Hey guys~! Well there was a little more delay with this update than I would have liked, but my laziness is the only thing to blame lol Anywho, I think you'll like this chapter, even if it is kinda choppy.

And thanks again for all the wonderful reviews that you leave me! They make me very happy xD

~Enjoy~!

~Chapter 11~

While Lily truly had no idea what was going on with McGarden, Mirajane and his friend Gajeel, he had noticed a few things in the short time he'd been back – specifically during the night's game.

First of all, he noticed that Gajeel seemed more irritated and moody than normal. Lily could tell that the mystery situation was definitely serious, but he was amused more than anything to see Gajeel worried for someone else's sake, rather than his own for once.

Secondly, while Mirajane seemed to be acting normal for the sake of the rest of the group, she was visibly agitated about something. She didn't stop moving for the entire duration of the night. Mira was constantly eyeing the others at the table, glancing nervously over at Levy, tapping her fingers on the table, and using more hand motions than usual whenever she spoke. There was something bothering her thoughts, and whatever it was, was preventing her from sitting still for more than a second.

Next he noticed Levy. Usually, she didn't warrant too much of his attention, but now that he knew to look, he made a few observations. She looked constantly nervous…or maybe it was a type of fear that hid behind all of her actions. She would forcefully keep her eyes from straying too far away from certain points, as if looking elsewhere were somehow dangerous. It was curious behavior for sure, but Lily did notice that one of the few places she would occasionally look to was Gajeel, to the right of where Lily had been sitting. As far as Lily knew, Gajeel and McGarden had never socially crossed paths. They might have had a few classes together at some point or another, but Lily was certain they'd never spoken outside of the classroom atmosphere.

Lily smirked at his delinquent friend as they reached their dorm room. He sighed and let his arms cross over his chest, "I take back what I said earlier."

Gajeel raised one of his pierced eyebrows, "Huh?"

"I think you've made more than a friend," Lily teased with a warm chuckle. He couldn't help himself – opportunities to tease his intimidating friend came few and far between, so Lily had to take what he could get.

"You're still a bastard," Gajeel growled as his scowl returned.

"I think you hate Levy significantly less than you hate everyone else," Lily said, toying with the words Gajeel had a few minutes ago to justify answering the "Who would you kiss" question.

"And I'm starting to hate you more," the studded boy glowered.

Lily sighed and released his small smirk. He turned to finally start unpacking his duffle bag that had remained fully packed on top of his bunk bed the whole day. His thoughts returned to his previous thoughts about observations he'd made during the game.

There was one more thing he had noticed, but he wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the whole "Mystery Situation", as he was coming to call it for lack of a better description. There had been a strange tenseness between Evergreen and Laxus that had overridden their usual touchy and affectionate personalities towards each other. Sure their relationship with each other had always struck Lily as odd, but tonight it had seemed especially so. Lily guessed that they'd had a lovers' spat, but whatever it was, something had definitely happened between the two…

Levy lay in bed, awake and nowhere near sleep. She lay covered up with her blanket, and listening to the sleeping sounds that Mirajane made as she tossed about in Lucy's bed. Mira had insisted that she sleep with Levy for the night, and had made herself right at home on Lucy's unused bed.

While Levy stared at the dark ceiling and kept warm beneath her covers, her mind was doing other things. The plans kept repeating over and over in her head, often accompanied by worries over every little detail. She knew that worrying wouldn't help at all, but she just couldn't get her mind to stop.

What if he doesn't act like we expect him to? What if he figures out that we're planning something? What if I mess something up? What if the plan fails?...What if it works?

She was most worried about it backfiring and failing somehow, but surprisingly, she found herself worrying about the aftermath if the plan actually worked. If she were able to expose Laxus' true nature to the school, what would happen? The entire school might blame her for taking away their idol. Evergreen would probably treat her more cruelly than before. Her other friends might distance themselves her – Lucy probably wouldn't, but how would Jet and Droy act? Would they be angry at her for not telling them sooner? Or worse, would they start to treat her differently because of everything that happened?

So many thoughts clouded her mind. A lot of them were baseless worries, but despite knowing this, she couldn't stop herself from thinking them. Somewhere amidst her troubled thoughts, Levy had drifted off to sleep where more nightmares awaited her.

The morning brought with it a dark day. Another snow storm had hit Fiore, and it was probably the worst one they'd had in years. But while the day outside was frighteningly cold and harsh, the day for the Holiday-Stayers wouldn't turn out so bad. They were forced to stay inside due to the extreme weather, but they all made due. Most of the upperclassmen slept in, nursing headaches and hangovers from the previous night, but the freshmen had gotten up relatively early, still upset that the older kids had excluded them yet again from their games. The boy Romeo, ringleader of the freshmen kids, decided that they'd take the abuse no longer, and devised a game of their own to get back at the older kids.

As the upperclassmen finally started to shuffle out of their rooms around eleven for a late breakfast, Romeo and his classmates prepared to strike. When all but a few of the seniors had gathered in the dining hall – even Master Makarov was lounging about at the table – the battle began.

The freshmen, who's faces had all been decked out with war paint (a.k.a. lipstick they'd striped across their cheeks in various designs), suddenly burst into the dining hall with wastebaskets of balled up paper. They attacked the upperclassmen with these fake snowballs, and caught Makarov in the crossfire as well.

Bixlow, Elfman and Cana were the first to fight back, picking up the fallen "snowballs" and chucking them back at the freshmen, who'd tipped over empty dining chairs to create a barricade as soon as they rushed the dining hall. Gajeel and Lily were also quick to join the fray, both laughing wildly and attacking without mercy. Master had also tried to join in, but was met with opposition from both sides. Students of all classes started to bombard Makarov as soon as he bent to pick up a fallen "snowball".

The battle had lasted a good fifteen minutes, and by the time Master blew the whistle, everyone was out of breath and clutching their sides that had started to ache from laughing so much. All of the upperclassmen had joined in – with the exceptions of Fried and Laxus who were the only ones who hadn't been in the dining room when it started. Even Evergreen had started pitching the faux snowballs at people, though she really only joined because people kept hitting her with the crumpled up papers and she got kinda pissed that she couldn't just eat her bowl of Special K in peace.

"Alright, alright ~ calm it down now, brats," Master Makarov panted. He had spent the entire battle trying to dodge the snowballs as they came at him from all sides, but in the end, all his ducking and weaving didn't do him much good.

Bixlow tossed one last "snowball" after the room had fallen still, which tapped Makarov smack dab in the center of his forehead.

Master scowled at the black-haired fiend, "Eugene – don't make me whip out that middle name of yours as well."

Bixlow froze at the threat and immediately dropped all of the accumulated paper balls that he had cradled in his arms. Everyone knew that he had an embarrassing first name, but it was rumored that his middle name was ten times as worse. Bixlow liked to say that his parents must have lost a bet with the devil, for them to have picked such an awful name for him, but the jock would never tell anyone exactly what his awful name was.

Master smiled triumphantly, "Yeah, that's what I thought." He sighed and rested his hands on his hips, then proceeding to command the rest of his students to clean up before they got back to their breakfasts.

"But the freshmen started it," Evergreen complained.

"Too bad," Master replied as he plopped himself down into one of the dining chairs, "You all participated, so you all clean up."

At this point, Mirajane broke out into one of her signature falsely saint-like smiles, "Well, what are you waiting for, Master?

Makarov's smile faded. "…What?"

Levy saw what Mira was going for and picked up where her friend left off, "Well, according to your own rule, since we fought back, we have to help clean…if I remember correctly, you played along as well, Master."

"That's right!" Mirajane continued sweetly, "You wouldn't want to set a bad example for your students by being a hypocrite, would you?"

Master frowned and muttered, "Stupid brats – fine! You win. I'll help since it seems you're all lazy bums who like to torture crotchety old men."

"You're not that old, Master," Alzack laughed.

Master went back to his grumbling as the room full of tired out battle veterans went to work cleaning up their mess. As quickly as the battle started, all evidence of it had disappeared, and the day passed by without much else happening.

The students all split up into their own little groups of friends, and spent most of the day lazing about and enjoying their Christmas vacation.

For a few though, the day was spent in preparation. Using the master key that the librarian had left Levy for the break, Mirajane and the blue-haired bookworm headed to the main school building by way of the student lobby. They went through the first and second floors, locking up all the doors that were unnecessary for their future plans. Tomorrow would be their day of action, and they needed to make sure that all but the doors that led to their main stage were locked up tight.

"I think our biggest obstacle will be making sure he knows where to find you," Mira sighed quietly as she pulled the key out of one of the classroom doors on the second floor.

But Levy shook her head, "No – he'll know exactly where to find me."

Mirajane frowned, "Are you sure that's the best place then? The library only has the one exit…wouldn't it be better to give you an escape route in-case something goes wrong?"

The bookworm shook her head again. She had chosen the library for a few different reasons – if the plan was going to work, it needed to happen in the library. "No, it's better this way – and besides, we've already got everything set up in there."

Mirajane bit at her lip as she often did when she was thinking seriously. The two continued down the long hallway of their empty school, heading towards the stairs that would take them down to the first floor. "You know, Levy," the platinum blonde started slowly, "You can back out of this if you want…I'm sure there's another way. The police might not need so much evidence – I'm sure just the accusation of…what he's been trying to do will be enough to get him sent far away…" Mira felt her stomach do strange, uncomfortable flips. She still couldn't wrap her head around the four-letter R word…she felt that even if she thought that word, it would somehow jinks their plans. As if merely thinking the word could bring bad luck.

Levy kept her eyes straight ahead as she replied with as steady a voice as she could muster, "It has to be this way…sure I could get him sent away with an accusation, but that wouldn't stop him. Even if he has to leave and I'm not his target anymore, that doesn't mean he won't do it to someone else." Levy paused for a moment and then continued in a whisper more to herself than Mirajane, "And if I don't do this now…it'll only get harder the longer I wait."

If she didn't do it now, she felt like she'd never have the courage to do it.

"Alright," Mira replied quietly, "Just know that you have people to help you now, okay?"

Levy gave a small smile to her friend and nodded.

The two headed back down to the Student Lobby, where they planned to relax and try to avoid trouble for the rest of the day.

Night fell quickly, not that you could really tell by looking outside – it had been so dark all day due to the heavy storm clouds, that even the transition from day to night was only a few shades difference. Dinner that night was pancakes and scrambled eggs because Master Makarov was lazy and didn't feel like making anything too involved for dinner.

The whole day had been calm and uneventful – excluding that morning's paper "Snowball" fight – and the night was looking much the same. Levy left the table early with the excuse of being tired and Mirajane followed after her. The seated Holiday-Stayers were both shocked and relived at the same time when they realized that the platinum blonde hadn't planned any horrible event for that night.

"I'm too busy planning the New Years' Fiesta for Saturday," she said from the doorway after Elfman called her out on the absence of a horrible game. "Buuu~t, if you want to play, I'm sure I could come up with something or other." She gave the dining hall a fiendish grin.

A chill ran down the spines of everyone present, and Cana spoke up, "No thanks – you just focus on the party, Mira."

Mira winked at everyone and followed after Levy with a departing wave of her hand.

Elfman eyed the doorway. His sister had been acting stranger than normal lately. It might have been because of the snow storm and being cooped up all day, or it could be because she didn't have the usual droves of friends and classmates around to keep herself amused, but there was definitely something weird about her. She was much too fidgety.

But there was someone else acting strangely too, Elfman thought to himself.

Evergreen.

He looked over at the brunette in question. She was usually very vocal and insulting about everything, but she'd barely spoken all day, except to complain and curse a little during that morning's indoor battle. Her eyes were usually a very lively hazel, but the whole day they'd seemed dazed, as if she had been lost in thought, or were trying to figure something out. Even when Laxus was around her, she wasn't as animated in trying to attach herself to him.

Elfman wondered if they'd had a fight – surely the only thing that could make her look so serious and unlike herself had something to do with Laxus. He was the only thing that she paid any real attention to.

Elfman turned to Bixlow, who was finishing up his third helping of pancakes, and decided that if anyone knew, Bixlow would be one to ask. "What's up with Evergreen?"

Bixlow turned to the tall Strauss brother and grinned with food still in his mouth, "What? You askin' me to set you up with her?"

The boy with the same silvery blonde hair as his two sisters laughed and shook his head, "No, I mean, she's been acting weird today, hasn't she?"

"Hmm," Bixlow said as she glanced down the table at his friend, "Yeah, I guess so – she hasn't been so bitchy today…"

"Did something happen?"

"Don't know…oh, wait! Yeah, I did overhear Ever and Laxus talkin' yesterday." Bixlow took another bite of pancake.

Elfman raised an eyebrow, "About what? Were they arguing?"

Bixlow shrugged, "I really don't know…It didn't sound like a fight, though. I heard them talking – mostly Laxus – from outside his room. When I opened the door, she was makin' a really serious face, like she didn't understand what he was saying. They stopped talking once I came in, too."

"Huh," Elfman commented, "That's kinda weird."

Bixlow nodded and took the last bite of his food, "Yeah – she's never made such a serious face like that around him…at least not that I or Fried have ever seen."

"I wonder what they were talking about…" Elfman wondered aloud.

Bixlow leaned back in his seat and glanced again over at Ever, "I'm kinda curious too…because whatever it was, Laxus was talking about it with a really weird smile."

The storm raged on viciously. The wind howled loud enough for it to be heard echoing through the boys' and girls' dormitories, as well as the student lobby. Snow was piling up outside, covering everything in a cold layer of white.

Gajeel and Lily played pool in the lobby, the storm a thrashing soundtrack playing constantly in the background. The heavily pierced boy was trying his hardest to be a good sport about the game, but pool had never been his area of expertise – he didn't have the patience or the required gracefulness that was necessary to be a pro at the game.

Lily on the other hand, had both those traits and was currently kicking Gajeel's ass.

"You really shouldn't pout, Gajeel – it's unbecoming."

Gajeel about growled at his friend, "I'm not pouting, asshole, now hurry up and hit the damn ball."

Lily smirked and gave the cue-stick a light jab.

He hit the white cue-ball with just enough force for it to knock into the black eight-ball, which in turn fell into the basket. The cue-ball tottered on the edge of the corner basket as well, but came to a solid stop right on the edge. Lily looked up to his intimidating friend with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Show off – I'm glad I've learned not to put any money into these games, you damn hustler." Gajeel set his stick on the red felt table top and plopped down onto the nearest couch.

Lily laughed, "Speaking of hustling, I don't think I've had the pleasure of playing Elfman yet. I'm sure he's got lots of Christmas money he'd just love to give to me." He let his cue-stick rest behind his neck, across his shoulders. "I'll think I'll look for the Strauss brother and ask him to play a game."

Gajeel shook his head and laughed, "I'm not gonna watch Elfman throw away all his cash, so I think I'll just go hang in the room."

Lily gave his friend a nod and headed towards the dining hall where he was pretty sure Elfman was still hanging out with Alzack and Cana. Gajeel headed towards the boys' wing of the building and soon disappeared into the quiet and empty halls of the guys' dormitory. His room was 16E down the left branch, but as he went to turn the knob of his door he heard heavy footsteps coming towards him and saw an undeniably familiar outline stop just a few doors away.

The figure just stood there, and Gajeel immediately started radiating hatred. The studded boy turned a little to face the newcomer, and saw none other than Laxus leaning against the wall between the doors to 14E and13E with his arms crossed over his chest. His usual laughing and friendly visage was gone, and for the second time Gajeel saw the blonde without any false pretense between them.

"She told you," Laxus said flatly, without even a hint of doubt.

Gajeel knew immediately what the blonde was talking about. His eyes widened for a second in surprise, but then reverted back to their narrow scowl. He was surprised to find that Laxus had figured it out, but then, it was probably his own fault for not being able to hide his hatred very well. So the bastard knows…Gajeel's scowl deepened as he wondered what else he might have figured out. Hopefully it's just me he thinks Levy told – if he figures out that Mira knows too, our plans might get a little more complicated.

Laxus' blue eyes were shielded and shadowed by his creased brow as he stared intently at Gajeel. Laxus spoke with a voice that was uncharacteristically cold, "I don't like it when people take my things. Especially when it's some shitty punk like you."

"Fuck off," Gajeel growled, gripping onto his doorknob so tightly that he feared it would pop off. Levy and Mira had been annoyingly persistent about him not fighting with the bastard, but he wasn't sure how long he could hold out against his natural instinct to pummel the guy into the ground.

Laxus' dark look didn't change, but he pushed himself off the wall and started taking small steps towards the heavily pierced boy. "I don't know why she told you of all the goddamned people in this shit-hole, but I guess I've never been able to figure her out." Laxus gave a heavy sigh and continued, "What the hell do you think you can do, anyways, you metal-faced freak? Do you think you can help her – or is it that you want her too? If that's the case, you'll have to wait," a dark smile touched the corners of Laxus' lips, "You can have her after I finish up my little game with her."

"The only thing I want is to beat the living hell out of you, fucktard – just shut the fuck up," Gajeel practically snarled. His blood was now flowing like lava through his veins, and Gajeel was quickly losing his self-restraint. He watched with his dark, narrowed eyes as Laxus slowly came closer and closer with small and slow steps.

Laxus continued as if Gajeel hadn't spoken, "I bet you've realized it too – just how interesting she is. Not once has she done as I expected – it infuriates and intrigues me at the same time. God, but I'm finally going to finish this. She's the only challenge that's lasted this long," Laxus' strangely dark smile was growing as his eyes reflected some sort of demented fantasy going on inside his mind, "Just thinking about it gets my adrenaline pumping."

"Go fuck yourself," Gajeel's hand came off his door and he turned to fully face the blonde bastard as he took another step closer. Gajeel let his hands clench and unclench so that his knuckles would crack. He no longer had any notion of holding back – Gajeel knew that the moment that blonde bastard got within range he was going to start hitting, and only stop until either someone pulled him away or he got too tired to keep punching.

A sickening laugh escaped through Laxus' strange toothy smile, "No, I'm afraid I'm saving that for Levy. And if you really think you can do anything to help her, I hope you have a better plan that just beating me up." The blonde glanced down to Gajeel's tightened fists that were clenched so forcefully that his knuckles were paler than the rest of his darkened olive skin. Small beads of blood were starting to drip down from cuts that his fingernails had made from digging into his palm so intensely. The blonde looked back up with taunting eyes at his opponent, "Come at me, then. I can see how badly you want to. Hell, you wanted to punch me even before she told you – so hurry up and hit me. I'll stand here and let you – I want to feel how much you hate me. Let me taste that anger. And if you really go for it, you might even get me to fight back."

Gajeel's body – his entire existence, really – was just aching to start the fight. A small voice inside of him that sounded oddly like a combination of Levy and Lily's voices kept urging him to ignore the blonde and just leave, but Gajeel was purposefully ignoring it. There was no way he was backing out of this fight – he was not going to let that sick fuck win after all he just said.

"What are you waiting for, Gajeel," Laxus baited, "I can keep talking if you want. Like, about how the other day, when I'd almost gotten her; she made this amazing sound when I bit her lip. It was half-way between a sob and a groan of pain – uh, just the memory of her blood in my mouth gets me so –"

But that was all Gajeel could handle.

His fist shot out like a bullet and struck Laxus right in the jaw. He'd used so much power that he sent the sick fuck staggering towards the wall. Gajeel had finally lost control and was a blur of motion. His other hand landed an uppercut to Laxus' right cheek.

Laxus spat blood to the floor and tried to straighten up, but Gajeel didn't give him the chance. The delinquent boy aimed a swift kick at the blonde's knee and then as Laxus lost his balance and started leaning forward Gajeel sent a power jab to the toppling guy's gut.

Gajeel stepped back for a second as Laxus staggered backwards a few steps. The blonde used the wall to stabilize himself, and stood up straight, slightly babying the knee that Gajeel had just kicked. Laxus gave a short laugh and rubbed at his face where the studded boy had landed two of his punches, "That was nice – I can see you're pretty angry…oh, but I forgot to mention something," Laxus wiped away a little blood from his lip where it had split open, "For every hit you land on me, I double on Levy. So what's that – I owe her six hits and two kicks, right?"

Gajeel's teeth clenched and he let out a partially muffled growl. He quickly pushed Laxus up against the wall and pressed his forearm onto the blonde's throat. He used his other hand to keep the force steady, "You're not going to touch her again, you motherfucker."

Laxus coughed and managed to get his fingers wedged beneath Gajeel's thick arm. He struggled a bit to try to push Gajeel's arm off of his neck, but managed to choke out a laugh and a strangled sentence while doing so, "I'll add strangling to the list too." He coughed again, "For someone trying to help her, you're sure causing her a lot of extra pain."

Gajeel shook his head and pressed harder on Laxus' throat. His voice shaking in anger and fury, he just barely managed to get out in a feral whisper, "Then I'll just have to make it so you can't move anymore, won't I, you fucking prick."

Laxus started coughing again, but the taunting smile never faded from his lips, making it look as though he were actually laughing instead of trying to draw in breath through his closed up airways.

Suddenly there were running footsteps and someone was shouting.

"Gajeel! Let Laxus go, Gajeel!" a familiar voice was shouting. Large hands were pulling Gajeel away by the shoulders and attempting to toss him towards the opposite wall. Gajeel glared at Elfman but allowed the tall junior to interrupt the fight.

Another familiar figure was beside Laxus', who had slid down the wall once Gajeel's arm had been released from his throat. "You okay dude? Can you breathe?" Alzack was asking in a concerned panic.

Elfman was looking between Gajeel and the floored blonde who was now panting loudly and covering his eyes with one hand – Gajeel assumed because he didn't want the others to see him until his usual light-hearted mask was back in place. "What the hell, Gajeel?! What was that about?!" Elfman shouted, thoroughly confused about the situation he and Alzack had just happened upon.

Laxus finally managed to even out his breathing and let his hand fall away from his face. "It's alright – just a friendly fight, huh, Gajeel."

Gajeel didn't trust himself to speak. His anger was still bubbling, and he knew that the moment he spoke, his fury would be set loose again. He just kept his poisonous glare on the floor, and let his hands clench back into their tightened blood-drawing fists.

"That didn't look very friendly," Elfman said skeptically, glancing back at Gajeel.

Alzack pulled Laxus to his feet and helped the blonde regain his balance.

Laxus let out a long breath and resumed his usual smile, "Don't worry – it doesn't concern you two. Anyways, I think that's all for today, Gajeel." Laxus smirked in his usual jocular way and again wiped away some of the blood that had trickled down from his split lip, "But remember that I'm keeping track of these hits."

Gajeel's head shot up again and directed his furious glare at the blonde, "We're not finished you fucking bastard."

Laxus straightened out his shirt and started walking away, "Goodnight Gajeel." Laxus laughed his fake good natured laugh and disappeared around the corner.

Gajeel released the rest of his anger through a powerful punch to the wall behind him, completely ignoring the two confused gazes of Elfman and Alzack. As Gajeel vented onto the poor defenseless wall with a stream of fists, Elfman managed to ask, "Gajeel, what was that about? That seemed way more serious than your usual fights…"

Gajeel let his last punch strike the wall, and watched as it cracked, sending out a small puff of white plaster dust. His fist remained touching the cracked wall, and he just stared forward. He still didn't trust himself to answer Elfman's question. He was sure that if he did, things he shouldn't say would come spilling out.

The heavily pierced boy just shook his head and quickly spun around to find the door to his room. He found the cold metal handle and pushed on it. He stood in the doorway for a moment and before disappearing into his room for the night managed to say through clenched teeth, "Tell Lily I need time to cool off."

With that, Gajeel slammed his door shut, leaving a dumbfounded Elfman and Alzack alone in the hallway.

Somehow, the storm had only gotten worse. The wind was howling like some creature in pain, and the late night seemed to be filled to the brim with tension. News of Gajeel almost strangling Laxus in the boys' dorms had reached all of those who hadn't yet gone to bed – which was a majority of the Holiday-Stayers excluding just a handful like Levy and Mirajane who had gone to bed early. Everyone had tried to speculate on what was going on, but Alzack and Elfman, who had actually witnessed the crime, could only say that it seemed like something serious.

Gajeel had a record for getting into fights – but they were mostly with people unrelated to the school. He would occasionally tussle with some of his classmates, namely fellow seniors Natsu and Gray, but those were more for fun than for any specific cause. Everyone knew that Gajeel had a short temper, but Elfman said that the intensity between the delinquent and the popular jock had been caused by something more serious than the usual shallow argument.

As Laxus was nowhere to be seen after news of the incident spread, Bixlow, Fried, and Evergreen had all gone to Laxus' dorm room to look for him. As the night progressed, the last of the Holiday-Stayers started heading to bed. By two in the morning, everything was dark and quiet and everyone was sleeping – except that it wouldn't be for long.

A sudden roar of thunder outside woke Mirajane with a start. She'd sat straight up in bed, her heart racing impossibly fast. She'd been in the midst of having a dream, and after being startled awake by the storm, Mira was slightly disoriented. It took her a few minutes of staring into the dark room to realize that it wasn't her bed she was sitting in, but Lucy's, not her bedcovers but someone else's. Mira nodded to herself in the dark as she remembered where she was…but something felt off. If this was Levy's and Lucy's dorm instead of her own, then why was it so quiet?

Mira strained her eyes towards the direction of Levy's bed, but her eyes weren't quite adjusted to the dark yet. She listened carefully for the quiet signs of Levy's sleep-breathing, but still heard nothing but the crying wind and the occasional mumble of thunder. She knew that Levy was a silent sleeper, but it sounded as though she wasn't there at all.

Her stomach suddenly started to feel uneasy and she quickly scrambled out of her borrowed bed. She stumbled across the dark room and slowly reached out towards Levy's bed, where she would hopefully come into contact with her friend's warm, sleeping body.

But as Mirajane's hand came down on a cold and empty mattress, a sudden flash of lightning lit up the room for a split second.

That single second was long enough for Mira to realize that she was alone.

Levy was gone and her bed was cold.

Mira hurried frantically over to the wall with the light switch, but even after being blinded by the sudden light, she found no trace of her friend. She checked the bathroom, hoping wildly that she had just gotten up to use the restroom, but found nothing but an empty coldness.

Mirajane looked around the room, hoping for some sort of sign as to where her friend had gone, but her mind was racing to frantically to pick up any clues. Her immediate thought was that Laxus had somehow taken her in the middle of the night. It was a baseless theory, but it was the one she feared most. Mira ran her fingers through her lose hair and forced herself to be reasonable – that scenario was impossible. The reason she had spent the night with Levy was to prevent that exact situation from happening. Mira was a light sleeper, so it was impossible for anyone to enter the room and sneak Levy away without her waking up.

Mira looked around the room again. Her heart and mind were racing, but she forced herself to calm down and focus. Once her breathing slowed a bit, Mira realized that Levy's shoes were gone. She ran her hands through her hair again and sighed in relief.

If her shoes were gone, that meant that Levy hadn't rushed off somewhere because of an emergency. Mirajane slipped on a pair of slippers as well as a sweater and headed towards the door.

Levy must have gone off somewhere to think, Mira reasoned. She stepped out into the hallway and hurried in the direction of the Lobby. She knew that Levy was probably okay wherever she was, but with the current situation, Mira didn't want to leave anything to chance. There was no telling if Laxus was awake or not, so her only option was to quickly find Levy before anyone else knew that she alone and missing from her bed.

Mira bit at her lip and thought to herself, I better get some help if I want to find her quickly.

As she opened the door to the student lobby, the light from the hallway flooded into the pitch-darkness of the wide open room. The lobby was completely dark except for what minimal light came through the glass doors that separated inside from outside. Mira could hardly see anything, so she propped open the door to the girls' dormitory with one of her slippers to let the hallway light brighten up the room just a little bit.

The hallway light wasn't enough to brighten the whole room, but it was just enough to let Mirajane make sure that Levy wasn't curled up on one of the sofas, or sitting by the unlit fireplace.

Once the platinum blonde was satisfied that Levy wasn't in the lobby, she grabbed her slipper from holding open the girls' dormitory door and rushed over as fast as she could to the guy's dormitory wing, where she would hopefully find some help.

A/n: So I was really worried that i made their fight OOC (mostly on Gajeel's part because I thought he might not have held back so much lol), but I hope you liked it xD Gajeel finally got to punch Laxus ~hehe~ I've been waiting to write that since the begining lol