Cana's knees buckled. She had fought forces of evil. She had battled hangovers that could have killed 100 men. And yet, she could not handle this: a million shopping bags.

Levy held onto her own humongous pile of clothes. Lucy found herself buried underneath the heap of bags.

"Everything has to be perfect," Erza said to herself as she rushed off to another clothing rack. She and Mirajane were planning something special.

"What has to be perfect?" Lucy muffled from under the rubble.

Cana groans, "I don't really care. All I know is that I'm tired and need a drink!"

"Why are we here, Erza? We already have our outfits picked out!" Levy whines. Despite being the smallest in comparison to the others, she surprisingly held her own.

"And another thing: WHY is Evergreen here? Isn't she supposed to be your competition?!" Cana asked.

Evergreen made her way towards Erza, a smirk never leaving her face. "You have everything prepared?" Erza asked, ignoring the others.

"You know it!"

Erza and Evergreen's competition was not a simple game of best-dressed. It was a game of matchmaking. Evergreen had found her way inside of Mirajane and Erza's bet.

The bet: who could make Juvia and Laxus fall for each other.

"We're gonna get Juvia and Laxus together," Erza stated. "And we need all the help that we can get."

For Cana, the past few weeks with Gray was great. The pair got along and enjoyed each other's company. But often times, she found him looking at Laxus and Juvia from time-to-time.

Erza signaled Cana to the side; she was the official lookout.

At the DJ booth with Max, Mirajane took hold of the microphone, announcing, "I think it's time to slow things down."

Everyone in the hall paired with their respective partners. Everyone but Laxus and Juvia. Laxus, stationed in his seat, scoffed. He did not dance. He did not like to dance. He did not want to dance. But Juvia did. Her own attempts to encourage him with pleading eyes ended up with several refusals.

She leaned closer to him, "Please, Laxus! I love this song!"

"No." He said without hesitation.

"Why not?" She pouted.

"Because I don't dance."

"Please!"

"Look, if you want to dance, go dance by yourself."

Juvia sighed. He could be so stubborn at times. Getting up from her seat, she starts doing a simple two-step with smooth arm motions. Laxus looked at her as if she had gone crazy.

Continuing her dance, she never stopped eye contact with Laxus. She danced in front, behind, and all around him. And he found it all amusing, "You can stop now." He attempted to hide his smirk.

"I'll stop if you dance with me." This time her moves included twirls.

He caves in, "Alright, I'll dance with you. But one song." His tone was stern. She squealed, "Deal!"

Juvia took his hand and tried to bring him towards the center but he remained still as a rock. She looked up at a disapproving Laxus.

"Here. I stay here and only here." Their side table was fine enough. They did not need the extra attention.

"Okay!" She nodded.

Taking their position, Laxus murmured something to himself.

"What was that?" She asked. "I said, Icantdance." He said it much quicker and lower, sounding incoherent. "Pardon me?" She leaned in closer. Why was his speaking inaudible?

"I said that I can't dance." He said with more coherence.

"Is that what you said?" Juvia responded with a smile, "That doesn't matter. A slow dance is about you and your partner. I don't mind that you can't." He tried his best to stifle a chuckle.

As it turned out, Laxus was not the bad dancer he portrayed himself. He stumbled a bit here and there but kept his steps in-line for the most part. Juvia's eyes continued to encourage him in silence. He liked the reassurance but pretended not to care. He couldn't lie, she was getting to him.

Him to her as well. It wasn't until he was under the lighting that she noticed him. Really noticed him and his looks. He was not bad-looking, not at all. He was tall, he was strong, and his stoic demeanor made him appealing. She acknowledged it, that he was attractive. But still, she reclaimed her position as Gray's.

Gray's earlier remarks. He was different-much nicer than before. But then, when she thought of Laxus, she found herself a bit hot.

He wasn't the grumpy dragon she thought he would be. He could be nice when he wanted to. And he was honest, often telling her how he sees it. Instead of calling her annoying, he tells her what behavior annoyed him and how she could improve. It was the constructive criticism she needed to grow.

Inside that tough persona was a small child, hidden under layers of armor. She wondered if it had anything to do with his relationship with Ivan. He grew up with an absent father that used him to implant a dragon-slayer lacrima inside him when he was a child. And then left. She felt bad for him.

His indifference toward everything acted as a shield. It took her back to her days at Phantom Lord. His ambition to be stronger was a mirror to her own ambition to be stronger: to protect themselves. It was why she never hated him during her early days at the guild. She saw herself in him. And while they did not talk, she could not blame him for not wanting her and Gajeel in the guild in the first place. She would have similar feelings too.

Now, they have an actual relationship. They talk, have actual conversations. She got to him know him and meet another side of him that he rarely allowed people to experience. It made her grateful to him, to know that he trusted her.

They danced without saying a word. As each moment passed, they looked less stiff and more natural. Despite other people were watching, they danced as if they were the only ones in the room. Gray, while dancing with Cana, took notice and looked away.

On separate sides of the room, Erza and Mirajane had devious smiles. Their bet continued to get interesting.