Guess who's seen Thor: The Dark World twice this weekend? :D GUESS WHO'S SCHEMING WAYS TO BECOME LOKI'S WIFE

-this is unedited in my haste, apologies

IV.

Part Of Your World

Ever notice how, when a school has a day off, the day before is spent by students either skipping or not paying attention? Well, that was exactly what the Thursday before Halloween was like at Mag High. This month, the Pro D. Day fell on Halloween itself, meaning not only did the students get a party in the evening, but they could sleep in. Safe to say, everyone was restless, even the best of students.

"I can't believe Juvia skipped," Lucy said. She was pretending to do classwork but, much like the rest of AP Government, she was far too distracted. Yukino was sitting beside her, not even bothering to hide the costume designs in her notebook.

"Well, her boss called her in to work," she frowned. "He said she had to, if she wanted to get time off tomorrow night."

"I don't think I like this boss of hers," Lucy decided. She already knew about Juvia's mental plan, although the girl hadn't put it into action yet. Lucy was waiting for the boot to drop.

Yukino hissed and scratched out the designs. "These suck."

"Wow," Lucy leaned over. "You have a real future as a fashion designer."

"No way," Yukino made a face. "I want to be the CEO of Apple."

Lucy laughed. "You mean I'm sitting next to the next Steve Jobs?"

"You better believe it!" Yukino pointed in her face, giggling.

A loud laugh from the front of the room caught their attention. It wasn't coming from Minerva, but from the girl sitting beside her. Lucy narrowed her eyes; the girl looked eerily similar to Yukino.

"Who's that?" She asked.

Yukino glanced up, face mirroring Lucy's. "Huh."

"What?"

"That's Angel. She's so not Minerva's type of friend, though...then again, I guess Minerva likes her because she isn't that pretty."

Lucy choked out a laugh. "Wow, Queen of Sass much?"

"Sorry." Yukino pulled at her hair. "I'm just a little bitter."

"I guess so." Lucy went back to studying Angel. "She does look an awful lot like you, though, doesn't she?"

Yukino shrugged. "Minerva's found her replacement, I guess."

There was a certain steel behind Yukino's gaze, and Lucy realized that, despite Yukino quite disliking Minerva and glad to be out of her company, she was probably very hurt. So Lucy changed the subject, pulling Yukino's notebook towards her. "So what were you gonna do for Halloween tomorrow?"

"Well, I was going to be a white witch," Yukino started. "You know, because Minerva's going as a witch?"

"Ick," Lucy's lip curled. "I've seen it. It's awful."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She began to snicker. "It's so horrid, it's like she's trying to be scary and sexy at the same time, but she looks like something from The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

That made Yukino genuinely smile. "Anyway, I haven't been able to come up with any real designs. I might be scrapping white witch." Noticing Lucy gazing off into the distance, she asked, "What are you going as?"

"Oh, I don't know." Lucy scratched the back of her head. Truthfully, she hadn't asked Gemma yet, although she didn't say as much. "Maybe I'll just go as myself?"

"Boring!" Yukino declared. She did so very loudly, and caused most of the class to look in her direction. Minerva was one of these people, and her eyes narrowed with distaste when she saw Yukino sitting beside Lucy. Subtly, she angled her body so that Angel was put on full display.

Yukino realized with a sick jolt that Angel was wearing one of Minerva's sweaters, one with white feathers on the sleeves. Yukino had admired it, and Minerva told her 'Maybe someday I'll let you borrow it.'

Now, the look in her eyes clearly said one thing. 'You've been replaced.'

Yukino bit her lip so hard, she drew blood. Lucy yelped. "Hey! Stop that!"

Without really listening, Yukino held Minerva's gaze and spoke to Lucy. "I know exactly what I'm going to be at the dance tomorrow."

"You do?" Lucy asked, still worried about the drop of blood on Yukino's face.

"Yeah." Yukino narrowed her eyes slightly, and inclined her chin as a direct challenge to the dark-haired girl at the front of the class. "An angel."

X

The Charming Bar was surprisingly empty, with only a few filling the tables. Sting was feeling more annoyed with his friends than ever; Natsu was so jittery you'd think he drank several cups of coffee, and Gray was so bored he was practically asleep. Rogue called in sick. Jellal was, once again, off the grid. Sting drummed his fingers against the table.

"Seriously, guys!" He shouted finally. "What is up with all of you?"

"Nothing," Gray mumbled, lolling his head back and beginning to snore.

"Nothing," Natsu said, eyes darting back and forth. "Nothing's wrong I'm totally cool and not nervous no why would you say that?"

Sting rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat. Absently, he checked his phone, but there were no new messages. No missed calls. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Seriously, nothing from Minerva? He was really starting to wonder if this 'relationship' was really worth it. No matter how hot she was, he couldn't ignore the fact that she was ignoring him.

But he had just been going out with her for so long, two years, it just didn't seem right to not be dating her. They were, well Sting and Minerva. They were Stinerva. And they did have some genuinely good times, like that time...or...no, was it the other time...

Groaning, he scrunched his face in his hands. "Guys, what would you do if I said I would break up with Minerva?"

"Probably throw you a party," Gray said without opening his eyes. Sting kicked him under the desk. "Ouch!"

"I need a drink," Sting mumbled. "Hey, Romeo! Over here!"

The younger boy caught his eye, and Sting held up three fingers. Nodding, Romeo dashed off into the kitchen, and soon returned with four cans in his hand.

"Oi," Sting growled, eyeing the fourth can as Romeo handed every else a can of Miller Lite. "Does your dad know about that?"

"Yep." Romeo grinned jauntily. "Besides, it's light, and American. It won't do anything anyway."

"Amen to that," Sting shrugged, and cracked the top.

"So, Natsu," Romeo slid into the booth next to him. "How's your online relationship going? Probably not as good as mine."

"You have an online relationship?" Gray had finally decided that the topic of conversation was worthy of his time, and lifted his head up. "You are so much more like Natsu than I thought."

Romeo, for his part, looked incredibly smug as he folded his hands behind his head. He looked as if he'd been itching to tell them about this for the better part of a week. "Well," he started, "It started about two weeks ago, I met this girl at the mall-"

"Wait, I thought you said this was an online relationship."

"It is! Now shut up. Anyway, she was gorgeous, and carrying these heavy bags for herself. All kinds of weird healing herbs, I dunno. But she could barely hold them, so being the gentleman I am, I carried them for her. And we struck up a conversation-"

"I am not seeing the online bit here."

"Shut up! Naturally, I asked her out, but she got all flustered, and said she isn't allowed to date. In fact, I don't think she's allowed to go outside – she's homeschooled, lives in a penthouse with her aunt. But she does have a computer to do her schoolwork, so I gave her my email and we've been IM-ing ever since!"

"Great." Sting was already bored. "Do you think Minerva would be really mad if I dumped her at the Halloween dance?"

"Probably," Natsu answered, while Gray said, "Go for it."

Romeo pouted. "Guys! This is a big deal! I'm meeting her tomorrow night!"

"Whoah, you're meeting someone you met online?" Gray frowned. "Don't you know anything about safety?"

Natsu promptly turned as pink as his hair. "Th-there's not all that much wrong with it-"

Gray shoved his hand in Natsu's face, cutting off his speech. Romeo frowned deeply at both of them. "This isn't my first time meeting her," he said irritably. "We met at the mall, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gray and Natsu had erupted into a full-out nuclear bitch-slap war, and neither was listening anymore. Sting didn't bother to watch either of them, swirling the beer around in his can.

Romeo leaned back and crossed his skinny arms over his chest. "You all suck," he declared. "Rogue would have listened to me, at least he's polite. Hey, where is he? And for that matter, where's Jellal?"

Sting snorted. "You're asking me?" he said skeptically. "Dude, I haven't seen Jellal in days. I have no idea where he is."

X

"Jellal, where are you taking me?" Erza laughed, as she allowed herself to be dragged down the street by the wrist. Jellal was leading the way, and was being most mysterious as to where he was taking her. It was already past dusk, and the streetlamps lit their path.

"It's my idea of a romantic date," he said simply. And that was it. Erza sincerely hoped he wasn't taking her to a fancy restaurant because she was really not dressed for the occasion. In fact, Erza was fairly certain she didn't have anything worthy of a fancy restaurant, unless you counted that purple gown with the tropical print from Hawaii that Milliana brought her two years ago –

"Erza?" Jellal had slowed, and was looking at her with mild concern. "Are you all right?"

"Eh?"

"You kind of spaced out."

"Oh." Erza flushed, and looked down. "Sorry."

Jellal smiled, and let go of her wrist only to twine his fingers through hers. "Anyway, we're here."

"We are?" No fancy restaurant in sight. Erza let out a sigh of relief, until – "Is this our old preschool?"

Jellal nodded, grinning broadly. Erza stared in amazement. She could barely remember this place. Now it was old, decrepit, and fenced off. A large, orange sign tacked on the fence read 'Danger, do not enter.'

"What happened to it?"

"I found out a few days ago," he explained. "They're tearing it down to rebuild a new school. So I thought we'd get one last look at it before demolition."

"Wow." Erza leaned against him. "It's so sad."

"Well," he said slowly. "I was thinking maybe we could get an even closer look."

She stared blankly at him. Then comprehension dawned on her face, and she realized just as he pulled her hand and it was too late.

"Jellal! We are not sneaking in there!"

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" He reached the fence, and held out his hand. "I'll give you a boost. Let's go!"

Erza looked around wildly. "This is breaking the law!"

"So?" He shrugged. "Fine, if you won't do it with me..."

Quickly and deftly, he jumped over the fence. Erza gaped. "Jellal!"

His teasing voice came from behind the fence. "You know you wanna do it~."

Erza gulped, and looked around again. "You're mad," she accused Jellal. He merely hummed in response. Erza stomped her foot, took a deep breath, and gripped the chain of the fence.

In one swift move, she was over. Her feet landed steadily on the other side, and warm hands came to rest on her waist.

"See?" Jellal breathed in her ear. "No problem."

Erza stiffened, hands gripping his forearms. She had been planning on berating Jellal for doing something so dangerous, but had suddenly forgotten everything she was going to say.

For the longest time, neither of them moved. Finally, Jellal stepped away, and began leading her towards the old school. "This way."

They ducked through doorways with no doors, and down halls that were crumbling dust from the ceiling. "Oh, my," she said. "This place really is very old."

Jellal nodded. "I guess it's good thing it's being torn down. No one would be able to learn here."

"If I remember correctly," Erza said slyly. "There was no learning in preschool. Just a lot of dressup."

Jellal stopped in his tracks, and turned to her with wide eyes. "Erza Scarlet," he said in amazement. "Did you just tease me?"

"Maybe." Erza shrugged. "Maybe my one lingering memory of this place is of you in a pink tutu."

Jellal groaned, and rubbed his forehead while Erza laughed. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into a tight embrace, effectively silencing her laughter.

"Let's replace that memory with something else, he?" He asked softly. Erza caught her breath, locked into his gaze and unable to tear her eyes away. Gently, he raised to fingers to her chin and tilted her head up.

"Jellal..." she murmured, swallowing heavily. Her mind was racing, a thousand things crossing her brain at once. Did she look all right? Was he going to kiss her? Should she have worn lip gloss? Would he give her one kiss and then decide he wanted nothing more to do with her? Should she tilt her head to the left or the right? And what if she was a terrible kisser –

Then Jellal closed the gap and kissed her, and Erza forgot how to think entirely.

By the time they got back to the flower shop, it was getting quite late. "Are you going to walk home?" Erza asked him, eyeing the dark streets. "Maybe I should walk you back."

"I can take care of myself," Jellal said in an amused voice. "And how emasculating would it be if the lady walked me home?"

Erza rolled her eyes, pinching his arm. Then she made to go inside, but Jellal's hand stopped her.

"Were you planning to come to the Halloween dance tomorrow night?"

"Um," Erza blinked. "I suppose I was. Why."

Jellal scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's just that – I'd really like you to meet my friends, I know they'd love you and then they're all asking anyway and it would just mean a lot if you did."

Erza's face softened into a warm smile. "I'd love to," she said, and Jellal smiled in return. "But only if you meet mine as well."

"Certainly," Jellal promised, and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Good night, sweet princess."

Erza bypassed red and turned into her last name. Unable to manage any words, she nodded and waved slightly at him. He waved back, and turned to amble along the sidewalk. Erza watched until he turned the corner, still lost in her own hazy heaven. Then she gently pushed the doors to the shop open and wandered in. Erza closed the doors, leaned on them, closed her eyes, and broke out into a very loud and girly scream.

Or, at least, she meant to. Upon entering the shop she saw three familiar and unpleasant faces, arguing at the counter with Kagura. The woman in the middle had long, pink hair and wore a very revealing business suit, while the man on her right carried a guitar case. The man on her left was very ugly, and wore an owl toque on his head.

Erza frowned. The owners of Trinity Raven Floral Arranging, their business rivals from across town. What were they doing here?"

"I've told you," the woman in the middle said icily. "We'll offer you a large sum of money. It'll be well worth it."

"Nothing can be worth my family's business," Kagura replied just as coldly. "I've told you before, Ikaruga. We're not merging."

The woman's lip curled. "Fine, then. But be warned, you'll pay the price."

"Send me a bill."

Kagura held her shoulders straight as Ikaruga and her followers swept out of the store. The one with the guitar case gave Erza a leer as he passed, and she leapt out of the way. As soon as the door clanged shut behind them, she rushed over to Kagura. "What was that all about?"

"It's nothing," Kagura frowned. "Their company is broke, and they're going out of business. Ikaruga wants to make a deal, but there's no way I'm letting us merge with them. I don't like the way they operate." Seeing Erza's face, she shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I'll handle it. You get some rest." Her lips quirked up in the ghost of a smile. "It's the Halloween dance tomorrow night, right? Milliana won't shut up about it."

"Yes," Erza said. "Are you sure-"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Go get your beauty sleep." She gently shoved Erza to the back stairs, leading to the flat above the shop where they all slept.

"All right then. Good night, Kagura."

"Good night, 'sweet princess.'"

Erza choked and ran all the way upstairs in embarrassment.

X

Friday morning found Juvia nervously pacing back and forth between the racks of Club Phantom. She'd been there since 7:00 in the morning when Jose called to ask her to cover the opening shift, despite skipping school to work all day yesterday. Four cups of coffee later and Juvia was both jittery and on-edge, which was not making a good combination.

As far as her 'plan' went, tonight she was putting it into action. Tonight she was going to wow her precious Gray-sama, and come Monday morning she was no longer going to go unnoticed in the school halls.

But the problem Juvia now faced was the exact question of what to wear tonight. Because this was the most important night, the night everything was riding on. And it was Halloween. Not only did she need to be bright, colourful, and fashionable, but she needed to actually look like something, and not just lingerie with animal ears.

Still pacing frantically, Juvia ended up walking into the bathing suit rack. Angrily, she shoved off it and paced in the opposite direction. Why did they still have bathing suits out in October, anyway? It was like they didn't understand the concept of seasonal. No one went to beaches anymore, and hardly anyone her age went to the public pool...

Thoughts of the beach led her mind, of course, directly to the particular incident at the beach last summer. Specifically, last August 18th, the day she decided it was a good day to go to the beach. And what a good decision that had been. Juvia loved swimming, and she loved water, but she was always too shy to go out in public. The only bathing suits she owned were a gross navy one-piece and a blue string bikini she felt horridly uncomfortable in. That day, however, her parents had been fighting again and Juvia had been desperate to get out. So she grabbed the blue bikini and stormed out.

That day, Gray Fullbuster had been on lifeguard duty. Juvia had been secretly in love with Gray since she moved to Magnolia, but had always been too shy to ever speak to him. If Juvia had been brave, she would have laid her towel out right underneath his chair and stretched out in her blue bikini and won him over.

But Juvia wasn't brave. Instead, she kept her towel wrapped fiercely around her and skulked by the snack bar.

It was only when she watched Gray disappear under the water's surface that years of swimming lessons and love kicked in. She had sprinted down the sand, ripping off the towel as she went and dove into the water after them. Saving them hadn't been hard, she was a strong swimmer. But with all the people crowding around her, soaking wet and in a tiny scrap of clothing, her mortification at being seen like that made her dash away.

Juvia had shoved the bikini in the bottom of her drawer and resolved never to think of it again. But seeing all these tiny ones out on display just made her blood boil.

"Hey!"

Juvia jumped, startled. Yukino poked her head around the rack, smiling. Juvia had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't seen her enter the store. That wasn't very good of her. "Yukino!" Juvia covered her surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Yukino shrugged. "Just looking around the mall, for stuff for tonight. There's so many people from school hanging around!"

Yes, and Juvia hoped none of them would recognize her. "Does Yukino have her costume yet?"

"Yeah. Do you?"

Juvia bit her lip. "Um-"

"Oh my God, you don't."

"Well-!"

"Juvia, the dance is tonight!" Yukino looked astounded. "And you don't have anything planned?"

Moaning in frustration, Juvia covered her face with her hands. "It isn't as simple as Yukino is making it out to be," she defended weakly.

Yukino opened her mouth, looking like she would reprimand her further, but familiar voices reached Juvia's ears and the colour drained from her face. Her knees began to wobble as the unmistakeable voice of Gray filled the room.

"Yo man, where do you even find Frankenstein clothes? Like, what does he wear?"

Yukino's eyebrows raised, and Juvia made a frantic shushing noise. Then another voice responded.

"I don't know, doesn't he wear like, a stitched up suit or something?"

"Forget it, I'm going shirtless."

"No way! I am not being seen next to a zombie stripper."

"Shut yer face, Eucliffe."

Gray and Sting were getting closer. Juvia began to have a mini panic attack. She could not be seen by Gray, not while working. Not like this. She hadn't even put her plan into action yet. Her palms began to sweat.

"Why isn't Natsu here?" Sting was saying.

"You know every time he comes here, he tries to blow up the mall," Gray responded irritably. He was so close. "And of course Jellal's ditched us for a date. Again. Whatever happened to bros before hoes?"

"Apparently Jellal is above the bro code."

Juvia pushed Yukino. The girl made a face that said 'What do you want me to do?' Juvia responded with a face that said, 'I don't know! Distract them!'

"Hey, where's Rogue?" Gray pointed out. "He was here like a second ago."

Juvia ducked behind the rack just as the two rounded the corner. Sting wore an annoyed look on his face. "We passed a Hot Topic a while back and his emo hair started pulling him in."

They stopped short in front of Yukino, who began awkwardly holding her hands behind her back. "Um, hey, guys."

Sting narrowed his eyes. "Hey. Yukino, right?" He pointed. "You're friends with Minerva."

"Er, used to be." Yukino edged slowly to where Juvia was hiding. "Not so much anymore."

"Hm." Sting made a noise like a derisive laugh. "I hear you on that one."

"Shut up, man," Gray said wisely. His eyes were roaming the bathing suit rack. "You can't talk until you've dumped her."

"Oh?" Yukino tilted her head to the side. "Are you planning on dumping her?"

"Yes," Sting frowned. "No. Maybe? Ugh, I don't know." He rubbed the side of his face. "I was thinking of doing it tonight."

"At the dance? In public?" Yukino's mouth quirked upwards. "Now that, I would pay to see."

Sting blinked, and stared at her in amazement. "You are a cruel woman!" he exclaimed, but he was grinning.

While Sting and Yukino began chatting, Gray had continued to peruse the bikinis. Juvia, from her hiding spot, could see everything. His dark eyes flitted over the material. He seemed to be looking for something in particular. Juvia wondered what it was.

His eyes raised a fraction. Juvia froze. They were locked almost directly onto hers.

Juvia began shaking and sweating profusely. Could he see her? She didn't dare move, for fear of giving herself away. They crouched, locked in a silent staring contest for what felt like hours.

Then he moved, straightening up. "Come on," he said, interrupting Sting. "Let's get going. There's nothing in here."

"Yeah, okay." Sting hesitated, looking at Yukino. "Hey, will you be at the dance tonight?"

Yukino nodded. He grinned again, and Juvia had to admit, it was an impressive grin. She didn't blame Yukino for blushing slightly. "Cool, I'll see you there."

"Yeah."

As they made their way out of the store, Yukino called out. "It's a brown suit, by the way." Gray looked back, and she smirked. "Try a thrift store."

Gray gave her the thumbs up, and then he and Sting were gone.

Juvia collapsed from behind the rack in a shaking, slobbering mess. "I was this close!" She wheezed. "This close to touching Gray-sama!"

Yukino rolled her eyes. "If this is how you act when you aren't talking, how do you expect to function when he asks you out?"

That only made Juvia lose further control. "If Gray-sama asks her out..." she swooned. "Juvia should be so lucky."

Yukino sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "What time do you get off at?"

"4:00."

"Right." Yukino snatched one of the bikini tops of the rack and tossed it at Juvia. It landed on her chest, and she picked it up gingerly. It was a bedazzled, rhinestone-studded mashup of pink and lavender. It looked flashy and attention-grabbing. It made Juvia want to shrivel up and die. "Wear that."

Juvia shrank away, holding it between her two fingers. "What? Why?"

"Because while you were so busy trying not to faint, I did some research." She gestured to the rack. "Gray spent a fair amount of time looking at those swimsuits. Look, I don't agree with this plan you have. But if you want to nab him, wear it."

"What on Earth would Juvia be?" She could feel a heated blush permeating her cheeks. "A prostitute?"

"Think, idiot." Yukino crouched down beside her, knocking her lightly on the head. "What's really hot, swims all the time, and wears a bikini top?"

"...a lifeguard?"

"A mermaid."

And just like that, all the pieces in Juvia's head fell together.

X

Lucy stood outside her stepfather's study, nervously twisting her fingers together. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. She had delayed asking Gemma until the last possible minute. If she didn't do it now, she never would get a chance to see Salamander face to face.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand. But just before she knocked, the door swung open and Gemma nearly walked into her.

He was wearing one of his fanciest suits, adjusting the solid gold cuff links. Gemma looked down his long nose at her. That was the only way, it seemed, that Gemma ever looked at her. "What is it?"

"Um." Lucy's voice had gone very small. "I hate to bother you, it's just, um..."

"Speak up."

Lucy gulped. "I was wondering if I could go to the Halloween dance at school tonight," she said in one rushed breath.

Gemma paused, hand hovering over his cuffs. If Lucy didn't know any better, she would think literal electricity was coursing through the air. Panic welled up n her chest, and the words started spilling out. "I mean, Minerva and Flare are going, practically the whole school is going, and I can get there and back on my own so you wouldn't even need to worry and besides I'd be out of your hair for a whole evening, right, I mean what could-"

"No."

Lucy faltered. "N-no?"

"I'm going on a business trip." Gemma continued moving. "I'll be gone all night and most of tomorrow. And I'll be hosting a meeting on Sunday." His eyes flashed. "Meaning I want this house spotless when I return."

"B-but," Lucy argued weakly. "This is..."

"No buts." Gemma walked past her swiftly. "I will see you tomorrow evening."

He rounded the corner. Lucy stood there, frozen, uncomprehending. She had expected him to say no, but at the same time, she felt like a stake was being driven through her stomach. Then she took off, running after him.

She caught him in the garage, his silver car already running. Lucy knocked on the window, breathing heavily. She could see her reflection in the glass.

Gemma rolled down the window, an ugly scowl on his face. "Don't smear the glass," he said shortly.

"Please!" Lucy begged. "I can go and do the chores, I promise! The house will be clean!"

"My answer was no." Gemma growled. "I'm already late for my plane. Out of my way."

Lucy stumbled back from the car. Gemma reversed out of the garage, leaving her in his dust. A lump started forming in her throat, and a well of frustration and anger building up in her chest.

"Well, well."

Lucy spun around. Minerva was leaning against the door, a smirk on her lips. She was already in costume; a costume that consisted of a black minidress, lime green fishnets, and a witch's hat. She opened a compact mirror and studied her face. "Such a shame. But I thought you didn't want to go?"

Lucy clenched her fists and ground her teeth. She kept her eyes down. She refused to let Minerva see her cry.

"He was rather harsh on you," Minerva said sympathetically. "I mean, you asked so nicely."

"What do you want?" Lucy asked. Her voice was quavering.

Minerva shrugged. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Flare came swinging around the corner, with a costume identical to Minerva's but with scarlet fishnets. "Ready to go?"

"Totally." Minerva waved to Lucy. "Toodles, sweetie. Have fun cleaning!"

They hopped into Minerva's car. Flare made sure to take the keys to her own car and drop them in her bra, right in Lucy's line of sight, just to say you can't take this car. Then they peeled off the asphalt in a manner very similar to their father, and left Lucy alone in the garage with her stupid, beat-up Jeep.

Her cell phone rang. Lucy jumped; she didn't remember having it in her pocket. She fished it out and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Lucy, honey." It was Mirajane. "Are you coming tonight or not? We never got an answer!"

Lucy swallowed thickly. "Um..." she started, voice creaking. "I...no...he said no..."

And just like that, the dam broke. Lucy had not cried this hard since the day the Orlands moved into her house. She dropped her cell and vaguely heard it hitting the ground. She also could barely discern Mirajane's concerned voice, but nothing was louder than the sound of her own sobbing. The garage doors were still open and she was sure the entire neighbourhood could hear her, but Lucy didn't care anymore. She folded in on herself, gasping and crying. The tears poured down her face, splattering on her torn jeans.

She cried until there were no more tears, and she was left with an empty, hollow feeling. She curled up on the ground, feeling the evening air sting her face. Her eyes were swollen, and it hurt to blink. It hurt to breathe. Her heart felt like nothing more than a lump of lead, and her vision was blurry.

She heard the sound of screeching tires down the street. Lucy raised her head as they got louder and louder. Then, without warning, a bright orange 1970 Aston Martin turned sharply into her open garage. Lucy could barely make out someone jumping out of the passenger side, and then two warm arms encircled her and a soft voice was whispering in her ear.

"Lucy? Lucy, are you all right?"

She raised her head. "Mira..?"

"That's right, it's me," she soothed. "I'm here to help."

Lucy rubbed her eyes. She was beginning to see a little clearer. Mirajane's concerned face swam in front of her.

"You can't help," she said thickly. "I'm destined to be the help in this house forever. I can't escape. Why did I ever think I could?"

Mirajane smoothed her bangs back. "Don't say that," she said gently. "You're going to Hargeon next year, right?"

"I won't be accepted," Lucy argued. But she did nothing to pry herself from Mirajane's arms.

Mirajane tutted. "Gemma really did a number on you," she mused. "We need something to patch you up." Her blue eyes twinkled. "Something like a dance with a handsome boy."

"Didn't you hear me?" Lucy cried. "I can't go! Gemma wants me to clean the whole house, top to bottom, by tomorrow afternoon! There's no way I'll be able to get it done and get any sleep, much less go to a dance."

"Ah," Mirajane tapped Lucy on the nose. "And that's where I come in." She gestured to the car behind her. Come on, now. You didn't really think that was my car, did you?"

The driver's side door opened, and Cana stepped out. Lisanna followed from the back, carrying a bucket on cleaning supplies and rubber gloves on her hands.

Three more girls came out behind her, in full Halloween costume. Erza wore a floaty, golden dress, with gold ribbons on her curled hair and sparkles dusting her cheeks. She had a pair of cheap dollar-store wings on her back, and cute ballet flats.

Yukino, right behind her, wore a short white minidress with a gold braided belt. A spray-painted wire halo perched above her head, and soft white-feather wings sprouted from her back. She had on white stocking and white pumps, smiling sweetly at Lucy.

Juvia came out last. Her blue hair was pinned to the side with a seashell clip, and a string of pearls rested around her neck. She wore nothing but a sparkling pink bikini top, and a magenta snakeskin skirt that went tight all the way to the knee, then changed material into a flowing, hot pink mermaid tail. Her feet were clad in flip-flops with shells glued on the plastic.

Lucy blinked back tears at the group of them. "You guys..."

"You didn't think we were gonna let you miss this, did you?" Cana crowed.

"Lisanna, Cana and I will take care of your house," Mirajane promised. "The other three are taking you to the dance, whether you like it or not."

"But..." Lucy's eyes darted between them. "What about your cafe?"

"You're my only patrons!" Mirajane laughed. "Magnolia can survive if we close early for one night."

Lucy sniffed. Mirajane helped her to her feet, standing shakily. Cana walked towards her, and tossed her something. Lucy caught them out of reflex. It was a pair of shiny keys with a crude, souvenir shop decoration of a stripper.

"The car's yours for the night." Cana gestured to the Aston Martin. "It's my dad's; he said I could use it for one night." She grinned. "So those sisters of yours won't recognize it in the parking lot."

Lucy gulped. She didn't know what to say. But she found herself looking over the beautiful costumes of her three friends, and the words just slipped out. "I don't have anything to wear."

Mirajane's smile turned into a bit of a smirk. "About that. Juvia!" She called over her shoulder.

Juvia reached into the backseat of the car, and pulled out a white box. She brought it over to the two of them, and wordlessly handed it to Lucy.

Lucy lifted the lid off very gently. She could barely see inside, for the explosion of blue tulle that greeted her. Slowly, she lifted it out of the box, and it fell out to reveal a gorgeous pale blue ballgown, with a corseted top decorated with small diamonds and off-shoulder lace sleeves, and a skirt made from nothing but tulle and organza. Lucy gasped.

"Oh, Mira," she swooned. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it in a vintage clothing shop once," Mirajane explained. "I planned on wearing it to my prom, but I went on that trip to Italy. Then Lisanna was going to wear it, but she found something else. It's been sitting, untouched, in my closet for years. Now, I think it's time we gave it to you."

Lucy couldn't contain herself. The tears started flowing again. "Mira..." she said miserably. "I can't..."

"You can, and you will." Mirajane's voice was fierce. "Now, come on, we've got to get you cleaned up. Girls!" She clapped her hands. "Inside. The work has begun!"

It took them half an hour, but finally Lucy was ready. They had to wash her face repeatedly and slather it with creams to make the redness and swelling go down, but eventually they did. Lisanna did her makeup all fancy, but it was immediately covered by a pale blue, porcelain mask they tied around the back of her head. They also pulled long white opera gloves up her arm, twisted her hair into a fancy updo and placed a sparkling tiara in the golden curls, and slipped her feet into pretty blue-white shoes with pearls inlaid.

"Where did you find all these things?" Lucy asked in amazement. They had borrowed Minerva's room, and were using her floor-length mirror. Lucy could not stop examining herself. She looked beautiful, even if she looked nothing like herself.

"We stopped by a small charity store on the way here," Mirajane explained. "That's why we took so long."

Long? They hadn't taken very long. Lucy glanced at the clock on the bedside table. It read 7:00 in harsh, red letters. Lucy blanched. How long had she spent on that garage floor?

"I'll be back by midnight," she promised her friends as they ushered her out into the garage. "Okay? And you don't have to do everything, I'll take over as soon as I get home-"

"Lucy." Cana rolled her eyes. "Would you just forget about your chores for one night? We already said we'd take care of it."

"Come one." Yukino linked her arm through Lucy's. Juvia did the same with her other arm. "This is your night. Just give in to your costume! Be a princess for one night!"

For the first time that day, Lucy felt herself break into a smile. And, not for the first time, she felt that familiar nervous fluttering in her stomach. This was it, she thought giddily. I'm going to meet Salamander.

She kissed Mirajane on the cheek in thanks, and hugged both Cana and Lisanna very tightly. Both girls waved as the princess, the angel, the fairy, and the mermaid piled into the bright orange car.