New story! I've been dying to write this for a good few months now! Practically all summer! I'm only sorry I couldn't actually get this out during the summer months. A lot of things started to happen and I got distracted by things easily and I'm currently working on an original novel so ideas for that kept my mind focused away but I kept nibbling at this every now and then. I'm all good now and hopefully I can keep this going for a while! I've planned out a lot of scenes for this fanfic in my head so with enough motivation (reviews, cough cough) then we'll get there some day!

Gray sighed heavily as he sat in the backseat of the family car with his stepsister, Ultear. In front was his step-mother, Ur, and driving was his father, Silver. Gray hated his life right now. Ur and Ultear had only been in their family for no more than two years, but Gray still couldn't get used to how Ur's job worked. The constantly had to move around from town to town perhaps every half a year or so. It pissed him off greatly. Ultear was used to the unsettled travelling, and Gray swore she made it her ultimate goal to have sex with at least three of the hottest guys in each place they lived for the time being. His step-sister was a whore for all he cared. Silver had decided to work from home doing various DIY projects that they gave away to neighbours before they moved away. Gray could easily tell that his father was ever so slowly losing his mind, and of course it was Ur's fault. Well, according to Gray it was. Ur had ruined everything for him. Gray had run it through his head so many times before, but he was positive that Ur was trying to replace his deceased mother, who'd passed away in an accident when he was just eight years old.

Where the family were heading now, along the motorway, was a town called Magnolia. It was apparently known for it's excessive liveliness and since Gray had grown into a state of mind where he preferred the peace and quiet and being lonesome, he already knew he'd hate it. He missed his friends back in his hometown, Isvan. Isvan had been a small town, where everyone had pretty much known everyone in the next three streets surrounding their own. Gray had changed since he left. He used to be a little troublemaker, as Silver usually said, and would stay up late talking to his friends on video chat or through a gaming mic. Gray worried in the back of his mind that his closest childhood friends would forget about him soon enough. He had it a habit to find a map whenever they moved, and it always ended up with having them move further and further away from Isvan and his friends. But, of course, he did still have access to their group chat on his phone's messaging app where he spoke to them as often as he could. He felt that keeping in contact was the only thing keeping his sanity.

PressPause: Gray, you still play KoV?

EbonyShark: Heck yeah, whenever I get the chance to at least. Why?

PressPause: I'm about to take over your level!

EbonyShark: Dude I'm at the highest level you can get, you can't beat me xD

DaylightThief: Gray's too good for that world, lol. If the Valorians were real people Gray would definitely be leading them

PressPause: Can't argue with that. The dude's like a freaking expert on KoV! I swear Gray, were you in on the development of it all?

EbonyShark: I'll reveal my secrets when you and Nano start dating ;)

PressPause: We already are. Now spill

EbonyShark: Doronbo?

DaylightThief: Nah they're not dating. Pause's too chicken to even ask and Nano's been dropping hints for YEARS

PressPause: Oh shut the hell up you traitor

"Aw, is my queer stepbrother texting his pathetic, far away friends again? How lame" Ultear sneered from beside Gray. Wow, his stepsister could be a real bitch when she wanted to. Especially when she got the chance to expose and make fun of his sexuality whenever she could. "One day those friends of yours are going to just stop talking to you and you know why? Because they'll realise what a pathetic, worthless human being you actually are".

Could his father and Ur not hear this? It wasn't like they were sitting miles away from their kids! Gray growled and turned away from Ultear. "Oh shut up. At least I'm not a slut like you are" he smiled sarcastically over his shoulder. God, I hate my family at the best of times.

"Ugh! Well at least I'm getting some Gray, unlike your poor virgin ass". She then turned to look at her own phone and from the smile that graced her lips, Gray could tell she was texting her last hook up.

Gray rolled his eyes and looked back out of the car window as they continued to roll along the road to Magnolia. The chat on his phone had gone silent which made a small, uncomfortable lump form in his throat. He wanted to stay in contact with them as much as possible. But sometimes there just wasn't anything coming to his mind, especially when the others seemed to have nothing to say to one another either. At times, when things got really dark and depressing for him, Gray often believed what his half-sister said about one day they would lose interest in him and move on from their childhood friendship. Gray hadn't even revealed his sexuality to them in slight fear of triggering that exact thing.

"We're almost there kiddos, just another half hour at most" Silver told them, glancing into the rearview mirror.

"'Kay..." Both Gray and Ultear responded dully in mumbled unison. Neither of them really cared. They were used to the comings and goings anyway.

It was near enough evening by the time the family arrived at their new home. Gray had to silently admit to at least himself that Magnolia had some of the most beautiful scenery he'd ever experienced in all their travelling. Due to the season, there were cherry blossom trees lining almost every residential street they passed through, with delicate, light pink petals fluttering around in the gentle breeze. The trees had fences circling their trunks and the garden hedges were clipped to a neat perfection. Great, even if the scenery was like something from a painting, he was going to be living in Snob Hill for who knows how long.

He waited for the others to get out of the car before he sluggishly pulled himself out of the vehicle. Silver and Ur were looking over the exterior of their new home. It was a simple, starter family home with a white picket fence (like every other residential home they'd passed and surrounded them), white brick walls and even a nice, front wooden porch that had also been painted white. The windows were simple upright rectangles and each windowsill on the ground floor had potted plants to decorate. Aside from their metallic blue car, that was the only colour Gray could see. There was a patch of grass that was divided by a pebble-filled pathway going down alongside the house and rounded out into what was their backyard. He turned away when he saw his father put his arm around Ur's waist - seeing them being all couple-like made him feel sick.

"It's perfect, isn't it?" Ur asked with a gentle tone.

"Yes, that it is. And it's all ours so let's make the most of it" Silver replied, kissing his wife's head before going to open the boot of the car to grab their luggage. "Gray, it'd be nice if you could help me out this time. Last time your sister did it so it's only fair".

"And I remember I broke a nail! It still hasn't grown back to the length I had it at either, and I really hate shortening my nails down" Ultear whined - literally.

Gray grumbled under his breath about how her nails were actually cat's claws put in through a surgery procedure and grabbed the first case that he came cross. Which happened to be Ultear's. And my God, it weighed as much as he did. Luckily for Gray though, he was quite strong and could carry the case without too much trouble. He carried it over to the porch and dumped it there, going back to fetch the next case while his father unlocked the door to let the girls inside.

"Oh, this place really is wonderful!" He could hear Ur comment and he swore he felt bile trying to crawl up his throat. He heaved his own case up to the porch from the boot of the car with a large, clearly meant to be audible sigh. Ur smiled sweetly at him - to which he just scowled in return like usual - and placed her hands on her hips lightly. "What do you think of the place, Gray?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her tone.

Gray barely made an effort to glance around and shrugged his shoulders. "It makes me wanna throw up". He cast his eyes to the ground as he turned and walked back down to the car to retrieve his rucksack that he'd kept in the footwell of his seat to keep himself somewhat entertained on the long journey from Brago to Magnolia. That vile woman has ruined my life. I just want to go home, back to Isvan and live with Pause - he'd let me for sure - and then I could hang out with him, Doronbo and Nano all the time. Just like it used to be before that icy witch brainwashed my dad.

He pulled one strap of his rucksack over his shoulder loosely and picked up the specially decorated blue and white box with a snowflake pattern on the sides which held all his more delicate belongings such as picture frames, his game consoles, and various figurines to go with. There were even some books such as game guides and information booklets on characters in there. Most of his gaming revolved around a fifteen year old multiplayer online video game server called Knights of Valor - or more commonly known as KoV.

The game's storyline based around the idea of a kingdom split in two - Valorians and Sabatorians.

Players would choose a side and follow the rules of their chosen path, fighting battles to earn experience points in order to climb the levels within the game. Each new level would unlock a special achievement and skill which varied between different ranks which ranged through from pirates, elves, fairies, knights, mages and even dragons - although the dragons were a limited giveaway to lucky players who had been playing for a certain length of time and Gray and his friends were a few of the lucky ones to receive it on separate save files. Each player had up to three save files in the game in order to experience both sides of the story if they wished.

There was also an aspect of world-building within the game outside of the storyline for if players just wanted to escape reality but didn't feel like gaining more experience by fighting and doing NPC quests. It was where the player could have their own home and create it to their will, using either experience, jewels or gold coins to purchase materials within the game which would be used to decorate. There weren't too many players that did this, but those who did clearly showed it off, especially with the unlock feature to allow random players to visit whenever. Gray was currently in the middle of creating his own personal castle - a replica of something he had drawn once when he was very young.

Gray stepped inside the house once more with a deep sigh and had to resist the urge to roll his eyes when Ur came up to him with a smile.

"Gray, I have something you might like. Or, rather, it might help you".

"Help me?" He was barely curious but tried to play along. "What could possibly help me?"

"Just you wait" She winked. "We've given you the attic room, since we know you prefer your solitude and privacy. Ultear won't disturb you, she'll be too busy in her own room most likely. If you head on up and perhaps begin to unpack, then I can bring it up to you later once I'm done down here helping your dad".

"Alright". Gray shrugged and walked upstairs, getting to the end of the landing at the back of the house to find there was another staircase hidden behind the wall and he assumed that this was the one that lead up to the attic room. He took a slight breath and carried his stuff up and couldn't help but widen his eyes at how much space there was in there. It was far bigger than his and Ultear's last rooms combined.

The walls were painted a light sky blue that made Gray instantly feel calm, safe and secure. The ceiling was a bright white, as well as the furniture already dotted about; a high bunk bed, a chest of drawers, a large wardrobe, and next to a large bookshelf was a writing desk with a chair by the window. The duvet had a similar snowflake pattern made of dark blues of the box he carried in his arms, and he placed said box on the bed gently with his rucksack before he walked over to the window.

The view was also quite beautiful. Since he was up high, he could see beyond the garden fence to a field that seemed to be somewhat surrounded by a forest. So it seemed that they were living near the edge of Magnolia. He almost misheard the knock on his bedroom door and looked over his shoulder to see his father walking in with the more important cases. The two shared a soft smile and Silver put the cases down before resting his hands on his hips.

"How are ya liking the place? We decided-"

"To give me this room because of privacy, yeah, yeah, Ur told me before I came up here". Gray turned back to the window. "I like the room and all, Dad, don't get me wrong but...it's not... It's not home".

He heard his father sigh and it wasn't long before a large hand clamped onto his shoulder. "Gray... I know you miss Isvan, but perhaps this time you will eventually feel at home. It just takes time, okay? I promise, one day you'll fit in with your surroundings and you'll be happy. To tell you the truth, I still miss your mother and-"

"Then why did you remarry?! Shouldn't you honour Mum's memory by not devoting yourself to anyone else? Isn't that how marriage works?"

"...Gray, please understand that I never knew that your mother would die before the rightful time. I never knew I would meet Ur and fall in love with her. You're still young, kiddo. One day I'm sure you'll find a nice, pretty girl yourself and she'll turn your dark rainclouds into bright rainbows".

"Dad. I'm gay. Remember?"

Silver blushed faintly in embarrassment. "Oh right, sorry lad. Slip of the mind, y'know? What with all the moving around and stuff".

"Yeah..." Gray sighed softly and shook his head. "I think I'll skip dinner and just go to bed".

"Alright lad, if that's what you want. Sure you don't want us to save you a slice of pizza or something?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks..."

Silver nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll tell the girls. Remember, you and Ultear will be attending Fairy Tail High next week. That gives us the entire weekend to get unpacked and to get our bearings around town. Sleep well lad. Oh, and before I forget, Ur said she had something to give you so try not to fall asleep just yet".

Gray nodded numbly as Silver left the room and closed the door with a soft click. He sighed and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He would not cry. Not anymore. Those days were behind him, now all he had to focus on was petty school work and avoiding any major social activities. He walked over to the bed and switched on the lamp that was stood on the chest of drawers beside it. Then he slowly took the lid off his special box and gazed upon it's contents.

All these books, figurines and whatnot were the most precious things he owned - in his opinion. It was probably the last reminder he had of his birthplace and of his old friends where the stitches were currently slowly coming undone with each move further and further away. He placed the lid back on securely and gently pushed it under the bed. He would spend tomorrow setting it all up on the empty bookshelf - as much as he loved to read whenever he could, his passion for gaming and even writing poetry took over most of the time.

He then hung his rucksack up on the hook on the back of his bedroom door for now and decided to go and root around in his suitcases briefly for a pair of boxers and a vest to wear for the night. He eventually found what he was looking for and went to get changed when the door opened and Ur stepped in with what looked to be a brown leather book in one hand.

"Hey, I brought that gift I wanted to give you. Did I catch you at a bad moment? Ultear was fussing over her makeup and nail polish as usual so I would've given it to you earlier but you know how she gets" The woman smiled and walked over to sit on the bed beside her stepson. She placed the book she had on her lap and placed her hands on top. "This is an empty journal. I thought you could make some use of it. Sometimes being alone can get too lonely, and some people feel better once they've written down their troubles. It helps get them off their chest. So, perhaps you could do something similar? What if, when you get home from school each day and have done your homework, you wrote down what had happened during that day and see if it makes you feel any better? Or, since you like to write poetry so much, you could do it in the form of poems".

Stop... Stop trying to be her... "Y-Yeah...thanks a lot".

"No problem sweetheart. I just want what's best for you, Ultear and your father".

By moving me away from my friends? My home? The memories of when I had a proper childhood with my mother? How is any of this doing what's best for me? Gray just simply nodded and took the journal when it was handed to him. He didn't say anything more when Ur left, and when she closed the door behind her, he shoved the journal in the first drawer his eyes came upon. He growled slightly, as if trying to burn the thing through the drawer before turning back to his clothes and proceeding to get undressed.

Gray thought he must've laid awake for at least three exhausting hours before he finally went to sleep. The bed was comfortable. As much as he hated this place right now, he had to admit to himself that it was better than the last couple of 'homes' they'd had. He refused to call anywhere truly a home ever since leaving Isvan. The first move hadn't been so bad since he was young, curious and excited about seeing the other side of his hometown since they weren't moving out of town just yet. He'd had to attend a different school which had frightened him and he'd ended up being homeschooled for the rest of their time in Isvan until they had to move again.

It had been during his second to final year at middle school that he'd developed a sort of social anxiety and had taken to writing poetry. The reason being was Ultear. She had begun to bully him every now and then but it hadn't really affected him. It was when she'd started to spread a nasty rumour about him that he'd forced himself to forget about, that the anxiety started.

None of the other kids would talk to him or even look his way unless they were absolutely forced to. Class projects were always done by himself and he'd never felt more lonely in his entire life at that point.

"It's a fresh new start Gray!" Silver and Ur would always say whenever they went somewhere new and the first day of school cropped up. The big grins on their faces eventually made him feel sick to his stomach. As always, Ultear would find a way to make his life as miserable as hell at school.

"Yeah...a fresh new start for Ultear to make me wanna die..." He mumbled before sleep fully claimed him.

It's not as angsty as it sounds, promise. Gray won't ever want to commit suicide or anything along those lines.

The rumour thing at the end there is actually kinda from personal experience - I had a rumour go around my school about me and ended up losing pretty much all my friends, and the ones that did still hang with me just bitched behind my back. But it was years ago and I'm over it now but sometimes it still hurts.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Don't forget to fave, follow and review for more!