To the boy she loves, to the girl he adores

Chapter 10

"Call me if you need anything."

"Gray Fullbuster, get away from my sister." Jellal exclaims with a vein pops on his forehead.

The raven head smirks, ignoring his words as he takes his leave. But before reaching the door, he turns around and sticks out his tongue, toying with the older bluenette's irritation. Erza sweatdrops, she gives Jellal a nod and follows Gray back to his own apartment.

When they hear the sound of the door closing, Juvia feels her body tense immediately. She's now along with Jellal, her beloved brother... She should be happy, right...?

"Juvia, it has been a while..." his voice softened "How have you been?"

"She has been...well..."

But Jellal doesn't believe her, not when he knows exactly what happened to his little sister after he went Crocus. The kind butler at home has informed him everything, from the way his father pressured the girl to accept the proposal of a stranger to how he forced Juvia to give up her last name to how he kicked her out of the house in the middle of the night. He knows it all, his heart aches painfully as if there are thousands of needles stinging it, knowing the truth and yet, couldn't do anything to stop him.

Their family was once considered a perfect, loving family, one that had an undeniable love for music. Their father, Mr. William Fernandes, is a world-renowned musician and conductor with polished and flawless techniques in both violin and piano. His late mother, formerly known as Ms. Elizabeth Lockser, was a violin prodigy, a violinist who was able to get in touch with everyone's soul through her performance. Being born in a music-oriented household, Jellal and Juvia are destined to be the future prodigy of the classical music industry and yet, only Jellal is able to exceed that expectation.

Father, despite his great obsession with perfecting every single technique that is required for a musician, loves his mother dearly. He always refers to her as 'My lovely Elly', a nickname that Elizabeth adored. Before the accident that took away Elizabeth's life, William Fernandes was a man full of love and devotion for his family. He loves both of his children, teaching them the beauty of music and guiding them through every step of how to be a pianist and violinist. However, after the death of his lovely Elly, everything changes...

William pours his heart, his energy and his soul into his works and techniques, using them as a distraction to forget about his wife. He also pays more attention to Jellal, spending most of his free time teaching and training his son and neglecting Juvia in the process. The only few times that he actually pays attention to her is when he needs to sign a contract or a deal, sacrificing the poor girl's freedom to gain further success in his life.

When Juvia could not stay silent anymore and decided to fight back, he abandoned her, disowned her, forcing her to give up the name Fernandes so that she wouldn't bring shame to him. Juvia, once a princess, is now a pauper. Her once luxurious life was taken away from her in a blink of an eye.

"Brother, why are you here?" she asks "Aren't you supposed to be in Crocus?"

"I..." he lowers his head, staring at his reflection in the teacup "I ran away..."

"W-what...?" Juvia stares at him as if he just grew a second head "B-but why?"

Because he can't take it anymore. Because he can't stand his father's tyrannical behavior. He feels suffocated, like a pair of invisible hands strangling him. Since his mother passed away, Jellal has felt nothing but loss and despair. His father despises how he wants to play his music, to infuse his feelings into the sound of his piano, because to William, techniques are the only requirement for them to survive in the musical industry.