AN: Chapter 14

So this chapter has a few time skips, but nothing too major of time skips… it's a really cute chapter and it has some funny moments in it as well. I hope you all enjoy. I quickly reread over it all so I hope I caught everything… if not I'll fix it later.

Nyma: I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the last chapter. It was fun to write after I got past the part I was stuck at lol and I just had to give Rain some emotion and fierceness lol as for Bora… I cannot say what's gonna happen. It's a secret ;) and as for Leo, you might enjoy this last bit at the end of the chapter.and trust me… things will happen between Finn and Lily… soooon….

Depressica: I know I seriously kicked myself in the ass to get that last chapter posted!

Finn yawned as he stepped out of his car, stretching his arms up in the air for a minute. "Damn… I always forget how long of a ride it is from moms' house." His eyes widened slightly as his phone went off in his pocket. His hand quickly reached in and pulled it out, looking down at the text he just received from Lily. He smirked as he read it. "She must know I'm back home."

"Hey Finn! Not sure if you are home yet or if you're still on the road, but you should come up to the park when you get back! Let me know if you can make it!"

Finns' fingers quickly responded to the girl, letting her know that he had just gotten home and was going to head up there as soon as he put his bags in his room. A smile was on his face as he placed his phone back into his pocket, glad to know that Lily had asked him to hang out someplace other than her house for once. The young ice mage put his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his bag from the car, closing the door and heading inside to his house. Finn put his hand up to the door knob and turned it, opening the door and letting out a sigh. As he closed the door behind him he yelled out. "Dad… you forgot to lock the door again…." Finn took off his shoes and walked further into the house, his eyes searching the living room for his father. "Dad?"

Solid blue eyes fell upon a man completely passed out on the couch. His head fallen back in his seat, his mouth opened wide as he slept, his arms stretched out over the back and the arm. An empty bottle in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other; its ashes slowly falling down onto the couches fabric. Finn rolled his eyes as he dropped his bag down by the stairs, walking over to the couch and taking what was left of the cigarette out of Grays' hand and putting it into the full ash tray on the small table beside the couch. He took the empty bottle out of Grays other hand and set it down on the coffee table. The young boy looked around the area Gray had been in all weekend.

'Did you even leave this spot? Geez dad… you're hopeless without me here.' Finn sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, not knowing where to start picking up.

"Heey kid… you're home."

Finn looked back over to his father who had just woken up. He was rubbing his eyes roughly with his hand, the hangover hitting him hard. "Yeah I just got home."

Gray opened his eyes and looked around. "I didn't think you were going to be back so early… I was going to pick up."

Finn rolled his eyes and frowned, not believing that Gray was going to do much of anything before he had gotten home. He turned around and started walking to the stairs. Gray turned his body on the couch slightly. "Hey! Where are you goin'? Aren't ya gonna tell me how this weekend went?"

Finn stopped at the bottom of the stairs, turning to face his father just a few feet away on the couch. "Well… Rain misses you and wanted me to bring her home to see you."

"Why didn't you?"

Finn raised a finger to the area Gray had destroyed around the furniture. "Really dad? Did you want Rain to see her dad like this? In this state?"

Gray shrugged his shoulders slowly. "I would have cleaned up if you woulda called…."

"I didn't want her to come here and see you like this. So I told her no. She hates it at her new school, but her magic has gotten much stronger. Other than that, she seems to be doing fine."

Gray laughed slightly as he turned around, opening a new bottle and pouring it into a dirty glass on the table. "That's good to hear… she's still practicing her magic." Gray picked up the glass and brought it to his lips, drinking the warm alcohol slowly.

Finn picked up his bag and watched his father drink for a long minute. "I made her a promise that if you cleaned yourself up, I'd let her come home and see you. It's a shame it probably won't ever happen."

Gray let out a laugh as he raised his hand holding the glass into the air. "You don't think I would have cleaned up to see my own daughter? You're a funny kid, you know that? You get that from me."

Finn shook his head and rolled his eyes, his feet stepping on the stairs, wanting to get to his room quickly so he could leave again. 'Funny how you'd clean-up for her, yet I can barely get you to do anything when I ask….'

"Aren't ya gonna tell me how your mother is?"

Finn stopped on the stairs, his mind debating with itself."She's… seeing someone new."

Gray stopped his hand before the glass could reach his lips as the words entered his ears. 'So she's moved on… she's seeing someone else….'

"Is she happy?" Gray asked coolly.

Finn was actually surprised how well Gray was handling the news of his mother, but then again, he is hungover and starting to drink again. "Yeah. She seems pretty happy with this guy. Rain has a bad feeling about him but I didn't pick anything up on him."

Gray finished what was left in his glass and set the cup back down on the table. His dark eyes looking over at the picture of his smiling wife. "I'm glad she is happy."

Finn watched Gray for another moment before letting out a soft sigh and heading up the stairs, his phone going off in his pocket again. 'I just need to hurry up and get out of here. I'm sure Lily has already headed to the park by now. Not to mention I really don't feel like dealing with dad right now.'

Lily smiled as she looked at the response from Finn, glad to see that he had gotten home at a good time. She was stuck getting lectured by Gajeel and just wanted to get out of the house at this point. Gajeel stopped mid-sentence and raised a finger at his daughter.

"And who the hell are you talking to that you can't pay attention to me right now?!" He yelled angrily.

Lily's hazel eyes glared up at her father from afar. "It's no one."

Gajeel growled as he continued to yell at his daughter. "I just don't see how you need to skip out on school for a week to go to this… this… what the hell did you say it was again?!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "It's a convention for bands all over the world. We already entered in and if we win, we get a ton of money! I don't see the problem taking a week off of school to go to this thing. You're the one who is making a big deal about it." Lily's phone went off once more in her hands. She looked down and smiled, giggling slightly at Finn's response to her last text. Her fingers went to work quickly to reply back to him.

Gajeel's metal brows twitched in aggravation as he watched his daughter. "Have you forgotten that your grades have been slipping and you've been skipping quite a bit of school as it is. I don't think you should do this young lady."

"Dad, I'm old enough to make my own decisions. I'm in college for Christ sake. Just let me go do my own thing." Her eyes were down on her phone the whole time she spoke.

Gajeel's fists clenched together as he marched over to his oldest daughter. "Did you forget that it's MY money that's putting you through this college you speak of?! And who the hell are you texting so much?!"

Lily's head snapped up at her father, her hazel eyes matching his crimson orbs. She shouted as she waved her phone in the air with an attitude. "It's Finn! Ok?! Geez! Can I not talk to my best friend anymore?! I'm asking him if he can meet me up somewhere. Is that a crime now? Am I not allowed to leave the house without your permission? And as for my schooling, I'll be fine. I'm not going to fail any of my classes. I have plenty of time to get my grades back up. Now if you'll excuse me… I'm meeting my best friend up at the park."

The dark haired girl turned on her heels and marched out of the house, slamming the door behind her and leaving Gajeel speechless. Lily didn't bother looking back at him before she left the house, her mind fuming at the constant nagging from her father.

"He just doesn't understand anymore. He used to be in a band! So what the hell… why can't he juts support me and my band? It's so stupid… I wish I could just move out of there. Then I wouldn't have to deal with my dad all the time."

Finn sat on the wooden picnic table, tapping his hands on his knees as he scanned the large park around him. He watched as couples played with their children, elderly couple siting together feeding the birds at their feet, men playing with their dogs, and woman jogging together in small groups of two or three. He smiled as he breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the suns light rays falling on his skin. His blue eyes glanced down at his phone to check the time, a slight frown coming over his face. "Wonder if I should have just picked her up…"

Finn let out a breath as he looked back up, cupping his hands together as he continued to wait. As he turned his head, he noticed a girl making her way over to him, her feet stomping hard into the ground. She was wearing a dark green tank top and matching shorts, her black hair tied back into a pony tail. He watched Lily make her way up to him, anger written all over face.

His mind suddenly went back to the party over the weekend, imagining the young girl he had laid eyes upon. He could definitely see the difference in both girls now. Lily with her dark, wild, untamed hair, tanned skin, and dark colored clothing, not to mention her tough looking demeanor. The girl he saw play had light skin, and beautiful platinum blonde hair that seemed to look as calm as the young girl. She wore lighter colors and those eyes…. Finn closed his eyes for a second and imagined those blue eyes once more. Why was he drawn to those eyes so much? Was it because they were blue? Or was it because they looked so sincere and serene as she played her instrument so calmly and confidently?

Finn's thoughts ended abruptly as Lily climbed up onto the table and sat down next to Finn with a huff. His eyes opened quickly and looked over to his friend. "Hey, everything ok?"

Lily sighed as she placed her hands at either side of her body, her hazel eyes cast down at her feet. "Yeah… I just had a fight with my dad…again…"

Finn coughed slightly, trying to think of something to say to get her mind off of her father. "I uh, I invited Leo, but he said he was on a date so he wasn't able to come hang out with us."

Lily looked up and smiled at Finn. "That's ok." She leaned in to Finn, nudging him with her shoulder lightly. "I like it when it's just us hanging out. We haven't had time to do this for a while, huh?"

Finn blushed slightly and laughed lightly. "Yeah… I guess not. I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda glad he was on a date."

"Besides, you need to tell me all about this weekend! How did it go? Did you meet this mystery man you mother is seeing now?"

Finn let out a breath as he looked out to the park in front of him, putting his hands together as he spoke. "It was alright. And yes I did meet this guy. His name is Bora and he seems pretty weird, and Rain doesn't seem to like him, but… he makes my mom happy. He had this crazy party on his yacht that we went to, and I got to meet the man running the Rune Knights Academy. Bora even offered to pay for my schooling if I chose to go there."

Lily turned her body slightly, placing a hand over her chest and looking concerned at Finn. "You aren't planning on leaving me are you?!" She said jokingly.

Finn laughed slightly and pushed back into her lightly. "Yeah right. You and Leo would be lost without me if I ever left."

Lily giggled and pushed him back. "Yeah right! You don't think I'd be able to handle myself and my school work by myself?"

Finn raised a brow and turned his head to her. "Oh so you're saying I should go to this new school that's hours away from here? Ok then…" Finn slowly started to climb down from the wooden table. "I guess I'll see you on my break then!"

Lily giggled as she reached out and grabbed Finns arm, pulling him back to the table. "No don't leave me!" The two friends laughed loudly as Finn climbed back up to his seat on the table.

Lily let go of Finns' arm and wiped away a tear she shed from laughing so hard. Once she caught her breath, she asked, "So how is Rain doing? I haven't heard from her in a long time."

Finn rubbed the back of his head for a moment. "Well…"

Lily watched him and smiled slightly, her eyebrows softening. "That bad, huh?"

"She wants to come home, but I wouldn't let her. I'm sure you can guess why."

Lily looked down slightly. "Yeah… but hey, if you want, she could always come stay with me and my family. Mom really misses seeing Rain and Juvia. And maybe you could have your dad meet up with Rain somewhere for lunch?"

"I don't know… he says he would clean up for Rain if she ever came into town… but part of me just doesn't believe him. You know I came back home to see him passed out on the couch with an empty bottle in one hand and a lit cig in the other?"

Lily's eyes opened slightly as Finn spoke, almost in disbelief that things have gotten so bad with Gray. "Wow… I see what you mean. I know I wouldn't want to see that with my own parents… even though my dad is constantly making me mad all the time…"

"It's hard you know…" Finns head lowered slightly. "Trying to take care of him, go to school, and practice my magic. She said she could come home and help me out, but I just don't want her to see him. She shouldn't have to be burdened by him too."

Lily looked at Finn for a long minute before wrapping her arms around him, embracing him. "Well I think you're the best guy around here Finn. You do so much for your dad, and on top of that, you're working, going to school, and still finding time to practice magic." The young girl looked up at her friend with a smile. "I'd say you're pretty amazing and that every guy should be like you."

Finn smiled and wrapped an arm around Lily, pulling her in closer. "Thanks Lil."

The two smiled at each other, not noticing the dark clouds rolling in over them. They hadn't noticed that most of the park goers had left or were heading to their cars as they continued to talk. Their conversation ended as they both felt a few rain drops fall on their skin. Lily turned her head up and held a hand out. "Is it supposed to rain? I didn't think it was going to…"

Without a second word said from either two, rain began to pour down from the clouds, soaking them both instantly. It was hard to see through the rough rain as it came down upon them. Finn didn't think it was possible to find his car through all of this rain, he grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her in one direction. Lily didn't bother to fight his pulling, even with her dragon slayer senses, she wasn't able to see a damn thing in front of her. Finn had found a giant tree the park was famous for and stopped pulling Lily as they reached a dry spot under its leaves. The two wiped their eyes free of the water droplets and wrung out their clothes the best they could as they caught their breath.

Lily shook her hands after wringing out her tank up and looked at Finn in confusion. "I thought you were afraid of storms?"

Finn stopped ringing out his shirt and looked up at Lily, a blank look on his face for a moment. "This is just rain. I'm afraid of thunder." As he stood up straight, he looked out to the falling rain, still coming down forcefully as the wind blew it sideways. "I'm ok with the rain in fact I kinda like it."

Lily was still confused by all of this. "What are you saying? I mean, you can't get thunder without a rain storm or lightning… so how can you be afraid of one and not the other?"

Finn turned to her and smiled. "I guess I never told you."

Lily watched as Finn made his way back over to her side, sitting down in the grass and leaning up against the tree that sheltered them from the harsh rain. Lily sat down next to him and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and waited patiently for him to explain.

"You see… being an ice mage, and having part of a water mage inside of me, whenever it rains, I can feel something inside of me give me strength and power. The same thing happens to Rain too. She can tap into that power more easily than I can, but I can still sense it flowing through my veins." Finn stretched his arm out and clenched his fist as he spoke. "But ever sense I was little, every time it would thunder or lightning… I could feel something else growing inside of me. Something that scared me as a child, well… I guess something that still makes me quite nervous to this day. It feels more powerful than what the rain brings me, as if it wanted to take over me. I never knew what I meant when I was younger and I've never told my dad or mom about it, so I still don't know what it is that claws me up inside when it storms really bad. I don't know… maybe one day I'll ask my dad about it. I guess this sounds pretty dumb doesn't it? Being scared of something inside of you when it storms really bad? Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

Lily was watching Finn the whole time he spoke, thinking back to the summer house and the night she had slept beside him during the storm that rolled over him. She never knew it was something as serious as this. She was always able to sense something deep within him but never was able to put a finger on it. She didn't want to bring up the subject either anytime she would sense it. Lily finally shook her head and smiled.

"No... I don't think it's stupid. I probably would be the same way if that ever happened to me when I was younger. But Finn…" Finn looked over to Lily as she looked up at him with a smile. "Thank you for telling me. I always thought it was because you were just weak, but… I understand now. I may not know what's going on inside of you, but I'm glad you told me about it."

Finn blushed slightly as he turned his head away. "S-so you don't think it's dumb that that's the reason why I'm so scared of really bad storms?"

Lily shook her head as she brought her hands up to her shoulders as she shivered. "Nope. And honestly…" A slightly blush came over the tanned girls cheeks as she looked down at her legs. "I thought it was very mature of you to tell me about it. Even though you should talk to your parents about this."

Finn looked back over to Lily and noticed her shivering. "Geez, Lil, why didn't you tell me you were cold?" Finn quickly wrapped an arm around the girl and pulled her in close to his chest, her head and hand resting against him. Her hazel eyes widened slightly at the sudden pull from the boy next to her, slowly softening with a curl of her lips as she felt the sudden warmth from his body. Her cheeks turned slightly harder shade of red as he held her close.

"I guess I'm being the stupid one now. Not telling you that I'm cold and trying to tough it out on my own."

Finn chuckled as he placed his head on top of hers, a smile over his face as his eyes closed slightly.

Leo stared blankly at the girl across the table from him, his head resting in the palm of his hand as he thought to himself, tuning out the girl. 'Damn this is total bull… I finally get this chick to agree to go out with me and she's completely boring. The only thing she's got goin for her is her nice rack and ass. Well… she does look pretty good in this outfit… and man is she skinny. Not a bad skinny, sexy skinny…. God I wish we could just go back to my place or hers…. I'd love to get under those tight clothes of hers… ugh, probably have to put in some ear buds in case she decides to talk during sex… man that would be such a huge turn off… how could someone so hot be so boring?'

Leo sighed as he glanced down at his phone to check the time, praying it was almost time for the restaurant to close down for the night. His olive-green eyes stared at his screen in boredom, slowly turning back to the girl across from him. His eyebrows crossed slightly and Leo quickly darted his eyes back down to his phone, holding it up closer to make sure what he was seeing was real. "What the… it can't be…."

He quickly answered it while the woman across from him was talking. "Hello?..."

Rain was on the other side of the conversation, her words were slow to come out as she spoke. "Hey Leo… are you… busy right now?"

Leo jumped from his seat and started walking away from the table, a wide smile on his face as he spoke. "For you baby, I'm always free. I'm actually surprised you called. I thought you were butt dialing me, but then again that has never happened before. Then I thought, is it really Rain? Or was it just Finn trying to get a hold of me caz he lost his phone."

Rain rolled her eyes as she listened to the boy speak quickly. "Leo…"

"Yes my darling princess? By the way, I wanted to let you know, I really wanted to come see you this weekend. Finn told me I couldn't come with him. I even offered to give him gas money, said I could hide in his suitcase so he wouldn't even know I was there. But he still said no! Can you believe him? Geez. I just wanted to see my beautiful Rain and make sure she was doing well while she was away from me is all." He said as he leaned up against the wall of the restaurant, far away from any listening ears.

"Can you please be real with me for once? This is… really important…"

Leo's face became confused and serious at the tone of her voice. He stood up straight and spoke sincerely back to her. "Yeah, is… everything ok Rain?"

The girl on the other line was surprised he sounded so serious. "I… just wanted to call and ask a favor from you."

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Leos' heart raced slightly as he waited for Rain to speak.

"Can you just… please keep an eye out on my brother? And help him take care of my dad while I'm here?"

Leo was silent for a moment before a smile cracked on his face. "I'm always keeping an eye out for that goofball." Leo brought a thumb up to his chest. "I am his best friend after all! No matter what that serpent says, I'm the bestie!"

Rain rolled her eyes again but smiled. "Leo…"

Leo held up a hand in front of him and spoke seriously. "I know, I know. And I will keep an eye out on him. You know I'd do anything for you Rain."

Rain held the phone close to her ear. "I know… thank you Leo."

Leo smiled slightly. "Anytime." The blonde haired boy waited for Rain to hang up before taking his phone away from his ear, smiling down at it. He chuckled slightly as he turned back around to head back to his table. As his eyes landed on the gorgeous girl sitting down with her arms crossed over her chest, his smile faded and his mind began to think once more. "Oh yeah… I forgot…"

The rain lasted for an hour before clearing away from the park, allowing the two friends to finally emerge from under the giant trees protection. Lily stretched her arms up as she stepped back out from under the tree. Finn placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out his keys. "Want a ride back home?"

Lily brought her hands down at her sides and grinned. "Nah, I'ma walk back home. I don't think it's supposed to rain so I'm just walk." Before Finn could protest, Lily took a few steps backwards and leaned forward slightly as she spoke. "Don't worry about me Finn, I'm a strong girl, remember? I can handle myself." She smiled as she waved a hand goodbye to her friend. "Thanks for hanging out with me. I'll talk to ya later."

Finn smiled and waved a hand back, watching the girl turn around and head back home. The ice mage turned and headed for his car, thinking to himself. 'Man… that felt really good to get off my chest. Maybe I should have told her sooner. Perhaps I should talk to my dad about this too, he might know something I don't.'

Lily stopped walking after a minute and turned to watch Finn heading back to his car. A blush came back over her cheeks. 'What a goon. I'm glad you finally told me something that's been eating away at you all these years.' The dark haired girl closed her eyes and turned back around, her feet starting to move once more. 'I hope dad has calmed down some. He honestly probably would have been worse had I said I was meeting up with Chrono….' Lily's eyes opened slightly. 'Come to think of it… dad didn't get as mad at me when I said I was going to meet Finn… maybe I could say that more often and he'll finally get off my back! Yeah! That'll totally work! And maybe I can tell him that I'm going to the convention with Finn! He'll have no choice but to let me go without any problems or bitching!' Lily smirked and made fists with her hands. "Man I'm so smart. Who needs college when you've got brains like mine?"

Finn ruffled the towel over his head as he stepped into his room. The heat from the shower felt good after being soaked for so long outside. He brought his towel down to his neck and wrapped it over his shoulders as he sat down on his bed, picking up his phone and dialing Leo's number. The blonde haired boy picked up within a couple of rings.

"Yo, what's up Finn? How was your weekend?"

"Eh, can't complain too much. How did your date go?"

Leo suddenly got super excited as he spoke. "Oh man it was incredible! She called me on the phone and we talked for a bit and it was just so great to hear from her since it's been forever!"

Finn pulled the phone away from his ear as Leo spoke excitedly, returning it to his ear. "Wait… your date was over the phone? I thought you were meeting up with this girl at some restaurant?"

"What? Oh yeah, that boring chick… yeah she was hot and everything, but Rain called me during our date and I just left while this chick was talkin to talk to her. I honestly didn't think it was real at first. Thought it was just a butt dial but it wasn't! It was really Rain! And I was so happy to hear from her since someone, won't mention any names, wouldn't let me come with him to see her…."

"What did she say when she called?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders. "Just to keep an extra eye on you. She sounded pretty sad and worried about you."

Finn sighed as he listened to Leo. "Did something happen between you two? Caz she never calls me. And I mean never. And for her to call me and ask to keep an eye on you, makes me think something happened."

"We did get into a little fight, and I blurted out that I'm doing a lot back at home. I told her to give you a call caz I wouldn't let you come with me. I guess she was just trying to come up with some excuse to call you would be my guess."

Leo scoffed slightly as he smirked on the other line. "She knows full well she could come to me with anything. No excuses needed. Oh by the way, how did your hang out go at the park?"

Finn smiled as the thought about the hour under the tree with Lily, holding her close to his body to keep her warm and finally getting something off his chest to someone he could trust. "It was fun. I even told her something that I've never told anyone before."

"That's cool—hey wait! I'm the best friend! You mean to tell me that you've told Lily something you've never told me before?! What the hell man! I'm the bestie! That's cold! Tell me what you told her!"

Finn laughed lightly as he spoke. "Maybe another time, Leo. I'm going to bed so I'll see you at school tomorrow. Good night."

"Wait! I gotta know! Don't hang up—"

Finn hit the end call button and set his phone down on his nightstand, closing his eyes as he fell back onto his bed.

"Thank you for telling me. I always thought it was because you were just weak, but… I understand now. I may not know what's going on inside of you, but I'm glad you told me about it."

Finns cheeks grew warm as he heard her voice in his head once more. The young boy smacked himself in the head as he growled at himself. "If I could tell her that without any problems, why can't I just tell her that I love her?!" Finn ran his hand through his blue hair and closed his eyes. "I should tell her. If it was that easy to tell her my deepest secret, then how come it's so hard to say three simple words?"

AN:

I hope you all enjoyed… I honestly debated with myself while writing this…

Should I have let Rain go home with Finn?

Should I have her call Leo or no?

(insert many other ideas with Rain that could have happened…)

Anywhos! I hope to get another chapter up soon! :) thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming please and thank you!