Bound By Hate (Gale) {Book 1 of the "Bound" Series}

18: I Love You *MA*

Here we are again, at the last chapter! Well, the last technical chapter. THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE after this that I'll post later tonight. (: Thank you so much for reading "Bound By Hate"! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it! <3

~Levy~

I was so tired. It felt like I had been running for days... maybe even moths... but I had no way of knowing how long it had actually been. I couldn't tell where I was going, either. Everything was pitch black. It stretched out for as far as I could see—in every direction. I could have been running in circles for all I knew. Hell, maybe I wasn't going anywhere at all. But, even with those thoughts of doubt filling my mind, I continued running.

I have to reach Gajeel. I need to make sure he's alright. I need to tell him that I love him. The thoughts ran through my mind like a tape, helping to chase away my doubts. If it would lead me to Gajeel, I would run forever.

Suddenly, I seemed to run off the edge of a cliff. I fell down...and down...and down. I tried screaming, but nothing would come out. It was hard to breathe as air whipped around my face, so I took short, ragged gasps. Everything was still black, so I had no idea if I was nearing the bottom. Or if there even was a bottom.

It feels, so warm. The air around me suddenly wasn't as cold as it had been, nor was it leaving me breathless. For the first time since I had fallen off the cliff—since I had started having the repeating nightmare—I took a deep, filling breath. That's when I felt it. I finally hit the ground. It wasn't painful, like I thought it would be, but I felt heavy. I could also feel all of my limbs, something I hadn't been able to do in an eternity.

Am I going to wake up for real this time? Or am I just having another dream? I head shuffling, and I cracked my eyes open. I was in the Fairy Tail infirmary. I'm not dreaming. I'm really alive.

“Goodbye, Shrimp,” I heard someone whisper. When I turned my head and saw Gajeel, tears stung my eyes. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't get my voice to work. Finally, when he was almost to the door, I managed a small croak. “Ga...jeel.”

His head whipped around immediately. His red eyes were wide in shock as he stared at me, almost as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. “Levy,” he said, tears running down his face. I knew something was terribly wrong. Gajeel didn't seem like the type to get emotional, so if he was crying, there was something wrong. Maybe I really am dead.

“You—you were—“ He slowly walked over to my bed, the look of disbelief never leaving his face.

“Sorry,” I smiled, reaching out to grab his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and squeezed. With a shout of joy, he pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my hair as he held me. I cried against his chest, knowing I wasn't dreaming, that I really had woken up. I don't know how I managed to survive that, but I did. And Gajeel's alright, too. I had been so worried that something had happened to him during the explosion, but he seemed to be fine.

“Gajeel, what are—“ I heard Master gasp, but I didn't look up from Gajeel's chest. I never wanted to let go of him. There were suddenly a few footsteps running into the room, and several reactions very similar to Gajeel and Master's. They act like I was dead and came back to life.

Then I really thought about. Why were they all so shocked to see me? I knew I had to have been in really bad shape, but they act like they're seeing a ghost. All too soon, Gajeel pulled away. He sat in a chair beside my bed as Lucy's arms wrapped around me. She sobbed on my shoulder, mumbling things I couldn't hear all too clearly.