"Jellal! What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted at my fiancé, ripping my arm out of his grasp.

He had dragged me away from the café and I had had enough when we were just outside our dorm building. Our friends were trailing behind us by a few feet.

"Me? What the hell is wrong with you?" Jellal fired back. "You never told me about this boy you met who clearly likes you and you're just letting him hold you like you're together or something."

Lucy let out a loud cough as she awkwardly shuffled away with the rest of my friends. "We'll just leave you two alone to talk it out."

In a burst of smoke and dust, my friends ran into our dormitory building, leaving me and Jellal out on the lawn by ourselves. I cursed Lucy for leaving us. I knew we had to have a confrontation about what was bothering Jellal but I was now tired and I wanted sleep.

"Jellal, Mest doesn't like me. He's just a friend. He's the best company in all of my classes," I reasoned with my fiancé.

"Have you seen the way he looks at you, how he acts around you? That guy is in love with you and it's written all over his face. And you just let him hold you close like you like him too," Jellal argued.

"I don't like him like that. I also doubt he likes me romantically but if he does, I don't. Don't you trust me? I love you and only you."

Jellal ran hand through his blue hair with frustration. "I trust you but I don't trust him. I don't like the guy. He seems... sketchy."

"Maybe if you gave him a chance, you could see that he's a nice person. He's my friend and if you can't accept that – if you let your jealousy get the best of you – then I don't want to talk to you."

"If we're going to keep fighting like this, then why are we getting married?"

I let out a gasp, taken aback by the mention of marriage. Jellal's eyes widened as he seemed to realise what he just said. We never had any big fights like this before and I was sure life after marriage was going to be a breeze. Now, I'm not too sure.

"You don't want to get married, is that it? Is that why you're acting out?" I asked.

Jellal looked even more shocked, as if I just said a bad word. His mouth opened and closed.

"No, I do want to marry you. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you," Jellal said.

"Well, until you get yourself together, I'm leaving you alone. I'm tired now so I'm going to my room to eat cake." With that being said, I turned and headed to the dorms.

As I slowly walked away, half of me hoped he would stop me, taking me into his arms as he kissed me passionately. But he never did. I let my head fall down sadly.

I loved Jellal so much but we just haven't been ourselves lately and we haven't spent a lot of time together. We were slowly growing up and becoming adults. When we were in high school, things were different – we were different. University was stressful, taking up lots of our time. Now that I had a job, it would be harder to see Jellal a lot. We were making new friends and just the other day, when I wanted to hang out with Jellal, he had already organised to hang out with his new friends from his class. Fate just didn't seem to be working out for us.

Jellal's POV

I stared as Erza walked away. My foot moved automatically, taking a step closer to her, knowing I needed her – she was my world, my reason for living, my everything. I stopped my leg from walking anymore and just watched her disappear into the building. I wanted to run after her and tell her to stop but I knew I shouldn't.

Erza was right. I acted impulsively and irrationally. We were adults now, facing new struggles. I did need to pull myself together and that was exactly what I was going to do. I was going to give Erza some space that we both needed until I get myself on track.

I've been keeping a secret from her and our friends. On the outside, I may seem like I have everything organised and I'm doing well in studies but the truth is, I'm not. I'm doing bad in all my classes. I wasn't prepared for how hard it was going to be and I'm slowly falling behind. Every week, I go to my friend's place for them to tutor me and help me study; that's what I was doing the other day when Erza wanted to hang out. I've been lying to her but I don't want to. I'm just scared that she's going to look at me differently or treat me differently. She's really smart and doing well in her classes but I'm not.

I wanted to be better for Erza and I would study hard until I'm no longer a failure. I was going to be the best fiancé ever and then the best husband. I really did want to marry her. I could already picture our wedding – she would be in a big, white dress as she walked down the aisle to meet the bridesmaids, the groomsmen and me, and then we would have a huge banquet with a strawberry wedding cake. It was going to be perfect.

With a sad sigh, I walked away from our dormitory, heading to my classmate's house to study.

Erza's POV

It has been three days since my first day at work and I haven't talked to Jellal since then. It was killing me inside but he was ignoring me, not just me ignoring him. I thought he was going to be begging me to talk to him but I guess that was selfish of me. He can't be the only one working for this relationship; I have to try too.

The fight with Jellal was on Friday and it was now Monday, which meant school so I was currently waiting outside Mest's room so we could walk to class together. Jellal might not like it but Mest was still my friend and my best friend in class.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Mest said as he came out of his dorm and locked the door.

"It's fine," I replied.

As we started walking, I prepared myself to thank him for what happened at work since I forgot to say it before.

"Mest, thank you for what you did for me on my first day at work. I could've been fired but you stepped up to help me. So thank you very much," I said.

"It was nothing," Mest waved it off nonchalantly.

"No, really, I owe you. How can I repay you?"

Mest tapped his chin in thought. "You can go out with me after class to the mall. There's a new laser tag place there. But as friends, of course."

See? I knew he wanted to just be friends, and I was happy with that. I needed to make new friends in my life, and Mest was a great friend.

"I'm sorry but I can't do today. I have a singing rehearsal after class for the Fairy Tail Voices," I said apologetically. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Sure."

Class flew by quickly, and afterwards, I got a bubble milk tea down the road before heading to the music room. We were now getting much better at singing and we don't sound like dying cats or rats anymore. The Regional Singing Competition was at the start of May and we have already chosen our songs for it. It was a bit tiring going to rehearsals every week (this is why I didn't want to go to club meetings) but it was fun. Unfortunately, I would see Jellal and we had to stand next to each other and sing together. It would be romantic if not for the awkwardness, so I was going to try and work it out with him.

After singing for half an hour, Brendon let us have a break so we relaxed on the chairs with our water bottles. I deliberately sat in a chair next to Jellal and scooted closer to him so our chairs were touching.

"Jellal," I said quietly. "Can we talk... about the fight? I don't want to fight anymore or not talk to each other anymore. I hate it and it's exhausting. I forgive you for acting out."

"I'm sorry, maybe later," Jellal responded with a blank face.

I stared deeply in his eyes, trying to find some kind of hope, but he would just look away. Why was he making this difficult? I thought he wanted us to be together and get married.

"Jellal. I love you and I know you love me... is it because I said I was going to leave you alone? I was being rude and said some mean things, didn't I? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. Please, can we just make up? Pretend it never happened, if you want?" I pleaded, but it was no use.

"Look, Erza, can we please talk some other time?" Jellal stood up and sat down next to Natsu.

My heart was aching. It hurt so much that he was avoiding me and I wasn't even completely sure why. I blinked away tears, hoping no one was paying attention to my sniffling and my teary eyes. Luckily, they weren't; everyone was talking to one another as friends would. I stared as the couples hugged each other and laughed with each other, jealous of how well they got along.

We resumed singing later and I had to admit, my singing was worse than before the break but thankfully, no one noticed. I was just going to get through this rehearsal, go home and eat cake and then cry myself to sleep. Out of the corner of my eye, I gazed at Jellal as he sung. He sounded beautiful and he looked beautiful – his head nodding along with the beat, his blue hair dancing back and forth, as his turquoise eyes held the look he has whenever he concentrates.

Just looking at Jellal made me remember that I can't give up. I'll save the cake and crying for another day. Today, I was going to get Jellal back because I'm strong and I'll show him how dedicated to us I am.

"Fantastic, you guys! With you all here, we'll beat Alvarez for sure! Thank you for coming and don't forget the next rehearsal!" Brendon shouted.

As we left the room, I made a beeline for Jellal, who was walking in the opposite direction of our dorm building. I quickly scurried past our friends, who were all going home, and managed to grasp Jellal's arm.

"Jellal, can we talk now, please? I'm sorry for everything, just please forgive me," I urged him.

He turned around and our eyes met. His blank expression from before slowly crumbled away before hardening slightly.

"Do we really need to repeat this conversation? I don't want to talk to you right now," Jellal said, emphasising every word in the last sentence.

"Well, we have to talk sometime so let's do it now. I am going to fight for us because I know we can work – we've been together for so long and what we have is something special. I'm not gonna let that go for even a second. So work with me, even for a second, so we – together – can make a second turn into a lifetime," I told my fiancé.

I have to admit, I was very proud of that inspirational speech I made up on the spot. Hopefully, that improvised monologue helped him see our relationship in the light again. I held out my hand for Jellal but he didn't take it. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes and I couldn't decipher what that meant. Was he going to forgive me?

I saw an emotion flicker in his eyes and his hand twitched, slowly moving from his side and towards my outstretched hand. My heart skipped a beat. I swallowed my nerves away.

Then everything came crumbling down. His phone rung and his hand that was going to hold mine took his phone out of his pocket. I couldn't help but feel let down as he answered the call. He didn't even hesitate to pick it up. Did he even care about me?

"Yes... I'll be there soon," Jellal said to the person on the other end of the phone.

I was standing so close to him but I felt so far away; I might as well have been seeing him through the screen of the phone – he looked so close and clear but in reality, his spirit and mind were miles away.

He finally put his phone away and when our eyes connected again, pain was evident in his face. I wanted to hold him close to me again and feel his familiar lips on mine again.

"I'm sorry. I have to go now. We'll talk later... I promise," Jellal said.

Promise. Something so strong yet could easily be broken. Throwing that word around like nothing didn't make him seem more trustworthy. I was skeptical about that phone call and I wasn't leaving until I had answers.

Jellal started walking off but halted when I asked, "Who called you? Where are you going?"

He looked over his shoulder to meet my gaze. "My friend. I'm going to visit him."

Then without another word or smile, or anything, he walked away. I frowned and my arm dropped back to my side limply. For some reason, that call bugged me. Suddenly, several questions filled my head. Why would he be going to his friend's place all the time when he has us? Is he doing drugs with them? Does he not like us anymore? Is most of his new friends girls? Is he cheating on me?

Cheating... I never considered that. We've been faithful to each other for a long time. He wouldn't do that, he wouldn't... would he? I mean, the signs all point in that direction: always going to his friend's house, not telling us anything about his friends, slight distancing from us, and one phone call makes him leave his fiancé to see them.

Oh my god. He was cheating on me. What should I do? I should confront him when I see him next. Yes, that was a good idea. Unfortunately, the irrational part of me wanted to do something more... irrational. I wanted proof and I could do that if I followed him. For a couple of minutes, I contemplated what to do.

"Screw it, yolo," I muttered and ran off in Jellal's direction.

I spotted him down the street and I ran closer until I was a few metres behind me. I made sure to stay quiet at all times and keep my distance. Stealthily, I hid behind trees and moved by the shadows and objects. It was just like in the movies. 

Finally, I saw Jellal stop at a house. I quickly ducked down behind a bush. After counting to ten in my head, I peered over the bush and saw Jellal walking into the house. Once the door closed, I looked around to make sure no one was watching and then ran over to the house. It was a small house with only one storey. Unfortunately for me, the only window at the front had its curtains closed so I couldn't see inside. I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I couldn't help myself. With quiet, cautious steps, I tiptoed along the fence to the side of the house. There was a window where I was and it gave me a good view of the study room.

Jellal walked into sight and hugged two guys and a girl. They looked to be the same age as him – I'm guessing they were his friends he always visited. I expected it to be just one girl but maybe he's hooking up with the girl and those guys know about it. Maybe they're all doing kinky stuff together...

I shook my head frantically. Stop thinking of weird things; Jellal isn't like that.

They moved closer to where I was and I crouched down more. After talking for a while, they sat down at the big table in the middle of the room and got out books and stationary. Textbooks? Exercise books? Pens? They were studying? This was definitely not what I was expecting. I prepared myself to see Jellal making out with a hot girl. 

After watching in shock for a while, I realised something more shocking than them studying. Jellal's friends were helping him and tutoring him. They showed him how to answer questions and what to write. The frustration and determination on Jellal's face made me sad. How could I not see it? I was so selfish, thinking he was cheating when he just needed help with work. University was hard and I felt the pressure it could bring, but I never thought Jellal could possibly be struggling under the pressure. I always thought he was perfect and smart – of course he was smart, but I forgot that no-one was perfect. Everyone had their ups and downs, their strengths and weaknesses, and their perfections and flaws.

I stood up and stretched my legs, moving out of sight from the window. A smile graced my face as I walked away from Jellal and his friends – a sad smile and a happy one at the same time. I was happy he wasn't cheating but I was sad I didn't notice him struggling. So in this moment, I decided I would give Jellal the space he needed to focus on university and maybe when he's ready, he can talk to me about any problems. Then we can make our special something last a lifetime. 

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Year 12 is already killing me!!! I had only had one day but I'm already dead. There's already so much homework! So let's just hope I have time to do the next chapter.

Please VOTE and COMMENT! Have a nice day! Don't stress over school! And enjoy life!