"Okay listen. I wasn't expecting Igneel to be home, and he told me not to invite people over anymore if I'm not home. So we're gonna go through the back door and try and get to the basement door as quietly and as swiftly as possible," Natsu whisper-screamed as he made his way to the back of his house.

Erza knew the difference between a difficult task and a suicide mission. Anything involving trying to get past Igneel was a suicide mission. The man graduated at the top of his class from the Magnolia Police Academy, and then spent 5 years randomly overseas with the military. He never even brought up enlisting. All shenanigans jumped to threat level midnight if Igneel was around. Their success rate dropped significantly if he caught wind of their nonsense.

"Dammit Natsu! Why wouldn't you just ask him if it was okay? I really don't wanna get my ass kicked tonight." Gray cringed at the thought of the last time Igneel caught them sneaking in after curfew.

"We'll be fine if you just shut the hell up and move swiftly and quietly."

After tiptoeing through the grass and making it to the back door, they felt the pressure rise up. They could hear their friends hollering in the basement once they opened the door. Natsu peeked his head into the house to do a clean sweep of the family room and the kitchen. When he confirmed that the coast was clear, he held the door for Erza and Gray before clicking it shut quietly and –

"Natsu Dragneel."

At the sound of Igneel's firm voice they all froze. They looked up to see him leaning against the basement door, the one that was Ingeel-less just 2 seconds ago. Well I guess making a run for it is out of the question. Realizing there was no way out, Natsu decided feigning ignorance was his best bet.

"Igneel! You're home already? It's good to see you!" He knew that the smile he was trying to sport did nothing to hide the fear that was so prominent on his face. He ran across the room with his arms spread out, hoping for the slight chance that Igneel would just hug him back, and not take advantage of his unprotected face and midsection.

Halfway to the door, Natsu found himself facedown on the ground underneath his foster father. He looked up in enough to see Erza and Gray's backsides as they ran down the basement steps. "Traitors!"

"Is there any particular reason that I came home from work to five of your friends raiding my kitchen? Without that being a sight in itself, you were nowhere to be found! Isn't that something?"

Natsu began to kick and try to wiggle out from underneath him. "It's not my fault! Zeref didn't care when I had people over; I'm still trying to get used to you being here! You can call him and ask," Natsu knew that was pushing it. Igneel could either surrender, accepting that he was the one that left Natsu in the care of his older brother for five years; or he could bring up that he'd been back for over a year now.

Instead, Natsu got flipped over, flicked on the forehead, and put back onto his feet. "Well I guess I'm going to have to go down to Magnolia U and give him a lesson on proper parenting skills."

Natsu yelled out something between a relieved sigh and a surprised laugh. He had no idea that would work out so well! He decided to make a run for it before Igneel changed his mind. "Yea, you do that! I'm going down stairs now!"

"Natsu! You're alive! We were so worried," Erza yelled at the sight of her friend walking across the basement.

He just rolled his eyes at her. "You're so full of shit. You literally left me up there to die."

"Dude, he just charged at us. What did you expect us to do?" Natsu knew Gray was right. If Ur had ran at them like that, Gray would've been on his own. "Can we just get a move on with this so I can go bury myself in my embarrassment and self-pity at home?"

"Seriously. I don't even know why I'm here."

Natsu head shot up in confusion at the sound of Gajeel's voice. "Why are you here? I didn't text you." He did a once-over of all of the people in the basement to see that it wasn't really the group that he'd envisioned.

"Wait, I didn't text you either, Laxus! Cana, Mira, and Luce are supposed to be here. Where is Levy?"

"I was at Mira's house," Laxus snorted.

"Levs had homework, so she made me come here instead so I can tell her what happened. Now shut up and get a move on because I could care less about who Gray is boning."

Cana and Laxus both let out hearty laughs at Gajeel's comment. Laxus patted Gray on the head, making a deep red blush appear on his already angry face. "As if this kid would be boning anyone!"

Cana leaned forward from the couch she was sitting on and grabbed her water bottle. "I don't know Laxus, he is known for taking his clothes off. Maybe it finally paid off." When she twisted off the cap, Lucy literally gagged from the strong smell emanating from the bottle.

Natsu came up to the couch to sit on the other side of Lucy. He grabbed the throw pillow from behind her and smacked all three of them with it. "Will you guys shut the hell up? I didn't invite you here to crack jokes. We need to make up a plan." Cana alone was not too much to deal with; but with Gajeel and Laxus in the mix, he wasn't confident they'd get much done.

Lucy leaned forward to join the conversation. "I think it's awesome that Gray is in love, but –"

"I'm not in love! I just met a cool girl that I kinda wanna date and take to prom or whatever. It's not even a big deal. I don't know why he called you guys over here."

"Gray, I've literally never seen a blush on your face before. I didn't even know that blood circulated through your face. Don't tell me this isn't a big deal and DON'T CUT ME OFF!"

If his cheeks were rosy before, then he knew his face was white as a ghost now. He was convinced Lucy had a split personality or something. He tried telling Natsu a million times before they started dating that her sweet demeanor was a cover for something much more gruesome. No matter how many times she kicked the crap out of them, Natsu was too blinded by love. Gray knew that out of all of his crazy friends, Lucy was by far the craziest. He was starting to realize that Natsu was right in picking Erza for the plan.

Her outburst shut everyone up. "As I was saying… While I think it's awesome that you're in love – even if you don't want to admit it – what are we making a plan for? This seems like a very simple thing to accomplish."

"Well Lucy, her dad has a stick up his ass when it comes to the lives of normal 21st-century teenagers, because she isn't allowed to date. So he made a deal that if her brother asks a girl to prom and actually goes, then she can go with me. That's a step in the right direction." When Gray finished his part of the story, Natsu took over.

"From what we gathered from her, her brother is a creepy asshole in the twelfth grade. So we got Erza to humbly accept the role of his bait, since she fits that description to a T."

"Well we can't really argue there."

"Shut up, Gajeel. What do you mean 'creepy asshole'?" Erza was suddenly very interested in the conversation. "You didn't say anything about this kid being anything but normal! He's not gothic or anything along those lines, is he?"

Gray let out a quick laugh. "Actually no. She may have brought up a few things. He's more into stealing cars and playing with guns and getting tattoos for fun. The kind of creepy things that are more scary than creepy. Nothing you can't handle, Erza."

She just stared at him. "He's a criminal? Nothing I can't handle! ARE YOU SERIOUS? Is there anything else you want to share with me that you probably should've told me before I agreed to do this for you?"

She began to inch toward Natsu and Gray, whether she was doing it purposely or on instinct. They looked at each other before turning back to her.

"Now c'mon Erza, we've all been in trouble with the law once or twice. You and Mira have even been to juvie."

"Yea, you're not too different. I don't think any girl in school gets into as many fights as you do. You guys could really hit it off."

Their words were all for naught. She looked like she was ready to attack. Luckily right when she leapt towards them, Laxus came from behind her and grabbed her around the waist.

"Okay Erza. We don't have time for this. I want to go home, and you're going to need a lot of work if you're going to get this guy is going to even want to ask you to prom." He placed her onto the floor next to Mira.

She did a once over of Erza and then looked to Gray who was already half-naked next to Natsu on the couch. "Erza's not so bad; it's Gray we need to worry about. She's hot and edgy; any guy who's not a complete punk ass will find her attractive."

"That's not necessarily true. It's not like Gray is ugly or anything. The girls at school find him attractive," Cana stated while she walked over to the other side of the couch to sit next to Gray.

Mira tapped her chin while she contemplated her next words, "Gray is cute, but can't keep his clothes on for his life. That is definitely more likely to scare someone away than Erza's temper."

"Juvia doesn't care about my stripping habit. She finds it funny for some reason."

Erza looked up in thought. "That name sounds so familiar. Are you sure she's a new student?"

"Juvia Lockser? Is that who we're talking about?"

Gajeel looked around at everyone waiting for someone to answer him. He looked as if her last name changed the entire situation.

Gray frowned at him. "Yea, that's her last name. Do you have a class with her or something?"

"Nope. No. Leave her alone. Juvi is off limits to you, stripper. When the hell did she transfer here? She lives in Magnolia?"

"Juvi? Why the fuck do you have a nickname for her, Metal Face? She's hasn't even been here for three weeks yet! How do you know Juvia?" Gray looked around at the skocked faces of his friends while he was trying to catch his breath from his sudden outburst. He hadn't realized that he was yelling until he heard her name echo through the basement when he finally shut up. He had a blush on his face for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "Uhh I mean –"

Cana let out another obnoxious cackle before throwing her arm over Gray's shoulders. "Uh oh, looks like you have some competition. What would Levy think, Gajeel?"

"Relax asshole. She was my best friend back when I lived in Oak Town. And as your friend I'm obligated to tell you that your plan is going to fail. Her brother is hella over-protective of her. Jellal's beaten my ass more times than I can count and I was just her friend. You don't stand a chance."

"Did you just say Jellal?" Mira yelled out before Gajeel even had time to close his mouth.

Cana was on the floor with tears in her eyes at this point. "So many skeletons popping out of the closet! Mira's been with the brother! These two have been all through this group of friends."

Lucy took the pillow Natsu was holding and threw it at Cana. "Shut up, you drunkard! Mira, how do you know the brother?" She was leaning at the edge of her seat, just as excited as Cana.

Mira let out a little giggle and looked over at Erza who was frozen, staring wide-eyed in no particular directon. "I don't know him too well; but if we're talking about the same Jellal, then Erza definitely does. This might be easier than we thought."

Erza had a look on her face as if she'd just seen a ghost. "Gajeel, your Jellal doesn't have a tattoo on his face, does he?"

She didn't even have to ask. Once she heard his name, she knew. That's why Juvia sounded so familiar. How did she forget? Gray said she had blue hair; of course her brother would too. How did she not ask his name? Why did I agree to this?

"Yea he does. How do you know him?"

Erza had already stood up and began making her way towards the stairs. "Would you look at the time? I just remembered that I have work in the morning. I don't think I'm the best suited for this plan anyway, sorry Gray." She was practically all the way to the main level by the time she finished what she was saying.

They heard the front door of Natsu's house slam shut before any of them even got a chance to fully grasp what just happened.

"Does anyone know what the hell just happened?" Natsu was the first to say anything.

Mira just chuckled again. "Damn, I didn't expect her to react that way. I think you broke her brain, Gajeel."

"I just asked her how she knew Jellal, which I still wanna know. So spill, Grandma."

"Just because my hair is white doesn't mean I'm old, asshole." She hated when he called her that. "And it's not my business to tell."

Everyone collectively protested, wanting to know why Erza just ran away like a scared little girl. Laxus was the loudest and the most demanding, however. "Oh hell no! You have to tell us now, Mira. Erza doesn't react that way to anything. You're going to tell us who this Jellal guy is."

Gray decided to piggyback off of Laxus' argument. "Exactly! She already promised to help me! She can't turn her back now just because of some random guy with a face tattoo! Who the hell is he to her?"

Mira didn't even look phased by what just happened. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her. There's now way she's not going to help you." She looked to each person sitting in the basement. Even Cana looked interested in who this mystery guy was that had Erza completely shaken up. "I'll tell you guys, but we're going to change up the plan a little. As long as you promise to keep your mouths shut. She can't know."

After they all promised to follow Mira in whatever plan she had cooking up in her evil brain, she began her story.

AN: Thanks guys. I think I'm a crap writer, but I'm glad you enjoyed this