AN: Chapter 17

So this chapter starts out pretty… interesting. Cute things happen towards the end. :) hope you guys enjoy!

**Song in this chapter is called, I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. I own nothing!**

NavyNinjaHo: ok, just checking caz it sounded more like you were trying to give ideas when I didn't need any. And yes, I threw that in there because that's just how leo thinks. His mind is always in the gutter. I feel like chrono would not like that very much.

Guest 1: yes she is spoiled, but keep in mind, she was an only child for a very long time so she is used to getting what she wants, when she wants. Finn knows shes using him sometimes, but he has so much love for her that he doesn't see it that way most of the time. Or he just doesn't think about it. Thank you very much for liking what I do :)

Finny-Kun Goddess: haha I have a bit more of LoLu in the beginning here ;) and who knows? Maybe Finn will finally confess to Lily in this chapter….

Depressica: haha thank you. its fun to write anything with Leo caz he's basically the comic relief character and he will just say anything. Its great. As for Gray, we wont hear from him until the next chapter :)

Guest 2: thank you so much for loving this story! it's a lot of fun to write and its about to get even better! And trust me, im trying to update at least once a week again. XD It's a matter of finding the time to write!

Earlier that night….

Lucy giggled as Loke ran his hand over her bare stomach, kissing her neck lightly as she struggled to move away from his touch. "Come on Lucy… it's been forever since we've done anything!" The orange haired mage said as he moved his hand up her body, slipping a thumb underneath her bra. Lucy blushed as she pulled his hand out of her shirt.

"Just let me call Levy really quick." The celestial mage stood up from the bed and put her phone to her ear, leaving a disappointed man on the bed. She smiled as Levy answered her phone quickly.

"Hey Lu! What's up? It's been a while!"

"Yeah, sorry bout that. Loke and I have been going out almost every weekend and during the week we are just too busy with work."

"I understand, trying to keep things under control here at home and at the shop is tiring."

The two friends laughed for a minute, both missing out on each other's conversations. Lucy was first to speak after their laughter died down. "Hey so I just wanted to let you know that Lily and Finn stayed here for a few days. They said they were doing an experiment for school with Leo but I honestly knew it had to be something else. They just headed for the big music convention this morning which I think will be great for Lily and her band."

Lucy could hear a sigh from Levy at the other end, her silence telling the blonde mage something was eating at Levy. "Something is going on back home, huh? What's going on with her? She seemed fine while she was here. They went to school every day and even got along with Leo for once."

Loke stood from the bed and made his way over to Lucy, slowly wrapping his hands around her waist, his warm lips pressing against her soft neck as he began to move her hips from side to side, swaying her lightly. Lucy blushed at his touch on her body, trying desperately to ignore him.

"Well… it's good to hear that she actually went to school for once."

"What do you mean Lev?" Lucy said as she pushed away Loke's hand that slid into her shirt once more, running it over her soft stomach, slowly making its way upward.

"Gajeel and Lily have been going at it for a while now, and… they had a really bad fight the other night. I guess she left to go to Finns house that night. I'm wondering if something happened there to make them both come over to your house. I'm sorry."

Lucy smiled as she waved a hand in the air. "Don't worry about it! It was nice to see them!" Lucy pulled the phone away from her face and held a hand over it as she snapped her head back towards Loke who had managed to bring both hands up her shirt, finding their way underneath her bra and began to fondle her breasts. "Will you stop that? I'm on the phone!"

Loke grinned as he whispered into the blonde woman's ear. "So end the call quickly so we can get back to what we want to do."

"Hey Lu…"

Lucy quickly brought the phone back up to her ear, trying to hold back a soft moan that wanted nothing more than to escape her throat. "Y-yeah Levy?"

"Thank you for looking after my kid for me… and for calling me to let me know where they are."

Lucy smiled and blushed brighter as Loke's hand moved back down to her waist, pulling her into his body. She could feel his presence against her. "N-no problem! I-I know you'd do the same for me!"

Levy giggled slightly as she spoke. "Is everything ok over there? You sound like you're in the middle of something."

Lucy laughed nervously as she spoke. "What? Don't be silly! I would never call you while doing—AH! Loke! Can't you wait another minute?!"

Levy giggled once more. "I'll let ya go Lu. Sounds like someone is really wanting your attention. We should meet up tomorrow for some coffee or something at Max's café. Catch up a bit before we both have to go to work."

"Yeah! That sounds—will you stop that?!—great! That sounds great! I'll see you tomorrow Levy!"

Lucy quickly hit the end call button and threw her phone down on the ground. The celestial mage turned to face Loke who had the biggest grin on his face. Lucy shut her eyes tight as she hit him with her fists lightly on his chest, her face a crimson red color. "Jerk! Why would you do that when I was on the phone with Levy?!"

Loke laughed lightly as he let his wife hit him. After letting her get her frustration out, he gripped her wrists lightly, pulling them down at her sides. "You can't tell me that you didn't love every second of it."

Lucy's chocolate eyes turned away as her face grew hot. "S-shut up! I did not!"

The orange haired man brought a hand up to her chin, turning her head to face his. Olive-green eyes staring right into chocolate brown, a smirk over his lips. "Liar." His lips pressed against hers lightly, slowly working his tongue into her mouth. Lucy melted into his kiss, one of the many things about him she couldn't resist. Loke's hand moved from her chin to the side of her face, pulling her in deeper as he turned his head at a slight angle.

Lucy's hands made their way up to his shoulders, gripping them lightly as Loke deepened their kiss. She slowly made him start to walk backwards to the bed, their kiss breaking as Loke fell down on the soft sheets, his eyes glued to hers as she quickly climbed on top of him. His hand reached up and cupped her face once more, pulling her down to his lips. Her hands were on either side of his body as her legs straddled his hips, lightly pressing herself against him. After a few minutes of wild, passionate kisses, Lucy broke free from Loke's lips, panting slightly. "Wait… what if Leo is still awake?"

Loke grinned as he flipped them both so that he was now on top. Lucy gasped as he lifted up one of her legs, pressing himself against her center. "I'm sure that kid is sleeping by now. Come on Lucy…" He started to say as he ran his free hand up her arm, their fingers intertwining with each other. "When was the last time we got to do this? We've both been so busy." Loke leaned in and kissed at her neck once more, trailing kisses down to the crook of her neck.

"Ok… we just have to be quiet. I don't want to wake Leo if he is sleeping."

Loke grinned as he kissed Lucy's sweet lips lightly. "I can't make any promises. Besides, that kid sleeps like a rock."

Leo laid in his bed, olive-green eyes wide and twitching slightly as he thought to himself. 'Why of all nights can I not fall asleep? And why did they have to decide to do that?! God damn it… this night is gonna suck…. And it's not like I can just run over to Finn's. That bastard left me here! And now I'm stuck here to listen to my parents… uugh god… karma you are one cruel bitch. I don't know what I did to you, but I swear on my life, I will—oh god… mom's getting louder!' Leo's hands quickly came up to his ears, covering them as hard as he could. 'I'm not listening! I'm not listening! This is just a dream! My parents aren't having sex right now! This is just one bad dream... yeah…' Leo's eyes shut tight as his hands were beginning to fail him in toning out his mother's moans in the other room. "I just gotta keep telling myself that tonight!"

Blue eyes glanced down at her phone, scanning over the number she had called a few nights ago. Rain sighed as she set her phone down on her bed lightly, resting her chin on her knees. 'I really want to talk to Finn and see how everything's going with him and Lily... I know this trip means a lot to him… but I'm worried about dad too. I can't believe what they said to each other. Maybe if I was there it wouldn't have been so bad.' Rain moved her chin away from her knees so she could hide her face as she wrapped her arms around her legs. 'I want to talk to you Finn… but I know this is important to you.'

An image of the blonde haired boy back home crossed the girls mind. A giant smile across his face as he waved to her, his arms opening wide as if he was trying to hug her. Blue eyes looked up and down at her phone. 'Leo….' A pale hand moved away from her legs and reached out towards her phone, hovering over it before drawing back slightly. 'He did say I could call him anytime if I needed to...' Rains hand fell down gently onto the phone, turning it over so that the screen was facing her now.

A knock on the door caused the young ice mage to jump with a small gasp, dropping her phone on the bed. Juvia opened the door the young girls' room and stepped in, a smile on her face. "Hi sweetie."

Rain looked at her mother for a moment before turning her head away, her voice low as she responded. "Hi mom."

The rain woman made her way to her daughters' bed, sitting down before her and placing a hand on her head, rubbing it lightly. "Bora and I wanted to make you dinner tonight and I have to run to the store to get a few things. Want to come with me? You haven't left the house or your room for that matter except for school. I think it'll be nice for you and I to go out and have some mother daughter time. What do you say?"

Rain turned her head back to her mother. Her solid blue eyes matching Juvia's. Her mother looked almost afraid to ask her own daughter if she wanted to join her. 'Why does he want to make me dinner? Is he seriously trying to get me to like him? It's pointless honestly. I don't think I could ever like him like mom and Finn. But I did promise Finn I would try… for mom….' Rain shrugged her shoulders slowly. "I guess."

As Juvia drove to the grocery store, Rain looked out the window, silence surrounding them both. Juvia glanced over to Rain, worry on her face. Rain hadn't said one word since they left the house, making the water mage think that something was eating away at the young girl. "Is something wrong Rain? You've been like this ever since Finn left. I know you were quiet before but now it seems like you are just always hiding in your room whenever Bora is around. It's clear something is bothering you." Juvia waited a minute to see if Rain would say anything. Nothing. Silence was what the water mage received. She sighed softly as she continued to speak. "I know you're struggling with all of this. But I want you to tell me what's bothering you. You can trust me too, Rain."

Without turning her head, Rain spoke coolly, brushing off her mother's questions with a simple response. "No, I'm fine. Everything is fine."

Juvia frowned as she thought to herself. 'Before she used to tell me everything, now she won't tell me anything. I know something is wrong with her… but I can't help her if she won't tell me what's wrong. How am I supposed to be a mother to her if I can't even help her with something that's clearly bugging her?!'

Minutes had passed before Juvia tried to get Rain to talk to her once more. "Have you heard from your brother? He usually gives me a call towards the middle of the week and I haven't heard from him since he left. I had hoped he was going to let me know he was coming to visit this weekend."

The young ice mage continued her empty gaze out the window as she spoke slowly. "You know he's on a vacation right now…."

Juvia snapped her head quickly to Rain, shock in her face and voice. "What?!"

"He's at a music convention with Lily all week."

Juvia smiled slightly. "Are… they getting together?"

"No." Rain said quickly and coolly. "Finn told me that Lily got into a really bad fight with her dad and ended up going over to his house to stay a few nights. Apparently while they were at school, Gajeel came by looking for her and ended up beating dad up a bit. When Finn came home with Lily, dad got mad and kicked her out. That's when Finn told him that he was going with her on this week long convention and that he was leaving with her if she wasn't welcome in our house anymore. I guess Finn and dads fight was pretty bad… Finn basically left dad to take care of himself for a week and a half. So they ended up staying with Leo for the rest of the week while they went to school."

"Your… dad?" Juvia asked, slight confusion in her voice.

Rain could hear the confusion and turned her head, an eyebrow raised as she spoke. "Yeah… dad. You know? Gray Fullbuster? The guy who won't sign the divorce papers?"

Juvia's eyebrows crossed as she snapped slightly at her daughter. "I know who that is!"

Rain watched her mother for another second, wondering what had just happened. 'That was… weird….'

The trip to the store started off rocky for mother and daughter, but quickly turned into something good as Juvia finally got Rain to talk to her. It may have not been what was bugging the young girl, but at least she was conversing with her again. It felt good to hear her daughter have so much to say. As the rain woman parked the car, she turned back and grabbed a couple of bags for Rain to carry inside. "Here sweetie. Can you take these inside to Bora? I'll be in shortly. I just have to grab the rest of the bags out of the trunk."

"Sure thing mom." Rain said as she took the bags from her mother, exiting the car and heading inside. She didn't like the fact that Bora had a house key now, coming and going as he pleased. But, a promise is a promise. She wasn't about to break one for Finn. The young girl stepped inside and could smell dinner cooking. She left the door opened for her mother as she made her way into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway as she saw Bora's back to her. She could hear him cutting something up at the counter. Rain let out a soft breath as she walked towards the man, setting the bags on the counter.

Bora's eyes stayed down on the chicken he was cutting up. "Ah, I see you and your mother are back from the store."

Rain started to unpack the bags, setting the things Bora needed to finish up dinner beside him. "Yeah."

"How was it?" He said as he cut into the chicken.

Rain jumped slightly at the sound of bones cracking as the knife came down on them quickly and roughly. "It was fine."

Bora grinned as he lifted the knife from the fresh cut he made. "That's good to hear. You know your mother is quite worried about you, Rain."

Rain jumped again at the same bone cracking sound. Her blue eyes looked down and over at the knife in his hand. As she stared at the knife, her eyes caught a glimpse of his fingers. He had some weird looking rings on them. Ones she had never seen before. Her eyes moved up and were met with Bora's dark eyes. A smirk was over his face as he stared hard into solid blue. "Yeah… I know…." The girl's nerves began to make her feel uneasy. Something in her gut was telling her to run, to get away from the man she stood next to. But she didn't want to make it look so obvious. She practically jumped out of her skin when he was cutting up the chicken, she had to do this calmly. "I'm going to go wash up before dinner." The girl turned and started walking away, her heart beating quickly.

"You know Rain…" Bora said as he turned around, holding the large knife up near his chest. His other hand brought up a clean towel to the handle of the knife. Rain stopped walking as he began to speak, her body shaking slightly as her gut was now screaming at her to run. "Your mother would like for us to get along." He said as he began to clean off the cool steel in his hand slowly, his dark eyes staring at the back of the girls' short blue hair, a smirk over his face. "I'm willing to put forth the effort if you are."

Rain stood her ground as she clenched her shaking fists. "Yeah. Sure." The young ice mage took one step as her mother walked inside with the rest of the groceries. Before Rain could take another step, she felt something wrap around her shoulder, another presence holding her in place.

Bora smiled as he held Rain close to his body. "Juvia! Rain and I were just talking!"

Juvia's face lit up as she looked at the two before her. "Oh?! I hope it was a good talk!"

Bora chuckled as he grinned. "Of course! We both agreed to try harder to get along. Isn't that right Rain?" He said as his eyes looked down at the girl. Her head was lowered, her own eyes shaded. Her head nodded slowly. Bora let her go and watched the girl leave the kitchen, heading straight for her room, his dark eyes never leaving her until she was completely out of sight.

Half an hour later, Rain had come back down to eat with Bora and Juvia, listening to the two speak as she quickly ate her food. Anytime they would ask her something, her response was a simple shake or nod of the head. She was on edge the whole time during dinner. Rain tried her best to remain calm, trying not to look so frazzled, but clearly was doing a horrible job. As they ate, she could sense Bora staring at her the whole time, his grins sending chills down the young girls' spine. Her plate was still half full when she stood up. "Please excuse me, I'm not as hungry as I thought." Rain picked up her plate and headed for the kitchen, wanting to get back to her room quickly. Bora's voice once again stopped her in her tracks.

"Rain, my dear, don't you want to stay for some dessert?"

"I'm… I'm too full tonight. Sorry." The ice mage moved quickly to the kitchen, scraping the food off her plate into the garbage and walking over to the sink. She stopped just before the sink, her mind panicking as she stood in place. Her whole body was shaking as she thought to herself. 'What is going on?! Why am I feeling this way? Something isn't right here…. I need to get back to my room… everything in my body is telling me something is wrong… and why is mom acting weird? She didn't even notice how strange I was acting at dinner… I know I wasn't able to keep my cool in there… but she would have said something….'

The sudden touch of a hand on Rains' shoulder made her jump right out of her skin, her hands letting go of the plate; the shattering sound of porcelain hitting the ground filled the room. Rain's eyes were wide as she turned her head at the person behind her. Juvia stood there with a smile on her face.

"Mom!"

"Sorry sweetie, I didn't mean to scare you!"

Rain brought a shaking hand to her head, rubbing her eye gently as she shook her head. "It's ok… I'm sorry about the plate. I just have butterfingers tonight I guess."

"What was that? Is everything ok in there?" Bora called from the dining room.

"Yes, everything is fine! Rain just dropped a plate is all." Juvia responded.

Bora grinned as he spoke once more. "Oh, you ok honey?"

Rain's eyes widened as she watched her mother pick up the broken pieces from the ground, Bora's voice ringing in her ears. "Y-yeah… I'm fine."

The water mage threw out the broken pieces of glass and went back to her daughter, rubbing a hand over her shoulders lightly. Rain looked down as she spoke. "Sorry about the plate mom."

"Oh Rain. That's ok. I just wanted to thank you."

Blue eyes looked back up at her mother. "Thank me?"

Juvia smiled as her eyes closed gently. "Yes. Thank you for coming with me to the store and behaving yourself at dinner. I think that's the first time we've been together that you haven't gotten into it with Bora. It was a very nice dinner between the three of us. So I just wanted to thank you." Juvia pulled Rain in and hugged her tight. "I'm so proud of you for trying to get along with him, Rain. It means so much to me."

Rain let her mother hug her without another word. As Juvia let her go, she gave her daughter one more smile and shoulder rub before letting her go. Rain's heart raced at the thought of having to go through the dining room once more to get to her room. She knew he was still in there. He was going to keep his eyes on her. That grin was going to be over his face. The pale girls' body began to shake, not wanting to move but at the same time, screamed at her to run and hide. The young girl swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she took a step. 'Just get past him… just get to your room.' Rain kept her head low as she rushed through the dining room. She could feel the dark stare from Bora's eyes on her, that infamous grin across his lips. She didn't bother stopping as he spoke while she quickly made her way through the room.

"Good night Rain. Sleep tight."

Once the ice mage was out of sight of the dining room, she forced her legs to make a run for her room. She pushed open the door and quickly closed it, locking it with shaking hands. She began to pant as she rested her forehead on the door, her eyes shut tight. A minute passed before Rain turned around, leaning up against the door. She still was trying to catch her breath as she slid down the wood, tears forming in her eyes as they stared straight ahead, opened wide. Her heart was still beating fast, almost to the point to where it was hurting the young girl, as if it wanted to beat right out of her chest. 'What was that? What just happened?! I can't stop shaking… I'm… terrified!' Rain's knees slowly moved up to her chest, her shaking hands moved to her face, moving up to her hair and gripping it as she thought. 'I don't care what Finn says, I can't trust that man. Somethings not right. I gotta tell someone! I've been trying… but no one understands…. Maybe I should call Finn—No. he's got enough to deal with… between dad and everything else, and now he's finally getting a break with Lily. Maybe I could call Leo… no… he wouldn't understand. He would listen to me, but he won't get it. He's not here. Dad?' Rain thoughts shifted to what Finn had told her about him as of late. 'He's in no condition to help…. I have to do this on my own. It's gotta be me. Somethings not right with mom either… I'm going to figure it out. I have to, for moms' sake…. I have to be strong….' Warm tears began to fall down pale cheeks. 'I have… to be strong… like Finn. I have to be.'

**
The ice and script mage walked together on the boardwalk, smiling as they talked, listening to the many musicians around them. The older girl stretched her arms up above her head as she walked, slowly bring them down to her sides as she walked beside Finn. "Ah man! I think we both needed this. This place is great! This city is so alive, day and night! It's so awesome! I love it!"

Finn looked over at her, smiling as he thought about how the week was going so far for them both. He had gotten to spend all of this time with Lily, and their band was close to being in the finals. They had been kicking the competition in the ass since day one. "Yeah, I'm glad I decided to come with you. The music being played sounds amazing. And you guys are moving up through the ranks quickly."

The dark haired girl grinned as she put her hands behind her back, running ahead slightly to face Finn as she walked backwards in front of him. "Speaking of music…. Do you still play the guitar? I haven't heard you play in a long time."

Finn brought a finger up to his head, scratching it lightly. "Yeah, I still play. It's mostly when I'm alone and I need to blow off some steam. I haven't been able to play for about a month now though…."

Lily raised a brow as she stopped walking in front of Finn, making him stop as well. "How come?"

He sighed as he turned to face the railing of the boardwalk. "Well… my dad got really drunk and decided to play my guitar one day while I was at school."

Lily leaned up against the railing next to Finn. "Doesn't he have his own guitar?"

Finn chuckled slightly. "He had multiple. But he ended up breaking most of them or selling them for cigarettes or booze. He stopped giving lessons and playing a long time ago, but every once in a while, he would try to play on his own and when he got frustrated, he would just end up breaking the guitars in a drunken rage. Since he broke most of his and sold the rest, he went for mine. Granted mine was kinda beat up already… anyway, long story short, he got mad and ended up breaking my guitar." Finn half smiled as he spoke. "So yeah, I guess it's been a while since I've played anything."

"I see…" Lily said as she looked down for a moment.

"And it's not like I can just go out and buy a new one. I've got too much to take care of right now. I've got a car payment, bills at home that I'm paying for, school. You know. All that fun grown up stuff."

"Why didn't you just ask me for one? I've got a bunch. I've got about… 3 drum sets, a piano, keyboard, 4 bass guitars, 6 electric—"

Finn stopped Lily as she continued to count on her fingers all the many instruments she had back home. "Yeah well, you have all electric guitars. I play acoustic."

"Hm… yeah, I guess you have a point there." Hazel eyes glanced over at the boy next to her. His face was kinda sad looking as he thought about his old guitar. Lily pushed herself off from the rail and grabbed Finn's arm, pulling him along with her as they walked the boardwalk once more without another word. Finn blushed at her forceful pull, but followed her willingly. The two reached the other end of the boardwalk into a part of the city that had a plaza of shops that seemed to go on for days. Each one of them had a giant window display, mostly filled with music related items. A few were restaurants while others were for clothing. Lily looked at each window display excitedly, eyeing everything. She stopped suddenly and turned to Finn, catching him off guard who was secretly thinking of when to tell Lily something important.

"Wh-what is it Lil?"

The dark haired girl smiled as she held onto Finn's hand lightly. "Could you go get us some ice cream? I really want some."

Finn looked around for the nearest ice cream shop. "Which one? There's like two over here?"

Lily thought for a moment and pointed at the one with the line going out of the door down the sidewalk. "That one!"

Finn turned his head back to her, annoyance over his face. "Lil, are you freaken kidding me?! That line is out the door! I'm not waiting there by myself! Come with me."

Lily let him go and held her own hands together in front of her. "But… I have to go to the bathroom… can you just go wait in line for me until I get back?"

Finn groaned as he looked back at the line. "I don't know Lil… can't I just go to the other one? The line looks shorter and—" As Finn turned his head back, Lily had given him her infamous pouty look, one he couldn't resist doing anything for. Her eyes were big and slowly filing with tears. Her bottom lip stuck out and began to quiver as she stared at him.

"Please Finn?... for me?"

Finn blushed as he stared at that look on her face. 'God damn her… she knows I can't resist her when she does that. Ugh… if only she realized all that I do for her…' Finn sighed and turned his body around, heading for the long line. "Fine… but you owe me one Lil."

Lily smiled as she watched Finn walk away, her feet taking a few steps backwards as she did. The script mage giggled as she turned around and walked into the shop she had stopped them in front of. Half an hour later, the ice mage came walking out of the ice cream shop, clearly annoyed.

"Geez… half an hour of waiting for such a small cone? What a rip off…" Finn looked around for Lily who was nowhere to be found. He frowned and found an empty seat on a bench nearby. He looked at the ice cream in his hands and sighed. "Well… better start eating mine before it melts. I'll have to eat Lily's too if she doesn't find me soon…" Solid blue eyes looked around at the people passing him by. "Where did she run off to?"

"Heeey you! Did you miss me?"

Finn jumped at the familiar voice coming from behind him. His head snapped back to see Lily, a wide smile over her face. "Where did you go?!"

Lily made her way to the front of Finn, sitting down next to him. He eyed the large guitar case in her hands, turning his attention to her with suspicion. "Lily… what's in that guitar case?"

"Well… I felt bad that your dad broke your guitar. You're so good at it and I felt like I owed you something big… for everything that I've put you through, and everything you've done for me. So, I want you to have this." She said as she handed over the case to Finn, setting it into his lap as she took the ice cream cones from his hands. He looked to her as he placed his hands on the dark case.

"Lil… please tell me you didn't…"

Lily smiled and nudged her head towards him. "Open it."

Finn looked back down at the case and slid his hands along the side, flipping up the locks and opening it slowly. His eyes widened at what was inside. It was the newest model of acoustic guitars and by no means was it cheap. His eyes shot back up to hazel. "How… how did you afford this?"

The dark haired girl giggled as she closed her eyes softly. "You know that money I won from the competition so far?"

Finn's eyes grew soft as he looked at her. "Lil… no… you didn't…." He looked back at the guitar and closed the lid quickly, snapping the locks in place. "I can't accept this. This is too much. I owe you so much now!"

Lily opened her eyes and nudged him with her shoulder. "I know how you can repay me."

Finn blushed as he turned his head to her. "Y-you do?" His heart began to race at the many possibilities he was thinking of.

"Yeah, you can play and sing me a song! Then I'll call us even!"

"What?! Me? Sing? No… I can't… singing is your thing."

Lily proudly stuck out her chest. "Music is my thing. Oh come on, Finn. I'm sure you have a great singing voice. A guy who can write such beautiful songs is sure to have an awesome singing voice as well."

"I don't know about that…" Finn started to say.

"Come on… pleeeaaase?" Lily said as she pressed her body against him, resting her chin on his shoulder as she spoke softly. "For me? I'll call us completely even."

Finn swallowed the lump in his throat before he spoke. "Al-alright… I'll do it…. But not here! There are too many people. Let's just get back to the room and I'll play for you." Finn raised a finger as he blushed. "And I'm not playing the whole song! Mainly caz I never got to finish it…"

Lily giggled excitedly as she jumped up. "That's fine. Whatever you play for me, I'm sure it'll be good. This will be so great! I can't wait! Oh, here's your cone. Better eat it fast, it's starting to melt!"

Finn took the guitar case into his other hand and took the ice cream cone from Lily. The two started down the sidewalk, Lily's eyes still looking through the large windows as they walked by.

Finn ate his ice cream as he spoke. "Ok, I have to admit, for having to wait so long for this ice cream, it really isn't that bad. I wish they had a bigger store though. That way the line wouldn't be out the door, am I right Lil?" Finn turned his head to the side to see Lily missing from his side. He stopped walking and looked around. "Lily?" Solid blue eyes caught a glimpse of her leaning forward at one of the window through the crowd that was walking past the young boy. Her eyes were wide as she pressed her fingers against the glass. The ice mage made his way to her, raising a brow. "Lil? Whatcha looking at?"

"Take a look at this Finn! These earrings…. They're so cool. Totally my style too. Man they would look great with my outfits for shows…." She said as she ran her fingers up to her ears, running her fingers over the multiple earrings she already had in.

Finn looked at her to the earrings. "So why don't you buy them?"

Lily stood up straight and rubbed the back of her head as she sighed. "Yeah… you see… I kinda spent all the money I had already. On your guitar." Before Finn could protest at her to take it back, Lily raised a hand to him. "Don't worry Finn, I'll probably get some more money tomorrow. I'll just come back for them then. It's not like they are going anywhere. It's totally fine. Come on, you owe me a song!" With her free hand, she took his wrist and pulled him alongside her. The ice mage smiled slightly as he walked slightly behind the girl.

The two made it back to their hotel room as the sun began to set on the city. Finn set his guitar case on his bed and opened it up, his hands slowly reaching down for the new acoustic. It was smooth to his touch, no nicks in the wood or missing strings. Nothing about this looked worn down like the one he had back home. He lifted the acoustic up and put his knee up on the bed, resting the guitar on his thigh. His fingers ran over the tight strings, taking in the tune it played with just one stroke. He smiled at the sound. She had even tuned it up for him. That's why she was gone just as long as him. His eyes glanced down at the case. It had an extra strap for him on the inside. He reached down and picked it up, quickly hooking it up to his new guitar. The dark haired girl came up to Finn and spoke. "No, not here… come on." She pulled Finn to the balcony outside, letting him go as they stepped outside.

"Ok… do it here. Sing to me." She said softly.

Finn looked at her for a moment. The sunlight was a mix of orange, reds, and yellows. All of them blending together to create the perfect backdrop behind Lily. The wind blew lightly through their hair, making them both smile at one another. Finn took the strap and wrapped it around his neck and over his shoulder. He could feel his heart beating fast in his chest. His eyes looked back to the girl before him. She had a sweet smile over her face, her hazel eyes were soft as they watched him and her hair was pulled back into a simple pony tail. Her dress that she was wearing was loose and lifted slightly at her ankles as the wind blew lightly. She looked absolutely beautiful in this light, in this moment.

Finn closed his eyes and took in a breath. His fingers slowly moved down to the strings, pausing just above them for a moment. 'Just breathe… just let the music flow. Don't think about anything else but her.' Finn's eyes opened slowly as he began to play, solid blue eyes looking up to hazel.

Well you done done me and you bet I felt it,

I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted,

I fell right through the cracks,

Now I'm trying to get back.

Before the cool done run out I'll be giving it my bestest,

And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention.

I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some.

Finn's eyes looked down at his guitar, watching his fingers move for each note. His words pausing slightly as he sang each one.

But I… won't… hesitate… no more, no more,

It cannot wait, I'm yours.

Finn smiled as he looked back up at the girl, her smile matching his.

Well open up your mind and see like me.

Open up your plans and damn you're free.

Look into your heart and you'll find love love love.

Listen to the music of the moment, maybe sing with me.

Ah, la peaceful melody,

It's your God-forsaken right to be loved loved love love.

Finn blushed slightly as he looked back down at his hands as he continued to play.

So I… won't… hesitate… no more, no more,

It… cannot… wait, I'm sure.

There's no need… to… complicate, our… time… is… short,

This… is… our… fate, I'm yours.

Finn's fingers played a few more notes before stopping, letting the last few notes finish out their lovely tune. He looked back up at Lily who was smiling at him.

"Wow… Finn. That was… incredible. You truly are gifted."

The ice mage brought hand up to the side of his head, running it though his dark blue hair. "Stop, I wasn't that good. I couldn't even finish the whole song."

Lily moved closer to Finn, sincerity over her face. "It was beautiful. It sounds like you wrote that for someone very special."

Finn blushed as he looked away. "Yeah… kinda did." 'I basically sang it to you and you still didn't pick up on it! Damn it Lil… you're driving me crazy. I wish you could just pick up on how I feel….'

Lily yawned and stretched her arms out to the side. "Well… I better get to bed. I haven't gone to one practice and I'm sure Chrono will want me at the one tomorrow."

"Isn't this the one right before the finals?"

"Yep! If we win this, we're going to face off that one other team in the finals."

Finns heart beat hard in his chest as he watched Lily walk back inside, his hand reached out towards her. "Uh, h-hey Lil…"

The girl paused and turned back to Finn, placing a hand on the door frame. "Yeah?"

Finn swallowed hard as he began to shake nervously. "If you guys win tomorrow and get into the finals… I-I want to take you out to eat."

Lily smiled slightly as she tilted her head. "You want to take me out if we get into the finals?"

"Y-yeah… and it's going to be somewhere nice, so you'll have to dress nice too. S-so what do you say?"

Lily smiled as she made her way back over to Finn, reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek. "I say that we better win tomorrow. I've never gone to a nice dinner before. It'll be fun. Besides, we can eat for free at one of those places Uncle Loke hooked us up with."

Finn's cheeks burned as the kiss lingered on his skin. "Yeah. It'll be fun." Finn watched her walk away once more, his heart pounding in his chest. 'I'll do it then. It'll be perfect.'

AN: Ah… so close, yet so far for Finn. Lol perhaps the next chapter… words will be said…. I will try very hard to get another chapter posted later this week! So please continue to review these chapters! Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last one!

BTW…. Anyone else creeped out by Bora? * shudders * poor Rain…. I wants to go hug her….