From what I could tell from last chapter's reviews, you guys are really looking forward to this one. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up as soon as you would have liked, but the weather over here in England is great, and I spent most of my weekend playing soccer(we call it football here), which is actually kind of linked with this chapter in a way I guess. Either way, the whole Natsu vs Laxus thing has got you guys pumped up, which is exactly what I wanted.

Which brings me onto my next point. We got 6 reviews for the last chapter which was exactly what I was hoping for, so let's keep it up guys! Your enthusiasm for this story is amazing, and it's really keeping me going tbh and I really can't thank you enough for that.

Apparently there were a few grammatical errors in the last chapter. I'm really sorry about that, and I absolutely promise to check over my work much better for future chapters. I know when I read a story and see lots of grammatical errors, I feel a little put off, so I'm really sorry about that. If there are grammatical errors, can you please tell me where these errors are in either a review or a PM(preferably a PM please)? I'd love to be able to correct them quickly without having to completely comb over the whole chapter carefully. Don't feel like you're being mean if you PM me several sentences which I need to correct, in the end its for the benefit of the story that these mistakes are corrected, and it should also ensure that I don't make those same mistakes again. (I really struggle with commas actually, like I've said, English is not my best subject.)

I think those are all the points I need to make so there's nothing left to say other than enjoy the chapter!

Natsu tilted his head to the side slightly so that he was looking at Lucy. "Hey.. you OK?"

Lucy nodded gratefully. "Th-thank you... if you hadn't come..."

Natsu smirked, turning around fully. He took both of Lucy's arms and smiled cheerfully at her. "Don't worry. If you're ever in trouble, you can always count on me!"

"And just what would you do?"

Natsu instantly whipped his head around and glared straight at Laxus, who was smirking cockily. "Laxus... just what the hell were you doing to her...?"

Laxus didn't appear intimidated at all, just maintaining the same smug grin. "None of your business... 'big man'."

Natsu gritted his teeth, whilst Laxus just seemed to be enjoying the whole situation. Natsu's arrival didn't seem to concern him at all. It was then that Lucy remembered what Erza had told her, about how Natsu looked up to and admired Laxus. Seeing what Natsu had just seen must have really hurt him. Lucy lightly placed her hand on the angry boy's shoulder. "Natsu..."

Natsu didn't turn around, still completely focused on Laxus. "Of course it's my business you bastard... Lucy's my friend, how dare you try that..."

Laxus stepped forward, causing Natsu to instinctively stretch his arms backwards so that they were shielding Lucy from his view. "And just what are you going to do about it?"

Natsu didn't reply, instead turning again to Lucy. "Lucy... get out of here. You need to get to class and tell Mr Conbolt about this. If you can't find him, get Gray, Gajeel, or even Erza or Mira if you can."

"Natsu, but-"

Natsu smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'll be fine on my own. Just go, this isn't safe-"

That was as far as he got before Laxus closed the space between the two. Natsu stepped forward and swung at Laxus, giving Lucy space and time to get away. He swung his right arm at the much larger student, who dodged it and punched him firmly in the stomach, causing Natsu to stumble backwards.

Lucy, paralyzed with fear, remained where she was. There hadn't been fights or anything like this at her old school. She had never been in this situation before, she had never felt so afraid of another student. Even though Natsu had told her to get away as fast as she could, she just couldn't. She couldn't move or speak, she was simply too terrified.

Laxus then made for her, but Natsu picked himself up from the ground and delivered a sharp uppercut to the spiky haired boy's chin, sending him tumbling backwards into the wall. Bickslow and Evergreen looked like they were about to join in, but they were stopped by Freed, who told them not to interfere.

Laxus let out a loud gasp, he sure felt that one. He looked up and grinned widely at Natsu, who just continued to glare at him, not allowing himself to be scared and most certainly not allowing Laxus to see any fear on his part. Lucy, on the other hand, whimpered, terrified. Laxus' face at that point was the kind of face that would give children nightmares. Hell, it would probably give her trouble sleeping tonight. Laxus hoisted his body up, at first holding onto the wall for support, but then letting go and standing on his own. "Natsu... you're dead. You shouldn't have got involved with this."

Natsu didn't back down or hesitate, instead charging at Laxus and wildly throwing another punch. Laxus caught it and, with his other hand, delivered a powerful, crushing blow to Natsu's jaw which sent him practically flying backwards. Lucy moved then, catching him just as he was about to crash to the ground. Laxus grinned. "You've been buffing up, haven't you Natsu? Doesn't matter though, you're still nothing compared to me."

Natsu growled and forced himself up, not looking back at Lucy, his attention completely focused on his opponent. He charged Laxus again, just as before, but Laxus simply knocked him down again with another blow to the jaw, pretty much identical to the first one. He laughed sadistically, it seemed like he was really enjoying this. "Man, you don't learn, do you?"

Lucy immediately ran to Natsu's side. She glared up at Laxus, her fear replaced by burning anger. "Stop it! Why are you doing this, what did he do to you?! Natsu looks up to you, you're his hero, how could you-"

"Shut it," Laxus barked, stopping her mid-flow. He was glaring down at her. "I don't care about any of that. I don't need any weak runts liking me."

"Lucy..." Natsu coughed, reaching up to weakly grasp her collar. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to..."

Lucy wrapped her fingers around his hand, clutching it firmly, tears flowing freely from her face now. "Natsu..." Erza was right, this really was a fight that Natsu couldn't win. And here he was fighting it, being beaten to the ground, because of her. Why was he going so far? Why would he go so far... just for her?

"And just what is going on here?"

The tense, threatening atmosphere was instantly shattered and everyone turned in the direction of the voice, one which Lucy didn't recognize. Standing behind Laxus was a tiny old man, barely up to Laxus' chest in height. He had a grey mustache and short spiky gray hair. He stared sternly at Laxus for a good few seconds, before walking past him and kneeling at Natsu's side. He stared softly at the hurt boy for a few seconds, suggesting some kind of fondness on his part, before looking back at Laxus with that same stern expression as before.

"I asked you a question."

Laxus chuckled, again seeming unthreatened by the new arrival. "What's it to ya, old man-"

"Cut the tough guy act, it won't work on me. Don't think that you're allowed to do as you please here, I won't tolerate it. Go to my office now and we'll discuss your punishment." The old man then turned to Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen. "As for you three... get to class now. You have detention during lunch with Mr Mine."

Laxus glared at the old man for second before nodding begrudgingly and turning away, setting off in the direction of the school, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen close behind. When they had gone, the old man turned his attention back to Natsu and Lucy.

Natsu grinned at him. "Great timing Gramps..."

Lucy's eyes widened. Gramps? Then that must mean... "Are you the principal?"

The old man looked at Lucy, as if noticing her for the first time. However, as soon as he noticed her...

"Yes, I'm Principal Makarov, at your service Miss. Since I don't recognize you, you must be the new girl, Lucy." He then grinned widely, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I hope you don't mind me saying, but that's quite a figure you have..."

Lucy's jaw dropped and she stared incredulously at the grinning old man. Was the principal of her new school... checking her out?

Natsu laughed, finding Lucy's expression especially amusing. "Jeez, you're such a pervert gramps..."

Principal Makarov glared at him, playfully smacking him on the arm. "Shut it, you should know better than to talk to your principal like that!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever old-timer..."

"Show some respect for you elders you brat!"

Lucy giggled as Natsu and the Principal continued to childishly bicker, Makarov's elbow digging into Natsu's cheek, whilst Natsu was tugging on his mustache. Both of them were doing this with wide grins on their faces.

This was certainly an interesting student-teacher relationship.

######

As a result of the whole scuffle with Laxus, Natsu and Lucy were late for their first lesson of the day, Biology. Fortunately, Principal Makarov accompanied the two to the classroom and explained to the teacher, Mr Wakaba Mine, that the two had a good reason for being late and further action was not required on his part.

Biology was one of Lucy's favorite lessons. Firstly, because it was one of her strongest subjects, probably second to English. Were she not so determined to become an author, Lucy could easily see herself pursuing a career in Science or even medicine.

But the second and perhaps more important reason was her table. The Biology classroom was split into three six seater tables, the tables hexagon shaped. Lucy loved her table, which was situated at the back of the classroom in the far corner, furthest away from the teacher's desk. She sat with Levy on her left and Natsu on her right, with Gray next to him, Cana next to him, and Gajeel taking the last spot on the table between Cana and Levy.

This meant that the atmosphere on their table was usually very relaxed, apart from when Natsu, Gray and Gajeel were at each other's throats. Lucy and Levy were both able to get the work done very quickly and easily, and when they were done, Natsu and Gajeel respectively copied their work. Gray and Cana refused to copy but weren't as smart as Lucy or Levy, and so ended up finishing their work quite a bit after the other four.

The biology lesson was pretty standard. The whole lesson was basically Mr Mine explaining something about the kidney to the class, which was pretty boring. Nonetheless Lucy paid attention as she always did, whilst Levy at her side made thorough notes throughout the lecture. Natsu dozed off halfway through, giving Gajeel, who obviously wasn't paying attention, an opportunity to deface his notes. Gray and Cana spent the whole time chatting quietly, as they usually did. Lucy couldn't help but wonder whether there was something going on between the two.

After that was break. As soon as the bell rang, Natsu's eyes shot open, and he was the first out of the classroom. You see, it was at break that the team sheets for the trial after school were being put up, and so Natsu was especially eager to see who he'd be playing alongside that night, but more eager to see who he'd be playing against.

######

"Ready?"

Lucy looked up at the classroom's doorway, where Gray was waiting for her. She clumsily stacked her books before scooping them up. She smiled up at Gray, struggling to keep a hold of the messy pile. "Ready."

Gray rolled his eyes, smirking, and went back into the classroom. In a swift motion, he took the books off Lucy and tucked them under his arm with his own books. Lucy opened her mouth in protest, but Gray dismissed her with a wave of his hand, as if to say 'it's nothing'. Lucy pouted playfully, not too happy with being babied, causing Gray to chuckle and mutter 'cute'.

Since Natsu had abandoned them after Biology, the walk back to the lockers was a lot quieter than usual as, without the pink haired boy, there was no one for Gray to constantly bicker with. Gajeel, Levy and Cana had all left the classroom soon after Natsu, whereas Lucy had stayed behind to ask Mr Mine a question about the work. She hadn't asked Gray to wait for her but he did anyway, as she expected.

After dumping their books in their lockers, there wasn't much of break left, but there was still enough time for the two to head to the P.E. department where the team sheets were posted. Although it didn't really matter who was on your team for the trials, it was preferable to have some good players around you. Plus, like Natsu, Gray was also hoping that he would get to play against someone challenging like Laxus or Jellal. Of course, the main thing for him was that he wasn't on the same team as Natsu. Now that would be a disaster.

However when they reached the team sheets, there was a small crowd of people they knew surrounding the board, even people who had no business with the soccer team. In the front of the crowd was Natsu, who was staring at a piece of paper pinned on the notice board, presumably the team sheet. What was surprising was his expression. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. Next to him was Jellal, who didn't look shocked as such, but had a sad, resigned expression on his face. Around them were Erza, Gajeel, Mirajane, Elfman, Cana, and Levy, none of whom were looking particularly happy. Erza and Gajeel especially looked extremely pissed.

Gray and Lucy exchanged a worried glance, before approaching the group. Gray tried to peer over their shoulders, but couldn't see what was written on the paper. "Uh guys... what's up?"

Everyone at once turned around, as if they had only just noticed Gray and Lucy. Erza glared at him, although Gray could see she wasn't really angry at him, but was just pissed off in general. She jerked her finger in the direction of the board. "Take a look."

Gray frowned and glanced back at Lucy, who held the same worried expression as him. The two walked up to the board, which Natsu was still obstructing. It didn't seem like he had noticed them at all, as he was still staring at the notice board. Gray expected Natsu to step aside so that he could see what was written there that had gotten everyone so angry, but Natsu didn't move. Mirajane, seeing this, placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder and smiled comfortingly at him. This seemed to snap Natsu out of his daze, and he looked up at Gray and Lucy and smiled weakly at them. He wordlessly stepped aside, giving them the chance to see what was written on the single piece of paper pinned on the notice board.

Gray looked at Natsu once, before turning to the sheet. At first glance, there was nothing amiss. It was the team sheet for the trials after school, as one would expect. He ran through the names on the sheet. Laxus Dreyar, Jellal Fernandes, Gray Fullbuster, Gajeel Redfox...

Gray furrowed his eyebrows and scanned the paper more thoroughly. He looked over the sheet for a good minute, before turning to Jellal. "What is this? Natsu's name's not on here."

Jellal turned so that he was addressing the whole group. "I-I'm sorry. Just now, when we were printing off the team sheet... Laxus decided to remove Natsu from the trials."

Erza glared at him, her anger concentrated on him. "What, he just 'removed' him?! He can't just remove someone for no reason! How could you let him do this?!"

Jellal's gaze dropped down to the ground. He felt helpless. Plus it didn't help that it was Erza of all people who had just told him off. "I... I'm sorry, I can't do anything. Laxus is the captain, it's his decision."

Mirajane nudged Erza on the shoulder, as if to say calm down. She gazed somewhat more gently at the blue haired boy."But why would he do that? What did Natsu ever do to him?"

Jellal shrugged, feeling useless at this point. "I'm... not sure."

Lucy gasped quietly, attracting the attention of Gray. "Lucy?"

Lucy looked up at Natsu, who wasn't looking at her but was now just staring at the ground. "Natsu... I..."

Natsu didn't respond, not lifting his gaze from the ground. Levy tapped Lucy on the shoulder. "Lucy... what happened?"

"This morning Laxus tried to... you know... with me. I wouldn't have been able to stop him, but then Natsu came and saved me."

"What?!" Gray practically shouted. "Where is that bastard, we should-"

"I see," Erza interrupted, giving Gray a stern look which said 'calm down', before turning to Natsu. "So that's Laxus' grudge. How pathetic of him."

Mirajane nodded, looking angry too, much to Lucy's surprise. She had only ever seen a smiling, happy or a comforting, motherly Mirajane. "I agree. I can't believe there's someone like him in our school..."

"Why don't you two go talk to him?" Cana suggested, addressing Erza and Mirajane. "You guys are the heads of the student council, he'd have to listen to you, right?"

It was Jellal who answered, shaking his head. "No, this isn't the responsibility of the student council. The only person who can overrule Laxus is the coach, who's not here today. He left the trials to Laxus, and he entrusted him completely with any decisions to do with picking the squad."

Gajeel glared at him. "But that ain't fair!"

Jellal nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I completely agree. But unfortunately, that's the situation. There's nothing we can do, unless we can change Laxus' mind."

There was a short, awkward silence, before Levy spoke up. "So... someone has to go talk to him?"

"I'll go," Lucy quickly volunteered, a determined look on her face. "If it's because of me that Laxus is doing this to Natsu, then I'll sort out the problems between us."

This finally seemed to grab Natsu's attention. He looked up at Lucy, a concerned look on his face. "Lucy, you don't have to-"

"No," Lucy firmly interrupted, "I created this problem, and I'll solve it."

The whole group exchanged the same nervous look. No one was really happy with this solution. But just then the bell rung, ending any chance of possible discussion as the group were forced to disperse, all heading for their separate lessons.

######

Lucy hadn't enjoyed maths. After volunteering herself to confront Laxus at break, she spent the whole of the lesson dreading the now imminent encounter.

That's not to say she considered backing away from it. In the end, it was because Natsu defended her that Laxus had done what he'd done. Therefore it was her responsibility to resolve this. She was so tense during the lesson that she didn't even register Juvia's usual glares, something which annoyed the blue-haired girl greatly, who was used to unsettling Lucy ever Maths lesson, and actually took great pride in the fact that she was able to get under the skin of the blonde. Of course Lucy was too distracted to register her little 'victory' over Juvia.

After the lesson, she had gone to her locker and put her books away, her usual lunchtime routine. However instead of then looking around for someone to go to the cafeteria with, she made her way outside, heading to the same spot that she had found Laxus that morning, hoping but dreading at the same time that she would find him there again.

And he was there, alone this time, a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, something which especially made Lucy feel uncomfortable. She hated the smell of cigarette smoke, it was a smell she personally linked with death. When Laxus noticed her, he glanced over at her briefly before turning away, staring out onto the sports pitches, which could be seen a little bit in the distance. Lucy blinked, surprised by how he had reacted to her arrival. She stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before he finally took the cigarette out of his mouth. He exhaled slowly. Still not looking at her, he spoke in a low voice,

"You know, for someone who hates me so much, you really can't seem to stay away from me..."

Lucy didn't respond, so Laxus looked over at her and grinned in a mocking way. "So what do you want? Wait, let me guess... Does it have something to do with Natsu by any chance...?"

Lucy, feeling even more angry due to Laxus' attitude, glared at the boy, which only seemed to amuse him even more. "It's not fair. This is a problem between you and me."

Laxus continued to smirk at her, as if he was taunting her. He wasn't taking her seriously at all. "You're right."

Lucy blinked, genuinely surprised. She had not been expecting this to be so easy. "Uh.. really?"

Laxus nodded as he stood up, stretching his arms and yawning loudly. "Yeah. Natsu is a good player. Not as good as me obviously, but still good. Either way, it would be a shame if he misses out for something like this."

Lucy smiled, visibly relieved. Maybe Laxus wasn't as bad as she thought. But just then Laxus turned to her and gave her the same teasing grin. "I'll put his name back on the list, but I want something in return."

Lucy's face fell. "Something in return?"

"Yep. You do me a favor and I'll do you one. Seems fair, right?"

Lucy nodded slowly, although the look on her face told a different story. She couldn't be more against what he had just said. She was almost scared to ask her next question. "And just what do you want...?"

"Well, my... ahem... offer from this morning is still open..."

Lucy's jaw literally dropped. She stared, shell-shocked, at Laxus, who was still giving her that same smirk. When she didn't reply, Laxus laughed heartily. "Joking, joking. Jeez, no need to get so worried..."

Lucy partially relaxed. Laxus' smirk then disappeared and he stared at her, looking completely serious. "but I do still want something in return. An apology will do."

"An... apology?"

Laxus nodded, grinning threateningly. "Yep. I don't want Natsu thinking that he can just punch his possible future captain and get away with it. If he wants to even have a chance of being in the team, he's gonna have to beg and beg like a dog for forgiveness..."

When Lucy didn't reply, Laxus stepped past her and began walking off. Lucy stared at his retreating figure for a second, before sighing in relief. One thing's for sure, that could have gone a lot worse.

######

After her meeting with Laxus, Lucy had gone looking for Natsu. After looking around outside and in the cafeteria, she found out from Levy, who she found in the library as usual, that Natsu had to stay behind after maths because he had fallen asleep during the lesson. It would seem that he had snagged himself a detention. Again.

This didn't matter too much though. With Gray and Gajeel definitely participating in the trials that evening, Lucy suspected everyone would be turning out to support them, even Natsu, and so she could tell him about her encounter with Laxus then.

The last lesson of the day was Chemistry, one of Lucy's favorites. However she found it difficult to concentrate throughout the lesson because she was genuinely bubbling with excitement. At her old school she hadn't had many friends, the school's pupils pretty much split into two separate groups when it came to her.

You see, even though Lucy used to attend a prestigious, but more importantly, expensive private school, Jude Heartfilia was in a league of his own when it came to the sheer size of his personal fortune. Most of the students hated Lucy, prejudging her as spoilt and pampered whilst being extremely jealous of the life they assumed she had. Unfortunately for Lucy, there was nothing she could do about this. They had already decided that they weren't going to make any effort to befriend or even get to know her.

Then there were the other students, who kissed up to Lucy, thinking that they could trade their friendship for financial gains. But they were fickle, and when it came to defending Lucy from the other students, none of them were really willing to stand up for her and essentially take on the entire school.

But that was different here. Today after school she was going to meet up with her friends to cheer on her other friends. It was something which she had never done before, she had never been part of a kind of community like this, and she absolutely loved the fact that she was in one now. And it was because of that that chemistry didn't matter to her, all she wanted was for the lesson to finish and the evening to begin.

After the lesson finished, Lucy met up with Levy, who was in the same class, outside the classroom. Chemistry was situated on the school's first level, so after making it down the stairs and dumping their books in their lockers, visiting Levy's first and then Lucy's, the two girls went outside to the school courtyard where Cana, Elfman and Mirajane were waiting.

Lucy frowned, looking around the packed courtyard. "Where're the others?"

"Gray and Gajeel went to the changing rooms to get ready," Mirajane replied, "and I think Erza and Jellal went to find Natsu. They'll probably be heading to the changing rooms as well when they're done, so we should go there too. We were just waiting for you two."

Cana glared irritably at the two. "Yeah, what took you two so long? We've been waiting here, like what..."

Mirajane shook her head dismissively and smiled reassuringly at Lucy and Levy. "Oh, it was only a couple of minutes."

"Doesn't matter," Elfman grunted, standing tall over Lucy and Levy. "True men are never late."

Levy smiled nervously, raising her hand in weak protest. "But we're not men..."

"Can we just go now?" Cana interrupted, seeming especially cranky.

Mirajane nodded, turning specifically to Lucy. "Yeah, we probably should. By the way, did you... you know..."

Lucy smiled brightly, pleased with herself. "Talk to Laxus? Yeah, let's go. I'll tell you guys about it on the way..."

######

When the girls and Elfman reached the changing rooms, they found Jellal, Erza and Natsu waiting there. The changing rooms were situated in a small building, or pavilion, adjacent to the soccer pitches, a very convenient position indeed. As soon as he saw Lucy, Natsu grinned, "Well? What did Laxus say?"

Lucy was about to reply when the doors of the pavilion opened, and Gray and Gajeel emerged, fully kitted out. They too spotted Lucy and the others, and made their way over to the group.

When everyone was gathered, the attention was back on Lucy. Erza looked seriously at her. "Did you speak to Laxus? Can Natsu play?"

Lucy turned to Natsu, struggling to contain her excitement at this point. "Yes, you can!"

Natsu opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Gajeel slung his arm around Natsu's neck. "Yeah! This wouldn't have been any fun without ya!"

Gray nodded in agreement, smirking challengingly at Natsu. "I can get into the team and prove I'm better than you in the process. This is a win-win..."

Natsu smirked back. "As if. There's no way you're outshining me here droopy eyes..."

"Honestly, do you guys ever stop..." Cana muttered irritably. Mirajane laughed.

"It wouldn't be as fun if they weren't like this."

Jellal nodded in agreement, smiling at the boys like everyone else, when he noticed that Erza was still looking quite serious, as if she was thinking about something. "What is it?"

Erza frowned. "This doesn't seem like Laxus though..."

Lucy nodded excitedly. "I know right? All Natsu has to do is apologize and then Laxus will let him play!"

Suddenly, hearing this, Natsu stopped his argument with Gray and pulled out of Gajeel's grip. Erza stroked her chin thoughfully. "An apology huh? That's easy enough..."

"I know right? All Natsu has to do is say that he's sorry and then Laxus will just-"

"No."

Lucy stopped mid sentence. She looked over at Natsu, who was staring straight at her, a serious, determined look on his face. "Wait, what?"

"I won't apologize."

There was a short, stunned silence as everyone processed what Natsu had just said. Erza, the first to react, stepped in front of Lucy and glared at Natsu. "What are you talking about? All you have to do is say you're sorry and you'll be able to be on the team. That's what you've always wanted isn't it? How can you be so stubborn?! How can you sacrifice your goal because of pride-"

Natsu looked straight at Erza and met her glare with a glare of his own. Erza stepped back, startled. Was Natsu... standing up to her? "I won't apologize to Laxus, no way. Because I'm not sorry."

Erza was about to retort, possibly with force, before Jellal stepped between them. "Natsu, think this through. Even if you do apologize, it's not like you have to mean it. It doesn't have to mean anything. All Laxus wants is to make himself seem like the bigger man, that's all. No one will think badly of you because-"

Natsu looked past Jellal, so that he was staring straight at Lucy. "It's not about that. I won't apologize for what I did. He hurt Lucy. No matter what, I can't forgive him for that. I don't care if it means that I can't play for Fairy Tail, that doesn't matter anymore. I won't apologize for standing up for my friend!"

Lucy stared back at Natsu. He was saying that directly to her, even though everyone heard. Even though Natsu had trained so hard to get into the team. Even though all he wanted was to beat Laxus. Even though all he wanted was to represent Fairy Tail. He was willing to give that up for her, someone who he had known barely a week. "Natsu..."

Natsu then turned to Gray and Gajeel, who had been watching silently. "You two, try your best. If I can't be in the team, I'm relying on you guys to do Fairy Tail proud."

Gray snorted. "Seriously squinty eyes? You think we're going to play now?"

Natsu blinked at him and Gajeel. "What?"

Gajeel smirked at him. "Look at you. Don't think you're the only one who can act cool, making sacrifices. If you ain't gonna play, why the hell would we?!"

"You two..."

Gray punched Natsu playfully in the shoulder, and smirked at Lucy. "Lucy's our friend too. If Laxus makes an enemy of one of us, he makes an enemy of all of us. If you're not gonna play for him then we won't play for him either, no way."

Erza stared at the two. "But you guys..."

Jellal smirked, placing his hand on Erza's shoulder, as if to say it was OK. "Me too. I won't play either."

Erza's eyes widened. "You too?! But you're the vice-captain..."

Jellal smiled cheerfully at her, and then at Lucy. "It's like Gray said, we won't let Laxus walk all over us. We're a team, right?"

Levy then perked up, as if she'd just had an idea. "And none of us should go to the games! We'll show Laxus that he can't just do what he wants and get away with it."

Mirajane smiled at her, before looking around at everyone else. "So it's settled then. We'll all just boycott the games. Until Laxus backs down!"

Gajeel smirked, bringing his fist and palm together. "Hell yeah! We'll show that jerk who's boss!"

Lucy felt tears stinging her eyes. Everyone was willing to stand up to Laxus, just because of what he did to her. They were all doing this because of her.

Because she was their friend.

"G-Guys..."

Mirajane smiled kindly at her, pulling her into a comforting hug.

Gray smirked. "You're one of us, Lucy..."

Lucy nodded, her head still buried in Mirajane's shoulder. "Y-yeah..." Everyone grinned at her. Everyone except one.

"No, I won't let you guys do this."

Everyone turned to Natsu, who had just spoken up. He had the same serious expression as before. Gray frowned at him. "What do you mean 'no', we won't just forgive Laxus for what he's-"

Natsu glared at Gray. "This is between me and Laxus! You guys shouldn't get involved!"

Gray grabbed Natsu by the collar. "Shut up, we won't just let him screw around with us! We won't play for Laxus, that's not an-"

Natsu seized both of Gray's arms, and roughly pushed him off him. "You're not playing for Laxus! You're playing for Fairy Tail!"

Gray staggered backwards, but was stopped by Erza. He thanked her, before looking up and meeting Natsu's glare. "What are you saying now?!"

"I won't do what Laxus wants, but he hasn't done anything to you guys! Besides, if you guys don't play, this just suits him!"

Gray stood up fully, standing opposite Natsu. "What are you talking about?! If none of us play, the team will be weakened and Laxus will have to back down!"

Natsu grabbed his shoulders, shaking him violently. "No, this is what he wants. You guys are only three players, there'll still be a team without you guys! Besides, you guys are the best players, if you aren't playing, that will only be good for him. He'll still be the best player, but he'll have worse team-mates around him and that will make him look better. That's exactly what he wants!"

Gray pulled out of Natsu's grip and glared at the ground, beginning to see Natsu's logic. Erza slowly nodded. "He's right." Gray's head snapped up, and he glared at her.

"So just what can we do!?"

Erza stared sternly at him, giving him the same 'calm down' look as earlier in the day. "The best thing we can all do at the moment is continue to do our best for the school. One thing's for sure though, Laxus won't get away with what he's done. One day, he'll get what he deserves..."

What did you think? Good or Bad? I have no idea how you guys are going to take this one, but it was the same for the last chapter too. I must say, the last part of this chapter reminds me especially of a chapter from my One Piece High School story, I believe it was called 'Friends' or perhaps 'Robin's Friends'. I'm not too sure but I'm too lazy to go back and check tbh.

What may interest you about this is that I actually wrote the ending of this chapter first, then the beginning, and then filled in the middle. In fact, I actually wrote the ending of this chapter before I even wrote the beginning of chapter 3. I just really wanted a nice cuddly friendship scene, and I hope you guys liked it.

As always, please leave a review guys, I don't set targets, but I want to keep getting around the same number of reviews each chapter. Oh, and thanks for reading!