Laxus

Nobody knew how to throw a party quite like Fairy Tail. It wasn't exactly my scene but I could still see all of the efforts my guildmates put into this (mostly the Strauss sisters and Natsu's team).

Gramps insisted on going all out, like he always did, with streamers, a whole lot booze, blaring music, and he even had medals to give out to Lynn and Lucy. Not to mention there was now a giant disco ball that came out of nowhere hanging from the ceiling.

The Howling Sun mages seemed to be having a good time. Elisa was eating at a table with Bisca, Alzack, and Asuka. Nearby, Charlie was chatting with Levvy, Gildarts, and Cana (who was chugging down yet another barrel of alcohol) over magic.

Lynn was outside with Lucy and all of the exceeds, and from what I could hear, they were talking about the different keys and which Celestial Spirits they had. Not that I could hear very well considering the fact that Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel were getting into yet another brawl.

I sighed as I watched the idiots tried (and failed) to settle things before Mira came over and started doing that 'I'm going to smile and look nice while threatening to end your lives' thing she always does.

You'd think they'd know better after being told off a thousand times. Nope. I'm not scared of Mira myself, but I knew better than to make an enemy out of her. So I stayed out of that mess and continued to scan the Guildhall to find a certain raven-haired girl in overalls who was nowhere to be seen.

"Yo, what's up, Blondie?" Page popped up in front of me, nearly causing me to spill my drink.

"Where the hell did you come from?" I asked as I leaned against the wall to try and keep away from the clearly drunk mages dancing near us. Page seemed to take this as an invite and took a step closer to me. "Haven't seen you all night."

"Aw. You were worried!" Page exclaimed with a smirk on her lips. I felt my heart miss a beat but chose to ignore it. She took a glance at my drink and went to grab it. But she seemed to forget I've got a good three feet on her height-wise. She pouted then spotted another cup on a table and went to fill it up with soda.

"Nah, just making sure you aren't destroying this place. My guildmates do that enough as it is."

"Nnnooo. Lynn would get mad if I did. I was just talking to your master. Is he really your grandfather?" Page started to bounce on the balls of her feet and I had half a mind to ask if she was drunk or something. She was acting a little...off. More childish than usual. At least, from what I'd heard.

"Yeah, he is. Any reason you're hopping around like a kid at Christmas?" So much for not asking her. The words just kind of slipped out before I could stop them. She paused for a second before she just shrugged and continued to bounce around.

"I'm happy. And I've had a lot of caffeine. Your grandfather gave me a bunch of soda earlier. I think I fell asleep for a little while afterward. But it's sssoooo good!"

I made a mental note to have a conversation with Gramps about keeping caffeine away from Page. It shouldn't have surprised me that the girl couldn't even handle soda. She was already excitable and energetic. The soda added more energy to her system that she couldn't possibly handle. I'd hate to see what alcohol did to her.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take this away before you explode," I grabbed the cup from her hand and handed it to Romeo as he passed by. "Why don't we go outside before you start jumping off the walls?"

"Laxus, don't tell me you're trying to lure this poor girl outside," Evergreen stated as she wrapped her arm around Page. Freed and Bickslow followed close behind and I had to roll my eyes on them. Leave it to them to find a way to force themselves into a conversation.

"He would never do such a thing!" Freed exclaimed. I appreciated these guys well enough but sometimes they could get on my nerves. Especially Freed with his public affections always directed toward me.

"Calm down, man. Good to see ya again, little lady," Bickslow drank from his mug as he spoke, spilling some beer on his clothes. Page wrinkled her nose at the nickname and leaned back into Evergreen to try and keep herself out of the spill zone.

"If you spill that on us, I'll make you be a statue for a month."

"Wait, so it's true?! You can turn people into stone!?" Page exclaimed excitedly. I couldn't help but smile at the way her eyes lit up. There was just something contagious about her enthusiasm.

"Yes. Go on a job with us and I can show you," Evergreen smiled slyly and Bickslow gave me a thumbs up. Before I could even begin to try and figure out what they were doing, Evergreen continued. "In fact, I actually found a flyer for this job that's out of town. Maybe you could come along if Lynn gives you the okay."

"But it's an S-Class mission!" Freed objected. I was torn between agreeing with him or mentioning Page's status and forfeiting any chance of keeping her from going on the mission. Not that I didn't want to her too, but clearly my team members had something up their sleeves. Before I could decide, Page beat me to it.

"That's great 'cause I am an S-Class wizard."

Bickslow spit out his drink and Freed looked like he was going to faint. Evergreen, however, did not seem to be surprised. This only made me more suspicious that she was planning something.

"Then it works out perfectly. What do you say, Laxus? Can she come along?"

Page looked over at me with the most earnest, pleading and pitiful face I'd ever seen. Just as I thought I'd be able to say no, she whimpered. Actually whimpered! For whatever reason, I couldn't bring myself to disappoint her. Which was ridiculous. I've said no to Wendy, Romeo, and Asuka plenty of times. But this was different, somehow.

"If you quit pouting, then I guess you can tag along, Shortie."


AN: Little short but it's an update. I know it's been a few weeks (again) but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to try and make sure that the next chapter comes out a little sooner. Leave a review if you enjoyed! See you next time.

- Kitkat Out!