Late update? I know. Sorry. It's school again. And it was my birthday last Tuesday so.. gomenasai! Here's a birthday treat: double update.
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{Gajeel’s POV}
“Boys. I have something very important to announce.” Zeref had a very straight face as he let us sit down in the couch.
Natsu looked up from reading a book, (I don’t know if he’s really reading it because if you think about it, someone might expect it was a joke.) “What will it be?”
“I’d have to quit as your manager.” Jellal, who was eating a jelly, suddenly yelped, his plate of jelly crashing over to Gray’s face with a splat.
Zeref stifled a laugh as we did, forgetting about what he just told us earlier. It was really funny! You see, Jellal was eating a jelly, right? Well, the tangerine jelly went inside his nose. It’d be so gross to see him nose-picking. It’s so not him at all.
“Dude, just.. what the heck! How are you gonna get that out of your nose?” Gray inquired. When his face was full of jelly and sticky, he was actually pissed off. But when he saw Jellal with a horrified look on his face and a jelly with some boogers dangling over his nose, he couldn’t help but laugh. Just the mere thought of it makes me in such a good mood! Zeref was rolling over the floor already from laughing too much with tears in his eyes!
“I’m gonna have to go to the bathroom,” he said, careful over the jelly (with some boogers.. pft) in his nose. He ran over to where the comfort room was, leaving us laughing up to no good.
We were still not over the whole thing yet when all of a sudden, Zeref cleared his throat. That’s when I remembered what he last told us. He wasn’t serious, was he? Him leaving the band as our manager? Ridiculous.
“So....” I started to shift my body weight from left to right uncomfortably as he let go of a single word. Natsu and Gray composed themselves after awhile, although they were still chuckling.
“Back.” the concentration on Zeref’s announcement was lost when Jellal strolled by beside us. We burst out laughing, unable to hold our laughs any longer. Zeref laughed the hardest, and in turn we received the scariest glare I have ever seen. So much for having fun.
“Ahem. I’m not gonna have any interruptions now, understand?” we all nodded at Zeref. “As I was saying, I’m gonna quit as your manager.”
“No!”
“Psh. Not funny.”
“Really?!”
“Why!?”
We asked so much more questions that made Zeref look frustrated. “Quit asking and listen up!” he shouted, scowling. We piped down from the questions and waited for him to continue. “I’m gonna have to quit because I’m engaged. The name of my fiancé is Mavis Vermillion. Yes, you heard it right. Mavis Vermillion, the manager of the Color of Girls. In a few months, we’re getting married, so we’d have to plan our wedding and stuffs like that. I’ve been meaning to tell you about this for awhile, but I was just finding the right time. I hope you could all forgive me.”
I stood up, slamming my palms on the table. “You’re not quitting, and that’s final. If we’d have to force you not to leave, then we’ll do so.” I proclaimed, determination filling my voice.
“You cannot stop me, young man. You should just accept it – Zeref Dragneel is not your manager any longer. You just have to sign this contract, and it’ll all be over.” he gave each one of us papers. Indicated on the paper was the agreement we made that once our manager told us that he’d be leaving, we should respect his decision. All we have to do, as Zeref said, was to sign the contract.
I saw Gray and Natsu crumple the paper and threw them at the floor. Without a word, Jellal left the living room. Zeref tried to stop them as much as he can, but he couldn’t.
I stayed on my seat, doing nothing. I was utterless, if you’d ask me. It was a very shocking revelation. Of all people, his fiancé was Mavis. Now, I’m supposed to be mad or pissed off at Zeref. But no I’m not. Instead, I was filled with zeal and enthusiasm. “Gajeel.. I’m sorry. I know that right now, you might be angry at me, but really, I’m sorry.”
I have changed my mind. “Hey. Don’t think that I’m mad or anything. I’m actually glad. I’m not mad not because I want for you to think that I’m not an immature person and that I mull through things thoroughly, but because I understand what you want to happen. I don’t want to be a burden for you. As your lil brother, I want for you to live your life to the fullest and be happy.
“I’m happy that you were honest and still told us the truth that we’ve been yearning for. I admit that at first, I was really disagreeing about you quitting the band. But as I learned the reason as to why you didn’t tell us sooner, I accepted your decision. You don’t want us and the Color of Girls to be in a fight along with the fans. You desired peace so you kept the secret for yourself.
“Zeref, thank you for everything. Thank you for being with us when we needed you, especially when we have problems. Thank you for being our big brother. Sorry for being childish and annoying sometimes. Now if that’s what you want – to quit being our manager, then I’ll set you free.” I might sound cheesy, but whatever. I quietly signed the contract Zeref had made and gave it to him.
Zeref looked like he was about to burst out in tears, but before I could see his dramatic tears, I hugged him. Our manly hug. “Thank you for understanding. I appreciate it a lot. I will never forget the four of you. I know we’ll still meet again, because of course Natsu is my brother.” he grumbled under his breath, loosening the hug.
“Big bro, stop crying. It doesn’t suit you.” I tried to lighten the mood up, but failed. I didn’t even know that I was in the verge of crying as well. So much for being a strong man. He half-laughed and half-cried, blabbering things like I was rude.
“Anyways, back to the topic.” I said after almost endless chattering. “I’m gonna try convincing Natsu, Gray, and Jellal about the concern right now as much as I could. You could take a short nap if you want while I insist them.”
“Thanks again. I need to sleep right now. I haven’t been sleeping for 3 straight days. The cause? Depression.” he snickered. I just laughed and left him taking a nap on the couch.
I knocked at Natsu’s room. I’m sure they’re all inside. “Hey, guys.” They never answered and so I opened the door and saw Natsu’s dirty room filled with plastic bags of food. To be seen at the three corners of the room were Gray, Natsu, and Jellal. They were sulking at Tamaki’s corner.
“Look, guys. Everything is just super easy. You just have to sign the contract. We could always find a new manager!” I exclaimed, fuming. I wanted to rest, but I musn’t unless they sign the contract.
Natsu stood up, eyebrows knitted. “No. We will not sign the contract. That’s final. Why should we sign? And after signing the contract, we’ll lose him as our manager. Do you think finding our manager is that easy? No! Of course not! We’d have to sign lots of papers to get a new manager. We must temporarily stop singing for our fans. Without a manager, we wouldn’t have our schedule for the certain day. And we can’t have that.”
“Yeah.” Gray quietly mumbled and continued sulking. Jellal didn’t reply and just sat, a gloomy aura surrounding him. I was a little disgusted by that. Jellal isn’t a girl. He should stop acting like one or else he’ll never get the girl of his dreams, like Erza. She was a hard to get, I’m sure of that.
I returned my attention to Natsu, the leader of the band. I know I don’t have the authority to order him around. He’s very negative about the matter. Selfish, I may add. That’s the same thing to say about Jellal and Gray.
“Look, you just....” I trailed off, not knowing what to say any longer. I collapsed at his bed, very exhausted. Stubborn men. Wish I had a super power to change their minds. Ah! That’s it! “A free live concert to Pitbull’s concert? I’ll take care of the tickets, if you’d like.” Hah. I have a power. I’m such a genius, blackmailing them. They all idolize Pitbull, and it’s easy to prank them and make them say yes.
Or maybe not.
Gray, for a split second, had glistening eyes. But as soon as he remembered the situation, he went back to sulking. Jellal and Natsu had a straight face, not flinching. Jellal had a gloomier aura.
“There’s a way for me to not quit as your manager.” Zeref stood at the doorway.