Countdown to the End (Gale) {Fairy Tail FF}

The Countdown Begins at 28

~Levy~

            "Levy!" Lucy shouted, drawing my attention away from the large novel in my hands.

            "Hey, Lu-chan!" I smiled, waving. "Are you not meeting up with Natsu today?"

            "I am this afternoon," Lucy sighed, sitting next to me on the soft grass. "He and Happy went somewhere with Erza, claiming to have some kind of special training with her."

            "Special training?" I murmured, curious as to what they could be doing.

            "Yeah, it's weird. I tried asking him what it was, but that's all Natsu told me last night. He jumped out my window before I could press him for more information."

            "Natsu certainly does spend a lot of time at your house, doesn't he?" I chuckled, grinning at her.

            "He never leaves!" She cried, falling onto her back with an exasperated sigh. "He always barges in without asking, and stays until he feels like going to bed. Sometimes, he just doesn't leave, and hogs my bed!" She complained.

            "Sounds like he likes it at your house," I winked.

            Lucy blushed, "well, it's annoying."

            "Sure," I grinned.

            "It—it is!" She insisted.

            "What's annoying?" Natsu asked, walking towards us.

            "Nothing," Lucy snapped, hiding her blush from him.

            I couldn't help but giggle. If Lucy and Natsu would have taken a second to think about it, they would have realized how much they liked each other. Too bad they're both kind of dense when it comes to that sort of thing.

            "Hey, Shrimp, you ready to go?" Gajeel's rough voice immediately grabbed my attention.

            "Um, yeah," I nodded, standing.

            "See you later," Lucy winked, walking away with Natsu and Happy.

            "Bye!" I waved, following Gajeel as blush burned on my cheeks.

            "Are you alright, Levy?" Lily asked. He frowned at me, and I knew he was referring to my flushed face.

            "Yeah," I nodded, "it's just a little warm outside, that's all."

            "It's the middle of summer," Gajeel said, "what do you expect?"

            "Lily asked, so I was just answering him," I snapped. "I know it's the middle of summer. If anyone here doesn't know that, it's you. How can you wear pants and boots in this heat?"

            "It doesn't bother me," he shrugged.

            "Well, the heat isn't bothering me, either," I informed him. We walked in silence for several minutes, both of us refusing to break it. Why'd he get all huffy? I wasn't complaining.

            "We're here," Gajeel said, finally breaking the silence as he stopped outside the gates of Fairy Hills. "We'll wait here while you pack."

            "Okay." I rushed into the building and quickly went to my room. After unlocking the door, I stepped inside the room which had been mine since I was a little kid and had first arrived at Fairy Tail. It smelled of paper and ink—probably due to the maze of bookcases that decorated my entire room. I made my way to my bedroom and grabbed the small backpack I liked to use when I went on overnight jobs. It was light, but held a lot, so it wasn't a bother to carry around for long periods of time.