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

17 Days

~Gajeel~

“Are you ready to go?” Lily asked, landing next to me in the guildhall as his wings disappeared.

“Go where?” I mumbled through a mouthful of iron bolts.

“To the Carlton’s,” Lily sighed. “We agreed to have dinner with Deidre and her father, remember?”

“Ah, hell,” I groaned, shoving the bowl of metal away from me, losing my appetite. “Do we really have to go? I just told the kid that so she’d quit buggin’ me.”

“Why are you so hesitant to spend time with them?” Lily asked, frowning. “They seem like good people, and you obviously have a history with them, so—”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to spend any more time with them than I have to,” I sighed. “I left everything—and everyone—from my old life behind me when I joined Fairy Tail. Being around them will just dig up bad memories.”

“Only if you allow it to,” Lily frowned. “I think you owe it to Deidre to at least show up. If things don’t go well, then you don’t have to go back. It’s that simple, right?”

“I guess,” I nodded, giving up. I knew he wasn’t going to leave me alone until I agreed to go.

“We’re supposed to pick Levy up at Fairy Hills in a few minutes, so we’d better get going,” he told me.

“Why are we picking her up?” I asked, frowning as I followed him.

Lily sighed impatiently. “Because it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. We’re all going to the same place, so it only makes sense that we would escort her.”

“Sounds like a lot of trouble to me,” I snorted.

Lily shook his head, not saying anything as we walked to Fairy Hills. Levy was locking the gate as we approached. She turned and greeted us with a smile when Lily said hello. “Hey guys,” she grinned. She was wearing a green sundress that reached the middle of her thighs, and the top tied around her neck. Around the middle was a white bow, matching the silk ribbon in her hair that she used to hold her bangs back, and the white flats on her feet.

“Is something wrong?” Levy asked, frowning as she looked down at herself.

“Hm?” I shook myself, cursing quietly as I scolded myself for acting like an idiot. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

“Okay,” she nodded, frowning down at Lily who I saw shrug. He glanced up at me and chuckled to himself, shaking his head in that way he always did when he knew something I didn’t. Damned cat.

“You look nice,” I mumbled as we walked, knowing I should probably say something.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked up at me as if I had said something startling. “Oh. Th-thank you.”

It fell silent again after that, and I wondered why she had gotten so flustered over a little comment. I heard Lily chuckle, so I glared down at him. “What?” I snapped.

He merely shook his head, a knowing smirk never leaving his face. “Nothing.”

I grumbled, wondering what the hell was so funny. We walked in silence, and I was actually thankful when we finally reached Deidre’s house. I knocked on the door, and Deidre immediately threw it open.

“Welcome back!” She smiled, pulling Levy into a hug. “Come on in, I was just finishing up the salmon.” She led us inside, chatting cheerfully with Levy as we went.

“So, Levy,” Deidre said as we sat down to eat, “what type of magic do you use?”

“Solid Script,” she answered, proudly.