After a restless night, and a torturous morning math lecture, I manage to meet up with Jellal at Fairy Tail for lunch. I spot the blue-haired boy at the back of the shop, where he sits at a small table and picks at his half-eaten sandwich. Upon approaching him, I waste no time diving into the discussion.

"So you're saying this is a map?" I ask skeptically, holding up the silver button. "Don't lots of things need keys?" He reaches out and I drop the silver trinket onto his palm. 

"That's true, but a map is the most practical thing. At least for me," Jellal answers.

I shrug in response.

"First you find a random button in the woods...Then a girl tells you about a key..." Jellal whispers, examining the button. "The lines look a bit like a U-shape, don't you think?"

"This really is a game," I say sadly. "Lisanna's murderer must think this some sort of twisted game."

"Which means we'll do anything to win it," he replies, sticking the button into the breast pocket of his jacket for safekeeping. "Come on. Let's ask Professor Dreyar for some advice."

~ ~ ~

"It's my lunch break," the tiny, old man grumbles, hardly sparing us a glance. He appears to have been immersed in a journal called the Sorcerer Magazine. The cover, I realize much to my horror, displays a girl in an extremely revealing bikini.

"How old is Fiore University?"

Makarov snorts. "Don't you know the history?"

"Mavis Vermillion founded it. Her ghost haunts the school," I say, though it comes out as more of a question.

The man doesn't deny my words. "She was only eighteen years old when she founded Fiore University. She died ten years later." Makarov takes his time opening a package of sugar cookies. "This university is only two decades old."

"How did she die?" Jellal says quietly.

"No one knows." A few sprinkles tumble from the cookie wrapper. He glares at the crumbs with annoyance.

"We were wondering if there were...any maps of uni," Jellal manages to say at last.

The professor raises a bushy eyebrow. "Of course there are. I believe there's a map on one of those brochures they give to freshman."

I quickly take the lead. "No, no. What Jellal means to ask is if there are any old maps."

Makarov grumbles something about 'being too smart for your own good' under his breath. "Very well. Come with me. And remember the oath you swore when you signed those confidential packets. Yes, I'm talking to you, Scarlet."

"Me?"

"You cannot tell Lucy Heartfilia."

"But she's on the..." I sigh. "Okay."

Professor Dreyar shows us to a small, enclosed room near the teacher's lounge. Stacks of cardboard boxes line the south wall and when he pulls one of the boxes down (with some difficulty, due to his short stature) papers go flying.

"Lecture halls change every school year. It was Mavis' tradition to document every single detail. Not sure how this helps with the Lisanna case, but help yourself." Makarov ambles toward the door. "Oh, and nothing leaves this room, understood?"

We nod simultaneously.

~ ~ ~

"Ul, you look really exhausted. Did you pull an all-nighter again?" Meredy asks her roommate who is currently collapsed on their fluffy, neon green carpet.

"Never take bio, Meredy. Never."

"But it's mandatory..." the girl trails off. "You really need to take better care of yourself, Ul."

"I feel like crap," the dark-haired girl mutters into the carpet.

"Coffee run?"

"Love you, Meredy!" Ultear says as the pink-haired girl grabs her student ID and heads out the room.

When the door clicks shut, Ultear pulls herself to her feet and stumbles across the room where her laptop sits. 

~ ~ ~

"It's been three hours, Erza. I think I'm going insane," Jellal groans, leaning against one of the boxes. The box slides to the right and he ends up flat on his back. I don't even have the heart to laugh.

"This is so stupid. I don't think the school was ever built in a U-shape," I cry. My back aches from being hunched over. 

"Choose a letter: P or T," the boy says suddenly.

"Hmm."

Jellal smiles broadly. "It's not that hard, Scarlet..."

"'P' as in 'piss off,'" I counter.

"Looks like we're dining at Pizza Hut this evening." 

"Wait- what?!"

~ ~ ~

"Luuucy," Natsu complains, rubbing his temples in a circular motion. "This is boring."

"For once I gotta agree with Pinky," Gray mutters under his breath. He tosses a paperback book to the ground. "There's nothing in here about Mavis Vermillion."

"You're not looking hard enough!" Lucy insists. She pushes her laptop onto the raven-haired boy's lap. "Check this out- Mavis wasn't the only founder of uni."

"Yeah, but she was the first principal so that's why she's the only one who matters," says Gray. Natsu scoots close to Lucy and peers at the screen of the laptop.

"Wrong," she says firmly. Natsu snickers, much to the annoyance of the other boy. "There were three others. One of them being a man by the name of Yuri Dreyar."

"Laxus..."

"Laxus' great-grandfather."

"Makarov's dad?" Gray asks with wide eyes. "He's still alive?"

"No, of course not. But maybe we can talk to Professor Dreyar...or even Laxus.."

Natsu frowns. "That's impossible! Makarov is an old dude! Old dudes don't have dads!"

"Please tell me you're joking..."

~ ~ ~

"No, Erza. They don't have strawberry cake here."

"That's stupid."

"You think everything is stupid."

"You know who I think is especially stupid?"

"Who?"

I flash him a mischievous smile. "It's a secret."

Jellal rolls his eyes. "You don't have to be so sassy all the time, Erza."

Within minutes, we're called up to the counter where a plate of steaming cheese pizza and a receipt awaits us. Jellal graciously accepts the mouthwatering dish and leads me to a booth near the entrance of the small restaurant.

"Natsu's going to be so jealous," I sing, flipping the lid of the box open and grabbing a slice. The cheese is still melting and the spicy aroma fills the air. 

Jellal is one hundred percent focused on his pizza slice. The flatbread burns his fingers and he fumbles for a bit, before placing the slice onto the paper plate with a wince. I smile with faint amusement.

~ ~ ~

"But he can never be yours, love."

"Why not Mama? I love him!" the child protested.

"You must wait for your soulmate," the mother whispered, delicately kissing her daughter's forehead. "for he'll be the one who will love you."

~ ~ ~

"Erza? Are you okay?"

"It was really hot in there," I murmur. I place a hand against my cheek; it feels feverish. I hadn't thought about my mother in a while. I suppose it is weird to forget, but it had been years since we had last spoken. 

"Sit down. Maybe that'll help," Jellal suggests, placing a hand on my shoulder and trying to lead me to the red bench that sits outside of Pizza Hut.

The touch of his hand is gentle, yet something within me snaps.

"Jellal..."

I'd like to take the blame and say I made the first move, but I'm honestly not sure. It could've been him who pulled me to his chest and placed his lips against mine. Or maybe it was the both of us. Maybe it was something in the pizza that made us do it.

 His mouth is warm, the caress of his lips softer than I could have ever imagined- but then again I hadn't kissed anyone before so-

I suddenly find myself being pushed away. Rejection is one of my worst fears, but it's okay. I don't live for peoples' acceptance. 

It's okay, I tell myself solemnly.

"You must wait for your soulmate for he'll be the one who will love you."  

But I have, Mama, I have. What did I do wrong?

"I can't...I have a soulmate." He doesn't meet my eyes, and for some reason, it makes everything worse. "You know that."

"R-Right! Of course! I know! Silly me." I stumble away, far away, until my back presses against the brick wall.

"I love her. I love Ultear," says Jellal in a steady voice. I'm not sure who he's trying to convince. 

The green-eyed boy raises his hand and gingerly touches his bottom lip. Then, all at once, he asks, "What color did you say your heart glowed?"