A/N: Hi, guys. In case you haven't been following along this week, I'm thinking about going live on Instagram (for those of you who want to see my face in these trying times. It's lumiolivier, if you're looking.) sometime this week. And I'll be posting on Twitter ( MsLOlivier) when I do that. If you need someone to hang out with, that's where you'll find me. I don't know what I'll be doing, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Alright? Alright then. How about a further escape and I post this week's chapter, yeah? X

Sometimes, sleep is just the best. Nothing like a good night's rest to recharge the batteries. And after the week I've had, I've more than deserved it. Between Phantom Lord's attack on the guild and the guild's one-man army that didn't know what she was doing, my bed welcomed me home like an old friend. And now, I could get up, have some breakfast, and go check on my boys. That sounded like a plan.

I pushed myself out of bed and headed downstairs. Looks like the guild was already hustling and bustling this morning. The request board was full of flyers, but I promised Jet and Droy that I wouldn't take a job without them. But I'm sure they wouldn't mind me doing something simple in town. Even I could handle that without my regular muscle. Besides, I knew what my magic could do. Never underestimate a solid script wizard.

Although the main room of the Fairy Tail guild hall was no stranger to surprises, I didn't expect to see a certain shadow taking up space somewhere he didn't belong. My heart sunk to my feet. All I wanted was some breakfast. As much as I wanted to say something to that shadow, I kept my head down, hoping he wouldn't see me. He doesn't need to know where I live and where I sleep.

"You!" Awesome…Just wonderful.

"You!" I guess he was the one looking to pick the fight, "What are you doing in my guild hall?"

"How?" the jerk from Phantom Lord asked, looking me over, "How are you a wizard?"

"Would you like me to show you?" I stood my ground, fully prepared to show him what kind of magic I was capable of.

"Levy…" Master Makarov stopped me.

"Master…" I wasn't quite sure why he stopped me, but there's no way he's taking this guy's side…Right? Of course not.

"I don't want any fighting in the guild hall this morning," Master ordered, shooting a glare over at the two usual culprits of the in-guild fighting. It didn't take much for those two to turn into best friends, "And I don't want you fighting him."

"Wait…" I gave him a look, "Are you…taking his side?"

"If that's how you'd like to look at it."

"But Master!" I defended while that jerk laughed to himself, "Do you not know who this guy is? He's the one who took me while I was at Phantom Lord! He's probably the one who put Jet and Droy in the hospital, too!"

"I took you for a good reason!" the jerk snapped. Not laughing anymore, are you? "Why do you think I took you? Why I made sure you were safe?"

"What?" I scoffed, "Are you saying I should be thanking you for throwing me into a jail cell?"

"I put you in a room, not a jail cell!"

"You said you wanted to keep me as a trophy!"

"You know what?" the guy started walking out, "Maybe I should've thrown you to the rest of the guild! Forget I ever tried being nice to you!"

"Levy…" Master took my hand as the door slammed, rattling the guild hall, "I know this may be a little difficult to understand, but he's not nearly as bad as you think he is."

"What do you mean?" I wondered. Far be it to ever question Master Makarov, but how could he defend this guy?

"Gajeel is our inside man at Phantom Lord," he explained, taking me out to the courtyard, "He was acting under my order. When you showed up at Phantom Lord's guild hall, you were lucky that he was the one to find you. He saw your guild mark and made sure you were taken care of. He had to make it look like you escaped or it would've blown his cover. Otherwise, he would've let you out the front door."

I still didn't trust him. But…I guess Master did have a point, "Maybe I should go apologize."

"It'd be a good idea for you to apologize," Master agreed, "Because despite the fact that he's not marked by Fairy Tail, he is, in fact, a member of this guild. He's formed a team within Phantom Lord. They're not exactly aware of his double agency, but there is one in that team that is questioning their guild's leadership. The Phantom Lord guild master, Jose…He's planning something. We don't know what it is, but I have no doubt he wants to knock Fairy Tail off the top of the list. Go find Gajeel, Levy. Go apologize."

"Alright," I gave him a nod and headed out. Now, if I were this Gajeel guy…Where would I run to in a town like Magnolia? Personally, I'd run to the corner. That's where the bookstore was and occasionally, I could get my hands on an old grimoire that could make my heart skip a beat. Something tells me this guy's not much of a reader, though.

"Hey, Levy!" Great. I already have to go apologize to the guy that kidnapped me at Phantom Lord, but now I have to deal with him.

"Hi, Laxus," I stopped near the alley, "Can this wait?"

"I was wondering if you were busy," Laxus leaned against the wall in front of me.

"Right now, yes," I nodded, looking around him.

"What about later?" he asked, trying to get my attention.

"Probably," I kept looking. Where could this Gajeel guy have gone? He's huge. How does he not stick out in a crowd?

"But you know…" Laxus stood directly in front of me, wanting my undivided attention, "It could be just the two of us…Later tonight? I know a good restaurant on the boardwalk. It's got the most beautiful views of the water. What do you…?"

"Laxus," I cut him off, knowing there'd be no other way for me to do this, but the hard way, "No."

"Alright," he dropped it, "Maybe sometime this week, we could…"

"No," I stood my ground, "I'm not talking about just tonight. I'm talking tonight, tomorrow night, the night after that…I know what you're trying to do here and it's not going to happen. It's very flattering, but you and me? We're not ever going to happen."

"Come on, Levy…" Laxus put an arm around me, "You're still just waking up. You're probably a little fuzzy yet."

"No," I assured, "I have perfect mental clarity right now. You just don't like being told no."

"But Levy," Laxus begged, "You can't deny that there's a certain chemistry between us. Some may even call it…Electric."

"Oh, God," I rolled my eyes, "Is that really the best you can do? Bad pickup lines? No, Laxus. We aren't going to happen. We're not going to go on jobs together. We're certainly not going on any dates together anytime soon."

"But that's not to say it won't happen, right?"

"She said no," a familiar voice thundered behind me. Just who I was looking for.

"And what would you know, fake Fairy Tail?" Laxus brushed him off.

"Laxus!" I snapped at him. I may not like the guy and I may not like what he's done, but I trusted Master's judgment, "That was completely uncalled for!"

"What's that all about, Levy?" Laxus cradled my cheek in the palm of his hand, "It's not like he's really part of the guild. Gramps just said he was, so he wouldn't go back to Jose and blab about us. He'll never be a member of Fairy Tail."

"Shut your mouth, dryer sheet," Gajeel put a hand up to Laxus, "I'm talking to the girl. Are you into him?"

"What did you just call me?!"

"What?" I squeaked, "What's that supposed to mean? Even if I am or if I'm not, that's not your business."

"It's just a question," Gajeel reiterated, "Are you into him?"

"No."

"Then, leave her alone," Gajeel shot a glare into Laxus's soul.

"Just walk away, Laxus," I begged him, "Please."

"Or what?" Laxus pouted, his fingers quickly rubbing together, "Is this the one you're after, Levy? Honestly, you deserve better. Like me."

"I already told you!" I sighed out, ready to hit someone, "We're not going to happen!"

"Fine!" Laxus prepared his stance…Although, I totally thought it would be aimed at Gajeel more than me, "If that's how we're going to do this…!"

Shink!

Gajeel's entire left arm turned into metal…And sharp metal, "Don't…Even…Think it."

"Do…" Laxus quivered, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Do you have any idea how much I don't care?" Gajeel defended, "I know exactly who you are, Laxus Dreyar, and no, I don't care that you're Makarov's grandson. I'm sure he'd love to hear about you trying to attack her."

"Our guildmates fight all the time," Laxus brushed him off, "Are you really that new here?"

"Are you new enough to not get when a girl's trying to shoot you down?" Gajeel held his face in his hands, "Look. She's. Not. Interested. Suck it up and move on. Before I show you what else this arm can do."

"Please," Laxus groaned, "What's the worst you can do?"

"Oh, I'm so happy you asked," I've never seen Gajeel smile so big before, "You've never gone up against a dragon slayer, have you?"

"I am a dragon slayer," Laxus stood his ground.

"No, no, no," Gajeel argued, "I've heard about you, Laxus. Your dragon slayer magic isn't the real stuff. It all came out of a bottle. You give the rest of us a bad name. Now, unless you want to see what real dragon slayer magic can do, you'll back off and leave the girl alone."

Laxus looked over at me, then back at Gajeel. And at this point, I think he was more afraid of Gajeel than me. Understandable. Without another word, Laxus turned on his heel and started heading back toward the guild hall. I have no doubt he's going to complain to Master Makarov, but even Master Makarov won't coddle Laxus. However, Laxus had yet to get that memo. Or he chose to ignore it. Either way, he wasn't my problem anymore.

"Hey…" Gajeel asked, "Are you ok?"

"I've been better," I admitted, "But for the most part, yeah. I'm good."

"Good." Just like that, he left me on the sidewalk by myself and started off to wherever he was going.

"Wait!" I ran to catch up to him, "Can I ask you something?"

"What do you want, shrimp?" Gajeel whined, "I got other things to do today."

"Why?" I asked, "Why did you help me?"

"Because I can't stand jerks like that," he explained, "He thinks he can throw his weight around and that it can get him anything he wants, but I turned his weight against him and flipped him on the ground. He had it coming."

"I still don't trust you."

"I never asked if you trusted me," Gajeel pointed out, "Nor did I ever ask for your trust in the first place."

"But…" I stopped him, "Thank you. And I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to get so heated."

"Um…" If I didn't know any better, I'd think I just caught him off guard a little bit, "Sure. Apology accepted. Can I go now? I really do have other things to do today."

"Oh…" I shook it off, "Yeah. Sure. Will I see you back at the guild hall?"

"I don't know," Gajeel took off and left me on the sidewalk. Again.

Wow…He…He helped me. I didn't think that guy would ever be the knight in shining armor type. More like the annoyed drifter coming through town with a conscience. And…Well…I think he might have been blushing a little when he left. If we're being honest, that blushing was…Kind of cute.

No. Shake it off, Levy. You know what he's done. You know you don't trust him. Just…Go to the hospital. Yeah. I'll go to the hospital and check on Jet and Droy. I'm sure they're doing better than the last time I saw them. The doctors at Magnolia General knew what they were doing. But…Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get to know Gajeel a little better, too. I shouldn't be so quick to judge.