A/N: I know I know, I really shouldn't be starting another story while I have others already ongoing. But hear me out, okay? I've had almost enough of angst and action (This moment needs to go down in history, WOLFIE HAS HAD ENOUGH OF ANGST AND ACTION LET THAT SINK IN), so I needed to take a lil break from the dark side. This story is gonna be kinda drabbly, with short chapters, but it is basically fluff, a story about Jellal and Erza, from elementary school all the way up to marriage. Yea. FLUFF.

Also, please do review for Rose of Winter. I didn't get a lot of feedback on the newest chapter, and I really do wanna know what you guys think. Also, Starcatcher will be up soon (I think?). Haha, anyway, read on, and enjoy. Reviews are much appreciated, and I'm grateful to you all for sticking by my side through all the drama. Love you guys!

Chapter 1: Hallways

Eighth Grade

Erza Scarlet did not like her math class. First, who cared what the quadratic formula was all about? It wasn't like it was gonna help her in life. What, was she going to use it to figure out the distance between the words in her textbook? No.

Second, Mr. Gildarts, even though he was a nice man- bless his soul, had to be the most boring man to ever exist. He'd already put at least ten kids to sleep from his droning, monotone voice, and it usually took him like ten years to write out the answers to questions on the board. And bathroom breaks? Forget it. It'd be like trying to get a sloth to move faster than one mile per hour.

She sighed, running her fingers through her red hair, and decided it's more worth her time to pick through her dead ends than to listen to Mr. Gildarts drone on, this time something about Pi. If she had a more exciting teacher, Erza might have tried to pay attention, but at this point, she didn't even bother. So she leaned back in her seat, propping her feet up on the desk in front of her, and wordlessly picked at her hair, finding the pesky dead ends and ridding them of their worthless existence.

As soon as the bell rang, she was up and out of her seat, flying down the hall towards her locker, her backpack thumping heavily between her shoulders. She grinned mentally, completely sure that Mr. Gildarts didn't even see her dart out of the classroom. He really was a nice man, don't get her wrong, but his teaching skills were less than perfect, and spending another minute inside his stuffy classroom was going to make Erza go nuts. But now the class was over, and Erza needed to be at one particular spot in that very moment: her locker. Students parted like the red sea to make way for her, because a determined Erza Scarlet was not one you should hold up.

It was also lunch time, and she needed to catch up with her best friends.

Erza made it to her locker, and her fingers flew on the lock, putting in her combination at rocket speed. Opening the door, she shoved her much hated math textbook inside and reached for her lunch, which she made herself. She checked her reflection in the mirror, not out of vain, but because she almost fell asleep during math and she had to make sure she didn't smudge pen on her face like the last time.

"Erza!" someone called, a moment before a lean arm wrapped around her neck and pulled her into a tight side hug. Erza grinned, turning to the slim blonde girl standing next to her, a petite blue haired girl standing just a little bit behind.

The blonde grinned. "Hey," she said. "Ready for lunch?"

Erza nodded, and showed the blonde her bento box. "You betcha."

The blonde, Lucy Heartfilia, was one of Erza's closest friends. They met in the third grade, and had been close ever since. The blue haired girl was Levy McGarden, who joined their duo in the fifth grade. The three of them were tight knit, joined at the him. Erza knew she wouldn't be complete without the two of them. They all had their weird quirks: Erza's fierceness, Lucy's obsession with makeup, and Levy's inability to go anywhere without a book. It was the perfect combination.

"You made that?" Levy asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

Erza nodded, proud of her creation. "Yup," she said, eyeing Levy's longing gaze. "You're welcome to have some, if you like. I made extra." With that, she reached into her locker and pulled out an extra box.

Levy and Lucy squealed happily, jumping onto Erza in excitement. Erza sputtered, taken aback by her friends' sudden bursts of affection, but then paused, eyes locked on an approaching figure making their way down the hall. Lucy and Levy both froze, aware of Erza lack of reaction, and turned, eyes seeking out what caught their friend's attention.

Lucy's gaze darkened. "Isn't that Jellal Fernandes?" she asked, watching the blue haired boy walk down the hall, his ever present posse consisting of Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster present next to their ringleader.

Erza nodded wordlessly, eyes fixed on Jellal as he passed by, unaware of the stares burning holes into his back. Levy looked over at Erza, biting her lip.

"Weren't the two of you friends once?" She asked.

Erza nodded, finally tearing her gaze away from Jellal's receding back. "Yes," she said, closing her locker, a bit harder than necessary. Levy noticed this, but didn't say anything. "But that was a very long time ago."

"What happened?" Lucy asked, scampering after Erza as she turned to go. "Why aren't you guys friends anymore?"

Erza shook head. "I have no idea. He never told me, and I never asked."

"When did it happen?"

Erza shrugged. "I can't be sure. Maybe last year, just after summer break?"

Lucy pondered that. "Maybe it has to do with the whole, "girls have cooties" type of thing?"

Levy scoffed. "Yeah right," she said, firing back at Lucy. "Tell that to Jenny and Hibiki then. They couldn't be more glued to the hip. I don't think it's that, Lucy."

Lucy opened her mouth, but Levy cut her off. "It isn't that, Lucy. It's something else. Something happened."

Lucy stuck her tongue out, making Erza and Levy break out into peals of laughter on their way to the cafeteria. And although the Jellal subject was safely dropped, Erza couldn't help but wonder about her former friend, and what Levy said. Something must have happened for Jellal to change so suddenly. The question was, what was it?

"Bye, Mr. Conbolt!" Erza said, waving to her favorite English teacher. He smiled, giving her a thumbs up as she left his classroom, a big red "A+" drawn on the paper she held in her hand. English had always been her best subject, and staying after school to discuss her work with her teacher had always been a favorite pastime of hers. She smiled, hugging the paper to her chest, and made her way to her locker.

She quickly twisted the dial, opening the door. Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she took a quick glance in her mirror, checking to make sure her flyaways were still pinned back. However, she froze, making out a familiar blue head in the mirror's reflection. Spinning around, a gasp escaped her lips at the sight of Jellal Fernandes, standing a little further beyond.

They locked eyes, and Jellal began walking forward. For some reason, Erza stood rooted in fear, her gaze locked on Jellal as he came closer and closer...

...And he walked right past, not even bothering to give Erza a second glance. As soon as he passed, Erza unfroze, whipping her head around to stare at his back, again. Something in her chest broke that instant, unable to bear the sight of Jellal once again walking away from her without saying anything.

"What happened, Jellal?"

He froze, his back still facing Erza. She held her head high, holding back the few tears hiding behind her eyes, even keeping her lip from trembling when he slowly turned to her, gaze sharp.

"What?" he asked, voice low.

Erza's shoulders sagged. "When did things change between us?" she whispered sadly.

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened. He stared at Erza for a moment, jaw working soundlessly as he figured out something to say. Then his eyes closed, and Erza held her breath.

When his eyes opened, they were hard like glass. "Let it go, Erza."

She frowned. "Why?" she fired back. "Do you hate me?"

He stormed towards her, and Erza contemplated running. The furious look in his eyes would send anyone dashing for the hills, but Erza stayed put when she remembered Jellal was the best sprinter on their modified track team. There would be no point.

She pressed herself into her locker, shying away from the look in his eyes. As if noticing this, Jellal backed away, sighing. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking tired. "Erza," he began, saying her name as if it pained him. "Just... Just let it go. Please."

She stared with wide eyes as he gave her a look, something she didn't quite understand, before turning and walking away, leaving Erza breathless yet gasping for breath at the same time. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, leaning against the door of her locker for support, until she got a text from her mother asking her where she was. Flustered, Erza quickly got her things and made a dash for the door, Jellal's name hovering on her tongue.

Jellal walked as fast as he could away from Erza, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. As soon as he was outside, he made his way around the back of the building, leaning against the wall for support.

"When did things change between us?"

Jellal clenched his jaw and whirled, slamming his fist into brick.