HELLO! I was really busy then I went on vacation. But now I'm BACK. Isn't it GREAT? I'm happy to be back.

Levy pulled her blue vest on over the top of her favorite orange swimsuit and fastened the buttons. She picked her bag up off her bed just as she hear the quick honk of Jett's car horn outside her house. Right on time. She climbed in the back seat and smiled at her two best friends in the front.

"Hey, guys!" She chirped as Jet pulled away from her curb.

"Hi, Levy!" They called back to her in unison.

"Are you ready to party?" Droy asked.

"Yeah," Levy said, "It'll be fun! Just like last year."

"Hopefully not," Jet mumbled under his breath. Levy just barely caught it, and it took her a moment before she figured out what he had said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It's nothing really."

"Jet, it's obviously something, tell me what you mean."

Jet remained silent. He hadn't meant for Levy to hear him and he knew she'd be upset.

"Jet," She said sternly.

Jet sighed. "It's just that...I kind of sort of maybe hope we see a little less of that metalhead is all.

"Metalhead...You mean Gajeel?"

"He's bad news, Levy," Droy said.

Levy was furious. She was sick and tired of having to defend Gajeel to these two. Her parents weren't even this bad. "Seriously? Guys, he's been nothing but good since he transferred. He's different now. He's fine."

"Yeah, well that doesn't change what he did to you. You have to know that," Jet said coldly.

"Of course I know that. You really think I don't know that?" Levy was only getting angrier with her friends.

"It sure looks like you forgot," Droy said, turning in his seat to face her.

"People think you're dating him, Levy," Jet locked eyes with her in the rearview mirror.

"I haven't forgotten what he was like before. He was a cold, lonely kid looking for cheap thrills and any kind of acceptance he could find even if it was in the wrong places. He was reckless and stupid. I remember that every time I see the scars in the mirror. Or have you forgotten I walked away with those? Because you seem pretty forgetful."

"We remember everything, Levy," Jet said, his voice beginning to rise.

"That's funny," Levy said, her voice matching Jet's "Because you both always seem to forget every good thing Gajeel's ever done for anyone in favor of that one instance we saw him do bad. You even forget that he saved my life not a week after joining FTA! Honestly guys, I know you mean well. I know you're just trying to look out for me. But I need you to stop seeing me as the defenseless little kid I was when we met. I need you to be my friends, not my bodyguards!"

Jet and Droy were both taken aback at Levy's outburst. She huffed at their lack of response and crossed her arms across her chest. She spent the rest of the silent car ride staring out the window. She got out of the car as soon as they pulled up to Juvia's house and ignored Jet and Droy's calls for her to wait. She walked through the gate and around to the back yard where people were milling about happily. Levy found an empty chair and pulled off her vest and white shorts. She sat down, laying her bag and clothes down on the ground. She looked around at all her friends and classmates.

At a table across the pool, Max sat with his best friend Warren from the AV club. They were both laughing as they watched a tipsy Cana hold a dance off against the captain of the dance team Vijeeter. Cana was holding her own, but still losing. Levy was embarrassed at even the thought of people watching her drunk or dancing. It was a wonder Cana could manage to do both. Levy's good friend Lucy sat with Juvia on the edge of the pool as Juvia swooned over Gray who was in the process of trying to dunk Natsu under water. Both boys ended up getting pushed under when Erza decided she was tired of their bickering. Erza was a senior and student body president, and she made it her business to make sure everyone got along and behaved themselves. The two boys were difficult to read. They seemed entirely like they hated each other, but also like they were the closest friends in the world, and Erza was the same towards pretty much everyone she knew. At a table a few feet away from Levy was the senior class valedictorian Freed. Levy knew him from Honors society, but she didn't really know his friends. The girl was pretty, and you could see just how confident she was in herself. Levy admired that, and she thought the girl's glasses were cute. The boy to Freed's left Levy recognized as one of the members of her Shop class. Bickslow, was it? He had some sort of triple mohawk and a tattoo on his face. Levy found both baffling but supposed that was his business. The boy to Freed's right, the one Freed was openly fawning over, was someone Levy knew of but didn't know. Everyone knew who Laxus Dreyar was, hi's grandfather was headmaster. That and he had a very imposing premise. He had graduated last year, but he and the other three were essentially inseparable, and anyway Juvia wasn't one to turn people away. That also explained why Wendy and Romeo got invited. The seventh graders sat a few feet in front of Levy on the edge of the pool kicking her feet and giggling as she watched one of the football players, Elfman, losing in a splash fight against his two sisters, Mirajane and Lisanna, who Levy always saw working in the coffee shop. Alzack sat near the edge of the pool in deep conversation with his girlfriend Bisca who was in the pool leaning against the edge, and two more nearby chairs were occupied by Laki and Kinnana. Levy looked to the last corner of the yard and saw Jet and Droy sulking and watching over her. She sighed and swept her eyes across the yard again. She felt a pang of disappointment when the only other person she saw was that guy from Lamia Scale who Gray may or may not hate. She looked over towards the gate and scanned through the group of people coming in.

"Looking for someone?" Levy recognized the gruff voice immediately and glanced to her right to see Gajeel pulling over a chair and sitting down next to her.

"Maybe," She said.

"And?"

"And maybe I found them," she said, eying the red cup in his hand wearily.

"Relax, shorty," Gajeel said, catching Levy's gaze, "It's just water."

"Really? You don't drink?" Levy was sure a guy like him would drink, age restrictions be damned.

"I do on occasion at home, but I don't like to drink at parties."

Levy looked up at Gajeel with her big, curious, brown eyes and Gajeel sighed before continuing. He could tell she wouldn't move on without an answer.

"You know how far this place is from our area, I'm driving home, and who knows who else might need a lift home. Besides, Juvia throws these parties all the time, the least someone can do is stay sober to keep an eye on everyone, you know, make sure they don't totally wreck her yard or some shit like that."

Levy looked over to Juvia who was now warding off heavy advances from the Lamia Scale guy. She had never really thought about the possibility of someone wrecking anything. The Student body of Fairy Tail Academy may be a bit unruly, but they were so well meaning and kind hearted, they'd never do anything like that. Then it hit her. Levy looked back up at Gajeel who was now looking out over the crowd. Keeping an eye on everyone must be an old habit. A Phantom habit.

"You know if you keep looking at me like that someone here's gonna start to think you've got a crush on me or something," Gajeel said, turning back to Levy with that shit eating smirk across his face. Levy blushed and looked towards the ground, remembering what Jet had said earlier about people thinking the two were dating.

"Hey, I'm just teasing ya, you're fine," Gajeel said nudging her on the arm. "So what's with your two shadows, they seem upset. And they're not trying to shield you from me. Everything okay between you three?" Gajeel looked down at Levy with a look of genuine concern. For as much trouble as Jet and Droy tried to cause him, he was still concerned about their wellbeing. This guy never stopped surprising Levy.

"It's nothing, it'll be fine by tomorrow I think," She said. Gajeel could tell something was off, though.

"Anything you wanna talk about?"

"They just...don't like you still. And it kind of makes me angry that they won't give you a chance. Honestly, don't worry about it, though, they'll come around eventually. And anyway, everyone else knows you're a good guy. They're just over protective is all," Levy said before adding under her breath "And maybe a bit jealous."

"S'there something here for those two to be jealous of?" Gajeel asked, leaning in close to Levy with this vicious smirk of his. She could feel her face heating up and felt a flutter inside her at the closeness.

"Wanna see if I can make 'em really crazy?" Gajeel asked, snaking an arm around Levy's shoulders. She felt a sudden, unexpected pang of wanting badly for him to kiss her, but after a hot second, Levy felt his other arm slip under her knees and confusion overtook her.

Levy suddenly became aware that Gajeel had lifted her out of her chair and before she could register that they were even moving he had tossed her easily into the deep end of the pool. She pushed herself back up to the surface just in time to be splashed by Gajeel jumping in next to her.

"Gajeel!" She scolded, but all Gajeel was doing was laughing. Levy sighed happily before joining in his laughter.