Posted: 10.02.2017

"Thank you so much Gajeel!" Levy said for the hundredth time that night, hugging the newly checked out book to her chest as she skipped along the path, from next to her, Gajeel groaned. He was carrying the bulk of the books in his arms.

"Geez, stop thanking me." Gajeel complained. He was trying to ignore the warming sensation on his cheeks. Levy giggled and smiled.

"Fine, but are you taking me back to my dorm?" She asked blushing. She secretly hoped that he would be-anytime with him would be welcomed and this was a great place to start.

"Sure," he replied "Uh, which building was it again?" Levy laughed at him not knowing where she lived because there were only three dorm buildings on campus- a coed, women's, and men's.

"I can't believe you don't know! Follow me." She walked away from Gajeel at a brisk speed, especially for such short legs. Little did he know, that from all of the laughing she had been doing, she had to really use the lady's room. And it was becoming unbearable.

"Hey! Wait up!" Gajeel called out for the petite bluenette, catching up to the blue haired girl, how had decided that she couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hold on a second."

Levy suddenly stopped walking, almost causing Gajeel to bump into her back. "What? What is it?" Gajeel asked as he came to stand next to her. It was at that moment that she made to choice to clear the air and flat out tell him what was going on.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Levy blushed as she looked side to side.

"Can't you hold it?" Gajeel said impatiently. He wasn't really mad but it was night and these books were getting super heavy- not that he was weak or anything

"N-not really." she squirmed a bit. "I'll be back in a second!" She ran towards the girl's restroom to do the deed.

Once she finished, Levy walked out, happy without that pressure in her lower belly.

But the good feeling didn't last very long. As she began to walk back to where she had left Gajeel, a voice in the darkness called out to her.

"Hey Levy," someone said from behind her. Instant recognition flooded through her and a shiver went down her spine- as if an artic wind just went by.

The young woman froze on the spot before she turned to see Jet. "J-jet?" she stuttered, scared by his presence. He sauntered- more like stumbled- towards her slowly, as she walked backwards, trying to maintain some kind of distance between them. Until her back met the cold, damp wall of the outhouse. Levy was beyond petrified- if her suspicion of his blood alcohol level was correct, of all the things he's done to her- the worst is yet to come. Levy could feel the first wave of cold sweat on her forehead and her stomach dropping a foot every second and the burning of the tears trying to escape he r brown eyes. But the taller male kept stepping closer and closer and was soon right on top of her. Jet snickered and trapped her between his sweaty, dirty, smelly body and the wall. He began his reign of terror by moving his left hand along the wall, first down and then towards her body. He face a twisted into what could possibly be interpreted as a smolder or a seductive gaze. But one would have to be able to get past the dried vomit on his chin and mouth. He kept his hand going until he met her elbow- she tried to pull away but he moved with her. His fingertips traced the appendage to her shoulder, then her collarbone, to her neck, finally landing on her left cheek as Jet's eyes lingered the exposed skin of her chest. She could feel the mud on his hands- probably from when he had to puke in the dirt- she could smell it and the stench made her want to vomit herself. Every place his eyes touch or his fingers brushed, sent a shiver of fear down her spine, but Levy couldn't do anything as she was paralyzed by panic, terror, and disgust. She could feel the Adrenaline in her veins but it dint seem to be doing anything.

"How you doing tonight, baby?" He asked, rubbing his thumb against her he cheek softly. Oh, God no.

"Go away, Jet." Finding her voice, Levy glared, swatting his hand away. The young lady seemed to regain her thoughts and command over her body and recoiled away from his touch while sending a glarer his direction. With an extra burst of courage, she tried pushing him out of her personal space. Jet snatched her wrist in one hand and pinned them above her head, scraping the skin of her knuckles, hands, and wrists against the jagged brick wall. Even though the movement was swift, he wobbled on his feet slightly, and then she could smell the acidic odor of alcohol wafting from his open mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey... Take it easy baby." He whispered going closer to her face. She was going to puke.

Their faces were now a nose length apart, Levy turned her head to the side- his face was way to close and the odor wasn't getting any better. Jet whispered, the stink of his breath making her gag slightly, "gim'me a kiss." And her stomach dropped another ten feet.

"No. You're drunk." She said- but she didn't say no only because he was drunk- this was JET. The same Jet who has tormented her since day one. Jet ignored her. His free hand coming up, squeezing her jaw tightly and painfully, forcing her to turn her head and face him, and in split second, Jet captured her small mouth. Levy eyes widened in absolute horror. Someone had taken her first kiss! She felt the familiar burn of tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes, this time it was greater than the first. Do something! Levy yelled to herself just as something wet and foreign brushed against her pursed lips. Her instincts took ahold of her at that moment. Levy bit his tongue, hard, which was threatening to enter her mouth. He immediately moved his face away, a hand over his mouth. Jet stumbled away for a few seconds, she tried to run at the moment he released her but she couldn't get far. Jet grabbed her upper arm and yanked her back into position. Then came back and slapped her, hard. She let out a scream of pain as her face whipped to the side, and she hit her head against the wall behind her, cutting her cheek and temple. "Don't you dare try that again you little bitch!" He yelled at her as she slumped to the ground with the side of her head in her hands. She was openly crying at this point- in fear and rage.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing to her?!" a growl sounded behind Jet. Levy's head snapped up to see Gajeel.

"Gajeel!" She cried out. Jet backed away, and Levy dashed towards Gajeel, hugging him, nearly causing both of them to fall. "Thank you so much!" she cried- no, sobbed, into his chest. Gajeel was taken aback by her actions and just patted her head but his attention snapped back to Jet, who was standing and glaring at Gajeel.

"Now get out of here!" Jet tsked and attempted to walk away, stumbling and swaying every once in a while. Levy pulled away from he savior and gave a small smile.

"Let's go now, please." She said. He cheeks were still streaked with tears and her entire body was shaking.

"Yeah."

Gray and Juvia sat in the cafeteria, talking about everything under the sun- from animals to classes and their dreams for the future. Neither had any idea of exactly how they moved from topic to topic but Gray was just glad that he could see such a smile on Juvia. They just laughed and chatted for a while, until one of the stand managers came over to them.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but the Cafeteria is closed and we can't let you two stay her any longer." The old lady told them. Juvia looked down to her phone; it read that it was ten o'clock. Juvia gasped at the time, it was still a school night and she hadn't intended to be out for so long. She still had school work to do. Gray noted the distress on her face and stood up.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your dorm." Gray smiled slightly, causing Juvia to flush red in her cheeks. The color was so striking against the pale color of her skin.

"Gray does not have to do that for Juvia." She insisted, "Juvia can get home by herself." The bluenette stood and grabbed her phone and wallet. As much as she wanted to spend more time with him, that was a little much since it was so late and she was sure that he had things that he needed to be doing that night as well.

"No way am I about to let you walk home in the dark by yourself. I will walk you back whether you like it or not." Gray reached out and grabbed her hand. The dark haired man began walking towards the entrance to the cafeteria with a flustered Juvia in tow, trying (and failing) to calm down the fire in her cheeks. When the duo pushed through the doors, they were immediately greeted by a rush of chilly wind. While a glance back, Gray noticed the sweatshirt she had on was uselessly thin. He supposed that was right for the purpose of the shirt- a life guard sweater would be worn in the summer- she should've known that it would be getting colder tonight.

"Are you cold, Juvia?" Gray asked the young lady. He genuinely wanted to make Juvia as comfortable as possible. She shook her head, even though they both knew that she was. Gray, the gentlemen he was, shrugged off his black and white lettermen jacket, putting it over Juvia's shoulders.

"Thank you, Gray." Juvia murmured, "Won't Gray get cold now?"

"No, the cold never bothered me anyway." Juvia giggles as he unknowingly quoted one of her favorite movies.

"Gray," the dark haired man grunted, eyes focused on the road ahead of them. "Back there, you said that you cared. Not that Juvia is complaining but why?"

"Why what?" The man turned to look at the pretty lady next to him and cocked an eyebrow at the blue haired woman beside him. He hoped that she wasn't asking why he cared. What kind of question was that?

"Why do you care about Juvia? No one else does, so why are you different than the rest?"

"You aren't asking the right questions. But I care because you are different and it isn't fair that you are treated the way you are." He paused, "But do not mistake that as pity. Besides, it is hard to not to care for you. You are smart, beautiful, funny and a great person. Those people who would laugh at you are missing out on the greatest person any one will ever meet." Gray smiled down to Juvia. Juvia could only smile with watery eyes and held on to his hand tighter.

Juvia and Gray continued to walk in silence until they reached the dorm. "You need to rest, we have school tomorrow."

"Right." Juvia shrugged of the jacket and held it out for Gray to take. "Thank you for letting Juvia borrow it."

"Keep it, I don't mind." Gray pushed it back towards her, "I hardly ever wear that thing anyways." Juvia smiled and slightly laughed at that. Gray looked into her ocean blue hues that sparkled as she laughed. Some mystery power washed over him and made him do something that he would never do and lose control for a split second. Oh god. Shit. Gray leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto her cheek. Juvia instantly stopped laughing and she blushed a bright red. "Good night Juvia. I'll be back tomorrow morning." Gray whipped around and sped away so she couldn't see the traces of read on his face. Numbly, Juvia nodded and watched as the figure faded into the background. She stood there for a minute, processing the lingering spot of especially cold skin and what had just happened. GRAY JUST KISSED HER CHEEK AND SHE HAS HIS JACKET.

Oh, god. Juvia thought. I think I'm in love with Gray.

Lucy was so shocked about what Natsu had just told her. He saved her, and her friends, from Jet, Lyon and Sting?

"Whoa. Um, thank you so much Natsu." Lucy said, a healthy red creeping up her neck and coloring her cheeks. Natsu smiled his toothy grin, forgetting about his previous anger.

"Anytime!" He replied putting more food in his mouth. After that, they continued to eat in silence. Lucy watched as Natsu kept eating and eating and couldn't help to wonder how he stays so well built when he eats so much food. Soon enough she was in deep thought, he probably works out a lot then... She blushed a mad red while picturing Natsu working out. The sweat beads on his chest and brow, his muscling flexing and relaxing… Oh lord! What are you thinking Lucy! She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She took a swig from her water bottle and then more bites of her sandwich even though she wasn't all that hungry anymore. Natsu broke the silence with a big sigh.

"Aaah, that was good!" He smiled, patting his belly.

"How can you eat so much?" she asked.

Natsu shrugged. "Well, I guess it's because of who I am," he joked, probably referring to him being the school's athlete.

"Right..." Lucy said, uncertainly.

The two sat together and had a general get to know you situation- he asked her about hobbies aside from her keys, classes she was taking and things along those line- all while she could feel her face red and hoped he wouldn't notice her having a massive crush on him and never thinking that he would talk to her, much less bring food to her room and eat with her!

She looks pretty cute like that-excited and happy. He smiled to himself, getting a great idea. "Hey, Lucy." He stopped cut her off.

"Yes?" she asked, turning her head from the poster on the wall to look at him. Her felt a little bad for not listening to her but this was important. Her brown eyes seemed to sparkle from the lamps and lights around them.

"Do you want to join a Guild?" Natsu asked casually, his hands resting behind his head as he stared at her, a wide smile sitting on his lips.

Lucy blinked like an owl. "A... Guild?" She said confused, turning to fully face him.

"Yeah, it's basically a job and a club, and a fun place to just hang out at on the weekends." Natsu explained. Lucy put a hand on her chin, and sat back, thinking about what he offered.

"It'll also make people think more of you, in a good way, a lot of people want to join this guild. Since you would be in it, they know that if they ever say anything about or to you then they would have a major problem on their hands. It's the most famous guild in all of Fiore, too." He said, trying to persuade her.

"So I won't get teased and bullied anymore?" Lucy asked, the offer and opportunity to escape the constant harassment seemed way too good to be good. At least not without some kind of catch.

"Yup! And if you're with me, I'm sure of it." Natsu smiled.

Lucy thought it out for a minute. With him? What does that mean? But that didn't matter at the moment- all that mattered was the potential of freedom. This was not an opportunity to pass up. "I'm in! I'll join." Lucy said excitedly.

"Alright!" Natsu was happy about this, he thought she would've turned him down for a second. But Master won't be that much pleased. He thought sadly. The reason could be changed easily enough but he couldn't talk to her about it right now, because then she would go crazy and back out or do something crazy.

"Oh! I got to tell Levy and Juvia about this!" Lucy said, standing up to get her phone.

"Wait!" Natsu said, grabbing her wrist before she could go any further.

"What?" she questioned, he head tilted to the side.

"Don't tell your friends about this quite yet. Okay?"

Lucy looked confused. "Why not?" Natsu hesitated before he answered the blonde.

"Um… Gajeel, Gray and Me had a plan." Natsu let go of her wrist and opted to hold her hand instead. "Basically we were gonna find you guys individually and talk to you them, I think Gajeel found Levy at the Library and Gray and Juvia are in the Cafeteria or something. We wanted to invite each of you individually and stuff." Natsu pointed to the tattoo looking thing on his right shoulder. "Because we are all apart of Fairy Tail."

Lucy nodded in understanding. "Alright, I always thought those were just tattoos." Lucy pointed out.

"No, they're stamps to show you're in the guild." Natsu explained.

"Does it hurt?" Lucy asked worriedly.

Natsu shook his head. "Not at all." he replied, sitting down again. "By the way, it's almost 10, you'll need sleep for school tomorrow." Lucy gasped.

"I totally forgot it was a weekday!" she face palmed while Natsu laughed out loud. "Guys aren't supposed to be in the Girls Dorm after seven either so you have to go home."

"But Luuuce," he whined. "I'll be good, no one will know that I'm here. I promise."

Lucy grunted but relented, "fine. Are you just gonna sleep here on something?"

"Can I?!"

Lucy thought for a minute, "if you sleep on the couch."

"SLEEP OVER!"

Natsu grabbed a blanket and threw it around Lucy's shoulders, grabbed Lucy by the waist and hoisted her up before flopping back on the couch with her laying on top of him. Thank god she was wearing pj's that covered a lot of skin but also holy shit this guy was warm and she felt like she was being cooked a live. He was laughing hard and she was giggling soon enough as well.

"So what're we gonna be doing tonight?" He gasped in a joking way, "Wanna watch a movie?!"

"We can do that- I have Netflix."

"Score," he whispered, awestruck. Lucy giggled as she grabbed the remote to her gaming system to start Netflix.

"Is there anything you want to watch?" Lucy asked as she was flipping through the movie section. "Comedy, mystery, action, adventure?"

"Go to the horror section." Lucy tried to protest but Natsu just ripped the controller from her hands and went to the horror section. Lucy could simply admit she was a wimp but she really wasn't into horror and suspense or blood and gore. "Scary movies aren't even that scary, Luce. But I can beat any demon so I can protect you." The blonde blushed and found herself sinking into the man's chest further, relaxed and comforted by the heat. He flipped through the selection or a few more minutes before settling on a movie- Silence of the Lambs.

"How about this one? It's more of a mystery than a horror movie and it's quite artistic." Even Natsu can admit that the description he just gave her is pretty mean and that she was going to be mad at him for a little while afterwards. But the movie wasn't that bad! He had seen things worse than this in the streets before!

"Is it bloody?" she squeaked.

"There are some bad parts but nothing insane."

Lucy waited for a minute- staring at the screen- analyzing the movie cover and the brief summary along with it. "Okay."