We Are Young

Track 10: You and Me
..aka “On a Scale of 1 to Alzack and Bisca, How Long Are You Gonna Take?”

“I know from the sound of your breathing exactly what you are feeling.
This is why we make a good you and me.”
— Plain White T’s

She took the paper, opened it and sighed.

It was from a boy in 3-B. She immediately thought of Alzack — it was his class, after all, but the name was written on the bottom and she simply thought it was silly to get her hopes up too much.

‘Al? Who are you kidding, Bisca?’ she shook her head as she continued reading the letter. It was a typical ‘could you be so kind to meet me after classes behind the school building?’ request, and Bisca knew that she had no choice.

She’d go to tell the poor guy that she wasn’t interested, and that he was a brilliant guy but she was summoning up her own courage to ask someone else. From the numerous times she had been confessed to, she had learned that saying ‘yes’ when they asked if she already liked someone was the most effective way of ending the conversation.

“Bisca,” she was snapped out of her thoughts when the familiar voice of her best friend reached her ears. Bisca whirled around to see Alzack walking towards her. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Al!” she greeted back, keeping her hands behind her back. Bisca mustered up an easy smile. “You’re early! What’s up?”

“Cleaning duty.” Alzack said, then cocked his head to the side. “What’re you hiding?”

Bisca knew she should have known better than to hide something from the boy in front of her, though she was thankful that Alzack merely looked curious. She breathed deeply. “It’s a secret.”

Alzack nodded. “A secret as in let’s keep it between ourselves, or as in you’re not letting me in on it too?”

“Option B.”

“Okay.” Alzack shrugged. “Before you get mad at me for prying…”

Bisca gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Al.”

“I was being reasonable.”

Bisca quickly shoved the letter into her bag before changing into her indoor shoes. Alzack was still struggling to get his own shoes from the mess in his locker. “I have to go ahead, okay? I’m dropping by 3-A to return some of Levy’s notes.”

“Yeah, alright.” he replied, looking at her. She was already a few steps away. “See you at lunch.”

“Oh.” Bisca paused, then looked back at him. “I promised the girls I’m eating with them today. We convinced Erza not to hole up in the council clubroom for once.”

Alzack raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yes, and we have… stuff… to talk about. Girl stuff.”

“Ah…” The young man quickly got her point and raised both hands. “I back out. Have fun with the girls.”

Bisca laughed lightly. “Maybe I’ll drop by during break, okay? Bye! I really have to run!”

“Yeah!” Alzack called out, watching her retreating back. Just as she rounded the corner, he followed up: “Your tie’s loose!”

“THANKS!” was her reply, barely in earshot.

Alzack shook his head and went back to his rummaging. After a few seconds, he paused and sighed.

‘That’s the third time this month.’, he thought. ‘She’s just so beautiful.’

Really. Bisca should have known better HOW to hide things from Alzack. She only ever hid love letters from him. Anything else, and she was an open book. He didn’t know why. Maybe she thought that he’d tease her?

There was something more important than the number of confessions Bisca got every month, though.

Alzack breathed heavily as he found his shoes and dropped them on the ground by his feet.

‘When will I send mine?’

Then he chuckled.

‘I have to worry about what to write first, though.’

Bisca had told him that she would try to visit on their break, but he already saw that she was busy with cleaning up and that she was enjoying her chat with Cana and Gajeel. Instead of moping around because she wouldn’t be able to drop by, Alzack contentedly walked away from the window to join Laki and Mystogan in their conversation.

Alzack knew he shouldn’t always demand or expect Bisca’s attention. After all, she was one of the most popular girls in the school — the best of the archery club, a lead of the swimming club, a regular of the girls’ volleyball team, and even with her sports activities she maintained pretty good grades. Bisca was beautiful and friendly. He was normal — he blended in the crowd pretty much all the time. He was not smart enough, not athletic enough and not even cool enough. That was him — he was not enough, so he simply watched her and tried to gather what he could on paper. At first he thought that maybe he could write her a love letter like so many of those other boys did… and maybe he could confess. He didn’t want to mess up their friendship — they’d been best friends and confidantes since junior high — but sometimes he thought maybe he had a chance. ‘Why not?’ he always thought to himself, when there was enough composure in him.

Despite the rare bouts of confidence though, he was one of the people who knew how hard Bisca really worked on her extra-curriculars and on her studies, so he always thought that no one deserved a girl as awesome as her.

And those moments served as his cue to crumple the paper and ask, ‘Why bother?’

The girls— Levy, Erza, Juvia, Lucy, Cana, Bisca, Laki and Kinana— sat in a big circle with their lunchboxes, bags and other school things. They all methodically started eating their lunch as the chatter began.

“I’m so bummed that I wasn’t able to come with you guys to watch the movie last Saturday.” Laki started, pouting. “My sister visited me in my dorm and we hung out.”

“Mira-san told me they were short-handed that day so I had to come in.” Kinana said, frowning. “I wish I could have gone with you all, too.”

“It’s okay. We can just go out again next time.” Levy offered, then turned to Bisca. “How about you and Alzack?”

“I was helping my mom pack up. She’s going on an overseas business trip.” Bisca shrugged. “Alzack was out-of-town with his family to visit his grandparents.”

“It’s so sad you weren’t able to come, because some really good stuff happened.” Cana said, grinning slyly in Levy’s direction. The blunette giggled, and the rest of the girls blinked at them. Finally, Cana looked at Erza. “Right, Erza?”

Erza raised an eyebrow. “Y-Yeah, I guess? The movie was good…”

“Oh, come on.” Levy rolled her eyes, then turned to the others. “Erza brought Jellal along!”

“REALLY?!” Laki, Bisca and Kinana all said at the same time, looking at their startled student council president.

“You’re really dating now?” Laki asked excitedly.

“Since when?” Kinana followed up quickly.

Erza shook her head and pointed her chopsticks shakily at the girls. “I-I-It’s not dating! He wasn’t my date! W-W-We’re just friends, I wanted to introduce him to the others so… so… he can feel more at home here in Magnolia!”

“Keep telling yourself that..” Lucy said behind her hand, giggling.

Erza turned to her. “Natsu brought flowers for you!”

At that, Levy and Cana burst out laughing, Juvia giggled and Lucy facepalmed, while the other girls who didn’t know about it were gaping.

“He picked it up from someone who got dumped, okay?” Lucy sighed, then decided to turn the attention to Juvia. “You and Gray were getting comfy in that loveseat in the moviehouse.”

Juvia immediately blushed bright red, but spoke with dignity. “J-J-Juvia and Gray-sama are doing normal couple stuff!”

“But Gray was being sweet, right?” Cana said, poking at the blunette’s side. Juvia covered her face with her hands but nodded.

“Awww!” the others chorused, then congratulated the girl on the significant progress. They didn’t expect “Frosty” — of all people — to be good at handling a relationship.

“What else happened?” Laki urged Lucy to go on, and the blonde complied.

“Well, Erza was holding hands with Jellal — who she obviously isn’t dating,” Lucy giggled, ignoring Erza’s furious blush, “and hey guess what — Erza has to tell us about what happened after they went home together!”

“I-I-I will not be bullied into this.” Erza said decisively.

“But Erza,” Cana started, grinning again. “If Jellal is just a friend and you’re just friends, surely there’s nothing embarrassing or out of the ordinary that happened when you two were alone.”

Erza looked at her companions to see them nodding knowingly. They weren’t going to let her live this down. “Fine.” she sighed, putting down her lunchbox. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses first. “So as you said, we all went our separate ways, I decided to drop by Yajima-san’s and he came with me.”

“Cake again?” Bisca asked.

“No, I bought Master his favorite cheese buns. He asked me to take some home when I told him I was going out.” Erza answered, annoyed that they thought it was all about cake with her. “Then, as we were walking home, he mentioned this reference book for the mocks and I told him I was looking for that, and he said he’d lend it to me.”

“You went to his house?” Levy asked, excited.

“His house was on the way to mine, so technically, I just had a stop-over.” Erza insisted, nodding at herself and her composure. ‘AND we weren’t holding hands on the way, okay? I can walk perfectly. By myself.’ she said, looking pointedly at Lucy. “So we dropped by his house, and… well, I was surprised to find Romeo in there.”

Lucy almost spit her drink. “R-R-Romeo?”

“He was in the backyard with Mysto and Wendy, they were making a kite.” Erza smiled lightly. “Jellal introduced me to Wendy, and she’s just the sweetest little girl. She looked so happy and excited and I swear, she just… glows or something.” Erza trailed off, obviously very fond of the girl.

“I know.” Lucy nodded, looking at Levy. “I told you, right? She’s this big book-lover and she’s so sweet…”

Cana raised a hand. “Wait, wait, wait. All of Romeo’s friends are boys. Is our little Romeo being… you know, an actual Romeo?”

“Yes.” Lucy nodded, looking at the others. “He told me and Natsu that he thinks Wendy-chan is cute.”

For some reason that made all of them squeal.

“So then, what happened after? Did you stay in their house long?” Kinana asked, getting everyone back on track.

“An hour or so, maybe. Wendy was so enthusiastic about the kite fest so I just had to tell her some stories which weren’t about how great Natsu and Romeo were, because that was all Romeo can talk about.” Erza smiled, and some of the girls laughed at that. They all knew how loud Natsu and Romeo could be when they were bragging. “Then, Grandine came in…”

“You also met his mom?” Lucy asked, impressed. “Wow, Erza…”

“It’s not a big deal! I was in their house and it would be rude not to introduce myself!” Erza cried. “S-S-So then, Jellal introduced me to his mother, and she wanted me to stay for dinner, but… well, I had to take the cheese buns home so I just told her that maybe I’ll join them next time. Then she insisted that Jellal should walk me home, so I really couldn’t argue on that…”

They all looked at her expectantly.

Then Erza pouted. “When Jellal dropped me by at our house, Laxus laughed at me.”

The others laughed. That was Laxus, alright.

“He said it was nice that I have a suitor.” Erza rolled her eyes. “I had to shove Laxus back inside so I could thank Jellal properly and see him off, because my favorite big brother was being such a jerk.”

“Aw, but it’s nice; Laxus seems to approve. Did Principal Makarov say anything?” Laki asked.

“Master was taking his afternoon nap.” Erza answered, shrugging. “And Laxus pretty much just shut up at dinner because things are still rusty between them… kinda… but… at least he’s going home again.”

“Hm.” Levy nodded, and the rest accepted Erza’s story’s conclusion.

“May I ask something?” Bisca said, curious. “I just noticed. You girls all have these plushies hanging on your bags. Did you get them on the trip?”

“Oh.” the five girls looked down at their bags. Cana laughed and nodded at Bisca. “The boys got it for them, it’s really cute.”

“Really?” Kinana said, smiling at the cute little animals that dangled from the girls’ bags.

“See, we hung out on the mall arcade for a while after the movie.” Cana started. “And you know me, Reigning Queen of Cranes…”

The rest nodded. They all knew that Cana, despite being a tough girl who drunk like five men, was a plushie lover. She was the Crane Game Goddess of Magnolia Arcade — she was really good at getting what she wanted: one time she even got two plushies in one round. They all heard Gray complain one time about the ‘little stuffed pests’ infesting their flat.

“Well, after getting my fifth plush, Juvia said out loud that she thought one of them was cute…” to that, Juvia nodded with a smile on her face. “And because Gray was a good boyfriend, he told her that he’d get one for her too, and because Natsu is OBVIOUSLY BETTER THAN GRAY AT EVERYTHING, he decided to get one for Lucy.”

“What about Levy and Erza?” Kinana asked.

“Well, either Gray or Natsu mentioned that they’re not weak so they can get a plush, and Gajeel heard it and decided he’d get one for Levy.”

“He didn’t get one for me.” Levy insisted. “He just happened to win one and he thought it was girly, so he gave it to me because he didn’t want to give it to Erza.”

Cana shrugged. “Then I turn around for a second and Erza has one, too. I think Jellal might be competition for me.”

“It’s really sweet, though.” Bisca said. “And cute. How many tokens did it take?”

“I think Natsu and Gray just exhausted all their savings.” Lucy sighed. “They were at it for AN HOUR.”

The other girls laughed.

“I’m sure if Alzack was there, he would’ve gotten one for you too, Bis.” Levy said, smiling knowingly when the green-haired athlete blinked.

“W-What? Al? He isn’t even good at it.” Bisca brushed it off with a laugh. “He’ll probably give up on it fast, he’s not that patient. That’s why he digs shooting games.”

“No, I believe if he’s getting one for you, he wouldn’t give up even if it takes him the whole day.” Erza said. They all looked at her. The red-head blinked. “What?”

“Erza, Jellal changed you.” Cana said, faking a sob.

“WHAT?!” Erza blushed. “I-I-I mean… Alzack obviously likes you!”

They all paused.

Bisca gaped. “W-What-?”

“A-A-And you obviously like him back, we can all see it…”

“Erza, no—”

“Bis, you should just confess to him, so you two can be a couple and the handful of confessions you get every week will stop.” Levy said. Beside her, Juvia was nodding.

Bisca shook her head frantically. “No, you guys! Al and I are best friends and we know each other inside out, don’t you think if he.. likes.. or loves me more than a friend, he’ll tell me right away? I mean, he tells me EVERYTHING, so why not that?” she paused for a while, then continued. “And I… I like him very much, okay? But he hasn’t confessed to any girl — ever — and when I asked him about it, he already said he’s just summoning up courage to… to confess to this one girl, and… well, that makes me happy because he finally likes someone!”

“Bisca. It’s you.” Cana said, straight to the point.

“If it was me, he would’ve already told me.” Bisca insisted, smiling uneasily. “And besides, nothing has changed since junior high. He’s not acting weird at all. No new stuff. None.”

They all looked at her tentatively.

Laki then spoke up. “You know, we didn’t start a bet for you and Alzack because compared to Lucy and Natsu, which was a matter of ‘will-they-or-won’t-they’, you and Al… it’s ‘when-will-they’. We’re THAT sure.”

“I’m here, you know.” Lucy deadpanned.

Nobody minded her. They all looked at Bisca. The girl simply shook her head. “Girls. Al and I, we love each other, we’ve been best buds since junior high, but we’re just friends and nothing more.”

“They won’t listen.” Lucy said again.

“Yeah, we won’t.” Cana nodded.

“Nope.” Kinana shook her head.

“We’re waiting…” Levy hummed.

“Juvia thinks that Bisca-san and Alzack-san are just having a serious case of feeling friendzoned.”

They all looked at Juvia.

“Juvia means that… well, compared to Lucy-san and Natsu-san who are either slow or dense or both-…” the blunette looked at Lucy. “No offense, Lucy-san.”

Lucy sighed. “None heard. I don’t hear anything anymore.”

Juvia nodded and turned back to Bisca. “Alzack-san and Bisca-san know their true feelings but are just hesitant because they think the other only views them as a friend.”

“Juvia, that’s too much.” Bisca tried to laugh, but she knew that, at least for her, Juvia was right. “I really appreciate you guys thinking we’d be great together, but Alzack is just really my best friend.”

They still looked at her uneasily, as if finding it hard to believe what she was saying.

Taking notice of the green-haired girl’s unease, Erza finally decided to change the topic. “Hey Laki, you’re seeing someone, right?”

Laki looked up and smiled. “He’s in college…”

“Oh, a university student!” Cana said giddily. “Details, please!”

Laki willingly talked to them and the rest was reduced to normal chatter as they ate their lunch.

While they were busy listening to Laki, Bisca only sighed.

‘Am I THAT bad at hiding it?’

“You didn’t come during break.” Alzack said, fake pouting.

“I didn’t expect to be assigned on tidying up after P.E., thank you very much.” she said, then reached up to poke the guy’s cheek. “Stop pouting like that. You’re a bad actor.”

Alzack simply smiled. “You have swimming club practice today, right?”

“Right.” Bisca nodded. “Why? Wanna go somewhere?”

“I was thinking of hitting off the arcade, but… well, I’ll go with the guys instead.”

“So… why are you here?”

He shrugged. “Just wanted to see you.”

Bisca raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

He paused, then quickly said, “No. I’m actually waiting for Jet and Droy.” Bisca hit his arm, faking annoyance. He laughingly asked, “What?”

“I thought you were being thoughtful!” Bisca said, then looked back at the classroom to see Jet and Droy still packing up. “Jet, Droy, Al’s here!”

Jet looked up quickly. “Yeah, we’re comin’, man!”

“I gotta go. Aquarius-sensei will be after my head if I’m late.” Bisca said, tapping him on the shoulder and stepping out the room. “See you.”

“Yeah.” he said, watching her walk away again.

“Your hair is long, Al.” Cana said as she was making her way past him.

Alzack chuckled. “Yours too, Cana.”

Cana was walking backwards in the hallway as she called out, “Better cut it if you wanna impress Bis!”

Alzack blinked at the brunette and simply replied, “Go to work, Cana! You’re drunk!”

Cana laughed as she finally turned her back to him. “I never get drunk!”

“Gray says otherwise!”

“Gray gets drunk!”

He wondered how Gray and Cana managed — he guessed that it was one of the miracles of their friendship— that it kept being that way, simple and strong.

Alzack shook his head, then turned to Jet and Droy when they finally went out the room. The boys then decided to stop over 3-A to check if Natsu was coming with them.

Swimming practice wouldn’t start for another 30 minutes, Alzack noted — but he knew why Bisca was running.

Mystogan nudged Jet and silently pointed towards the Air Hockey table.

The boys simply sighed when they saw Gray and Natsu basically trying to kill each other on their game. They were screaming silly nicknames back and forth, so the boys simply decided not to disturb the duo.

“Guys!” Lucy ran towards them, her hands tucked in the oversized jacket’s pockets. They could hear the faint jiggling of her tokens. “What’re you playing?”

“Anything, we guess. We don’t always see you here. Got tired of studying?” Max asked.

“I should be asking you the same, Student Council Treasurer.” Lucy smiled, then looked at them. “I kinda asked Natsu to do a favor for Gray and then promised him I’d come play here once.”

“And now instead of playing with you, he’s intent on killing Gray.” Jet said, chuckling. “Oh well, what do you say we play some Street Fighter?”

“I’ll fight you.” Droy said, then turned to the others. “What about you guys?”

“I’ll shoot some zombies.” Alzack shrugged.

“Al, the top score records on that game only show your name now.” Max sighed. “Oh, and Bisca’s.”

“Well, we enjoy it.” Alzack said with a laugh. “I’m going there now, who wants to join me?”

“Me, me! I’ll be player 2!” Lucy said excitedly. “Max?”

“I’m gonna watch Natsu and Gray go at it first.” Max raised a hand in dismissal. “You guys enjoy.”

“Mystogan-kun, how about you?” Lucy asked.

Mysto scratched his head. “Uh… I don’t really know—”

The blonde frowned, then took his arm and dragged him to where Alzack was already waiting. “Oh, you be Alzack’s player 2 instead! I’ll watch!”

The gang went on playing different games for a while. After they almost broke the Air Hockey table, Natsu, Gray and Max headed over to where Lucy was cheering Alzack and Mystogan on.

“Oh hey, Tattoo-face B is here.” Natsu remarked, standing behind Lucy.

“Call him by his proper name.” Gray grunted, watching the game. “Damn, he’s keeping up with Al.”

“I know! They’re on their second game already!” Lucy said, practically bouncing. “They’re so cool!”

Max crossed his arms across his chest and watched with an impressed smirk.

Pretty soon, Jet and Droy were also in the crowd that had gathered to watch Alzack and Mystogan on their game.

After a few more minutes, when the game was cleared, Alzack and Mystogan turned to see their friends clapping their hands in awe.

“Wow, that was cool, man!” Jet patting their newcomer on the back.

Droy nodded. “To keep up with Al like that, whoa!”

Alzack smiled and held out a hand. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good game like that.”

“No, that was… I… I don’t even play too much.” Mystogan said, shaking the other guy’s hand and scratching his head.

“That makes it more awesome!” Lucy said, turning to Natsu. “Right?”

“Yeah. And your twin’s good at Crane Games.” Natsu grinned. “S-Class. Both of you.”

“Hey, hey guys, look at the score.” Max called out, and everyone turned back to the game screen.

They all gaped, while Mysto simply blinked.

“He—”

“D-D-Did he—”

“…yes, he did—”

“Oh wow.”

Max looked at Mysto. “You broke Bisca’s record.”

“WHAT?”

Then they all turned to see Bisca looking at the screen in disbelief, Juvia fiddling behind her.

“Bis?” Alzack asked.

“Juvia?” Gray blinked.

“Gray-sama, surprise!” Juvia said with a nervous smile, somehow afraid that Gray wasn’t pleased to see her. She relaxed when Gray simply smiled and gestured for her to come over. She latched on to him immediately and said, “Bisca-san told me you would be here so I went with her!”

“Practice was cancelled. Aquarius-sensei went out on a date.” Bisca said, but her eyes were in the screen. “Now who broke my record?”

The boys pointed at Mystogan. Bisca shoved her bag towards Alzack and said, “Play with me!”

“W-What…?” Mystogan stepped back nervously. He knew it was a bad idea to enjoy the game too much… “I didn’t mean to offend you, I didn’t even know they were going to get my score—”

“No, I’m getting my name back up there.” Bisca said, slipping off her school blazer and Alzack was quick to take it from her too. “Back with Al’s. Over, sideways or under.”

Uh-oh — the school’s star athlete’s competitiveness had flared to its peak level…

“Just do it!” the other boys said, pushing Mystogan back towards the game, while Bisca was already readying her own gun.

“Oh damn…” Mystogan sighed. Now he knew how Jellal felt whenever he and Wendy pushed him to do things…

“And don’t go easy, okay?” Bisca said, looking at the blue-head with a serious expression. Then, to Mystogan’s surprise, she smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not angry. It’s just so nice to have a challenge.”

Mystogan managed a light smile and he nodded. “I’ll try my best.”

“You better!”

The game started.

“Suddenly I got worried.” Alzack whispered towards Max. The other guy laughed and patted the raven-head on the back reassuringly. “Should I be worried?”

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t be for long if you just confess ASAP.” Max said knowingly. “So do it.”

The girls, of course, cheered for Bisca, and the girl smiled when she heard that the boys were cheering for Mystogan. It was always good to have a divided crowd on a competition. It challenged her more.

“Thanks for holding on to these, Al.” Bisca said as Alzack handed her blazer and bag back to her.

“No problem.”

“Wow, it’s this late. I have to go home and cook dinner.” Mystogan scratched his head. “It was really fun. I’ll see you guys at school?”

“Yeah, thanks for coming, bro!” Max said. The rest of the group waved their goodbyes at their newfound friend.

“He was great.” Bisca sighed.

“Really?” Alzack asked her, peering at her expression curiously.

“Yeah! Hey, you played with him, you should know.”

“I think we should call it a day, guys.” Max said, eyeing the two knowingly. “Al and Bis should catch up and we should leave them alone.”

Alzack was quick to turn towards the rest of the group. “Wha— You guys—”

But Max was already dragging Jet and Droy away, while Gray and Natsu were being pulled away by their respective ‘girls’. “See you!”

“Y-Yeah!” was all Alzack and Bisca were able to call back.

“I told him to confess.” Max sighed.

“And if he doesn’t?” Gray asked.

“I guess we’ll see tomorrow.” the treasurer simply shrugged. “Let’s leave them to their devices. They’ve been doing well so far, right?”

“Right. If by ‘So far’ you mean they’ve been holding back for like a decade…” Jet shrugged.

“It’s actually almost six years.” Droy said, pondering.

Max sighed. “Let’s trust Al. So… well, I’m going home now. Warren’s waiting at the dorms.”

Jet nodded. “Me too.”

Droy raised a hand. “Three. You guys?”

“I gotta run, too.” Gray said. “My shift at the Pegasus is about to start.”

“Juvia is going home.”

“Same here.” Lucy said.

Natsu was quick to drape an arm around each girl’s shoulders and pull them towards him. “I’ll walk ’em!”

“Alright.” Gray nodded, then turned to Juvia. “If he does anything weird to you, decapitate him.”

Juvia nodded obediently. “Hai!”

Gray patted her head. “That’s my girl.”

Natsu gaped and turned to Lucy. “She just agreed to kill me!”

Lucy shrugged. “And she can. So don’t get ideas.”

“Hai.” Natsu grumbled, looking at Juvia, who was smiling cheerfully at him.

Max, Warren, Jet, Droy, Natsu, Gray — even Gajeel and Mystogan — were there, although Gajeel settled himself on one corner of the room (Jet and Droy still hated him, of course) and Mystogan was silently standing on the other side.

“What is this?”

“Emergency intervention.” Max answered.

“You said there’s food.” Natsu frowned. “That’s why I came.”

“Ssh, be quiet.” Warren said.

“What are we intervening?” Alzack asked.

“Alzack, it’s Bisca’s birthday tomorrow.” Max said. “Do you have a present?”

“Of course!” Alzack answered, raising an eyebrow. “I got her this cool bullet bracelet.”

“Good.” Max accepted the answer. “And when are you telling her that you’re head over heels for her?”

“Wha— I’m not—”

“One of the guys in our class was planning to confess tomorrow… I just heard.” Gray said.

“B-But—”

“Mystogan-kun, do you like Bisca?” Max asked quickly, taking the silent guy at the back by surprise.

“What-… No, man.” Mystogan quickly raised his hands and shook his head. “She… she was a nice girl and I enjoyed the game with her yesterday, but… no, definitely not in the way that Alzack does.”

“See?” Max turned back to Alzack. “If Bisca gives up on you because you won’t do anything and she falls for a guy that doesn’t like her back, you’ll be crushed.”

Alzack sighed. “I know, but—”

“You made him admit it.” Natsu whispered to Max, but got hit on the head by Gray.

“All of us already know, dumbass.” Gray said.

“SHUT UP, SNOW PRINCESS!”

“WHY YOU—”

“Ssh, be quiet!” Warren said again, shutting both guys up.

Max cleared his throat. “Al, care to tell us why you haven’t told you best friend about how you feel yet? You had three years — we all know you were already in love with her since first year. You’re that obvious.”

“Look, guys.” Alzack said, looking up at all of them. “Alright, since you already know — yeah. I love her and all that. She’s my best friend since junior high and she’s brilliant — heck, I just breathe and she knows what I’m thinking. But I’ve never really told her anything about how I feel about her, because… I mean, look at her! She’s pretty, she’s smart, she’s in three sports clubs! She’s perfect. To top that all off, she never brags and she works hard on everything, and she has all these friends who love her. I tried writing everything I want to say to her on paper, I really did, but then I always stop and look at myself — I’m practically walking camouflage. I’m so ordinary, and definitely not good enough for her.”

“So who’s good enough for her?” Natsu asked.

Alzack sighed. “I don’t know. Got no way of knowing. I always ask myself ‘Why bother? She’s too perfect.’”

“Wait a minute.” at the sound of the rough voice, they all turned to its source. “Wait.”

The boys didn’t expect Gajeel to speak up at all.

“Yes, Gajeel?” Max asked.

Gajeel looked at Alzack. “So you’re sayin’ that you think this girl is perfect, right?”

“Yeah.” Alzack said, nodding. He never really talked to the guy before.

“And you’re tellin’ us she’s pretty and nice and kind?”

“Um.. yes.”

“So because she’s all that, you’re givin’ up because you got nothin’ to be proud of.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the whole point—”

“Bullshit.” Gajeel grumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

“Hey, you—” Jet started, offended — but Gray extended out a hand to signal that they listen to Gajeel.

The Iron Dragon looked at Alzack again. “Isn’t that the main point? She’s all that, so you got all the more reason to fight for her.”

Alzack looked back at the raven-head. “W-What?”

“You’re sayin’ she’s perfect, isn’t that enough reason to grow some balls and tell her you like her, ‘cause I dunno about you, but fighting for her would show her that you’re not ’just that’, that… you can be like, ‘more’ for her or something.”

They stared.

“Just putting that out there. You guys said this was an intervention, so I thought we gotta knock some sense into ’im.”

Gray was the first to turn back towards Alzack. “I agree with him.”

“Y-Yeah…” Jet and Droy both nodded, albeit quite hesitantly. Max turned to Warren and then to Mystogan, who both nodded as well.

Then Natsu said, “I wonder what Juvia put in his breakfast.”

Gajeel glared. “Fuck you.”

“YOU—”

“Ssh, be quiet.” Warren said again, this time slightly annoyed.

“W-Well…” Alzack spoke again. They all turned to him. “Well, I still—”

“He wasn’t moved. We have to use force.” Gray said.

Alzack suddenly looked up. “Wha—”

Max nodded at Gray’s suggestion. “Jet, Droy?” Before Alzack could move, Jet and Droy had taken each of Alzack’s arms.

“Wha— MAX! What’re you guys—”

“Natsu, Gray, his legs, please.” the mentioned boys grinned wickedly before taking hold of each of Alzack’s legs. Meanwhile, Alzack was screaming for help.

“Alright, guys, pin him to the wall. Warren, do you have the equipment?”

“Yes.” Warren said, taking two items from his pocket—

A pencil and a notepad.

“G-Guys, this is not funny…” Alzack said, shivering nervously.

Just then, a flush from one of the stalls was heard.

The boys paused.

Max looked at Gajeel. “I thought you locked the door.”

Gajeel was also at a loss. “I did.”

“Then who—”

One of the bathroom stalls opened and a small figure stepped out.

The boys all gulped. “PRINCIPAL MAKAROV!”

“Ah-… this is-… Err—”

“It’s a game—”

“We’re totally not bullying Al—”

“Max!” the principal said firmly, regarding the group’s ‘leader’ with a serious expression.

“Principal, we can explain—”

Makarov raised a hand and the boy shut up. Then he smiled. “Good work so far, my boy. If the operation succeeds, I’ll double the cultural festival budget! Keep it up, everyone!”

Alzack all but cried. “PRINCIPAL!”

But he was drowned out by his friends’ “YES, SIR!”

Makarov skipped his way towards the doorway. “Gajeel-kun, may you be so nice as to let me out?”

Gajeel fumbled for the knob quickly. “Y-Yeah…”

“Oh I have something here… hm, let’s see…” the old man looked around and saw Mystogan standing around dumbly. “Mystogan-kun?” He gestured for the young man to lean down, then whispered something into the student’s ear. After that, he handed a small object to Mystogan and the boy nodded.

“Thank you very much, sir.”

“No problem! Gajeel-kun, the door?”

“Hai.” Gajeel opened the door and the principal walked out.

“W-What was that?” Alzack said cautiously.

Mystogan simply smiled.

“DAMMIT GUYS, LET’S STOP THIS!”

“Mystogan, guard the door.” Max instructed. “Gajeel, if you would do the honors?”

Alzack gulped. What would Gajeel do with him?

Gajeel left the guard duty to Mystogan and walked towards their hostage, cracking his knuckles. “My pleasure.”

“W-W-Wait, really— Guys, just-… Please—”

“Alright.” Max crossed his arms across his chest and stepped back, leaving a struggling Alzack pinned to the wall to be taken care of by Gajeel. “His weak parts are his sides and behind his knees.”

“Got it. On your cue.” Gajeel looked at Max.

Their fearless leader nodded. “Tickle him.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

After looking at the girls and not hearing the sound again, Erza shrugged. “Must be my imagination.” She looked at her friends again and noticed Cana’s gaze fixated on her phone. “Cana? Anything wrong?”

Cana flipped her phone off and put it back in her pocket. She grinned. “No, everything’s perfect.”

’Bisca-san,
You were a joy to be with. I immensely enjoyed our time together yesterday.
I hope we can be good friends.
I had been told of how much of a briiliant you had been,
if anything, the one who told me that said he treasures that the most.
— Mysto’

Bisca blinked at the letter.

Well, that was very vague.

And… and Mysto? Mysto as in Mystogan? THAT MYSTO? And… well, it was really very weird…

“Bisca-san.” a gentle voice called from behind her, and Bisca turned to see Mystogan standing by the lockers with a small smile. He walked towards her.

“Mystogan-kun? I-… Um, good morning…” Bisca said, trying to gather her words. “Um… Did… did you send me something—”

“Yes, I did drop that letter in your locker.”

“Really? I-… Uh—”

She stopped when he offered her a single red rose. “Happy Birthday.”

Bisca blushed bright red and shakily accepted the flower. “Thanks! U-Um, about your-…”

“Will you please accompany me somewhere?”

“But—”

“Please?” Mystogan offered an arm. He threw her his most pleading look.

Bisca was about to take his offer, but she quickly shook her head. “Mysto-kun, I really don’t think—”

“Just please trust me on this, Bisca-san.”

“Alright, but no big surprises, okay?”

“No big surprises.”

“Who put you up to this?”

“…”

“Can’t tell, huh. Okay.”

Mystogan led her away from the lockers and towards the school hallway. Just then, a song started playing from the school’s P.A. system.

Bisca blinked. “I love this song.”

“Good.” Mystogan said.

“Those are the school speakers! How did you—”

But Mystogan had stopped walking when they came across Jet, who was leaning against the wall.

Bisca blinked when Jet handed her another rose, attached to another folded piece of paper, and wordlessly offered his arm, much like what Mysto did.

“Okay, guys, this is weird.” but the girl simply took the rose, the note, and let Jet lead her while she read the note.

’Happy Birthday, Bis.
You’re one of the smartest girls in our class, you know.
But I never knew that you stayed up late nights studying even after a whole day of practice.
— Jet’

“Oh, Jet. This is sweet, but… but it’s still—”

“Weird, I know.”

“Strange.” Bisca sighed. She didn’t even notice that they had climbed a set of stairs… that is, until Jet paused and escorted her to their next stop. “Droy.”

Droy did what everyone else did, and Bisca knew better than to complain. She accepted her third rose and opened the next note.

’Hi, Bis.

It’s really cool how you’re in three clubs.
I always thought that you were just really talented like that.
Some people even called you a show-off once…
I didn’t know that you like swimming because it relaxes you and takes your mind off things when you’re stressed.
I didn’t know that you joined the archery club because your late dad liked archery and that you miss him terribly.
I didn’t know that you loved volleyball because it’s how you bonded with your mom after your dad passed away.
Most of all, because I didn’t know all that, I wasn’t able to appreciate how strong you are.
You didn’t let those sad memories drag you down and you’re still smiling at everyone.
We think that’s cooler than anything.

Love, Droy.’

When they got to their fourth stop, Bisca paused, mouth open. “Wow. Really?”

“Really.” Gajeel rolled his eyes. ‘The things I do for these morons… Here.’ He said, offering her his rose and note. As soon as she took the items, he said, “Follow me.” and started walking.

Bisca followed him obediently, reading the note.

’Happy Birthday, sharpshooter.
I never would’ve figured you for a video-game kind of girl.
To make sure, I played the zombie shooting game yesterday and I couldn’t even reach half of your record.
I didn’t know you were kick-ass, but someone insisted that you were and I kinda agree.
Fight me sometime.
— Gajeel’

“Sure.” Bisca blurted out before she could even realize what she was saying. “Sure, let’s play sometime.”

Gajeel chuckled. “Here’s my stop.”

Gray smirked as he turned to them. “Happy Birthday, Bisca.”

“Thank you, Gray.” she said, accepting the flower and note he gave her. Gajeel grunted, “Frosty, your shirt’s unbuttoned.”

“Oh hell. Wait a minute.” Gray said, hurriedly buttoning up his shirt. Then he looked at Gajeel. “I’m takin’ it from here, Master Tickler.”

“Shut up.” Gajeel send walking away.

“Master Tickler?” Bisca asked, but Gray simply led her further down the hallways by the shoulder.

“Worry about that later. I’ve gotta deliver you.” Gray said.

Bisca nodded and opened the (by now) tell-tale note.

’Bis,

Since junior high I always thought your green hair and purple eyes were unique.
No offense, though, but I never thought they were particularly beautiful.
Let me elaborate:
I never stared at your hair that much, I never noticed that they stay curly for a few hours after you undo them from a braid,
I never noticed that you tie it up whenever you’re busy…
I always was impressed that you still keep it that long even when you’re a sports girl…
If you ever cut it, I wouldn’t complain.
But guess what? I know someone who would.
He thinks you’re beautiful with your hair long.
And your eyes?
Man, he practically drowns.
Good luck with him.
Happy Birthday.

— Gray’

“Gray—”

“I’m not allowed to tell.”

“Alright.” Bisca sighed.

“This is me.” Gray said, stopping his walk. Bisca was then engulfed in a bear hug from none other than Natsu.

“Natsu!”

“Happy Birthday, Bisca!” Natsu said, letting go of the girl. “This is kinda a surprise thing we’re trying to pull off, so just follow me, okay?”

Bisca couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay.”

Natsu handed her the rose and the note, and he practically pulled her with him as she read.

’Dear Bis,

Your cooking is yummy, ya know?
Could use a little more spicy but then that’s my Fire Dragon talking…
Anyways…
Whenever you share your lunch with us I always think
that the guy who would marry you is a very lucky dude.
I never imagined myself to be that guy.
But I know someone who won’t just feel lucky,
he’ll feel that it’s the best thing ever…
GET MARRIED ALREADY!
Happy Birthday!

— Love, The Great Fire Dragon Natsu!’

Bisca couldn’t help but chuckle and say another thanks to Natsu.

Their next stop was Max, who bowed gallantly before handing Bisca his rose and his note with a small smile.

“Oh, Max.”

“This is our second to the last stop. Please come with me.”

Bisca let him lead her again.

’Bis,

Happy Birthday!
I’ve know you for almost all of six years…
You’ve been a really great friend. There’s really nothing more I can ask for —
you were very trustworthy and fun and I don’t regret a single second of it…
But I don’t count the seconds I spend with you.
I don’t keep track of every minute I get to be with you.
I don’t remember our every hour together.
I don’t notice every smile or every laugh you give me.
But I know someone who does.
He had wanted to tell you sooner, but you know what he told us?
He told us that you’re too good, too perfect for anyone…
And that he was afraid you won’t be happy with him,
because all he cares about is seeing you happy.
So give him a chance. Let him ask the question…
And hey, you can say ‘yes’.

— Max’

“This is my stop.” Max said, stopping and then stepping away from Bisca. The girl was about to reach out for him, but another voice cut her off.

“Bis.”

Bisca turned back around to see Alzack standing in front of her classroom (she didn’t even notice where the boys were leading her!) and holding a red rose.

She noted that he wasn’t holding a note.

“Al?”

“Yeah.” he said, looking down shyly.

Bisca stared. Alzack’s long shabby hair was cut short and was spiked up so she could see his face more clearly. “You cut your hair.”

Alzack cleared his throat. “Cana cut my hair, actually. While all of them held me down.”

Bisca couldn’t help but laugh. “Really?”

“Mm-hm.” Alzack nodded, then gingerly walked towards his best friend.

Bisca gulped. ‘Is this what I think it is?’

“Bisca?”

“Yes?”

He held out the flower.

“I don’t think I have to say anything else… I think they already wrote it all down.”

“They did.” Bisca said, accepting the rose. “It was very sweet.”

Alzack breathed deeply before he finally asked the question. “Will you go out with me?”

He was answered with a tear-streaked, “Why not?”

That’s when the rest of the school clapped their hands and wolf-howled and squealed and rejoiced.

Alzack had grabbed Bisca in a bone-crushing hug and was saying ‘thanks’ against her hair, while Bisca was crying and telling him that it was all very sweet and perfect.

“Alright, guys, that’s one couple down!” Cana’s voice errupted from the school’s P.A. system. “Now we just have to wait for Natsu and Lucy — for bet inquiries, please see Class 3-B’s Max or drop by The Strauss’ and look for Mira—”

“CANA, STOP THAT!” — they heard Lucy shriek and then the two girls obviously struggling for the microphone.

“Girls, calm down!” — was from a voice they recognized as Warren.

Alzack and Bisca laughed together as Levy and Laki pounced on them with their congratulations, and the other ‘accomplices’ made their way towards them.

“Is everyone in on this?” Bisca asked her best friend, who was still holding her against him.

“I don’t know. Max organized everything.” Alzack said with a relieved sigh.

“The girls knew about it too?”

“I think it was just Cana at first, but then she got everyone else on it too.”

They saw Juvia running towards Max to hand the guy a video camera.

Max nodded approvingly. “Good work, Juvia.”

The blunette smiled cheerfully. “No problem! When it comes to stalking, Juvia is unbeatable!”

“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.” Gray sighed.

“Gray-samaaaa~!” the girl turned to him to give him a hug.

Gray simply said “Yes, Juvia. It’s me.” as he pat her head like a puppy.

Via the school speakers, they heard the riot on the control room.

“You guys calm down! We’re done here so we should get out!”

“We still have to give the room’s key back to principal Makarov!”

“I repeat everyone — for bet inquiries—”

“HEY!”

“—prizes include a gift certificate and a coupons for—”

“CANA!”

Then everyone heard Erza’s voice. “Good job, everyone! The principal has confirmed! Our cultural festival budget has been doubled!”

Laki and Max high-fived.