The next morning, Levy was walking down the halls of the school, her foot steps directed to the large library nearby. She didn't have a class for a few hours, so she had decided to study a little to kill time. Also, she found it difficult to not tell anyone about meeting Blacksteel the night before, so she was searching for Lucy.

     However, she was surprised when she nearly ran into Gajeel upon entering the library. She glanced up at him, giving him a small wave, "Hello, Gajeel!"

    He glanced over at her, "Hey!" Then he sharply bit his lip. Why the hell did he sound excited to see her? "What?" he growled, frowning at her and crossing his arms in front of him.

     "Nothing much, I'm just surprised to see you here," she shrugged, then slid into the aisle beside him. The fact that she was now surrounded in thick books on polished shelves made her incredibly happy.

     "What?" he growled defensively, "I read. Just not that often. What are YOU doin' here?"

          "Looking for Lucy. But she's probably somewhere else with Natsu," Levy shrugged her shoulders cheerfully, "Hey, can I tell you a secret?"

     Gajeel frowned at her, "I ain't stoppin' ya."

    "I'm going to meet Blacksteel tonight!" Levy whispered excitedly, glancing briefly around to make sure no one was eavesdropping nearby. "I talked to him last night, and the poor guy... he's younger, about your age I guess, and... that's a lot to put on a teenager."

     "Uh-huh."

     "I'm not making this up!" Levy began defensively.

      "Nah, I believe you. Why would he talk to you?" Gajeel kept his voice casual, shoving his hands in his pockets.

     "Oh, no reason," Levy waved this away with her hand, "Just some muggers trying to kill me, no biggie."

    "What?" Gajeel tried to sound surprised.

     She giggled at the concern on his face, "Seriously, I'm fine! Blacksteel is actually really sweet and nice!"

    "So, uh... you like this Blacksteel guy?" Gajeel asked, raising a studded brow.

     "Well, he's nice to be around. Great company," she smiled, curling a strand of her hair around her finger as she stared upwards at the ceiling, "He was friendly and sweet, and kinda awkward. But I liked him."

    Gajeel's eyes followed her as she walked away, then he turned to face the bookshelf. She liked him. 

    And he couldn't stop the grin from sliding across his face.

     That night.....

     Levy was sitting on the flat roof of the girls' dorms, checking her watch. It was ten fifteen, meaning Blacksteel was fifteen minutes late. She sighed, brushing her hair back. He was probably really busy. Or he forgot. Or he just didn't care enough to show.

     She got to her feet with another sigh, brushing off the hem of her skirt before turning back to the hatch on the roof.

     "Fifteen minutes?" a voice behind her said, "That's all you were gonna give me?"

     Levy smiled, turning around to see Blacksteel standing behind her, gripping his shoulder as if he was in pain. "I figured you weren't coming."

     "I said I would, didn't I?" Blacksteel sat down with a grunt, massaging his shoulder and growling, "Hell, that hurts."

    "Are you okay?" Levy crouched beside him, seeing blood staining his jacket at the shoulder, "That looks pretty bad. Is that why you were late?" He moved his hand, and Levy saw the wicked gash on his shoulder, "That looks painful! Here, I think I have some tissues in my bag," she dug around in her purse, then helped him clear the blood by gently running the tissues along his arm.

     "It's nothin'," Blacksteel grumbled, adjusting his hood over his head, "A criminal makin' a break for it. Didn't know he had a knife though." 

     "You poor thing," Levy said, using her headband to bind the wound up tightly. She ignored his weak protest, saying, "Losing blood is bad. And I rather you didn't die, okay?" she gave him a warm smile as she sat back.

      He stared at her for a moment, then glanced away, "So, uh... you wanted to talk to me?"

     "Yes, but nothing specific. So... what do you do as your identity?" Levy asked, leaning forward eagerly.

     "Eh, typical teenager stuff. School, videogames, be bored... nothin' interesting." He shrugged his shoulders, "What about you?"

    "Oh... school, and definitely reading! I love books so much it's kinda ridiculous." she laughed to herself then scooched closer to him, "And I—" she paused, frowning slightly, "I'm not cutting in on anything with you being here, right? You don't have anything better to do?"

       "Nah, it's fine. I actually got here early on, and had to break off to deal with the knife dude," Blacksteel said, leaning back and resting his weight on the palms of his hands.

    "How early did you get here?"

 "Uh, nine thirty. But it ain't like I was lookin' forward to it or anythin' —" he broke off as she gave him a warm, relaxed smile. 

    He felt his stomach prickle and his face warmed up, and was suddenly grateful for the mask that was hiding his blush.

     "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I got here ten minutes early," Levy told him, readjusting her position to brush off the hem of her skirt, "I was looking forward to talking to you too."

     "Uh,okay," Blacksteel tried to keep his voice light and careless as he asked, "So.... whadda you want to talk about?"

     "Do you have superpowers?" Levy asked eagerly, leaning forward.

    "Nah, don't need 'em," he smirked, "People like Shadow Script and the others get super powers. I get to rely on my own strength."

        "And you do very well," Levy recalled how easily he had taken care of the muggers the night before and smiled, "It's super cool."

     "You think?"

     "Definitely!" Levy smiled, "Do you like being a hero?"

      "I ain't really much of a hero, but it's okay, I guess." Blacksteel shrugged, "But it gets really annoyin' when everyone hates you for trying to help."

      "Then I'm going to write an article," Levy said firmly, getting to her feet, "About how you've been misportrayed. How you deserve the praise of everyone in this city!"

     "I really don't —" he paused, frowning, "I thought.... you were still mad at me cause I let your father die."

     Levy's eyes locked on his, then she pulled Blacksteel's face down by the side of his hood, and pressed her lips against  his mask below the left eye, "You tried your best, Blacksteel. There wasn't anything more you could've done." And with that, she slid hastily down the hatch back inside of the building, leaving Blacksteel stonestill in shock.