arm around hers.

"I want to show you a spot I found." He smiles at her, causing her to smile a little back.

"You don't need to come. I-" She stops seeing his serious expression.

"I don't like to see you with that expression. He needs to let go of his pride or at least stop being a donkey."

"Pfftt. Donkey?" She looks up at him, seeing his scratch his head.

"I don't really like to swear around women."

She smiles at that, thinking, he is so nice. Once she said that, Gajeel's face popped up, making her sad.

"Come on. Let's hurry. I know that it is sudden, but since it is getting late, I want to make sure we get a good view." Larcade said, smiling at her.

She nods, hurrying along side him. Noticing they were a bit far from everyone after a while, she looks at Larcade who points up head to a boulder.

"It's right here." He walks up to it, starting to climb up it. "Let me climb first, okay?"

She watches him rock climb up to the ledge, and looks down before frowning. "I guess I should have had us both climb."

The boulder was 18 feet high while she was only 4 feet. She positions herself, examining the boulder, remarking, "It's okay. I'll just do what you did." Watching her now, Larcade notices her match the movements he did. When Levy got to the ledge, he pulls her up and steps away from her. Levy gasps. They could see the landscape around them, and the river break off into another direction. The colors of the sky, caught her attention the most.

"Wow." The sunset looked like cotton candy; pink and blue.

"I am glad you like it. I know it is a bit late, but I thought it could cheer you up." He sat down on the ledge, and patted next to him, motioning for her to sit by him.

"Thank you, Larcade." She sat next to him. Silence took place for a moment while they watch the sunset.

"I wanted to thank you too, Levy."

"Huh? Why?"

"When I first came here, you trusted me right away. Everyone, especially you, treated me nice. Levy, I-"

"What a lovely scene..." A voice said, causing Larcade to stand up, startled.

"Caden? How did-Where-"

"You think just because you ran away, I wouldn't 'see' you? You are more idiotic than I thought."

Levy looks at Larcade, who had his hands in a fist. "Levy, I-" Before he could finish, he groans, holding his right eye.

"Larcade?!" About to touch him, a black magic circle emits in his eye then projects in front of him. A male who looked like Larcade appeared, but he had a scar on his jaw. "You are pathetic." He then kicks Larcade, sending him flying.

"Larcade!" About to move, black lightning struck the boulder, causing a magic circle to activate where she stood.

"AHHHHHHH!" She screams in pain, as more black lightning struck down, and flames wrapped around her, scorching her.