"I'm sorry, you're just not strong enough for me to talk to, Levy." I puffed out my chest to ridiculous proportions, and crossed my arms. I donned my absolute fiercest scowl, while at the same time trying to look extremely bored. The girls around the table burst out laughing, Levy clutched her stomach, and gasped for air. I turned to her and ran my eyes up and down her body before scoffing and turning my head away.

I looked at the city of magnolia sprawled out in all directions. Tonight was Halloween and the guild had decided to go out to a popular club in the center of town. Currently, a group of us girls were out on the rooftop patio they had, enjoying the crisp autumn air.

"Oh, are you guys still standing there? I didn't notice anything besides my total awesomeness." I glanced back at the giggling girls. They were all dressed like people from our guild. It had been Master's idea, hoping to promote us to get to know the person we were to clone for the evening. Cana was dressed like Levy; a very slutty Levy. Cana wore an orange bra, with a blue bustier that she buttoned to the bottom of the lacy bra. She completed her outfit with white miniskirt and red belt and heels. Levy was dressed like Elfman, she spiked her hair straight up, dying it silver for the evening; she wore a simple green vest with yellow accents, yellow bandeau, and white slacks. Erza was dressed like Mirajane with a long flowy red dress, to everyone's amusement but her own. Lisanna had pulled Freed's name and looked immensely cute with a long green wig, red overcoat, black slacks, and white high-heeled boots.

"That's not manly!" Levy tried her best to imitate the booming voice of her beast take-over counterpart.

"Leave my precious Laxus alone." Lisanna attached herself to me and immediately began fawning over the imaginary lint on my large fur coat. I was wearing Maroon skinny pants, with knee high, high heeled combat boots. On top, I wore a violet dress shirt. I had buttoned it halfway down, tying the ends together, leaving my midriff bare. There was only so far I would conform to his restricting wardrobe. My sound pods swung around my neck, long ago removed.

"Oh the babies!" Erza clasped her hands, hearts in her eyes.

"Tch… as if, woman." I smirked devilishly as I used the hidden lacrima in my coat sleeves to shock Erza/Mira. She yelped, but turned to smile.

"The harder you fight it, the more it becomes true." I had to admit, Erza was doing a grand job of enacting her character.

"You want a harder fight?" I activated the lacrima, but just raised my hand threateningly, letting the lightning dance around my hand. The girls burst out laughing again, but I was too entranced with watching the yellow arcs spiral out and snap in every direction. The girls all went completely silent, staring at me with wide eyes.

I kept my hand lit up as I let a booming laugh out, eyes closed and mouth opened wide. "Looks like you guys finally learned some respect." I opened my eyes to see them all frozen in place, eyes lifted to the same point behind my head.

Dread filled my stomach as I slowly twisted to see what they were so concerned about. I yelped and took a step back. Laxus towered above me, barely a breath away. Funnily enough, he was dressed like Nab, complete with the skull necklace, vest and war paint. My eyes ran up his body, pausing to trace the lines of his guild mark and tattoo before finally resting on his stormy blue eyes. The white strands in his eyes clearly visible, even in the dim lighting. They extended out from his pupil like tiny strands of lightning.

His face twisted down in an unreadable expression, but something in his eyes told me he wasn't mad. I held my breath as he extended his hand toward mine. In that moment I was sure my short life was over. Well, it's been real guys. I'll see you on the other side. Lightning shot down his arm and jumped across the short distance, it's chaotic movements danced around my body. I gasped at the beautiful yellow arcs, mesmerized by their beauty.

"Woah." I smiled and looked back up at the tall blonde man in front of me, his eyes danced at my reaction, but otherwise he stayed relaxed. He dropped his hand but the lightning continued its frenzied dance for a few more moments. It awoke something from deep inside, arcing across my skin rapidly, making it very sensitive.

"I came up here to add a touch of authentic lightning to your attire." He pointed to my hair and without further explanation twirled around and joined his team across the patio where they were setting up their table for the evening. I released the breath I had been holding. Peals of laughter sounded behind me and I twirled to face the traitors.

"Not one of you warned me!" I huffed, feeling a bit betrayed.

"Oh, the blonde-haired, blue and brown eyed babies!" Erza was completely unfazed with my anger, not dropping her character for anything.

"Sorry, Lu-chan." Levy's apologetic voice sang out quietly. "I couldn't think, much less speak."

"You hair is bitchin, Lucy!" Cana took a long sip from her book shaped flask for the evening. I raised my hand to find my hair irreparably frizzy. Sighing, I took a sip of the glass in front of me, downing its contents.

"I would never say… that." Levy placed her hands on her hips. "It's not manly."

"Good thing neither you, nor me, nor me as you are men." Cana furrowed her brow to make sure she said that correctly, ignoring the glare shot in her direction from across the table.

"You did great, L. Just like I thought you would. You always conquer in the face of danger." Lisanna clasped her arms around one of mine and pulled me closer to her.

"I'm going to get us some more shots, Ladies!" Cana jumped up suddenly, and sauntered over to the rooftop bar.

I laughed and rejoined the amusing conversation with ease. I felt eyes on me and discreetly looked around, not noticing anyone looking my way. Just as I was about turn back to my friends, blue eyes found mine and the breath left my body. I averted my eyes from his heavy gaze, not willing to lose my sense of self just yet.

No one knew the feelings I harbored for the Lightning Slayer, and I'd rather keep it that way. I know I was joking about his arrogant side, but it was all in fun. Honestly, since he returned to the guild, he had relaxed considerably. He was no longer obsessed with throwing out every weak member. I had observed from afar as he mingled with other members in the guild, a smile tugging at his mouth every once in awhile. It softened his features and just about caused me to melt into a puddle. Other than Natsu, very embarrassingly, smelling my outward evidence of said event, no one seemed to catch on. He was too innocent to say anything besides my 'weird smell'.

That's why when I pulled his name from the hat I about died. Sure there was a part of me secretly excited about dressing up like Laxus, and having an excuse to speak openly about him all evening. But there was a larger, more fierce part of me that was terrified. Terrified that someone, anyone, would find out my secret. Terrified of what might happen if he found out. Terrified of finally being rejected outright. In my mind, I was able to live in a fantasy world where he lavished me with attention, and treated me like the goddess I was. Okay, so that was going a little far, but it was my imagination after all. No one in the guild was privy to my deepest desires.

Except Cobra, or Eric, that is. The first time Crime Sorciere came to the guild after I found out, he had immediately sought me out and teased me endlessly. I had run out crying, Eric hot on my heels. He surprised me by actually caring, wrapping me in a hug, but holding my arms to my side so I couldn't reciprocate. We had spent the rest of the evening talking about Laxus, Kinana, and other various subjects. We had been fast friends ever since, a very unlikely pair.

"L!" Lisanna waved her hand in front of my face, finally gaining my attention. I blinked and focused my eyes on her amused expression. "I think your boyfriend just arrived, Natsu came to tell you, but he got too impatient waiting for you to return to earth."

I laughed and thanked her, that was totally something he would do. Natsu was a very special person, my best friend even, but patience was nowhere in his vocabulary. Or anyone else's as they described him. "Thanks Frianna." I winked at her and walked over to the bar.

Justin and I had been dating for a little over a month now. He had asked me out after we spent the entire afternoon speaking about books at the coffee shop next to my favorite bookstore. He was a great boyfriend, polite, caring, and attentive. If felt so wrong to still be head over heels for another man, but I was determined to get over the blonde man who plagued my dreams. There was no spark between Justin and I physically, it was all a mental connection. I had planned on breaking things off tonight, but seeing Laxus only solidified my resolve to stay with the sweet guy.

"Lucy, love!" Justin waved his hand enthusiastically in my direction. I smiled and waved back, swallowing back the bile.

"Hey, Justin." I allowed him to kiss my cheek and sat next to him on a bar stool.

"Listen, Lucy." Justin suddenly looked very nervous and the bile from before rose with a vengeance. I had known for awhile this was coming. It was after our second date that I learned he was not interested in me, or women really. I knew it was wrong to allow him to continue to keeping up the facade and taking me out, but I figured he had reasons for staying with me.

"It's okay, Justin. I know." I smiled at the sweet man beside me. We had grown close over the course of a month, both avid readers. "Just promise to have a girls night out with me and my friends soon. They will miss seeing you around." Surprise was evident in his eyes, but he smiled widely and nodded.

"How did you know?" He whispered, afraid someone might overhear.

"I know a little something about not being with the one you love." Sadness permeated my expression for a split second. I instantly pushed it back down, but it was too late. His face was gentle as he brushed my hair back.

"He's a fool if he can't see what a total package you are." He stated with fierce loyalty.

"Ha! Thanks, I'll be sure to tell him next time I see him." I rolled my eyes. Hey Laxus! I'm in love with you and you are a tool for not adoring me with every breath you breathe. I'm sure that conversation would go real smooth, ending with me getting my ass shocked into next year, maybe literally.

"You do that! I love you, Lucy. Keep in touch." Justeen waved to a person in the distance, telling them to give him a minute.

"I'll see you around the bookstore, I'm sure. Go give him hell!" I blew him a kiss as he bounded off the stool and started across the patio.

"Toodles!" He turned and waved, his face lit up.

"See you around!" I laughed and turned to take a sip of the scotch set in front of me. It never dawned on me that I hadn't ordered one.

"Thought you might like to drink like a real lightning dragon slayer, that's Walker Blue." Laxus's voice rang out from behind me. I turned and watched as he slipped into the stool beside mine. I just nodded and turned back to my drink, barely acknowledging his presence. "I like your outfit, you definitely wear it better than I do."

Again, I nodded. I mentally face-palmed at my reactions, cursing him for reducing me to this bumbling shell of a woman. I was always so self assured, but as soon as he looked my way I felt like a small kid. I desperately ran through things to say. 'Well, I look better with it off.' I scoffed mentally, that was totally something I would say.

Laxus spit his drink out, eyes wide as he stared at my face. It took a moment to realize I had said that out loud. I slammed my hand across my mouth. An unbearable heat flared hot beneath my skin, alerting me to the embarrassing reaction to my indiscretion. Laxus laughed, booming heartfelt laughter that shook his entire frame. I smiled while looking up at him through my fingers. His laughter was so beautiful, like a melody of sounds after a storm.

"Damn, Blondie." His eyes turned serious for a split second. "Is that an invitation?" His deep voice caressed my ears as his breath fanned across my face. I lowered my hand from my face and playfully slapped his arm.

"You wish." I channeled my inner Laxus and gave him my best bored scowl, to which he just laughed. I heard my friends call my name and sighed in relief. Waving to the blonde behemoth, I slipped off the barstool. I was too absorbed with the funny antics of my friends to hear him reply 'I do'.

"L! Come dance with us!" Levy waved fanatically from the edge of the darkened dance floor. Her flushed cheeks and swinging hips betrayed just how drunk she really was. Gajeel looked none to pleased at being dragged in the midst of the pulsing music. The smell of sweaty, aroused bodies, paired with the booming music couldn't be too pleasant.

"You have no idea how right you are, Babe." I froze as the familiar sound of the grouchy dragon slayer. I swung around at lightning speed, stumbling straight into the arms of my best friend. I looked straight into Eric's pained expression, his eye dancing merrily.

"You know, someone is going to get the wrong idea one day, if they hear you call me that." I laughed and threw my arms around him instantly, feeling him tense, but otherwise let me indulge in the rare PDA.

"Eh, let 'em. I have about a negative million fucks to give about now." Eric shrugged and I took the hint to place my hands back to my sides.

"Oh, is that all?" I threw my hands to my cheeks in mock horror. "You average at a negative trillion usually."

"What can I say, I have an annoying Fairy friend who's negatively affecting me." Eric guided us towards the upstairs patio, hoping to escape the excruciating level of noise in the room.

"So what are you doing here, Eric? I thought you would only be caught in a club if you were dead. And you'd probably return from the dead just to torture the person who dragged you there anyway." I sat down at the bar, motioning for the bartender as Eric chose the seat on the other side of the corner we found ourselves in. I loved the corner seat in bars, it made it much easier to converse with the person you were sitting with.

"Kinana's here." Eric shrugged. He ordered me a double whiskey neat and peered through the back of the bar, intent to stare at the twinkling lights of Magnolia.

"So?" I pushed gently, trying to see if he wanted to talk about it yet or not.

"So nothing." He scoffed. He turned to give my wardrobe a pointed look. "Could you be a little bit more obvious? I think even Natsu got the idea, poor dim witted twat."

"Don't you talk about him like that!" I slammed my hand on the bar, surprise actually showed on Eric's face, but instantly vanished. I sighed and turned back to sulk at my drink. "It was Master's idea. He made us draw from a hat."

"You just have shit luck, Babe." Eric's feelings were never hurt, by now I knew the areas to stay away from.

"Tell me about it." I grumble. I traced the rim of my glass with my pointer finger, fascinated by the dull hum it produced.

"You know, I could just tell you-"

"Don't you dare!" I practically screamed, throwing my hand to his mouth. "Please." I added as an afterthought.

"What's the point of being my friend if you don't exploit my abilities?"

"To enjoy your pleasant, soothing company, of course." I smiled sweetly.

"And here I thought it was my good looks and charm." He punctuated his statement by sending me an over exaggerated wink.

"It truly is a mystery why you haven't gotten my panties wet, yet." I winked back. Holy Shit! Time to cut yourself off, Lucy. And I just said shit.. Ugh… I just said it again! What is my issue? Am I really that drunk? Surely not, I've drunk way more than this before. I wonder what my problem is?

"Besides having full blown conversations with yourself, with all this-" He motioned down at his body. "-in front of you, too much for us to cover tonight. Scratch that… this lifetime."

"Can't help it if i'm the smartest one in the room." I playfully punched his arm as I laughed. He pouted mockingly, but soon a rare smile lit up his face. He motioned to the bartender to bring another drink. When I tried to refuse the drink, Eric gave me his absolute best 'Cobra' stare, sending shivers down my spine.

"I haven't seen you enjoying yourself like this in a truly long time. I will tell you before you've had too much, and as long as you stay up here the entire time, I'll stick close to you to make sure no one rapes you." Eric explained, almost having a sincere moment for a minute there.

"Wow, how chivalrous of you. I just need to go down stairs to pee and you'll leave me to the dogs, huh?" I grinned up at him.

"Exactly, just pee off the side of the building, and we won't have any problems. Also, if it's a certain someone, I'll make sure to encourage the rape."

"How did I ever find such a wonderful friend?" I rolled my eyes, and silently wished that he might want to.

"The real question is how did you survive this long without me?" He touched my hand in a deceptively sneaky move. He was obviously telling me where he wanted this conversation to go.

"I don't know, I guess I was distracted by how you were trying to kill me every time I saw you." I stared straight into his eyes, challenging him silently.

"We can't all be perfect, Princess." He rolled his eyes, obviously not taking the bait.

"It really isn't as grand as people make it out to be." I threw my hair behind my shoulder and posed to show off my best assets.

"So you admit it?" Eric questioned, surprisingly serious.

"I won't answer a single question you ask without you giving an in depth explanation first." After spending as much time with him as I did, I knew there were always double meanings to his words.

"I never give explanations, you're either in or out." I was vastly unsurprised by his lack of emotional expression in his face. I knew him much better now, but it never ceased to amaze me.

"And if I don't want to play?" I knew I was playing with fire, but maybe I wanted to get burned.

"There's the door." He shrugged, appearing devastatingly nonchalant.

"But-" I started to retort, only to be cut off by the annoying soul reader.

"Then answer the question." He raised his eyebrows and leaned in close.

"I already responded to that, this conversation is getting redundant." I smiled and rolled my eyes. Even in my drunken stupor, I knew when to keep my mouth shut. This was one of those times.

"You've answered questions before, even though I've never explained." His logic was utterly maddening. I knew he was right, but I also knew I didn't want to answer that particular question. I would only be opening myself up to a whole 'nother round of teasing.

"Touche."

"So?" He thought he had me right where he wanted me, but I knew a thing or two about playing his 'game'. No one stayed friends with the maroon haired mage for long without sooner or later figuring out how to dodge his jabs.

"I honestly forgot the question." I smiled innocently, unwilling to back down.

"So you admit it?" Eric made a motion, as if to hurry me up.

"Nope." Not happening, Cobra. I know you're listening now.

"Cheater." His words dripped with contempt, but his face told another story.

"You're the one who listened to my soul… and then answered it." Satisfied I won the round, I downed the rest of my glass, slamming it down in ceremonious celebration.

"I like not listening to yours… usually " He waved for the bartender to bring yet another round. I was starting to feel really buzzed. I felt like I could do absolutely anything and get away with it. I was in dangerous territory.

"Are you calling me annoying?" My face contorted painfully into shocked horror.

"No, just like the surprise, unless you get too silent, than I know you're having a weirdly interesting conversation with yourself. It's vastly entertaining." He smiled haughtily as I huffed and crossed my arms.

"Why do I do this to myself?" I asked the question more to myself than him, but he took the opportunity and answered anyway.

"You're a masochist." Eric offered flippantly as if it was common knowledge. I thanked the bartender as he brought me another glass, taking a furtive sip, deciding to take this glass more slowly.

"And you're a sadist." I grumbled, before disregarding my internal decree and downing a large gulp of the hot liquid. It's smooth taste slid down my throat and made my bones hum. There was no better drink in the world than a glass of fine whiskey.

"You know you love it." I nearly spit out my drink, grateful to whatever deity was watching over me that I managed to somehow keep the liquid inside. Swallowing quickly, I leveled a glare at the smug man in front of me.

"Like hell." He just laughed off my expression, not at all concerned.

"I could be your poison." His voiced practically dripped with artificial sweetness.

"Gag." I dry heaved into my hands. "Someone please kill me now."

"I offer to be nice, and this is how she repays me." Eric threw his hands up in mock defeat. We turned to look each other in the eyes before bursting out laughing. It felt good to joke around freely with him. We loved to flirt and have fun, with none of the sticky extras attached.

"So, did you get a hotel room?" I try to ask coyly, but I know he's already miles ahead of me. He can definitely sense my mood change, sometimes even before I catch on. His slayer nose definitely comes in handy.

"Nope, I'm all yours." He sent me a wink I chose to ignore. I finished the glass, sliding it to the edge of the bar.

"Ugh, please… don't ever say that again." I slid off the high barstool, stumbling straight into the waiting arms of my friend. "Thanks, Eric." I smiled brightly at him and couldn't help the drunken giggle that escaped my lips at his adorable expression. After the mess my life was these last few years, I decided to fuck it all and do whatever I damn well pleased. Yep, Lucy you are officially cut off.

"Good, because I already paid your bill." Eric waved towards the outdoor stairs, holding my hand as I followed him down.

"Wow, so generous. How did I land such a stud like you?" He paused long enough to let out a booming laugh.

"Boggles the mind."

Hi guys! So, I have been AWOL for a long while now and have deleted most of my other stories. I had something very personal happen to me early this year and have been dealing with that. Gomen. Anyway, I should be back for good now. I want to keep this author note relatively short, I just wanted to let you know that I am also an avid reader on this site, and sometimes I want to see a story posted by some of my favorite authors. So, as I am a bit low on inspiration at the moment, I encourage anyone who would like to to PM me and let me know if there is a one or two chapter story that you would like to see written here. Feel free to use as little or as much detail as you would like and I will do my best to write the story. If, however, I am unable to complete the task, I will let you know.

That's all for now! Talk soon! XOXO