And here is chapter 3! ^^

Aikoyu Saotome: Thanks! ^^ I always try and make my OC's relatable so people can identify with them more :P I find it pretty useless to have OC's that are just slapped into a story with no real integration

And thanks to Sama-Bama for adding this to your faves list :D:D

3. I'm With You (Avril Lavigne)

I'm standing on the bridge

I'm waiting in the dark

I thought that you'd be here by now

There's nothing but the rain, no footsteps on the ground

I'm listening, but there's no sound

Isn't anyone trying to find me?

Won't somebody come take me home?

It's a damn cold night

Trying to figure out this life

Won't you take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?

I don't know who you are but I,

I'm with you

I'm looking for a place, I'm searching for a face

Is anybody here I know?

'Cause nothing's going right, and everything's a mess

And no one likes to be alone

Why is everything so confusing?

Maybe I'm just out of my mind

It's a damn cold night

Trying to figure out this life

Won't you take me by the hand, take me somewhere new?

I don't know who you are but I,

I'm with you

Shock had been in Magnolia – and an official member of Fairy Tail – for about a month, yet she didn't feel like she was fitting in at all. There were just too many people…so much noise…she didn't know how to handle all of it. After all those years being trained like a dog, she was decidedly distrustful of people in general. The only person she felt even moderately safe around was Levy.

It wasn't that she didn't like any of her fellow guild members – in fact she admired them to the point of worship. They were all so strong and confident…she wished she could have even a shred of their self-esteem or power. It would make her feel more at ease in this strange new city.

The problem for Shock was that she had major trust issues. She had been trained to avoid contact with people; to keep herself completely emotionally isolated from potential targets. Those years of harsh training were having bad ramifications on her new start. She just didn't know any of these new people well enough to feel comfortable around them, and because of the rigid walls she had erected around her heart, she wasn't allowing herself to relax enough to even try and get to know them.

Shock sighed and pulled at her hair irritably. It had finally started growing out a bit after being shorn close to her head at the camp. Now the choppy brown locks fell almost to her shoulders. She flopped backwards onto the bed in her small rented room in Fairy Tail's guild hostel. Levy had been good enough to find her a place to stay until she found her feet and managed to get a living space more to her tastes.

Shock closed her eyes and tried to will away the throbbing in her temples. She was trying her best to make a conscious effort to make new friends, but it wasn't as easy as she had hoped it would be. Every time she struck up a conversation with someone, inevitably some personal questions would pop up and her walls would flare violently to life, leaving her back at square one, no closer to understanding her new comrades than she had been before.

Shock opened her eyes and glanced around the room. It was Spartan, but just like she preferred – minimal furniture - seeing as she didn't have many worldly possessions besides her Charms and a few ragged assortments of clothes - a large window overlooking the front yard, with a magnificent view of Magnolia in the distance, the small bed and a nightstand with a jug of water and a few drinking glasses. There was a writing desk just next to the window. Shock could fancy herself just sitting there and gazing out the window for hours at a time. A nice view was something she hadn't had the privilege of in a long, long time.

There was a soft knock on the door, snapping Shock out of her reverie. Exhaling loudly, she dragged herself off the bed and wandered over to the door of her room, cracking it open slightly to see who it was that dared disturb her time of reflection.

But when she saw Levy bouncing from foot to foot outside in the hallway, Shock allowed a small smile to curve her mouth. She had almost forgotten that Levy was coming over to explain what she had mentioned about Gajeel a few weeks prior. Everyone's schedules had been so hectic that Shock and Levy had barely had any time to see each other. The two of them hadn't even had the time to catch up properly.

"You look so anti-social," the solid-script mage chuckled as she literally danced into the room. "You should try smiling once in a while."

Shock snorted and rolled her eyes at the energetic mage making herself at home on her bed. "I'm not anti-social," she pulled a tongue. "It's not my fault you're permanently grinning like that."

Levy just laughed and leaned back on her elbows, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed like a little girl. "I just happen to have a very positive outlook on life."

"I noticed," Shock muttered, smiling somewhat. She still found that letting her facial expressions show was a tad difficult – not for the first time, she cursed the conscription camp and willed it to burn in the fiery pits of hell.

Shrugging her shoulders, Shock allowed herself a rare moment of care-freeness and flung herself onto the bed, almost bouncing Levy off the other end. With their similarly small builds, there was more than enough space on the mattress for the both of them. Eventually, the two of them settled shoulder to shoulder, staring at the ceiling in companionable silence.

"I can't believe I've barely seen you this entire month!" Levy sighed loudly, shaking her head. "I can only imagine how difficult adjusting on your own must be! If I didn't have so many jobs to finish, I would definitely be helping you."

"That's okay, Mirajane's been helping me learn the ropes," Shock reassured her. "It's really not that bad, I understand you're busy with Jet and Droy a lot…"

"That's not the point," Levy interrupted, frowning. "I'm the only person you know in this city, I should be helping you."

Shock chuckled. "I am capable of making friends by myself, Levy," Shock snorted, squashing down the guilt she felt for lying. It was true that Mirajane had been helping her along for the past month, but she still felt alone in this new sea of people. She just couldn't find a way to connect with them.

But Levy - old Levy, who knew her way too well, even after all those years – saw right through Shock's façade. She cast her friend a dubious look, quirking an eyebrow. The blue-haired girl pushed herself into a sitting position and looked down at Shock, frowning slightly. She sighed.

"Shock…I can see you're not coping," she began hesitantly. "You don't talk to any of the other guild members, you go off by yourself a lot. I know I haven't been around a lot," Levy took her friend's hand and looked at her beseechingly, "but I want to help. Let me help."

Shock pursed her lips, mimicking Levy's position on the bed. "Okay, I admit it hasn't been that easy adjusting, but I promise I'm fine -"

"No, you're not," Levy cut her off again. "I can tell you're not." Her tone took on an edge of worry that made Shock uncomfortable. "What could have been so bad that you changed this drastically? You used to be so care-free, so outgoing…what happened to you, Shock?"

Shock hung her head, her shoulders stiff. She clenched her teeth in frustration. She so badly wanted to tell Levy everything that had happened to her in the camp, but she just couldn't bring herself to relive those painful memories all over again…she didn't want Levy to think any less of her.

After a brief internal struggle with her warped conscience, Shock relented to Levy's tight grip on her hand. She raised her eyes and sighed. "I'll make a deal with you," her voice was heavy, fatigued. "I tell you what happened to me, and you tell me about Gajeel."

…

Two very long and emotionally painful hours later, Shock walked out of her apartment, dragging on a thick overcoat to fend off the chilly night air as she strode outside. Levy was on her heels.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she kept asking, frowning.

Shock sighed. After telling Levy everything that had happened in the years they had been apart, she had to admit that the solid-script mage was taking the news better than she'd anticipated – meaning that she hadn't wanted to pack the Charm mage off to a psychologist or something.

"Levy, I'm fine," Shock assured her, smiling softly. She took her friend gently by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "I just need to be by myself for a little bit. I just need some time to think."

Levy's frown deepened. "I don't think you should -"

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," Shock chuckled, feeling the familiar and comforting weight of her charm belt slung over her hips.

"You sure?" Levy's expression softened somewhat.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm just going for a walk, nothing dangerous. I need time to think. After everything you've told me…it's a lot to process."

After Levy had told her the story of Gajeel's previous allegiance to Phantom Lord and his relatively new position in Fairy Tail, and all the things he had done, Shock's mind was spinning. The man was so full of contradictions…it just didn't make any sense to her. She needed to clear her head and assess the situation logically. Logic…that was the one thing they had been drilled to follow at the camp.

Never doubt your own logic.

Shock snorted at the memory. Following your logic was fine, but the camp made sure to twist your sense of the logical so it suited their purposes in the end.

"Don't be out too long, it's getting cold and you still have to be at the guild early tomorrow morning," Levy finally relented, sighing.

Shock ruffled her short blue hair affectionately, like she always used to when they were little kids. "Got it. See you in a bit, I won't be long."

And with no noise other than the jingling of her charms on her belt, Shock turned and stalked off into the fading light of dusk.

…

Shock wasn't even sure why she was so curious about Gajeel in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed just as isolated in a mass of people as she was, whether by his own convictions or not.

Or maybe it was because he naturally seemed so cold and distant, like she had been trained to be, and she was curious as to how a normal human being could stand to be that way willingly.

But to understand his motives, she had to understand Gajeel himself, which was why Shock had convinced Levy to tell her more about the ominous mage. But what Levy had told had not been what Shock had expected to hear. The things she knew now…they confused her and left her with more questions than answers.

Shock had wandered quite a way away from the hostel and was now traipsing through the town, her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her overcoat. Her brow was furrowed as she thought about what Levy had told her.

So he had been a member of the Phantom Lord guild before joining Fairy Tail…that she understood. People were free to change guilds as they wished, right?

The part Shock didn't understand – and was quite disturbed by – was how Gajeel had attacked Levy and her team and literally left them for dead after destroying the guild house…and then joined the guild after all that.

The young Charm mage turned and corner and kept walking down an empty street, flitting in and out of the streetlights.

Shock frowned. She was angry at Gajeel for hurting Levy so badly – she could tell the solid script mage was still terrified of him after what he had done. But under that…she felt forgiveness seeping through – an emotion she wasn't too familiar with. After all, he had protected Levy against Laxus, even when everyone had turned against him.

And anyone who protected Levy – who protected any friend of hers in a time of need – was a saint in Shock's eyes. Which was why she was so confused. She just couldn't decide what to think of Gajeel…on the one hand, he was a self-serving egotist who willingly distanced himself from people he (according to Levy) deemed inferior…but on the other, he seemed to have a strong sense of honor and justice, and was willing to try repent for his mistakes.

Shock couldn't make sense of it. Was he one of the good guys, or one of the people to stay as far away from as possible?

She eventually stopped walking and found herself in the middle of a bridge overlooking the river that ran through Magnolia. Shock sighed, a plume of mist drifting up from her mouth as her hot breath mingled with the cold night air. The more she knew about Gajeel, the harder she found it to understand him.

Shock leaned against the railing of the bridge, gazing down at the dark waters that gurgled peacefully beneath her. She wished she could feel as calm as the water sometimes. She was so sick of the confusion, the worry…she just wanted some sort of inner peace.

She closed her eyes and focused on the calming sounds of the water, trying to tune out her own discorded feelings. In the still of the night, it didn't take Shock's keen ears long to pick out the sound of footsteps heading her way. And it seemed there was more than one pair of feet making the noise.

Reluctantly, the Charm mage opened her eyes and looked back down at the dark waters, not wanting to give any sign to the approaching party that she had head them. She hoped it was just a group of civilians returned home after work. Maybe if she ignored them, they would just keep on walking and leave her alone…

Curiosity overriding her better judgment, Shock snuck a peek at the group out of the corner of her eye. Her stomach dropped a little. There were about five men, all heavy set and ominous-looking. And they were heading straight for her. Shock doubted their intentions were noble.

Gritting her teeth and shifted her collar up to keep the cold off her neck, Shock pushed herself off the railing and casually made her way towards the other end of the bridge, careful not to show she had seen the men approaching her. She had nearly made it to the other end when the first of the men started cat-calling her.

"Hey darlin'! What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone at this time of night?"

Shock stopped, her back still facing them men who were now sniggering at their companion's statement. There went her chances of getting away without some sort of altercation…

Not waiting for the men to catch up to her, Shock continued walking down the street.

"Don't you know it's dangerous for ya to be out here all alone? Could get hurt or something!" more sniggering followed. Shock scowled and upped her pace, eager to be away from the chauvinistic pigs.

"Hey! I'm talking to ya!" the loud voice sounded annoyed now that its target was completely ignoring it. "Don' ya know it' impolite to ignore people?"

Shock realized the man sounded drunk. Before she could increase her pace some more, two of them men from the group had managed to cut in front of her, and another two had snuck up on either side of her, blocking any escape route. Clenching her teeth angrily and rolling her eyes, Shock slowly turned on her heel to face the apparent 'leader' of the group.

He was a very tall man – he towered over her petite frame, build like a bear and reeking of whisky. Shock couldn't see much of his face in the dim light, but she could make out the edge of a beard and a frizzy mop of hair. A hand the size of an anvil grabbed hold of her chin and forcefully tilted Shock's head up.

"It's rude ta keep ignorin' people like that," the oaf slurred. Shock slapped his hand away and the man laughed – a deep, booming laughter that gave her an instant headache. "Looks like ya got some fire in ya! Why don't we -"

"Not interested," Shock curtly interjected, shoving her way past the brute and out of the cage his cronies had formed around her.

"I didn't say ya could leave!" the drunk roared.

Before Shock could react, he had seized a handful of her hair and yanked her backwards. She yelped in pain, hands flying up to her head. The drunkard then threw her rather unceremoniously into a dark alleyway leading off from the main road, between two low wooden buildings.

Shock hit the ground hard and slid a few feet before she finally stopped. Winded, she could only watch helplessly as two of the five men blocked the entrance of the alley, leaving her trapped with the drunkard and two of his followers.

"Now, where were we?" he chuckled ominously, sending chills racing down Shock's spine.

She scrambled to her feet, but a forceful kick to the knee sent her crashing down again. Gritting her teeth against the sharp pain that exploded in her kneecap, Shock glared hatefully at the brute, her hand moving down towards her charm belt. She would teach him to touch her like that…

Twisting her body like a snake, Shock managed to flip her body over and lashed out with her good leg, nailing the brute of a man in the upper thigh with her heel. He cried out as his leg buckled, sending his tumbling into one of his cronies. In the resulting confusion, Shock made a grab for the Air Charm, but her arm was suddenly pinned to the dirty ground by a large boot.

Snarling, she snapped her head up to glare at her assailant. The other one of the drunkard's still-standing accomplices smirked down at her, eyes glinting evilly as he applied more pressure to her trapped arm. Shock refused to scream as her arm was literally ground into the pavement, close to breaking from the sheer pressure of the brute's body weight on her fragile limb.

The thug raised his leg a fraction, preparing to smash it down on Shock's wrist. But before he could, something metallic hurtled through the mouth of the alley, smashing into the brute's head and sending him spinning into the opposite wall. Shock could only watch in astonishment as what looked like a retractable iron club snaked its way back out of the alley. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the two thugs who had been keeping watch – both were out cold on the ground, as well as the man who had first attacked her and his other lackey.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and assess the situation, Shock let her gaze roam the alley and what she could see of the street beyond. A shadowy figure stepped into her line of vision, silhouetted against the light flooding from the streetlamps behind it. Shock swallowed nervously, wondering if it was a sixth member of the gang looking to finish her off.

"You okay?" Shock was surprised at the question. All she could do was nod unsurely.

"What were you thinking, wandering around this part of town at night?" the shadowy figure scoffed, extending a hand down to help her up. When she didn't answer or make any move, it shook its head and continued. "Of course, you wouldn't know. You're new in this town, right?"

Shock nodded her head again, grasping the proffered hand firmly. He seemed to be an ally…

As Shock got to her feet, she winced – her arm was throbbing painfully and so was her head. She tried to stand properly, but as soon as she put weight on her leg – the one the drunkard had viciously kicked – it buckled. She cried out in pain, and her ally caught her before she could hit the ground. Judging by the voice and the muscular arm that was now encircling her waist, Shock could assume her savior was male.

"C'mon, we'd better get you back to the guild," he sighed, helping her limp out onto the street.

Shock frowned, but before she could ask how he knew she was part of a guild, they entered the light and she could see her ally's face clearly.

Metal studs adorning his eyebrows, chin, nose and ears…jet-black hair…a permanent scowl…Shock could only stare.

Noticing her gaze, Gajeel looked down at the limping girl. "What?"

Shock shook her head, mortified at having to rely on someone else to help her walk, of all things. "Nothing…"

An uneasy silence settled between them. Shock snuck a few more glances at Gajeel out of the corner of her eye. He acted so cold and distant on the outside…but here he was, helping a person he didn't even know back to a guild he swore he hated. Shock silently laughed at the irony of it.

Who knew? Maybe the Iron Dragonslayer Gajeel really did have a heart.

Okay! Two more reviews and I'll post chapter 4! ^^