Ahhh finally got this chapter up! I'm sorry it took forever. I kept finding things wrong with it and would want to edit it, but then I never had the time. But finally I'm completely happy with it, so here it is! Hope you enjoy it!

I saw a review on my last chapter that I should put trigger warnings for certain scenes. I was never a fan of trigger warnings because I felt it does more harm than good. But if enough people want them, then I will start to put them in. Let me know!

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Where was she? Gajeel got home from his shift that night and saw Juvia was missing, along with some of her stuff. Cana was also nowhere to be found. Did she really run off without him? Where would she even go? How could she leave him alone? She was his lifeline. She was the only reason he was able to stay sane. The only reason he was able to stay drug free. He felt his anger seething. It was all Gray's fault. But it wasn't really. He had the right to react the way he did. It just showed how responsible he was.

He looked over at his phone. He could call Juvia, but there was a high chance she wouldn't pick up? Should he call Levy? He scoffed. He had basically ended things and now he wanted to rely on her? Then it hit him. Juvia left him here because she didn't know he had ended things. She didn't want him to sacrifice his relationship for her, despite Juvia doing it for him time and time again. He yanked his hair. He wasn't good at being alone. He didn't know how to handle situations by himself. He had grown to rely on Juvia's wits and now he couldn't function without her. He needed to calm down. But every second that passed, he only stressed himself more and more.

He would wait, just like a normal person would do. She would never abandon him.

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The next day when Gajeel woke up, he hoped to see his best friend in bed next to him. He sighed when he didn't and wondered where she could have possibly went. He was hoping she went to Crocus with Cana. Maybe she needed a weekend away from Magnolia. He didn't blame her, especially after everything she had went through, but a call or text would have been nice. The fact that she just packed up and left without a word was unlike her. If only her stuff hadn't been missing, he would have thought she was kidnapped. He got up and looked around his apartment. He would have to adjust for now. Life was off without Juvia in it.

A few hours in, he couldn't stop pacing. Juvia definitely had her phone on her. So would Cana. Why haven't any of them kept him updated? He was scratching himself from anxiety. He was stressed. He didn't have anyone to fall on. He needed Juvia. He needed Levy. He needed some form of release. He thought of punching the wall, but he knew Juvia would kill him if she came back to a hole in the wall. He could punch his pillow. He shook his head. Too many pillows of his deflated due to that tactic. He paced around quicker. What could he do?

'One more day. Just wait one more day.'

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The next day, he stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. In the span of three days, he had lost his mind and sense of reality. The tough guy personality everyone knew him for was just an act. It wasn't him. Without Juvia, he fell apart. She kept him grounded. He paced around some more, stopping every time he passed the mirror. Who was this man he was seeing?

He hadn't slept well at all. The only time he managed to sleep was when exhaustion took over. He was fumbling at work. He would forget to check ID's and wouldn't even check who he was letting into Phantom. For all he knows, a twelve year old could have gotten in that night and he would have been liable.

He needed his best friend back.

Gajeel pulled his hair. When had he become so dependent. He hadn't even realized. He was so used to having Juvia around that now he wasn't sure how to function without her. The only time he didn't rely on anyone was when-

Suddenly he stopped. The only time he had managed to function without Juvia was when he was functioning with cocaine. He looked at his phone. He still had Porla's number saved. Should he? He had managed to stay clean for so long. Should he really ruin it now?

'What do you have left? You lost the two people you care about in the same day.'

Gajeel pressed call.

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Gray couldn't believe they had sex. No matter how mad he was at her, he could never resist her. "Do you think I overreacted?" He asked Jellal. Who better to ask than the psychologist? He shook his head, "I wouldn't say you over reacted. On the contrary, your reaction showed just how much a man you really are. However, I do think you need to see it from Juvia's side." Gray sat up from the couch, raising an eyebrow at Jellal, "Excuse me?"

"See it from her side. She was a scared, allegedly pregnant fifteen year old. She just found out her boyfriend and the father of her child was a cocaine addict, and had betrayed her trust by trying to sell it to her recovering addict best friend. Can you not imagine how scary that must have been for her? Did you really think she thought you would be there for her?" Gray eyed Jellal warily. He wondered if he should have divulged all the details to Jellal. As if reading his mind, Jellal held his hands in the air, "Patient confidentiality. My lips are sealed." Gray nodded and closed his eyes, "When you say it like that, I understand it better. I was too busy focusing on my own anger that I wasn't thinking of her. I don't know how I would have reacted if she told me then. I want to say I wouldn't run, but I don't know. I was a kid. It sucks but I understand. But I already said things I can't take back. How would we even go about fixing it?"

"I'm trying to arrange all of us to meet up and just talk about everything. No more secrets. It's the only way to truly get past it without it ever blowing up like this ever again." Gray shuddered, "That sounds like it would go terribly wrong." Jellal shrugged, "It's highly likely, but we're all adults now. We need to start acting like it." Gray nodded. He was right. And there was still a secret he was hiding from everyone. A secret that needed to come to light.

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Although Juvia hated Oak Town, being back in her roots for the past few days eased her mind. She finally allowed Cana to convince her to not make a permanent move until the semester was over. She said to only stay for the week and see how she fared. It made her realize Magnolia wasn't really all that bad. Oak Town was a terrible place to live in, especially when the whole town was ruled by Porla. Even though she was on the other side of the town, his name still brought shivers to the people around him. It almost made her want to head back to Magnolia right then and there.

All she had to do was get through the semester, then if she really wanted to, she could transfer to another college in a different city. The way the semester was going, she never saw the others anyway. Jellal apparently worked with her, but she never saw him due to their conflicting schedules. Only for parties, which were easily skippable, just like Gajeel had said.

Gajeel.

She wondered if he was mad at her. She left without a word. She didn't want to put him in the position of choosing her or Levy. They came back for second chances and even though she had screwed hers up, he didn't have to follow in her footsteps. He would forgive her. She was going to go back today and apologize. Life would go back to the way it was. Everything would be fine.

Her phone rang and she beamed at the name. "Sting! Hi!"

"Wow you sound happy? What gives?" Juvia shrugged, "The past came back up again and ruined my life." Sting thought for a moment, "And now you're a deranged sociopath?" Juvia giggled, "No. I realized that Magnolia isn't the city for me. I'm finishing the semester and then leaving." Sting sighed, "Do you really think running is the solution?"

"I'm not running. Right now, yes I am since I just packed up and left to Oak Town. Again. But me leaving Magnolia later on won't be running. It'll be a mature, planned trip to start a new life."

"You're in Oak Town too? Is something going on there?"

"No, I'm here for clarity. Who else is here?"

"Gajeel." Juvia almost dropped her phone. "I was just on the phone with Toto and he said he ran into Gajeel." What was he doing here? Looking for her? But he would know where to find her in this town and she hadn't seen him. Unless…

"Oh My God. I should have never left him."

"Left him? You two didn't go together?" Sting's eyes widened as he came to the same realization as Juvia. "Juvs. You need to find him. Fast!"

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Gray opened the door as he heard someone knocking like the world was going to end. "What the-" He started but couldn't finish as Levy flew on top of him. "Where is Gajeel?" She frantically screamed. Gray looked at her like she had three heads, "You do realize he doesn't live here, right?" Levy looked at him with tears in her eyes, "He's not answering any of my calls and it's been days." Gray sighed, "I can ask Juvia." He looked at his phone, wondering if Juvia would even answer. "Or maybe Cana."

"Hello?" He heard the familiar bored tone. "Hey Cana. Juvia with you?" Cana sighed, "Not since last week. I've been back in Crocus." Gray sighed, "Text me her address. We're looking for Gajeel too." There was silence on the other end for a while, "She's… not in Magnolia. She decided to leave for a while. I'm sorry Gray, I promised her I wouldn't tell any of you where she went." Gray froze.

"I don't know about Gajeel, but Juvia isn't coming back to Magnolia for a while. He should be there though."

Why? "The semester?"

"I don't really know." A lie, but Cana decided to leave Gray in the dark. "I couldn't stay with her too long. I had to go back to Crocus. Anyway, I have to go. I'll give Gajeel a call. He'll never ignore me." Levy winced. She knew Cana didn't mean it that way, but she felt a jab at her heart. "Text me the update. Bye."

"Why the hell would she go so suddenly?" Jellal asked.

"Same as always. She's adept at running from her problems." Gray groaned. "I'm going after her." Jellal held his shoulder, keeping him in place, "No, you're not." Gray shrugged him off. Jellal narrowed his eyes, "Okay fine. Where are you going?"

"After her." He repeated. "And where is that?" Gray stopped in his tracks. Where was she? He wouldn't even know where to look. Would she go back to Oak Town or to a completely new city? A city where no one could judge her for her mistakes? Where would he even begin?

"I don't think she'll be gone long. Especially since she left Gajeel here. We'll wait a few days. If she's not back still, then we'll take action. She left because she needed space. Give it to her."

Gray sighed in defeat. She always ran away. But could he blame her? All he did was push her away.

Gray looked at his as he got a text alert. 'No response from Gajeel.'

Now came the next problem.

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Porla's mansion was huge, which was no surprise as he was the richest man in Oak Town. Other than running many legal and illegal businesses outside the city, he also had connections to the mafia. He was a dangerous man. Juvia was risking her life coming in here, but she wouldn't think twice about it. It was her fault Gajeel was here. Why was she always so brash? She only thought about herself. She abandoned Gajeel, knowing he couldn't be alone. But what happened to Levy? She thought they were going strong. Why didn't he tell her if they weren't?

"Porla's bitch is back? Magnolia men couldn't compare, huh?" Juvia rolled her eyes. Everyone thought she was his whore. She would chop his dick off if he ever tried, but that still didn't stop him from letting people believe it. She was fourteen when they left here. These men were disgusting.

"Where is he?"

"Damn, you've gotten sexy." He said, coming closer to her. She eyed the knife at his belt and waited for him to come closer. Just as his hand outstretched to grope her, she leaned forward to grab his knife and chopped his fingers off. It was a gruesome sight, but in Oak Town, if someone didn't end up dead, it wasn't considered a real fight. To a true street fighter, this would be child's play. As the other man screamed and bled on the floor, she turned to the one who was speaking so vulgarly to her, "You seem to like sexualizing young women." She stated, eyeing the apparent bulge, "Shall I chop it off?" The man flinched, looking between Juvia and his injured friend. "Fuck this shit, I'm out."

Juvia smirked as he ran and turned to other one, "When you're ready to leave, I suggest doing so. And don't tell anyone I'm here. I never forget a face." He turned to her and nodded. Juvia was almost disappointed. Back when her and Gajeel filled these positions, they would have never lost so easily. Porla needed to step up his bodyguard game.

She kicked the door open and wasn't surprised to see Porla already waiting for her, two much stronger looking men by her side. That explained it all. They were just the warm up. "Where those other two an attempt to tire me out? You should give me more credit. You were my trainer after all."

"Nothing more than a test." Juvia noticed a black lump on the floor and realized that was an unconscious Gajeel. Porla smirked, "I knew you were coming as soon as he arrived. It's a good thing, I've missed you so much." He was in front of her in seconds, "You've become so much more beautiful." He whispered, running his fingers down her arm. "And you're still the same amount of disgusting." Juvia spat. "I'm taking him with me. I'll take down you, dumb, and dumber if I have too."

His two men stepped forward. They had guns, she realized. Her and her big mouth. Fighting with fists didn't work well against guns. He waved one away, who left promptly. The other lay his gun down and held his fists up. "Beat him, and you can take him home."

Juvia grinned. She could feel her Oak Town persona rise back from the ashes. She held her fists up. Something no one in Magnolia knew about her? She was a boxer. "I'm going to kick your ass."

The man seemed to be a well trained fighter. After all, he was working under Porla. But Porla had taught her everything he knew. She rushed forward and punched him right in the stomach. He may have been big, but she was fast. As the wind was knocked out of him, she used her other hand to punch him in the same spot. She stood back up and punched his jaw, then roundhouse kicked his other side. The man spat out blood.

Porla cheered, "I've never seen you do that before."

Juvia shrugged as she went forward and landed another kick to arm, making him stumble. The man finally regained his focus and attempted a punch but Juvia easily dodged it and landed another kick to his temple. She could see he could no longer focus on her. She sighed, this was all a waste of time. She tripped him and elbow dropped his stomach, and he was finally knocked out.

Juvia sighed, "What a disappointment. You really hire weak men now – What the hell?" She struggled to get out of the strong grip that she knew to be Porla. "This is what I really wanted." He groaned, as he held her fast with one arm and groped her breast with the other hand. "You disgusting freak!" Juvia screamed, "Get off me!" She elbowed him, making his stumble backwards. She turned around ready to fight him, but her side was met with a burning pain and the floor. She saw an iron pipe in his hand and knew he must have hit her. He dropped it and stepped forward to her. "You were too young back then. But now you're twenty and sexier than ever." He dropped on top of her and held her hands above her head. She struggled, but couldn't over power him. "Gray." She whimpered. She wanted him to save her, but he didn't know where she was. "Gajeel!" She screamed, "Wake up!" Porla chuckled, "I beat him up good. He deserved it. He came here for drugs and then flushed them down the toilet. Good inventory wasted." Juvia sighed in relief. He resisted. She was so proud of him.

She regained her focus when she heard the tearing of clothing, and realized he was tearing her shirt. Juvia froze. He really was going to rape her. "No!" She struggled. "Stop!" She tried to wiggle away but he held her down. "I've waited years for this." He breathed into her ear. Juvia shuddered in disgust.

She felt tears coming but she didn't want him to see her cry. He laughed, "Cry. It'll turn me on more."

"Fuck you."

He grabbed her neck and was about to smash his lips onto hers, but suddenly he stopped. There was a loud bang and the grip on her neck loosened. Before Juvia could understand what was happening, Porla slowly fell to the side and behind him stood a very angry Gajeel.

Juvia jumped up and embraced her savior, not afraid to let her tears flow. "He was going to-" Gajeel lightly shoved her and held the pipe above his head, "I'm going to kill him." Juvia smiled and couldn't wait to watch but she heard footsteps coming their way. "Gajeel. His men are coming!"

"I want to kill this fucker!"

"We can't enjoy his death if we die too! There'll come another time. For now, we need to go!"

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After a long five hour drive, Jellal and Gray made it to Oak Town. Although Jellal said it was unlikely, Gray didn't know where else to search. We could get information at the very least, he had said, then find out where to go next. Despite all the arguing, Gray couldn't just wait for Juvia to come back and there was a chance they could find out more about Gajeel's location. "I'm glad Ultear left me her car." Gray sighed in relief. "Anyway, we're at Porla's mansion, according to the people here. I guess we could try asking him? They knew him when they were younger."

"Um Gray. Look." Gray followed the direction Jellal was pointing to and saw Gajeel and Juvia frantically running out of the mansion. "Start the car." Jellal immediately complied, "Hey!" Gray shouted. "Over here!" Juvia only hesitated for a second, before grabbing Gajeel and practically jumping into the car. "We need to leave! Back to Magnolia!" Gray swiftly got into the car as well. Jellal sped off, not wasting a beat. Gray turned around, seeing Juvia's ripped clothes and Gajeel's fresh wounds. Him and Juvia made eye contact. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she only shook her head.

"Later." Was all she said before she dozed off, with Gajeel already dozing off on her shoulder. Gray turned back around. Someone had tried to hurt Juvia all because he scared her off. Again.

"You think this Porla guy did this?" Jellal whispered.

"No matter who it was, I'll kill all of them."

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No matter how hard she tried to fall asleep, she couldn't calm herself down. She looked between Gray and Jellal. They came to save her. Gray knew to come here, even though she only spoke badly of her hometown. Despite everything, he still knew her. She couldn't stop the small smile forming on her lips. She would have to thank him later but right now, she wanted to forget.

Jose Porla almost raped her. She stared at her reflection in the window. No matter how strong she thought she was, she couldn't overpower him. She looked at Gajeel, fast asleep on her shoulder. She couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened. What if he hadn't woken up in time? She shuddered. She didn't want to think about it. She was saved, and that was all that mattered.

Juvia knew one thing. This was not the last time she would see him. Next time, she would be ready. Next time, she wouldn't face him alone.

'I'm done running.'

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I've recently played Breath of the Wild and it's making me want to write something. Where's my Zelink people? (Another reason why I wasn't writing. I was ADDICTED (sorry!))

Also, I got a review last chapter saying the Gruvia scene felt like rape and I was a little upset. That was not how I saw it or intended it to seem like, and I'm so sorry that it did. It was meant to happen for the wrong reasons, but neither objected because they're still so in love with each other but they have too many problems. He was hurt and maybe rougher than what would be considered normal, but that scene was supposed to be both of them pouring their feelings out in a way that didn't require words. I'm sorry if you don't like that explanation, but that's how I thought of it when I wrote it. It was not intended to be rape and I'm sorry you saw it that way.

Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter and leave a review of what you're thinking!