Erza's POV

After several days of hard work, exams were finally done. I was really proud of how I went because I think I did really well. My friends also said that they did well so we were all happy. The week leading up to exams was tough and stressful and there were times when I wanted to punch everyone but it's finally over. We finished our second year of university and soon, we'll be in our last year.

"You look beautiful," Jellal said to me.

He kissed me gently as he wrapped his arms around me. I returned the hug, feeling much better since we hardly had any time together due to exams.

We had just finished getting ready for the end of year party. I was wearing my white croptop and red skirt while my fiance wore chill but handsome clothes. Our other friends were faster than us in getting ready but we took our sweet time together.

"I've missed you," I whispered to him.

"I've missed you more," he replied.

I glared at him playfully. "No, I've missed you the most. And if you don't agree, then I'll punch you in the face."

Jellal laughed but evenually agreed with me. With our arms locked together, we walked down the footpath to meet our friends at the road.

"I'm so happy that we've finished our exams and we can now party," I said.

"Yeah. I bet you did well," Jellal nudged me lightly.

"I think I did. I tried really hard so I'm just hoping for the best. What about you?"

"I think I did great as well. Especially since I have you supporting me."

I chuckled as I pulled him closer to me. We could finally have quality time with each other. But of course, we couldn't talk anymore as our friends came into view. Lucy shouted my name and dragged me over to the girls while Natsu did the same with my fiance.

"You look gorgeous, Erza," Juvia greeted me.

"You guys look amazing as well," I replied.

The girls, including Mavis, did look amazing in their party outfits, and so did the boys.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a car honk. In a drunken swerve, a big limo halted in front of us. It was decorated like a blue pegasus - complete with wings and a face at the front of the vehicle. I was definitely surprised at the sight but I was even more shocked when a short man popped out of the car. He had orange hair and a butt chin on his rectangular face.

"Thank you for hiring Blue Pegasus driving services, men! This is Christina: the best limo we have! And I am your driver, Ichiya!" the man shouted.

Then he turned to us girls with a seductive wink. Oh no. I wanted to run away immediately.

"Well, hello there, my honey," he grabbed my hand and quickly pressed a kiss to it.

I shrieked and pulled my hand away. How could I be so slow to even let his lips touch my hand? Jellal seemed to be just as annoyed as he came over and stood in front of me protectively. Ichiya apologised and I could tell that he meant no harm but I still didn't like his flirting.

"Who the hell hired a limo?" Gray asked.

"I did!" Natsu yelled enthusiastically.

I mentally face palmed. I don't think Gray meant that it was a good thing, Natsu.

"How the hell did you afford this? Do you even have a job?" Gray interrogated the pink-haired boy.

"Well, I found a lot of money in a blue penguin wallet and I was worried it would expire if it wasn't used soon so I spent it," Natsu replied.

"What?! That was my money, shit for brains!"

Gray got ready to punch Natsu but I stopped him. Glaring at both of them menacingly, I told them to stop being annoying cucumbers.

"But why did you hire a limo?" I asked Natsu. "We're not going to prom or anything like that."

"I know, but it's the end of our first year at university together and I wanted to make it special," Natsu replied with his usual closed-eye grin.

I couldn't help but smile. It was a sweet gesture - and I was happy that I didn't have to pay for it.

"Alright! Let's hit the road, men!" Ichiya shouted.

We piled into the colourful limo and made ourselves comfortable. The inside shined with the sparkling lights of a mini disco ball and was accompanied with funky music. Not a minute later, the engine roared to life and the limo sped off. It veered and waved about in different directions – I don't think we were staying in between the lines at all. Through the tiny window to the driver's seat, I could see Ichiya spinning the wheel madly and listening to his own music. I figured it wouldn't help if I talked to him so I just prayed that we wouldn't die.

Like usual, Natsu and Gajeel were motion sick but it was even worse this time due to the crazy driving. I felt sorry for them – but not Natsu as much since this was his idea. Luckily, we stuck their heads out the windows just before they threw up.

As we did a sharp turn, we all reacted to the force like a domino set as Jellal fell onto me. Luckily, I only crashed into Lucy. The bad thing was that Jellal's face was smashed in my chest, right between my boobs. I quickly pushed him off me and tried to hide my blushing face. Sneaking a glance at my fiance, I smiled at the red appearing on his cheeks. However, my eyes widened as I flew into Jellal. Then, we were tossed the other way again.

The next few minutes were bumpy and rough but we learned how to stop falling so much. The ride ended up being quite fun and everyone (exept Natsu and Gajeel) enjoyed some drinks and karaoke. When we arrived at the destination, we climbed out of the vehicle and thanked Ichiya. Natsu and Gajeel, however, clumsily fell out and threw up on the grass. As the limo sped off abruptly, we all turned to stare at the house in awe.

Unlike the last frat house we visited, this one had three storeys and it was much bigger, decorated with lights that flashed many colours. There also seemed to be more people – both in the house and outside. It made sense since this party was for all Fairy Tail Uni students – first years, second years, and third years, but it wasn't compulsory of course so many people didn't come.

"Well, let's go inside!" Natsu cried and jumped up, already in the party spirit and forgetting his motion sickness.

Jellal grabbed my hand subconsciously and all together, we walked through the door. Inside, it was even more colourful due to all the disco lights. Contrasting against a dim atmosphere, the place was like a club. The music, which could be heard from outside, blasted even louder, making everyone move to the catchy beat.

"Let's get drunk!" Gajeel shouted, heading over to the bar area.

I guess that's one way to start a party. I shrugged and followed him along with the rest of the gang. When we got there, I was greeted with a familiar sight. Cana, our friend from high school, sat on the table as she hugged a barrel of beer and drank the beverage itself.

After we got ourselves some drinks, we hung around and talked to Cana a bit. It was nice to see that she was doing well after high school.

In the other room, the song changed to a more upbeat one and Lucy slammed her empty cup on the tabletop.

"Alright! Let's dance!" she shouted, mostly likely already feeling the buzz of the alcohol she had.

I, on the other hand, just went with lemonade because I wanted to remember the good times I had with my friends. So, I finished my drink in one long sip and followed my friends to the real party.

In the dance space, the music blared louder and the lights flashed around in a blinding frenzy. Lucy grabbed my hand and we ran to join the crowd of people jumping and popping. It was pretty wild as we danced and sang at the top of our lungs. When the music slowed down a bit, I found Jellal wrap his arms around my waist. Smiling to myself, I leaned into him and we swayed together.

We spent a long time dancing energetically, releasing all the stress that we had from exams. You could tell that everyone was just letting loose and having fun to celebrate the end of studying for the year. It was a true university party. As I observed my friends, who danced with smiles or half-drunken grins, I saw that Mavis was slinking away from the group to the kitchen. She returned with a Sprite can and sipped it slowly from the outskirts of the room, looking a bit lonely.

Looking at my friends, I could tell that they were quite occupied – especially Natsu who was spinning around from atop of Gajeel's shoulders. So, I removed Jellal's grip around my waist and wormed my way over to Mavis. I wanted to make sure she was alright because I recognised the look of sadness and longing on her face.

"Hey Mavis. How are you doing?" I asked her.

I stood next to her and gave her a comforting smile, which she returned.

"I'm alright, I guess. It's a nice party. Great music, great drinks, great decorations," she replied.

I just stared at her in silence for a few seconds. "You're thinking about him, aren't you?" I asked softly.

"Who?" she averted her gaze, feigning confusion.

"You know who I'm talking about: Zeref."

"I... I'm not thinking about him."

"That's okay if you are. I can tell you still like him. He was different when you knew him, wasn't he?"

Mavis smiled to herself, as if reminiscing on the past. "He was. He was so kind and gentle. I don't know what happened. He's so different now and I don't know if he can change."

"Do you believe he can change?" I asked.

"I... I want to believe he can. If he was once kind and caring, surely he still is inside. Do you think he can change?"

"I think anyone can change. He just might need a bit of help – from you. I remember years ago when Jellal was a different man, like Zeref. But no matter what, I believed in him and I was there for him. I knew he could change and he did. He's truly a great guy like I knew when we were kids. Now, I love him and I'll always be there for him."

I stared out at my fiance, who was dancing lightly on the dance floor. He wasn't much of a party person and it stood out as he was surrounded by our other friends jumping all around him. But the main thing was that he was happy. I could see his smile and that made me subconsciously smile as well. I'm happy that he became a better man. When we were kids, he was the nicest guy I knew. Then he took a bad turn but he's back to being himself. I'm happy for him that he's a better man.

Mavis, who was watching our friends as well, asked me, "Did you forgive him easily?"

I nodded. "I did because I trusted him and I love him. My friends were surprisingly cool about it. They warmed up to him quickly and it's like he's always been with us."

Back on the dance floor, Jellal was laughing at something Natsu said. My friends all goofed around like usual.

"I think that if you believe in Zeref and you love him, you should stick by him and be there for him so that he can change. Do you love him?" I asked her.

There was no hesitation as she replied with "yes". I smiled, knowing that Mavis could change Zeref. The day that we met her, he looked at her with a special longing in his eyes and I knew that those two were meant for each other.

"Alright, it's settled. You can kiss Zeref, he'll turn into your prince and then you guys can live happily ever after," I joked.

"I don't think that's how it goes," Mavis fought off a smile.

I nudged her playfully and we ended up laughing together. She relaxed a bit and I could tell that she was slowly forgetting her worried. As my new friend, I wanted her to feel at ease and happy.

"Come on, you ready to go see what the others are up to?" I said.

She nodded and together, we headed off. A while back, I saw that our friends had moved off the dance floor. We hunted them down and found them hanging around in a quieter room, next to a vending machine – which I had no clue as to what it was doing there.

"Damn, my chocolate's stuck in the machine. I need something hard to bang it," Gray muttered, pushing at the vending machine. "Hey, Natsu! Can I borrow your head?"

"What was that, Gray?" Natsu cried.

"I need your hard head," Gray said slowly, as if Natsu was deaf.

"Why not use your own? You're thicker than a brick. Oh, burn!"

I face palmed. These two, bickering like a married couple. If they didn't stop fighting, the whole place might set on fire, so as usual, I punched both of them and then the vending machine. With a clunk, Gray's chocolate bar was free and the boy happily grabbed it. There. World War III avoided.

I turned to face Jellal, who was chatting with Gajeel and the girls. When my fiance saw me, his eyes immediately brightened and he came to me like he was in a trance.

"Wow, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said, gently holding up some of my hair and sniffing it. "Will you be the strawberry to my blueberry?"

I took a step back. I was confused, flustered and trying not to laugh at the same time. Jellal wasn't the kind of guy to have alcohol so what was he doing?

"Are you drunk?" I asked, coughing away my giggles.

"I think I'm in love. Will you marry me? Then we can have beautiful fruit children," Jellal said, ignoring my question.

He was now down on one knee – much like when he proposed to me but this time was more wobbly. My head quickly turned left and right to make sure no one was looking – thankfully no one was. But, my friends were all watching this with amused faces as they released their laughs. I had to admit, it was funny seeing someone who's usually so composed being drunk.

"Jellal, are you okay? Did someone slip you something in your drink?" I interrogated, pulling him to his feet to stop the embarrassment. "Do you want me to get you a glass of water? Should I call a cab?"

Finally, a grin broke out on Jellal's face and his drunken look vanished. It seemed that he couldn't control it any longer as he burst out laughing. I eventually joined in with the laughing but I pretended to be mad at him. Making me worry over nothing!

"I'm sorry," Jellal said inbetween chuckles. "They dared me to pretend to be drunk."

They confessed after I faked a glare at them and we had a good time laughing. When we went back to the dance room, I decided to say 'hi' to my friends from my classes and the others wanted to see their other friends too so we split up for a bit. My other friends were happy to see me and we talked about the exam and wished each other well. They were all smart so I knew they did well. I was a bit sad when I realised that I only had one more year of being in the same class with them and we might not stay in touch afterwards.

A few minutes later, I met with my fiance and the others in the backyard. Everyone from the party had streamed outdoors where there was a pool and a massive lawn with couches and various items. Apparently, there were going to be fireworks. It was going to be like New Year but not New Year. The New Year party is supposed to be bigger and since this is already pretty big with fireworks and all, I can only guess that the New Year party will be huge.

"Are you ready to kiss me when the fireworks go off?" Jellal asked me, his arm wrapped comfortably around my waist.

"This isn't New Year, you know?" I replied.

"Well, it's the end of a year so it could be an early New Year."

"Okay, I'll give you your kiss. But wow, a whole year already passed – time flies by so fast. Can you believe that we're adults?"

Jellal looked at me and sweat-dropped. "Erza, we're 20 years old. We've been adults for a while now."

"Oh yeah, I always forget because I don't feel like an adult most of the time."

"Yep, I don't think you are an adult most of the time. But let's do a toast – to being an adult."

"A toast?" I asked. "You do realise that we don't have any drinks with us right now?"

"Well," Jellal thought for a minute. "Then we can pretend we have cups and do a fist-bump."

"That's so cheesy."

Even though it might've been cringy, I found it cute, especially since it was Jellal who suggested it.

"Fine, we don't have to do it," Jellal sulked.

"I never said I didn't want to do it though. Come on, let's do it before the fireworks," I quickly told my fiance.

Sometimes I'm the child in the relationship – sometimes it's him (but it's usually me).

I put my right hand into a fist and Jellal did the same. Then we did the almighty fist-bump.

"To being an adult but a happy child on the inside!" I cheered.

"To Jerza!" Jellal added.

"Jerza?"

"Yeah, you know, Jellal and Erza."

I shrugged; it was kind of cute, I guess. In unison, we raised our hands to our mouths and pretended to drink from an imaginary cup. To the people around us, we probably looked like idiots and to be honest, we probably were. Oh well, at least we were being idiots together.

"Fireworks are starting!" shouted a random voice from somewhere.

All heads turned up to the dark sky. There were loud bangs as powerful sparks shot into the sky and burst into millions of bright lights, falling back down and vanishing. The spectacular display continued for a few minutes, showering the black night with colourful patterns.

As the show continued overhead, Jellal pulled me in and kissed me. I held him tighter as our lips moved together with passion and we were in our own little world. When we stopped, I realised that the fireworks had finished. It was like time started again as the sounds of clapping and shouting filled my ears.

We joined in on the clapping and whooping just like our friends. For us, it was the celebration of one more year of university before we had to deal with work and the world. I let the stress fall away for this moment to enjoy the time with my friends and my fiance. Jellal's arm around me made me feel safe and comfortable – it made me feel like the years to come would be alright no matter what. I smiled even more when he kissed me again softly.

"I love you." It was a whisper from Jellal but even through the cheering of everyone, I heard it loud and clear. 

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I'm sorry for the late chapter! My excuse: I went camping with my family for 10 days and did snorkelling and stuff but we had to leave a day early. You know the bushfires in Australia? There was one down the road and heading towards us so we quickly packed what we could, left our tent and sleeping bags and had to evacuate like the other campers at our campsite. I was pretty scared. 

This is late but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Also, I haven't really edited so please let me know if there are mistakes!! And please VOTE and COMMENT!!! Thank you!!