AN: Chapter 28

First off, HUGE SHOUTOUT TO MSKTK!

She has FINALLY UPDATED her one story, Monster, and if any of you are looking for some GAJEVY smut, please go check out her story! it's amazingly written, not just because of the smut, but is overall, written so well and it really deserves more attention so please go check it out :)

I just want to say… that these next few chapters…. Are going to be intense! Things are going to probably make you all freak out. I can't wait to get them written out and posted! I'm looking forward to what's going to happen in these next few chapters so I can only hope that you guys will look forward to them too. i hope i caught everything... if not, like usual, i will change it later lol

.titania: lol you are most welcome! And yes…. Fear what bora is capable of doing! And as for Lily and Finn… you'll just have to continue reading to find out :)

Depressica: lol you never know… I might have Finn stay faithful to Serena, I might not. We shall see. And the whole bora/rain/gray drama is going to get pretty intense in the next chapter so be ready for that!

NavyNinjaHo: lol yep, they are all back together. And im not going to say what Finn is going to do in the end ;)

Nyma: thank you, thank you ^.^ as always! And don't worry, next chapter is going to be full of so many things!

Lovingdimple: lol yes, Finn and Serena are cute together, but you cant stop your feelings from changing. Im not going to say if Finn and Lily are going to fall in love or not because that would ruin the surprise! And thank you so much for enjoying the chapter!

Finn pulled his shirt over his torso as he listened to his phone ring through the speaker. He waited patiently for his sister to answer, trying to catch her before she had to go to class. He picked up the phone and turned off the speaker button, putting the phone close to his ear as he sat down on his bed. Rain answered on the last ring, her voice sounding tired.

"Hello?"

Finn raised a brow at the sound of her voice. "Hey, Rain, you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm just… a bit tired is all. I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Well hey, I wanted to tell ya that I made it back home yesterday."

"Oh? Was dad happy to see you?"

"Yeah, and he seems to look fairly good. I told him he's gotta work on that smoking habit, but he actually cleaned this place up and it looks a lot nicer than it did before. He seems better too. I mean, not entirely. He seemed a bit off like something was bugging him and he had a pad of paper with a ton of scribbles on it. He wouldn't let me take a look at it so I didn't push it further. It was kinda weird and totally unlike dad."

"He's probably just trying to think of things to say to mom when we come in this weekend."

Finns' expression turned to one of confusion. "What do you mean when we come in this weekend? You guys are… coming home?"

"Yeah… Dad said Lucy invited us to the party she's going to have. I told him we would be there. We're supposed to come in Friday before it starts."

"Huh… weird, dad didn't mention that to me yesterday."

"Well, we kind of just found out the other day. I'm sure it just slipped his mind is all. So how does it feel to be back home?"

"To be honest, kinda nice. It was great to see Leo, even if I want to kick his ass at the moment…."

"What do you mean?"

The ice mage let out a sigh before he spoke. "Last night, he wanted to take me out, saying we were going to meet up with his date at the bar, and he ended up taking me to see Lily perform there. She quit her band and joined the one at the Purple Flame Lounge. He eventually left me there with her and it was totally awkward since we haven't talked in almost a year…. But… at the same time… I was amazed on how she sounded with this new band and how good she looked. She cut her hair, and her voice sounded so much better when she was on stage. She even seems a bit different around me too, which is weird."

"So have you told her everything about your life now?"

Finn closed his eyes as he laid back onto the bed, letting out another sigh as he ran his hand over his face. "No… I haven't told her about Serena yet…"

"Why haven't you done that yet?"

"I… I don't know…"

"Is it because you still have feelings for her?"

Finn sat up quickly, anger in his voice. "I do not have feelings for her still! I told you that I was over Lily…. I just… didn't think it was the right time to tell her when she was driving me home…."

The ice mage listened to his sister sigh on the other end of the phone. "Finn… even over the phone, I can hear the truth in your voice. You still have feelings for that girl. Like I said you would. I told you when you left that those feelings you had for her weren't going to go away, even when you did. Are you just going to leave that fact about you out of your conversations?"

"No! I'll… I'll tell her… eventually. What does it matter anyway? She just sees me as a friend, remember?"

"Yeah but considering she was acting weird around you last night, kinda raises a red flag, don't you think?"

"That doesn't mean anything. It was probably just from the awkwardness between us."

"Whatever Finn… look, I gotta go, so I'll see you Friday when mom and I are home."

Finn frowned slightly. "Yeah, alright. See you guys then."

The ice mage hung up the phone and slipped it into his pocket as he shook his head. His sisters' words stayed in his head as he walked down the stairs to see Gray. 'My feelings for her did go away when I did… just because I admitted that she looks and sounds good doesn't mean I like her like that anymore… I mean… I still care about her… she's… still my friend… I just… don't like her like that… anymore….'

Solid blue eyes looked to the couch for his father, widening slightly as he didn't see him in his usual place on the couch. Finn looked around in confusion. "Dad? You still here?"

Gray made his way into the room from the kitchen, a mug in his hands as he looked over Finn with a grin. "You were home late last night. Did you and Leo party it up all night since you two were finally reunited?"

Finn scoffed as he moved past his father. "No, Leo just took me to the Purple Flame Lounge…"

"Oh, was Lily there?" Gray asked calmly.

Finn looked at his father. "You knew?! You knew she was there singing for Macao too?!"

"A lot has happened since you've been gone." Gray turned as his son walked past him, watching Finn reach into the fridge for a drink. Gray smiled as he walked over to the small table fit for four, taking a seat and setting down his mug lightly. "You know I went there months ago… I was in a bad spot and I thought that a drink would help me and my problems."

Finn set down the jug of orange juice and stared at his father. He looked concerned and hurt, believing his father had been drinking when he said he wasn't at the time. Gray looked at Finn and waved a hand. "Don't worry, I didn't drink anything. I wanted to, but… listening to Lily sing on stage that night, made me change my mind. The song she sang made me think of your sister… and everything that I've said to you over the years, and throughout your training… it made me think over a lot of things… and I ended up going to her to thank her. And to apologize, for everything that I had said about her."

"You didn't have a drink that night because of her?"

Gray nodded slowly. "She really has turned herself around and I owe a lot to that girl. I think the song she sang that night was the kick in the ass that I needed to get myself together. I even made up with her dad. And as you can see, I cleaned myself and the house up a bit."

"Yeah… I can see that…" Finn sat down across from his father, taking a sip of juice from his glass. 'I can't believe he knew that she was there too… maybe he talked to Leo and they agreed not to tell me….'

Gray grinned as he held onto this coffee mug. "So tell me about school. You learning a lot over there?"

Finn set his glass down slowly, his eyes landing on his hands. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. I uh… I actually was able to unlock that power you were talking about…."

Finn glanced up towards his father, Grays' eyes wide in disbelief. "You… you did it? You were able to unlock it?" Gray asked slowly.

Finn nodded. "Yeah… it took a lot to get there… I had to let go of…. A lot of things holding me back. But I did it dad. I felt so much stress and pressure release after I achieved it. I was even able to control it at will, thanks to my instructors."

Gray stared at Finns' arm, his eyes moving back up to Finns' face. "Can… can I see it? Can you show me, Finn?"

"Uh… yeah… I guess I can do that."

The two stood up and made their way out back. Gray stood near the door as Finn walked out into the yard, taking his stance and breathing in and out slowly. He closed his eyes gently. He could already feel the immense power surging through him, his magic power increasing quickly. Gray stood at the door in disbelief. He could feel the power coming off of Finn from where he stood. The ice mage never thought his son could ever achieve such power in his lifetime. All the years of pushing Finn to his limits, all of the mean things he said to his son, all of the fights that started from his frustration came to the surface as he watched Finn effortlessly gain magic power within minutes.

Gray watched as Finn opened his eyes, his right arm raising slightly as a red mark began to appear over it. The ice mage watched with wide eyes as he could feel the immense ice-make power coming off from Finn and his new ability. The red mark turned back as Finn quickly waved his right arm off to the side. He watched as Gray made his way to Finn his expression changing from wide and disbelieving eyes to ones that looked angry. The younger ice mage brought a hand to the back of his head, rubbing it lightly. "I'm… not sure what move you want me to perform, but this is what I was able to unlock, or at least this is what it looks like…" Finn bit his lip as he watched his father make his way over to him. 'Crap… he looks pissed… I don't know what more he wants from me… what if he's angry that I was able to do this and he wasn't?'

Finns' own eyes went wide as he felt his father wrap his arms around him tightly, pulling him in close to his own body. "D-dad?"

"Finn… I'm so proud of you…" Gray held his son tighter in his arms as he fought back his own tears. "I'm so sorry for never telling you before… I just… never believed in you, and I'm sorry for that. I should have been easier on you all those years ago. I was just too stubborn and foolish to admit that I was in the wrong, that you would eventually achieve something I never could. You've become a better man and I ever could have hoped to be."

"Dad… don't… don't say that…" Finn could feel his chest tightening up at his father's words. "You've come a long way too…."

Gray let Finn go and brought a hand up to the corner of his eye, quickly hiding the tear that escaped. "Not like you, kiddo. You've definitely done more than I have. And I just… could not be more proud of you."

"Thanks dad… that means a lot to me."

Gray coughed slightly as he shifted their conversation to another subject, in fear that his eyes would betray him further. "So, um, you have any plans for today?"

Finn half-smiled as he looked at his father. "Yeah, Leo invited me over for a bon fire at his place tonight. I was thinking about just hanging out with him. Oh and by the way… did you know that mom and Rain were coming home on Friday?"

"Yeah I'm the one that told your sister about it."

"Oh really? You ok with that? I mean, you haven't seen mom in so long, I can understand that you want to see Rain and everything…. But now all of a sudden you want to try to see her?"

"Well… I think it would be good for everyone to see us all at once, even if we aren't together. Everyone hasn't seen or talked to Juvia since she left and I just thought it would be a good idea for them to make an appearance with us at the party."

"Ok… just weird that all of a sudden you want to see mom is all…"

"Look, it's more so for everyone else at the party. It'll be fun."

"If you say so. I just don't want this to turn into another huge fight..."

Gray put a hand to Finn's shoulder. "Trust me, there won't be anything like that on Friday." Gray turned around and took a few steps towards the house, stopping and turning around slightly. "Oh and hey, I wanted to let you know… um… what happened to your shirt, kiddo?"

Finn looked at Gray in confusion before his solid blue eyes looked down at his torso. "Oh god damn it!" Finn cursed himself as he smacked his face with his palm. "Yeah, another thing I picked up was the stripping habit you had! So thanks for that! I even ended up asking my girlfriend out on a date without a shirt on. Man was that embarrassing…."

Gray let out a laugh. "I was wondering if you'd ever pick that up eventually! How does this new girl you're seeing feel about this habit?"

Finn blushed as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "She seemed fine with it…. But she's pretty cool, really pretty and smart. I was sorta amazed she agreed to go out with me. But she's fascinated by my magic so I think that kind of pushed the whole striping habit form her mind."

Gray let out a laugh as Finn finished speaking. "You'll find that women like us Fullbusters when we strip. I hope to meet her one day. She sounds like a lovely lady. Anyways, I just wanted to let ya know that I'll be in town for most of the day so I'll probably see you later tonight or in the morning."

"Ok, yeah I'm probably going to head over to Leo's soon."

"You guys have fun and don't let that fire get too big. That's all Loke and Lucy need for the cops to be called on them because their neighbors are sticklers."

Finn laughed lightly as he watched Gray go back inside. Finns' eyes went down to his right arm, the black mark disappearing slowly. His father's words rang through his head as he watched the mark disappear, putting a smile over the ice mages lips. 'Never thought I'd have to go through all of his to hear that you're proud of me dad…'

Leo opened the door to the fridge and reached in for a bottle of water as he spoke to Finn. "Wow, man. Your dad actually said all of that?"

Finn leaned up against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. "Yeah. I totally wasn't expecting him to say any of that. Honestly I thought he was coming over to me to kick my ass or something! He looked so pissed!"

Leo stood up straight and closed the door. "Maybe he was pissed, but when he got to you, he just felt so much pride and joy for you that he just forgot that he was going to kick your ass?" Leo said with a shrug.

Finn scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The point is… he said he was proud of me. It felt really good to hear that. I mean it sucks that it took him this long to tell me but still…"

The two friends looked up towards the next room as the doorbell rang. Leo nodded towards the next room as he made his way to the back door. "Can you get that? I'm gonna go start this fire up."

"Yeah sure." Finn made his way to the front door, opening it quickly. His eyes widened some as he looked onto Lily as she stood before him, her arms full of grocery bags. "Hey…"

Lily smiled as she saw Finn standing in the doorway. "Hi!"

Finn looked down at the bags she was carrying. "Here, let me help you with that." The ice mage said as he reached for one of the bags from the dark haired girl, relieving one of her arms from the heavy weight.

"Ah, thanks! I don't know why Leo wanted me to get so much for s'mores. It's just going to be the three of us. How much does he really think we're gonna eat?!" She said with a laugh. Finn smiled as he moved aside to let Lily in. he closed the door behind her and followed her into the kitchen, setting the bag down onto the counter. The ice mage eyed the girl as she took boxes out of the bags. He was looking over her and what she had chosen to wear tonight. She had in a dark blue head band that held back her long bangs, revealing her ears and all of her piercings. She wore a red tank top with spaghetti strings, showing off her tanned skin some. Solid blue eyes traveled further down to see the skin-tight jeans that showed off every curve from the waist down.

"So has Leo started the fire yet?"

Finns' eyes shot back up to Lily as she looked over to the ice mage. "Uh, yeah… he went out there to start it when I was letting you in."

Lily put her arms on her hips and let out a huff. "So that means he probably won't have it started by the time we get out there." Lily started for the back door when Finns' words stopped her.

"Hey, Lil?"

Lily turned to see Finn making his way closer to her. "Yeah?"

The ice mage stepped close to the older girl, a slightly smile over his face as he pointed to her ears. "You got more piercings? Last time I saw you, you only had four. What are you up to now?"

Lily blushed slightly as a hand went up to one of her ears, her fingers brushing over the metal piercings. "Oh, yeah… well… I've got six in. The pair you got for me and the ones Leo bought for me for Christmas."

Finn took a step back in shock. "Wait… what? Leo bought these for you?" Finn asked as he brought a hand to her ear, his cool fingers brushing over the newest piercing to Lily's' ear. The girl blushed a darker shade of red as she felt the coolness of his touch. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him look back at her.

"Um… yeah…. It was sort of a thank you too… for helping him out with school…."

Leo walked back into the house and raised his brows. "Why you couldn't just switch them out instead of filling your ears with holes, is beyond me!"

Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes at Leos' statement. Finn smiled as he brought his hand back to his side. "I like it. It suits you."

Lily blushed as she looked away with a smile. Her hand reaching back up to the spot where Finn ran his fingers over her ear. "Thanks…"

Leo shook his head as he searched through one of the counter drawers, looking for matches. "You two are so weird…."

Lily looked back up to Finn and smiled as she pointed to the back door. "Well… I'm gonna head out there..."

Finn smiled back as he watched her leave the house. As he turned, he was met with Leos' stare. "What?"

"Dude… what was that all about?"

"What are you talking about? I was just looking at her piercings… there's no harm in that."

"You were touching her while you were checking her ears out!"

"So what?!"

Leo shrugged. "Fine… don't complain to me when Serena asks why you were touching another woman's ears."

Finn frowned as he walked over to the small bag of marshmallows, and the boxes of crackers and chocolate for s'mores. "Will you shut up?! Me touching her ears didn't mean anything! Just hurry up and get back out there with those matches!"

Leo smiled as he held up the small packet of matches. "No need! I found them!"

Finn and Leo made their way to the spot Leo had set up for the fire. Finn set down the two boxes and the small bag of marshmallows next to Lily, taking a seat next to her as they watched Leo kneel down to start the fire. They watched him for minutes, struggling to get the flames going.

Lily put her elbow up on her leg, resting her chin in her palm as she smiled. "Hey you know I can get that going in seconds if you want, Leo."

The blonde haired boy glanced up to the girl with a glare. "No thanks, dragon. I can do this on my own. I don't need your fire to help me get this bad boy going."

Lily and Finn watched as Leo cursed the fire for not starting up for him. The dark haired girl let out a sigh as Leo leaned in closer to the bottom of the fire pit. Finn spoke, slightly annoyed. "You know words aren't going to start that fire Leo… do you just want us to help?"

Lily lifted her head up, a smile over her lips as she moved her hand to the front of her body, her finger moving in the air quickly. Finn watched her spell out the word "Fire" and within seconds, the word burst into flames. Lily pushed the word forward to the wood before them, causing the blonde haired boy to fall back, his olive-green eyes wide.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!" He said as he clenched his shirt tightly.

Lily giggled. "No, I'm just trying to get warm! By the time you would have gotten it started, I would have been a popsicle!"

Leo stood and brushed off his clothes. "I wasn't the one who told you to wear that stupid tank top!" He said as he stormed off to the house.

Lily called back as the blonde haired boy made his way inside. "Excuse me for coming straight here from work!"

Finn laughed lightly as he listened to the two argue. "Wow, somethings never change."

Lily looked to the fire, her eyebrows crossing as she spoke. "I swear he's just acting this way because you're back home. He usually isn't this bratty with me anymore…"

"Why did he go inside anyway?" Finn asked as he looked over to Lily.

Lily held her hands out towards the fire to warm herself up. "Probably wanted to make sure his precious eyebrows were still there." Lily looked over at Finn and began to laugh at her own statement along with the ice mage.

Finn held onto his sides as he laughed. "Can you see him without any eyebrows?!"

Lily spoke in between her laughs. "He'd probably try to get you to give him some of your hair to replace them! I can see it now!" The dark haired girl moved to her knees as she raised her hands up to Finn, her fingers reaching for his blue hair. The ice mage grabbed them as he laughed. Lily imitated Leo's voice as she spoke. "Come on man! Just give me a few strands of your hair! I can't go out looking like this! A few locks is all I'm asking for! Be the friend I know you to be and just give me some!"

Finn laughed harder as he listened to Lily imitating Leo as she reached for his hair jokingly. Lily continued. "I don't even care that your hair is darker than mine! I'll be making a statement! Or I could just dye it blonde! It'll totally work!"

The ice mage fell onto his back from laughing so hard, pulling the girl down with him. Lily laughed as she braced herself up with her now free hands on either side of Finns' torso. Her laughter subsided as Finn began to come down from his laughing fit as well. A slight blush came over her face as she looked at him. Finn wiped away a tear that escaped the corner of his eye as he spoke. "Damn, that was pretty funny. I could totally see him doing that too."

Lily smiled as she went back to her seat. "Yeah…. He's definitely a goon."

The ice mage sat back up and let out the last bit of his laughter as he rubbed his stomach muscles that ached now from laughing so hard. "It's really hard to believe that you guys were getting along while I was gone."

Lily smiled as she made a fist with her hand. "Well a couple of these helped me out." She said as she lightly punched Finn in the arm.

Finn smiled slightly. "Well it's good to hear you guys are finally getting along. And I'm glad to know he had someone to hang out with. So, thanks Lil."

"Psh… it's nothing… really…"

"No, I really mean it. I really do appreciate you being there for Leo when I wasn't. I owe you one."

Lily grinned as she spoke. "Well… I can think of a way for you to pay me back…" She said as she moved closer to Finn. The ice mage watched the dark haired girl move in closer, his chest beginning to tighten slightly as he looked at her face.

"W-what is it?"

Lily slowly began to move her hand across Finn, as if she was about to climb on top of him. The ice mage could feel his heart beating in his chest. 'Crap… what is she doing?! What am I doing?! Am I just going to let her do this?! Right now?! I mean… we're at Leos' house! I… I have to stop this before she does something, or worse, if I do something!'

"Lil—"

The dark haired girl grabbed the small bag of marshmallows and held them up quickly with a wide smile over her face. "Play chubby bunny with me! Like we used to do when we were younger! Please?"

Finn stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth opened slightly. "…What?"

Lily pushed Finn lightly. "Come on! I want to see who can win this time around! So let's play! That can be thanks for me watching over Leo while you were gone!"

Finn sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know Lil…. Last time we did this, I just about died from choking on one of these things. Why don't we just make some s'mores?"

Lily stuck out her bottom lip as she moved closer to the ice mage. "Oh come on! I saved you then, I can save you again if you choke!"

"I just don't think it's a good idea."

Lily sat back down on her legs. "Fine… if that's what you want…."

Finn closed his eyes lightly. "Thanks."

Lily grinned as she glanced over at the ice mage, a giggle escaping her throat as she quickly made her move. The girl pushed Finn back onto the ground, her legs straddling his hips as her hands pinned his arms down. Finns' eyes shot open as he went backwards, his cheeks growing red at the sudden move by Lily. "W-what are you doing?!"

"Say you'll play the game with me and I'll let you up."

"Lil… get off… please…"

"Oh, come on Finn! Just say you'll play! It's not like you can get out of this… so just agree to do it."

Finn fought the urge to look down at the body pinning him down. Solid blue eyes shut tightly as he used all of his strength to turn the tables on the girl. He turned her over so that now he was on top, the one pinning her down by her wrists. The dark haired girl gasped slightly at his strength. Hazel eyes went wide as a blush came over her face. She could feel his grip tighten around her wrists as he held her in place for a minute in silence. Finn opened his eyes, looking down at the now vulnerable girl beneath him.

"Lil… you can't… you can't do this anymore…"

Lily half smiled as she raised a brow. "Ha… I can see that! You've gotten pretty strong at the academy."

The ice mage shook his head. "No. I mean…" He could feel his chest tighten once more, his insides flipped as he braced himself above the girl. 'Stop thinking about this situation… I have to just say what I have to say and let her go! If I keep this up any longer, I might do something I'll regret….' Finn swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed. His voice stern and unwavering. "You can't keep doing this to me while I'm back."

"What are you talking about?"

"The whole… pinning me down thing to get me to do what you want… or just being all over me in general, like you used to be…. You just… can't do that anymore…"

Lily's smile faded as she looked up to Finn. "It… it was never a problem when we were younger… I didn't mean to upset you either… I just—"

"Look… things are different now…. we're not kids anymore and I… I have a girlfriend."

The script mage felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Her words struggled to escape her mouth in response to what she just heard. "You… you have a…. girlfriend?"

Finn slowly let Lily go, sitting up and staring away from her, his voice still slightly angry. "Yeah. So just lay off the whole trying to get me to do things with you. I'm willing to hang out with you but you can't act like a spoiled brat and expect me to go along with whatever you want."

Lily sat up slowly, disbelief still moving through her as she tried to wrap her brain around the idea of Finn having a girlfriend. "Yeah… I'm… I'm sorry… I won't do it… again… I promise…." A hand came up to her chest as she looked away. 'What's with me? Why am I feeling this way? Why does my heart hurt so much after he told me that?! I should… I should be happy that he has someone finally. He… he deserves it…' Lily quickly stood and wiped off her jeans from the loose grass that attached itself to her clothes. The ice mage glanced over to her as he spoke.

"Where are you going?"

Without turning around, Lily spoke softly. "I'm… going to check on that stupid lion… make sure he didn't get lost in there." Finn watched as she made her way inside the house quickly. Solid blue eyes turned back to the fire. Silence falling over him as he ran a hand up through his blue hair.

'Damn it… maybe I was too much of a jerk when I said to lay off…'

Lily swung open the door, her eyes catching Leo walking into the room. She growled as she stormed over to him, punching him hard in the arm. The blonde haired boy quickly brought a hand to the spot where the girl had punched him.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?! You damn near burn off my face and I get a punch to the arm?! How the hell is that fair?!"

Lily grabbed Leos' shirt as she burned a hole into him with her hazel eyes. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE HAD A GIRLFRIEND?!"

"Who?!"

"Finn!"

"Oh… yeah… that…" Leo said as he brought his hand up to the back of his head. "So what? He has a girl now. What's the big deal?"

"I just made a fool out of myself and now he hates me!" Lily let Leo go and let her arms drop to her sides. "I just wish you told me beforehand…"

"I'm not your messenger boy! You two were the ones who decided not to talk to each other during the time he was gone."

"I know!" Lily snapped back. Her expression softening as she spoke. "Look… I think I'm just going to go home. I… don't think I can be here right now… I just need to be alone."

Leo watched Lily move past him, confusion coming over him. "What the hell went on when I was in here?" The blonde haired boy shrugged his shoulders and made his way to the fire outside, taking a seat where Lily sat beside a pouting Finn. "So… care to tell me what happened?"

"Nothing happened. Where's Lily?" Finn said as he stared into the flames.

Leo let out a sigh. "She decided to go home. Said something about her made a fool of herself. I don't know. Doesn't sound any different from how she usually is."

Finn remained silent for a long minute. His mind racing. 'I shouldn't have been that mean to her… I mean… it was funny how she was imitating Leo… and I let that happen… I should have said something then. Maybe I wouldn't have been so mean sounding… I'm such an idiot… she's probably not going to want to talk to me at all now. Wonder if she's still going to come to that party…'

"Soo… still not gonna tell me what happened?"

"I told you… nothing happened… I just told her that I have a girlfriend now."

Leo frowned as he stared at Finn. "Somehow I don't believe you…. but I'm not going to press the matter. Let's just dig into these s'mores!"

Finn shoved the boxes and small bag towards Leo, uninterested in joining him. "All yours."

"Oh come on! Don't be so gloomy! So what if she left! We can still have some fun! Just us bros!" Leo waited a few seconds for Finn to respond before he wrapped an arm around the ice mages neck. "I said stop being so gloomy!" The blonde haired boy growled as he rubbed his fist on Finns' head roughly.

The ice mage began to laugh lightly as he attempted to escape Leos' grasp. "Alright! Alright! I'll lighten up! Just let me go already!"

Leo grinned as he released Finn. "Good. Now. Tell me more about this girl while I make my s'more. I want to know if this girl is good enough for my Finny boy."

Lily buried her face into her pillow, clenching each side of it tightly as she cried into it. 'Why does this hurt so much…? Why can't this feeling just go away?... why… why did you have to tell me that…?'

Pantherlily opened the door to Lily's room quietly. His feet padding across her floor lightly. He could hear her sniffling into the pillow. The exceed grew concerned as he flew up to her head. "Lily? Is something wrong?"

The dark haired girl shook her head in response. The exceed half smiled as he placed a paw on the girls short, dark hair. "Come on. You know you can talk to me about this."

Lily sat up slowly, her hands wiping away her tears that didn't seem to end. Her cheeks were red and stained from the tears she shed. The girl grabbed her pillow and held it close to her aching chest. The black exceed moved to the girls side and sat down next to her. "Now then. What happened? I thought you were supposed to be at Leos' for his bon fire?"

"I… I was there. I just… I just had to leave."

"Why? What happened?" The exceed asked, concern over his face.

Lily bit down on her lip as her tears began to flow down her cheeks once more. She was unable to stop them or the pain she felt as she heard Finns' voice in her head. "Finn… told me that he had a girlfriend and got mad at me for acting like how I used to around him… I didn't mean anything by it… I'm just so used to being my old self around him… but now… I feel like I have to hold back on some of the things I do. And I think… I think he hates me now. Because I was acting sorta like a child."

Pantherlily looked up at the girl. "Well… you have changed quite a bit, and it sounds to me like you were just excited to have your best friend back and naturally went back to how you used to act around him. I wouldn't say that he hates you for what you did."

"You didn't see the look on his face when he snapped at me…"

Pantherlily put his paws together with a smile. "Do you want me to go have a little talk with him?"

Lily laughed slightly as she wiped her tears away. "No… you don't have to do that. But… I wouldn't mind a hug right now…."

The exceed smiled as he hopped off the bed, turning into his larger form with his paws out to either side. Lily sniffled as she stood up, wrapping her arms around the larger exceed and burring her face into his fur. She felt his paw move to the back of her head, rubbing it lightly. "I say just give him some space and try to act like you are now around him. Forget about how you were in the past. Just be yourself. You have turned yourself around Lily. You're not that spoiled brat that used to think very highly of herself. You've grown into a very beautiful, and smart woman. And you know that I'm not lying because you had me by the tail for many years."

The girl smiled once more, a small laugh escaping her throat. "I know. And I'm sorry about that. I was pretty stupid as a child. I always wanted to keep you by my side wherever I went. I thought that dragging you around by the tail most of the time was the way to do it. I know better now."

Pantherlily released the girl from his grasp. He looked down to her, eying the small tear that fell down her cheek as she looked back up at him. He smiled as he wiped the tear away. "There. You feel any better now that your cat has comforted you?

Lily nodded her head as she smiled. "Yes. Thank you Lily. I really needed this."

"Good. Now if you still are upset later tonight, don't be afraid to pull me up into your arms and give me a good squeeze."

"Ok… I will if I need to."

Pantherlily smiled before he changed back into his smaller form, heading for the opened door to the girls room. Lily waited for the exceed to leave before laying back down onto her bed, her arms bringing the pillow up to her face as she continued to cry. 'I don't know why I'm so heartbroken about it… I just… I just don't understand why I'm crying… why I just feel so hurt by it. I didn't care that he told me to not act like how I used to be… what hurt the most… was finding out that he has someone else…' Lily lifted her head up slightly, her eyes half opened and full of tears. 'Why is this bothering me so much? Why does it feel like my heart is shattered into a million pieces?' Lily moved her face back into her pillow, her warm tears continuing down into the soft fabric. 'I wish I knew what was wrong with me….'

AN: Please don't forget to review and check out MsKtk's story Monster!