A/N: I skipped the Starry Heaven Arc. Sorry. I just could not think of any way that Alexandria should've been included. She wouldn't have played a very big part, and I feel like she might've gotten in the way a lot. Besides, it wasn't her time to shine then.
This chapter will also be skipping POV's a lot, so just a heads up if that pisses you off or something.
Also, I should mention that there will be mention of sexual assault in this chapter. Sexual assault and/or rape (which isn't discussed in this chapter and will not be discussed in this story) are not things to be romanticized. The only connotation that sexual assault and/or rape will ever have in any of my stories will be negative. Rape is a horrible, real issue-something that should never be taken lightly. If any of you are or was in a situation where you are being or have been sexually assaulted or raped, please contact a trusted adult and call the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-4673). There is a way out, and there are always ways to get help.
This fic is not all fluff. Alexandria and the others are going to encounter and overcome problems we see in our society today. It is my hope
As always, I love you all very much. Enjoy!
"Be so full that even if they take & take & take & take you can still be overflowing."
"Xandria wait! Don't leave!"
I turned around, noticing that the Thunder Tribe had all risen from the table after me, and I blinked in confusion. "What?"
"We were meaning to ask you…"Evergreen paused, trailing off slightly. "Since these Grand Magic Games are coming up, well we're going to have to train to make up for the seven years we missed. But…"
"We were wondering if you wanted to come with us." Bickslow finished.
"We'd understand if you didn't want to tag along with the four of us." Freed continued. "After all, you have Lucy and Levy and Natsu the rest. But we thought it'd be a good opportunity for you to train against some slightly more experienced mages."
"Slightly more experienced?" I echoed, a look of mild amusement plastered across my features. "Freed, you do realize that Natsu beat Laxus in a fight?" I pointed out, earning an irritated look from Laxus.
"Hey, nobody said we had to bring me into this." He grumbled. "It's not like I want you to come along anyway."
"Hush, Laxus." Evergreen snapped, and then turned to me, a sickeningly sweet smile stuck to her face. I tried to return the look, but it looked like more of a grimace. "Please, Xandria?"
I hesitated slightly, my mind toying with the idea. And after a moment I spoke. "Yeah, ok. I'll go along with you guys to train." I agreed with a shrug. "Three months right?"
"Yep."
"And you're sure I won't drive you insane by the end of it?"
"You already drive us insane." Laxus grunted from his position a few feet away. I scoffed.
"Meet us at the Magnolia train station. 9 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning." Evergreen declared, causing me to wrinkle my nose.
"Tomorrow? That'll only give me a few hours to pack."
"Your problem." Bickslow replied, and I frowned at him.
"Fine." And with that I turned, preparing to leave the guild for the last time in 3 months.
"Oh wait!" Laxus piped up, and I turned around, shooting him a withering look.
"What is it?"
"You need to be here, at the guild, before we leave tomorrow. Master's orders."
I shrugged.
"Sure, whatever." I stated, finally turning to walk away. But I stopped by a blue haired girl on my way out.
"Hey Wendy?" I prompted.
"Yeah?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
I thought Lucy was going to kill me when I told her the news. As soon as I dropped the bomb, explaining that I was leaving with the Thunder Tribe to train in less than an hour, she had chewed my butt off. It was like listening to a dog barking incessantly at a completely innocent passerby. Except, I wasn't completely innocent.
I honestly should have expected that kind of reaction from the blond girl. An overreaction so typical of her character. She shouted at me for what seemed like hours, ridiculing and condemning me for my choice to abandon her and the rest of Team Natsu for my new "friends".
I left her with the promise that I would make it up to her later, and that we would only be apart for three months. It's not like that much could change.
Minutes late I arrived at Fairy Tail, my cheeks flushed and my hair tousled from the full out sprint I had taken to get there.
I was met by the irritated looks of three of my guild mates, including the master when I arrived at the guild; late. Old habits die hard I guess.
"Well look who finally decided to arrive." Laxus jeered, and I shot him a glare.
"I was busy okay? Can you not chew my ass off for once?"
"Just come over here and listen." Gajeel grumbled, and I rolled my eyes, striding over to where he stood with Juvia and Laxus, the three of them looking on expectantly at the master.
"I called you four here today to ask you something important." Makarov began. "As you know Fairy Tail is to be participating in the Grand Magic Games this year. And I already had my A team planned. But I was recently notified that I would be allowed to have a second team, a B team. That's where you four come in. I want you to form Fairy Tail's B team and participate in the Games for us, with Mirajane as your reserve."
"Gimme a break! Who's gonna be part of that spectacle?" Gajeel blurted, and I rolled my eyes.
"I don't mind it. But I don't like being on the B team." Laxus stated.
"Oh grow up, we were probably gonna be on the A team but he just moved us," I retorted.
"Then let's do this. The team that wins gets to do whatever they want with the other team for a whole day." The master proposed, and I grinned slightly at the thought of bossing Erza around for a day.
Hey! Xandria! Over here!"
I turned my head, grinning when I noticed Evergreen waving her arms in my direction, beckoning me over to where she stood beside her two other teammates. I quickly shouldered my bag and walked over to them.
"Hey guys." I said, casting a wary glance at the overly enthusiastic Evergreen who stood bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You certainly look excited."
"Of course I do! We are going to the capital, after all!" Evergreen exclaimed giddily. My mouth fell open.
"Crocus? We're going to Crocus?"
"Of course!" Bickslow blurted, giving me a crooked grin. "While everyone else is travelling cross-country, we'll actually be getting fit in some of the Crocus gyms, plus we could hit up some of the casinos at night-"
"Or maybe visit Ryuzetsu land while we're at it!" Evergreen interjected, earning a slightly condescending look from Freed, who shook his head at all of us.
"What you're all forgetting is that the Grand Magic Games takes place in the capital, so we won't have to worry about traveling anywhere, or dealing with the mass-exodus of mages and traffic three months from now. We won't have to leave early so we'll be able to squeeze in the maximum amount of training possible," He announced, and I chuckled.
"Please Freed, like you wouldn't want to be at Ryuzetsu land with Laxus." The green haired man turned several shades of red at my comment.
"What'd you say about me?" A rumbling voice interrupted from behind the group of us, and I turned around, noticing the newly arrived Laxus.
"Oh nothing," I announced with an innocent smile. He scowled, but didn't push the subject any further.
"We should probably board the train. It leaves soon." Bickslow deadpanned, and I nodded, moving in the direction of the train car.
He sat down with a grimace.
It was miniscule, barely noticeable, one that wouldn't have been caught by anyone unless they were following his movements closely. I didn't even know I was watching him until I caught his grimace, and by then it was too late for me to stop staring.
I knew I shouldn't have been paying attention to him. What did he matter, after all? He was just some weirdo, some idiotic young boy that had rebelled against his grandfather, resulting in a well-deserved exile away from the guild. But even if I shouldn't be paying him any attention, I had not right to judge him either. I had made plenty of my own mistakes—and yet—he didn't seem to hate me for it.
It wasn't like he liked me for them either though. He didn't even know me, save for the one time I had spoken with him seven years ago, and the short, rude conversations we had had since then. But he still treated me like I was below him, and I—
"Hey, Xandria! Are you just going to stare off into space, or are you going to take a seat?" Evergreen snapped, and I composed myself.
"I was just trying to find a seat, Ever."
"There aren't any left." She pointed out. "I claimed this one for myself, and it seems as if all of my other teammates, except for you, have stumbled upon the remaining seating."
I scanned my eyes over the area, realizing that in fact, all ten of the benches had been claimed by travelers and the Thunder Tribe alike. I frowned at her, noticing that Freed and Bickslow had crammed into the seat behind her, neither of them wanting to be stuck with Laxus. Not even the green haired boy that seemed to care for him so.
"Just let me sit with you."
"Nope. I hate riding beside other people, it makes me too claustrophobic." She stated. "Have fun sitting beside the greatest traveler known to man."
I glared at her, but finally gave in, sinking into the space beside Laxus on the train. He glanced up briefly at me, but seemed too focused on bracing himself for the upcoming transportation that he didn't seem to notice my presence.
The train lurched forward.
And so did he.
I paused, observing the pitiful man for a moment before he snapped his head to me, green faced and red eyed.
"Will you stop staring at me?"
"I'm not staring at you," I said, folding my arms instinctively as he glared at me.
"The hell you aren't. You've been staring at from the moment you got on this train," He grumbled, turning his face back away from me to look out the window. "Have you never seen someone get motion sick before?"
"I saw you on the boat."
He gave me a withering look.
"Aren't you just hilarious?" He jeered. I rolled my eyes.
"It's one of my many talents." I replied, flashing him a cheeky smile and causing his already clenched fists to tighten. Releasing a light laugh, I reached into my bag, producing a small container of pills. "I actually was going to give you one of these, knowing that you are a dragon slayer and an obvious victim of motion sickness… But since you're being an absolute walnut—as usual—I'm starting to rethink my decision."
"What are those?" He asked, undaunted by my comments.
"Troia pills. Wendy and I figured out a way to put her magic into pill form with the help of some newer technology. It's for motion sickness and—"
He reached forward, attempting to snatch the container from my hand. I gave the man a pointed look.
"Give me the pills damnit."
"Ah, patience, young grasshopper," I announced with a scolding wave of my finger. He purpled.
"Can you stop with the games for once? Do you have any idea how badly I need those pills?! Stop being such a pain in the ass for once and-"
"Oh so I'm the pain in the ass? Really?"
"Yeah you are."
"Man I've met some real pricks in my life, but you, my good sir, are the absolute cactus." I blurted, my fist tightening around the package of pills in my hands.
"Wow, I have to say that's rich coming from you."
"Oh really?" I exclaimed, and he let out a low laugh, but before he could respond the train lurched forward again, causing the hulking blond beside me to be thrown into the back of the seat in front of him. His wild-eyed expression was immediately wiped from his face, and replaced with one of nausea, and against my better judgement I felt a pang of sympathy shoot through me.
And without second thought, I chucked the package at him, turning my back on him and folding my arms before I could see his reaction. "Just be sure to thank Wendy when you see her at the games," I grumbled out.
As soon as I turned to the aisle of the train car, I was met with stunned and disapproving stares from the other passengers, many of whom were muttering amongst themselves. Something in me snapped, and I went off on the nearest person to me, a middle-aged woman with a particularly nasty expression plastered across her cake-face.
"What are you looking at?!" I barked, and after flashing me an appalled look she turned away from me, probably to converse with the man that sat beside her.
A pregnant pause passed, and a charged silence hung in the air, until Laxus decided to break it.
"Thank you," He muttered from beside me, barely audible over the churning of the train.
I blinked in surprise, shocked by how genuine he sounded.
We hadn't chatted much after that. In fact, we hadn't said another word to each other. He simply put on a pair on those magic headphones and started blasting music, drowning out everything else on the train, including and especially me.
I'll admit; I was curious. I had always wanted a pair of magic headphones, so when I could vaguely make out the sound of singing, some shouting, and the melodic sound of a guitar strumming—or screeching—against the noise of the chugging engine, my interest was piqued.
But I blocked it out, ignoring the intriguing music and pulling out a novel from my bag to read.
~Laxus' POV~
A book. Of all things, the girl had pulled out a book.
I quietly observed her, shaking my head in disdain as she flipped a page.
Turning my attention back to the passing scenery, I found myself rolling my eyes.
What kind of lunatic tried to read on a moving train?
~Xandria's POV~
We arrived at the Capital roughly five hours later, after enduring minute after agonizing minute of travel on the cramped train.
It hadn't, I supposed, been that bad. I had my book to keep me company, after all. But the man beside me had been nothing more than a boring bump on a log the entire trip, not wanting to involve himself in any kind of social interaction.
It was annoying the way he curled up within himself, but then again I didn't mind that terribly much. I would have rather him remain silent than to run his mouth constantly. I could handle someone being antisocial. At least I could relate.
~Laxus' POV~
The Troia had worn off halfway on the ride home. But I wasn't going to tell her that. I didn't want to look weak any more than she did. So I simply cringed the rest of the way, avoiding thinking about how quickly we were moving or how fast the world was spinning.
~Xandria's POV~
"You're kidding right?"
Evergreen shook her head. She wasn't.
"The whole room. Entirely to ourselves."
"An entire suite?!"
"I had some money saved up." She said with a shrug, glancing down to examine her nails.
"No shit," I mumbled, turning myself in a slow circle as I tried to take in the room. But I just couldn't seem to grasp it.
Evergreen laughed.
"You'll have plenty of time to marvel at the room later." She announced, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at me. I cast her a sideways glance, still reluctant to let my eyes leave the magnificence of the room. "There's somewhere I want to take you."
"Where?"
"It's a surprise, brainless."
And with that she grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the room and towards what was bound to be inevitable disaster.
By the time the sun was down my entire body had been scrubbed, washed, rubbed, waxed, plucked, and primped like never before. She had dragged me around to two different spas, a 'world-famous' bathhouse, and a salon.
Evergreen said I was absolutely glowing, but I didn't believe her. I just felt like a plucked chicken.
Evergreen had always been one for the glamourous, but I didn't realize just how deep her infatuation with luxe ran until we were back in our suite.
"Put it on." She ordered, revealing a long, silky article of clothing.
I choked on my own spit, like the endearing sod I was.
"Wh-"
"Just go get dressed." She barked. "We're meeting the guys in less than an hour. It's a celebratory dinner you know, to kick our training off the right way."
Wordlessly I carried the dress with me into the bathroom of our suite, which was practically as large as Lucy's old room in itself. I quickly slipped off my clothes, pulling on the dress over me. After wiggling, tugging, and quite a bit of sucking in my stomach I finally had it on, and I looked into the mirror, my brows shooting to my hairline as I took in what I saw.
The woman that faced me was not Alexandria Douglais. She couldn't be.
It had nothing to do with beauty. I didn't look beautiful; I didn't look gorgeous; I didn't even look pretty.
I didn't look real.
It was impossible for Alexandria Douglais to look like this, no matter how pretty she thought herself to be (and believe me when I say that I thought myself quite attractive, being the self-absorbed sot I was). There were, and always would be women prettier than me, no matter how I dressed or what I wore. Generally I looked nice, pretty to some people. But with the dress I didn't look quite right—it was as though something was off. I didn't look normal.
I didn't look human.
The dress was long and red. Fiery red. Blood red. Scarlet, like Erza's hair, but somehow even more intense.
It had to be the color then, I decided.
My eyes trailed down my body, falling to the lower part of the dress, where I expected to see my legs swathed in the same crimson fabric. But somewhere along the way, right below my hip, there was a long slit—an intentional tear in the silk. The only problem was that, right there, in the very center of my left thigh that protruded from the dress, was my former Grimiore Heart tattoo, only just beginning to fade.
I gritted my teeth and burst out of the bathroom, the dress almost getting caught under my feet and tripping me up as I did so. And the moment I entered the threshold of the room an indulgent smirk spread across Evergreen's face. Her face fell however as it fixated on a more demanding feature that stood out.
"Your leg!" She blurted, and I cut her off with a wave of my hand.
"I know. I still have the tattoo."
"You were in Grimiore Heart?"
"You didn't know?"
"No…"
"Oh."
"Yeah."
I looked down awkwardly.
"I was taken away from my parents at a young age by the guild master of the Demon's heart. He killed them, and altered my memories so that I would believe he was my father." I stated, my voice lingering over the room. "I trained under him for thirteen years, learning and perfecting my skill. Until I ran. Away from him, away from his abuse, away from my problems. I figured out the truth behind his lies, and everyone knows that once you find the truth behind an illusion magic, it all starts to crumble. I ran for three months until I final found Fairy Tail and decided to join. And now here I am." Aka, a watered down version of my life.
"Oh." She deadpanned.
"Yeah."
"Well now I at least know why you're so strong."
"I guess," I said, giving a noncommittal shrug.
A pregnant pause followed.
"Hey, since you look so stunning in that, I figure you'd want the shoes too." Evergreen finally spoke up, and I frowned.
"Oh no."
"Oh yes. This is one of the nicest restaurants in Crocus, after all. You have to dress to impress." She stated with a grin that lightened the exceptionally thick mood in the room. "Who knows, maybe you'll get engaged?"
"Engaged!" I blurted, a loud laugh erupting from me as I echoed her comment. "Excuse me while I vomit."
"I'm going to change really quick. Although I don't really think I can outdo you in that dress," She said, chucking the pair of heels at me. "You just happen to be a knockout in red."
"What can I say?" I replied with a grin.
I pulled on the heels, admiring my smooth legs. I smirked at Evergreen when she walked out, knowing that I was not the only one bound to get some attention tonight.
It was a long green satin dress, tight throughout the bodice, like mine, and then loosening at her wide hips. The emerald dress put her top heavy cleavage on display, something that I had a feeling Elfman would love.
What a shame he wasn't here.
I glanced over her again, taking in her matching gloves and elegant pearl jewelry. When she said high class she certainly meant it.
"Oh! I almost forgot." She blurted, reaching for the bag in which she had pulled my dress and shoes from, revealing a glistening necklace and a set of silver rings. She promptly proceeded to fasten the jewelry around my neck and dump the rings into my hand, hesitating slightly when she saw my black fingernails. "I told you to paint your nails red." She clucked, and I laughed.
I stood up and glanced in the mirror, admiring myself before we left.
"Damn!" I exclaimed, and Evergreen turned, startled.
"What? What is it?"
"We look good."
She rolled her eyes and picked up a small purse from the couch before flicking off the light. "Stop dragging your feet and let's go," she retorted, tugging on my arm and pulling me toward the door.
I had walked anxiously beside Evergreen into the restaurant. But I had calmed down now, and no longer was I nervous. It was certainly uncomfortable, the looks that I was receiving from people when they saw my former guild mark stamped clear on my body. The apprehension, the distrust, the hatred, the slight intrigue. But I had to remind myself that I wasn't that person anymore.
Evergreen finally ushered me over to the table where the other three members of the Thunder Tribe currently sat, mindlessly sipping away at the drinks they had ordered.
The moment we walked up, the click-clacking sound of our shoes announcing our appearance, they glanced upwards, halfway through a sip.
Bickslow spit his drink out.
Laxus choked.
Freed just blinked and swallowed, glancing us over once, but still remaining as cool as ever.
I looked them over, and noticed the vaguely unfamiliar face of Bickslow, lacking his typical mask. I guess formalities were a time that even he, probably the most peculiar of us all, would dress up. His hair was sticking up in a mix of shaven and mohawked spikes of blue and black. And a large tattoo covered the front of his face. I might have spent more time observing him, considering I had never seen his face before, but someone else decided to speak up.
"What the hell?!" Laxus blurted, his eyes wide and his face red as he stared at me. I blinked, and a slow smirk spread across my face.
"I know, we look great don't we?" I replied, giving the blond a haughty grin. No doubt he was shocked by my blatant beauty, I mean what could I say, I did look quite stunning and—
"What do you mean you look great? What the hell do you think you're wearing?! You're going to get us all arrested!"
Immediately my smirk faded, and furious blush exploded across my features, rivaling even the color of the dress I wore. After a moment I spoke, a snarl plastered across my features.
"Thanks for the compliment." I retorted, furiously taking the only empty seat between him and Bickslow. "It's just my old guild mark. Grimiore Heart was disbanded seven years ago. Get a grip, Laxus."
"Whatever."
~Laxus' POV~
He had expected her to dress up. He expected both of the girls to come clothed in long, draping dresses, ones that were only suitable to the occasion.
But what he hadn't expected was for her to look like that.
Not with her body cleaned up and on display. A body, he noted, that he'd never pictured in that way before… He hadn't really expected her to be capable of looking like that. Maybe it was their first meeting when he saw her in the large cloak, or when he saw her again in an array of torn, tattered scraps of fabric after she took a hit for him, but he just never assumed that she was so, so…
He gulped, his eyes tracing over her. She sat next to him, a curious expression on her face as she looked around, somehow managing to look innocent in a dress like that. He stared at her brown hair, falling in rippling curls down her back—her exposed back, smooth and supple and curving downward into a—
He coughed and banged his knee against the table in a swift motion. Alexandria turned to him, a distasteful expression on her face. His cheeks burned.
The guildmark, he thought. Remember the guildmark.
Yes, that was what he'd see—the mark on her thigh, the one escaping from the long tresses of red fabric that flowed around her legs.
And it wasn't like he was going to simply let her get away with it. He had to argue with her over something. So he picked the most notable fault of the outfit. The Grimiore Heart guild mark that signified what she really was—how vile she really was. Why no one should've gotten near her.
~Xandria's POV~
I sat comfortably with my legs crossed underneath the table as I stuffed yet another roll into my greedy mouth. The food was absolutely divine, there was no wonder Evergreen had chosen this exquisite restaurant.
But all of a sudden, I felt a disturbing presence pervading my leg, and I abruptly stopped eating. I glanced downwards, noticing none other than Bickslow's hand resting like a cold stone on my exposed left thigh. I frowned and shifted my position, pulling away from him. He turned to look at me, his features already heavily flushed as he nursed his fifth—or was it sixth?—glass of wine.
He crept his lecherous hand forward again, this time moving further up my thigh towards—
I jerked away from him, my body slamming into that of Laxus who sat beside me.
"I'm going to the restroom," I blurted, embarrassed and ashamed.
And with that I turned, albeit slightly unsteadily, on my heel, my crimson dress swinging behind me as I traipsed towards the bathroom. Why was I ashamed when am man had touched me without my permission? It wasn't my fault… I hadn't—
I paused, freezing in the hallway that led to the restrooms and kitchen. Bickslow almost crashed into me.
My features hardened.
"Alexandria, I—"
WHACK.
I hit him so hard my hand hurt, and I felt tears stinging at the corners of my eyes. He cupped the side of his face, looking embarrassed and betrayed.
"Don't you dare lay your hands on me ever again," I spat.
"I didn't mean to—"
"I don't give a damn about what you meant to do, Bickslow. Whatever it was, it won't be happening again."
"Will you just relax? I was only—"
"You were making unwanted advances, Bickslow," I blurted. "Next time lay off the alcohol."
He frowned. "Well, maybe, y'know, if you wouldn't dress like…"
"Like what?"
"Well like that. I mean, Xandria, you're practically…"
My jaw dropped and I shook my head, scoffing in disbelief. "What? Asking for it?"
"Well, uh…"
"My clothes," I hissed, "have nothing to do with my consent. Get away from me Bickslow and don't you ever touch me again."
I turned away from him, shaking, and stormed into the bathroom.
Laxus stopped her that night, pulling her aside before she could go back to her room with the other woman. He surprised himself when he did it, not particularly expecting himself to be so forward and gruff, but there was no time for gentleness at the moment. He needed to speak with her.
"What the hell are you doing?" I exclaimed, a shiver running through me the moment Laxus grabbed my arm.
"Calm down, I just need to ask you something."
"Whatever it is the answer is no," I replied. He loosened his grip and rolled his eyes. They were a nice shade of light grey.
"Did Bickslow touch you?"
I tensed, the color draining from my body as I looked at him, trying to hide any emotion that might have come to my face.
"No."
"You sure?" He prompted, and I shook my head.
"I'm sure," I said. Laxus scowled at me.
"Stop lying," He hissed. "I saw what happened tonight. I saw him groping your thigh, and I saw you threaten him."
"Then why ask if you were so sure?" I fired back, causing him to scowl in frustration. He quickly wiped the look from his face and let out a heavy sigh.
"That's not the point," He began, and I shrugged.
"Whatever. It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does!" He urged, a stormy look on his face. "He touched you without your consent! Alexandria, that's wrong, and he can't do that to you."
I gritted my teeth. "You think I don't know that?" I spat. "I've been through worse, Blondie. I think I can handle this."
"What?" His words hung in the air and I shook my head, turning away. "Hey! Don't just walk away from me like that! Please! Alexandria!"
I turned around, and the look in his eyes made me melt a little bit.
"I just want to help you," he breathed. "You… you don't have to tell me what you've been through—"
"That's what you want though, isn't it?"
His face flashed with confusion. "What? No. I was literally just telling you that you don't have to—"
Don't you dare open up to him.
"Just fuck off!" I blurted, causing him to take a stunned step back.
"What is your problem?!" He exclaimed. "I'm here, trying to help you, and all you can do is-"
I hated myself. The one time someone genuinely showed concern, the one time someone tried to reach out to me, I had to ruin it.
"You're not helping anything, Laxus!" I snapped. "You're just poking your nose into matters that don't concern you because you think you have the right to. Well guess what, princess? You don't deserve to know shit about me. For the first time in your life you don't get everything you want!"
I finished my outburst, my chest heaving up and down as a smothering silence settled between us. His features darkened.
"Oh right, I'm sorry, because it's obviously just been sunshine and rainbows for me my whole life," He snarled.
"Laxus that's not what I-"
"No, that's exactly what you meant. You think that I'm some spoiled brat that gets whatever I want. You think that just because my grandfather is the guildmaster, that I get some special kind of treatment. Well guess what? I don't! I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you don't know anything about me either, so don't act like you do."
And with that he turned on his heel, storming off down the hall and causing me to release a string of frustrated curses.
Why did I always have to screw things up?
"Laxus, wait!"
He ignored me, and without any other option I bolted after him, grabbing his arm before he could reach the end of the hallway, and forcing him to turn and face me.
"What is it?! Haven't you said enough already?" He blurted, his voice cracking as he stared at me, an unprecedented wave of emotion flashing over his features.
"I-I…" I hesitated, then inhaled sharply before I continued. "There was a man, he might be dead now, he might not, I don't know, it's been seven years. His name was Bluenote Stinger. He was the champion of Grimiore Heart, second only to the guild master himself. Growing up, especially through my teenage years, he harassed me, constantly trying to advance on me. Hades, the man who claimed to be my father, didn't do anything about it. He simply turned a blind eye. I couldn't do anything about it aside from endure it. I was just a kid. I don't know why I'm telling you this but I am. I need to tell someone."
A pregnant pause followed, and Laxus simply bowed his head, at a loss for words.
I sighed. "I ran from it for a long time. All I've done is run—my entire life. Run from Hades, run from my past, run from my magic. And then I stumbled upon you and decided to go to Fairy Tail. Things got better from there. But they weren't fixed until Tenrou Island was over with." I paused, correcting myself. "I take that back. Maybe they'll never be fixed. But I love what I've got, and now I'm just trying to move on with my life."
He nodded. "I get it."
He looked at me, just stared at me for a moment in the golden light of the hotel hallway, his eyes searching my face. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, and laughed slightly, awkwardly.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have told you this. I'm being stupid," I muttered, but he shook his head.
"No. No, thank you for telling me," He said, as quiet as ever.
A/N: Don't hate me for how I wrote Bickslow. Yes, he was a little out of character, but he'd had a lot to drink (not an excuse, though!), and I've always pictured him as having a bit of a lecherous side to him. Bickslow isn't a total douche though, and later in this story, we'll see him and Lisanna get together (yay for Bicksanna!) and him show his loving, fun side.
It means so much when you guys read this story, favorite it, and review, and I just wanted to say thanks. I heard somewhere that I can respond to reviews (I don't know how though?) so I've decided that I'll be answering them here, at the end of every chapter.
(Reviews are VERY much appreciated, so if you haven't already, I'd love for you to tell me what you thought of the story, and how I might be able to improve it. If you guys give me your ideas I might include them in future chapters that I can credit you in, and its always suuuper awesome when that happens!)
Kirorokat- I'll have to go back and write the story of her mission with Bickslow. I have a few things in mind (smirky smirk smirk) and I can't wait to write it. I imagine Alexandria and Bickslow having a sort of unexpected friendship (they're both reckless, and they have more than a few things in common) and it would be a REALLY fun relationship to write. I feel like a mission with just the two of them would wind up going more than a little crazy, and it would be so fun to write. Let me know if you have any ideas about it (or any other ideas for this story) I'd love to include what you think!
CallMeAnon- Thank you so much! And yes, the GMG are almost here! Yay for Alex and Blondie ;) *wink wonk*
Green And G0ld- They did meet (smirky smirk)
TMelissaB, Guest, Haintrex, and velvetSunset; Thank you all SO, SO MUCH. Your reviews are what inspire me to write more and encourage me as a writer. Thanks for being fabulous!