Chapter One

The crisp scent of autumn fell upon the blond's nose. He sat on the bench in front of an old cafe, awaiting the arrival of a friend of his. He wasn't much for waiting, and as each bus passed by he lost more of his patience. He scratched his cheek, and just as he did, quickly fixed his bushy sideburns. They couldn't be messy today. His friend wasn't the only one he was expecting to see.

Finally, a woman stepped off the bus as it came to a halt in front of the shop. Her white hair caught the his attention, and he looked up from his phone to see that his friend had finally arrived. "Sorry," She said, a smile on her face, "The bus just passed me by, had to take the next one."

"You could've said somethin'," He complained as he stood from the bench. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Laxus," She nudged his arm, "Just be glad I made it. Besides, I didn't think it would take that long. Let's just get breakfast already."

The shop seemed even smaller on the inside. It could to hold so many people, but thankfully it was the weekend, and the two had arrived early enough for the place to be empty. Laxus wasn't exactly a morning person, but over the past few days his friend needed his help for an 'experiment,' and the two met there for breakfast the days they got together. It was their deal; he helps Mirajane with her tests and in return he gets free food. That wasn't the main reason Laxus was so eager to get out of bed this early, though he tried convincing himself otherwise. "I'm being a good person," he told himself every time they met at the cafe.

"Mirajane! Good morning!" The woman behind the counter greeted her as she walked up to order food. Laxus sat by the window to wait, not being one for conversation. He stared out the window, lost in his thoughts until Mirajane returned with their meal after what felt like forever.

"Hey, you've been acting strange lately," Mirajane spoke, "Something on your mind?"

In front of him she placed a plate with scrambled eggs and heaps of bacon with home fried potatoes. A hearty breakfast compared to Mirajane's pancakes. She smiled as Laxus quickly ate his food, his hunger becoming satisfied and impatience subdued. She chuckled slightly as she repeated herself, "Laxus don't ignore me, is something on your mind?"

"...No?" Laxus looked up from his food for a moment, and glowered when she raised her eyebrows.

"You know I can tell these things. I'm a witch after all."

Laxus rolled his eyes, sitting up straight in defeat. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, "It's…"

He was interrupted when the cafe door was opened, the little bell ringing as someone walked in awkwardly. Laxus looked past Mirajane at the man who entered. She turned around to see for herself, but Laxus silently stopped her. The man had an umbrella, which he pulled closed as he entered. He removed his sunglasses to look at the woman behind the counter. She greeted him. He wasn't able to hear a word from the man, as he spoke lowly.

"Am I not allowed to look-"

"Shh," Laxus quieted her. Mirajane pursed her lips and rested her head on her hand. As Laxus looked he noticed the man had slightly pointed ears and gray tint to his skin. The man left with a paper bag, placing his glasses back on his face and putting up the umbrella as he did. When he was out of sight, Laxus became less tense. Mirajane grinned, reaching over and pulling at the man's sideburns.

"What's the matter, Laxus? You have a crush or something?"

"Shut. up." He gritted his teeth.

She chuckled again, "Finish your food, dummy, we'll talk about it later."

He didn't want to talk about it at all. Laxus was hoping Mirajane wouldn't notice, but that was foolish. She was a witch, and she could see right through him. He finished his meal, scarfing the last bit of scrambled eggs on his plate before standing up and wiping his face. They left just before more people entered, hoping on the bus on their way to Mirajane's apartment.

"So how have you been feeling? With the potion I gave you, I mean."

Laxus rested on the bed while Mirajane sat at a desk, looking through a book. He always had an appreciation for her home. It wasn't a mess, unlike his place. The bedroom was full of plants, books and candles, not scattered everywhere rather they were neatly placed and organized. He rested on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Sleepily, he let his eyes close shut.

"...I didn't feel anything different," He answered, voice rasped and tired. Mirajane tilted her head in disappointment.

"You really are a difficult case, huh?" She spun around in her chair. Laxus didn't respond much, only grunting. Mirajane sighed, "You know you...don't have to go through this."

"I don't," Laxus opened his eyes, "But I'd like to be a normal human being. Y'know, rather than losing control of my fucking body once a month and not even remembering what happened after."

"I think werewolves are cool," She shrugged, spinning around in her chair. Laxus sat up and stared at her,

"Yeah? Well it sucks to be one." He asserted. There was a bit of silence. She took the book she was looking at off her desk and continued flipping through it as she spun in her chair. Laxus sighed and laid back down, shutting his eyes once more.

Mirajane peeked at Laxus from her book while his eyes were shut. Silently, she scooted over to the bed, shutting the book and placing it on the nightstand. She leaned on it, staring at Laxus while he rested. Laxus opened his eyes, having heard the witch approach, and groaned, turning his back to her as he met the witch's eyes. She showed that grin again.

"Soooo," She began, "About the guy…?"

"What about him." He responded through the pillows on the bed.

"Do you like him?"

"God fucking-what do you think, Mira?"

"Doesn't hurt to make sure," She sat up, placing her hands on her knees, "So you have a crush on someone, yeah? I think it's cute."

Laxus grabbed one of the many pillows on Mirajane's bed and placed it over his ears, ineffectively deafening her queries. "It's not a damn crush," he said, his voice muffled in the pillows, "It's just weird, y'know, he's never been around here. I've never seen him before these past few weeks."

"Maybe he's new?"

"You didn't see anything off with the guy?" Laxus removed the pillow from his ear, turning to face the witch, "You didn't notice the guy had an umbrella? When it wasn't raining outside?"

Mirajane's eyes widened, remembering the very brief glimpse she had of the man that walked in the cafe. She grinned widely, "Laxus...are you in love with a vampire?"

"What."

She spun her chair back to her desk, standing up as the chair was rolled back in its place and placing the book back on the shelf. "I guess the next test can wait, we have a more pressing matter to attend to it seems," she sung, giggling as Laxus his his face again.

"I'm not in love with a fucking vampire."

"There's nothing wrong with liking a vampire, Laxus, plenty of people find them attractive...although that's how they get you, huh?" She muttered the last part to herself.

"...Clearly you don't understand," Laxus interrupted her thoughts, "Mira...I'm a werewolf. He's a vampire. Werewolves and vampires are known enemies. We don't walk around in each other's turf."

Mirajane's lips curled. "That's so dumb, Laxus," She laughed, "Wasn't that war like...centuries ago? I thought you guys would be over it by now."

"Werewolves are but vampires aren't," Laxus continued, "They're extremely strict about that stuff. I wouldn't give a shit about vampires walking around here if they didn't, either. I can't even set foot in any territory they dominate or I'll get chased out with pitchforks and torches."

"Maybe he just didn't know this town had werewolves," Mirajane suggested, "Besides, you're the only werewolf I've seen in town, anyway. You and your grandad."

"That doesn't mean he wouldn't...know."

"Oh, don't just assume things! Maybe he's nice! You just gotta get to know him...maybe we could set up a date-"

"I do not have a crush on a vampire, Mira."

He was thankful it was rather cloudy out. He can't stand going out to get food, but he needed to get out of the house and get something to eat. Not to mention he needed to familiarize himself with the town, at least before he could go out and let loose in the middle of the night. He pulled on his jacket and wrapped a scarf around his neck, grabbed his pair of black leather gloves and placed sunglasses over his face. Although he wasn't sure if he'd need the glasses of the umbrella, he took them just to be sure.

There was a strip of little shops and restaurants before him, one of which had a sign above the door that read, "Little Antique Cafe." It was the place he typically chose for food, and he knew if he went just early enough, he'd miss the morning crowd. Their food was fine, though, every time he visited he noticed more and more that the same two people sitting by the window eating breakfast were looking at him.

One of the things he disliked the most was being looked at. He knew he wouldn't fit in, the only vampire in a happy little town donned in black clothes and piercings all over his face and body. It didn't surprise him that he wouldn't fit in, what with his attire and all, but nevertheless he still didn't like when people stared at him.

He didn't get a good look at their faces, but he could tell they were looking whenever he walked in. He just shook it off, bought his food and left to eat back at home.

"I'm back," He said as he close the door behind him. His voice echoed around the room. It'd had been a few weeks but they barely unpacked. The walls were barren and floors still dusty. The only thing that filled the room was a worm couch, a television and boxes upon boxes full of things waiting to be put away.

"Gajeel?" He heard a voice call from upstairs. Gajeel followed the voice to the master bedroom. It was more messy than the living room, as the man occupying the room had decided to unpack his things and fill the space. Gajeel looked down at him, confusion on his face. The man had his hand under the bed. He faced Gajeel with a smile. "You're back, sun didn't bother ya' too much?"

"...no."

"That's good-ah, don't mind me," he continued, "I'm just dealing with a bit of a problem is all-"

"Is it mice?"

"...Yes," he admitted, "Just one this time, and there's none in your room, promise."

Gajeel just rolled his eyes as he watched the man grab the rodent by the tail and pull it out from under the bed. "Getting tired of these things," he muttered, "I might have to call an exterminator…" As he rambled to himself Gajeel walked away, silently making his way to his bedroom.

His room was small, but he didn't need much space. He figured he should start unpacking as well. Gajeel's bed was already made, as it was every time he left the house, he noticed. The curtains were drawn, darkening the bedroom. Thankfully the walls were already painted a nice cool gray before they moved in, and the floor had black carpeting. Whoever had this room before he did had great taste, he thought.

The first thing Gajeel pulled out of his boxes were posters of various bands he listened to. He tossed out the old ones he wasn't a fan of anymore and taped the ones he kept to the walls. He set up a floor lamp that rested by the door and hung up all his clothes in the closet. As he finished he realized he really didn't own much for his room. No books for a shelf, no throw pillows or lights to spruce up the room. The last thing he had was a red guitar, which he placed on a stand in the corner of the room. It was there for display. Gajeel never played the guitar as much as he'd liked, and when he tried he wasn't very good. At the very least it added some color to the bedroom.

Finally after his room was straightened Gajeel felt like he could actually sit down and eat. He only had a breakfast sandwich, but after having not eaten in a while the sandwich was like a blessing. Though he could only get through half of it before he heard a voice call him from the hallway.

"Hey kiddo!"

Gajeel cringed. He never liked being called 'kiddo' but the man had a habit of calling him that. Annoyed, he stuffed his sandwich back in the paper bag and made his way to the master bedroom. It was more straightened than before, but there were little bits of trash still strewn about here and there. The man was by the bedroom closet, putting away his own clothes.

"So…" Gajeel bit his lip. He knew the man only wanted to talk. "Have you made any friends yet?"

"No."

"That so?" He moved from the closet and sat on the bed despite not being finished, "Really not a people-person, huh?"

"..."

"It helps to make some friends, y'know," He sighed, "Look, Gajeel, I'm going out with Igneel later today...why don't you take some time to actually explore the town?"

"I did that already," Gajeel retaliated.

"No-not just go to that same old shop over and over again, I mean find some friends. You're grown, I can trust you going out on your own, y'know."

Gajeel just stood silent, arms crossed. He really wanted him to socialize. He wasn't one for making friends. He never had friends back home and he never really liked talking to people in general. If he ever went anywhere, he kept his mouth shut unless he needed to speak up. He liked being alone, and sitting around by himself at the house sounded like his kind of evening.

He wasn't hungry when he went back into his room. He shut the door behind him and threw himself on the bed. Gajeel figured moving to an entirely new place would be bothersome, but doing so with someone he didn't know...the man was his parent. His adoptive father. If it weren't for him Gajeel would still be living a miserable life back home with his biological father. He dreamt of a new life, but now that he was living it, he feared it.

A/N: Hello! This is the story I was working on in between Holding Hands. (It's never too late for Halloween lol). Enjoy! Please leave a review!