Sweetheart

37

Can't wait to smell like fish.

Is that a new cologne you're trying? Doesn't sound too appealing.

Very funny. Switch jobs?

No way in hell.

Aina climbed up the stairs and flopped onto her bed. She raised her hands in the air and wiggled her fingers before letting both arms fall to her sides. She winced when her bad wrist hit the bed, carefully picking it up again and smiling when she saw the green start to come in. Her smile was short-lived. He was coming back in a few weeks. And only she knew how far his temper would go.

-------

Natsu took his stuff from his table and brought them over to Aina's so that he could annoy her. She looked up from her book.

"You were on time today."

"I was let out a little early this morning, so I actually had time to get here."

"Well since you're here, we can start to work on that project."

"Aren't you gonna rush through your homework like usual?"

Aina shrugged, saying that she had already completed the homework that she needed to get done. When she was asked how, she simply explained that she had been slowly getting ahead on homework so that she could have a day off.

"What are you reading then?"

"I'm reading ahead on the play."

"You're like, super weird."

Aina ignored him and turned back to the play. Natsu gently lowered the book down so that he could see her face again and motioned towards the door in the back of the library. He grabbed her hand and went to hold it when she suddenly pulled away. He gave her a questioning look, but he found his answer when Gajeel whistled for him to sneak out.

"You better go. I don't know Gajeel all that well, but I assume he wouldn't really understand you wanting to stay inside a library."

He gave her one last look before grinning and slipping out. Aina focused on the play once more, laughing at some scenes and jotting notes down in her notebook. She became distracted a few minutes later, and she couldn't seem to focus again, so she decided to give herself a break from reading it. Her psychology textbook was the next thing to be opened, and she started to read the next chapter.

-------

"So what's up with you and the salutatorian?"

Natsu raised his eyebrow at Gajeel and Bickslow, asking them to elaborate. Gajeel snickered and handed Natsu another beer.

"You seemed awfully cozy in that library."

"Yeah," he smoothly lied, "because our wonderful principal put her in charge of me again until that asshole comes back."

"For what? Anger management?" Bickslow taunted.

"Who knows, but it's definitely an interesting time."

"Yeah, interestingly boring," Gajeel commented, chugging his beer and tossing it to the side.

"How'd the courts go, my friend?"

The three of them turned to see Loke ducking under the metal bar of the lower level parking lot. Natsu groaned and told them that the judge told him he needed to go to a program for anger management.

"Gross."

"It's not like I just openly beat people in my spare time, so I don't get why I have to go through all that when I don't even need it. What's an anger management class gonna do? Tell me to not be angry at things I'm already not angry about? It sucks."