Fairytale | Jerza | AU

17. Home.

Tuesday

Erza's POV:

     I stood at the door of my house, a hand on the handle and my eyes looking out through a window. I scanned the streets for any sign of two people with a bag. Hynhe and Juliet hadn't told me when exactly they were coming.

     I jumped when the doorbell suddenly rang. I hastily opened the door and saw Juvia standing at my doorstep, an unreadable expression on her face. She said to me, "Juvia was waiting for Erza since the past ten minutes."

     "I'm so sorry Juvia... I was just.. um.. waiting... for them to arrive. I was hoping they would come in the morning." I said apologetically. Juvia sighed, "It's okay. Let's leave now." I closed the door behind me and locked it before glancing around once more and leaving with Juvia.

Late Afternoon

Erza's POV:

     I hurried back from school, walking faster then usual. Juvia had to jog to keep up with me. By the time we reached our houses, Juvia was out of breath. In between quick, deep breaths, she said, "Juvia knows that Erza has been excited... to meet Hynhe and Juliet... But there was no need to walk... so fast.."

     "I'm sorry." I replied. Juvia shook her head, said goodbye and went into her house. I took each step slowly, hoping that Hynhe and Juliet were already in the house. I pulled out my key and put it in the lock, but before I could turn it a light turned on in the living room.

     I happily opened the door and ran inside, slamming the door shut behind me. I saw Juliet sitting on the couch, smiling at me. I ran and hugged her. Hynhe came out from the kitchen, drawn by the noise. She saw me hugging Juliet and gave a small smile.

     Juliet released me from the hug and I went to Hynhe giving her a small, awkward hug. She smiled at me after we pulled apart. "How are you?" She asked.
"Really good. I'm so happy right now!" I cheerfully replied.

     I turned around to see Juliet. She came to me and patted me on my head. "I missed you, Erza. I am happy to meet you after so long!"

      I chuckled and said, "Yes, but it's only been a month... and a week." I pulled the both of them into a hug and said, "Still, I missed the both of you. A lot." We stayed like that for a while.

     Hynhe was the first to break apart saying that she had to go make dinner. I went to get my bag and placed it in my room. Changing into a more comfortable set of clothes, I came back into the living room.

     I sat on the sofa, next to Juliet and relaxed. I didn't have any homework today. Juliet looked up from the book she was reading and asked me, "I was wondering Erza, have you joined any clubs yet?" She marked a page and kept the book aside.

     "No, I haven't. I don't know which clubs they have... None of my friends are in any club either. So, I haven't really thought about it." I replied. She hummed in response.

     "Do you have any interest in joining a club?" She asked after a moment. "No. Not really." I replied, thinking over it. Juliet then asked, "What about baking? You like baking... Maybe there are clubs that do cooking or baking."

     I have it a thought and said, "But I haven't really baked since... you know. The only time I did was to help Juvia make brownies. I'm not even sure that I can bake well... I haven't done it on my own for a long time."

     "Oh. Who's Juvia?" Juliet asked. "Juvia is a friend from school. She lives next door. By the way, my friends from school want to meet both of you." I said.
Juliet looked surprised as she said, "They do?" "Yep." I answered.

     "I told them about mom... and how you are taking care of me... That you're my family..." I said, trailing off at the end. "So they want to meet you." I concluded. Juliet looked overjoyed when I looked at her. She said, smiling from ear to ear, "Really? That's wonderful! We would love to meet your friends!"

     I smiled and said, "Thanks, Juliet." Juliet replied, "Don't thank me. We would really love to meet them." She smiled at me. "Meet who?" I heard Hynhe's voice ask. I turned to see Hynhe had entered the room, pulling off her apron.

     "My new friends." I said. "Oh... When?" Hynhe asked. "I don't know... I will ask them tomorrow." I replied. She thought it over and said, "Hm. Dinner's ready." She pointed her thumb to the kitchen.

     We quickly went into the kitchen, drawn by hunger. We talked as we ate. They talked about things they did after I left and I talked about my new life here, in Magnolia. I talked about my new friends and school.

     We ate till we were full and couldn't possibly get another morsel in. It had been a while since I had eaten like this. It felt like home.

     After cleaning up, we went into my bedroom to relax for a while. I showed them my bedroom and plopped onto my bed. They joined me on the bed and we stayed in comfortable silence for a while. Then, I suddenly remembered the locket I had bought.

     I got up quickly and took it out of the drawer by my bed. I showed it to them. The little blade turned on its sides as Hynhe and Juliet admired it. "How is it? I bought it when we went out last month."

     Hynhe took it in her hands and said, "It's beautiful, Erza. It.. it reminds me of you... and Eileen..." Juliet nodded in agreement. I said, "Yeah. I bought it because of that." I smiled, looking at the locket and said, "I haven't started wearing it yet though. I'm wondering when I should."

     Juliet took it in her hands and put it on me. "You should start now." She smiled. "It looks good on you." "Th-thanks." I replied, embarrassed by the compliment. Hynhe gave me a nod of approval. I touched the cold blade with my fingers and smiled. Wearing that locket made me happy.

     After a while, Hynhe and Juliet decided to call it a day and went to their bedrooms. I took the locket off and put it on the table. I shut off the lights and snuggled into my covers, falling into a blissful sleep.