"I'm home!" A young woman with long golden blond hair called as she pushed the front door closed against the bitterness of the approaching autumn, today had been the last day of her high school career and she had been anxiously awaiting acceptance letters into her college of choice, though she had applied to four other colleges. None of them had replied either acceptance or decline. "Dad?" She called, pausing when she didn't receive an answer.

"In the kitchen Lucy!" He called back.

Frowning at his somewhat less of an exuberant welcoming, Lucy hesitantly strode down the long hallway and into massive kitchen and small breakfast nook "Dad? What's wrong?" She asked as she stared at her father from where he stood in front of the island staring down at it.

The older man looked up, his expression grim. "They came."

"Huh?" She prompted giving him a confused look.

"You college replies." He said and gathered them up in a stack and extended them towards her. "I haven't opened them because their yours, but please, for the love of the gods open them!"

"They came!" She cried and backed away. "All of them, what about Magnolia University?! Did MU reply!"

"Yes!" He yelled back. "They all did!"

"Oh my god dad! OH MY GOD!" She shrieked then dashed forward and swiped them all from his hands and spread them out across the counter top looking at them all. Arranging them from her last choice to Magnolia University and started with the last choice. "Accepted." she said after scanning through it before moving onto the next. "Accepted...Accepted...Accepted." She murmured then slowly picked up MU's letter and looked at her father with fear in her caramel colored eyes. "This is it dad, this is the one that matters."

"Alright sweetheart, no matter what you were accepted by four other fantastic colleges that are just as good as MU." He said reassuringly.

She nodded and slowly opened the envelope and reached in, pulling out the letter Lucy held her breath as she read through the letter then took a deep breath and shrieked, jumping up and down excitedly as she shook the paper.

"You got in!" Her father shouted over her shrieks.

"FULL SCHOLARSHIP UNTIL I GET MY DEGREE!" She screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks before she threw herself into her fathers arm. "I DID IT DADDY!"

"My god you did!" He whispered excitedly. "Your mother would be so excited for you baby girl."

Lucy buried her face into his neck and cried out her joy. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever thought that she would have gotten into MU. Sure she was a four point oh student, but she hadn't thought that her writing was all that good to intrigue the English board to put her on a full ride scholarship. She'd slaved away since she had reached high school, joining the newspaper club so she could work on her editorial skills and writing as well. She'd graduated valedictorian of her class with honors and on the Deans list in the hopes that she would get into MU with a scholarship, but never had she thought that she'd get a full ride scholarship. Now all she needed to do was keep her grades exceptional.

"I got to go tell everyone!" She cried as she broke away from her father to sprint towards the stairs to the second floor of their spacious home so she could Skype her friends. Launching herself into her chair after shutting her door Lucy anxiously waited for her computer to power up before going straight to her Skype and video chat calling everyone. Excitedly she waited until one by one all four of her friends accepted the call.

"Did any of you get your MU replies?" She asked looking at their faces one by one.

As one they all nodded.

"Okay, everyone who got in raise their hand on three." She said and counted off then watched as all four of them jerked their hands up and shrieked. Well, at least all but the much larger boy with the long mane of unruly black hair who cackled as he watched the girls lose their minds about all of them getting into the prestigious college.

"Lucy, Gajeel did you guys get your scholarships?" The girl with the light blue hair asked after they had all calmed down.

"Yes, full ride until i get my degree, housing included." Lucy said with an excited short squeal. "Levy they liked my writing all of it, the head of the English department wants to put me in the advanced courses right from the the get go."

"Same." Gajeel said with a sharp grin. "I'm actually surprised they're lettin' me in. Didn't think that i would get in."

"What?" This snapped from the girl with the scarlet red hair. "Why are you surprised Gajeel? we have all seen your sculptures and they are impressively inspiring."

"Yea, what Erza said, you and Lucy both earned those scholarships hands down." Levy argued glaring at Gajeel. "You two worked harder then Ezra, Cana, and I put together."

"Yea," The girl with the chocolate colored hair said with a frown as she hiccuped. "You two deserve this more then us-*hic*-besides that means that we'll all finally be able to meet!" She cheered and lifted the bottle up into the air before taking a chug.

"Cana, are you drunk again?" Erza demanded, leaning close to her screen, her voice sharp.

"Yup, and i'm-*hic*-not apologizing for it!" She cheered again.

Lucy grinned as she sat back a smile spreading across her lips as she listened to friends as they joked, teased, and argued with each other. Each one of them was uniquely different from one another, not at all like the clones that Lucy had been forced to attempt to fit in with at her school, and that was why she loved these four weirdos with all her heart. It was only four hours after she'd graduated from her high school, but she couldn't wait until she was able to move to Magnolia and meet her friends.


"So, did the college give you a dorm room or an apartment?" Her father asked as she sat down with him to eat dinner that night.

"They're giving me an apartment that is mine until graduation." She told him with a grin. "Their mailing me the keys, the letter said that they should get delivered to the house in about a week. After that I can start moving into the apartment at any time."

"This is exciting, my baby girl moving off to college." He said proudly then froze a second later.

"Dad?" She prompted softly, worry sweeping through her. If there was one thing that her father was good at it was taking something so simple and overreacting to the nth degree. But she'd been hoping that he wouldn't realize that her being accepted into MU would mean that she would be moving out of Crocus and into Magnolia which happened to be three and a half hours away with good traffic until it was far to late.

He looked up at her, shock on his face before his chin started to quiver. "You're leaving me."

"No dad i'm only going off to college." She reassured. "I'm still going to come home for all the breaks, its not permanent."

"But it is!" He sobbed. "Once you leave you're never going to want to come back! Wahh!"

Lucy sighed and dropped her head into her palm as a nerve ticked on her temple. "Dad I was going to eventually move out onto my own when i finished college you know this."

"No were weren't!" He said and dramatically threw his hands up in the air before slapping them onto the table. "It's all because of that damn college that i'm losing my precious baby girl! No you're not allowed to go! You're my baby girl, you have to do everything I say!"

"Dad," Lucy said as she tried desperately to hold tight to her patience as they seemed to flutter in the wind. "I"m turning eighteen in two weeks, after that i'm legally responsible for myself and my actions, therefore I am going to move to Magnolia to attend my college of choice. But i promise that I'll visit for all the holidays and breaks. Okay?"

"You swear?" He sniffled, finally calming down at least slightly.

"Of course," She answered and nodded, smiling lovingly at him. "I'll even agree to Skype with you one to two times a week depending on how much homework i have that week."

"Okay," He said and straightened then smiled. "At least i'll have Plue here with me." He said and grinned.

"Actually," Lucy said and shrugged slightly. "They approved him so I'm taking him with me."

There was a shocked moment in which he looked at her with confused eyes before realization dawned and he threw back his head and wailed pitifully. She too had been shocked that the college had allowed her to bring along her four foot long and growing iguana that was currently roaming around somewhere. Sighing she stared at her father as he sat there his shoulder slumped and his face turned upwards as tears cascaded down his face and snot dribbled out of his nose. One would think with the way that he was carrying on he'd just been told that someone precious to him had died.

Turning back to her plate Lucy picked up her fork and continued eating as she waited for him to calm down from his tantrum.

"How could you eat at a time like this?" He wailed giving her an incredulous look while still wailing.

"Because," Lucy said just loud enough to reach him over his wails. "It's going to get cold the longer it sits here and quite frankly I don't want to eat cold steak."

He quieted as he stared at her before his face scrunched up. "You are so mean!" He wailed.

Lucy sighed, it was going to be a long night if he was intent on throwing this big of a tantrum. "I know daddy, but you'll get over it."

"Mean!"


Lucy settled down onto her bed with her laptop in her lap and smiled at Plue from where he stretched out on her couch and bobbed his head a few times before settling back down. "Okay so what are we going to do when we all move into the apartments?" she asked as she voice chatted with her friends.

"Um, Lu I hate to tell you this but only you and Gajeel are staying in those apartments." Levy said dryly. "The rest of us are going to be staying in the dorms becuase we don't have a full ride scholarship."

"Oh." She murmured.

"Don't feel to bad Lucy, we are going to come over and visit nearly every day." Erza reassured.

"Yea, I figured as much, i just didn't know that you guys didn't get apartments as well." She said a little embarrassed.

"Well, only full ride scholarship or really. really rich students could afford them." Cana chuckled. "Almost made my deadbeat dad get me one as payback for pissing me off the other day."

"Cana." Erza growled warningly.

"Oh hush up." Cana retorted. "What are you going to do crawl through the screen to get me."

"Keep it up and i might." Erza said so sinisterly that Lucy shuddered and prayed that Cana wouldn't taunt Erza anymore then she already was.

"Alright so what are we gonna do our first night in Magnolia?" She asked as a way to distract the two from their impending argument.

"Well, i know some good places to eat as well as some pretty good hangout spots." Gajeel rumbled.

"Right!" Levy chimed in. "I keep forgetting that you live in Magnolia."

"I don't live in Magnolia i live about half an hour away from it." He said with a shrug in his voice. "But yea, been there enough to know its ins and outs."

"Good." Erza said her tone brooking no argument. "Then you can show us around the town."

"Well," Lucy hedged thoughtfully. "Why don't we all make a trip out to magnolia next week so we can get the feel of it so we're not overwhelmed on move in day?"

There was a moment of silence before everyone else spoke all at once.

"That's a great idea Lucy!" Levy cheered.

"Why didn't I think of that!" Cana wailed dramatically, clearly having gotten into even more alcohol.

"Brilliant idea Lucy!" That cheered from Erza who thumped her fist into her desk at the idea.

"I guess I can show you broads around for a day." Gajeel growled. "We'll have to figure out exactly which day you're all gonna come down here."

"I'm free for whatever day." Lucy said and shrugged without thinking then blushed a little after realizing that they wouldn't be able to see her shrugging.

"How about Friday of next week?" Erza intoned. "Can we all make it that day?"

"Yea I can. And Lucy already said that she's free for any day so she can already go." Levy said a smirk in her voice.

"Then it's settled!" Cana cheered. "We'll meet for the first time on this coming Friday at Magnolia Station!"