Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Chapter Two

'I dare you to throw this orange at that mean old dog!' said Jet, grinning slyly at his friend. Droy looked alarmed.

'The dog will eat me!'

'That's your problem!'

They were sitting on a tree branch with their friend, Levy, their legs dangling in the breeze. They were eating oranges with the juice running down their chins and arms. Droy frowned at him, and then smiled.

'I dare you back. I bet you won't be able to do it!'

'There's nothing I can't do!' he exclaimed proudly. 'Right, Levy?'

'Well, you can't even spell your name…'

'Huh! I'll show you! Both of you! What do you want me to do?'

Droy smiled cunningly. 'Climb down this tree when I tell you to.'

His smile faltered when Droy picked up one of the oranges and aimed at the dog. Jet prayed hard that it won't hit. His friend lobbed the orange and it hit right between the eyes.

'Yes!' Droy cheered while Levy laughed hard. Jet went white as they saw the dog reared its head and slowly turned towards the kids. It scampered to the tree, barking its head off.

'Now!' Jet jumped from the tree and without wasting any minute, sped off, yelling. The dog, without a second's thought chased him while the boy ran like he had never run before. His face turned paler still, mixed with a very frightened expression. The other two were still laughing from the tree.

'Do something!' he screamed, but his friends were finding it hard to stop.

When Jet finally sensed that the dog was no longer chasing him, he chanced a glance behind and saw an older boy shooing the dog away. The animal bared its teeth at the newcomer, but he calmly took out a piece of meat from the grocery bag and threw it away, to which the dog ran after. It was only when it started eating that Jet stopped running.

'You alright?'

'Yes, th-thanks, Eric!' he said, wheezing. The other two climbed down from the tree. Eric handed the panting boy a bottle of water.

'It seems like you three were getting more and more trouble nowadays,' he said, directing more to his sister. 'Can't you just play quietly?'

The children chuckled merrily. Eric rolled his eyes. Kids really do love to laugh so much. He wondered if he had laugh countless times until the adults were annoyed with him.

'Playing quietly is never too fun!' she answered, still giggling.

'Just don't let me see you being chased by a dog again. He might eat you midgets,' he shook his head.

'Hey! Can't you see I'm taller now?' shouted Jet. 'I can reach your waist already!'

'Riiiiight,' he said slowly. 'Since you don't have anything to do, why don't you help me with all these packages? Make yourselves useful.'

'Nah, we'll pass,' said Droy, turning away.

'I'd rather watch Jet being chased by the dog,' Levy said. They burst into laughter again.

'Come on, I'll bring you to the theatres after this.'

Eric regretted his rash decision in bringing three rowdy kids to the theatre, who spent their time more with their bickering than actually watching the story. When it ended, he brought them to the hotdog stand (more bickering, about silly stuff such as too thick buns and too much ketchup), then to the field to watch a soccer match.

'Where shall we go next?' asked Droy excitedly, oblivious that the sky was darkening every second.

'Home. It's nearly dinnertime,' Eric answered seriously, exhausted after trying to calm the kids down every fifteen minutes.

They were neighbours, next-door neighbours to be exact, but that didn't stop them from sighing and whining as if they won't be seeing each other for the next ten years.

'Aww... Just a bit more, Eric,' said his sister, but Eric was firm.

'No, Mum wants you home right away.'

After saying their goodbyes, Levy turned to her brother. 'Do you have a new storybook?'

'No, but I have a special story for you tonight,' he said warmly.

She was hardly patient for her special story that she fidgeted all through dinner. She gobbled down her food and helped her mother clean up afterwards like a good girl; a bit too eagerly that she accidentally smashed a plate to pieces. Unlike most nights, she prepared herself to bed early and was already lying down when Eric walked in with a sheaf of papers.

'I dedicate this wonderful story especially to my little sister, Levy McGarden,' he began.

'Does this mean you wrote it?' she asked, widening her eyes. Eric smiled.

'Once upon a time, in a town where people knew each other, and families stick together, there lived a girl who had everything. She owned her own little house where she lived by herself, and she owned her own little farm where she kept her lambs and calves. Her father was the richest of rich men, and her mother was as beautiful as beauty can be. She could point to anything she desired, and they would get them for her.

'"I want horses," she said, and she got them right away. "I want a garden of roses," she said and got them the next day. "Now what I want is the shimmering moon to light my kingdom". "Now, now, my daughter," her father said. "The moon is for all to set their eyes on. Don't you want to share that beauty with everyone?"

'"No, no, my father, I will be happy once you got me the moon! So please take it or buy it or steal it if you must. I have to have it real soon!" The father looked at her daughter sadly. Oh, what mistake had he done? But he had to fulfil her last request, for his time was already half-gone.

'He built a rocket and launched into space, and all because he had to see his daughter's happy face. When days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, at long last the rocket landed covered with space dust. The man inside had his eyes closed and his hands was clutching a rock of gold. I'm sorry my daughter, he wanted to say, I couldn't bring you what you require.

'But he could not speak, and that was not all, he did not respond when he was called. The daughter took the rock and threw it away, for all she wanted is for him to wake. She wept and begged and begged and wept, for now she understood what happiness is about. It's about the love and care that her father gave, not the countless gifts that she received. But now, she thought, it was all too late, for he had gone and won't come back.'

'That is beautiful, Eric!' she exclaimed. Eric shrugged away her praise.

'It wasn't that good.'

'It is!' she insisted. 'You'll be a good writer.'

Eric fell silent. He was looking out the window, thinking.

'That's what I would like to be,' he said softly. 'A novelist.'

'I think you'll be great,' she whispered.

'Thanks,' he smiled. 'I will work hard for you. And maybe I'll dedicate each of my work to you. If I go far, I mean.'

Levy grinned at him as he switched off her lights and walked out. He, too, was grinning, satisfied at his first critic.