Beneath the Surface (A GaLe story)

The Calm Before the Storm

"Hey, Wendy!" I said, looking her over, still feeling guilty. "Are you okay?"

She laughed, waving her hand at me. "I'm fine, I'm fine. How are you?"

I rolled my eyes at her with a grin. "I'm feeling great, thanks to you." She smiled, her eyes lighting up at the news. "But, Wendy, you should really worry about yourself first." I stared at her to make sure she understood, sighing when I was met with her blank expression.

Seriously... That girl would keep healing even if she knocked herself out in the process. "Wendy..." I started, searching for the right words. "Thank you, but seriously--"

I cut off when she gasped suddenly. "Oh my gosh, Carla!" She said, jumping to her feet and sniffing. Yes, sniffing. "I think Romeo's here!"

I laughed, covering it with a pretend cough. "Yeah, nevermind," I said when she looked at me and Carla, her eyes pleading to leave. I grinned at her and sent a knowing look to Carla. "Go ahead, I'm planning on heading off to get some books anyway."

She snapped her head towards me from her position by the door-- in her excitement, she had already skipped to the door while I was speaking. "But Levy, shouldn't you rest some more?"

I rolled my eyes at her, ignoring the small stab I felt in my chest. Did everyone think I was so weak? "No, it's okay," I replied with a smile, trying to act nonchalant. "I'm feeling a lot better."

"Yeah," Carla said flippantly, circling over her head. "She's fine, Wendy, lets go talk to your special friend." Wendy backed out of the room, spluttering something about how they were "just friends." Carla exited after her, glancing back at my tower of books and muttering how even Lucy wasn't as crazy as me.

I smirked at Carla and waved goodbye to the two, giggling about Wendy's comment. Yeah, right. No way those two were "just friends."

As I hummed to myself, still smiling, I hopped out of bed, ignoring how I swayed subtly. I didn't have time to lounge around in bed anymore. I had work to do.

I changed my clothes, pulling on a small, sleeveless orange dress that came up a little higher than my knees with a big, floppy white bow on the chest. I turned around, momentarily admiring the Fairy Tail guild symbol on my left shoulder, the corners of my mouth turning up in a faint smile.

Quickly, I packed the supplies I needed in the little barn owl backpack Lucy had given me. The tiny wings on either side of the pack bounced around in fake flight as I shoved various writing tools, paper, snacks, bandages, and even my Gale-Force Glasses into it. I topped off the pile with an assortment of advanced spell books for Solid Script magic before sitting back on my heels, contemplating if I could really lug the bag all the way to my training zone.

I shrugged off my worries with a shake of my head. "No," I muttered to myself. "Stop being so weak."

So without another word, I heaved the bag onto my shoulders, staggering slightly under the weight. As I turned, ready to leave, a glinting gray object caught my eye.

I walked back to the bed, already knowing what it was. I should just leave it... I thought to myself, but even as I told myself that, I was reaching out, closing my fingers around the metal rose, the chill on its smooth surface making me shiver.

I stared at the delicately crafted piece in my hands. Just throw it away!

But, against my better judgement, I hugged it to my chest, biting my lip. Before I could wage another inner battle with my more rational self, I hurried out unnoticed into the rowdy guildhouse, ducking flying drinks and sidestepping overturned tables on my way to the door, holding the rose to my chest.