So this is a draft I've had in my documents FOREVER. Finally thought I'd put it up. I am unsure if I should continue it or not. It was meant to be a multi-chapter but I'm lazy as hell. Anyway, hope you enjoy


It was really the twinkling lights that did her in.

She was a small kid when she first saw them, or, rather, the sign pasted on the side of an old and worn bar that only the ruffians of the town went to. The paper was fresh and new, and printed in curling letters were the words "WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE, THE FAIRY TAIL CIRCUS".

Her first thoughts had been indifferent until she saw the art that decorated the edges. Soft, colorful pictures of little fairies danced on the edges, and fire laced the sides, with cool blue flowing within.

Juvia Locskter was not one for circuses, but she thought she'd make an exception, just for the fairies. She thought it with the smallest of smiles.

When the moon came out she thought to sneak in through one of the flaps of the tent since she had no money, but to her surprise and delight, it was free. The nice man at the entrance with a stout belly smiled warmly and complimented her blue locks, bringing a fierce blush to her cheeks. Compliments were rare and few between for an orphan child in a thieves gang.

It was dark and stank like hay when she entered. The seats were mostly taken, and afraid to approach anyone, she stood by the seats in the back nervously itching at her arm. Maybe it had been a mistake to come.

The thought vanished from her mind the moment the lights came on. They were twinkling.

An older man, a small man, came on the stage and called to the crowd for silence while applause rang out. She stared with such intensity as he cleared his throat and introduced himself.

"Welcome one and all," he boomed. "Welcome to the Fairy Tail Circus, I am the troupe leader, Makarov." His eyes twinkled mischievously and Juvia found she quite liked him.

She tuned out the rest of his speech when her focus found something far more interesting. Silently and with quiet grace, people stepped out from behind the curtains - the performers she assumed. A teenager with beautiful long white hair grinned wildly at the crowd, eyes sparkling just like Makarov's. A younger girl, maybe her own age, with dark brown hair grinned excitedly, waving like a maniac. A boy the same age with startling pink hair was jumping around and muttering things as his fellow members shushed him. There were maybe twenty lined up, each different and wildly individual. The one that truly caught her eye though was a boy with dark hair, standing coolly to the side, indifferent features staring at the crowd. She thought his gaze passed over her for a split second and everything inside her burned fire red.

Her pulse sped up, and it felt like her heart was clawing at her throat to escape. And oh, how badly she wanted to set it free, to let it loose and run to that man with the slight smirk on his face. He captivated her in a way she'd never felt before.

Her whole life, she'd never felt like this before. She wondered why she hadn't? It was such a glorious feeling, this longing, the possibility. But, she realized with sudden clarity, only this mysteriously beautiful man could cause such a reaction.

She hardly noticed when Gajeel appeared behind her, like a shadow.

"Juvia," he grunted. "The boss wants to head out."

Juvia's breath caught in her throat. Leave? She whipped around and stared at the tall figure with wide eyes. She couldn't voice the need to stay, to never leave. Juvia didn't want to go, something that had never truly occurred before. She'd always been willing to bend to her leader's commands, as flexible as the water. But now she found herself unwilling to move, because of him.

"No." It came out as a breathless whisper. "I won't leave."

p"Gajeel stared down at her with his red, sharp eyes. For a split second, she wondered if he was going to knock her out and drag her back. But no - he would never do that. Though occasionally tenuous, he was her only true friend.

"Juvia," he warned lowly. "The boss won't let us stay." She could have sworn there was a touch of fear in his eyes when he said, "Boss won't be happy with insubordination."

"Juvia glanced back at the stage where the man and his troop were each performing their own small tricks on the side before the true act began. His brow was furrowed as he juggled what she guessed to be 5 clubs back and forth with the pink-haired fellow.

Gajeel followed her gaze and frowned.

"Slowly, Juvia nodded. She would go back. If she left without a word, who knew what horrors her boss would rain down upon her, Gajeel, or worse, Fairy Tail? She would go back, but she would not stay.


Comments, suggestions, thoughts? Yes, no, maybe so?