Chapter Three: Secrets, Rumors, and Alcohol, Oh MY!

WARNING: MATURE THEMES AND DIALOGUE AHEAD. READ AT OWN RISK.

"Never have I ever…worn socks!" Natsu declared, grinning. Everyone looked at the dragon slayer as if he'd lost his mind. Which he had, a long time ago before he even became a member of Fairy Tail. But, Cana supposed that he wouldn't be Natsu if he wasn't completely out of his mind.

Everyone playing took a shot.

"And you call me a weirdo, what kind of person doesn't wear socks?" Lucy grimaced at her empty shot glass, "And how can anyone like this stuff. It's absolutely vile. And it burns." Her nostrils flared.

"Awesome people don't wear socks." Natsu responded off handedly, "And I have every right to call you weird, you weirdo."

Lucy looked at him and Cana could see her mind working as she processed what he said and how to react to it. The summoner sighed in aggravation, "I'm not even going to dignify that with a reply." Lucy fumed. Cana wondered why Lucy took such offense to being called a 'weirdo'. It wasn't like Natsu was being overly offensive. Honestly, if Cana didn't know better, she'd think that Natsu was actually flirting with the blond.

"It's my turn right?" Lucy mulled over out loud. She put a finger to her chin and tapped on it rapidly, her gaze never leaving her lap." Uhhhm…never have I ever dated a guy." She said quickly, in a sigh tone of voice.

Cana tipped her head back and downed the pitcher, wiping her mouth off with the outside of her arm. She had dated a couple guys in her life time, but none of them were anything to write home about, drunks, partiers, players. All and all, most of them were cheating bastards with no life beyond alcohol and woman. Pleasant, right?

Almost every girl playing took a shot as well, except Lucy (obviously), and Levy.

"How come you haven't begun dating, Levy?" Mirajane filled more shot glasses and another pitcher, her eyes trained of Levy. If Cana was easily impressed, she would have been very impressed with Mirajane. As the white ahired bartender didn't miss a single drop as she poured even though she wasn't looking at what she was doing.

Levy shifted awkwardly in her seat as every eye at the bar turned to look at her, "Well, I've been really busy and It's not like I haven't thought about it, it's just that there's this guy and I think I may be interested but I'm sure he doesn't think of me like that because—"

A twinkle lit up Mirajane's eyes, "So you want to date," Mirajane started passionately, her fist hitting the counter, "but you're too shy to incite it. Ohhh, how cute!" She squealed, "You have to tell me who the lucky guy is, maybe I can fix you up!" Mirajane winked at Levy, who looked like she was about to faint from the heat of her own blush.

Cana raised an eyebrow at Mirajane. She was already working on Natsu and Lucy, which was like working on four different couples at once because of how dim wittedly unaware those two were. Did Mirajane really think she could handle taking on another couple right now?

Of course she did.

Clearing her throat loudly Levy scooted a little further away from Gajeel. Cana's attention snapped back to reality and was instantly drawn into Levys's awkward fidgeting and Gajeel's angry glare. (Which Cana supposed was probably fake, because there was really nothing Gajeel could be angry about right now)

"Uhh, well, I-I think it's Juvia-sans turn." Levy looked to the floor and fiddled with her hands, noticeably uncomfortable.

All eyes swept over to Juvia as she started speaking. Her tone was clear and her head help high. It was apparent that she had known what she was going to say prier to her turn's arrival. She didn't even hesitate a little before admitting, "Never has Juvia ever met someone as strong as Gray-sama."

"Wait, so do we drink if we know someone stronger than Gray?" Natsu asked with his shot glass half way to his lips.

"Yep!" Juvia answered excitedly. She seemed shocked when everyone in the room downed their drink.

"I'm glad my nakama have some much faith in me." Gray 'humphed' moodily.

Natsu looked at Gray from the corner of his eye, incredulous, "So you're saying you are stronger than Erza? Even the old man?"

Gray scoffed, "No, I'm saying I'm at least stronger than you."

"Why you little ice pricked son of a bit—"

"HAHAHAH! Well, it's my turn isn't it," Mirajane quickly called the attention to her before another brawl broke out. Cana was somewhat thankful, even though she liked to watch a good fight here and there, but she had a pitcher of beer and she'd be damned if it ended up like last time.

"Never have I ever liked anyone playing this game," Mirajane motioned around to the people around the bar, "romantically." She finished.

Cana watched over the brim of her pitcher with interest as both Levy and Gajeel took a shot, both blushing and sneaking looks at one another. She also found it interesting how neither Lucy nor Natsu took a sip. Natsu, had his 'thinking face' on, as he would like to call it. To Cana, it kind of looked like he was in vast amounts of pain.

Lucy on the other hand was glaring at her shot glass like it'd insulted her or something.

Cana nodded to herself; she defiantly had to consult with Mirajane tomorrow.

"Alrighty then…" Levy paused and looked around the room, her shot glass, now refilled, was clenched tightly in her little fists as she thought, "Never have I ever…."

…

…

…

"Never have I ever…I don't know…I've…never…kissed anyone." She confessed uncomfortably. Her eyes darted to Gajeel and back to her lap. How very strange.

Cana was a little surprised to see Gajeel take another shot because who the hell would kiss him? He's just so…creepy and scary and Gajeel-like.

"What-are-you-lookin'-at?" Said creepy and scary guy was now staring Cana down with a scathing glare.

Cana would never admit out loud that the iron dragonslayer scared her shit-less. She couldn't even look at him without getting the creepers. "I assure you that I was not looking at you."

"That's what I thought."

The silence was thick as every eye at the bar was slowly drawn to the scary man. It took a couple moments for him to realize. "What?" he asked gruffly.

"It's your turn dumb ass." Ah Natsu, the only guy insane enough to call the scary man by something that offensive.

Gajeel turned and glared daggers at Natsu, "Never have I ever had faggy pink hair."

"Goddamnit." Natsu snarled and took a shot, "It's not faggy, it's cool. Refreshing."

"Refreshing my ass, it looks like a fairy shat on your head and it stained." Gajeel jibed harshly.

"Take that back, at least I don't have studs coming out of my—"

"NEVER have I EVER," Cana blurted, "given a blowjob." She vowed at a very young age, right after first hearing about the fundamentals of proper blowjob giving, that she would never, ever, in her entire life give a blow job to ANYONE. No matter how much they begged.

But apparently, there was one person at the bar who was willing to give blowjobs and Cana couldn't be more surprised. Hell, everyone one was surprised. Because this person apparently never dated and has never kissed a guy, but she has given a blow job? Something didn't add up here.

When Lucy set her glass back on the table, there was a pregnant silence as everyone just starred, dumbfounded.

"What the hell Lucy?" Cana was the first to slice through the silence, and suddenly everyone was talking.

"Dude, who was the guy?"

"You had to be good at it, I mean just lookin' at you without a shirt on could get a man hard, just look at those—"

"What the hell? That's my best friend you perv!"

"Do they live around here?"

"How can you give someone a blow job and not date them?"

"Luce, were you drunk?"

"STOP!" Lucy held her hands up in front of her, eyes wide. "Look it was a long time ago and I regret it. I didn't even know what I was doing back then."

Natsu was suddenly back in his seat, his fists no longer flaming and his eyes scanning Lucy for answers. He'd just been beating the living shit out of Elfman. Who knew alcohol turned the Elfman into a complete pervert?

"Did this guy force you or something? I swear, I'll hunt him down and—"

"Wait, wait, wait," Gray was shaking his head as if to clear it, "You know what a blowjob is?"

"Oh course, just because I don't talk about vulgar stuff doesn't mean I don't know anything about it." Natsu countered.

"No, he didn't force me." Lucy looked very awkward.

Of course Cana had to make matters worse, because otherwise the guild wouldn't be any fun if she didn't. The stellar spirit mage was rarely put in situations like this, might as well make it that much more unbearable for her. "So, pray tell, how did this happen. You said you were young, so you can't blame Natsu for jumping to a conclusion like that." Cana was actually thinking something along the lines of that too.

Sighing, Lucy held her head in her hands. "Well, I'd just turned thirteen a couple weeks before the incident. I had a crush on one of my servants, he was a little older—I think by two years. And when I worked up the courage to tell him he kissed me and one thing lead to another and the next thing I knew…well…you know." She sighed and put her head on the table, hiding in her arms, "I can't believe I just told you guys that."

"Did he come?"

"ELFMAN!" Both Natsu and Lucy echoed.

Cana watched as Lucy's cheeks puffed out and her face turned a deep red. "A proper gentleman is not suppose to ask such personal questions." She was clearly mortified.

"But I am a man so—"

Lucy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Proper men are usually courteous towards women, Elfman . Hence GentleMAN."

"I HAVE FAILED TO BE MANLY."

It was nearly two in the morning and the floor was littered with bodies, some still mumbling and hiccupping, others snoring, completely passed out. There was only a couple other people left sitting in their stools, one being obviously Cana, because NO ONE can beat Cana. Especially at her own game.

Gajeel was seated, but Cana guessed that the only reason he was still upright was because Levy had fallen to rest across his lap. She had her arms wrapped around his torso and her head nuzzled into her stomach. Gajeel was sitting so stiffly that his posture rivaled the one of a board.

And, much to Cana surprise, Lucy was still going. They weren't even playing that game anymore; she was probably just drinking to forget what she'd shared with her friends. Either way, she was defiantly showing up Natsu and Gray, who were only seated because when they both simultaneously passed out, they fell in the same direction and were now propping each other up.

"Mira, do you think everyone will look at me different now that they know about…that?" Lucy was still acting surprisingly sober. She wasn't even slurring. Who would have thought?

Mirajane paused in her cleaning. The bartender had dropped out of the game halfway through because she had to clean up and get her older brother home. Even with Lisanna's help he was still extremely heavy.

Speaking of Lisanna, she took Juvia's place next to Lucy. (Somehow, Cana noted, the water mage had crawled her way to Gray and was now curled up to him, his head cushioned on her arm). The youngest white haired mage never liked drinking. It always gave her migraines, even before the morning after. So, she usually chose to watch from afar and tonight was no different.

"No Lucy, everyone adores you here. Just because you made a stupid mistake when you were younger won't change the way people think about you. Everyone makes mistakes." Mirajane soothed, restarting her cleaning.

Lisanna crossed her legs and rested her cheek on her palm, her face looking towards Lucy; her elbow leaning o the counter. "Can I ask you something though?" She asked, her voice was muffled by her hand's placement.

Lucy shrugged, "I suppose."

Lisanna straightened and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, uh, what was it like?"

"Lisanna!" Mirajane scolded, her eyes wide with shock.

Lisanna, even as a kid was never the type to just out right ask something that could make someone upset. Cana can remember the first time she asked where babies came from and Elfman's hilarious reaction. Ever since, she's been a lot more cautious about asking tough questions.

So what was so different now?

"It's alright, I don't mind now that there's not as many people listening. Besides, I trust you guys." Lucy gazed over at Gajeel. His eyes were hooded and he was swaying from side to side. "And he looks like he's just barely conscious, so I'm not very worried about him."

"Alright," Cana shoved Gray out of the way so she would be able to see Lucy clearer. All four girls grinned when Gray hit the ground with a thud, Natsu soon following, "I'm curious too, spill."

"Well, it was weird. He was my only friend in the mansion, so we hung out quite a bit. I knew him really well and trusted him. Trusted him not to let anything go too far. With that being said, I let him take control, let him guide me to where he wanted me. But when I found myself kneeling in from of him, with only his boxers separating his…parts and my face I hesitated and looked up. He looked so calm, and his eyes were so warm, it was almost like a spell. So, when he pulled me closer to his…uhmm.. you know. It just happened. Then, just as fast as I slipped into that cool comfort I snapped out of it. I suddenly started to panic and I stood up and ran. Days after I couldn't look at him, even when he hunted me down to talk to me."

Cana felt bad for Lucy. She knew of the stellar spirits depressing childhood and lack of interaction with her father. It was like the poor girl was destined to have screwed up relationships or something. Just look at her love life now.

"Why didn't you talk to him?" Mirajane was now leaning against the counter in front of Lucy her hands drying a plate.

"Because I felt like I let him down…he…uhh…didn't finish…." Lucy flushed and smiled shyly, "I was also ashamed, I couldn't believe-still can't-that I did something like that."

A loud thump and both Levy and Gajeel were on the floor. All the girls leant over to look at the two and sighed.

"Now they have an ideal romance going on." Lisanna hummed to herself.

"I know!" Lucy stressed, her hands pulling at her hair, "It comes so natural to them. It's just not fair!"

"Wait. What do you guys know that I don't," Mirajane poked Lisanna in the forehead with a sharp nail, "And why haven't you told me?"

"I second that," Cana raised her hand.

Lisanna and Lucy exchanged apprehensive looks, as if having a conversation through only eye contact. Their expressions changed so many times that Cana was having trouble figuring out what was going through the two younger girl's head. Well, she supposed that she was never very good at figuring out Lucy. After all she has only known the blonde for a little over a year now.

"A couple nights ago Lucy, Levy and I were playing this game while we waited for Erza to get off the shower," Lisanna explained in a hushed tone, eyes shifting to watch Levy's prone form on the ground guiltily, "and we all know that Erza takes really long showers. So, we decided to play a game. Never have I Ever, to be exact. Right before Erza came out of the bathroom Levy put a finger down when Lucy said she has never slept with anyone."

Mirajane gasped. "Oooo, when that blue haired vixen wakes up she's so going to get it. How could she not tell me of all people something like this? And how the hell-heck! I MEAN HECK—" Mirajane nervously avoided Lisanna's eyes. The younger sibling merely rolled her own as Mirajane continued, "Does someone have sex without kissing!"

"Look Mira, we promised we wouldn't tell anyone. So please, please, keep this to yourself for a little bit." Lucy clasped her hands in front of her and pouted, "Pretty, pretty please! With sugar on top!" She begged.

"But she's supposed to tell me these things!" Mirajane insisted.

"It only happened a couple days ago, she'll tell you!" Lisanna reassured, "I swear!"

Mirajane seemed skeptical, and Cana couldn't help but feel the same way. Something was fishy. "She better or she's going to be facing a world of embarrassment very soon."

Cana flinched at the harsh tone the takeover mage was using. Gulping down the rest of the alcohol left in the whisky bottle, she yawned and pointed at Mirajane, "I also second that."

"Don't worry she will." Lucy rubbed her forehead and hiccupped. The first sign that she'd been drinking at all besides the numerous glasses in front of her.

"She better." Mirajane repeated threateningly.

"Well, I'm gonna go home now, it's really late." Lucy yawned and stretched her arms up over her head. It seemed like it was only for show. She was probably only trying to get away from the conversation at hand, "See you later, guys."

Lucy carefully picked her way out of the guild, careful not to step on anyone. Cana smiled when Lucy's eyes lingered on Natsu, who was sprawled out on top of Gray. Cana also saw the blush that tinted her cheeks a pale pink color. Something was defiantly up with that girl.

Then, the blonde was out the door, the late night air filtering into the guild after her. She didn't even stumble a little on her way out, despite the amount she drank. Leering at the cluster of glasses in front of the now vacant seat, Cana figured she'd just found a new drinking partner.

Bending down, Cana slowly unraveled Natsu's scarf from his neck and slipped it into her satchel. She looked to Mirajane and Lisanna, the younger of the two pushing Elfman into a sitting position. Mirajane flashed Cana a thumbs up and bent down to help Lisanna get the huge man (despite his actual name) to stand.

"I'll be right back Cana, stay put." Mirajane, along with her younger siblings, exited the guild, leaving the winner of the contest to do what she pleased with the losers sprawled out over the floor.

A half an hour later and Mirajane still wasn't back. A lot could happen in thirty minutes.

Example: Cana can make a stack of drunken idiots, Erza on the top, and Natsu and Gray on the bottom. She could write 'loser' across Natsu's forehead and put the marker in Gray's hand. She could even braid Erza's hair.

And this all happened before Mirajane returned.

Mirajane reentered the guild and giggled when she saw Cana's handy work, "Well, I see you've kept yourself busy." The white haired woman giggled.

"Let's get down to business," Cana cracked her knuckles and stepped towards the storage closet, "We don't know when they're going to wake up," Cana offhandedly motioned towards the pile of drunks, "And I wanna be there when they do. So let's get crackin' here."

Mirajane nodded in agreement, an amused look passing over her face. Together the women walked into the storage room. It was just as cluttered and dusty as last time and just like before Mirajane was fretting over it. The white haired mage didn't even notice she was dusting off some crates until Cana cleared her throat to draw the attention back to her. She walked over to window and opened it, wincing when it's loud squeak echoed throughout the otherwise quiet guild.

"It's kind of eerie isn't it?" Cana whispered and wrapped her arms around herself when a cool breeze glided in through the open window. She eyed the door, the wind slowly pushing it closed with a click that sounded much louder than it was in reality.

Mirajane bit the inside of her cheek and sat down on a crate she'd just dusted off. "Yeah, it's rarely this quiet."

Cana took in a deep breath and fished out Natsu's scarf. She was surprised that the fabric was soft and emitting some excess body heat still lingering from Natsu's neck. She'd always wondered if the fire dragon slayer had an above average body temperature, and if she wasn't convinced by his parading around half naked during winter, the heat remaining in his scarf was the clencher.

"I wanna get this over with. Natsu will destroy the guild if he wakes up to find his scarf missing." Mirajane nodded in agreement, just barely stifling a yawn. It had been a pretty long day, now that Cana thought about it.

She didn't bother holding back her own giant yawn as she threw the scarf over to Mirajane and took her deck of cards out of the satchel next. On the top were her porter cards. She didn't remember them ever coming back to her. Whatever.

Flipping through her deck she pulled out the card she was looking for and returned the rest of her cards to the satchel. With the Fortuneteller card in hand, Cana extended her arm and closed eyes. The same green magic seal from before appeared over the card and expanded into the room. An energizing breeze ruffled the girls' hair and a bright light flashed. Cana blinked a couple times, the blotches from the light parting to reveal Agatha in all her physic glory.

She bowed. "Good Morning, Cana."

"Yeah, we have a scarf for you. Can you use it to do your voodoo magic stuff?" Cana waved at Mirajane, who smiled apologetically and handed Natsu's scarf to the fortuneteller.

"My voodoo magic," Agatha angrily emphasized her words with a withering glare, "will be able to tell a lot from this article. The owner holds this very dear, don't they?"

"You can bet your little crystal ball on it. So hurry up and do some magic because I like my head in place on my neck and not rolling around on the floor. He's very protective of that thing."

Agatha, straightened and closed her eyes. She looked almost sagely as she begun to slowly stroke the crystal ball in her arms. She started speaking in a tongue Cana didn't understand. The way Agatha pronounced the vowels was light and airy. She felt that if she reached out, she could touch the words that Agatha whispered.

The room shifted to an off gray color, like an old film. Agatha repeated the last line she'd just uttered several more times and with each added verse the room grew darker. And then, a light yellow burst of glowing..well, Cana wasn't sure what it was exactly. It was hot and cold at the same time. Crisp and soggy, comfortable, yet ominous. The air suddenly constricted around her and she couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.

With narrowed eyes she tried to find Mirajane. Even though she knew that the other girl was sitting not four feet away from her, Cana couldn't help but feel like something had gone horribly wrong.

The only thing she was able to make out was the imprint of Natsu's scarf just barely visible before the room went completely dark.