Fairytale | Jerza | AU

46. Jellal's Past.

Erza's POV:

     He couldn't complete his sentence because I grabbed his jacket and pulled him away from the girls. "What the-?!" He said as he turned around. His eyes widened when he saw me and he started, "E-erza?"

     "What were you doing?" I asked him, aware of the girls' glares on us. "Apologize to them." I said sternly. He shook his head and asked me, "Did you hear what they said?"

     I replied, "No. But I heard what you said. And it was really harsh." Jellal sighed and grabbed my wrist, saying, "Let's leave." He glared at the girls and dragged me with him out of the store.

     Once we were out, I shook my hand out of his grasp and asked, "Why didn't you apologize?" He turned around to look at me and answered, "You don't need to know that. It's better if you don't..."

Jellal's POV:

     'How do I tell her...? She doesn't deserve to be called such things... That girl, I swear!' I tried to control my anger as Erza spoke, "Don't say that Jellal... It sounds like I'm nobody to you. It feels like we are distant... Aren't we friends? Then don't say that."

     As she spoke, her head was hanging low and her eyes were fixed on the ground. I felt horrible all of a sudden. I tried to explain, "It's not like that Erza! I-I didn't mean it that way... I'm sorry!" I bowed apologetically.

     I tried to peek at her face, but she was frowning. I straightened up and asked her, "What's wrong Erza?" She replied, "I don't know why, but I feel like you try to close people out... Try to not make them a part of their life. I don't know why things are different with me and the girls...

     "But I think you behave that way. No one would get close to you if you behave like that, but they won't know the true you without getting close to you... Why are you doing this?" She looked up and stared right into my eyes.

     "I-I..." I started, not really sure what to say. Erza patiently waited for me to speak further. I frowned, 'How did the conversation reach here? I was just angry at the girl for calling Erza that... I would like to change the topic, but that won't be the wise thing to do...'

     I sighed and said, "It's a long story... Let's sit somewhere." I looked around and saw a cafe at the corner. "Let's go there." I said, pointing to the cafe. Erza nodded and followed me as I made my way through the snow.

     Once inside the cafe, we sat at a table near the window, away from the few people present there. We ordered two hot chocolates and waited for them to arrive.

     "So... I am actually surprised you have a reason for acting like a prick." Erza said, a small smile on her face. I was taken aback but I smiled as I replied, "It's not a reason as such... It's more like... A cause?"

     Although I said that, I wasn't sure of the truth myself. Erza nodded and said, "Okayy... Then 'cause' of your behaviour..." I gave her a curt nod before starting, " So... It started I think... About eight years ago.

     "My parents worked in Law Enforcement. I'm not sure what exactly their position was, but both of them worked late and were rarely there for me. When they were, I cherished those moments... They did their best to show me their love, and I do appreciate their efforts...

     "But you know, even though I knew that they loved me, their love seldom reached me. Then one night, eight years ago... You know Zeref, right?" I asked Erza, though it was rhetorical question. She nodded her head and I continued, "Well, when he attacked the South side, my parents were called.

     "It was one of those rare times that my parents were with me. That night I remember, I woke up due to some noises and saw them getting ready to leave. I was upset that they were going to leave me again. So I put up a tantrum. I was what, ten? I think, at that time.

     "I cried and I cried. Mom somehow convinced me to stop and said that they'll be back tomorrow by the time I wake up. She said that she promised. Then they left. I cried myself to sleep that day. I was so upset, angry and sad... "

     I paused as a waitress brought us our hot chocolate. I took my mug and thanked her before watching her walk out of earshot. I sipped on the chocolate and continued, "The next morning... I woke up to find the house empty. They weren't back.

     "From the news, I found out about Zeref... And I realised what my parents were doing. I could pretty much take care of myself, since my parents were out like that a lot.

     "A week later, some soldiers and people from law enforcement came and told me that my parents had died a brave death while fighting Zeref. They had left me all alone, forever..." I took another sip of the chocolate. Erza sat in silence, sipping on her own chocolate and taking it all in.

     "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to remind you of all that stuff... I'm really sorry." Erza said after a moment. I shook my head, "It's alright. I think I have moved on. But... Something in me changed."

     "I stopped talking to new people. I stopped trying to make new friends. Everyone knows how much I stuck to those four. Gray, he's almost like a brother to me. Silver, his dad, pretty much raised me after my parents died.

     "Gray lives near me, so Silver used to come almost everyday to check on me. Or he would call me over to stay with them. I owe Silver a lot. I'm grateful I had him at that time." I smiled sadly and looked at Erza.

     She silently parted my hand before saying, "I feel like I understand you a lot better now. I can literally understand why you did what you did... Even though it dosen't really justify some actions..." She trailed off, and I chuckled.

     "I know. That's why I tried to change when you pointed it out to me. I never really realized how deep I was in self pity, how much I ignored the feelings of others because I thought I was more hurt. So, thank you, Erza." I smiled.

     She blushed and replied, "I'm glad to have helped you. But!" She glared at me before saying, "What about that girl just now? Why were you so harsh to her?"

     I sighed, "Do I have to tell you? Just stay happy knowing that what I said was to defend a friend. What the girl said, she was in the wrong..." Erza eyed me suspiciously, trying to find something that gave away a lie.

     "I believe you. But calling someone 'worthless' is not right... No matter what someone does, no matter how unbecoming, how wrong it is, no one is worthless." She said softly. I was surprised at the start, that she believed me, but as I understood the rest of her words I fell silent.

     "Yeah... That was wrong of me. But I'm not gonna apologize to her! I won't do that... No." I said, hoping she won't force me to. She nodded her head and sipped on her chocolate without saying anything.

     After a moment, she spoke, "I haven't told anyone other than the girls... About my mom..." She looked into my eyes and started talking. From then her conversation flowed. We felt so comfortable talking to each other. We told each other our stories, we talked about incidents in our life, some absolutely random events. By the time we fell in a comfortable silence again, it was dark outside.

     'I'm so grateful for this... Wait. We are together in a cafe. Talking about each other. Could this be like...?' I almost smiled. 'No. We're here just as friends. It's called hanging out. Don't be dumb, Jellal. She has rejected you once already.' I tore my eyes away from her as I sipped onto my third cup of hot chocolate.