AN: Chapter 2

I'm going to try to update at least once a week with this story. I probably would have had a couple more chapters up if I was more motivated to write instead of playing games instead lol

Little Indian Girl: thanks! ^.^ I know I am very excited to write this last story. It might even end up being longer than the other two since I'm writing in some extra stuff before the major part of the story begins. ( not saying this stuff isn't important, but just saying that I'm trying to take my time with this story as much as I can so I don't feel like I rushed through it lol )

**Song that Lily sings in this chapter is called Bubbly, by Colbie Caillat. It's the acoustic version so if you want to listen to it while you read, you can look it up. ^_^ I own nothing**

bookworm0313: yay! ^_^ I'm glad you're already excited and there's only two chapters up now! Lol that's always a good sign!

NavyNinjaHo: thank you for reading them and loving them! I promise this story will not fail!

Mgaa: I know it's sad, but it beats my other decision that I was going to write about…. My other choice was that one of them was going to die… so… yeah… this may be a sad thing happening, but it could have been worse. Make sure you keep reading to find out what happens :)

Babymunkhcin: thanks! ^.^

Nyma: thank you so much for reading the other two as well as this one! It means a lot to hear that people like these stories! Like I said, I'm going to try to update at least once a week! I was also going to go back and update some stuff in my other two stories after I finish this one and work on one other story I have in mind.

Finn skipped steps as he quickly moved up the stairs, wanting to see Lily before class. This time of day, they both had a class right next to each other and usually, Lily would be waiting just outside to talk to Finn for a minute or two before class started. Finn could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he neared the top of the stairs. His excitement was growing as the butterflies swirled around in his stomach. The more he thought about Lily, the wider his grin grew over his face.

Finn reached the top of the stairs and blushed for a moment as he stared dead ahead. She was standing just outside the door; her long dark hair wild as usual, held back by one of her head bands, her slightly darkened skin like her father's shown off in various places from the outfit she had chosen to wear. Her hazel eyes cast down at the open book she held in her hand as she held onto an armful of books with the other.

Finn swallowed the large lump in his throat as he took a few steps forward, his heart racing along with his mind. Finn could hear his heart pounding in his chest as his stomach flipped. He watched her as he walked; everyone and everything around him a blur and silent. He noticed her head come up, a wide smile forming over her lips. His own lips formed a goofy grin as he raised his hand slightly, about to say hello.

Finn's tunnel vision faded as soon as a larger form pushed him out of the way to get past the smaller ice mage. Finn watched as Lily ran up to the larger boy that had pushed past him. Her arms wrapped around the boys neck, her lips pressing against his. Finn adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and rolled his eyes, remembering how he came into the picture.

Finn sat in the grass, quietly strumming chords on his acoustic guitar. Occasionally he would stop for a moment and write something down in the nearby note book beside him, going right back into his guitar playing as he waited patiently. His lips moved quietly as he mouthed words he had written down, plucking away at the guitar strings lightly. A minute passed before Finn groaned angrily and gripped his dark navy blue hair.

"This just doesn't sound right…" The ice mage let out a breath and looked over at the paper with scribbled notes and music written all over it. Finn sighed as he reached down for the paper, tearing out of the notebook and crumbling the piece of paper into a ball, tossing it over his shoulder behind him in disappointment.

"You shouldn't give up so easily Finn." Said a sweet voice from behind. Finn quickly turned around, a blush already over his face from recognizing the familiar voice.

"L-Lily…"

The girl smiled down at her best friend, a giggle escaping her throat as she heard her name. Her hazel eyes looked down at the small paper ball, curious to what was written on it.

"D-don't look at it… it's…. Not that good…." Finn said as he watched Lily walk around to the front of him. Without a word, Lily sat down beside him, reading over the paper Finn had thrown away.

"Did you write this Finn?"

Hazel eyes looked up and met solid blue. Finn jumped slightly at the sudden gaze from Lily and looked away, his face completely red.

"Well… it… was something I was working on…. Sorta…" Lily giggled as Finn's voice trailed off at the end of his sentence.

"What's with you today?" Lily jokingly asked.

The ice mage shrugged his shoulders as the blush over his cheeks continued to burn into him. Lily smiled as her eyes went back to the piece of paper.

"Finn, this is pretty good so far… why did you throw it away?"

"Well.. 'cause… I-I wanted to write a song for you… to sing… and I didn't think it was working with the acoustic… so I just scrapped it and was going to start something else."

Lily moved closer to Finn, causing his whole body to tense and his heart to race, beating harder in his chest.

"Let's see if it works, start playin'." Lily said as she motioned towards Finn's acoustic guitar.

"Do we even have time? I mean, don't you have a class to get to?"

Lily waved her hand in dismissal. "Pssh. It's just gym class. I can afford to miss one day. Besides I've got straight A's in all my classes so it's not really going to affect me. Now quit talkin' and start playing!"

Finn did as he was told and positioned his guitar in his lap and arms, starting to play for Lily who tapped her hand on her leg, setting a rhythm for herself. Her voice was calm, as she slowly started to sing.

I've been awake for a while now.
You've got me feelin' like a child now.
'Cause every time I see your bubbly face,
I get the tingles and in a silly place.

Lily breathed in a quick breath as Finn began to play guitar a bit faster to match Lily's singing and rhythm. Her voice speeding up slightly as her hazel eyes followed the written words on the paper. Finn's solid blue eyes closed slightly as he listened to his friend sing, taking in every syllable, every word she sang, memorizing the way they sounded as they left her mouth to his memory.

It starts in my toes,
Makes me crinkle my nose.
Wherever it goes, I always know.
You make me smile,
Please stay for a while now.
Just take your time,
Wherever you go.

The rain is fallin' on my window pane,
But we're hidin' in a safer place.
Under covers stayin' dry and warm,
You give me feelings that I adore.

Finn opened his eyes, glancing over to Lily. She was so concentrated on the song she didn't seem to notice him staring at her as he played along with his acoustic guitar. For so long, Finn had wanted so badly to express his fondness for the girl sitting next to him. He had always thought that if he were to write a song for her, maybe she would realize his true feelings he had for her. But every time he had written something, it would just go right over her head, as usual. Lily wasn't the smartest when it came to others feelings. Finn was used to this and didn't mind most of the time. But now that they were in high school, he had set a goal to ask her out before the year would come to an end. The only thing holding him back this whole time was himself. He was still so nervous when she was around. Afraid of losing her as a friend if he had asked her out and she turned him down.

They start in my toes,
And I crinkle my nose,
Wherever it goes,
I always know.
You make me smile,
Please stay for a while now.
Just take your time,
Wherever you go.

Lily paused for a moment and looked at Finn, who immediately blushed bright red, being caught staring at her. She smiled as she sang the next few verses as she looked at her best friend.

What am I gonna say,
When you make me feel this way?
I just, mmmmmm

Lily looked back at the paper and continued to sing. The corner of Finn's lips curled into a half nervous smile. He was sure she was going to say something at that moment, but was thankful she kept singing.

It starts in my toes,
Makes me crinkle my nose.
Wherever it goes,
I always know.
You make me smile,
Please stay for a while now.
Just take your time,
Wherever you go.

Finn stopped playing his acoustic and shrugged his shoulders as he sighed. "And that's all I've written…"

Lily giggled as she handed Finn the piece of paper back. "Well I think you should finish it. It was really good." Lily leaned her body into Finn, nudging him with her arm. "Maybe we should play it this weekend?"

Finn shook his head as he leaned away from Lily. "No way! It's not that good, Lily! Besides… it wasn't meant for a lot of people to play it…"

Lily quickly sat up onto her knees, placing either hand at Finn's sides as she leaned her face in close to his, causing him to nervously lean back on his own hands, his heart pounding in his chest at the sudden closeness.

"Think about it Finn! I could sing it, you can play the guitar, Gaje could play the drums, Rain and Leviana I'm sure can either sing back up or play another instrument! It would totally be awesome for us to do this for our parents!"

Finn closed his eyes gently as he smiled, holding up a finger to Lily. "You kinda forgot Leo…"

Lily rolled her eyes as she smirked. "That blonde haired playboy couldn't carry a tune to save his life, and he was never good at anything he played. So I didn't bother including him. He could stand off to the side and cheer us on as we perform!"

Finn was about to say something when a figure walked up to the two friends, his voice had quite the annoying tone to Finn as he spoke.

"Say, I don't mean to interrupt anything going on here, but I couldn't help but overhear your awesome singing voice."

Finn and Lily both looked up at the boy standing in front of them. He was tall and already slightly tone for his age. He always kept his hair a short buzz cut style. He was always wearing his sports jacket around, reminding people he was the team captain of the football team, as if anyone could ever forget a guy like him. Finn recognized him from the football team, one of the many jocks that would always bully him while he was at his locker, or during lunch. He was in the same grade as Lily and Finn would always catch him glancing at Lily all the time, checking her out.

'Why the hell is he here? Right now of all times…' Finn thought to himself. Lily sat back down on the grass beside Finn and leaned back on her arms, looking up at the boy standing beside her, seeming already uninterested in what he was about to say.

"Yeah? What's it to ya?" Lily asked with a raised brow.

The boy grinned and reached into his bag, pulling out a flyer. "My bandmates and I are looking for a new singer. I just thought since you have such a sweet voice, you would like to join—"

"Nope. Sorry." Lily replied quickly, running a hand through her dark hair. Finn smiled and secretly rejoiced in his head as the boy in front of them looked at her with a surprised expression over his face.

"But you never let me finished! How did you know what I was going to say?!"

Lily sighed as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. "Look, I've been approached by a lot of guys, all wanting me to join up with their band, and all of your heartbeats are the same. Not to mention, my father was in a band once, and he highly discourages me joining one."

The boy nodded towards Finn who jumped slightly. "What about that nervous nerd beside you? You'd sing with him and not with someone like me?"

Lily gave the boy a toothy grin as she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned to one side. "I know that guy quite well, for your information. He's smart, and sweet. Unlike you who probably is dumb as a rock, thinks he's some big shot because he's the captain of football team and in a band. And let me guess, you're some kind of awesome wizard to add on to your resume."

The boy grinned and held a hand up to Lily. It slowly began to form a coolness around it, similar to Finn's magic. Finn rolled his eyes, thinking to himself.

'Great… another ice wizard competing for her heart…' Finn watched the two carefully, not sure what was going to happen next.

"So you're an ice mage? Pssh. I bet Finn is also way better at magic than you are as well. More reasons why I shouldn't join your band." Lily said confidently, causing Finn to look down at his own hand disappointedly. She knew he still wasn't up to par with his magic, no matter how hard he practiced.

"Yeah right! I've seen that pip-squeak practice his magic! He's a pathetic excuse for a wizard! He'll never be as good as me!" The boy took his hand back and once again handed Lily the flyer. "Look, I know you're smart, I've seen you around in classes and I know you get good grades. All I'm askin' is for you to consider auditioning. It would be a shame for someone so cute to let her talents go to waste on a pathetic loser who can't even get his own magic right." The boy turned as he smiled, walking away from the two. Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes as she sat back down next to Finn, looking over the flyer. Finn watched her, looking down at the paper, then back up to Lily. He could see the gears turning in her head.

"Y-you're not thinking about actually joining his band… are you?" Finn asked.

Lily looked up at Finn, a blank expression over her face for a moment before she grinned and tossed the paper aside. "Yeah right… my dad would kill me if I joined a band. Besides, if I was going to be in a band, I would have to have complete control over it. And I don't think that guy would go along with that very well. Not to mention, his name. I mean come on, who would name their kid Chrono? He practices ice magic, yet his name refers to time? What were his parents thinking?!" Lily said with a laugh. Finn laughed slightly as he still knew she was considering joining Chrono's band. He could always tell what she was thinking by the way she acted to certain things.

And right now, from the looks of her, Finn could tell the more she thought about the idea of being in a band, the more she was willing to join.

Leo's words from earlier broke through Finn's memory of how Chrono and Lily met a year ago as he watched them kiss. Finn shook his head and continued to walk, heading straight for his class, wanting to avoid speaking to either of them. Lily broke the kiss first as Finn came closer, his scent filling her nose. She pushed Chrono aside slightly and waved at Finn.

"Hey Finn!" Lily motioned her boyfriend to wait for a moment as she walked in front of Finn, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"H-hey… Lily…" Finn replied.

Lily let go and stood back from Finn, a wide smile over her face. "So have you written any new songs lately? I've been so busy with the band lately, I haven't been able to stop over."

Finn shrugged his shoulders and shook his head slightly. "It's ok… you don't really want to come over anyways…" The tone of his voice told Lily something was wrong at home. Her eyes grew sad as she clutched her books in her arm tightly.

"Aunt Juvia and Uncle Gray are fighting still?" Finn nodded in response. "How's Rain? She taking it ok?"

"She's…she's gonna be fine."

Lily put a hand to Finn's shoulder, her voice sincere. "If you want, I could take a break from the band for a bit, and you guys can come stay at my house. I'm sure my parents won't mind. I mean they love you two, even that stupid idiot Leo… I don't see why…" Lily's voice trailed off slightly at the end of her sentence. Finn half smiled at Lily.

"It's cool, Lil. And don't worry 'bout us. I'm sure this fighting thing is just a phase all married people go through."

"Yeah, maybe… well hey, I'm going to be busy the rest of the week with school and the band, so I'll see you this weekend at the gathering. I honestly don't know why we still do this. It's not like we're kids anymore!" Lily laughed slightly as she turned, heading back to Chrono as she waved a hand to Finn, saying goodbye. Finn held a hand up without another word. He watched Lily start talking to Chrono as he wrapped a large arm around her shoulders, walking her into their class. Finn's hand dropped down to his side as he stood in silence.

'We do it so we can all see each other outside of our crazy lives….' Finn let out a sigh as he too, walked into his class, his mind still thinking about the one girl that captured his heart without realizing it.

Later that day, Finn caught up with his sister at her locker, venting to her as she switched out her books for her last class.

"And then he stood there, watching her and looking at her ass! I mean come on dude, have some freaken class! Ugh Rain… it was so annoying, I wanted to punch his freaken face in."

Rain's response was unemotional and blunt with her brother. "Why don't you just tell Lily that you like her? You know that she's stupid when it comes to stuff like this."

Finn crossed his arms over his chest and began to pout, mumbling under his breath. "I've tried… it's easier said than done…."

Rain shrugged her shoulders as she didn't believe her brother and his words. Rain closed her locker door and looked into the eyes of the one boy she couldn't stand. Leo had a grin over his face as he leaned into the lockers with his arm propped up against them. His free hand adjusting his blue-tinted gasses just before he spoke, moving the hand down to his hip.

"Hey Rain."

Rain sighed softly as she looked at Leo, showing no emotion. "Hi Leo."

Leo eyed her up and down as he spoke. "Sooo uh… couldn't help but notice you come around here a lot…."

"This is where my locker is."

Leo laughed nervously before he spoke again. "Well, I was just wondering… what are you doing this weekend?"

"You know we're all meeting up at the house this weekend Leo."

Leo grinned and put a finger under Rain's chin. "Maybe you and I could uh… well, you know… get some alone time together?"

Rain looked Leo dead in the eyes and simply replied. "It's never going to happen Leo."

Leo's jaw dropped as the words left Rains mouth. Finn let out a loud cough behind Rain, getting Leo's attention. Leo looked past Rain and saw Finn's look over his face. Leo laughed and stepped over to his friend, patting him on the shoulder.

"Finn! Old buddy, how long have you been standing there?"

Finn glared into Leo, his arms crossed over his chest. "The whole time Leo."

Leo stopped patting Finn's shoulder and replied with a quick "Oh."

Finn slapped his friends hand away and pointed a finger into Leo's face. "Dude, why do you keep going for my sister?! In front of me no less!"

Leo's hands came in front of his body, spread open as he explained himself. "She's the only girl I can't ever get with! I mean come on! Look at me! I'm handsome, awesome with my magic, smart, did I mention that I'm handsome?"

Finn didn't look amused as his best friend spoke. "It doesn't change the fact that you keep going after Rain. Can't you take a hint? She's not interested in you."

Leo grinned and pointed back at Finn. "I could say the same to you my friend."

Finn shut his mouth almost immediately. Leo had hit the nail on the head. Finn knew he was always trying to get Lily's attention almost every time they were together, but she was never interested in him, no matter what he did. Leo brought his hands back up to his sides, holding them out as he spoke once more.

"Besides, who's gonna be there for the beautiful Rain when other guys come asking for her hand? Certainly not you. You still havin' trouble with your magic I bet? I on the other hand am perfectly capable of keeping my gorgeous Rain safe from other guys. Right my lovely Rain?" Leo turned around as he asked Rain for reassurance only to see her already gone from her locker. Leo's face turned to fear and shock. He quickly turned back around and grabbed Finn's shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell me she left already?!"

"She left as soon as you started talking to me, idiot."

Leo groaned as he gripped his short blonde hair, his head moving back slightly. "I can't believe she left me here!"

Finn started growing angry at Leo as he basically was crying over spilled milk. "Will you shut up! You're not dating, and you won't ever date my sister so just drop it!"

Leo pointed at Finn, fake tears in his eyes. "You know nothing of love sir! Your eyes are clouded and only have sights for dragon! A devilish, self-centered, stupid dragon girl!" Finn's solid blue eyes looked just past Leo for a second before returning back to his friend. Leo kept his finger pointed at Finn as he spoke with confidence still. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

Lily cleared her throat, waiting for Leo to turn around and face her like a man. Leo kept his gaze fixed on Finn. "I have to get to my last class…. But we'll continue this conversation later." The blonde haired boy quickly turned and ran to his next class, avoiding Lily's hard glare as he passed her. She shook her head and smirked.

"He's still trying to get with Rain I see."

Finn scoffed softly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Part of me thinks he's just joking and doing it for fun. To annoy me more than anything. Rain is too good for him and I don't think she'll ever fall for his stupid advances. He's pretty stupid when it comes to her."

Lily giggled slightly as she stepped closer to Finn. "He could get any one of these girls to go out with him, and yet he's a complete idiot when it comes to your sister." Lily looked at Finn with a questioning smile. "So what's this I hear Leo talkin' about?"

Finn quickly looked at Lily, blushing a deep red color. "W-what are y-you talking about?"

"I heard him say, I could say the same to you. What did that mean? You into someone Finn?" Lily grinned as she asked her questions. Finn gulped and tried to avoid the question.

"I don't know what he was talking about. You know Leo. He's an idiot."

Just as Lily was about to fight back on the subject, the warning bell rang, causing Finn to jump slightly.

"Well! Gotta get to class now! See ya this weekend Lil!"

Lily watched the ice mage run past her quickly, still pondering what Leo had said to Finn.

Gray sat quietly on the couch, one hand holding onto a small stack of papers, while the other held onto a lit cigarette. He read over the heading of the papers he held, going over them silently. Juvia walked into the doorway, her arms over her chest.

"Gray…It's not what I want… but I feel like… it might come down to this…"

Gray set down the papers on the coffee table, putting out his cigarette at the same time. He stood and quietly went over to his wife. "We can still try. Let's just try to get through this weekend without fighting. We're going to be around everyone, and they don't need to know what's going on. So we'll all put on a smile and try to have fun. It's all we can do until all of this is settled."

Gray walked past Juvia without another word. Juvia turned her head to watch him walk out to the backyard of their house, wanting to believe in his words that they will be able to get through the weekend together as a happy family.

AN: so I've just gotta say that even though these characters are totally made up, I love them all so far. I can't wait to introduce the other kids! They will make their appearance either in the next chapter or the one after. Also I would like to say that I think Leo is my favorite out of all of the kids. I have a lot of stuff planned out for everyone and everything, so it's gonna be a pretty awesome story.

I may not have a lot of GaLe, or LoLu, but I promise they are still in the story. ( so please don't ask when they are going to be in the chapters. U—U;; this is supposed to mainly be about Gruvia and the kids )

Anywhos! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I may add some more stuff to Finn and Leo's convo at the end there later… if I do I'll make mention of it in the next chaper, and also! You all should go check out my awesome friend MsKtK. She was working on a Fairy Tail fic called Iron Gray (still in progress) and is now working on a new FT fic called Monster. (For all you GaLe and LoLu fans, go check it out!)