Day One: Defect

/I still don't own Fairy Tail, just this little short plot. Happy CoLu week, guys!

"I need a cure for me, 'cause a square doesn't fit the circle. Give me a remedy, 'cause my head wasn't wired for this world." ~Avalanche by Bring Me The Horizon

This is a curse.

Cobra smashed his fist through the mirror after examining himself for the third time that morning, tired of seeing dull amethyst orbs that pleaded for him to stop putting up with the madness around him. He's had this curse since birth, resulting in his mother leaving him after calling him a bane of existence. His father was left to pick up the pieces and was doing great so far, even letting him keep an injured snake he had found when he was five years old. Cobra had been hesitant to tell him about his...predicament and was surprised when he took it calmly, promising to help him.

He was a mistake.

Cobra hated going out in public because of the noise, the people who didn't know when to shut up. In this case, he hated going to high school.

"You're going to be late, Erik! What was that noise?" His father's voice floated upstairs and he winced, examining the damage he did to the mirror. He quickly wrapped up his hand to stop the bleeding, the red fluid being absorbed by the bandages. The teen picked up shards of glass and put them in the garbage can, making a mental note to somehow break it to his father that the mirror above the sink was currently...out of order, per say.

"Nothing much!" He called back as he walked downstairs to see pancakes waiting for him. "Dad, you shouldn't have-"

"It's your first day at this new school, Erik." His father smiled as he handed him a knife for the butter. "You deserve this. Now eat your sugar-addled pancakes and try to like learning."

"The problem isn't the learning," Cobra muttered as he spread the dairy product over his chocolate chip pancakes. "It's the people that come with it."

"Even so, I have faith in you. Just...try not to break anyone's faces, alright?" Cobra nodded as he finished up, taking the time to help wash the dishes as well as going back upstairs to brush his teeth. Once he had his backpack in hand with his lunch inside he waved halfheartedly at his father as he made for the bus stop at the end of his street.

Looks like no one's here…good. He grinned as he reveled in the silence, relaxing his body before he saw a yellow bus come closer to his location. He frowned as he hastily put in his earbuds, putting his iPod on shuffle mode to drown out the encroaching noise.

"WAIT!"

As the bus came to a stop and opened it's doors, Cobra saw a girl running towards him from the opposite end of the street. Her blonde hair bobbed with the wind as she booked it, something Cobra had to commend her for.

"There's a girl running here. Can you wait for her?" Cobra murmured to the bus driver, who nodded with a sigh.

"That's Lucy for you; either too early or too late at the bus stop." Cobra spied empty seats in the back and made his way over to one, settling next to the window. He saw several curious stares directed his way and he grimaced, the noise creeping through the music in his earbuds.

"Luce!" A blue-haired girl waved as the blonde from earlier boarded the bus, out of breath. At the sound of her name she looked at the girl and smiled, sitting next to her.

"Hey Levy! Are you ready for today?" Her friend, Levy, nodded before whispering something in her ear. What it was, Cobra didn't care; as long as they left him alone he'll be fine-

"Oi!" A figure slid onto the unoccupied seat next to him. "You're the new kid, right?"

Cobra scowled; of course his day was going to start out like this; fate always had a way of screwing with him, after all. An image of a man with snow white hair and steel orbs came to mind and he had half a mind to snicker at the thought, making a note to continue on the episode he left off on after school. Focusing on the present, he turned his head slightly to the side in acknowledgement of the other.

"Sure, let's go with that." His eyes glanced at the kid next to him before focusing out the window.

"I'm Natsu!" The pink haired brat, Cobra now dubbed him as, smiled as he stuck his hand out for him to shake.

"...Cobra." He said flatly, watching in satisfaction out of the corner of his eye as the other teen lowered his hand with a frown.

What's up with this guy? He's such a jerk.

"That I am, Salamander." He murmured to himself as Get Scared ended on his iPod only for You're Gonna Go Far, Kid to begin. He wouldn't admit it out loud but the song helped to lift his spirits as it matched his mood at the moment; a giant middle finger to the world.

"Don't annoy him, Natsu!" The blonde's voice made him look up to stare into chocolate orbs, his amethyst ones widening before quickly looking back out the window. "Sorry about him. I'm Lucy, and the bus driver told me how you asked for him to wait. Thank you!" Another quick glance up rewarded him with a dazzling smile from Lucy and he flinched minutely, nodding tersely as he fixed his stare out the window once more.

I wonder if he's just shy…

"Hmph." He shrugged only out of politeness, or at least what he considered polite. "Cobra. And no problem." Natsu huffed but moved back to his own seat next to a white haired girl. Cobra sighed in slight annoyance; as long as that was the only interaction with other people, he'd do just fine at this school.

Days turned into weeks since Cobra's first day at a new school, which had been surprisingly uneventful. He adapted to the place and the people in it, making some "acquaintances" along the way. The girl with the blonde hair-Lucy he thought her name was-confused him to no end as she treated him like...well, like an actual human being. She would go over and sit with him during lunch as he had adamantly refused to join her large group of friends (The one with the mask on would not stop going on about babies and Erza admittedly scared him as he had caught her using only a mop to kick the asses of 7 seniors one day) and hold a pleasant conversation with him. She seemed convinced that he was just extremely antisocial and, to be honest, she was right.

Partially.

One, he didn't like people. Two, the ones he did ran away screaming once he told them of his power. He lost faith in others, choosing to only be true to himself. So, when she had first come over to him he tensed and threw more than a couple of insults at her. To his surprise she had waved them off and laughed, throwing her own quip at him. He grew to like her presence, not realizing how deep he had fallen until he waited by her locker one day after class.

"She's got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Cobra jumped at Laxus' voice and scowled, crossing his arms.

"...What?"

Laxus rolled his eyes. "You're antisocial as fuck and yet you're waiting on someone. You actually want to talk more in classes with Lucy in them and you even made a few friends out of it." He knew he was referring to Jellal and the rest of the Seis, a group that was notorious for bringing down the evil reign of Brain in Social Studies class. (The thought still made him grin and, maybe, like people a little bit more.)

Cobra didn't want to admit he was right, but he felt like he was holding something back. "If you want to say something else, spit it out."

"You like her." Laxus' blunt response threw him off guard and his eyes widened, arms hanging limply at his sides.

"I…"

"Yep; it's true. I approve of it as her big brother, but if you do anything to break her heart I'll break your balls."

"Got it, Sparky." He mumbled as Laxus walked away, only for Lucy to tap his shoulder.

"Were you waiting for me this whole time?" Her laugh rang in his ears and his cheeks were dusted a light pink.

"So what of it, Bright Eyes?" She frowned and gently touched his shoulder.

"Hey, Cobra...are you-"

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's just go to our last class already." Her worried stare followed him all the way to their study hall period, where they parted ways. His mood had darkened after the conversation with Laxus and didn't feel like dealing with anyone at the moment. To make matters worse, the voices got louder and he gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Fight me, Gray!

You're gonna pay for that, Natsu!

I wonder if I should share my strawberry cake with Jellal after school today…

I hope Cobra is doing okay…He was really tense back there. I wonder what happened to him?

What-Don't mess with Laxus, Natsu!

I should buy those tikis I saw in the thrift store and call them my babies!

Flame Brain thinks he can mess with me?

Juvia thinks Gray looks so handsome fighting Natsu! I hope he likes the bracelet I got him...

Did Lily have enough food at home?

He couldn't...take it anymore!

A chair scraping against the ground as well as a sharp thud harshly drew their attention to the back of the room; Cobra had slammed his hands against the desk, nails scratching wood as he bit out his response.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! Flame Brain, stop trying to fight Ice Stripper. Ice Stripper, stop trying to fight Flame Brain. Titania, just fucking make out with Jellal already and eat that cake with him," Erza turned red at the notion and said nothing, "Freed, Laxus will be fine against Flame Brain. Sparky, don't even try to start a fight with Flame Brain, two idiots are enough in one classroom. Bix, just buy them 'cause I'm sure you'll love them. Juvia, I'm sure Ice Stripper does so don't sweat over it. Black Steel, yes you did feed Lily and just ask Levy out already! And, Bright Eyes…" His chest heaved as the voices continued to lessen with each remark but he froze once he saw her shocked expression. "I'm fine. Always have been, always will be." Everyone's jaw dropped after hearing more than four words out of Cobra, the classroom falling silent.

"Did you…" Natsu ventured, eyes wide, "Did you just read our minds?"

Cobra stumbled back, amethyst orbs wide with realization at what he just fucking did. "I…"

"Cobra-"

"NO!" He evaded Lucy and walked out of the room, bumping into Makarov, their teacher. "I need a breather, Old Man." Makarov nodded after seeing how shaken he was, slamming open the door to give a verbal lashing to his students. Once he exited the school he hit his back against a nearby tree and slid down it, trembling.

"I just messed it all up...I'll have to transfer again, even though I…" He didn't want to think about it; he didn't want this to be true. He actually...liked being here, looked forward to going to school and interacting with other people he could admit were more than just acquaintances. He bit his lip as he forced the buildup of tears to go away, resting his head on his knees with his arms wrapped around them. "All because of this stupid fucking curse." His lips curled into a snarl before a wave of melancholy washed over him. "I wish...I was never here." He whispered as a void in his chest grew larger, threatening to consume him whole. He knew nothing could last forever; everything he's ever cherished left him in the end-

"Don't say things you don't mean."

His head snapped up to see Lucy giving him a sad smile, sitting down next to him. "...Bright Eyes?"

"I mean, I love having you here with us. And your...mind-reading thing-"

"Souls. I can...hear souls." He muttered, interrupting her. She apologized quickly before continuing.

"-isn't a curse at all."

"Yes, it is." It's caused him nothing but grief, misfortune-

"No, it's not." Lucy said firmly, holding his bewildered stare as she went on to explain. "In fact, I can give you five reasons why it isn't."

"Shoot. And, when you fail, make sure to go back inside and tell Makarov I won't show up anymore." She frowned but listed them flawlessly.

"When we had gym yesterday, we had that dodgeball tournament. Our team was destined to lose but with your commands we pulled through against Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and Laxus after he subbed in for one kid. Erza finally confessed her feelings to Jellal after she left and now they're dating, Gray and Natsu are going to try fighting less often, and for once the classroom was so silent I could hear myself think!"

"That's only four, Bright Eyes." He made to stand up but fingers curling around his wrist and tugging yanked him back down next to the blonde.

"I'm not done! The fifth reason is that if it wasn't for it, you would have never transferred here, and I would have never met you." A blush adorned her face as she spoke and Cobra's eyes widened at the tears that glossed her cheeks. "And...I would have never fallen in love with you!"

"Lucy…" Cobra didn't know what to think other than She actually likes me and She doesn't view it as a curse? as his world was flipped upside down. "If it's not a curse a defect, then what is it?" He said uncertainly, looking at the ground. Lucy leaned in, breath ghosting across Cobra's lips as she whispered her response.

"A gift." Lips crashed onto his own and he immediately responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her waist. Once they parted he rested his head on her shoulder and trembled.

"A...gift…" His voice shook, and Lucy smiled.

"It's okay to cry, you know. Just let it out; I'm the only one here."

For the first time in seven years, Erik let himself cry. His sniffles tuned into sobs as he realized that someone out there had been willing to stay with him after finding out about his curse.

Maybe it was a gift, after all.

/Sorry about this being late, guys! I went on a mini vacation and came back yesterday evening, suffering from motion sickness. I'll update the second one this evening, so see you guys soon!