Fairytale | Jerza | AU

26. Square One.

One Month Later

Erza's POV:

     It's been a month since I had been observing his behaviour. He usually kept to himself, didn't mix with others much. That's why, I couldn't really determine how he was. When he was with his friends, he behaved nice... For the most part.

     Jellal Fernandes. I couldn't figure him out. It's irked me to my core. I shook my head, clearing my mind of his thoughts and focused my attention on the class. The teacher gave us some tips before the bell rang, signalling the start of Lunch break.

     Lucy and Juvia accompanied me as we made our way through the crowds of students rushing out of their classrooms. We were chatting about our homework while going towards the cafeteria.

     As we took a trun at a corridor, I saw a very familiar tuft of blue hair that I had grown to despise so much. I sighed internally and tried to focus my attention to the conversation Lucy and Juvia were having.

     My eyes on the other hand, couldn't help but see how he was behaving. He had some papers in his hand, probably for some teacher. He gracefully walked through the students, making his way towards the staffroom probably.

     I noticed a group of girls walking towards him, engrossed in the exciting conversation they were having. I knew what was going to happen before it did. The girl at the left most side bumped into Jellal, throwing most of the papers he was holding sprawling onto the floor.

     "Goddammit! Are you out of your mind?! Pay attention to where you're going, woman!" He glared at the girl. She apologized to him, bowing a couple of times. Her friends then dragged her away from him, throwing annoyed looks at him.

     Jellal picked up those papers, muttering profanities under his breath. As we passed by, I heard him say, "...didn't even help me out these back..." I felt sorry for him, but what he had done just angered me. He was in the wrong no matter how the girl had behaved.

     'By the looks of it, that girl was in her first year... He probably scared her enough for her whole high school life...' I shook my head. He was back to where he was when I first met him. He hadn't changed at all.

Jellal's POV:

     I put the stack of papers on the teacher's desk and left the staffroom. I was pissed off. As soon as I reached our table, I pulled out a bottle of water from my bag and drank it up. I felt a little bit calmer.

     The guys were already there, eating their lunches. Laxus offered me his sandwich, but I declined. The water had filled my stomach. I sighed and tried to relax, listening to their conversations silently.

     Unconsciously, my eyes drifted towards Erza. She was smiling, talking with her friends. I learnt a lot about her in the past month, thanks to Gray. She was a really sweet girl. From what I knew, she was also intelligent.

     I had seen her helping her friends and classmates. She was kind and cheerful. She was mostly quiet, but not completely introverted. She was brave and strong. I had seen her stand up to bullies and anyone who tried to harm her friends in any way. She was admirable no matter how you looked at her.

     I smiled, thinking about her. Someone poked my shoulder and I looked over to see who it was. The whole group was staring at me, small smiles playing about their mouths. Natsu said, "Why don't you atleast try to be friends? Then you can work to make her fall for you..."

     I shrugged. I never talked to girls unless I absolutely had to. I had no experience whatsoever in talking with girls or even being friends with them. 'How am I going to explain that to Natsu? He'll probably never understand...'

     I sighed and said, "I don't know... I have no idea how to...?" Now it was Natsu's turn to sigh. He looked at me and said, "Learn from me." He grinned and stood up, walking towards the girls' table.

     "What's he up to?" I asked Gray, confused. Gray chuckled and replied, "He is trying to befriend Lucy Heartfilia... By asking her to tutor him in Maths." I looked over to Natsu who was now walking around the table, waiting for something.

     "So, how good is that Lucy at Maths?" I asked Gray. He replied, "That's the funny part. She herself is getting help from Erza for Maths." He chuckled again as Natsu finally picked up the courage to talk to Lucy.

     Natsu said something to her, which we couldn't hear, but she became embarrassed because of that. Her face was covered with a slight blush, probably because of the awkward situation Natsu put her in. She then said something to him, pointing to Erza.

     Natsu then turned to Erza and said something to her, but she flat out refused, shaking her head violently. She then said something to him and he left their table, laughing nervously.

     It was obvious that he was crestfallen as soon as he turned his back towards them. He walked over to join us again and slumped into his seat. We all turned towards him, waiting for him to elaborate.

     Instead of telling us what happened, Natsu hid his face in his arm, resting on the table and mumbled something incoherent. Gajeel peeled his hands away from his face and made him face us.

     "What happened, Natsu?" Laxus asked him. Natsu glared angrily and me and said, "It's because of you!" I was confused. "What are you saying?" Gray asked Natsu, trying to make sense of his words. Natsu turned to Gray and asked him, "Why did Jellal have to be intelligent? Huh?"

     He then turned towards me and said, "That Erza told me to ask you since you were my friend and you were good at Maths." He frowned and closed his eyes, saying, "Turns out Lucy isn't good at Maths..."

     He then opened his eyes and said cheerfully, "But she said she would be happy to help me of I ever needed help in Literature!"

     That put a smile on everyone's face. He had accomplished something, even if it was very small. Natsu then said to me, "Watch me and learn. One day you'll get your girl too!" We all laughed at that. 'The rate at which you are going, I might as well get her in my next life...'

     Gray said to me, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get her before you die." He laughed. I smiled, he always knew what I was thinking. He gave me a pat on the back and said to the guys, "Let's make him confess as soon as possible."

     I blushed, turning my head away as the guys cheered on. My eyes fell on beautiful, scarlet hair and I smiled, blushing even more.

     The bell rang and everyone slowly emptied the cafeteria, returning to their classes. I walked with Gray towards our class.

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Next Update: 4th May, 2020

(A/N): Hello, guys! Thank you so much for reading this book! You all motivate me to write it, you all are the reason this story is still going on. I wanted to share a few things with you...
     There is a mistake in the school system I made in the chapters at the start. So, if you find that the system has changed, please understand. After this story is done, I'll be editing that part. Just the mistake, the story will remain the same.
Hope you enjoy the story! Thank you for reading it.