Finding Forgiveness {Jerza}

Fragile Heart, Fragile Mind

"She looooves him," Happy squealed. 

I chuckled, closing my eyes for a moment.

"She didn't deny it!" Natsu said with a childish surprise.

"Stop actin' like a little girl, Natsu. I bet she's just tired." Gray said with his arms crossed.

"No! Whenever Happy brings up Jellal, Erza always hits him no matter what! And who are you callin' little girl, ice princess?"

"You wanna go, hot head?"

"I dunno Gray, maybe you should just 'Let It Go'!"

"I'll take you right here, you pink-haired moron!"

 I opened my eyes once again when I saw Lucy stand up, "Can you guys knock it off for a second?" She asked, coming in between them and pushing them apart.

They both scoffed, crossed their arms and looked the other way. Like children.

"We've all known you cared about Jellal but... Are you two...?" Lucy asked nervously.

I flushed a light pink, not used to hearing this question.

At least not when the answer was a solid yes.

"A-Are you blushing?" Gray asked, taken back.

"I...We... Yes, we're... Together," I said sheepishly, hugging myself from embarrassment.

"Told you, idiot!" Natsu grinned, enjoying Gray's surprised reaction.

"Ah! I'm so happy for you!" Lucy giggled, running over to me and hugging me tightly. I couldn't help but smile and return the hug, "You're gonna give me all the details a.s.a.p., right?"

"I suppose I have no choice then," I laughed.

"Congrats, Erz" Natsu smiled my way, looking proud and excited.

"That's great, really. I'm glad you're happy," Gray stated earnestly.

"Yay, Erza! Does this mean you'll stop being so scary?" Happy asked. I shot him a look, which made him back off a bit. I gave a small laugh at his reaction, then returned my attention to everyone.

"Thank you all... I'm glad you're all here, I don't think I would've ever felt better without the strength my friends bring me," I smiled fully, almost beaming.

Then my memory kicked in, and the image of Jellal in that ally came back to mind.

My smile dropped, and my worry kicked in again.

"What's wrong, Erza?" Lucy's big brown eyes questioned.

"Can you do me a favor?" I replied, looking around at them.

"Of course, anything." Gray straightened up, giving me his full attention.

"Can you all search for Jellal and Meredy and tell me how they're doing? The staff refuses to let me know anything until I'm healed, and I don't think I can wait that long." I spoke, looking at the ground.

"Man, I've never seen you so worried before. It's not like you," Natsu said in a concerned tone, "Hey! Don't you dare let Jellal turn you into a big ol' softie!"

I glared at Natsu; a fearsome and purely evil glare that sent him across the room.

"Sorry Ma'm, I'll never say it again, M'am!" He yelped, his voice high-pitched and full of panic.

"So, do you think you can all handle the task?" I asked, getting back on topic.

Lucy stood affirmatively now, confidence gleaming in her eyes, "You can count on us!"

"You got it" Gray said coolly with a hopeful attitude.

With that, they waved a goodbye and said, "See you soon," or "Be back in a bit."

The door closed gently and I was alone again. 

It was then that I felt the emptiness of the room. I took it in, slowly feeling the absence of their voices. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed them until I saw them again.

I tilted my head once again, and watched as the sky grew darker and the rain fell harder. A real storm was on the horizon.

I got up and sat on my bed, pulling the covers over me. I pressed my head against the pillow and let out a deep sigh.

'Jellal, please be okay...' My voiced carried through telepathy across the troubled skies.

I remembered what he did for me while I was fighting on Tenrou Island. His exact words still a perfect memory to me,

'Erza, don't give in,' He had said, 'You can do it...'

'Erza,'  My eyes shot open. 

The voice in my memory sounded too realistic to be just my imagination.

'Jellal?'  I questioned into the rainfall.