Jiemma, you officially win Worst Father of the Year Award. Mard Geer, you officially win Most Nonchalant Villain of Fairy Tail Badassery Award. Chapter 4…you just win the opportunity to be up right now.

Chapter 4

"She did what now? !"

Wendy's head turned at the sound of Lucy's screech. Hers wasn't the only one; the blonde haired flutist was attracting a lot of looks. Lucy seemed to realize this because her continued conversation with Juvia was indiscernible to the fourteen year old and those around her. Wendy frowned as she took her tray back from the dining hall lady. She had spent the remaining hour of practice getting suitably hydrated whilst speaking with her aunt (who refused to let her go back out) and Chelia (she had only stepped out to grab their cases). Porlyusica only let them go when the bell for dinner rang.

She had chosen to get dinner in the dining hall that evening, but judging from Lucy's sudden outburst, Wendy was starting to regret her decision. Still, she made her way to the table where her two fellow guild mates were now conversing quietly. Of course, all semblance of speech was cut off as Wendy sat down. This made her frown deeper as she took a bite of her hamburger.

"How are you feeling, Wendy?" Lucy asked concernedly. "Juvia told me what happened." So that's what the scream had been about earlier.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Lucy," Wendy said, tacking a smile on at the end. Lucy seemed to give a sigh of relief.

"How's Hibiki taking it?" she suddenly asked Juvia.

"Not well, but Juvia thinks that's mostly because he has to tell everyone he was hit by a girl," the bluenette answered with a bite of her sandwich. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Yep, that's Hibiki."

"What about that womanizing pervert?" Natsu asked, appearing behind Lucy and putting a hand on her shoulder. The blonde jumped, but quickly recovered and swat Natsu's hand away.

"Apparently he was slapped by Minerva," Lucy told him as Natsu took a relaxing seat next to the girl.

"Wow…usually I'd blame Hibiki, but since it was Minerva…" Natsu let out a low whistle while he reached over and grabbed half of Lucy's sandwich. She glared at him but allowed him to eat it anyway. "So, Juvia, what happened out there today? The whole practice got held up by you guys but none of the drum majors could tell what had happened."

Wendy paused in her food consumption to watch Juvia and Lucy share a meaningful glance. Both of them looked uneasy and almost unwilling to tell Natsu what had happened. It was no surprise. Natsu's hair trigger temper was legendary to anyone who knew him and telling him that both his guild and his sister were insulted was not good for the health of anyone in the room. Unfortunately, Natsu seemed more perceptive than usual as he caught onto their looks.

"Come on, guys, what was it?" He had finished Lucy's sandwich now and was staring intently at the three of them.

"It's nothing," Wendy said, attempting to keep her voice steady. She wasn't a very good liar, and it was even harder to lie to her brother. True to form, Natsu caught on almost immediately.

"Wendy," he growled out, "what happened?" She steadfastly refused to answer him, turning to her food again. She wouldn't give in to Natsu's stare. He didn't need to know. That didn't stop Lucy from thinking he needed to.

"It was just Minerva being Minerva," Lucy attempted to dismiss. However, when Natsu rounded his gaze on her, she immediately cracked under it. "She was depriving the clarinets of any water or food breaks and one of them collapsed under the strain."

"Lucy! We agreed not to say anything!" Juvia cried. Lucy cringed apologetically as Natsu's glare darkened.

"Who was it? Who collapsed?"

"Natsu, it's not-"

"Was it Wendy?" The fact that no one answered seemed to be proof enough for her older brother. He stood instantly and his chair fell to the floor. Once again, their table was the sight of many stares as Natsu looked ready to spit fire. Lucy stood only seconds after and latched her arms around his midsection before he could take off. "Let go of me, Luce! I'm going to kill her!"

"Stop it, Natsu! Wendy's fine and you can't get into a fight with them this year. We need you for the games," Lucy said, but Natsu hardly seemed to care and easily ripped himself away from the girl's hold.

"She insulted and hurt my sister! I won't let that go!" Natsu surged forward, only to run into Erza's fist. He recoiled and Gray came up behind him to put him in a choke hold. "Get off me, you stupid stripper!"

"Who's the stupid one?" Gray said, loosening his grip only a little. "You were about to do something that could get you kicked out of the program. How do you think that would help Wendy, you pyro?"

"Gray's right, Natsu," Erza said. "Minerva and Saber Tooth may need a reality check, but putting a fist in their face won't help things…or did you forget last year's week long suspension?" Natsu's frame relaxed at the mention of this. "We'll get revenge for Wendy, but we'll do it legitimately."

"Stop it!" The five people around the table heeded the words instantly and turned to look at Wendy. She had slammed her fists on the table as she yelled, an action which called immediate attention to her. "I don't need you guys to always look after me. I can take care of myself, too. I can handle my problems on my own!"

The five older students stared at Wendy, positively dumbstruck. It was likely they hadn't expected her to have such an outburst, but she couldn't take them treating her like a delicate porcelain doll anymore. Without sparing them a further moment, Wendy finished her burger, picked up her tray and walked away. She was still seething by the time she had dropped off her tray and exited the dining hall. It wasn't like her to snap like that, but she wasn't a little kid. She was a member of Fairy Tail!

"Wendy!" called a voice. Wendy looked to see who had called her and saw Romeo approaching. It didn't improve her mood. "I was looking for you. Are you feeling better?"

"Why?" she snapped, ignoring his question. The harshness of her tone surprised her and it surprised Romeo as well because he took a step back. "Did you just want to talk about my brother?"

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Romeo asked, his hand scratching the back of his head.

"Aren't you only talking to me because I'm Natsu's sister?" She didn't know where this anger was coming from, but the heat and the pent up feelings of rage towards Minerva were now jettisoning everywhere. Romeo appeared to understand this because he quietly reached out and took Wendy's hands in his own.

"No," he answered. "I'm talking to you because you're you. Yeah, it's a cool perk that you're Natsu's sister, but I didn't know that when I spoke to you yesterday."

"Oh….w-well, that's okay, then," Wendy stuttered out. Romeo smiled at her and removed his hands. "A-and I'm feeling much better. Thanks for asking."

"Awesome. I was worried about you." Wendy could barely fight the rushing heat to her face as Romeo passed her to travel towards the dining hall. "I'll see you at sectionals."

"Y-yeah…" Wendy said and she was left alone. Taking a deep breath, Wendy composed herself and continued walking the path to her cabin. There was no one in there, so Wendy chose to take a quick shower and change. As she finished changing she looked at herself in the mirror. Maybe everyone wanted to protect her because she looked so young. Maybe I should cut my hair, Wendy joked with herself. She shook that thought away with a laugh and left the cabin soon after.

She was by no means the first one to have arrived at the guild hall. In fact, the first one to greet her as she arrived was her very own brother. His eyes were downcast and all the earlier rage seemed to have dissipated from him. Upon further inspection, Wendy could also see that he looked apologetic.

"Hey, I'm sorry for earlier," Natsu said to her, proving her theory. "I know you can take care of yourself, it's just…you're my sis and I love you. I don't like seeing you hurt."
"I know that, Natsu," Wendy assured him with a smile. "I just don't want to be babied all the time."

"Okay, I'll try my best not to. Do you forgive me?"

"Of course." She then moved and wrapped her arms around her brother who hugged her back tightly. They smiled at each other before splitting apart, with Wendy moving to the clarinets and Juvia, who also tried to apologize to her. Wendy passed it off and then waited for the sectional session to start.

"Okay, Fairy Tail clarinets, I'm sure you know that Juvia is Juvia," the older bluenette announced once all the clarinets were settled in. Unlike yesterday, they weren't sitting in their assigned seats but were spread pell-mell about their section on the first floor of the guild hall. "Juvia will be your section leader this year. Today we will spend two hours practicing our section teamwork and then go one-by-one to see our individual members' skills."

Wendy listened raptly, nodding every once in a while. Once Juvia was done talking, the clarinets immediately picked up their instruments and began their practice. The beginning of practice was simply a rehash of their marching music. Unlike that morning's practice, however, they were actually able to get something done. Juvia proved to be a much more capable leader than Minerva, kindly pointing out the various mistakes that were being made, and giving praise where praise was due. After she felt it was sufficient, she handed them a new piece of music and told them it was their ensemble piece for the fourth day of the competition.

At first look, the sheet music looked complicated, but after staring at it and fingering it out on her clarinet for a few minutes, she was able to quickly get the pattern down. She couldn't say the same for the rest of her section. Then again, when Juvia started them off, even Wendy found herself having trouble at keeping pace. It took the time change to throw her off and once she did, she realized that everyone but Juvia and the second chair, a senior named Laki Olietta, had faltered well before then. Juvia was able to quickly realize this and turned around to helpfully instruct them.

"Wendy, the change comes after this string of eighth notes but just remember that because it switchesd to quarter notes you only need to think punctual. It's like a sharp jab…like how Gray-sama had pierced Juvia's heart." Despite the creepy analogy, Wendy understood hat the older girl was telling her. The advice worked too, and by the time she had finished instructing the seconds and thirds, Wendy was certain she could work her way through it.

She did and their ensemble practice ended with Wendy being able to easily manage the time signature. There were still plenty of other problems, but the biggest obstacle to overcoming the piece was done. Juvia then passed out another piece of music.

"These are all the same no matter what level you are. Clarinets are not obligated to use this piece if they are chosen for sectionals, but it serves as a baseline." She then gave them five minutes to try and practice the one sheet piece. Having grown up alongside Natsu, however, Wendy was all too used to learning one page sheet music instantly. Across from her, Romeo was having more difficulty with his face scrunched in confusion. Wendy giggled at the look. He seemed to hear it and sent her a small grin before they each returned to their music.

When the five minutes were up, Juvia began moving through the section while the other members listened quietly. She had started with the Thirds too, so they wouldn't feel pressured. This just ended in more pressure for Wendy as it approached her turn. Her nerves reached breaking point as the Fourth Chair finished playing and Wendy took a deep breath to steady herself. Then she caught sight of Romeo's confident smile and Juvia's expectant one. All the tension left her and confidence returned. She started to play and everything else around her fell away. There was no guild hall or other musicians, or even Romeo or Juvia. It was just her and the music, and when the last note finally faded she felt fulfilled.

Laki played after her, but Wendy could almost see that the older girl's heart wasn't in it. In fact, it almost seemed that she didn't want to perform well. It was only when they had ended their practice and were leaving the guild hall that Wendy began to understand why.

"You were amazing, Wendy!" Laki praised.

"Am I glad I didn't go after you!"

"Why am I not surprised?" That last comment had come from Romeo. Wendy laughed at that. "Not that I ever stood a chance, but you floored me. I'm not surprised you're good…but that good?"

"Thanks." There was nothing else she could really say. Romeo quickly gave her a high five and then went to meet up with Natsu. Wendy continued to smile as she joined up with the other girls.

It only took one thought to sustain her: if they really thought she was that good, then maybe she could beat Saber Tooth after all.

"Water satchels?"

"Check. Granola bars?"

"Crappy ones from the vending machine, but check."

"Hey, I'm the one who paid for those Chelia. Don't knock it."

"That's because you're cheap, Romeo. I'd hate to see what you'd be like if you ever got a girlfriend." At this, Chelia tossed a suggestive look Wendy's way and she rolled her eyes. Next to her, Romeo huffed loudly.

"Excuse me for being short on cash," Romeo said sarcastically. "It's not like I had some hyper pinkette approach me and appropriate my money. I only got enough for two weeks."

"Don't make excuses. This is for survival!" Chelia countered. She took a beat before saying (with both Romeo and Wendy moving their mouths alongside her), "And for love!"

"Can we finish this up?" Wendy asked. "I'm sure Minerva will be here soon."

"Good point," Chelia said. "So, now we can keep our water by us and we have food in case Minerva decides to pull a repeat."

"Right. We won't give in!" Romeo proclaimed emphatically. He stretched his hand out and both Wendy and Chelia joined in. "Fairies and Lamias unite! We won't be eaten by the Tiger!"

"That's super corny, Romeo," Wendy commented. Romeo flushed in embarrassment.

"Let's see you do something better," Romeo said, but Wendy couldn't find a response. Romeo smirked and the three clarinets separated their hands, quickly assembling themselves as the beginning of the line before Minerva arrived. "So why did you take my money instead of someone else's, Chelia?"

"'Cause you're the only guy nice enough and gullible enough to let me."

"Am not!" Romeo protested. "Maybe I just didn't want Wendy to faint like yesterday."

"You're not really refuting my point here." Romeo's mouth flapped open and closed, but before he could appropriately retort, Minerva's cold voice entered the fray.

"Still standing around, are we?" she snapped. The other clarinets didn't argue with her and simply began getting into the line that the trio had started. Minerva's eyes scanned the row and quickly saw the three of them standing defiantly. It caused a frown to appear on her face, but Hibiki arrived before she could take any action.

Yet again, it took only a few minutes for the insults to begin, but this time Wendy found that they didn't bother her. She resisted the urge to grin at this realization; she had taken the first steps towards defeating Saber Tooth. Of course, Hibiki wasn't doing anything to stop her. Whether it was because he had given up or because of what might have happened after she left yesterday, Wendy couldn't be sure. All she knew was that they would have to endure five more days of this.

Thankfully, she was wrong.

"I hope you're taking appropriate breaks," called Porlyusica across the field. Wendy's eyes lit up at the sight of her aunt before her brow furrowed into confusion. Why was she here? "Sorry to interrupt your practice time, but I'm just going around to the various sections to ensure they take care of themselves in this heat. I don't want anymore humans coming to the nurse's office."

"O-of course, ma'am," Hibiki said, his voice far more despondent than usual. Porlyusica looked him over before scanning the line of clarinets. Her eyes lingered on Minerva a tad longer than most, but moments later she nodded approvingly and swept away.

This simple action seemed to have rejuvenated all the clarinets but Minerva, who was taking the blow to her supposed leadership even harder. Despite the increase in her foulness, though, the clarinets were in high spirits by the time they joined the rest of the band on the big field. Naturally, that was when the horrors started again.

"Honestly, do you have two left feet?" Minerva screeched, her face apoplectic. The sophomore she was yelling at during what was supposed to be their break hung his head and whimpered quietly. This action called even further cruelty from Minerva. "Stop blubbering like a seal, you worthless trash."

Wendy shook her head and munched on her granola bar. Even though it was from the vending machine, she couldn't deny its deliciousness. Not to mention the fact that it was chocolate chip and peanut butter almost made her forget about the she-demon. Next to her, Chelia was making mimicking noises under her breath while she drank her water. Wendy finished her snack as Minerva started snapping at the section as a whole again.

"Now, from the top. If I hear a single mistake, you'll find my boot shoved up your-"

"What's going on here?" Wendy peered around and noticed Erza approaching, her lips drawn and her hands on her hips. Minerva's own lips twisted into a sneer at the sight of the redhead.

"Go away, Erza. This is sectional business," she snapped. Wendy's eyebrows flew into her hair. She started remembering the stories that Romeo had told her about the two girls' rivalry and could already see the beginnings of an ugly fight.

"Last I checked, we drum majors called for a break," Erza said pointedly. Minerva scoffed loudly.

"Don't put yourself so high and mighty, Scarlet."

"I would say the same, Orlando."

"Hwaset!" Minerva suddenly cursed. Wendy looked to Chelia who appeared to be just as confused at the random word. Erza wasn't as confused.

"Watch your language. The director won't tolerate it," she said venomously. Minerva laughed.

"Why should I listen to you? Ro hwasetya!" There was a short moment where everything was silent and Wendy's eyes were flinging back and forth between the warring women. Then Erza was in Minerva's face, the most frightening of glares on her face.

"They may not understand that archaic language your father taught you, but don't think that I'm not understanding every word you're saying," Erza spat vehemently. Minerva smirked wickedly.

"What'll you do about it?" Erza's body twitched and her hands looked like they were about to shoot out and strangle the girl before her. They didn't, thanks to the timely intervention of a hand on Erza's shoulder.

"I think we should calm down," said the newcomer. Wendy noticed that he looked familiar with his blue hair and the tattoo on his face. Erza seemed to know him well, because she relaxed in his presence. "This isn't the time for a fight, Erza."

"You should listen to your boyfriend, Erza." Wendy quickly put two and two together in her head and realized this boy must've been Jellal.

"Shut up, Minerva, or you'll get on my bad side next," Jellal said with a pointed glare. Minerva's lips tightened, but for the first time she didn't spew any insults. Erza also seemed to calm down in Jellal's presence and composed herself.

"Right," Erza breathed, drawing herself away from Minerva, "I'll let it be for now. Clarinets, make sure you get some water." Almost everyone of their section ignored Minerva's irate expression to run for their water bottles. "Oh, and Minerva, the next time we call for a break, we mean it. After yesterday, I'm not the only drum major paying attention. Mira was quite the demon when she found out."

Erza then gave a wave and walked away with Jellal, who seemed to be fussing over her. Minerva's own face had now twisted into a scowl. Unlike all her other negative changes in attitude, she didn't turn her wrath on the section and instead stalked away angrily. Wendy turned to Chelia and the two girls gave each other a victorious smile.

"That's what it means to be in Fairy Tail," Romeo said as he approached them. "We have Erza on our side."

"At least the drum majors will step in now," Chelia said, fishing her own granola bar out of her pocket. "I'm actually looking forward to lunch today."

"I'm just looking forward to eating something besides this granola bar. No offense, Romeo," Wendy said apologetically. Romeo shrugged.

"None taken. I think mine was stale, anyway. It's probably been in that vending machine since last year." Chelia spit her bar out quickly. "Well, now we actually stand a chance at surviving." Wendy and Chelia beamed at him and the trio exchanged a series of high fives before the drum majors were calling the band back to order.

To Wendy's great surprise, Minerva had become completely silent. There were no insults or vindictive looks (unless they were directed at Erza). It was a complete one-eighty from the way she had been just fifteen minutes ago. The comfort that Wendy derived from this was immeasurable, and for the first time since the first day, Wendy found herself having fun. That fun was practically doubled at lunch when Chelia did an impression of Minerva, down to using toothpicks to represent the girl's eyebrows. It was certainly a good thing that the witch hadn't joined them in the dining hall.

The afternoon passed just as easily as the remainder of the morning had. Hibiki had finally retaken his position as section leader with much confidence and each one of them could breathe again. The section once more became both concentrated yet giddy at the same time. Minerva, for her part, remained entirely separate from the group and she was the first to leave when the bell for dinner rang. Wendy, herself, was packing up when she saw Mirajane approaching her.

"Wendy, the director wants to see you in his office," she told her sweetly. Wendy looked up, alarmed.

"M-me? Did I do something wrong?" Mira shook her head with the kind smile still on her face.

"No, I think he just wants to talk about yesterday," Mira answered. Wendy sighed. Clearly, it was going to take longer to get over her weakness from yesterday than she thought. Wendy thanked Mirajane and the senior pointed her towards the director's office.

Romeo and Chelia bid farewell to her and she immediately went on her way toward the office. It was clear from the moment that she entered the larger building that it wasn't really the director's office, but just the space he was using for the camp's duration. The good thing was that it was air conditioned. Wendy made her way towards the door that was ajar but pulled up short when she heard voices coming through it.

"Can't we just kick him off the board?" asked a gruff voice that Wendy immediately identified as Gildarts'.

"I wish…" Makarov sighed out. "Jura's looking into some kind of loophole but right now the only feasible way of removing him from the board is to remove his daughter from the program."

"Ha, she won't leave the program unless it's bankrupt," Gildarts spat sourly.

"That's the problem!" Makarov said with obvious distaste. "He's using his influence on the board to run the program into the ground!" Wendy had to stifle a gasp at what she heard. Someone was trying to bankrupt the program? ! She had just gotten into it, had wanted to for years. Now it was on the verge of being shut down?

"Jiemma Orlando's a real piece of work, isn't he?" Gildarts said, his voice full of concern. Wendy frowned at the name that had been given. Orlando was Minerva's last name, wasn't it? "Unless we get some more money, the program will be shut down, huh?"

"Forty years I've been working in the program and I've never met such a persistent bastard. I've never had a single parent complain, but then I refuse to make Minerva drum major because of her vindictive tendencies and he makes it his life's mission to shut the program down. Honestly, the only way to save it is to get rid of him or get a ton of money. Both would be nice, though."

"Hmmm…well, I'll think on it some more and get back to you," Gildarts concluded. Makarov affirmed this with a grunt and a clattering was heard from within the office as the door was fully opened. Wendy attempted to look as innocent as possible. "Hey, she's here to see you."

"Good, send her in," Makarov said. Gildarts offered Wendy a smile which she returned before stepping into the office. "Wendy, how are you?"

Somehow, she wasn't at all surprised that the director knew her name (especially when she considered that the man knew her aunt). So, as she sat she answered, "I'm fine, sir."

"That's good to hear," Makarov said with a smile. "Erza told me what happened yesterday. I wanted to make sure you were fine and to hear about what happened from you."

Wendy hesitated a moment. Should she tell him what had happened? Then again…Erza had already told him, so she would be doing little more than confirming it. Realizing this, she took a breath and began to answer her. "Um, well, Minerva kind of overtook our section and didn't let us have any breaks. I just got dehydrated and collapsed. That was it."

"Hmm…I see. Thank you for clarifying things, Wendy, and I'm glad you're feeling better, child." He offered her yet another smile which she returned with a bow before leaving the office. Once she had left the building, she found herself leaning against the wall, a single thought swirling in her head.

Was Minerva really trying to shut the program down?

The conversation that Wendy had accidentally overheard between Makarov and Gildarts continued to plague Wendy through the evening. While she didn't say anything or even falter during concert practice that night, the insinuation about the program's fate weighed heavily on her mind. She was just glad that no one noticed the change. That evening had been another ensemble music practice, only this time with their ensemble piece. Prior to leaving, Laxus announced that he'd be announcing the members for the small band tomorrow, though that hardly put Wendy in a better frame of mind.

She was so embattled that even as the lights went out in their cabin, she still found that she couldn't sleep. It was because of this that she was so alert and heard the sounds of the front door to the cabin quietly closing. For a moment, Wendy feared that there was some intruder (here meaning pervert) in the cabin and she pulled her sheets around her tightly. Upon further inspection, however, she was able to see that rather than there being more people in the cabin, there were less.

Sure, Erza was still snoring loudly, with Meredy occasionally joining in, but as Wendy peered through the darkness, she could swear that Lucy and Levy's bunk was entirely empty. Curious, Wendy stood and tiptoed to the front door, careful not to wake Erza or Ultear. It was unlocked and Wendy quietly poked her head out, finding no sign of Lucy or the others. This made her curiosity get the better of her and Wendy retreated to her bed, changing out of her cat-printed pajamas and into her normal clothing once again. She then slipped out, completely undetected.

The night air was cool and crisp, a far cry from what the day had been and it made Wendy's heart soar. She quietly hopped off the cabin's porch and padded across the soft grass, looking for some sign of life. Of course, it was against the rules, but her curiosity far outweighed her fear of breaking the rules. Now, she just had to find someone.

It didn't take long.

"Get down," a voice whispered harshly and Wendy felt someone grab her hand and throw the both of them into some nearby bushes. A few seconds later someone else ran past the bushes before dashing into the night. "Sorry about that-ah, Wendy!"

Wendy finally got a good luck at who had pulled her into the bushes, only to find her face inches from Romeo's. She drew back instantly and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Last minute guild game of Capture the Flag," Romeo admitted with a smile. "Tonight it's Team Shadow Gear, or Levy's team, versus Team Natsu sans Erza. Winner faces Team Thunder tomorrow night. It's tradition."

"Isn't it breaking the rules?" Wendy asked nervously. Romeo just gave her a tiny smirk.

"Sure, but it's not like anybody but Erza cares," he told her. "So, as long as we don't get caught, it's all good. Why? Do you want to join? You can totally be a part of Team Natsu."

"I don't know…" she answered skeptically. "I should probably get some sleep or practice in…" After all, the program probably needs really good players to avoid shutting down, she thought. Romeo looked somewhat disappointed at this and shifted on the balls of his feet.

"Well, I'm in enemy territory right now, so we should probably move before Droy comes back and decides to actually search the bushes…though he's so large that we'll probably hear him coming." Wendy giggled quietly, causing Romeo to smile once again. "Want me to escort you back to your cabin?"

Wendy ran over the possibilities in her head. She could go back, but after being out here and with those other wretched thoughts still in her head, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. Sure, staying out here meant getting back late, but somehow Wendy felt she'd still be at a hundred percent in the morning. "You know what? I think I'll stick around."

"Great!" Romeo said. He seemed to think about something a moment before looking at Wendy intently. "So, I know this place. It's in enemy territory, but it's a great sight. You wanna come?"

Romeo held his hand out and despite her earlier conviction, Wendy debated about taking it. Then she looked into the boy's eyes and saw the earnestness in them. This prompted her to reach her own hand out and clasp Romeo's within it. The two then got up and began to run, and though Wendy would try to deny it, she had never felt more alive than that moment her hand and Romeo's fit together.

Author's Note: So I totally envisioned the scene with Wendy and Chelia snacking as essentially them giving a middle finger to Minerva. Well, I've now finished setting up the plot. Onto more romance! And conflict! The story's in three acts and we're still on act one, so there's that too. What am I talking about? You guys don't care about this stuff. By the way, what the hell was up with that dolphin in the most recent episode? Random…

A more important issue: I suck at drawing so I'd really like to commission someone to make an image cover for this story if you can…or if you know someone. Also, and this isn't some kind of haughtiness or anything, if you'd like to draw fanart for the story, be my guest, just let me know and credit my story. Really, I just want to see people's interpretations. Well, that's all I have to say. Please Review and Dare to Be Silly.