We're doing something a little different... This chapter and the one after will take place in Hayden's pov. These chapters are focused on Hayden and as much as I would like to show it through Cece's perspective, I think it matters to show how Hayden acts throughout. If you don't like the sudden change, it'll be over soon. One more chapter and we will be back to Cece's pov! Let me know what you think!

There is so much I wish I could say to you, so much I want to express, but I can never find the words. If I were to keep it simple, I would tell you that I wake up every morning and live my life for you. There isn't much else I can do other than continue living. That's what you always taught me, after all. When all else fails, just live.

By the time the sun rose, my hands were already placed together in prayer as I sat with my legs crossed in my backyard. Air filtered through my nose as the sunlight began to light the inside of my eyelids. This was how every morning began. Simple meditation connected me with the earth and if I were to miss one day, I would feel lost in my element.

My home could be found just outside of Magnolia, close enough to the guild, but far enough away that I would have complete silence to connect with the earth. Whenever I meditated in town, the earth was unsettled. Mother Nature wasn't a big fan of humans building overtop of her beautiful soil.

It wasn't long before the sunlight became bothersome. My eyes twitched at the light and I took in one more breath. When my eyes opened, a smile crossed my face. "Alright. Today's the day." I hopped to my feet and threw my bag over my shoulder. After years of working, today I was finally going to do it and nothing on earth was going to stop me.

"Cece!" A whine fell from my lips as I leaned my chin onto the black haired girl's shoulder.

Both Cece and Phillip were currently looking over the request board, the female far more concentrated on that than what I had to say. Phillip, thankfully, gave me his full attention as soon as I approached. If there was one thing that was always certain in life, it was that sweet little cat.

"Princess." I whined once, now tapping my chin against her. "Pay attention to me…"

"I'm busy." She stated plainly, about to reach for a job only to have me slap her hand away. "Hey! I'm trying to do some work here!"

When her gaze was finally cast my way, I placed the best puppy dog look on my face in order to get what I wanted. "Skip work today, I wanna take you guys somewhere."

Her eyes narrowed. "I haven't been able to get any work done for the last week because of the Harvest Festival. What could possibly be more important than getting some extra money to fill my fridge with food?"

A sly grin appeared on my face. "Can I say it's a surprise?"

"No."

"Come on!" I huffed, standing up straight and crossing my arms. Why couldn't she go with my ideas just once? It always had to be this game of cat and mouse. "This is really important. I'd go alone, but I want someone to be there to see it."

Phillip flew over and sat on my shoulder. "I'll go with you! I like surprises." I reached over and ran my fingers over the mint green cat's head. "Let's go, Cece. Then we can go on a job tomorrow and make Hayden do all the heavy lifting." Although I would usually argue with him, there wasn't much I wouldn't do in order to get him and Cece to come with me.

"If you really want someone to see… whatever it is you're gonna do," Cece gave her head a shake. "Go ask Natsu, even Gray. I'm sure those guys would go without any context."

"But…" I trailed off, reaching forward to take her hand in mine. "I don't want them to ask them, I want you to come with."

For a moment, she faltered. If I wasn't trying to build my case, I would chuckle at her expression. It certainly wasn't flustered, but it was caught off guard. Over the last year, I had learned quickly that the best way to get Cece to do what I wanted was to throw her off her usual attitude. Break apart her cold demeanor and she would agree to most anything.

Once she shook through the initial shock, she pulled her hand away from me. "Fine. When I finally get to go on a job, you do the bulk of the work and Phillip and I will get ten percent more of the reward than usual."

My eyes lit up. "Deal!" With her agreement underway, I turned and headed over to the bar. "Mira! I need as much water as you can fit into this bag!" I cheered, throwing my bag onto the counter.

The white haired woman began to do as I asked as Cece walked over in confusion. "What are you doing?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "It may be… A bit of a long train ride."

Her expression went green at the thought, but she did her best to hide it. "H-How long is a bit…?"

If I hadn't been so determined, I would have felt bad for pulling Cece along on the train ride. By the time we rolled into the station, we had been on the train for three long agonizing hours. The water I had brought along wasn't near enough to help the dragon slayer get through it and by the end, her head was pressed up against the window in pain. I practically had to drag her to get her off the train.

After stepping onto the platform, Cece found the nearest bench and plopped herself down. "Why the hell… Did you bring me all the way to Margaret Town of all places?"

Phillip's eyes twinkled at the sight of the town. "We never get requests here because Lamia Scale is here. It's so pretty!"

Much like Magnolia, Margaret Town had water running through the city, however, it was much more prominent. The river cut the city into two halves with only one bridge connecting each side. It wasn't exactly convenient, but I couldn't help thinking that it wouldn't be better any other way.

I couldn't remember the last time I had set foot in the city. Even now, looking at it for the first time in years, I almost didn't feel like I should step further. I had every ounce of determination possible, but yet something still held me to my spot on the platform. This was the day. The day I had been training for my whole life. I was ready. And yet I still didn't feel I could do it.

I turned to address Cece's question and my eyes widened when I saw her. She was leaned back against the bench, her mouth open as a stream of water came from the nearby river into her mouth almost like a funnel. A hearty laugh erupted from my throat. "Really? We haven't been here five minutes and you're already drawing attention."

Other passersby on the platform were eying the black haired girl with both concern and curiosity. Dragon Slayers truly didn't care about what others thought when consuming their element, but I had to admit, it was a little odd sometimes. At least when it came to Cece, she could drink water like a normal person unlike Natsu who ate fire of all things. Although, when she needed to regain her energy, she would take whatever she could get her hands on.

She took in one last final breath before letting the last of the water return to the river where it belonged. "All set." Cece placed her hands on her knees to propel herself to her feet. "The water here tastes better than the river back home. We might as well stay the night at this point." She grinned, walking down towards the walkway. "Come on, I wanna see your big surprise."

At first, I didn't want to follow after her. Phillip floated beside me, waiting for me to move, but I didn't. I thought back to that morning, the tone of the earth. It sounded confident that today was the day I could finally take this step forward. Every morning, I waited for that message and when I heard it, I knew it was right. But now that I stood here ready to face it, I wasn't sure at all.

To avoid Cece and Phillip noticing my uneasiness, I quickly fell into step beside the girl. "We're actually gonna stop by Lamia Scale. I'll give you the grand tour of the city after, sound good?"

They both nodded and Phillip was the first to speak. "Have you been here before, Hayden?"

A grin spread across my face despite the knot that continued to twist in my stomach. "Yup! You can call me an old local!"

Cece raised an eyebrow. "You've been with Fairy Tail for five years… How can you call yourself a local?"

My usual puppy dog expression quickly formed. "Aww! Cece! You remember when I joined the guild! I never knew you cared!"

I always considered myself an open book. If someone had a question about my life, I was happy to answer. But yet, when I looked at the girl, I didn't want her to see me as anything other than a statue of confidence. I didn't want her to see the cracks that were permanently ingrained in the stone stature. All I ever wanted was to be supportive of her, especially now that I knew why she was so closed off. The last thing I wanted her to see was my flaws.

"You never left me alone." Cece's brow furrowed in frustration. "You still don't… I haven't had a day to myself since you walked through those doors." She placed a hand to her chest and let out a breath. "It's been terrible."

Phillip let out a snicker. "Yeah right. You liked the attention."

Quickly, Cece reached over and grabbed the cat's trail to bring him close to her. She clasped a hand over his mouth. "Shut it. I hate attention."

I laughed at her actions. "One of these days you won't lie to make yourself look better."

She was perfectly distracted, good. I wanted her here, I wanted her to see my soon to be success. What I didn't want was to talk about it beforehand. When it ended, I could finally tell her everything from start to finish. My fists clenched at my sides. I would tell her. No matter what.

Time and time again, I tried to push Cece to talk, to share even the simplest parts of herself, but in the end, I was no better. I can't keep my mouth shut, that's true. Yet, I never talk about what's really important. It's all a facade whether I wanted to admit it or not. They always say those who can't do, teach. That was exactly how I felt on a daily basis. Always helping others without looking back at the mirror.

We walked through the market and I found myself stalling at multiple different shops to window shop. My attention span was rather short and every time I tried to regain focus on the task at hand, I found myself wandering to a new shop to explore their goods. I had grown so used to the items sold in Magnolia, that I never had a chance to see what other towns had to offer. If it weren't for Cece, I likely would have had my arms full of shopping bags.

"Oh dear me." A frail woman's voice caught my attention and I came to a stop beside a small flower stall. I looked behind the counter to see a small elderly woman standing there with a smile on her face. "Is that you, Hayden?"

I blinked a few times, trying to remember the woman before it clicked. "Miss Celeste!" My face brightened. "You haven't aged a day!"

She chuckled. "You're too kind, these old bones look older by the day so you don't need to lie to me." She stepped out from behind her stall and grabbed my wrist to pull me down into a hug. "Goodness, you've grown far too much."

"I'll never be too tall for you though." I wrapped my arms around her, doing my best not to squeeze too tightly. This was a face I hadn't seen in so long, I would give anything to never let go.

Much to my dismay, Celeste released me and her attention was directed behind me. "Who is this young lady with the cat? Don't tell me you've grown up so much that you have a girlfriend already?"
Cece didn't seem as amused by the statement as I was. It looked as if she were struggling to stay polite and I snickered under my breath. Before she had the chance to respond, I threw an arm around her shoulders. "You bet! I'm not some little kid anymore!" If we weren't in front of Celeste, I was certain I would be thrown in the river by now. I was definitely milking the situation for as much as I could get.

Her teeth were clenched together as she fought to keep herself composed, so Phillip jumped in to speak. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Hayden?"

"Absolutely!" I gestured towards Celeste. "Guys, this is Miss Celeste. She watched me a lot when I was little. And this," I squeezed Cece's shoulders. "Is Cece," My free hand pointed towards Phillip. "And our lovely sidekick, Phillip."

"I'm not a sidekick!" Phillip quickly shouted, glaring at me. "I'm a main character!"

"Sure you are kid, sure you are." I stuck my tongue out for a moment before returning my attention to Celeste. "We're just visiting the guild."

She smiled softly. "Good. You never come by. Ooba isn't very happy with you."

I rubbed my neck sheepishly. "Ooba is never happy with me."

"You cause her nothing but stress." Celeste shook her head before turning to Cece who was attempting to subtly break free of my arm. "My dear, you're quite beautiful. I do hope our little Hayden hasn't been causing you too much trouble."

At the sudden compliment, Cece's face went red and she looked away. "A-Ah, he's not that bad. He could be worse… I guess…" She muttered, not seeming to know what to say. Typical Cece. Her social skills were still in progress, there wasn't much we could do about that right now.

Celeste was the definition of a sweet old lady. When I was a kid, she always had sweets waiting for me as she knew I would be running around town nearly every day. And when I did something stupid, which was rather often, she was waiting for me to come by just so she could scold me. Lured me in with a kind smile and the next thing I knew, I was sitting on a small stool as she lectured me on how to properly behave. She was the closest thing I had to a grandmother and I adored her for it.

The little lady turned and reached into a basket of purple lilies, pulling a single one out. She gestured with a single finger for Cece to lean down and the black haired girl looked at me, unsure. I nodded to show her it was alright so she hesitantly leaned down in front of Celeste. The woman wove the flower behind Cece's ear until it was secure. "There. Every beautiful flower deserves a beautiful person to be admired upon."

I wasn't sure it was possible for Cece's face to redden any more after that comment. It was almost disappointing. I could compliment her over and over again, yet I could never get that response. Little grandma's had a magic touch, that was for sure.

Cece stuttered out a few incoherent words before turning her back to us in an attempt to hide her face. Phillip chuckled at her reaction. "Sorry for her, she's not big on compliments." He flew up next to Celeste with a grin. "Can I have a flower too, Miss?"

"Certainly." Celeste selected a blue daisy, tucking it safely behind the cat's ear. "You should really buy these two more flowers, Hayden. It seems they don't get them quite enough as they should."

I reached up and itched my cheek. "A-Ah… Well…"

"Don't come up with any excuses. I may be old, but I'm not stupid." She shook her head. "You never do think of those little details."

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "A-Alright, we should go." I crossed my arms. "I-I'll stop by again before we leave town later."

The kind smile returned to the woman's face as she responded. "Good. I want to hear about what you've been up to these last few years. I'll even cook dinner for you and your girlfriend."

"Alright!" Cece snapped, grabbing my arm and beginning to drag me away. "W-We'll see you later then! Thank you!"

I did my best to wave back at Celeste as Cece took me away and it didn't seem that she was very upset about the sudden turn of events. Her normal pleasant smile stayed on her face. Not a single bone in that woman's body could stay angry for more than a moment or two.

Once we were far enough away, Cece flung me in front of her and grabbed a hold of my collar. "If you ever tell someone I'm your girlfriend again, I will end you. Understood?"

Despite her hostile actions, a smile still spread across my face. "It's not that bad, princess. I've been told I'd make a pretty good boyfriend. Why not give me a shot?"
Her grip tightened and she raised a fist as if she were ready to hit me upside the head. "You wanna die?"

"As long as it's in your arms, I'll die happy."

That did it, her fist went flying towards me, but thankfully Phillip flew in and held it back before it could hit its mark. "Alright alright! Jokes over!" He struggled to hold her back before she lowered her hand back to her side. "You two really need to chill before someone calls the police."

Cece released me and crossed her arms. "He started it."

"I didn't start anything." My grin didn't fall as I turned away. "You know you liked it."

"You little-!"

It took a decent chunk of time to calm Cece down enough to bring her to Lamia Scale. Needless to say, the rest of the walk through town had to be nearly silent so I couldn't push her buttons anymore. I knew exactly what to say to piss her off and it was always so tempting. She just made it so easy.

There was a flash of hesitation as I placed my hands on the door to the guild hall. Five years. Who knew I would be gone so long? On the same note, who knew I would be back so soon? It felt like just yesterday I had left, chanting that I wouldn't be back till the time was right. Everything was falling into place, everything I had worked for was finally coming to its tipping point. The earth finally deemed me ready. A breath filled my lungs and I pushed my fears aside. It was time.

I pushed the doors open, holding them for Cece and Phillip to walk through. The guild hall was the same as I had remembered it. Certainly not as large as Fairy Tail was now, but what it didn't have in size, they made up for in comfort. Different parts of the guild had couches and cushioned chairs lining the walls instead of just having dozens of tables lining the room. It was something that even to this day, Fairy Tail didn't have. I missed being able to take a nice nap in the comfort of a couch while at the guild.

"No way…" A male voice could be heard and before I had a chance to register who it was, they shouted out. "Hayden's back!"

"What?!" Just about everyone in the guild hall turned to the doorway and looked at me in shock. "Hayden!"

One by one, each of them got up and quickly crowded around me. Questions were thrown around as well as insults from those who had demanded I came to visit more often. I tuned out most of their statements as I turned to see Cece shuffling towards the side. I frowned a bit, raising my hands up. "Alright, I know, I'm awful, but do you mind if I talk to Ooba first?"

The crowd didn't seem too pleased with the thought, but the woman in question spoke loudly over everyone, silencing them. "Shut up, all of you! Before I spin you!" The threat made the crowd disperse faster than it had gathered. I sweatdropped as I looked to the front of the room where Ooba herself stood in the doorway to her office. "Get in here. Now."

"You got it." I saluted and gestured for Cece and Phillip to follow me, which thankfully they did. I wouldn't blame Cece for taking off before I had a chance to explain. I hadn't exactly been clear as to what was going on up until now.

We entered the office and I quietly shut the door behind us. When I looked back, I saw that Ooba was already sitting behind her desk with her usual angered expression. "What's up, granny?"

"Sit down already." Ooba peaked towards Cece and Phillip. "You as well, girl." The elderly woman studied the black haired girl's face and scoffed. "You really haven't told her. Irresponsible child."

We all sat and I crossed my arms uncomfortably. "It never came up."

"Never came up my ass." She scowled, swinging one of her arms in a circle. "Don't make me spin you!"

I chuckled uncomfortably. "You're overreacting." I glanced over at Cece to see her looking back at me, expecting me to explain. "I never tried to hide it. Maybe I did, I don't know…" A sigh fell from my lips. "This was where I was raised. Lamia Scale. I was a member from birth."

She nodded in understanding. "I gathered that. Though, I guess I just thought you joined Fairy Tail as your first guild. I never thought about where you lived beforehand." Despite her clarification, she still seemed confused. "But what I don't get is why you left. Everyone here seems like they love you."

"Oh they do," I smirked. "I'm pretty great."

"Boy!" Ooba scowled, her arm beginning to spin faster. Fearing that she would spin my form around against my will, I shrunk back.

"S-Sorry…" My cocky smirk fell as I tried to find the right words. It wasn't often I was left speechless. It didn't help that I had been stalling all day. Even now, I had hoped Ooba would talk too much and I wouldn't have to talk about it. Every open book still had the one topic they didn't want to talk about. And this was mine. "You see…"

The tale fell from my lips like it had been waiting for a reason to be set free. Each word made my stomach twist into knots and I couldn't help but feel a lump form in my throat and I fought to keep my emotions locked inside. I hadn't told anyone in Fairy Tail this before. It was a tale I thought I could keep locked back in this town. But as I looked at the girl beside me, I knew I couldn't hide anymore.

This is my story.