A/N: Finally another Jerza story! Really, I feel guilty I wrote so little about them when they're my OTP, but I'll try to change that!

Anyway, this is an AU, and they may be a bit OOC, but please, give the story a chance... I know I always wanted to see a Jellal that wasn't driven by guilt and had to live such a hard life... And I did try to make them as in character as possible. Of course, if you have any suggestions on how to succeed in that, feel free to write them! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own FT.

If there was one thing Erza Scarlet thought of as useless, that would be a matchmaking party. In her opinion, only desperate people went there, and she was, by no means, desperate. Yes.

So why the hell did she let her stupid friend convince her into going to one?

Sure, she may not have a boyfriend, but that didn't mean she was dissatisfied with the way things were in her life. She was in her last year of college, she was going to this great fencing club every other day (it's a great stress reliever), she had enough money to pay for her expenses, and she had the best friends in the world (though she might have to think that one over later). Really, she couldn't be more satisfied with her current way of living, but no, that was not enough for her dearest friend, Mirajane, who liked to poke her nose where it didn't belong way too much. It was like she was living off of other people's misery (though she always claimed she was doing things for their good).

Accepting the fact that there was no way out of this (because Mira would find out if she ditched it, and would make her go to ten more), Erza decided to go to the "party". She tried to convince some other friends to join her, but they were either busy, or had boyfriends, or were busy with their boyfriends. Of course, there was also Lucy, who simply didn't want to come. (That, or she didn't want a certain pink haired idiot to get the wrong idea.) What pissed Erza off, though, was the fact that Mirajane herself refused to go with her, under the pretense of already having a boyfriend. Right. As if she wouldn't introduce him to all of her friends, cousins and acquaintances as soon as she got one.

…

The party started at eight, so Erza started getting ready at around five. It wasn't that she wanted to make an exceptional first impression, but she surely didn't want to go there looking like a mess with legs. So, she first took a shower (a long, relaxing shower), then picked out some clothes from her closet while waiting for her hair to dry a bit, and then she took out her make-up set and stared at it for a good ten minutes before she decided to just put on a lipstick and mascara and get it over with. She was done by six-forty (well, her hair was still wet, but Erza refused to blow-dry it – that damages the hair a lot), and because of that, she made herself dinner, knowing that there was little to no chance of there being food at the bar the event was being held in. By the time she finished eating, it was seven-twenty, and she was ready to go. She took her little black purse and stuffed her keys, her phone, wallet and some other things inside, she put on black sandals with low heel, and headed out.

The bar was not that far away, so Erza chose to walk, rather than take a cab to get there. The temperature was pleasant, as well, so she didn't feel cold in her red summer dress (she had a black cardigan over it, anyway). While closing in on her destination, the only thing Erza could think about was how she was going to waste two precious hours (ten minutes per person, that's twelve people!) of her life stuck in a place she doesn't want to be. She probably shouldn't mention that to any of the guys, though, or they may get the impression that she was a stuck up bitch. She wouldn't want that.

As soon as she entered the little bar she didn't even know existed up until several days ago, she was greeted by dimmed lights, lots of flowers (mostly roses – red and white) and pink heart-shaped balloons. She had to admit that she liked the atmosphere – she was very girly, though she tried to hide it. She noticed that there were twelve small tables organized in a way that they were as far from each other as possible, most likely, to create some sort of an illusion of privacy. She turned around to see how many people already got here, and she was pleased to find out that most of the participants were already there. She didn't want to hang around too much, so, the sooner they start the better.

What unnerved her a lot, though, was the fact that she could swear she could feel someone's eyes on her and she was almost certain the stares were coming from the direction of that short, ridiculously dressed man with a blue rose in his suit pocket. He was giving her the creeps and she prayed that something would happen so that she wouldn't have to sit with him.

While she was stuck in her thoughts, a girl who worked there approached her, and asked her to take a seat. Apparently, the girls would just sit, and the guys would go from one table to another. Erza thanked the waitress, and the girl kindly smiled and whispered "good luck" before proceeding to inform the others about the arrangements. Erza looked around and noticed a table right in the corner of the room, so she elegantly hurried to it, before someone else could take it. As soon as all of the girls found a table, the guys were given cards with numbers on them, and the red head realized that the tables have been numbered. She was number nine (at that moment, she closed her eyes and prayed that the small creep got the card number ten – it would mean that she was the last one on his list and hopefully, by then, he would either find someone, or he would be kicked out of the event somehow). Her prayer seemed to have been somewhat heard, because the little thing dejectedly moved towards the table number eleven. Oh well. Close- no, far enough.

Erza didn't have any time to celebrate, though, because at that moment a man sat at her table, and some guy (probably the owner of the bar) just announced the start of the "Mission: Find your soul mate!" Oh, God. The torture had begun.

…

Five.

Only five guys had been at her table, and Erza was already at the end of her wits. She knew this was a bad idea, but she couldn't even imagine just how bad. The first guy seemed normal up until the moment he asked her "Are you interested in BDSM?". And the second guy was so horrible, she, at one point, actually wanted the stupid pervert from before to come back. The third guy was your typical playboy that had a too high opinion of himself, and the fourth guy couldn't keep his eyes away from her… chest area. Finally, the fifth guy was more or less normal, but he was obviously very uncomfortable, so those ten minutes were spent in awkward silence, or awkward conversations. Erza was more than ready to leave, and she would leave right away, if the sixth guy turned out to be some kind of a weirdo, as well. She didn't care that Mira spent a lot of money on getting her into this, oh no. In fact, Erza was thinking of suing the white haired woman for the mental torture she was experiencing!

As she mentally beat her friend up, another man sat at her table, and she had just enough consciousness to register that, raise her head and politely smile, just like always. The view that greeted her back, though, was far from what she expected.

The man had blue hair and green-brownish eyes, and a strange face marking on the right side (was that a tattoo?!). He was very handsome, and had a pretty smile. When she realized that if she stared just a bit longer, she'd look like a fool, Erza offered the man her hand and introduced herself.

"My name is Erza Scarlet, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise", the blue haired man responded as he gently shook her hand. "My name is Jellal Fernandes."

"Jellal…", Erza whispered, finding the name to be a bit strange, but not necessarily in a bad way.

The pair looked at each other and silence stretched for an entire minute before they both realized that they were wasting their time, and that they should strike a conversation.

"So…", Jellal was first one to break the silence, "tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, I am in my last year of college. I study law.", Erza replied, and Jellal nodded his head, acknowledging her answer. "You?"

"I am a doctor. I finished college three years ago, and I have been working since then."

"A doctor? That is an admirable, but also a tough job.", the red head said, urging him to continue his story. She was… interested, after all.

Jellal chuckled, and Erza blushed at the sound a bit, but still tried to keep her mask of indifference on.

"I agree, it can be stressful, but helping others can be quite enjoyable, as well. Knowing that you are making a difference in someone's life, that you are doing something good, it's an… indescribably good feeling.", he answered, in a low tone, and Erza found that she liked his voice very much. "But you as well, you have chosen a great path", he smiled at her, and the girl was starting to feel embarrassed, but also very proud.

"Thank you. I… find my choice to be a good one, as well.", she said, and by now it was obvious that they were flirting, though they met just moments ago. Not that Erza had anything against it. "I also practice fencing. It's a great way to relax and get rid of stress after a long and hard day…"

Jellal smiled and nodded, then eyed her - subtly but openly enough – and Erza felt a rush of adrenaline pass through her.

"May I say it's very noticeable that you train? You are in great shape…", he said after taking a look at her. "It's also a great habit. Very healthy."

"I try…", she answered, internally chuckling at his analysis. A doctor before anything, huh?

"So, I take it that you are pretty satisfied with your life, no?", Jellal asked as he leaned further into his chair, entwining his fingers. Erza was confused, but answered nonetheless.

"Yes… I can't complain. I lead a very fulfilling life."

And as soon as she said that, Jellal smirked, as if he had just won something. Slowly, he leaned away from the chair and towards her, and the scarlet beauty unconsciously leaned towards him as well. When they were mere inches apart (they were so close they could feel the other's breath), he smirked once again, and whisperingly inquired:

"Then, why are you here?"

At that moment, Erza's eyes went wide and she pulled away. She met this stranger, what, five minutes ago, and yet he seemed to be able to read her like an open book, as if he had known her his entire life. Realizing that Jellal patiently waited for her answer, his lips spread into a teasing smile, she decided to play his game, and confidently (at least she hoped so) answered:

"Well, maybe I wasn't satisfied with… Every part of my life.", she cockily replied, leaning her head onto one of her hands, while she used the other one to make her weapons more noticeable. She was never the kind of girl to use her body to seduce men, but this guy was just looking for trouble.

When she noticed that he had shifted a bit, and that his cheeks turned slightly pink, Erza believed that she had won, but, apparently, that wasn't the case. Because, a few seconds later, there he was, laughing so loud some of the couples from the nearby tables turned around, but more than embarrassed, Erza was, once again, confused. When he finally stopped laughing, he looked at her, smiling, but the smile was far from playful, as it was seconds before. In fact, he looked far different than he was before. And when he put his head onto his right hand, and lazily looked at her (still smiling), Erza couldn't help but think that he looked rather… cute. Not hot, not cool, but cute. She was so stunned with the sudden change that she almost thought he had somehow switched with his twin brother or something.

"You know, I don't believe you.", Jellal said, and pulled Erza out of her trance.

"Y-you don't believe what?"

"I don't believe you're here to hunt guys. You don't seem like that kind of girl…", he replied, and then smirked again and for a second the previous version was back. "Nice try, though."

Erza blushed when she realized what he was referring to, and awkwardly coughed and turned away, trying to compose herself.

"Sooo…", Jellal continued, and Erza looked back at him, slightly pouting (and he thought she was cute), "why are you really here?"

Erza kept quiet for a moment, then sighed, indicating that she was giving up on the game, and truthfully answered her companion's question.

"… My friend made me come. She thought that I needed to find someone, so she made me come to this… thing.", she said, and for the first time during the whole night she felt relieved. Somehow, she knew that she didn't need to pretend in front of this guy anymore, and that made her feel at ease. "I don't understand, I never even hinted that I wanted a boyfriend, but she just… Sometimes she likes to mess around with other people's lives, especially when she's bored."

"Well, maybe she was honestly worried about you…", Jellal offered. "Did you… give her any reason to be worried?", he asked, trying to find out a bit more about the woman's romantic life.

Erza stilled, then made a puzzled face (as if she was trying to understand the question), and in the end turned slightly red and started stuttering.

"N-not really… I-I wouldn't say so…", she answered, and the blue haired man let out a chuckle.

"Tell me. I won't laugh or judge, I promise.", Jellal said, and Erza eyed him skeptically, but when she saw the honesty on his face, she gave in.

"… I haven't had a boyfriend in seven months. Mira thought it was about time I got over it and started looking for someone else, but it's not like I was still sad about-", she started, but shut her mouth the moment she heard a subtle laugh from the other side of the table. Offended, she glared at him, feeling a bit disappointed that he didn't keep his promise, but when he noticed that, he immediately stopped laughing and explained himself.

"No, no, I wasn't laughing at you or anything, it's just… Want to hear something funny?", Jellal said, and Erza nodded, interested in what he would say, and what kind of an excuse he'd try to use. "… My friend made me come, as well.", he said while smiling, and she was a bit shocked. Jellal continued his story. "I… had a very long relationship with a certain girl, and I believed that everything was going great. Four months ago, though, I found out that she didn't share my opinion, so we broke up after three years of dating…"

Erza initially didn't say a thing, but then smiled sympathetically, and (unconsciously) reached for his hand – her instincts kicked in and she temporarily forgot the situation she was in. "It must have been tough on you, breaking up after so much time of being together.", she said, still unaware that she was holding his hand (he was blushing, but he didn't retreat it).

"That… Wasn't the… worst part, I guess I should call it that way?", Jellal said after regaining his composure (though he could still feel his heart beat madly, and he prayed that his hands weren't sweaty). "About a week ago, I found out she was pregnant, and that she was getting married. That was what shocked me. I guess I just didn't think she would be able to move on so soon…"

"Well, she is a very quick woman, if I may say.", Erza said, while being unable to completely comprehend how could someone let go so easily and move on so fast – it didn't make sense to her (and it made even less sense if you looked at her ex – what was that woman thinking?).

"Anyway, when my friend heard about it, he said that I should move along as well, so he sent me here and, well… The rest is history.", he said with a kind smile, and she finally retreated her hand when the awkward realization hit her. Still, she found their situation to be sort of amusing, and she didn't fail in showing that.

"Then we're the same, huh?", she asked while laughing, and he laughed a bit as well, before looking at her in a way that made Erza's heart skip a beat.

"We're the same."

They looked at each other for a bit, smiling (and blushing), before Erza looked at the clock next to her.

They had two minutes left.

Feeling her mood drop, she turned around and saw that the man she was having so much fun with realized the same thing she did. His expression turned sour and he didn't try to disguise his disappointment.

"… How much longer?", he asked.

"… Two more minutes.", she replied.

He sighed, before looking around, then returning his gaze to her.

"I don't really want to return to that mess, though."

"Me neither.", Erza said. She then started searching for something, and when she found it, she scrunched her nose in disgust and moved her chin in the displeasure's direction.

"Do you see that guy? The one at the table four?"

Jellal turned around, and when he saw the one she was talking about, he furrowed his brows in confusion, then returned his attention to her.

"What about him?", he asked, slightly disturbed by what he saw.

"He's been… keeping an eye on me since the beginning, and he really makes me uncomfortable. I don't want him to come to my table.", Erza replied, and then continued speaking, a bit too worked up. "In fact, I don't want anybody else to come to my table! All of the guys that came were just so… So…!", she said, very annoyed, but then she remembered something. "Well, all of them… Except… You", she said the last part very quietly, but Jellal heard it, and soon they were both bright red and squirming embarrassed.

They were pulled back to reality, though, by the man who announced that everyone had only one more minute before they had to change the table. Jellal and Erza both stilled, and looked into each other's eyes as they both thought the same thing: "What now?"

The seconds kept ticking by, and Erza grew more and more restless, while Jellal seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, he seemed to have remembered, or realized something, so he got up, grabbed the surprised Erza's hand, and told her to follow his lead.

"Don't worry, I have an idea.", he winked at her, and she blushingly nodded, and found herself being dragged to the man who organized everything.

"Excuse me!", Jellal said, and then he pulled Erza into a tight embrace, to which she wanted to protest, but kept quiet, assuming it was a part of the plan.

"We would like to leave now. As you can see, we've already found each other.", he said, and hugged Erza even tighter (she felt like she was going to faint out of embarrassment).

"Are you sure?", the organizer asked. "We're only half way through, there's still-"

"We're sure.", Erza joined in, and wrapped her hands around Jellal's neck. "I, at least, know for sure that he's the one I've been looking for.", she said sweetly, prompting a blush from Jellal (and her as well – why was she blushing so much tonight?!), and the female part of the staff (as well as some other female participants) collectively awww-ed, before the manager contently nodded his head, and put his arms on their shoulders.

"Very well. Congratulations, young ones! May happiness be always with you!", he exclaimed, and hugged them (shocking them both), before turning to the rest of the bar, who attentively watched the scene unfold in front of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are very proud to say, that we had just helped a wonderful couple be born! Let us all wish them good luck, and hope that the rest of us will find love as well!"

The whole bar cheered (well, except for a few girls that were sulking and that creeper that was, so it seemed to be, crying), and Jellal and Erza got overwhelmed by the attention they were receiving, so they quickly thanked everyone and ran out of the bar, holding hands and laughing hard. After a few moments, they stopped running, but didn't let go of each other's hands. They turned towards one another and burst into laughter again, but soon calmed down, and realizing that they were still holding hands, abruptly pulled their hands away, looking to the side.

"… So…", Jellal said for the third time that night, and Erza chuckled a bit, prompting a chuckle from the man as well.

"So…?", she ushered him to say what he wanted to, and the blue haired man gave in.

"Would you like to… Go for a drink or something?", he asked while awkwardly scratching his neck (but Erza thought he was adorable).

"Actually", she said as she linked their arms, feeling bold, "I am in the mood for sweets. More precisely, I am in the mood for strawberry cake."

Jellal seemed a bit confused for a second, before he smirked, pulled her close, and whispered in her ear:

"Then, I know a great little pastry shop just a few blocks away. Are you interested?"

Erza laughed again, and realized that she hadn't laughed this much, or had so much fun in a while, and she had an almost unknown man (and, okay, maybe Mira too) to thank for it. She had been so different from her usual self the whole night, but she found that she liked that version of herself a lot. And, who would have thought that you could come to enjoy a presence of someone you've known for only a bit more than ten minutes so much?

"Lead the way, stranger!", she replied, and the two of them merrily marched into the night.

A/N: Thank you for reading! :)

Edit: It seems that there are some readers that want a second chapter, but I'm really sorry to say this was supposed to be a one shot, and I don't have plans for another chapter. I might write another story in this AU if the inspiration strikes, but I'm not sure that will happen. Really, I'm so sorry!