Day 85- Gokun!

I kind of asked my mom what I should wear to a Gokun and she was frantic at first that I didn't tell her beforehand but when I told her that Jellal was also coming, she instantly calmed down as if the waves had never even touched the shore. How in the world did she come to trust Jellal so much? She helped me choose something casual, yet a little bold looking and something that would help me keep warm.

So, I went with wearing a cherry colored turtle-neck dress, with high brown boots, a warm fluffy jacket and a muffler. I complained that it was too much and that the Karaoke place would be warm inside but she wouldn't listen to me. However, after much whining that 'it really was too much', she decided to take off the muffler. And nothing more.

At least, I was one less cloth from sweating. I hugged her, wished her good luck since she had a very important meeting and left the house.

Anticipation ran along my veins like an adrenaline rush. I couldn't walk properly, instead, I kept hopping like a five-year-old kid who had just got her favorite chocolate from a stranger. It was around 4:00 that I reached the Orochi's Fin Karaoke place. I knew I came early than the others but I wouldn't have done anything even if I was at home, right? So better to wait than be late.

4:15

The wind suddenly turned chiller, as in foggy and frosty chill where your hands start to freeze. I regret not wearing the muffler now. The breeze wasn't strong but it roughly brushed my face.

4:30

I thought of calling Bob and asked him where he was but since he said at 5, I decided to wait a bit more.

4:40

I sat at the nearest bench under a planted tree but the bench was ice cold too.

4:50

I was restlessly looking at either side, hoping to see Bob or Jellal. But all I saw were more couples and more students passing by.

5:00

Still no one.

5:05

Bob appeared with a fine-looking boy and two pretty girls who looked as if they were from a very wealthy family. They had too much make-up on their sharp faces, they wore short clothes; ones that were above the knee and walked like divas.

"Erza-Chan!" Bob gleefully called my name. "You came!"

"Of course, I told you I will."

"I'm glad! Oh, these are my friends," He twisted a little to introduce me to his friends. "He is Eve." A guy my height, waved at me with a faint, nervous smile. He looked like a junior and that too a popular one. Bob then swayed his hand towards a girl with long, sun shaded wavy hair. She had a clip in a shape of a rose right above her ear. Her eyes had an alluring touch to it. She smiled at me as well. "She's Jenny and the other is Karen."

"Oi, the other?" She raised an annoying brow at Bob but looked at me and nodded. Karen had green hair which she accessorized with a green beanie. She had deep, red lips and she had a dozen bracelets dangling from her wrists and a dozen rings beautifying her fingers. She wore a flurry red coat that she would use to hide herself from time to time to keep away from the cold.

"Nice to meet you all!" I bowed excitedly.

"Then, should we go inside now? I'm freezing here." Karen said.

"Yes, we should," Bob nodded and looked at me. "Erza-Chan, where is your boyfriend? Isn't he coming?"

"Ah...uh, h-he's coming. He might be on his way here now." I grinned.

"Oh okay, come on inside though, you will catch a cold. You told him the address, right?"

I nodded.

"Yosh!" Bob turned around and headed to the Karaoke place with the rest of them. I looked around for any sign of Jellal but all I could see was mist and frost.

Jellal-Kun...where are you?

"Erza-Chan?" Bob called out to me and I walked over to him.

--

Bob spoke with the reception and I happened to overhear a few words even though I was standing at the back.

"I had reserved a room."

"Your name, sir?"

"Bob."

"Aha, it's room 13. Your friends are already waiting in the room."

"They already arrived?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"Please, enjoy yourselves!" She bowed.

"We will."

Bob then turned around toward us, "Let's go, everyone!" He laughed and we followed suit. He knocked on the door number 13 and walked inside. As expected I was the last one to enter and close the door since I was a new member. I was surprised and turned a little nervous when I noticed that the other group consisted of seven people.

Bob knew one or two guys from the group and greeted them informally, whereas, the rest of us were unfamiliar with any of the members. Karen seemed a little tense because I noticed that a guy with long blond hair was staring at her as if he had never seen such a beautiful person anywhere and Karen kept averting her gaze from him. She did start to get pink patched around her cheeks though, so that might be a good start for the both.

We sat across them; Bob, Karen, Jenny, Eve and me.

The other group promptly, introduced themselves. The main leader who was a good friend of Bob was Rogue. He had short, jet black hair that covered a part of his eyes. He had this eccentric princely aura surrounding him. He appeared to look like a person who didn't express much but only when needed. Beside him sat a tall guy who appeared to be quite old from our age group. He had the darkest blue hair, confusing eyes but a mocking smile. I happened to notice a scar like a scratch on the left side of his forehead. I wonder what kind of story is behind that strange-looking scar. It was shaped weirdly. Like an infinite mark. "I'm Bora." He said in a rough but tender voice. Jenny giggled.

There was an impassive, dull looking girl that sat beside Bora. She wore all white and her hair was white as well which strangely suited her. "I'm Sorano." She said in a quiet, angel like voice. Eve twitched a little but didn't look at her.

Then there was this guy named "Dyst" who appeared to have a cool, uncaring aura. He crossed his arms around his chest as if he was forced to come here. He had grey hair with streaks of black. His eyes were threadlike but deadly when you gazed into it. However, he does look frightening you can't judge a person by their personality, right?

Sitting beside Dyst, was a girl who was staring at Bob with hearts in her eyes. She eagerly introduced herself as "Lamy!" She had a cute, short haircut which she accessorized with a pink ribbon. Her dress was cute as well, so were her bunny-like shoes. Overall, she was cute because she kept whispering to Dyst how cool and handsome Bob looked and how she would love to go out with him.

The one that kept staring at Karen was named, "Rufus." He was shy since he couldn't look at us while talking. But I noticed Karen chuckling at his cute behavior and then he looked at her but with utter softness in his eyes. So, I guess they would start to probably hang out soon and hit it off.

And last but not the least was a guy wearing glasses. He looked like a nerd or he probably was judging from the book he was reading so seriously. Rogue had to introduce him to us. "He's Lahar. Sorry, but once he picks up a book, he doesn't put it down and unfortunately, today he just bought a new mystery novel..." Rogue did seem a bit disappointed by Lahar's attitude. Although, Lahar did shift his gaze from the book to me but only for mere seconds.

Next, we introduced ourselves to them. They bowed, we bowed and the awkward greeting part was over.

"Then, now that we are done introducing ourselves, let the party begin!" Bob got up enthusiastically and handed everyone the mics that had been placed on a rack.

Everything was going perfectly. Jenny and Bora suddenly were together and chatting about cookies know what. Karen and Rufus—as expected—we silently sitting beside each other. Speaking only a word at a time. Eve was just sitting beside me, singing by himself. Lamy and Bob were singing a song together and then suddenly, Dyst approached me, told Eve to move a little and sat beside me. Sorano and Lahar were busy doing their own work; reading and sleeping. Seriously. Guess no one really cares since everyone is pretty much paired up by now. Except Eve, I think Sorano and he would be a good pair if they started talking. Just a presumption.

"Hey." Dyst said and I looked at him, jerking a little the side without him noticing it.

"Hey..."

I really hoped Jellal would arrive soon...why didn't he come yet? Is he still in his classes...well, he said he would come but he didn't promise me that, did he?

"Erza, right?"

I nodded. I tried as much as I could to not look into his redoubtable eyes.

"I'm Dyst." He said.

"I know."

"Would you like a drink?"

"N-no, I'm fine."

"Please, I insist." He grabbed two beer bottles from the table in front of us and handed one to me.

"I really don't want--"

"It's just beer," He smirked, raising an eyebrow. "No harm."

I sighed and stared at the brown glass bottle. He moved it a little closer to me, expectantly. I wasn't in the mood to drink it because Jellal had still not arrived but I was also anxious weather he would or not. Quickly, before Dyst would change his mind and place down the beer back to its place, I grabbed it and gulped down half of it. I choked but I tried not to cough. The tingling sensation was sensitively irritating my throat as the beer gushed down in a wave of cataleptic cells. Pushing down the bottle from my lips in a forced manner, I shook my head a little as the alcohol was gradually, just slowly, prodding my mind.

"Wow, there. Aren't you one aggressive drinker." He chuckled and I glared at him; unintentionally. "Cheers?" He clinked my bottle and took a small sip from his.

I couldn't help it. I took another big sip, and then another, and then another and the bottle was empty by the time I tried to take another. I realized Dyst looking at me amusingly. He laughed, shaking his head in awe. "You're amazing? Another?"

I shook my head breathlessly but he grabbed one more bottle from the table and handed it to me.

"So, Erza, I heard from Bob that you've a boyfriend."

I took a sip and wiped my mouth. "Yes. A pretty handsome one at that!"

"Hm, is that so? Then where is he?"

I couldn't answer him. The noise around me was too loud and chaotic. Chattering's and loud music were in the highest volume, making me feel pain and irritation. Yet, I didn't complain because it didn't bother me for some reason.

Instinctively, I took out my phone and called Jellal without going out. Dyst was looking at me humorously. But all I heard from the other side was, "The number you've dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later."

I threw my phone beside me and took another large sip.

"What? Isn't he picking up? Or did he switch off his phone?"

I jerked my head at him. "H-how did you--?"

"Only a guy can tell what a guy thinks and does." He smirked again.

"What do you mean by that?" I hiccupped.

"Well, he switched off his phone, didn't he?"

I nodded.

"Then, he must be up to something and he doesn't want you to disturb him." Dyst shrugged.

"Up to something...?"

"Yes, as in..." He moved in closer to me. "Being with some other girl while you're busy here with me, I mean, us."

"B-being with some other girl...? N-no!" I yelled but my voice wasn't enough to be called as a nuisance. "My Jelly is not that type of guy!"

"Don't all girls think that about their boyfriends? Girls surely are emotional fools." He chuckled.

"Emotional—How dare you...My Jelly would never--" I got up from my seat in anger, the rage burning inside me for reasons unknown. However, I forgot that I was ultimately drunk. My legs wobbled and I tottered back, but someone caught me before I could hit my head to the linoleum.

The focus was imperfect but I figured who it was. Dyst.

He looked at me worriedly. "Gee, how can you get drunk in just two bottles?"

I tried to get up, away from him because he said things I didn't like and things that annoyed the heck out of me. But, my body wasn't in balance. I fell again and he caught me again.

My head was spinning, or maybe the world was spinning like a top...

"Let's get you home. Well, I don't know where you live but you could tell me the directions, right?" He asked, still not letting go of me.

I don't remember if I nodded or not but the next thing I knew was that Dyst was telling Bob that we were leaving early and then Bob tried to argue to stay because my boyfriend was going to come and if he doesn't see me here, he's going to get worried. But Dyst said he won't come and Bob had no choice but to agree after seeing my drunken condition. I hiccupped a lot, and I remember laughing and then crying because Jellal wasn't beside me. And complaining that he betrayed me...Ugh, why did I drink?

Dyst held me close to him since gravity wasn't my best friend anymore. Everything seemed sloped and hill-like to me. I was feeling sleepy but not sleepy at all which was weird. I kept repeated Jellal's name as we got out of the Karaoke room. We walked a few steps towards the exit but instead of exiting, Dyst gently placed me by the wall and pushed back my hair. "Erza, you know, you really interest me."

"Huh?" I hiccupped and frowned at him. My eyes were blurry and his words were like loud ringing bells. Unclear but loud.

"Beer..." I murmured. "Get me some beer...let me drown myself in my emotions."

"You really have no idea what you're talking, right?" He snickered.

"You are Dyst, right?" I narrowed my eyes at him, wobbling a little to the front. He caught my waist and lightly pushed me back again.

"Yes, I am."

"Dyst-San, why do guys play with girl's feelings...?" I hiccupped and quickly caught my head as an excruciating sting crawled through my brain.

"Hm--" He placed his hand on my chin and forced my head to rise. "Because guys are twisted and corrupt fools." He smirked. "Every man on this planet has a beast hidden within and it doesn't come out unless it's provoked. And sometimes, it's at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Huh...?" I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again. I had no idea what was going around me. Everything was falling into faint darkness. I tried to escape from the tiny cage I was blocked in, however, Dyst softly pinned me to the wall and leaned in forward. "Sorry, Erza, but I think the beast inside me has disclosed itself at the wrong time and place."

"What--?"

And Dyst began leaning closer and closer, though, gradually. I had only realized he was doing something crazy as his lips was inches away from mine. So close that I had not time to push him and flee. The name I said before anything bad happened was Jellal's.

I shut my eyes securely and cursed myself for drinking too much and letting my guard down. How can I let him kiss me like that? How can I let a stranger do that to me?

But the kiss never came. The foul lips didn't touch mine and I slowly, but tiredly opened my eyes. I noticed Dyst fallen on the ground, his cheek as red as a tomato. I slid down from the wall, my legs giving up on standing anymore longer. Then, I looked ahead of me and saw a pair of feet. I looked up and the figure progressively came to be.

"J-Jellal...Kun..."

He knelt and I hiccupped. He sighed. "How many bottles of beer did you drink?"

I showed two of my fingers. "Huh? Just two and you're like this?"

I smiled dumbly. Forgetting all that had happened, I was relieved and happy that Jellal came.

"Couldn't you have waited for me?" His words were dipped in anger but even if I was drunk, I could see he wasn't angry. Rather, a cloak of concern had masked his face.

"I'm sorry..." I fell forward, burying my head in his chest. I could feel his chest heaving ever so lightly. He placed his hand on my back and his head on mine. "You're really annoying, Scarlet."

"I'm sorry..." I muttered again.

"Let's get you home."

"One more beer..."

"Forget it." He grabbed my hands and pulled me up with him.

"One more--"

"Shut up."

I tottered again and I felt like I was about to throw up. Fortunately, I didn't. Jellal held my waist and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms. His face looked even more handsome from this angle. His sharp jaw stood out so...sharply. And I didn't notice this before but he had long eyelashes.

Jellal walked but stopped. I was already on the brink of sleeping. "Oi," He spoke. "The next time I see you anywhere near her—You're gonna pay." He said in the coolest voice ever. Jellal suddenly turned into my knight in shining armor. He saved the damsel in distress!

Dyst didn't say anything but probably might have clicked his tongue or stomped away either back to the Karaoke room or the exit.

Jellal walked again and after a few minutes, I felt a cold air touch my face. The wind was blowing and my hands were freezing. But being near Jellal, just being in his arms kept me warm.

I hiccupped again. He sighed again and that was the last sound I heard and Jellal's face was the last light I saw before I fell asleep.

--

I felt like I was in a blanket, all warm and cozy and Jellal's name was still at the tip of my tongue. The beer was losing its power and I might have opened my eyes for just a second and saw my room's ceiling. I tried to look around but failed on doing so and closed my heavy lids again.