The Firefly Effect | jerza

5:00

I have twenty minutes to kill before Criminal Justice starts so I spend it sitting in the hallway, sipping my coffee. Lucy's skipping class because of a fever so I'm pretty much alone. I was hoping for a little bit of quiet time, but that quickly fades when Jellal sits down beside me, a slice of strawberry cake in hand. 

"You're early too," he says, stating the obvious. 

It takes a lot of effort to tear my eyes away from his cake. Where in the dining hall did he get that from? I nod. "Yep."

"I didn't know you were taking Crim Justice."

"I didn't know you were either. You have Ivan Dreyar?"

He nods toward the lecture hall beside mine. "Right over there."

We sit together, lost in thought, when Mirajane walks past us, head held high. Before we can utter a single word, she turns the corner and disappears.

Dismayed, Jellal stares at me. "Did you just see what I think I saw?"

"Mirajane...wearing pink?"

"With her hair down?"

"She looks like a unicorn with that...that tiny ponytail thing.."

We burst out laughing but end up feeling guilty after.

"It really changed her, didn't it?" I whisper. 

"How are you feeling?" Jellal asks at last. He digs into his cake with a plastic fork as if he were about to begin eating, but then decides against it.

"I'm really worried about Mirajane and Elfman. They don't have any parents or anything so losing their little sister will hit them especially hard," I admit.

"Everyone is, but how are you feeling?"

"I'm scared," I say in a hushed voice. "Do you think the murderer is a student?"

"I just don't know, Erza." 

Ivan Dreyar opens the door to the lecture hall and students suddenly appear from nowhere. Jellal stands up, brushes invisible lint off of his jeans, and hands me the slice of cake before walking away.

~ ~ ~

Makarov and Ivan Dreyar end up combining classes that day. Clearly, Ivan does not have a good relationship with his father so tensions are higher than normal. The room is also packed and I end up sitting next to a boy who keeps dozing off.

"The FBI is having trouble finding Lisanna Strauss' murderer- or murderers- so naturally they came to us, the Dreyar family, for help." Makarov pauses. "With the permission of Lisanna's only living relatives, Mirajane and Elfman Strauss, you will be aiding the FBI in the search for Lisanna's murderer."

"Is that legal?" someone mutters behind me.

"To add some incentive to those twisted people who don't think this is worth it, I will pay twelve million jewels to the person who finds Lisanna's murderer first," Mirajane says gruffly. 

I knew the Strauss' were well off, but twelve million?

"There will be a contract you have to sign," Makarov adds. Ivan Dreyar glumly begins passing the first person in each row a thick packet of paper. "This case will not replace any final exams in this class. You will, however, be excused from attending class. I will be here to help. You may not discuss this case with non-Criminal Justice students. You will be suspended if you are caught doing so."

I skim through the packet, feeling nauseous. The FBI was this desperate? I glance at Mirajane. She is watching me with careful eyes.

"Take as long as you need to decide," Makarov tells us. "Discuss with your parents, consult with me-"

I scrawl my signature on the first page, still unsure. Three pages into the packet, I look up at Mirajane. Her eyes are damp.

With utmost certainty, I flip to the fourth page.

~ ~ ~

The dining hall is awfully quiet. I sit in between Ultear and Natsu.

"Did you guys sign the packet...?" 

Natsu and Gray nod their heads in unison. Jellal momentarily looks up from his textbook and says, "I have to check with my family." 

"Same with me," Ultear replies.

"Oh," I say, because there isn't anything else to respond with.

I forget my hand is still clenching the piece of paper my math professor returned last class. 

"What did you get on the quiz?" Natsu asks, nodding toward the paper.

I hurriedly begin tucking it away in my bag. "Not good."

"I got an eighty-nine. Come on, Erza. Tell me! I won't laugh."

I feel worse now that he's told me his score. No way in hell am I telling Natsu I got a fifty-eight.

"Yeah, Erza," Gray insists, reaching forward. "What did you get? It couldn't be that bad..." 

He lunges for the paper and I jerk back, sending the paper flying across the table. It lands on the ground, right beside Jellal. I can see the low percentage etched in red ink glare up at me. If Jellal notices my atrocious grade, he doesn't show it. Natsu pushes back his chair to get a peek at the quiz, but Jellal scrapes it under his seat with his foot.

"Come on, man!" Natsu wails. I glower at him with such intensity, both him and Gray and sit down.

"Eat your food like a normal person," I mutter.

"Says the girl who didn't even get anything from the buffet," Gray retorts softly.

I pretend to ignore him. It's impossible to have an appetite after agreeing to find Lisanna's murderer and getting a bad grade on a math quiz. It's only the first week and I am done with sophomore year of college. I start to wish I had a fever so I could skip class. It would be a waste of money, but still...

"You should eat, Erza," Jellal whispers. He stands up and motions for me to do the same. "Come on."

My chest is tingling. I glance around the hall, wondering where my soulmate is sitting. 

"Okay," I say obediently, following him to the buffet line. 

He grabs a plate. "What do you want?"

I shake my head.

Jellal grabs an apple, along with two slices of bread, turkey, cheese, and some sort of sauce. A handful of salad, and....a tiny plate of strawberry cake. My eyes light up at that and he chuckles. "Finally. Some sort of response."

"It's been a rough day," I tell him, taking the plate of cake from him and heading back to our table. He's still smiling and I know he's judging me for eating two slices of the dessert. I find myself not caring very much.

"Erza," he murmurs. "If you need help in math...I can tutor you every other day in the evenings."

"I signed the contract in Crim Justice," I whisper urgently. "I have to focus on the case."

"And let your grades suffer?"

"Yes."

"Erza," he repeats, groaning with frustration. 

"Fine," I answer, realizing how ridiculous I'm being. "I'll balance both."

"Thank you."

"I should be thanking you."