Fairytale | Jerza | AU

29. Apology.

Erza's POV:

     I searched for Jellal during lunch. He wasn't at the Fairies table yet. Lucy, Juvia and Levy too helped me look out for him. They came to know about the whole thing thanks to Lucy.

     After a few moments, I saw him enter the cafeteria. I got up from my seat and rushed towards him. "Jellal." I called him and stood before him, blocking his path.

     "What do you want, Erza?" He asked me, his face emotionless. I cleared my throat and said, "I'm really sorry Jellal. I was very rude. I did not mean to hurt you..." I trailed off.

     "Yeah, you were rude. I forgive you for that. I don't want to associate myself with any of this anymore. So goodbye!" He said to me and walked to his table. "Jellal...!" I started, but stopped when he didn't even falter in his step.

     He was angry with me. I could see it in his eyes. His words which meant otherwise were just empty. He had somehow managed to make me feel worse.

     I returned to my table, determined to show him my sincere regret and get real forgiveness. Lucy, Juvia and Levy agreed with me when I told them what had happened. I didn't give up that easily.

Next Day

Erza's POV:

     I caught Jellal just before he could enter the cafeteria. This time, I held onto the sleeve of his jacket so that he wouldn't escape. "Jellal, I'm really sorry. Maybe you think that I'm heartless and that I'm doing this for some kind of superficial thing... But I'm not."

     He tried to get away, but I increased my grip on his sleeve and he was forced to stay. He sighed and said, "Look, I'm not interested in your apology. I don't care if you feel sorry or not. Let me mind my own business."

     "You don't understand. I'm doing this because I feel guilty. I know you are angry at me. I'm not dumb, okay?" I said to him. He glared at me and said, "Well, if you know that I'm angry at you then you should just stay away from me!"

     "You may think I'm selfish, and maybe I am... But I can't live like this. Knowing that I caused someone pain, for something very pointless." I said, hoping he would understand. He was silent.

     "I would like to take up your offer of friendship. I acted on my anger based on a prejudice about you. I would like you know you better?" I told him. He sighed again. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Okay."

     I smiled and said, "Thank you so much for giving me a chance. You'll have forgiven me very soon." He nodded and looked towards the cafeteria doors. I let go of his sleeve and said, "Thank you for your time."

     He went to his table and sat with his friends. Everything seemed to be back to normal. Except, now I didn't hate him. All I had towards him was curiosity.

Jellal's POV:

     I took out my lunch and listened to the conversation going on. 'So... I gave in too easily. You've become weak Jellal... But she sounded to sincere. Her eyes, I could tell from her eyes that she wasn't lying. She is nice after all...'

     I shook my head. I was being too lenient. Gray gave a me a look and asked, "Are you okay?" I nodded. He continued, "Do you... Really not feel bad about this whole thing?" I could see confusion in his eyes.

     "I am over it. That day, I decided to stop caring. We've talked about this. You all know that." I replied. Everyone was paying attention to me now. "Okay... I'll admit I was hurt. My heart was broken. But this isn't new to me. You all know that. It's what you call 'getting used to'."

     Gray gave me a sad smile and said, "If you're happy, then everything is okay." "Good." I said, digging into my lunch. "But..." Gray continued, "I know you are not. Your eyes speak more than you could in your whole life, Jellal..."

     I sighed. "You have no idea what I just got myself into... That's probably why." I said to him. "What happened?" Laxus asked me. I laughed nervously and said, "I  gave Erza the chance to show me that she is really sorry for being rude to me... And we are going to try to be friends now?"

     "Whaaaaat?!" Natsu yelled. Gajeel just chuckled and asked me, "So, is that good news or bad news?" I smiled in defeat and answered him, "I have no idea..."

     "As far as I'm concerned, I like where just is going." Gray said, smirking. Laxus and Gajeel laughed at it and Natsu just sat there, confused. "Is it good or bad? Jellal was over it right? So her coming back is bad right?"

     I sighed. "Natsu, no one knows if this is good or bad. If I feel hurt, I'll back out. If this makes things better then I'll go with it. Don't worry." I said to him. He grinned and said, "Then it's okay!"

     "Well, that's one way to put it... But I can't deny I'm conflicted. Ever since a I agreed to that, I have been second guessing myself. So, I would like you guys to have my back..." I gave them a weak smile. I had never really needed their help or depended on them since a long time.

     They just grinned and nodded. "No problem, dude!" Gajeel said to me, brandishing a thumbs up in my face. "Yeah." Laxus and Natsu agreed with him. Gray smiled and said, "We gotcha back. Don't worry. You can trust us!"

     "Thank you, guys." I replied. I wanted to say so much more, but in that moment a measly 'thank you' was all I could manage. I hoped that they would understand the weight that 'thank you' carried. I smiled along with them, feeling that everything was going to get better.

    
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Next Update: 25th May, 2020.