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Hey Readers!!!! So as you guys know, I just had my homecoming and it was very...magical <3. I met a guy there and well...we clicked. I feel like I just met my very own Jellal or something! We slow danced and everything!!!!! I feel so happy that i decided to write this chapter!!! Here's Chapter 16, ENJOOOOOY!
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Erza P.O.V
Ever since Mr. Fernandez introduced me to Mystogan-sensei, he's been my secret driver to and from. We had a little system: I'd wait outside of the academy until six, Mr. Fernandez would drop me off by 6:30, and then would pick me up at 9:30 and then drop me off three blocks from my house at ten. I stood out in the cold again, which I was getting used to, as the snow began to pile up. Mr. Fernandez came out and looked at me with shock. "You have to stop waiting here out in the snow! You'll get a cold!'
"It's nothing," I shivered. "As long as I can train, it'll be worth it.
"Yeah, about that," he sighed, "my brother had to go to a Kendo meeting in Kyota, so he's gonna be gone for a week."
"What!" I cried. "So I've been waiting here for hours just for nothing!"
Mr. Fernandez looked at me and sighed. "Get in my car. I'll get you something warm to eat." I wanted to resist, but I was loosing feeling all over my fingers. I followed him to his car, where he blasted the heat. I blew into my hands and asked, "Where are you taking me?"
"A café. I go here all the time when it's cold," he explained.
"Don't tell me it's a perverted maid cafe that involves girls with double Ds," I huffed. He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Do I look like that kind of person?"
I took a quick look at him, and then looked away. "No. You seem like the type of guy who'd go to those poetry slams with the rest of your smoking gang."
"Smoking gang?" He chuckled.
"Yeah, you and you're cigarette lovers," I chuckled as well. He chuckled again, which made me feel a little weird. His laughs were so dark yet pure that you couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't get enough of it. I could feel my face burning up a little. After fifteen minutes of driving, we arrived at the café, which was called Beans and Beans. It was shaped like an actual tea cup. "So...this is the place?"
"Yup. Been going here for twelve years." We got out of the car and into the cafe. Everything was so...white. Even the walls were white and circular like a teapot. The smell of fresh coffee filled the whole room. I whistled. "Now I know how Alice felt like. Don't tell me this place fills with coffee and pours it all out in the river next door?"
"Ha ha, very funny. Let's just grab a spot and get something to eat." We sat down and found our menues. I asked Mr. Fernandez to order for me, since I didn't know half of these fancy sounding foods. "Bonjour, I'm Tasha, and I'll be your waitress this evening! What would you like to order?"
"We'll, I'll get two Café de noisette and gâteau aux fraises," he ordered in fluent French.
"Excellente! Your order will come soon!" She pranced away, leaving my stunned at my teacher. He looked at me with confusion. "What?"
"Okay, how do you know French, and what the hell did you just order?"
"I went to Tiluana when I was nineteen for two years to study teaching. And I ordered you hazelnut coffee and a strawberry cake."
I raised my eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not a secret heir? You sure act like one better than me."
He smiled. "Nope. My mom is a biologist and my dad is an anthropologist."
"Whoa, that sure is...scientific. So, were they disappointed when you became a teacher and Mystogan-sensei became a Martial Arts master?"
"Nah, they were cool with it, especially with how far we got. I got a PhD in World History, Education, and Foreign Languages at such a young age, while my brother...well, you know."
"What about your sister?" I asked.
"She was the only one who followed into my parents' footsteps. She got a PhD in as a surgon who specializes General Surgery and Pediatrics."
"Wow...," I sighed. " Your family is filled geniuses."
"I've never thought of it that way. My brother was my brother, my parents are my parents, and my sister was my...was my sister." I ignored the pause when he mentioned his sister. I wasn't one to pry into others' business. I took a sip of the water placed on the table and stared at him. He took a deep breath and changed the subject. "So....have you gotten your costume for the assignment I gave you?"
I flinched. "God damn it! I knew I was forgetting something! I put it off because of the requirements you gave us!"
"What was wrong with the requirements?"
"You said, and I quote, 'One must wear the appropriate attire suitable for their gender'. You told me my suit of armor wasn't allowed."
"So you couldn't find anything else that was appropriate? None of your friends can't help you?"
I scoffed. "I don't have any friends, remember."
"Ever thought of actually making friends?" He had the nerve to ask. I glared at him, squeezing my fists. "I don't think that's possible. You've seen how they treat me in class." Before he could reply to that, our waitress came to our table. She put out two fancy cakes on our table, along with two steaming cups of coffee. She thanked us once again for ordering and left us alone. I picked of the fork and cautiously poked my food. "What is this?"
"You've never had cake before?"
I shook my head. "It has too much sugar. I can't handle it."
"Well believe me, you'll be able to handle this," he smiled, already taking a bite of his food. I cautiously picked up some of the cake. I slowly fed myself the strawberry tart.
Oh. My. God.
It was something I've never tasted before! It was so new, so fresh, so delicious! I could hear myself squealing as I continued to eat the tart. "It's so good!"
Mr. Fernandez laughed, "You seem to be enjoying yourself." I took a sip of coffee and continued to eat the tart. "Why haven't I tried this before!"
"I wonder that myself too." After a while, I sadly finished my tart, my stomach full. "That was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Now come on, let's go."
"Let's go? Where?" I asked.
"To get you costume, of course. You're my only good student, and I want that to stay that way." He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the car. He suddenly drove me to the costume store. "But I don't have any money."
"You'll pay me back sooner or later," he said.
Jellal P.O.V
I didn't know why I was doing all this. I mean, I was doing this as a teacher, not as a guy. I was just doing a courteous favor, that's all. I took her to the female section. I don't know why, but these costumes for girls were looking sluttier and sluttier every year. I sighed and looked through the stack of clothes. "Who are you going as?"
"Mulan," she answered.
I looked through the stack of clothing. I found a dress that caught my eyes. It was a white and red kimono-like dress. I couldn't help myself but to smile. I turned around and presented her the dress. Her eyes widened and she backed away a little. "No....no, no, no. You are not getting me in that."
"Do you want to fail this assignment?"
"I've never worn a dress in my life. Can't I stick with a sweatshirt and jeans with a picture or something?"
"Just try it on at least," I practically begged. She looked at me, and then the dress, and then back at me. She groaned an swiped the dress from my hand. She marched her way to the dressing room and slammed the door. I chuckled softly and continued to look at other outfits. My thoughts suddenly trailed back to the conversation I had with Mystogan back when I first took Erza too him. I sighed with frustration. I'm not falling for her, I whispered repeatedly in my head, she is a student; I am a teacher. "Well....I'm done," Erza's wavy voice called out. I turned around, and my jaw uncontrollably dropped.
She looked stunning.
Her figure fit the dress perfectly. Her long hair fell perfectly, with individual strands falling in front of her face. She lowered her face so that it was hidden. I softly gasped. "You look...stunning."
She presented the white sash and said, "I don't know how to put this on." I walked up to her, where she turned around in front of the mirror. I slowly wrapped my arms around her body with the sash and began to tie it. I took a quick glimpse at her face. It was red. I don't know why, but it made my smile a little. "You know, with out the tattoo on his eye, I can tell the difference between you and your brother."
"Oh really," I said, "how?"
"Your eyes," she said, "Mystogan-sensei's eyes are playful yet strict, while yours...."
"What about my eyes?" I asked.
"They're...pure," she whispered, making me flinch a little. "When I look into your eyes, I see pureness. That's something you don't see anymore." I finished tying the sash and looked at us in the reflection.
She was smiling.
I was smiling.
"I feel like I'm missing something with this costume...," Erza whispered. She turned around and looked over at the accessory section. She grabbed a beautiful white flower and handed it to me. "Can you put it in my hair?"
"Sure," I said automatically. I slowly touched her hair, which was silky and soft that I wanted to feel it even more. I moved the strands back and clipped on the flower onto her scalp.
She didn't look stunning.
She looked beautiful.
"There," I sighed, putting my fists in my pockets. "That should complete it." She turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. Suddenly, a tear began to drip down her eye. "When I was in the seventh grade, there was a party that I was invited too. My hair was short then and I wore ripped jeans and plaid shirts. When I arrived, I was mocked for looking like a guy. Someone yelled from the crowd that I would never be beautiful; that I would never look like a girl...That hit me hard in the head."
"Well, they were stupid," I blurted. She turned around and looked at me with shock. I didn't know why, but I continued. "If those people looked at you now...they'd think you were the most beautiful girl in the world."
Her face turned red, and she smiled. My heart was beating rapidly, and I didn't know why. To quickly change the topic, I said, "Well, it looks like you've found what you've wanted. I'll buy the dress and-."
"I've wasted your time as it is," she interrupted. "I have cash, and I only live a mile away. I could use the jog after that cake."
"But it's freezing out there," I protested.
"Believe me, I think I'm pretty warmed up as it is," she whispered, probably not intended for me to hear. I didn't want to argue with her, so I nodded. "Alright then...I'll see you on Monday?"
"Yeah...see you on Monday, Mr. Fernandez." I walked out of the store and turned around. She noticed me and waved a little. I waved back and walked into my car. I turned the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. When I stopped at a traffic light, my heart suddenly began to beat even more. I began to remember her soft skin, her silky hair, and how beautiful she looked in her outfit.
And that's when I realized what was happening to me.
"Shit," I said. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I banged my fist against the wheel, making the horn go off. I had ignored what my brother had said to me, and now it was coming true.
I was falling for my student.