AN: Chapter 20

Hopefully i caught everything... i read it over a couple of times but now my eyes are fried... lol so i will take a break and come back and look over everything again later. enjoy this chapter!

NavyNinjaHo: There will be a few time skips, but nothing major. Like, a month or two here and there and then one final one that was like… 4 months or something around there. I can't remember what I wrote down for the time skip to be. Altogether it was going to be about 6 months that have passed. (If that doesn't make sense, you'll see in the next couple of chapters what I mean lol)

Nyma: lol I know. I felt horrible for doing that to Finn in chapter 18. And in the last chapter, yeah… things are happening :) my friend and I have discussed this lately… Leo and Rain very rarely had any scenes together, yet everyone ships them. It's cute. And funny. But yes, those two definitely need some help. And as for Lily…. I really hope people start seeing her in a new light. Her world just got turned upside down and hopefully she can get herself back together.

Depressica: thanks! And yeah, I know. I feel horrible for Rain. I wish I could pull her out of there too… and he is quite creepy. Thus why I didn't want the man Juvia to be dating to be Lyon. Caz I like Lyon. And bora was that kind of guy who I could definitely use as a creepy character. And like I said in the comment above… hopefully everyone will start to like Lily again with these next few chapters. :)

BriniNicole268: thank you so much! And yes, I'm trying to update at least once a week lol. Work has been hard on me lately and I've had some other things come up, and add in my lazy factor haha but hopefully I can continue like I said to post up at least once a week. ^.^

Gray helped his son load up the last bit of boxes into his car, letting out a sigh as he wiped the sweat away from his forehead. "Damn… I haven't had to do this much work in a long time."

Finn grinned as he opened his passenger door, throwing his bag inside. "Yeah well that's what you get for staying on the couch day and night. You're not used to all this moving around. Not to mention all that alcohol doesn't help either."

"I'll have you know I haven't had one drop of liquor yet this morning."

Finn eyed the bottle Gray was opening just after his sentence. "Oh yeah?"

Gray smirked as he tipped the bottle back, taking a small drink. Finn shut his door and walked over to his father, his hands going into his pockets. "You sure you're gonna be ok?"

"Yeeaaah. Sure. Why wouldn't I be? Besides." Gray stepped over to the blonde haired boy waiting to say his goodbyes to his friend, wrapping an arm around the kids' neck and pulling him close. "If I need anything, I could always bug this guy right here, eh?"

Leo groaned as he struggled to free his head from Grays grip. The ice mage laughed as he let go of the young boy, making his way back over to Finn and pulling him into a tight hug. Finn wrapped his arms around his father and hugged him back lightly. "I'm proud of you kid. You're able to do more than I ever could."

"Thanks dad. You promise you'll clean up? I really want to bring Rain back here next time I visit."

Gray grinned as he pushed Finn away slightly, his cool hands gripping his sons' shoulders. "I'm going to try. Just, give me a call before you come visit. In case I go back on my word, I want to have a chance to clean up."

Finn nodded as he watched his father make his way back into the house, his solid blue eyes moving to the blonde haired boy a few feet away from him. Leo shoved his hands into his pockets, his feet kicking at the ground lightly as he looked down. Finn half smiled as he walked over to Leo. "And I promise you can come visit once I get settled in."

"I really wish you weren't leaving man. What am I gonna do without ya? You're my best friend and all… who else do I have here to fool around with?" Leo said as he looked up at Finn.

"Come on, dude. I'm sure you'll forget all about me once you get a new girl in your bed."

Leo grinned as he shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. That's true." The two friends laughed lightly for a minute. "Say… speaking of girls… she's been showing up to all her classes lately."

Finn looked away from Leo, silence falling over him. He didn't want to start talking about Lily. He wanted to keep her far away from his mind. Leo pulled down his blue-tinted sunglasses as he spoke. "You know it's gonna be really weird not having you at school. What happens if I end up finding a new best friend while you're gone?"

Finn scoffed as he rolled his eyes back to Leo. "You and I have known each other since we were kids. I don't think we could ever replace each other."

Leo adjusted his sunglasses on his nose as he smiled. "Yeah, caz you know I'd have this whole best friend interview process if I ever wanted to replace you. And lemme tell ya, you have some pretty big shoes they'd have to fill."

Finn smiled as he put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss having my best friend at my side."

Leo's head hung down slightly as he smiled. "Shut up man, you're gonna make me start crying. It's not like we won't ever see each other again…."

The ice mage pulled his friend into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I know… but it is going to be a while before I come back here. Think you can handle being away from me that long?"

Leo's arms squeezed Finn tightly as he spoke. "Not to sound entirely gay, man, but I love you. So I'm gonna have to try to deal with it. Even if that means I'm gonna have to cry myself to sleep at night now, keep your picture at my bedside, or even take it around with me while I'm at school…"

Finn pushed Leo away as the blonde haired boy laughed, wiping away a tear from his eye. "Come on, Leo. I'm being serious."

Leo scoffed and put a hand to his chest. "And I'm not?!"

The two boys stared at each other for a long minute before letting out loud laughter from both ends. Once the laughter subsided, Leo grinned as he held out his hand to Finn. The ice mage looked down to the hand in front of him, solid blue eyes moving back up to olive-green. Finn matched Leo's grin as he took the boys hand into his own.

"Good luck at the Academy. And make sure to give Rain a hug and kiss for me."

Finn glared at Leo at the last part of his sentence. Leo raising his hands in front of him. "Ok, ok… just a hug?"

Finn patted Leo's shoulder roughly. "That I will do."

Leo's hands turned into fists as he bent his elbows, pulling them into his body. "Yes! I'll take it! But hey! Make sure you say it's from me!"

The ice mage chuckled as he turned around, stepping towards his car. Solid blue eyes looked out into the distance, widening slightly as they caught sight of someone walking slowly towards his house. Finn turned quickly to Leo. "What is Lily doing coming this way?! I never told her when I was leaving. I haven't talked to her since she came back from the convention!"

Leo looked past Finn to Lily as he brought up a hand to the back of his head, rubbing it slightly. "Um... well…"

"You told her?!"

"I maaaay have said something to her…. the other day…. While we were in school…." Leo shook his head as he waved his hands. "Look, it's not a big deal, man. She just wanted to say goodbye is all. Wish you luck and all that. I felt bad caz she looked really sad… and she has a right to say goodbye too… she is your friend still… right?"

Finn's head fell forward, meeting his hand as he sighed. His head slowly came up and looked back towards the girl. She stepped forward hesitantly as his eyes fell upon her once more, her hand coming up and waving at him slightly. Solid blue eyes went back to the blonde haired boy. "Just do me one favor while I'm gone."

"Yeah man, anything." Leo said as he opened Finns' car door for him. The ice mage stepped into his car and shut his door, putting an arm out the window as he leaned out to speak.

"Take care of her for me. While I'm gone."

Leo stared at Finn for a long minute. "Yeah. I can do that for ya."

Finn looked ahead and started his car up. "Thanks Leo. I'll give you a call when I get to my mom's."

Leo stepped away from the car and let Finn leave in the opposite direction Lily was coming from. Leo took a few steps out to watch the back of Finn's car drive away as the dark haired girl made her way up to the blonde haired boy.

"So he's really doing this, huh?" She said softly.

Leo glanced over to Lily's face, her hazel eyes glued to the car that was driving away from them. They looked even sadder than before when he had seen her at school, as if she had been crying all night. Emptiness creeping inside of them. "Yeah. Yeah he's doing it." Leo crossed his arms over his chest, closing his eyes softly. "And it's all your fault Lily Redfox! It's because of you that our best friend has left us for the Rune Knights Academy!"

The blonde haired boy waited for a snarky remark, his arms flying up over his face as he awaited for Lily's fist to make contact with him. His eyes opened slightly when nothing immediately happened. His arms lowered as his olive-green eyes looked over to Lily. Her head was lowered down, one of her hands was gripping her other arm as she shook slightly, small tears falling from her cheeks. 'I know… I know it's my fault… I wish I could take it all back….'

Leo waved a hand in front of Lily's face. "H-hey! I didn't mean it like that… I was just trying to make you hit me so you could feel better is all!"

Lily brought a hand up to her face, wiping away her tears as she smiled slightly. "Thanks Leo." The dark haired girl turned around and started walking back down the path she had taken. Leo rubbed the back of his blonde hair, biting his lip lightly. His mind raced to try to say something.

"Hey! Lily… do you want a ride back home? I'm not kidding either, I… I could take you home if you want."

Lily stopped walking and turned slightly, a fake smile came over her face as she fought back the rest of her tears. "No, I'll be ok." The girl turned back around and started walking once more.

Leo let out a breath as his hand ran down the back of his neck. "Damn… hell must have frozen over. I actually kinda feel bad for her…."

Finn walked to his sisters' room, knocking on her door lightly before he entered. She was sitting on her bed, her hands moving down to her legs quickly. Finn raised a brow as he made his way to her bed. "You ok? You've seemed really jumpy lately."

Rain looked away from her brother, her blue eyes cast down. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Good. Then you can come with me."

Rain's eyes looked back up to Finn, her expression confused. Finn continued to talk as he leaned back slightly. "Yeah I was thinking about making mom and Bora some dinner tonight as kind of a thank you for letting me stay here this week and for getting me into the Rune Knights Academy. Not to mention I've got something to talk to you about."

Rain rolled her eyes as she looked away at the mention of Bora. "I don't know why you would want to cook for a snake like him…."

Finn raised a brow once more, his solid blue eyes looking to her disgusted face at the mention of Bora. "Have you been talking to Leo lately? That sounds like something he would say."

Rain shook her head in response, pulling her legs up close to her chin and wrapping her arms around them lightly. Finn let out a sigh as he spoke. "Look, I really wanted to talk to you about some stuff that happened… plus I'll be gone for most of the day tomorrow. Bora is taking me up to the academy to go check things out and speak to Lahar. This will just give us more time to spend with each other."

Rain looked up into Finn's eyes for a long minute before sighing softly. "Fine. I'll go." As she watched Finn smile and stand up quickly, she thought to herself. 'This will be a good chance to talk to him about mom too… he has a right to know what's going on. Maybe then he can see right through that jerk Bora and help me get him out of here.'

The two siblings drive silently for a long time, wondering when the other was going to speak first. Finn glanced out the corner of his eye at his sister. She was staring out the window quietly. Finn opened his mouth to speak.

"So I wanted to tell you—"

"Finn, there's something I wanted to tell you—"

The two siblings turned to each other as they spoke at the same time. Rain shook her head quickly. "Go ahead."

"You sure?" Finn asked. Rain nodded her head and looked out the front window. Finn coughed slightly just before he spoke. "So, you know I went to the convention with… Lily, right?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you how that went. Did everything go well?"

The ice mage ran a hand through his navy blue hair. "Yeah… things were going well…."

Rain turned to her brother, confusion coming over her. "Why do you say it like that? What happened?"

"We were having such a great time, Rain. We spent all our time together, and I honestly was starting to believe that she was feeling the same way I felt. Her actions while she was around me made me think she was falling for me finally. And it was perfect. All I had to do was wait for the right time to tell her how I really felt. I played her a song with the new acoustic she bought for me, basically telling her that I love her, she still didn't get it. So then I told her that if they got into the finals that I wanted to take her out to eat. I decided that I was going to say it there."

"So… what happened? Did they get in?"

Finn smiled slightly. "Yeah. She blew everyone out of the water with her song. She took a risk and damn was it awesome. We were going to find outfits and meet back up at the room and I took a bit longer to get back because I wanted to get her a pair of earrings she saw." Finn's smile faded. "Maybe if I had just gone out for the suit and came back, I wouldn't have walked in on her and Chrono together."

Rains eyes stayed on her brother. "You walked in on them doing it?"

The ice mage shook his head lightly. "No, but he was on top of her and her dress was still on, but still… what would have happened if I took five more minutes to get there? Anyway… I basically left after I punched Chrono in the face but she stopped me in the parking lot. She wanted to talk and try to explain what happened, but that's when I yelled at her. I told her that I loved her. I told her that I tried to tell her so many times before and then I said I thought she was starting to like me the way I liked her and that I was wrong this whole time. I honestly thought she had finally figured out that I liked her. And I left her there in the parking lot. I didn't want to hear any more excuses or nothing. I just left."

"Come on Finn, you knew she didn't know. She's Lily. She's not good at picking up on stuff like that. And as for the thing with Chrono, does that surprise you, really? You should have said something to her way sooner."

Finn's eyes narrowed as he glanced over at Rain. "Don't tell me you're taking her side, Rain! After everything she's done!"

Rain rolled her eyes slightly. "No, I'm not taking her side, you know that. I'm just saying that maybe if you were more forward with her, none of this would have happened."

Finn scoffed as he spoke. "Yeah, like if dad was more straight forward with mom? Maybe they'd still be together…."

The blue haired girl looked to her brother, her eyes growing angry. "Wow, Finn."

Finn's head fell slightly, moving back up to keep his eyes on the road as he rain his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry…." Finn waited a minute before continuing. "But back to you telling me to be more straight forward, even if I was, I don't even know if that would have worked because I don't know how she feels about me. I have no idea."

"After all of that, after you told her, you never found out how she felt about you?"

"…No… I was pissed at her. I was really pissed at her! She hurt me. I could barely look at her after what she did."

Rain raised her shoulders as her hand came up. "Yeah, but… didn't you want to know how she felt?"

Finn's hand gripped the steering wheel tightly. "No, I wanted to move on."

Rains' voice grew louder. "After all these years you finally told her how you felt and then you were too mad to find out if she cared about you too?!"

The ice mage snapped at his sister. "She doesn't like me that way anyway! She just doesn't! She doesn't have those feelings. I know she doesn't."

Rain stared hard at Finn, her eyes narrowing. "How do you know? Are you sure? Because you might be as dense as she is. How did she act when you left? Did she look heartbroken?!"

Finn shifted in his seat. "I… I don't know. I never looked back at her. I was too pissed off at the time. Even when she came by the next day to give me my stuff back and I told her that I was leaving, she didn't seem that upset. She just turned around and walked away."

Rain turned away from Finn, shaking her head as her mouth opened slightly. "Unbelievable." She said softly.

Finn's eyes narrowed as he glanced over at Rain. "What?"

"It took you so long to work up the nerve to tell her your feelings and then you were too scared to hear her answer. Probably couldn't even tell that she was really upset."

"Scared? I wasn't scared! Didn't you hear what I just told you?! She was with Chrono, so how could she have any feelings for me?!"

Rain turned her head towards Finn, tilting it to the side slightly as she glared slightly at her brother. "No, I get it now. Now I know why you're going to the Rune Knights Academy…. You're running away from Lily."

The ice mage felt his blood starting to boil as his sister spoke, anger filling his voice. "That's not all this is about! It's not just about her, Rain! I wanted to get out! I felt stuck at home and I'm miserable! Taking care of dad, being away from you and mom! I deserve to be happy too! Dad said so himself! He told me to go do something for myself!"

"And he's right, Finn." The younger ice mage turned her head down to her hands resting in her lap. Her expression softening. "You should do something for yourself for once. I want you to be happy. So I'll support you, but not without telling you what I think… and that is that BOTH you and Lily are idiots. Too afraid to see what's in front of you. Mot sure why… maybe you're both just worried it might end up costing you all these years of friendship you've had with each other. Maybe you're worried you'll lose each other… I don't know. Whatever the reason, you shouldn't let it come between you two forever. Leaving for your own sake is one thing, but leaving to get away from her isn't going to make the feelings go away… even if you want them too."

Finn stared hard at the road he drove on, his fist gripping the steering wheel tightly. "You don't know that. Rain… I might move on…I'm going to try to either way."

Rain's head lifted as she let out a soft sigh, her blue eyes staring out the window as she thought to herself. 'He's hopeless….' Her eyes moved back to her brother, watching him think over what she had just said. 'Finn… I hope things go your way then. I hope you're happier there.'

"And honestly… I'm not just going because of Lily. I want… I want to get better at my magic… and I think… being away from the stress of home and at a place like the Rune Knights Academy might help. I want to be good like you. I want to be good like dad always wanted me to be."

Rain smiled softly as she spoke. "I have faith that you will be better than me one day, Finn. You're the strongest person I know. So I believe in you. If you think they will help you with this and it bothers you, then I side with dad about you going."

Finn turned his head to his sister, a soft smile over his lips. He knew Rain meant well, and he knew she truly believed in him. "Thanks Rain. That really means a lot to me to hear you say that. Hey, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?"

Rain looked away, worry in her mind as she fought with herself. 'I can't tell him right now… he's got so much going on… I don't want him to lose his focus or drive while he goes to this new school… I just can't do it to Finn… if I tell him, it'll just add to all this stress he already has….'

"Um… yeah. I was thinking about calling Leo again… but I don't want to give off the wrong idea… he'd probably say we are dating if I talked to him again. You know how he is…"

Finn laughed slightly. "Yeah… oh by the way, come here." Finn stretched out an arm towards Rain and waited for her to move in close to his body. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed, turning his head and planting a soft kiss on her head before letting her go back to her seat in the car. "That was from Leo."

Rain blushed slightly as she sat back down in her seat, hearing Finn say that the hug and light kiss was from the blonde haired boy. She smiled slightly as she shook her head. "That definitely sounds like something he would do…."

Finn looked over his sister, his brow raising slightly. "Don't tell me you actually are starting to miss that goofball…"

"Well… I don't get to see anyone else from back home… it's been such a long time since I've gotten to see him, Lily, and the others… I guess… I just miss them all."

Finn rubbed the back of his head before letting out a sigh. "Well… dad said he would try to clean up while I'm gone. I mean, he kinda has too… he's got no one else to take care of him right now. So… maybe soon you could go visit everyone."

Rain smiled slightly. "That would be nice. I would really like that."

As Finn and Rain finished up the last bits of dinner they had made, Rain kept looking to Finn, wanting to try to at least warn Finn about taking favors from Bora. The blue haired girl leaned in close to Finn and whispered, keeping her eyes on the next room. "Finn, listen to me… I know you really want to go to the academy, but I don't know if you should do this…"

Finn smiled and raised a brow to Rain. "What are you talking about?"

"Taking favors from Bora… I feel like he's a snake… waiting for the right time to strike. I still just don't trust him completely. I mean, how else was he able to pull so many strings to get you in so quickly?!"

"Rain, I think you are just trying to make this guy look bad so I will tell mom to get rid of him. He's done so much for me, and I really need this. I'll ask him at dinner how he was able to do it if that'll make you feel better."

As Rain watched Finn take a plate of food into the other room, she thought to herself. 'No, what'll make me feel better is getting that weirdo out of here and out of moms' life.'

The girl grabbed the last plate and headed into the other room, setting the plate down on the table and glancing up, her blue eyes matching dark ones from Bora across from her. A shudder went down her spine as she stared back.

"So Finn, what made you finally decide to go to the academy?" Juvia asked sweetly.

Finn sat down next to Rain as he spoke to his mother. "Well, a lot has happened back home, and I just thought that going to the academy would be a nice change. I just feel like this will be a better environment for me to be in while I go to school and practice magic. And it's all thanks to you, Bora." Finn said as he smiled at Bora, holding up his glass to the man across from Rain. Bora grinned as he nodded at Finn.

Rain kept her eyes on the man as Finn continued to speak. "By the way, how were you able to get me in so soon?"

Bora brought his elbows up to the table, intertwining his fingers together as he rested his chin on top of them. "Well, as I've said before, I do a lot of charity work and make quite a few donations throughout the year. The Rune Knights Academy just happens to receive most of these donations and most of the charity events I have is for that school. The Master of that school is indebted to me, and being a personal friend of mine…." Bora glanced back to Rain, a smirk over his lips. "He was more than happen to let Finn in right away. Besides… I would hate to see you not be able to continue your education because of something so little as not being able to afford to go to another school, Finn. This honestly is no big deal for me. I was more than happy to help you out."

Rain clenched her jaw tightly, she knew he was directing that statement more towards her. He knew she was onto him. She just couldn't prove it. How could she now? He was going to put Finn through this new school, and he could just as easily pull him out from it. He was playing a game with the young girl, and right now, he was winning. He had the upper hand. Her hands were tied. She couldn't tell Finn about anything now. It would cost him his education, his future, his only chance to get away from it all.

'Damn you… you're such a snake… I know you're up to something, and now you've ruined my chance to say anything else….'

Finn's voice rang through Rains' ears, snapping her back to the dinner table. "Well, I really do appreciate everything you've done for me."

Bora held up a finger as he spoke. "Ah, my dear boy, this is merely the beginning. Tomorrow you and I will be meeting with Lahar to take a tour of the academy and your dorm room."

Finn's face lit up. "Wow, really?! That's great! Thank you so much! That means a lot to me."

Dark eye shifted back to blue. "Consider it nothing, Finn."

Rain sat there and watched everyone around her start eating, her blue eyes staring daggers at the man across from her as he simply smiled calmly at her as he ate.

Gray sat down on the bar stool at the Purple Flame Lounge, raising two fingers towards Cana to get her attention. "The usual, please."

Cana winked as she set a glass on the bar counter, pouring a dark brown liquid into the clear glass. Macao made his way over to Gray and sat down beside him with a sigh. "I haven't seen you in a while. I was beginning to think you were done with drinking. So should I get your son on the phone to make sure you have a ride home tonight?"

Gray brought the glass to his lips, taking a small sip. "No need tonight, Macao."

The older man raised a brow. "Oh? Whys that?"

"This is my last drink. I'm planning on giving this up so I can see my daughter."

"That's a pretty big step there… you think you could do that? The way you'd come in here and drink nearly half of my stock, I find it hard to believe you could stop."

The ice mage tipped back the glass against his lips, feeling the cool drink run down his throat. "Well… when it's just me now at home… I have to try to give this up. It's about time I cleaned myself up. It's time for me to grow up. Just like my son."

"You're living alone now? What happened to Finn? Is he ok?"

Gray grinned slightly. "Yeah, he's fine. He's finally going to be away from all of this. He's going to do something with his life. He left for the Rune Knights Academy to continue his schooling there."

"Wow, I hear that place is very prestigious and well known for their abilities to improve a student's magic power within a matter of months. I also heard it's a very expensive place to go attend school at. How is he able to afford it?"

"…Juvia's boyfriend is paying for everything…. I just hope he'll be able to do better there. That's all I ever wanted for him. To do better than I ever could."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. And hey, good luck with yourself." Macao patted Grays shoulder as he stood, making his way around to behind the bar. The ice mage looked around the place as he pushed away his empty glass.

"This place has really gone downhill, man. This place is pretty dead. I remember it used to be the hottest place to be at night."

Macao grabbed a flyer and brought it up to the giant board beside the bar, pinning it up for people to see. "Yeah… I don't know what else to do. The band I have is great, but they are getting older and no one really wants to come out and see a few old men playing their instruments. The singer I had quit on me, so ever since then, business hasn't been that good. I'm posting up flyers everywhere I can think of to try to get someone else in here, maybe bring in some more business for me. Hell I even started one dollar margarita night! I've tried free ladies night and even one free beer night… but it never seems to be enough." Macao looked around his establishment in disappointment. "If I can't get any business in here soon, I may have to close this place down."

Gray looked around once more, feeling sorry for Macao. But he was right. No one wants to come out and see the same old guys playing the same old songs they've heard a million times. Only the regulars were at the bar now, but even that was not enough to keep this place a float. Gray thought about asking Loke to come sing at this place, but he knew he was too busy and pushed the thought from his head. He looked back to the owner. "Hey, hand me a few of those flyers. I'll put some out around town. You've helped me out a lot these past few years so it's the least I can do."

Macao smiled as he handed Gray a stack of papers. "Thanks Gray. Yeah. I really hope this will get someone in here who can really draw in a crowd. We need something. Otherwise… I'll be out of a business."

Gray stood and pulled out a few dollars out of his pocket, placing the money on the counter before turning around and walking out of the bar, the flyers in his hand. 'It would be a damn shame if this place went under….'

The next day, Finn and Bora made their way to the academy early in the morning, meeting with Lahar at the main doors of the school. Bora greeted Lahar with a firm handshake and reintroduced Finn. "You remember Finn from the soiree I had?"

Finn stretched his hand out to meet Lahars', shaking it firmly. "Of course. It is good to see you again, Finn. And I am glad you have reconsidered the offer to join us here at the academy. Now then, shall we?"

Finn nodded and followed Bora and Lahar throughout the entire campus. His eyes were wide as they viewed the training grounds they had outside, and the large training rooms they had inside. They had everything Finn could ever think of to help with his magic training. As Lahar took them across the campus, Finn watched the different mages practicing outside. They were in teams of two, sparing off with another two or with just one instructor. Finn waited for Lahar to finish talking about the training programs before speaking. "Are there any other ice mages attending the academy?"

Lahar turned around to face Finn, his eyes looking out to the students practicing before returning back to Finn. "I believe you are the first and only ice wizard to attend the Rune Knights Academy. I cannot recall ever seeing an ice mage here before in the whole time I've been Head Master."

Bora wrapped an arm around Finn. "A great honor for you Finn, I'm sure. And I'm sure your instructors will have some fun with something new around here."

Lahar adjusted his glasses slightly. "Yes. I have already informed his instructors of his magic abilities. They are looking forward to working with an ice mage. Something different from the usual bunch of wizards they have to work with. Now then… let us continue."

Finn stayed back for a minute, his eyes glued to the mages still practicing. 'This is… amazing… everything I've heard so far sounds great. And to top it all off, I'm the only ice mage here.'

Finn turned and followed Bora and Lahar into the next building, a wide smile over his face. 'I think I can do this. I can finally get better with my magic… I'll be able to forget about everything that has happened… this is the break that I needed.'

Leo walked out of his class and stared down at the test score he received. "Ugh… thirty percent?! Geez… mom is gonna kill me! I thought for sure I did well on that test… I mean I could have studied more…" Leo gripped his blonde hair as he groaned. "Gah! I can't afford to fail this class! Mom said she wasn't going to pay for my classes more than once, so I have to pass this!" Olive-green eyes looked up and widened slightly. "She's here again?"

Lily had just walked out of one of her classes, her hand reaching up and pulling back her bangs behind her ears, revealing her pierced ears. Leo smirked as he made his way over to her. "Hey, I didn't know dragons went to school. I'm surprised you showed up for classes again."

Lily ignored his comment as she walked down to her next class. "Yeah well, these classes aren't going to pass themselves."

"I thought you were giving up on school and just letting Finn do all the work for ya. Oh I get it now! Since he isn't here anymore, you have to come to class! Geez what a bummer. Must suck having to be here all the time now, not be with your precious band."

Lily stopped in her tracks and turned to Leo. "For your information, I like school, and I am doing this because I want to get my grades back up. I'm planning on going to grad school after I graduate from here."

"So then how are you going to perform in your band if you are going to do all of this? And what about Chrono? Not making any time for him now too? Tell me why you are coming back to school all of a sudden, dragon." Leo said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you expect someone to suddenly change their mind and come back here?"

Lily looked away, holding her books closer to her body. "He's not coming back. I honestly will be surprised if he ever talks to me again." Lily waited a minute before snapping her head back up. "Besides, I quit the band. And I broke up with that loser for good. I'm done with all of that. I just want to focus on myself and my studies. I need to do this for me. I have plans for my future… I just… got carried away from them for a while…. But now I want to get back on track. I figured if I come to classes every day and do whatever extra work I can, I could get my grades back up before I graduate." Hazel eyes looked back to Leo, eyeing is paper in his hands. A brow went up on her face as she smirked. "Guess I can't say the same about you. You show up every day to school and you still are failing your Ancient Literature class? I'm surprised… you being a smooth talker and all… you should have no problems passing that class."

Leo blushed in embarrassment as he hid his test paper behind his back. "Ha, ha… very funny. Being a smooth talker and Ancient Literature are two different things! You would think a serpent like you would know that! "

"Maybe you should focus less on the girls you are constantly going out with and more on your studies."

"Ha! This coming from the girl that is constantly going out with guys and wasn't showing up to classes!"

Lily rolled her eyes as she stuck out her hip to the side. "I told you, I don't do that anymore. Didn't you hear me when I said I quit the band and broke up with Chrono for good? Besides… I know I don't need to show up to classes to pass them. I'm smart enough I just need the assignments to pass."

Leo waved his hand in the air and rolled his eyes. "Well aren't you special? Is that why you were failing all of your classes before? Because you never showed up and never did your homework that Finn would bring to you?"

Lily scoffed and shifted her weight to the other side. "Look, if you want help with that class, I could come by and help tutor you a few nights a week. All you have to do is drop that lions pride of yours and ask me."

"Yeah right! Like I need help from you! It'll be a cold day in hell before I ask a dragon for help!"

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes as she turned around, heading to her class room. "You just let me know when you're tired of failing that class and want some help, Leo."

Leo grew flustered as he pointed a finger at Lily as she disappeared into the crowd. "I do not have lions pride!... ok! Maybe I do! But I won't ever ask for help from a slimy, deceitful serpent like you! I don't need it!" The blonde haired boy looked back down at his test paper, biting his lip nervously. 'But then again… I really don't want mom to find out I'm failing this course…' Leo groaned as he scratched his head furiously. "Damn it all! Why should I ask her for help?! I could just go to Finn and—" Leo stopped his rambling and dropped his hands at his side. "Oh yeah… I forgot…" His fist clenched his test paper tightly. "Damn it… without Finn here… I might have to ask for her help after all…. I really am going to have to swallow my pride and ask her for help." Leo eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Great… something else she won't ever let down…."

AN: hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I can't tell you guys how much fun it is to write this characters and this story. It really is coming along and I am quite thankful for those who are following, faving and reviewing. It means a lot to me, specially since this has a lot of OC's. But the characters, I feel are all so great! I was rereading this story from the beginning and I think I said in one of my notes that Leo was my fav. I do love writing Leo, but the further I've gotten into this story, the more I love them all. I mean, serious love them. I wish they were actual characters in Fairy Tail. Caz that would be amazing. I feel like I've written them to the point where I could actually see them being the characters kids in the show.

Anywhos! Get ready for some more character development/changes and some exciting things that will happen :) that's all I've got for now, so please enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review! Thanks!