AN: Chapter 34
So sorry for the late update everyone… haven't been in the writing mood as of late. My work schedule also has not been helping either. But its going to be changing again soon so I hope to get a couple of days during the week that I can write some more chapters.
Wilathewitch: haha yeah, I was getting teary eyed when I was writing that scene in the last chapter. I'm glad someone else got some feels as well!
Depressica: teehee, what can I say? I love it all. ;) its fun to write and I wish I could write more of it!
Takiarika: trust me, I'm trying really hard to update as much as possible. Sometimes you just need to be a bit patient with me ^^;;
Solid blue eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times before adjusting to the sight before him at the edge of the bed. Finn sat up as he watched Lily slipped into the sleeveless shirt she had on the night before underneath her corset. His hands moved in between his hidden legs as he watched her stand, pulling her jeans up her legs quickly. The ice mage let out a sigh as he looked down at his hands. "So you're just going to leave again?"
Without turning around, Lily responded. "I have to go."
"Lil. You don't have to."
Lily sighed as she raised her head forward. She walked around to the other side of the bed to Finns' side, sitting down beside him. "Look… I shouldn't have even stayed the night last night. I have… a lot to do back home…"
"Then why did you stay with me?" Finn asked quietly. He watched as the girl turned her head away, as if she was debating in her head what to say.
"I…" She started to say. Lily shook her head and sighed once more. "It was late. I didn't see any point in driving here for a few minutes to see what was going on and then drive all the way back home."
Lily stood and turned, wanting to get out of the room before Finn started prying her with more questions. Too late. The ice mage reached up and grabbed her wrist lightly. Lily shut her eyes tightly as she felt his cool grip around her wrist. She bit down on her lip, waiting for him to say something. Finn opened his mouth to speak. "Lil… can we talk about us? About what happened last night?"
"There's nothing to talk about…"
"Bullshit Lil!"
Lily opened her eyes and turned around to face Finn, her wrist still held in place by his tight grip. "Finn… last night… was nothing. And it meant nothing."
"Why are you lying to me? You were the one who came onto me. You started it all. Lil…" Finn said her name softly as he stood from the bed, his grip loosening as his hand moved up her arm, stopping just above her elbow. "You can't tell me that you don't have feelings for me. Not after last night."
Hazel eyes looked away as Finn spoke. "Last night I was just comforting my best friend. It didn't have anything to do with feelings. I was just trying to make you forget the pain."
"Why are you being so stubborn?! You can't admit that you love me, can you?!" Finn said angrily.
Lily snapped her head back at the ice mage. "What does it matter?! You have a girlfriend. Someone who actually makes you happy."
Finns' eyes narrowed. "Is this what it's about? Serena? Look, I can end things with her."
"Why would you want to end things with her?" Lily asked softly as her eyes shifted in between Finns'.
The ice mage pulled the girl in close to his body, his forehead resting on hers as he closed his eyes halfway. "If it means being with you… I'd do it."
Lily began to shake her head slightly, her feet moving backwards slowly. "Finn…"
The ice mage pulled her back in, holding her tightly in place. "No. Don't run away from me. I'm being completely serious. Tell me you don't love me. Tell me you don't want to be with me. Tell me that we aren't supposed to be together. Lil…. I know it sounds wrong for me to break up with Serena… but… I know what I want." Finn reached up to the girls chin, lifting her head up slightly as his eyes locked into hers. "I just want you." His lips moved in close to hers, his cool breath falling over her tanned skin.
Lily shut her eyes tightly as she pushed the ice mage away at the last second. Her head hung down as she held him at arm's length. She locked every muscle in place to avoid letting Finn see her wanting to shake. "No. I… I don't love you. I don't want to be with you…. we're not… we're not supposed to be together. You have Serena. She makes you happy and you shouldn't let someone like her go." The dark haired girl looked up slowly as her arms fell down to her sides. "Please just… go be with her and be happy. I'm still going to be your best friend. And I'll be right at your side whenever you need me… but you and me… we just… cant." The script mage started for the door, stopping back on her side to grab her corset and bag. Finn clenched his jaw tightly as her words ran through his head. He quickly made his way to her as she reached the hotel door. His hand closing it quickly.
"No. I can't accept that Lily. I know you're lying to me. You do have feelings for me. You're just—"
Lily's face turned to anger as she stared back at Finn with fierce hazel eyes. "Finn, will you just drop it?! I told you I don't have feelings for you and that I just did what I did to comfort you!" The girl reached up and gripped his hand, pulling it away from the door. "Besides don't you have to go tell Rain about your mother?! Don't you think that's more important than the two of us?!"
Finn sighed deeply as he looked down. "Yes. I know it is. I know I should be getting my ass over to Leos' house."
Lily raised a confused brow as she looked to Finn. "Why are you going to Leos'?"
"Because that's where I left Rain before I came here."
Lily's' eyes widened. "You WHAT?! You left her with Leo?!"
Finn looked at Lily with confusion. "What's the problem?"
Lily sighed as she looked away. "It's nothing. I just didn't think you'd let her stay with him."
"Yeah well… Leo has changed quite a bit and I trust him not to do anything while I'm away." Finn stepped away from the door, letting the dark haired girl pull it open. "Look… I still want to talk to you more about the two of us…"
Lily smiled as she looked to Finn before stepping outside of the door. "I'll talk to you anytime you want to… but what happened between us… won't ever happen again. So let's just end this subject here. Keep me posted about your mom, ok?"
Finn sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Ok." The ice mage slowly closed the door behind the girl, his eyes staying on her until the very last moment she disappeared on the other side of the door. Finn turned and leaned up against the metal door, closing his eyes softly as he let out a long sigh.
Lily started her car and place her hand on the shifter, her movements pausing for a moment. The dark haired girl hung her head slowly as she felt her heart ache. Her eyes began to swell with tears as she thought back to her words to Finn. 'I'm so sorry Finn… everything I've done… everything I've put you through…. No amount of apologies can make up for what I did to you. I wasn't doing any of that just to comfort you… I do love you too… I just don't deserve to be with you. Not like Serena. She hasn't done anything to hurt you….' Lily looked up and out her car window as her warm tears streamed down her cheeks. 'God… lying to you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do… but I had to. I had to lie.' Tanned hands came up and wiped away the tears from the girls' eyes. Once Lily had gathered herself up some, she placed her hand back to the shifter, putting her car into gear. 'I don't deserve to be with you.'
The ice mage pulled his shirt over his torso after he put on his pants, his mind racing and going over what Lily had said to him. Finn let out a sigh as he sat down on the bed. "That girl drives me crazy… I know she's lying…" His phone went off on the nightstand beside the bed. Finn reached over and answered it without looking to see who it was. His head hanging down slightly as he spoke. "Hello?"
A heavenly sweet voice spoke through the other end. "Hey Finn! Did you forget about me already?"
Finns' eyes widened and then closed quickly as he leaned back onto the bed. His hand reached up and ran up his face and through his blue hair. "Serena…. I'm sorry… I kinda did."
"Is everything ok? You sound kind of down."
"A lot has happened since I got home. Um… my mom's in the hospital right now."
The ice mage heard the girl gasp softly, her voice softening. "Oh, Finn. I'm so sorry. Is everything ok? What happened?"
"Well… short version? Bora was brainwashing her and made her forget all about me, Rain… and my dad… she got beat up a bit by him too when my dad went to go get them back. He's staying at the hospital with her right now and I was just about to go home and tell Rain… about mom…"
"Finn… I'm… I'm so sorry."
"That's why I haven't called you since I got home. With everything going on, it just kinda slipped my mind."
"Oh, that's ok. I was only teasing. I figured you were just having fun catching up with your friends."
"Yeah… I've… been doing that too…."
"Well… you go to your sister and keep me posted about your mom. I really hope she can get her memories back soon. It would be such a shame if she couldn't remember."
"I know." Finn said quietly.
"Just give me call later or sometime tomorrow. I love you."
Finn clenched his fist tightly as he listened to her last few words. "I… love you too." The ice mage hung up with Serena and closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh.
Finn rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he knocked on Leo's front door with the other. The blonde haired boy answered it quickly and brought a finger to his lips before Finn could say anything. Leo moved aside to let Finn in, whispering to his friend as he closed the door. "Sorry, but she just got back to sleep a bit ago. I didn't want to wake her just yet."
Finn made his way to the couch, sitting down quietly and putting his hands together. Leo joined him a minute later. "So what's going on? How's your mom? Did you get to see your dad?"
"Yeah… they are at the hospital. I went to go see them yesterday after I stopped by my mom's house. I ended up staying at a nearby hotel last night with Lily."
Leo's eyebrows crossed in confusion. "Wait…" He held up a hand as he spoke. "You what?"
Finn brought his hands to his face, speaking into them with frustration. "I called her after I found out that my mom was in the hospital and that she might not remember who I am. I was so afraid and hurt I just… I didn't know who else to call. She ended up coming to the place where I was at and we… did it again…"
Leo made a face at Finn, leaning back slightly. "Please tell me you used protection this time around…."
Finn hung his head and shook it. "No… I didn't…. it just happened! I wasn't expecting it at all. She was the one who started it all this time. And then this morning when I wanted to talk to her about it… she told me she just did it because she was comforting me. She acted like it meant nothing to her. I find it hard to believe she doesn't have feelings for me after last night."
Leo shook his head and held a hand up to Finn. "Please… no details…. You just better hope she doesn't get pregnant or that your girlfriend won't find out about you two!"
"Ugh… that's another thing… Serena called me this morning after Lil left. I've never felt so guilty before…"
"Well you technically cheated on her… twice now…."
"I know that! But… I… I needed her…. She's the only one who knows how it feels to almost lose a mother."
Rain stepped out from the hallway, her ears picking up Finns' last sentence. Fear entered her as she clenched her fist tightly at her side. "Finn… what do you mean by that? Is… is mom ok?"
Finn and Leo snapped their heads around, looking at the girl standing a few feet away from them. Finn was first to get up, quickly making his way to his younger sister. "Rain… there's something I have to tell you… and I didn't think it was fair to tell you over the phone last night." The ice mage reached up and gripped his sisters' arms lightly.
"What's wrong?! What happened to mom?! Is it dad?!" She asked worriedly.
Finn shook his head. "Dad is fine. He took care of Bora." Solid blue looked into Rains worried expression. She was on the verge of tears as she waited for Finn to tell her of their mother. Leo stood and put his hands into his pockets, watching the two siblings speak to one another.
"The doctors said that… because Bora had been using his magic on her for so long… there's… a high possibility that…" Finn paused slightly as he watched his sister begin to shake her head from side to side slowly, as if her worst nightmare had become real. "… Mom might not remember who we all are…"
Rain couldn't stop her tears from escaping, her head falling into Finns chest as she wept. The ice mage wrapped his arms around Rain tightly as she spoke. "No…. she… she can't forget about us… we need her! She can't just…"
Finn fought back his own tears as he listened to Rain. "I know, Rain. I know. But… there's nothing we can do right now. Dad is with her so all we can do is hope she will pull through." Finn waited a few minutes before pushing Rain away slightly. "Look, I was able to get your bag along with moms from the house before I left there. I'm going to take you home so you can—"
Rain shook her head and pushed Finns hands away from her body. Anger had filled her face now as she spoke. "No. I'm not leaving."
"What are you talking about? Yes you are."
Rain stomped her foot onto the ground as she stepped back. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "No I'm not! I'm tired of everyone making decisions for me! I'm staying here with Leo!"
"Rain, you can't just stay here forever!" Finn snapped back as he stepped towards her.
"Watch me!" Rain said as she turned around and stormed off to Leos' room down the hall. Finn turned to face Leo, his eyebrow raised. Leo quickly removed his hands from his pockets and held them out in front of his own body.
"Don't look at me! I had nothing to do with that!" the blonde haired boy said quickly.
Finn groaned as he clenched his fist. "I can't believe her right now. I tell her that mom might not remember us and all she wants to do is stay here! It doesn't make any sense! She usually would want to be in her own room back at home… somewhere where she feels comfortable and safe. Gah!" Finn through his hands up into the air. "Whatever! I don't have time to deal with this right now… I'll just go get her bag and leave it here."
Leo watched as the ice mage stormed to the door, swinging it open and growling to himself. He could make out the words Finn was saying as he stepped outside into the rain that had started coming down. He grinned as he shook his head at Finns complaining words. Leo walked to the front door, waiting for Finn to hand him Rains' bag. The ice mage quickly ran to his car and came back to the door in record time. "Here, make sure she gets this and let her know I'll be back to get her in the morning! She can't just stay here forever. She's just too upset right now for me to talk some sense into her."
Leo took the rain soaked bag from Finn and smiled. "Hey, no biggie man. This place gets kinda lonely when my parents are out of town. So I don't mind the company. And hey, I'll talk to her for you too if you want."
Finn turned and raced back to his car, waving a hand to Leo as he spoke. "No need man. I'll take care of it tomorrow!"
Leo closed the front door and sighed softly. He made his way to his room, setting the bag down just inside of the room quietly. He looked up to the girl standing in the middle of the room, weeping to herself as she held her arms close to her chest. The blonde haired boy started walking towards her silently.
"Why does it feel like everyone around me feels the need to make all of my decisions for me? I'm old enough that I can make my own choices in this… cold world…. God…" She said softly as she wiped one of her tears away from her pale cheek. "I was constantly living in fear… and no one would listen to me… no one believed me…. So now… I get to live with broken promises and a pain that won't go away…." Rain looked up to the ceiling, her words fading as she spoke. "I feel like… I'm just lost in this never ending rainstorm… where arms of relief… seem so far out of reach… a place where I'm all alone…."
Blue eyes widened as a warmth began to embrace her. Leo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body back into his. A blush came over pale cheeks as she felt his head rest on top of hers. His words were soft as he spoke to her finally. "I am with you, Rain. I swear… I'll carry you though it all if I need to. I won't leave you to yourself in this cold world. And I'll be sure to catch you when you feel like letting go." Rain slowly turned around in Leo's arms, her eyes locking with olive-green as he brushed some of her hair back behind her ear. "You're not alone. I can promise you that." He smiled sweetly at her. "And I promise that you'll get your mother back with all of her memories."
Rains' eyes shifted between Leos', her voice soft as her tears formed in her eyes once more. "How… can you be so confident about all of this?"
Leo grinned as he ran his hands up and down her arms gently. "Call it my intuition. That or my stubborn confidence if you will." Leo grinned, revealing his white smile. "So don't fret too much over this. If you need to, you can just take all your frustration out on me! I can take it. I had to put up with Lily for a long time."
Rains' expression softened as she pressed her head into Leos' chest, her own arms wrapping around the blonde haired boy's body, clenching his shirt tightly. 'This is why I wanted to stay here… he gives me confidence when I need it… makes me forget all about everything going on and tries to make me smile any chance he gets. If I left him now… I don't know how I would be able to handle everything… I would have been sucked into the darkness… but when he's around me…' Rain looked back up to Leo who continued to speak as she held him close. A soft smile began to form over her lips as she watched him talk about something else entirely, a wide smile over his own face as he talked excitedly. 'He's like my light… guiding me through it all… without him… I would be lost….'
Lily opened the front door of her house quietly, closing the door as softly as she could to avoid any rise of attention from the next room over. The dark haired girl stepped forward, her hazel eyes peeking around the corner to the living room. She caught sight of Leviana playing with Pantherlily on the floor. Her hands pulling at his cheeks as she sang a made up song. The poor exceed being held captive by the girls torturous hands, didn't seem to notice Lily eyeing them all. Gaje and her mother were both on the couch, both of their noses in books and too deep in them to notice Lily slink past the room to the stairs. There wasn't any sight of her father. Lily was slightly relieved for she didn't want to hear him yelling at her for not coming home again last night.
Levy's eyes left her book for a moment, catching short, dark hair disappear behind the wall next to the stairs. Levy raised a brow as she set her book down, wondering if that was Lily who had just walked by. The blue haired script mage walked up the stairs slowly, making her way to her eldest daughters' room. Levy knocked lightly on the wooden door before opening it, eyeing her daughter on the bed. She sat on the edge, her hands at her sides as her head hung down some. Her eyes looked full of heartache as her tear stained cheeks gave Levy suspicion to believe something was wrong. The blue haired mage walked over to the bed and sat down next to her daughter. "Hey sweetie…" Levy brushed back one of Lily's' bangs behind her ear. "If you are upset about what your father said about not paying for your grad schooling, don't worry… I was going to have a talk with him about that."
Lily shook her head slightly. "No… it's not that mom…"
Levy raised her brows as she put a hand on Lily's' shoulder. "What's wrong then? You look like you just had your heart broken."
The dark haired girl clenched her bed sheet tightly as she bit down on her bottom lip. Levy waited patiently for Lily to speak, not wanting to force the young girl to explain herself. Lily brought a hand up to her cheek, wiping away a tear that had escaped her eye. "It's Finns' family… his mom is in the hospital right now, and his dad is at her side…. Her boyfriend she was seeing was brainwashing her with his ring magic and ended up making her forget all about them all…. Finn called me and he… he sounded so upset… so… I went to him last night… and I… we… we slept together. And it wasn't the first time either. The night of the party… that was the first time. I… I didn't realize it before how much I really cared for him. He told me he still loves me after everything… he said he would give up being with his girlfriend if that meant being with me… I told him… I told him I didn't love him and that what I did was just out of friendship. Not love. I thought a lot about it on the way home… I don't deserve to be with him mom…. I've made too many mistakes in the past…. He deserves to be happy. I just… I just wish I realized how he felt about me sooner. How I truly felt about him." Wet hazel eyes looked up to Levy, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Does it make me a horrible person for what I did with him? He cheated on his girlfriend… with me… I…. I never meant to do it… I just… I was caught up in the moment of it all. I felt his pain, I knew what he was feeling…. And now… now I feel like a horrible human being for doing that with him…."
"Lily…" Levy began to say. She took her daughters hand into her own and with her free hand, pulled the girl in close, resting her own head on top of dark hair. "You are human. You have feelings, and you deserve to be happy. You shouldn't beat yourself down for the mistakes you made in the past. Because that's all it is. The past. If you love someone, you should tell them. Don't keep it in. That only causes more problems down the line for you both. I mean, take a look at your father. You think he was a perfect angel when he was your age?"
"Dad had the same problems as me when he was my age?"
Levy smiled. "Well… you aren't too far off from him. You two are so much alike, Lily. That's why I have such an easier time dealing with everything you do. Your father is experiencing basically himself for the first time in his life. He never really knew how he was until you were born."
Lily looked down at her feet. "I guess I can see that… but that still doesn't help me at all. You two ended up together."
"Well. Like I said. Tell him how you really feel. I'm sure everything will work itself out in the end. Just be yourself, and don't hold back." Levy planted a soft kiss on Lily's head before standing. "You have a right to be happy too Lily. You shouldn't keep yourself from your own happiness."
Lily looked up at her mother. "But… what if I wait too long to tell him? What if…" Lily glanced back down, her eyes closing half way. "What if he moves on?"
Levy shrugged her shoulders. "Then I'd say you better tell him as soon as possible. But… something tells me that Finn won't give up on you that easily. You had some growing up to do and you just needed to figure out yourself first." Lily looked back up at Levy just as her mother gave her a wink. She watched as her mother turned and walked out of the room, leaving the girl to her own thoughts.
Levy stepped outside of the room and saw Gajeel leaning up against the wall. She raised a brow as she pointed inside, mouthing the words: Go in there and talk to her. Gajeel narrowed his crimson eyes at his wife that started down the stairs. The large dragon slayer let out a sigh as he pushed off of the wall. He pushed the slightly closed door back open and looked to Lily, matching her hazel gaze with his own. She quickly looked away and grabbed one of her pillows, pulling it into her lap. Gajeel brought a hand up to the back of his wild mane and rubbed it slowly.
"Hey… can I join ya on there?" He asked as softly as he could. Lily shrugged her shoulders and moved over, leaving enough room for her father to join her. As he sat down, Gajeel let out a sigh, his hands falling in between his legs. "So… I uh… I heard you and your mother talkin…"
A deep blush came over Lily's tanned cheeks as her head snapped up to her father. "How… much did you hear?"
"Unfortunately…. All of it."
Lily brought the pillow from her lap to her face. "Oh god…."
"Look… your mother was right… you can't keep beating yourself up for what you did in the past. I know all too well about that. As much as I hate to admit it… you should tell that ice mage everything."
"Dad…"
"And if does break your heart, or doesn't think you're good enough to go out with, then I'll make sure to talk some sense into him!" He said with a smirk as he brought his hands together.
Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes as she smiled. "Dad…"
Gajeel watched his daughter for a long minute, her expression turning sad once more. Her smile slowly fading as her thoughts of doubt rolled back into her mind. The dragon slayer grinned as he put a hand over her dark hair, ruffling it up a bit as he stood. "Come on. I wanna show ya something."
Lily looked up at her father with a raised brow. "What is it?"
"Just come with me." Gajeel made his way outside of Lily's room. He waited until she had appeared from her room before stepping into the one next door. Lily narrowed her eyes, wondering what her father had in store. The young script mage followed her father into the room, her eyes widening as she saw the sight before her. Gajeel stepped into the middle of the room and put his arms across his chest. A wide, toothy grin over his lips as he watched his daughter look over all of the instruments she had sold to buy her car. She walked over to the drum set first, her fingers tracing over the cool metal on the drums.
"How… I thought you changed this room up… and I thought I sold all of these…" She said in disbelief.
"You know that anonymous buyer that bought every single thing you sold?" Gajeel asked.
"Yeah… they even gave me a bit extra to have it sent to them…"
"Well… that was me. I bought everything back. I've been secretly moving everything back into this room while you've been watching the shop and workin' at the bar."
Lily turned to face Gajeel, her eyes swelling up with tears. "Why did you do that?"
"Well. You see…" Gajeel said as he made his way over to the drum set Lily was standing by. "This was the very first set of drums you played when you were younger. I remember you askin' me if you could play them with me." He grinned as the thought back to that day. "So I picked you up and put you in my lap and handed you these drum sticks." He said as he leaned down and picked up the two very beaten drumsticks. "And man did you have a blast playin' the drums. I was kinda hoping that if you ever got into a band of your own, that you would follow in my footsteps and be someone's drummer." He said as he set down the sticks back onto the drums lightly. "And over here… is the first electric guitar you learned to play on. Oh and let's not forget about these bad boys!" Gajeel went around the room and explained why he bought each and every item to his daughter. All the dark haired girl could do was stand there and watch as her father went back through his memories of when she was younger. She hadn't seen him this happy in such a long time. Of course, she was mostly to blame for it. She had put her father through hell and back. And yet… he still did something for her without her knowing.
Perhaps it was just his unconditional love for her, or a combination of his love for her and the memories they made with all of these musical tools. Either way, Lily was thankful she had these instruments back. Along with her father who she got along with. For once, they weren't yelling at each other, they weren't at each other's throats or storming away from each other. They were standing there, together, remembering older times. Happier times. Lily's thoughts were interrupted as Gajeel got behind one of the spare drum sets he had bought.
"Hey! You up to playin' something with your old man?" He said as he picked up his drum sticks. Lily smiled as she wiped away one of her tears. The dark haired girl made her way behind the drums and wrapped her arms around her father, holding him closely.
"Thank you, daddy." Lily waited a moment before letting him go, a smile across her face as she spoke. "And of course! I always want to play some music with you. It's all I ever wanted as a little girl. And it's all I can ask for now."
Gajeel crossed his eyebrows as he grinned. "Well then let's get to rockin' kid!"
Levy stood against the wall just outside the room, a smile across her face as she listened to a father and daughter play the drums together, just like they used to do.
AN: yay! Finally a father daughter moment! ^.^ and one that meant a lot to them both. I recently reread over my two previous stories and my friend MsKtk suggested that I throw in the part where Gajeel and Lily play their instruments together like in the last story. they finally were able to reconnect as a family so from this point on, no more fights between the two. Only happy moments, woo!
Also, I used a few of the lyrics from Not Alone by Red during the scene with leo and rain. So check out the song if you get a chance! I ended up changing it a bit but still a very good song (I own nothing )
Please don't forget to review! You guys are awesome and I'm glad so many of you are still enjoying this story so far. We are nearing the end, which is sad, but this story has been so much fun to write and I hope to continue writing more stories that you all would enjoy to read :)