AN: Chapter 15
Ok, so, couple of things… I know a lot of you have followed the stories since Angel with a Shotgun and Last Goodbye, so as you could all assume, chapter 15 usually is the one where all the bad stuff happens and I leave a really bad cliffhanger at the end…. Well I'm here to tell ya that in this chapter…. That's not gonna happen. Lol (its either chapter 15 or 16 that I just happened to write the craziness and leave a cliffhanger) anywhos, I'm not gonna say that this chapter is all sunshine and rainbows, but since this story is going to be longer than the other two, I actually had to split this chapter into 2! It was getting super long and so I decided to split it since I still have so much to write in the next one.
This chapter also moves around a bit more than the last one. Overall I'm pretty pleased about it and since MsKtk is helping me come up with so many awesome ideas for what to do next, I should be able to fly right through these chapters! So there is hope in the future that I can post one chapter (possibly two) a week again! Yay! Anwyhos! Enough of my blabbering. Enjoy the chapter everyone!
Replies at bottom! Also! PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPTER! It really means a lot to me that you guys are reviewing and please continue to do so! :)
Lily opened the front door to her house, stepping inside and setting her soaked shoes down on the tiled floor, her bare feet dirty from walking home without any shoes on. She quickly closed the door and tip toed down the small hallway, praying her father was not awake. Hazel eyes glanced around, a smirk coming over the girls' lips as she noticed that no one was down stairs at the time. "Man I'm super lucky no one is down here… now just to change, get a few things, clean up my mess and head back out!"
As Lily placed a hand on the railing to head up to her room, a deep voice stopped her, sending chills down her spine at the tone of his voice. "You care to tell me where the hell you've been?!"
Lily turned to face her father with his arms across his chest, crimson eyes piercing down at hazel. Lily frowned and turned her head up and away from Gajeel. "I told you, I went to meet up with Finn."
"Then why the hell you are soaked to the bone?" Gajeel said as he glared daggers at Lily as her attitude began to show.
The young girl scoffed before she spoke, her head shaking slightly in annoyance as her eyes slowly looked back towards her father. "We got rained on. What else could have happened?"
Gajeel threw his hands up in the air, his voice rising. "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?! You are constantly leaving this house, you won't tell anyone where you are going or who you are going with! And sometimes you don't come home at all! What the hell am I supposed to think?!"
As Levy came into the room from the kitchen, her arms carrying Pantherlily lightly, a concerned look came over her face. "Gajeel, please keep your voice down. You promised you weren't going to get too upset about this."
Gajeel snapped his head back towards Levy. "I KNOW WHAT I SAID! Damn it! You don't have to remind me." His dark gaze came back to Lily. "How the fuck am I supposed to believe you Lil when you are constantly doing things that you shouldn't be doing?" Gajeel's' eyes widened slightly as he raised a finger to his daughter. "You aren't doing drugs are you?!"
"Gajeel!" Levy said quickly.
"What?! I'm just askin' caz I was in a band too and I know what goes on in those things."
Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yes. Dad. I'm secretly doing drugs. You caught me." Her tone sarcastic as she folded her arms across her chest, pushing out her hip to one side.
"I FUCKING KNEW IT! YOU SEE WHAT THAT DUMB ASS KID HAS DONE TO OUR DAUGHTER?!" Gajeel said as he looked back to Levy who shook her head lightly.
"Gajeel, do you honestly believe she's doing drugs? She was clearly being sarcastic!"
"Look, she sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night, isn't going to school and is letting her grades slip dramatically, hell knows who she's hanging out with, and again, she's in a band! What else am I to suspect?"
"Maybe you can just for once believe me!" Lily said as she turned away from the large dragon slayer, heading up the stairs angrily.
Gajeel stepped after her, his voice still quite loud. "Oi! I ain't done talkin' to you!"
Lily snapped her body around, her hand grasping the railing tight as she yelled back. "What the hell do you want?! I've got somewhere I've gotta be!"
"You ain't going nowhere little girl! And you are forbidden to go to that convention! If I need to watch yer ass 24/7 then so be it! You think you've got it bad now, I'll start taking away everything you own, start taking you to school and joining you in all of your classes, then bring yer ass back home! I'll make sure you have no free time to sneak outta here to go see your idiot boyfriend, claiming that you are going to see that ice mage! How does that sound?! Sound like fun to you?!"
Lily's eyes grew angry as she listened to Gajeel speak. "Why can't you just leave me alone or trust me for once?!"
"IT'S HARD TO TRUST YOUR CHILD WHEN THEY CONSTANTLY LIE TO YOU WHO HEY ARE WITH AND SNEAKING OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR DAYS ON END!"
"You act as though I'm still a child! I'm a fucking adult you know! And when have I lied to you?! I was being truthful when I said I was with Finn! And I sneak out of here because I can't stand this place! I can't stand YOU! YOU'RE SUCH AN ASS! God! I wish I was never part of this family!" The dark haired girl turned quickly before Gajeel could get another word out, storming to her room.
The dragon slayer stood there on the stairs, wide eyed and speechless. His daughters' words ringing through his ears.
"Daddy! Daddy! Look at me! I'm just like mommy!"
The dragon slayer turned around on the stairs quietly, his eyes shaded as he could hear his little girl's voice.
"Daad! Wake up! Wake up! You promised to teach me how to play the drums today!"
Gajeel sat down heavily on the bottom step, his hands moving to his forehead.
"I love you daddy."
"I can't stand YOU! YOU'RE SUCH AN ASS! I wish I was never part of this family!"
Gajeel's voice was low as he spoke. "She wishes she was never part of this family…"
Levy made her way to her husband, placing a hand on his large shoulder. "Gajeel… I'm sure she didn't mean it. She probably said it out of anger."
"No, she's just like me… she meant every word." Levy sighed as she let Pantherlily go, sitting down beside the iron dragon slayer. "She was the best thing that had ever happened to us for the longest time… and now…" Gajeel's' fist clenched tightly as they fell between his legs. "Where did I go wrong with her?"
Pantherlily watched as Levy wrapped an arm around Gajeel's' shoulders, trying to comfort him silently as he thought to himself. The exceed turned his attention to the closed door upstairs, thinking that maybe his words could calm the girl down enough to talk things through with her father. Pantherlily flew up the stairs and opened the closed door to Lily's room. He remained calm as he closed the door behind him and watched the dark haired girl packing a bag full of clothes. He raised a brow and flew over to her side.
"You didn't really mean what you said back there to your father, did you Lily?"
Without taking her eyes off her clothes she threw angrily into her bag, she spoke back to the exceed. "Yes, every fucking word. I'm sick of him giving me the third degree interrogation."
"So what are you planning to do now?"
"What's it look like? I'm leaving this place for a while. Did he send you up here to find out what I'm doing and where I'll go? Caz I'm not going to tell you."
Pantherlily moved out of the girls' way as she quickly turned around and headed for a small drawer in her nightstand, pulling out a hairbrush, a few bandanas, and headbands. "He didn't know I came up here. I was merely concerned about you. I was hoping you and I could talk and maybe eventually go back down to talk to your father and—"
"You're just wasting your time Pantherlily. I'm not going to talk about this to anyone. I'm leaving for a while. So why do you care to try to work things out with me and my stupid father?" Lily stormed back to her bag and shoved the small items into it, growling angrily as some other items started to fall out from the over packed bag.
"Lily, I have been part of this family for many years. I care about all of you. Especially you and your father." The small exceed floated down to her bed by the bag, half smiling as he spoke. "I'm also your cat. Remember?"
Lily quickly zipped up the bag, throwing it over her shoulder and making her way to the window. Her voice was cold and unloving. "You aren't my cat. You're his. And I could care less about any of them right now." The young girl opened the window roughly and threw her bag out, her body quickly following without looking back at the exceed that stood on the bed, his eyes wide in disbelief. Pantherlily fell back onto the blanket, his heart shattered into a million pieces.
Tears began to fill his dark eyes as his head hung down slightly. "I was always your friend Lily…. I was your cat ever since you were born…. How could you have let your mind become so clouded that you have forgotten everything we've been through?"
Finn closed the fridge door as he tossed a bottle of water into his other hand, heading back up to his room for the night. "Do you need anything else before I go to bed, dad?"
Gray exhaled a puff of smoke as he twisted his cigarette into the ash tray, turning his body and laying down on the couch, his arms going behind his head. "Another bottle of whiskey would be nice."
Finn rolled his eyes as he stepped onto the stairs. "Goodnight dad. I'll see you in the morning." Gray mumbled words, inaudible to Finn as the boy made his way up the stairs. Minutes had gone by since Finn had left Gray alone down stairs, the ice mages' thoughts flooding his head as he laid on the couch staring up at the ceiling, the only source of light was the small lamp on the table next to him.
The ice mage groaned as he sat back up after a few minutes, staggering to stand on his own two feet. Once he knew he had his footing, he slowly made his way to the kitchen in search of anything he could get his hands on. He hadn't been the one doing the shopping so he knew Finn hadn't bought any kind of alcoholic drink for him in ages. He opened the cabinets and searched high and low with no luck. He let out a sigh as he opened the fridge. Nothing. He grinned as he shook his head, secretly cursing his son for buying healthy drinks and foods instead of fuel for his escape. Gray made his way back to the couch in the other room, rubbing the back of his head in disappointment.
"Guess this means I'm gonna have to go out tomorrow…."
A knock on the door stopped the ice mage in his tracks, his cool eyes moving to the door. "Who could that be at this hour? Maybe I'm just imagining things." Gray grinned as he moved his hand to the front of his face. "Maybe my mind is playing games with me… like Juvia would ever come back here to see me at this hour."
Another knock on the door made Gray look back to the door, his feet turning towards the door. The dark haired man stood silently in front of the wooden door, his hand hesitating as it reached out for the knob. Grays' eyes widened slightly as a voice came from outside.
"Hello? Is someone there? I can hear you on the other side. Is that you Finn? Please let me in… I… I don't have anywhere else to go…."
Gray's eyes grew annoyed as he swung the door open, seeing Lily holding her over stuffed bag in her hands, her whole body completely soaked. The young girl smiled slightly as she took a step back.
"Oh, um…. Hi Uncle Gray. Is Finn home?"
Gray looked over the girl, wondering why she had stated she had nowhere else to go. Lily shifted her weight in her shoes nervously, unsure if the man before her could tell who was in front of him. She turned her body slightly, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "I'll just… leave now. Sorry to bother you so late."
"He's upstairs." Gray said coolly, moving aside to let Lily in the house.
The girl stared at the ice mage in the doorway, unable to really read his body language. "Um… thanks…" She slowly made her way past him, taking off her shoes she had walked over in and quickly making her way to Finn's room upstairs, not wanting to get caught in an awkward conversation with Gray.
The script mage let out a soft breath in front of Finn's door before knocking lightly. 'I hope he's still awake… I feel horrible for coming by so late…'
Lily could hear feet scrambling to get to the bedroom door, and curse from the young ice mage as he stubbed his toe on something inside his room. Lily smiled as she heard Finn on the other side. As the ice mage mumbled to himself, he swung the door open, completely surprised to see Lily.
"Lily! What are you doing here?"
Lily giggled as she looked down at Finn. "Why don't you put on some pj pants and then we can talk. Unless you don't mind me seeing you in just your boxer shorts."
The girl winked at the ice mage as he looked down, completely forgetting he was just in his boxers. He closed the door with a gasp and rushed to his dresser to find something to wear. A minute later he rushed back to his door, opening it and letting her in. "So… what are you doing here again?" He asked quite confused as he shut the door. Lily held onto her bag tightly as she turned around to face Finn.
"I… kinda got into a huge fight with my dad when I got home… and… I was hoping I could stay here for a while until things settled down." Hazel eyes looked up from the ground to solid blue ones. Finn jumped slightly and rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.
"Lil… I-I don't know. I think you should try to work this out with your dad first…."
Lily's head hung back down, her fist tightening around the bags straps. "I said some awful things, Finn… I don't know if I could show my face to my father right now…"
Finn stared at the girl a few feet away from him. Her body began to shake slightly as her voice sounded broken. "I have nowhere else to go or anyone else to turn to… please… just let me stay here for a while."
Finn took a step towards her. "Lily… what exactly did you say that you can't go back home? You know you can tell me."
"I…" Lily started. "I told Pantherlily to his face that he wasn't my cat… and I told my dad that he was an ass… that he never believes me and that I was an adult. I said that I couldn't stand that place, that I couldn't stand him…" She paused for a second as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I told him I wish I was never part of the family and that I could care less about any of them…."
Finn grew angry at Lily's last statement. His fists clenched together as he shook in place. Lily continued as she stared at the floor beneath her. "So you can see why I can't go back there…."
Finns jaw clenched as he rushed towards the girl, his hands grabbing her shoulders quickly and pushing her back onto his bed a few feet behind her, causing the dark haired girl to drop her bag unexpectedly. Lily's eyes looked up and widened at the sudden push from Finn. She looked up into his eyes as he pinned her down, anger in his face.
"How could you say that?! Did you honestly mean what you said?!"
Lily's eyes filled with tears once more. "No! I swear I didn't! I just said that because I was angry! I'm tired of being treated like a child! And in his eyes, that's all I'll ever be!"
"Look at you now Lil! You're acting like a child! Saying things you don't mean, and running away from a problem!"
Lily couldn't believe the ice mage was the same boy from earlier. He had never been this forceful or angry with her before. Her eyes softened as she brought her hands up to her face, hiding her shame. "Please, Finn… I know what I said was stupid, and I swear I didn't mean a word of it… I was just… so angry."
Finn softened his grip on her shoulders, slowly pulling her back up and holding her in his arms, embracing her tightly. "I get angry at my dad too… but I've never said anything like that to him. You're such an idiot Lily…."
Lily buried her face in his chest. "I know…"
Finn sighed as he let her go. 'But you're my idiot…' He watched her wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. His solid blue eyes looked her over. She was still wet from when they were at the park, which meant she hadn't properly dried herself off or cleaned her feet off for that matter as his eyes glanced down at the dirt stained feet. "Look… you can stay here for a few days, but on one condition."
Lily looked at Finn, her fists coming up to her chest. "Anything!"
"You have to go to school with me every day that you stay here. No excuses, and you have to stay the whole day."
Lily's arms fell down at her sides quickly, her eyes glaring at the clever ice mage. "Are you serious?"
"Hey! I'm not the one who got into a fight with my dad and basically refused to stay at home! Now if you don't want to go to school, I'm sure Leo could offer you a room at his parents' house."
Lily shuddered at the thought. "Fine… I'll go to school. But you better not tell anyone you saw me cry like that! Or tell them what I told you!"
"Seriously Lil? You think I'm that kind of person?"
Lily looked away, her face softening once more. "No… I know you're not… I just… I feel so stupid for acting this way. And for crying in front of you."
Finn smiled as his place a hand over her dark, wet hair. "Hey, who knew? You can be an adult when you want to be. Admitting you were stupid to act in such a way is quite grown up of you."
Lily growled and punched Finn in the arm. "Shut up! Don't make fun of me!"
Finn simply laughed and rubbed his arm. "Why don't you go clean up and I'll set up a spot on the floor for myself to sleep on."
Lily raised a brow as she picked up her bag. "Why are you sleeping on the floor? This is your house and I'm the guest. Besides you have a queen. Why can't we just sleep in the same bed?"
Finn shrugged and walked past her, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I don't mind sleeping on the floor honestly." The ice mage didn't want to admit that he would love nothing more than to sleep next to the tanned skin beauty in his queen sized bed, but knew that would only be a recipe for trouble. "Just go shower and come on back. I should have everything set up for you by then."
Lily smiled as she headed for the door, pausing for a moment. "By the way… does your dad hate me or something? He was acting really weird when I was at the door."
Finn swallowed a lump in his throat. 'I can't tell her the truth… it'll kill her…' The ice mage turned around to face Lily, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, no, he's probably still a bit drunk. You know he is towards everyone when he gets like that."
Lily's head turned to look at the boy behind her as he spoke. She could sense he wasn't being entirely truthful from the looks of his body and gestures, but didn't press the subject. Finn let out a sigh as she left the room, thankful she didn't push the subject.
Lily's phone went off early in the morning, causing Finn to stir in his blanket on the floor. He slowly cracked an eye open to look at the time, groaning and rolling over seeing how he had another 10 minutes before he had to get ready for school. Lily's hand reached out from under the covers, searching blindly for her phone that just wouldn't stop ringing. Once the slender hand found what it had been searching for, it slowly brought it back under the covers to the girls' ear. A tired voice answered it softly.
"Hello?"
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! YOUR MOTHER AND I HAVE BEEN UP ALL NIGHT WAITING FOR YOU TO COME BACK HOME! WE ARE WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOUR DUMB ASS! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?!"
Lily held the phone away from her ear as she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as Gajeel shouted into the phone on the other end. She waited until he was finished shouting before returning the phone back to her ear. "Geez, dad… it's too early for this… I'm perfectly fine if you must know."
"THAT'S FINE AND DANDY, KID, BUT YOU STILL HAVENT TOLD ME WHERE THE FUCK YOU ARE RIGHT NOW! ARE YOU WITH CHRONO? SO HELP ME GOD I'M GOING TO KILL HIM AND KICK YOUR ASS!"
Lily could hear her mother in the background, shouting at Gajeel that he needs to calm down. She smirked when she heard her mother say that he goes from one to seven in a split second, that he has no middle ground when he gets worked up like this.
"For your information, I stayed at Finn's last night. And I've gotta go now and get ready for school."
"WAIT! WHAT!? YOU'RE WITH FINN? ARE YOU PULLING MY LEG?! YOU'RE JUST LYING AND YOU'RE SECRETLY WITH CHRONO AREN'T YOU?!"
Lily sighed as she took the phone away from her ear once more. The older girl climbed out of the bed and leaned down to Finn, putting the phone by his face. "Finn tell my dad that I stayed the night here and that I'm with you and not Chrono."
Finn was in a daze and confused at what she had just asked of him. "Wha? What's going on? What do you want?"
Lily took the phone back and put it up to her ear. "See? I'm with Finn. Now I've gotta go get ready for school." Lily could hear Gajeel continue yelling at her as she moved the phone away, hitting the end call button and throwing her phone on the bed. Finn groaned as he sat up, his hands resting in between his legs as he stared tiredly ahead of him.
"What the… she hung up on me!" Gajeel said in disbelief as he stared at his phone. A low growl escaping his throat. Levy sighed as she looked at Gajeel, her hands brushing Levianas' hair. "Gajeel, I told you. You have no middle ground. You have to talk to her more calmly, remember she's just like you."
"Lily is with Finn?! I want to go sleep with Finn too!" Leviana said excitedly as she overheard her father and Lily on the phone. Gajeel turned and pointed at his youngest daughter.
"Oh hell no! That ice mage ain't gettin' both of my daughters! I won't allow it!" The iron dragon slayer slammed his phone down on the table and stormed away from the room. Levy shook her head as she continued to brush her daughters' hair.
"Leviana, please don't aggravate your father anymore."
The young girl stuck out her lip in a pout. "But it's not fair that Lily gets to have Finn all by herself… I want to marry him and Leo one day! They are my future husbands!"
Levy closed her eyes lightly as she laughed slightly. "Sweetie, it doesn't work like that. And besides…. I think they are a little too old for you. And I think their hearts belong to another."
Leviana stuck out her tongue as she listened to her mother, not wanting to believe that she wasn't allowed to be with the two boys one day when she is older.
"Why did we stay up so late talking?" He asked as his eyes closed lightly. Lily came down to where he was and put her head on his shoulder.
"Caz you're by best friend and you'd do anything for me. Even if that means you get very little sleep before a school night."
Finn groaned again as a hand came up to his face, rubbing it roughly as he tried to wake up. "I haven't stayed up that late in a long time… man today is gonna suck…"
The script mage wrapped her arms around Finn's shoulders, moving her head so that her chin now rested on his shoulder. "So why don't we just not go into school today?"
Finn chuckled slightly. "Nice try. We're goin to school Lil. Come on, before my dad wakes up and starts bitching that there's nothing for him to drink in the house. Although I think he already knows I didn't pick anything up for him."
Lily moaned as she let him go, not wanting to go anywhere from the lack of sleep. "I'm starting to regret my decision of staying here."
As Finn stood, he laughed lightly. "You'll be fine. School isn't that bad if you remember."
Lily glared at Finn. "Don't we have that one class today that I always skipped and had you copy the notes for me?"
"Mhm."
Lily sat down on the bed with a huff. "Great. Let's just hope I can stay awake enough for it."
Gajeel marched up to Gray's front door, pounding his large fists against it. "Oi! Ice boy! Open up! I want my daughter back!"
Gajeel continued to pound his fist angrily against the door until Gray opened it, an annoyed look on his face.
"Gajeel? What are you doing here?"
The iron dragon slayer pushed past Gray, letting himself in as his nose sniffed the air. "Where is she?! I know she came here last night!" Gajeel's' nose picked up a hint of Lily but mostly got the scent of alcohol and cigarettes. He brought his fingers to his nose, closing it tightly as he turned around to face Gray. "Where is she Gray?!"
Gray shoved his hands in his pocket and walked past Gajeel without a word. He made his way back to the couch in the living room and sat down, lighting up a new cigarette. "They left for school a while ago."
Gajeel growled and walked around to stand in front of Gray. "This is all your sons fault! You know that?!"
Gray's eye brows lowered slightly as he let out smoke slowly. "What are you talking about Gajeel?"
"Your son is the reason why my daughter has been skipping school lately and who knows what's she's been doin' with him! He's a horrible influence who just wants to get into her pants!"
"Maybe you should take a closer look at your own daughter. She's the one who is constantly distracting Finn from everything else around him. Coming to him when she's got a problem, probably already tried to sleep with him caz from what I hear, she gets around quite a bit. Not to mention that temper of hers."
Gajeel growled and grabbed Gray's shirt roughly, pulling him up closer to his face quickly. "What the fuck did you just say about my daughter?!"
"You heard me. But then again, look at the fine example she's given by her father."
"You know that's not what I was askin' about! You sayin' my little girl sleeps around with guys all the time?!"
"I hear that lately she's been gettin' hers so yeah… I'm sayin' she's sleeping around with guys and probably my son by now. She uses him to get what she wants. Even if that means getting her off."
Gajeel's blood was boiling as Gray spoke ill of Lily. He wouldn't believe a word the ice mage was saying. His body began to shake in anger as he clenched his teeth together, his crimson eyes burning holes into Gray as he stared back coolly. "You bastard!" The dragon slayer let go with one hand, pulling it back and forcing it quickly into Grays face. He let the ice mage go, dropping him to the floor before kneeling down and lifting him back up by the shirt once more. He could see the newly bruised eye Gray had received from his fist as he pulled his face closer to his. "YOU THINK YOU'RE SUCH A GREAT EXAMPLE FOR YOUR SON?! LOOK AT YOU! HUNG UP ON A WOMAN AND CAN BARELY TAKE OF YOUR OWN DAMN SELF! I MAY NOT BE THE GREATEST MAN WHEN DEALING WITH MY DAUGHTER AND HER TEMPER, BUT AT LEAST I OWN UP TO MY RESPONSIBLITIES AND DON'T LEAVE THEM TO MY CHILD!" Gajeel's fist went back and swung forward once more, landing on Grays' jaw. "YOU'RE SO PATHETIC!"
Gray grinned as he wiped the blood from his lip away, his cold eyes looking up at Gajeel. "You're one to talk. You're so pathetic you blame my son for your daughters acting out, when Finn has done nothing to aid in her antics. He's too busy trying to go to school, work, and train. Unlike someone else we know."
Gajeel's metal brows crossed as he growled once more. He shoved Gray backwards as he stood, his fists clenched at his sides. "Keep your son away from my daughter. I won't let him bring her down further than she already is. And don't think I'll let him step one foot in my house."
Gray sat up against the couch, a smirk on his face as Gajeel stormed out of his house. He was thankful for what little drink he had earlier. He could still feel the slight sting from the punches but was thankful he had drank just enough to keep the pain slightly numb at the moment. "Had I not had anything this morning, this probably would feel way worse…"
Gajeel mumbled under his breath as he entered his house, slamming the front door behind him and heading to the bathroom to wash the small amount of blood off his hand. Levy could hear the dragon slayer stomping past the living room, his expression looking quite angry still. She stood up and followed him to the bathroom. Before she reached the door, she could hear running water from the sink. "Gajeel?"
"Don't come in here Levy." Gajeel said quickly as he rushed to clean the blood from his hand. The script mage didn't listen to the large man, turning the corner and looking inside the bathroom. Her hazel eyes followed the path his crimson eyes were fixed on. She noticed the blood washing off from his hand down the sink drain. Her head tilted slightly.
"Gajeel… no. You didn't, did you?"
"He asked for it! You don't know what he was sayin' bout our daughter!"
Levy stuck her hands out in front of her as she raised her voice. "It was probably true! Or at least most of it!"
Gajeel's' eyes darted towards Levy. "Are you taking that stupid pathetic idiots side over mine?!"
"I'm not taking anyone's side Gajeel. I'm just saying, Lily has been bringing this upon herself. It has nothing to do with Chrono, or Finn, or anyone else. Well, you might have a bit to do with it. Considering you can't keep yourself in check when you're around her. And you know very well she's just like you!"
Gajeel looked down at the porcelain sink, his hands clenching the sides tightly as he listened to Levy. "You think I don't know that?"
Levy sighed as she turned around, walking away from the bathroom. "You seem to forget that fact anytime you yell at her Gajeel. It's no wonder she yells back just as loud."
Solid blue eyes struggled to stay awake as the instructor spoke with his monotone voice, explaining his equations that were written on the board. Finn kept his eyes on the board for a while, only turning them down occasionally to jot down important information he didn't understand fully. The class was only half way over, but to Finn, it felt like it was lasting an eternity. 'As if this class wasn't hard enough to follow… this sleep deprivation is not helping me at all. And of course he'd go over something new today when I'm half awake and struggling to stay awake.'
Finn felt a sudden touch on his arm from something light. He glanced out of the corner of his eye down at a small note that had hit him. His eyes moved up slightly in the direction it had come from. He saw Lily mouthing something to him and pointing down towards the note beside his arm. He looked back at the instructor as he pulled the note closer to him with his arm, making sure that the old man's back was turned before opening the note.
"Hey, I just wanted to thank you again. For everything Finn. I really do appreciate you and everything you've done for me."
Finn smiled and glanced back up at the instructor. As soon as his back was turned he began to write back on the same note. "It's cool, Lil. It's not a big deal really." The ice mage folded it back up and tossed it back to the girl, who without checking to see if the instructor was looking or not, opened the note. She smiled as she wrote back something quickly, folded it and sent it back Finn's way. Finn smiled and fought back laughter as he read.
"It is a big deal! I mean just listen to this guy talk! How are you able to stay awake in this class?! Let alone take notes for yourself and me?! You're incredible! I can barely keep up with this guy he's so boring. We could just get out of here you know… it's not that hard. And before you look up at me, yes I know. I was joking. I made you a promise to stay in school while I stay with you. I just don't know how much more I can take before I fall asleep! Oh! By the way… want to get away with me next week? I'm supposed to go with the band to this week long convention, try to win us some money and get noticed by some bigger labels. Whatcha think?"
Finn pondered around with the thought of going away for a full week with Lily. On one hand, it would be absolutely perfect for the two of them to spend more time together, maybe even give Finn a chance to express his true feelings for her. On the other, he'd have to deal with Chrono. When she mentions the band, he is sure to follow. Finn has gotten lucky for a while now because he hasn't seen the ice mages face in forever.
"I don't know Lil, missing a week of school is quite a bit much… not to mention I'd have to get time off work and make sure my dad will be ok. A week is more than just a couple of days. I'll have to think about it."
Lily quickly responded to his last message, tossing back the note. "It'll be fuuuunn! I promise! Just let me know soon!"
Finn shook his head as he looked over to Lily who had one elbow up on her desk, her chin resting in the palm and a sweet smile over her face. Finn returned the smile just before he went back to his notes.
The class had finally ended and the two friends made their way outside of the class room, both laughing heartedly as they continued to joke about their instructor.
"Geez I mean could you be more boring? Man that was rough… I commend you Finn for putting up with all of that for so long."
Finn wiped a small tear away from his eye. "I honestly didn't realize how bad it was until today. I always come in here quite refreshed with plenty of sleep."
Lily rubbed the back of her wild hair, laughing lightly. "Yeah, sorry bout that!"
The two continued to laugh and walk until someone stopped them in their tracks. The both stared at the blonde haired boy who had a look of disbelief over his face and a finger pointed right at the two of them.
"What are you doing here?!" he asked as he pointed at Lily. His attention quickly turning to Finn. "And you! What are you doing with her?! And why are you two so giddy?" Leo's eyes widened as thoughts crossed his mind. "Wait…" The blonde haired boy grabbed Finn and pulled him a few feet away from Lily, whispering to Finn softly. "Did you two…" Leo began to say as he put his two index fingers together. "…last night?"
Finn quickly shook his head and pushed Leo away slightly, his face turning red. "What?! No!... no!"
Leo held up his hands at his side as he shrugged his shoulders. "Well! What else am I supposed to think?! I'm usually pretty damn happy after I get laid!"
Lily crossed her arms over her chest as she burned a look into Leo. "You guys know I can hear you."
Leo brushed her off and went back to Finn. "Seriously dude. You can tell me. Did you get with the serpent last night?"
Finn smacked himself in the head as he spoke. "Leo, no. I didn't do anything but talk with Lil last night. She's just staying with me for a few days is all."
Leo grinned as he rubbed his chin. "Oooh… so you are planning to wait to do the deed." He slapped a hand on Finn's shoulder and pulled him in close. "I'm proud of you man. You're planning on making your first time with her super romantic. Mhm. Mhm. Sounds like a plan. Now look, if you need any advice on anything, just come to me. I know quite a bit."
Finn removed Leo's arm and headed back over to Lily. His embarrassment grew as he saw the people around him staring as they passed, intrigued by what was being said. A few laughed at the mention of Finn still being a virgin, others laughing at Leo. He grabbed Lily's arm and began to pull her away from the growing crowd as Leo yelled out to him.
"There's nothing wrong with waiting dude! Some girls find that to be kinda romantic and sweet!"
'Oh my god I'm going to kill him! Just stop talking Leo!'
Finn blushed brightly as he stepped out of his car, his mind was stuck on the thought of being with Lily romantically ever since Leo had mentioned it. It didn't help that Lily kept making fun at how cute he was when he was blushing through the rest of the school day. She smiled kindly as she walked up behind him to the front door.
"You know, tomorrows classes shouldn't be too bad, so I think if we stay up late again, we should still be able to get through the day better than today. Whatcha think?"
Finn frowned as his eye brows leveled out. "I think I'ma make some dinner, do my homework and then pass out. This is the only night I have off from work and training. So id honestly prefer not to stay up too late tonight."
Lily giggled as she put her hands behind her back. "Ok, ok… I'll try not to keep you up tonight. But you did say if I ever needed to talk, I could just come to you whenever!"
"Yeah I know I said that…" Finn opened the door after he unlocked the deadbolt. A smile on his face as he looked back at Lily as he stepped into the house. "But I also need to be able to sleep so I can continue to help you when you need it!"
As Lily entered the house, her nose picked up on a familiar scent, one that was still lingering from hours ago. She paused near the door, looking past Finn into the living room. 'Was my dad here?'
"Dad, we're home. You here?" Finn called out as he walked into the next room. Lily was close behind him, expecting her father to jump out from the corner to shout at her some more. Finn turned around and noticed his father coming out from the bathroom down the hall. "Hey, you are home. I'll get started on dinner as soon as I put my stuff upstairs. Did you want anything—" Blue eyes caught the glimpse of a black eye and a swollen jaw on Gray, shock coming over him immediately. "What the hell happened to you?"
Gray scoffed as he raised a brow. "Her dad happened."
Lily's eyes widened slightly. "My dad was here?"
Finn took a step towards his father. "What do you mean? Gajeel came by? Why?"
Gray looked coolly at his son, anger starting to build back up inside of him. "He was lookin' for his daughter. He also mentioned some stuff that I couldn't believe was true. So I told him some truths about her and he socked me in the face a couple times." Gray moved back to the spot on the couch and sat down. "Probably didn't want to hear the real truth about his own daughter."
Finn moved to the front of Gray, his expression was just as angry as Grays. "What the hell are you talking about?! What did you say to Gajeel?!"
"Just that she's using you to get what she wants. That she's the one distracting you from everything else in your life. And how she's—"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Finn shouted. Lily stood off to the side, her fists clenched at her sides as she watched father and son argue.
'What is he talking about? Is he just saying these things because he's drunk again?' Lily thought to herself as she watched Finn get fired up.
"YOU DON'T KNOW HOW SHE REALLY IS! YOU GUYS JUST SEE WHAT YOU WANT TO BELIEVE! LILY IS THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME SANE IN THIS STUPID HOUSE! IN THIS WHOLE TOWN! SO DON'T YOU DARE TALK BAD ABOUT HER! AND LOOK WHO'S TALKING DAD! YOU'RE STILL SO DISTRACTED BY YOUR LOVE FOR MOM THAT YOU WON'T SIGN THOSE STUPID PAPERS OR GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY ANYTHING!" Finn could feel his magic inside of him burning, itching to get out in any form.
Gray stared back at his son, his voice getting just as loud. "SHE IS NOT WELCOME IN MY HOUSE ANY LONGER! I SUGGEST YOU GET HER OUT OF HERE NOW!"
"Fine! But if she's no longer allowed in this house, then I'm fucking leaving too. Oh and guess what? I'm going with her next week to a convention. After it's over, I might consider coming back home to help take care of you."
"You can't go with her! I forbid you!"
Finn shook his head as he smiled. "What are you going to do? Stop me? You can barely stand some days. You won't do anything to stop me. And I won't let you." With the end of his statement, Finn walked away and headed up stairs to pack a few things up. Lily quickly followed him up, not wanting to be stuck with a man who doesn't want her there.
"Finn… please don't leave because of me. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble. I swear my dad's an idiot. He can't just handle things calmly. He goes from one to seven in a split second." She walked over to the ice mage and placed a hand on his, causing him to stop packing his clothes for a moment. "I'll just leave. It's not a big deal."
"No. I'm tired of him talking trash about you. And I'm tired of him telling me I can't do anything when he won't do what I tell him to do. He won't sign those stupid divorce papers and he won't clean himself up. So why should I care?"
"He's your father, Finn. Don't make the same mistake I did with my dad."
Finn moved away from Lily, grabbing more clothes from his dresser to last him a couple of weeks. "No. it's different with my dad. I have to do this. I'm taking us somewhere else then come next week, I'm taking us to the convention. I deserve some time away from him that's not just a couple of days."
"Where are we gonna go?"
AN: ….I am a horrible person to Pantherlily…. *tears* buuuut on the other hand…. Finn. Hmm? Can we say how awesome he's being? I originally was going to have him say dad… fuck you… but I decided to have him say something else. Basically telling him f you but nicer. I feel like him straight up saying fuck you is more lily than finn.
NavyNinjaHo: Why for you so mean to Rain?! ;-;
Finny-Kun Goddess: lol well unfortunately I have plans for Rain later on. So I can't have her call Leo to come get her as much as I would love nothing more than to do that.
Depressica: you are most welcome :) and yes! Thank you for noticing! It's only going to get even more interesting as the next few chapters come out.