~The Night Before~

Friday, October 30th, 2020

-Hargeon Town-

Lucy pursed her lips as she held a skirt up, looking it over with a trained eye. She liked the length of this one, and the pleats, but the colors were completely wrong. She sighed, shaking her head, and put it back on the sale rack in front of her before continuing to flip through the wide variety of skirts that hung there.

Nearby, Levy was doing the same thing, searching through the hoard of clothing crowded together on a different sales rack nearby. Lucy glanced over at her friend.

"Any luck over there?" She asked, and Levy shook her head.

A couple of hours ago, the girls had been leaving their last class of the day. They'd successfully gotten through the school week, crammed with more assignments and tests than ever, and they'd been anxiously awaiting this weekend for months. It was Halloween weekend after all, and they had a whole plan in place, to celebrate both the holiday and the start of their Senior year.

As luck would have it, Monday of next week was some kind of pre-scheduled school closure, so the students were treated to a three-day weekend, with Halloween falling on the Saturday prior. It was the perfect day of the week for Halloween, much better than a school or work night. Halloween would get the chance to be a bigger event than usual this year, and all of Fiore seemed to be prepping for it.

Unfortunately, they'd fallen behind on costume shopping, and Levy still needed to find a skirt before they could go home and kick off the weekend with their friends.

Lucy and Levy had swung through the campus coffee shop after class, to get festive Fall-themed drinks, before they met up with Natsu and Gray and piled into Lucy's relatively new, light pink Mercedes Benz.

Lucy had been upset when she'd first seen the car, delivered to her doorstep at the beginning of September. She didn't need to look at the paperwork the deliveryman had been handing her to know where it had come from. Her father, though well-meaning, didn't know how to express any kind of emotion outside the form of money.

Lucy had grown up surrounded by maids, nannies, and tutors. She'd rarely had the chance to spend time with children her age, and she'd had even less time with her father. She knew the responsibilities and duties he had running his company were severe, but even when he could've tried to bond with her more, he hadn't. Instead he'd retreated into his study, leaving a young Lucy wondering what she had done to drive her father away. She'd given up on having a father's presence in her life a long time ago. And in the meantime, he continued to shower her with opulent and expensive gifts on every occasion, as if their abundance could make up for his absence.

Lucy figured the car was to celebrate her Senior year but as with all of his gifts she wished he would've asked her what she wanted first rather than just assuming. Lucy had managed to escape her crystal shackles when she'd gotten into Hargeon University, and she didn't want to attract unwanted attention to her new life here by driving luxury cars and wearing designer clothing.

Her father, of course, had been less than pleased with her decision to attend the seaside school. He wanted her to enroll somewhere closer to home, and somewhere far more prestigious, but Lucy had managed to persuade him otherwise. She admitted that she felt slightly ashamed at the methods she'd employed, but she didn't regret them, since they'd allowed her to move to this University and this town, and it had been the single best thing that had ever happened to her.

The fact that her methods had worked at all proved that, even though he had no idea how to be a father, he still cared about her… He still wanted her to be happy... He still wanted to be good. The pain they both carried within was likely the only thing they could truly ever bond over.

Lucy had decided to keep the car, even though it was flashy, since she knew he was trying. And the thought of getting rid of it felt selfish, since at least she had a father, even if mostly by name. She knew Levy wasn't so lucky. No fancy cars would ever be coming to her anytime soon. Lucy knew she should be grateful for what she had in her life.

But that didn't mean she needed to rely on him, something proven by Lucy's own successes these past four years at building a life for herself that was as close to normal as she could make it. Lucy was proud of herself and her own accomplishments and nothing her father did could make that go away. She was satisfied in knowing that even though she was accepting his gift, she didn't need it and she never would. She could take care of herself.

Over the course of the afternoon, Lucy and Levy had been able to find skirts with one or two of the characteristics they wanted, but after a couple hours of searching, they'd failed to find one with all of them. Lucy was starting to get a little frustrated as she continued to paw through the shelves of the third store they'd visited. Halloween was tomorrow, they wouldn't have any more time to look if they didn't find something soon!

Two years ago, the two roommates had started watching anime together every Friday night. Lisanna was the first to join them, hearing them from across the hall and dragging Cana over with her. Then Natsu had gotten jealous of the girls for stealing Lucy away from him every Friday, and he'd insisted on coming, bringing a grumbling Gray along. Lastly, Levy had invited Jet and Droy, unable to leave them out, and thus a tradition was born. The eight friends spent every Friday night afterwards binging anime, stuffing their faces with popcorn and sour gummy worms, and laughing their asses off together.

Then, last year, the group had started Soul Eater, a show that Lucy and Levy had both wanted to watch. Practically after the first episode, Lucy was already comparing Levy to Maka and Natsu to Black Star. One night, after a particularly intense episode, Lucy was ranting about the similarities again when a bright gleam came into her eyes.

Levy looked at her suspiciously.

"What's up with that look, Lu-chan. I'm not sure I like it…"

"Oh my god! Levy, don't you see? Soul Eater! Us!" Lucy was looking around at them all, eyes wide with excitement. They all stared back at her blankly.

"Uhm, Lucy? What?" Levy asked.

"Halloween!" Lucy practically squealed. "I know it's still months away, but it'd be perfect! Levy, you'd make an excellent Maka. And Natsu, Black Star obviously! I suppose Tsubaki would be best for me –," Lucy said, blushing, before she continued "- and Gray would be Death the Kid."

Lucy turned to Lisanna and Cana, who were already hugging each other and giggling, one step ahead of her.

"Well Lisanna and Cana would be Patty and Liz, obviously. That just leaves…" Lucy put her finger to her chin thoughtfully, going over the main characters in her head.

"Soul, I guess? Who would be Soul?"

The others all turned to look at Jet and Droy, the only ones in the room that Lucy hadn't already assigned a role to. Both boys were starting to blush vigorously, staring at an increasingly worried Levy.

It was no secret in the show that Maka and Soul were meant to be together. They were the most obvious ship, outside Black Star and Tsubaki. If Levy was Maka, then whoever got to be Soul…

"Me! I'll be Soul!" shouted Droy, and Jet was already glaring at him.

"No, obviously I should be Soul! I look much more like him!"

"Are you crazy? You don't look like him at all!"

"Well neither do you!"

"I called it first! It should definitely be me!"

"No, no, that's not fair! I was first and we both know it! I deserve it most!"

The boys were so busying squabbling amongst themselves, they failed to notice Levy's increasingly red face as well as the rest of the group starting to chuckle at the commotion. After all, the two boys weren't just arguing over who got to be Soul, they were basically arguing over who got to be with Levy…

It was no secret to any of them that Jet and Droy were both in love with Levy and in this moment she found herself feeling mortified.

"Guys! STOP!" Levy cried, hands on her cheeks, trying to calm herself down. Neither of the boys heard, both focused on the argument. Levy finally pushed herself forward between them, putting a hand on each of their chests, causing them to freeze and stare down at her.

"Seriously… It's not that big of a deal. What if you both be Soul?" Levy huffed, looking back and forth between the two wide-eyed boys, face still red. "Either that or… or we could find a different character for each of you and I'll just get a plastic scythe or something!?"

The boys both glared at each other again, but neither one wanted to relinquish the role to a plastic prop. They grumbled as they agreed to Levy's compromise, submitting to her as they always did. The rest of the group had been watching the scene with mirth, and now they started to crack up, not even trying to hide their laughter.

"Well perfect!" Lucy said, chuckling. "It's the perfect group costume! And this show is already so spooky, it fits right in with Halloween!"

And thus, the group costume had been agreed upon, something that fit them all quite well (well, perhaps besides the dual Soul, shared by Jet and Droy), and which memorialized the Friday Anime Night tradition they'd nurtured over the years.

A slight hiccup had presented itself when they realized that, by next Halloween, Cana and Lisanna would both be graduated and out of the house. The two girls were a year older than the rest of the friends and they had plans to move away from Hargeon after college.

The setback had initially deflated Lucy, but now she just smiled as she thought about how you couldn't grow flowers without a little bit of rain. And just like her favorite gardenias, Lucy had watched as an amazing plan had blossomed into life.

The friends were going to make an entire trip of it, heading to Magnolia City to reunite with Cana and Lisanna for the weekend, and planning to take part in the many Halloween festivities the City promised to offer. This would be a fun way to kick off Senior year and it'd also be a special vacation for the friends, who had never travelled before as a group.

Neither Lucy nor Levy had ever been to the City before, in fact neither of them had done much travelling at all, so despite Levy's growing reservations towards the holiday after several years of odd occurrences, even she was thrilled to be making a night of it.

This year's Halloween was actually special for a large number of reasons. Lucy, having an avid interest in astronomy, knew that Halloween would have a Full Moon this year, and not only that, it would be a Hunter's Moon and a Blue Moon. It was called a Hunter's Moon since this was the time of year when humans and animals alike gathered food to stock up for the dark months ahead. And a Blue Moon was the second Full Moon in one calendar month.

The first Full Moon of October had been October 1st, and thus the Full Moon on October 31st would be the second one, making it a Blue Moon. Ever heard the phrase "Once in a Blue Moon?" It means something happening rarely, since it's rare for two Full Moons to be encapsulated within the same month.

And, not only that, Daylight Savings Time would start November 1st. This meant that on Halloween night, when the clock struck 2:00 AM, it would be moved back an hour to 1:00 AM. A whole extra hour. Lucy shivered at the possibilities of this whole extra magical hour on the night of Halloween. Bars and clubs everywhere were already planning their own unique specials and performances for this "Magic Hour", when time would move backwards.

Yes, this year Halloween was the perfect storm of magical events. A Saturday night, a Full Blue Hunter's Moon, and an extra Magic Hour when they fell back for Daylight Savings Time in the early hours of Sunday morning. Add that to no school Monday and they'd be fools for not planning an extravagant three-day trip into the City, where the wildest parties would be.

Lucy was more excited than ever to get to spend this weekend with her friends, and she found herself wondering what kind of magic might be in store for her this upcoming All Hallow's Eve, in the hustle and bustle of the Magnificent Magnolia City itself.

Gray walked through the aisles, glancing at the items that cluttered the shelves with only a passing interest. His Death the Kid costume was pretty much complete, he'd just grab some white hair paint on the way out. Levy and Lucy were on the other side of the store, still searching for a skirt for Levy's Maka costume and Gray sighed, somewhat bored. He would've rather spent his time elsewhere, on a Friday afternoon after class, but Natsu had dragged him here, as he always did. The boys fought constantly, but it was a testament to their friendship that Gray always came anyways when Natsu asked, even if he complained about it.

Natsu, speak of the devil, was playing nearby with a lighter and Gray frowned before walking over to him, intent on getting the idiot to stop before he burned the store down, even if it took a good punch or two.

Natsu seemed to pay no mind to Gray's approach, his eyes on the two girls across the store. They were still within eyesight, but Natsu was pretty sure they were too far away to hear anything.

"Natsu, you idiot, stop messing around," Gray grumbled, staring at the side of Natsu's face as he continued to watch the girls.

Gray's frown deepened, then he turned to look for himself.

"What are you doing? Stop stalking Lucy with your eyes, weirdo."

Natsu chuckled before turning to meet Gray's eyes with his own. Out of habit, he flicked his lighter open again, before flicking it closed just as quickly.

"I have something to show you," Natsu said, grinning wickedly, and Gray looked at him with new suspicion. When Natsu smiled like that, it was usually a bad sign that he was planning something stupid. But then again, he always looked a little crazy.

Before Gray could say another word, Natsu had pulled his phone out of his pocket and skimmed through the passcode quickly, opening up his gallery. He tapped on a screenshot, pulling it up to full screen, and shoved the phone in Gray's face.

Gray squinted, taking a minute to process what he was looking at. It was just a bunch of names, listened in a tournament bracket style, like they do for sports and stuff. A lot like March Madness brackets. Gray skimmed through some of the names, but he didn't recognize any.

"Natsu, what the heck is this? What are you trying to show me…?" he trailed off when he noticed that it was a screenshot of a web page, and then his eyes grew wider.

"Natsu, is this from the dark web?!" and Natsu sushed him loudly, glancing around them with a glare. No one was nearby, and the girls were still safely perusing the other end of the store.

"Not so loud, dumbass! I don't want anyone else knowing!"

"Dude, how the fuck did you even get on the dark web? Isn't it illegal?!" Gray whispered furiously, but Natsu was only grinning back at him again with that wild look in his eyes.

"It isn't illegal to visit pages there, Gray, just to like, buy shit. Anyways, doesn't matter, I did it securely. That's not the point. Just look at the list," Natsu said, pointing to the long list of bracketed names again and Gray stared at it much more cautiously now, knowing that if this was a page from the dark web something shady was going on. He read through it more carefully this time.

… Lyon, Skullion (what kind of twisted name was that?), Salamander, Sol…

Wait…

Gray gasped, eyes wide, and turned to gape at the grinning pink-haired man in front of him. Natsu smoothly shut his phone off, shoving it back into his pocket and crossing his arms confidently as he watched Gray's face adopt a look of uncharacteristic shock for the usually suave man. The sight made Natsu laugh.

"You should see the look on your face!" he taunted, in a way that would normally start a brawl between them. Gray scowled in response, but didn't raise his fists to meet Natsu's bravado.

"Natsu, what the fuck was that?! What did you do?" Gray hissed at his friend, and Natsu continued to grin back, canines flashing.

"Come on, Gray, you know what that was. From weeks ago, remember? And you bet I wouldn't do it," he winked at Gray smugly, but Gray's scowl grew even darker.

"Natsu, you idiot, you're going to die! You're legit going to get yourself killed! Does Lucy know?"

For the first time, the smug expression on Natsu's face wavered and he glanced over again at the bobbing head of blonde hair on the other side of the store.

"Of course not, I'd never tell her. She'd be way too worried."

"And for good reason! You shouldn't go," Gray said firmly, eyes like ice. "Back out."

Natsu frowned back at him.

"No way, dude, it's too late anyways. The list is set. I had to call in a favor for this, no way I'm backing out now. It'll be fine dude, chill. And Lucy doesn't need to know, so don't tell her. I don't like keeping secrets from her but this… she would be upset."

Natsu looked slightly pained at the thought of hurting Lucy, but his mind was made up on this, and Gray could see there'd be no convincing the stubborn idiot.

Gray sighed.

"It's your funeral, dude. But you're right, Lucy can't know. I'll keep your secret but…" and here, Gray met Natsu's eyes with firm resolve. "I'm going with you."

Natsu stared back at him for a solid couple of seconds, neither boy backing down, but Natsu didn't protest. He nodded sharply, as if he'd been expecting that.

"Fair enough."

-Magnolia City-

Gajeel was playing with his switchblade, swinging it through his hands with practiced ease. Ever since he was a kid, he'd often be found fiddling with one thing or another, his hands rarely idle. It was something that calmed his mind and helped him focus. Although, truth be told, he was only listening to the Master with half an ear, as the man wasn't discussing anything particularly relevant to himself at the moment.

José was standing behind a large mahogany desk at the head of the room, addressing the gathering of men in front of him in turn. It was a typical debriefing, with many of the higher ups in Phantom Lord. The group of about ten men was spread out before him, lounging in chairs or on sofas, some standing. Gajeel was towards the back, leaning against the arm of a beautifully crafted chaise longue, with ruby red upholstery and gold detailing.

Much of the furniture throughout the room was equally as elegant, spread out atop the plush crimson carpet that had deep purple geometric patterns swirling thoughout. The whole room was rich reds and glittering golds. Among the tastefully placed furniture was the occasional marble statue or antiquity cased in glass. Gilded paintings studded the walls. Glittering chandeliers hung above.

Anyone who entered the room might be awestruck by its finery, and agree that the designer had exquisite taste. But to Gajeel, it was far too opulent. It was a display of José's wealth. The man probably even likened himself to royalty. It was definitely much different from the minimalist-chic club below, which was fancy in its own way, but with an industrialist style.

José was dressed in his signature crushed velvet suit, this one dark red like the color of dried blood.

"Yes, well that does prove to be inconvenient," the man hummed, in response to a comment Boze had just made. "I'm getting awfully tired of Sabertooth sticking their snout where it doesn't belong. They're starting to get a little inconvenient. Keep an eye out this weekend, I don't want any of their foul litter slipping through the cracks. Actually, speaking of annoyances, Gajeel –," and the man turned his gaze towards the dark figure at the back.

Gajeel looked up, meeting the Master's dark eyes with his sharp red ones.

"Gajeel, I'll need you to go South again, to that dreadful salty armpit of a town. Go tonight, check up on things. It's about time for another visit."

Gajeel frowned.

"Tonight?" He asked before he could help himself. José had already been turning to the next item on his list and he raised an eyebrow as he looked back to Gajeel, a little surprised that Gajeel had said anything at all. The man was usually awfully quiet at these meetings. José smiled, ready to humor him.

"Yes, tonight. Unless, you have plans?" José said with a sickly grin, a challenge in his eyes.

Gajeel hesitated, just as surprised by his own question. But he'd already spoken up, so it was a bit late to turn back.

"Nah," he said, clearing his throat. "'Course not. Ya usually send me on Halloween is all."

José frowned at that, thinking.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you'll be going a day early this year. But it hardly matters. I require you to be back by tomorrow. As you all know, there is quite a bit of money, and numerous investments, riding on the fight this year. I need you around, Gajeel, to keep an eye on things and step in if needed. If for some godforsaken reason our man doesn't reach the finals, or if anything doesn't go as planned, you will take care of it. I'm trusting that you understand what this entails."

Gajeel grunted in response, signalling that he understood.

"On that topic, Totomaru, how are the final preparations going? Almost done I should hope?" José said, moving his attention to a tall man closer to the desk, whose hair was evenly divided between black and white.

Gajeel was left pondering his own thoughts as the conversation moved on. It looked like he'd be going to Hargeon a day early so… not on Halloween.

For the first time in three years he wouldn't be in Hargeon on the holiday, and he wondered if this break in tradition meant he wouldn't get a chance to see the bluenette again. But he quickly scowled at his own thoughts. He wasn't planning on ever seeing her again anyways, right?

He needed to forget about her, even though that had proven challenging over the past year. It was hard to keep something from your mind when you were actively trying to. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't prevent images of her from flitting through his head. The way her eyes shined, the way her curls bounced. The light dusting of freckles across her nose, and the way they were hidden when she blushed deeply.

Even shadows of her would dance at the edges of his dreams. She was haunting him in a way, and he knew allowing it to continue was a luxury he couldn't indulge. She did not fit into his life.

So this was for the best. He'd be in and out before the accursed night even began, and he'd make sure to never meet the pretty girl again. The next time José needed a man to go to Hargeon, he'd even ask someone else to do it, just to ensure he never went back. For now, he'd keep the promise he made to himself last year, and if he happened to see her, he'd walk away without a word.

It was about time the curse was broken. He needed to move on with his life.

-Hargeon Town-

"Levy! This is it! This one is perfect!" Lucy cried, holding up a pleated mini skirt with a red and black plaid pattern.

Levy swiftly popped her head out from around the corner, a relieved grin on her face.

"Finally! I'm so ready to be done with this!" She cried, rushing over to grab the skirt from Lucy.

"Ugh, me too. Okay, go try it on real quick, we should make sure it fits," Lucy said. Levy nodded and bounded off towards the dressing rooms.

"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy called, waving a hand in the air to call the boys over. They'd been loitering around on the other side of the store, looking moody, and Lucy figured they were ready to leave just as much as she and Levy were. At least they hadn't started a brawl over something silly. Lucy frowned slightly. In fact, it was almost odd that they hadn't started fighting yet. Were they acting weird?

"Luce!" Natsu said, rushing over before she could think more on it and swinging Lucy up into his arms, spinning her around in a circle. Lucy was giggling and blushing as she swatted at him playfully to let her down, but secretly she was more than happy to be held by him.

Gray followed more slowly, approaching them as Natsu finally set the flustered girl down, grinning madly and putting an arm casually around her shoulders. Lucy had no idea how he could be so cavalier about touching her, since they were just friends despite her secret wishes. He was always like this, never ashamed to touch her in ways that almost made her think they were dating, despite her brain telling her otherwise. It was just Natsu being Natsu, being the confident oddball he always was. She was just happy he didn't seem to do this with other girls. She hoped that maybe that made their friendship more special. If only it wasn't just friendship…

"Luce, are we good to go?" Natsu asked, smiling down at her, and his proximity made her heart race.

"Mhmm, I think so," she said, trying to slow her heart. "Levy is trying a skirt on real quick, but it's the best one we've found so far. Hopefully this'll be it, we should just grab some white hair paint for Gray on the way out still."

Just then, a slight cough turned their heads towards the dressing rooms where they saw Levy standing timidly. Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Well… it's a bit short, huh?" Lucy said, while Natsu snorted with laughter. Even Gray's mood lifted slightly, at the sight of his friend blushing madly and tugging at the hem of her skirt.

"Yeah, I know, it is pretty short, huh," Levy said. "There didn't happen to be a larger size, right? Or a longer one…?" she asked, but Lucy was shaking her head, large grin plastered on her face.

"Sorry, Levy, that was the only one. But honestly, it isn't that bad."

"Yeah, Soul is gonna love it!" Natsu teased, prompting a mortified look to spread on Levy's face and she groaned. Gray chuckled.

"You mean, both Souls, huh?" He said with a wink.

"Ugh, kill me now!" Levy cried throwing her hands up in the air and stomping back towards the dressing rooms. Lucy laughed as she slipped out from under Natsu's arm and followed her friend.

"Come on, it'll be fine," she said, reassuring Levy as they walked to the room together. "Let's just get it and go. You'll be wearing a long cloak over it anyways so I doubt anyone will notice."

Lucy leaned in conspiratorially, hand over her mouth as she whispered, "We can always try to lose Jet and Droy anyways, if they get too suffocating."

Levy barked with laughter as Lucy winked at her, and she nodded in agreement.

"Okay, deal. That might be necessary…"

"Plus, who knows? Maybe a certain mystery man will make another late night appearance? For the fourth time in a row?" Lucy said, wiggling her eyebrows and Levy blushed deeply at the mention of Gajeel.

"Lu-chan! Stop joking around!" she cried, smiling anyways as she playfully jabbed an elbow at the laughing blonde. "I refuse to ever meet that ridiculous man again. Anyways, we'll be going to Magnolia City this year. I don't know anything about him but I've only ever seen him here. What are the odds he'd be several hundred of miles away on the same night?"

"I suppose those odds are once in a blue moon," Lucy replied, unable to keep the shit-eating grin from her face as Levy groaned, quite aware of the magical Hunter's Blue Moon Lucy had been raving about for the past month.

"Regardless of that, it's not gonna happen, even if you want it to!" Levy retorted, turning from Lucy to slip back into the dressing room and change out of the somewhat scandalously short skirt. At least she'd be wearing something over it, as Lucy had said.

"Whatever you say, Levy!" Lucy called after her. "Guess we'll see!"

Gajeel sped through Hargeon's streets, his shiny black Corvette streaking through the night. The town looked exactly as it had a year ago, with hardly a leaf out of place. The familiar streets were bringing back unwelcome memories that he pushed down with a glare.

In and out. It was simple. Just avoid Hawthorne Street, the Blue House (now heavily armed), and ALL convenience stores. If he ran out of cigarettes, he'd just have to suffer until he was back in Magnolia. He'd brought three extra packs with him anyways, just to be sure.

Plus, it wasn't even Halloween. It was the night before.

He turned his music up a notch higher as he continued to drive, street lights flashing overhead, leaves whirling in his wake.

The four friends were back in Lucy's car, driving home, their mission a success. They had plans with the gang to watch one more episode of Soul Eater tonight. It was Friday, after all, and it would be in the spirit of things. Of course, they'd be missing Lisanna and Cana tonight, but the two girls were going to watch the same episode and they could all discuss tomorrow when they were reunited.

Lucy grinned, feeling the cool breeze on her cheeks, what with the windows down. Begrudgingly, she really did like having her own car.

Levy sat on the passenger side, next to her best friend, and Natsu and Gray were oddly silent in the back seat.

Lucy glanced at them in the rearview mirror. She couldn't put a finger on it, but they were acting weird ever since leaving the store. Natsu not as much, with his wide enigmatic grin plastered on as usual, but he seemed a little distracted, lost in his thoughts, which was a bit unlike him. Gray too was staring out the window, quiet. Sure, he was always dark and moody but now it felt a little… extra? Normally they'd be fighting by now, not staring off into space.

Levy was turned towards the window as well, watching the buildings as they passed. Some kind of pop-y Halloween music was playing on the radio, something Lucy had put on. Levy propped her crossed arms in the open window, resting her chin on them and closing her eyes. She always did love the way the wind rushed through her hair.

Levy was never one to get car sick. In fact, she loved all forms of transportation. Car rides and train trips excited her. It was something about the promise of an adventure, the open road ahead, the feeling of being in motion again. It was the most extraordinary thing in the world.

Levy opened her eyes into slits, blearily watching the cars across the way, which were going in the opposite direction. She wasn't paying all that much attention, but suddenly a streak of black caused her breath to hitch.

Wide eyed she whipped her head up as she watched the car speed away, already disappearing in the distance, taillights glowing. Had that been… a black Corvette? Levy blinked and rubbed her eyes, straining to look where the car had gone, but now it was nothing but darkness.

Lucy looked over at her friend, drawn by her sudden movements.

"Levy? Everything okay?" She asked.

"Uhm, yeah. It was nothing…" Levy said, distracted. "I just… I thought I saw something is all. But… it was nothing. Just a shadow."

Lucy shrugged and kept driving.

A/N

Close encounters on the interstate! But it isn't Halloween yet, so guess they gotta wait!

Anyone else have any burning questions?

- How did Lucy convince her father to let her attend Hargeon University?

- What kind of magic might await Lucy this year on Halloween?

- What has Natsu done that is making Gray so worried? And why can't they tell Lucy?

- What kind of trouble is Sabertooth causing for José?

- What is José making Gajeel do on Halloween?

- And the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind- Will this be the year that Jet or Droy finally get to be Levy's Soul? ;) Stay tuned to find out!

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For the record, everything mentioned about Halloween is true for this year. Halloween really is on a Saturday, it really will be a Hunter's Blue Moon, and Daylight Savings Time will cause us to fall back at 2 AM on Sunday November 1st (for those of us that live in places with Daylight Savings Time that is). It's a shame that Covid is a thing, since otherwise this would've been an amazing year for Halloween. As you might've guessed, this AU is set in a world without a global pandemic, otherwise the story would be going in a much different direction.

Obviously, Covid is a shame for many other reasons and I'm not trying to downplay its severity. I hope that everyone reading this is doing well and staying healthy and safe. This extends to all of your friends and family as well.

.-.-.

I thought it'd be fun to share some of the music I've been listening to while writing and planning this fic. To start, it's been an 80s vibe today~

Check out "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins for a moody vibe and David Guetta's new synthwave track with Sia, "Let's Love," featuring some pop-y vocals. Just imagine Levy and Gajeel in an 80s flick, with dancing, drama, and driving down the highway in Gajeel's vintage Corvette, Levy's head in his lap as she stares at the stars.~

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Also, A Fun Fact: The part where Levy is thinking about how she loves the feeling of being in motion again, I took that from a Mountain Goats song, called "Going to Georgia." The lyrics are, "The most remarkable thing about coming home to you is the feeling of being in motion again. It's the most extraordinary thing in the world." I just love the way John Darnielle says that.

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Special thanks to my reviewers!

rao hyuga 18 – Thanks for the encouragement! I'm so glad you're sticking around!

lotus-san – Haha, I know, Natsu does seem really dense, huh. Or is he?

Guest on Oct 13th – Thank you! Hope you're still following!

Glassygirl – Thank you! ^.^ it means a lot!

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Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful night, Cheers!~