(screaming because this is the last chapter)

well not really there's an epilogue but here! Enjoy this super long and (hopefully) super juicy finale! A huge thank you once again to everyone who read/fave'd/followed/reviewed! You are my source of life!

X.

When Will My Life Begin

Jellal hung up the phone, cursing as he did so. He didn't want to go back and ask Kagura, or retrace Erza's steps. He wanted to find her. It wasn't like her to go missing.

His phone rang again, and he whipped it open. "Erza?"

"What? No, Jellal, this is Kagura. Listen, I just remembered something that happened earlier. I was talking to Erza about Trinity Raven and the threats they made at our shop. I think she went after them."

"After them?" Jellal shook his head. "What – that's not – people don't 'go after people' in real life."

"This is Erza," Kagura reminded harshly. "She thinks she's a white knight."

Jellal bit his lip. He remembered the time in preschool when some kids had been bullying him, and a tiny redhead picked up a stick and hit them until they ran away. That was the first time he'd ever seen Erza Scarlet.

Kagura was still talking. "Simon and I are on our way now, but I thought I'd let you know."

"Thanks." Jellal hung up the phone. He wasn't too far away from Trinity Raven. If he left now, if he ran, he could be there in five minutes.

He took off, feet pounding against the pavement. He raced around corners and stumbled past pedestrians. Despite the chilly November air, he pulled off his jacket.

Sweat gathered on his forehead, and he stopped to wipe it off. He was close now – he'd reached the part of town where thorn bushes grew over the lines of the sidewalk and the pavement was cracked and mossy.

Something red caught the corner of his eye. He paused, then leaned over, peering into the thorn bushes.

All the blood stopped flowing through his body at once, and he turned ice cold.

"Erza!"

Levy stood outside her old trailer. She hadn't been here in weeks. It smelled even worse than usual, the stench of pot reeking from every corner, mixed with heavy fumes of incense. Rust had gathered on the hinges of the door. Inside, the windows were dark. Not a light was on. She took a deep breath, stepping forward.

The door creaked when she opened it. "Dad?" She called, cautiously. "It's me, Levy. I got your message. What did you want to talk about?"

Silence. Levy's heart was thumping erratically, but she tried to keep her breathing steady. "Dad?"

A hand landed on her shoulder. Levy jumped, and a voiced wheezed behind her. "Well, who's this lovely lady?"

That was definitely not her father. She spun around, fists tightening. The guy had a brutal, scarred face and a cigar dangled from his mouth.

From the darkness of the bedroom, Levy heard scrambling. Then a light came on, and her father was illuminated, face pale and gaunt. Levy's eyes stayed on him for only a second, before landing on the contraption behind him.

"Levy," he said, voice an odd timbre between heavy and feeble. "What are you doing here?"

"I got your message," she answered sullenly. "Dad, you started a meth lab?"

He winced. "I had to, Lev," he argued weakly. "It's the only way I can bring in money."

The smoking man crossed his arms. "Maurice, who is this?"

"My daughter. She-"

"And you just invited her over?" His eyes narrowed. "I thought you said she was out of the picture."

Levy swallowed. Maurice began waving his hands frantically. "I-I didn't! I don't know what message she's talking about, I never sent her anything!"

The smoking man leaned over her. His lips curled into a leer. Levy closed her eyes. So she'd been set up. By who? Who would have known what lengths she'd go to for her father? She felt like crying.

Well, not anymore. She wasn't going to do anything for her father again. He could go, make meth, and get himself shot for all she cared. "It's fine," she told the smoking man, voice clear. "I was just leaving."

His hand shot out again, landing on her shoulder and crunching it. She winced. "Hold on, now," he said lightly. "Where do you think you're going to go?"

"Nowhere, I – away from here!"

He laughed. His voice was jovial, but his words cut through her like a knife. "No, no, we can't have that! You're a witness now. You can't be allowed to leave here. Get it?"

Levy looked at her father fearfully. He hung his head.

Then something sharp hit the back of her head, and she crumbled.

Yukino regained consciousness to the feeling of someone kissing her.

Whoever decided that would be a great way to wake up was wrong. So wrong. She couldn't even remember what happened before, but now someone was kissing her? It was a little gross, and a little terrifying, and Yukino punched her attacker while screeching.

Her attacker, as it were, turned out to be Sting. She let out a sigh of relief, ignoring his watering eyes and wobbling lip. "Oh, it's just you."

"Just me?" Sting shook his head, eyes still tearing. "I can't believe you."

Yukino sighed, leaning back against a wall. Where was she? It was dark. What happened? How did she get here? Why were there computers –

She shot to her feet with a gasp. Sting jumped. "Minerva!" She screeched again, clawing at her hair. "Why, that – that – stupid selfish little twat, I swear the next time I see her I'm going to throw her in a pot of-"

"Babe, calm down," Sting groaned, heaving himself to his feet. "What are you talking about?"

"Minerva locked me in here and she's going to sabotage everything she broke up Gray and Juvia and she got Levy and now she's going after Natsu and-"

Sting put a hand over her mouth. Yukino pouted, but he looked troubled. "I told you she'd do something like this."

"Well, we have to do something about it!" Yukino pulled back from his hand. She picked up her bag, swinging it over her shoulder. "Come on, let's go! Wait, how did you get here?"

"Uh, I drove."

"And how did you know I was in here?"

"You told me you were staying after school to do that paper. When I didn't hear from you, I came to check."

Yukino nodded. Then, for the first time, she noticed what Sting was wearing. "Are you in your tux?"

"Yeah, and I have your dress in the backseat of my car. I thought we talked about this already?"

She blinked. They had. They'd planned it a week ago. Why hadn't she remembered?

Shaking it off, Yukino breezed out of the lab. Sting followed along. "Where are we going?"

"To Homecoming, of course! There are just a few people I have to call first." More like a few hundred. She had to fix all of the problems Minerva had caused.

As they got into the Chrysler, Sting looked over at her. Yukino paused in the act of pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket. "What?"

"If you had your phone, why couldn't you have called any of us for help?"

Yukino stared. Sting started to grin.

"Shut up!" she shrieked, throwing the phone at him while he burst into laughter.

"Having a good night, Juvia?" Jose called from his desk. Juvia stopped, waiting a few seconds before she continued pushing the cardboard box onto the shelf. She was too high up on the ladder, and while jumping down to strangle Jose sounded like a great idea, she would probably break her neck doing it.

He was totally doing it on purpose, though. No boss blackmailed their employee to work on a day they knew was supposed to be special, then continued talking to them like nothing was wrong.

She climbed down from the ladder, resolutely refusing to look at Jose. Instead, she tried to think of happier things, like this month's paycheck.

It had been stupid of her to take the jacket. Juvia knew that. She regretted it now – after all, Gray had never once commented on her wardrobe. He wouldn't have cared whether she wore all blue or a rainbow. He noticed her because she talked to him.

Juvia tried to think about happier things, like this month's paycheck, but her thoughts always went back to Gray.

She couldn't believe how ridiculous she had acted this morning. Angel pretending to be the one who saved Gray – what a load of bull that was. Juvia should have just told him then. But no, she had gone and cried in the bathroom, then come straight to work.

But Juvia had done a lot of stupid things recently, like thinking a change of clothes was all she needed to make Gray like her.

Juvia resolved that she was done – done borrowing clothes, done trying to pretend she was something else. Gray would just have to like her for her lovely, monochromatic self.

Ah, but he wouldn't like her, Juvia reminded herself as she climbed back down the ladder. Gray would like Angel now. Well, she could always try and steal him away. She considered telling him the truth – but he wouldn't believe her. He would think she was just being a creepy stalker.

Her pants buzzed. Juvia jumped. She never answered her phone at work. But she fished it out of her pocket, glancing at the caller ID. Yukino? What did she want?

She never answered her phone at work, but right now, Juvia hated Jose more than anyone on the planet. She hid behind a shelf, flipping it open. "Hello?"

"Juvia! It's me! Listen, Minerva made Angel pretend to be the one who rescued Gray and-"

"Juvia knows," she whispered. She had to be quiet. "Gray-sama told Juvia earlier."

Silence for a minute. Then: "what? He told you and you didn't say anything? Juvia! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Juvia winced. "Gray-sama made it very hard to-"

"What is so hard about saying 'That bitch is lying and I'm the one you should be worshipping!'"

"It is very hard," Juvia argued, puffing out her cheeks. "Juvia can't just – she can't just-"

"Can't just what? Tell Gray you're in love with him? Juvia! It's so easy! Look him in the eye and say-" she simpered, " 'Gray-sama! Juvia is in love with you!'"

"Juvia doesn't sound like that!"

A throat cleared behind her. Juvia froze, hand still on the phone.

"Miss Loxar?" Jose asked. "Anything important?"

Yukino was still yelling at her through the speaker. Juvia, though she felt bad, hung up.

"Yes," she managed. "Yes, it was very important. Juvia is sorry, but she had to take it."

Jose scoffed. "Juvia, please, you should know by now that even if it is important, we don't answer our phones during hours. If your behaviour like this continues, I may have to fire you."

What a relief that would be, Juvia thought. She should start getting in trouble more often. Maybe then she would get fired...

Juvia blinked. A thought crossed her mind, a very sudden thought, one she didn't ave an answer for at all:

Why was she still working here?

Suddenly, everything made sense. Why was she working here? Why couldn't she tell Gray she loved him? Why not? There was nothing, absolutely nothing standing in Juvia's way, except Juvia herself.

"No need," she told Jose. "Juvia quits."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"Juvia is quitting." She pulled the name tag off her uniform, and dropped it into Jose's open hand. "She has had enough of Club Phantom."

Jose gaped as she spun on her heel and headed for the backroom. She didn't hear his voice until she had opened her locker and was changing shirts."You – you can't leave now! You have to – two weeks notice!"

Juvia slammed the locker shut. She didn't look at Jose as she dropped her uniform shirt at the front desk. Finally, he burst out, "You won't get this month's paycheck!"

"Juvia doesn't need it," she answered hotly. "From now on, Juvia doesn't care if she wears old, ratty clothes or brand new fashions! And Juvia thinks this store is terrible for making people believe that they have to wear whatever is hip! They don't have to! They can wear whatever they want!"

The other patrons of the store were staring at her. Jose spluttered, but couldn't think of anything else to say. Juvia shot one last look around the store. Then she stormed out, grasping her phone tightly.

She had a Homecoming date to crash.

Jellal tapped his feet, moved his legs, and brushed his hair behind his ears. He couldn't stay still. Every time a nurse or an orderly walked down the hall, he sat up a little straighter. None of them ever came to talk to him.

"Restless leg syndrome?" the old lady beside him asked sympathetically. Jellal glanced at her, shaking his head slightly. He didn't trust himself to speak.

Jellal wasn't scared of too many things. There were spiders, for one. He also didn't deal well with deep water, or clowns. But nothing, absolutely nothing in this world could have scared him more than seeing Erza passed out in the thorn bushes on the bad side of town.

She was still breathing, but that was it. She wouldn't wake up. Jellal couldn't get any kind of response out of her. Memories of all the headaches she'd been having over the past week flooded back to him, and he'd panicked. He had carried her all the way to the hospital, where they took her on a stretcher and wheeled her into the ICU. That was the last he saw of her.

Now he was sitting in this hallway, barely breathing himself due to stress. It had been an hour, the windows were darkening, and no one came to talk to him.

After ten more minutes of non-stop leg-jiggling, a woman with a clipboard came towards him. "Mr Fernandes?"

He shot to his feet. "Yes, that's me! Is Erza okay?"

"Miss Scarlet still isn't conscious, but we've figured out what happened and she's on the proper medication right now."

"What? What was it?"

The nurse turned, gesturing for him to follow. "There was some kind of poison in her stomach that seeped through to her bloodstream. It's not life-threatening, since we caught it in time." She led him to a room, row upon row of beds separated by thin curtains. Erza was lying on one of them. Jellal's knees nearly gave out.

"It was strange, though," The nurse said, brow creased. "It was a kind of plant poison. Do you have any idea how she could have ingested it?"

"No," Jellal said grimly, "but I know who to ask."

The nurse patted his shoulder. "She'll be fine," she said reassuringly. "It won't be long now until she wakes up. Feel free to have a seat and wait."

Jellal glanced at the chair beside the bed. "I thought only family members could stay?"

The nurse winked at him. "This isn't a very intense ward," she said. "We may have rules, but I can make some exceptions."

He nodded to thank her, and she left.

Jellal sank down onto the chair. He reached out, taking Erza's hand. "Hey," he murmured softly. There was no reply. Like this, she could have been sleeping peacefully.

Without letting go of her hand, Jellal pulled out his phone. He had let Kagura know almost immediately after getting to the hospital, but she and Simon had stayed behind to confront the workers at Trinity Raven.

"Jellal? How is she?"

"She's fine. Still unconscious, but fine." The words came heavily out of his throat. "They said she ingested some kind of plant poison, Kagura."

There was silence on the other end of the line. Jellal swallowed. Then Kagura spoke. "I knew it. Ikaruga was poisoning our water supply."

His hand tightened around Erza's. "Can you prove it?"

"I think so. If we get a search warrant we'll find some plant killers, I'm sure of it. We just have to get the warrant."

"Okay. Will you get here soon?"

Jellal cursed himself for sounding like he was about to cry. He was a grown man, damnit – but at the same time, he was an eighteen-year-old boy whose girlfriend almost died. He had a right.

"Yes, we'll be there soon." Kagura's voice was gentle. "We're picking up Milliana along the way."

"Okay. See you soon."

"Watch over her, Jellal."

When he hung up the phone, he bit down very hard on his lower lip.

Presently, he started to look around the room. Most other beds were concealed by the curtains, but the one beside him was pushed back enough that he could see the patient on the bed. He blinked slowly, letting the familiar face come into focus.

"Romeo?"

The girl sitting next to the bed started. "Oh! I'm so sorry, do you know him?"

Jellal looked at her. She was young, maybe fourteen, around Romeo's age. Her hair was dark blue, and choppy, like it had been recently cut. She looked like Jellal felt – so tired she was on the brink of exhaustion, but still alert and hyper aware.

"Yeah." Jellal looked at Romeo again. "What – what is he doing here?"

"Food poisoning." The girl looked embarrassed. "My aunt – the one over there," she pointed with her chin to an older woman with pink hair sitting away from all the beds. The woman noticed them staring, and buried her nose resolutely in the book she was holding. "My aunt put some in his food."

"Why?" Jellal asked faintly.

"Oh, she was angry because she didn't want me meeting with a stranger." The girl drew her knees up, resting her chin. "She doesn't like it when I leave the apartment. I've only done it a few times."

"Oh. Are you homeschooled?"

"Yes," the girl smiled. She had a sweet face, and Jellal felt himself relax while talking to her. His grip loosened on Erza's hand. "He came over, for...for a date," she flushed. "And she fed him some bad meat. We got into a fight, which is why my hair looks so weird."

Jellal raised his eyebrows. The girl continued quickly, face red. "And so I took him to get his stomach pumped! He was awake a few minutes ago, but now he's asleep again. It'll probably be like this all night."

The girl looked around the room. "It's funny," she said lightly. "I've never been in a hospital before. I actually really like it."

Jellal glanced at Erza again. He couldn't imagine how anyone could enjoy this.

"You should try kissing her."

He looked over in surprise. The girl was looking at them fondly. "I'm sorry, what?" He managed to say.

"Kiss her! It might wake her up."

Jellal laughed quietly. "That's sweet, but I really don't think that's going to magically make her wake up."

"Just try." The girl's voice was warm. Jellal squirmed under her gaze, and then turned back to Erza. It wasn't as if he didn't want to kiss her. Jellal always wanted to kiss her.

"Right then," he muttered. "Here goes nothing."

He leaned down and kissed her. It lasted maybe two seconds, before he pulled away.

Erza's face didn't change. No movement. Nothing - except the corner of her mouth turned up into a smile.

"Better than that," she whispered. Jellal's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly fell out of his chair.

"Erza!" He cried, scrambling up to lean over her. Erza's eyes cracked open, and her smile grew wider than before.

"You heard me," she said again, voice a little louder and a little stronger. "You can kiss me better than that."

Jellal did, leaning over and kissing her so deeply the monitor beside them started to beep wildly. When he broke off, Erza's eyes were closed again, but she was smiling. Jellal was, too, so much he thought his face might break.

Behind them, the girl was laughing. Jellal turned around to stare at her in wonder. "Who are you?" He asked.

"Wendy," she replied, "Wendy Marvell. It's nice to meet you."

When Levy came to, she was in her old bedroom. As she looked around, taking in the familiar surroundings, she wondered if everything this past month had been a dream. Had she never started living with Gajeel? Had she always been here? It made her sad; she quite liked living with Gajeel. He was kind, and sweet, and his house was nice. She missed that bedroom. It was better than this one.

The second she moved, reality crashed in on her. She was lying on her bed, hands and feet tied, with a cloth tied around her mouth. Panic shot through her, and she started to struggle. The ropes didn't give, and she started to scream. Every sound was muffled, and Levy felt like she couldn't breathe.

She struggled so much that she fell off the bed. Pain blossomed on her hip as she landed, and she bit back a groan. Carefully, she shifted so that her hands were in front of her. Then she crawled over to the door.

Muffled voices reached her ears. It sounded like two men arguing. She strained to listen.

"...can't let her go, she'll rat us out."

"She's my daughter! For God's sake, this isn't like Colombia where you can just dump a body in a river..."

Her blood ran ice cold. What the hell kind of person was her dad working with?

Please, Levy thought. Please, someone come and save me.

In the meantime, she started working at the ropes again. The window was too small to go through, but if she was free she could...well, Levy didn't know what she could do. Make a dash for the front door and pray they didn't shoot her?

A shadow moved outside, and Levy froze. More dealers? Then sounds of crashing and yelling hit her ears. Levy didn't know what was going on, but her eyes moved around frantically in the dark, trying to follow the action.

Then, abruptly, the sounds stopped. Noises came from her bedroom door, and Levy panicked. She shuffled backwards, pushing away from the door until her back hit the dresser. The door wrenched open, and Levy felt sobs begin to wrack her body.

The figure shadowed in the doorway was tall, and imposing, and Levy felt tears soaking her cheeks. She struggled, making weak sounds of protest, as the figure drew closer.

It wasn't until they were almost in front of her that she realised the person was speaking. She stilled, and the figure crouched down in front of her.

"...me," he was saying. "Levy, it's me. It's just me."

Her eyes welled up with tears again, blurring the pierced face in her vision. "Jesus," he muttered, reaching out and untying the gag. "What the hell did they do..."

"Gajeel," she whimpered, as soon as her mouth was free. "Gajeel, you came. You're here."

"'Course I am," he growled. His hands started untying the ropes around her wrists, then around her ankles. "C'mon, shrimp, we gotta go."

"No – we can't, they're-"

"I already called the cops, okay, but we gotta go." His hand circled her wrist, tugging insistently. She let herself be pulled to her feet. He led her out of the bedroom, across the two bodies lying on the floor. Part of the meth lab had crashed, and the fumes were leaking into the air.

Once out of the trailer, Levy broke into a run. Gajeel followed her, and they ran until they were outside the trailer park, where Gajeel's monster truck was parked on the street. She ran until she was leaning against it, breathing heavily. Tears were still streaming down her face.

Gajeel, leaned his palms against his knees. "We have to go back," Levy told him, shaking.

"I told you, I called the cops."

"You can't do that!" Levy shrieked, hysteric. "They'll come after you, this guy is – he's like – he dumps bodies in rivers-"

"It was an anonymous tip line," Gajeel said, bringing his hands up. He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Shrimp. Hey, shrimp. Levy. Look at me."

She did. His gaze was sharp on hers. "It's okay," he said. "It's okay."

Levy started to shake again. The sobs were coming back, and she pushed forward, wrapping her arms around Gajeel's waist and burying her face into his chest.

Tears soaked his shirt, and Levy was sure her nose was running, too. Gross. That was so gross. She pushed her face further into him. Gajeel's arms hovered over her, but she only gripped him tighter.

Then his arms came down, lifting her up so their eyes were level. He pressed his face into her neck, and she realised with a start that he was shaking, too. Levy curled her arms around his head, breathing in the scent of his hair. His hands tightened on her waist, and they leaned their combined weight against the truck.

"We can stay," Gajeel said gruffly, breath ghosting over her neck. "If you want. We can stay 'till the cops get here. Or you could come forward as a witness later. Or we can just leave; they'll get put away no matter what."

Levy stayed still for several moments. Her tears were running out, and her panic was subsiding. Gajeel's arms were so strong, like iron. She felt safe caged between him and the truck.

"Let's go," she said finally. "To the dance."

"What."

"I don't want anything to do with him, ever again." Levy shook her head. "Maybe I'll come forward later. I don't know. For now, I just – I just want to forget all about him. Let's go to the dance. Let's go to Homecoming."

Gajeel let out a humourless laugh. "You have a strange way of dealing with things," he said. "But okay. Yeah. Let's go."

He pulled his head back. From up here, Levy could see straight into his eyes. They were so red. She used to think they were scary. Her hands moved, one brushing against Gajeel's cheek, the other resting by his ear.

They both leaned in to kiss each other at the same time. Then both jumped back, staring at the other in surprise.

"Um," he said. Levy's throat felt dry.

"Gajeel, you..." she started, and swallowed.

Then she threw her arms back around his head, threading her fingers through his hair as she kissed him again. This time, neither of them pulled away.

Her legs came up to rest around his waist, and his hands slid lower on her hips. Everything about this felt so right, and Levy felt calm washing over her like a wave.

His teeth scraped against her bottom lip. She sighed, and when they pulled apart, he rested his forehead on hers.

"We should go," Gajeel said, a little breathless.

"Yeah." Levy didn't want to move.

Eventually he let her down, and she opened the door to the car. Gajeel walked around, sitting in the driver's seat. Levy looked out the window, at the trailer park.

She was done with that. Forever.

When she looked back, Gajeel was staring at his phone with a slight grin on his face. "We still going?" she asked.

"Yep." Gajeel revved the engine. "We just have to make a stop first."

"We do?"

He pulled the truck out into the street. Levy frowned, as she followed street signs with her eyes. "Are we going to the mall?"

Sure enough, they pulled into the back mall parking lot. It was empty, save for a lone figure standing outlined against the sliding doors. Levy cupped her eyes trying to see.

"Is that Juvia?"

The back door of the truck opened, and a few grunts confirmed that it was, indeed, Juvia. "What are you doing?" Levy asked in wonder, turning around in her seat.

Juvia looked up, startled. "Oh! Gajeel, you didn't mention Levy was here! Juvia should have guessed it, though, because Gajeel and Levy are always together. Are you dating yet? You two should date. Juvia commands it. Gajeel, go to Juvia's house, and step on the gas!

She was talking a mile a minute, chattering excitedly like Levy had never heard before. As Gajeel peeled out of the parking lot, Levy stared at her in wonder. "Juvia, what's going on? Aren't you working?"

"Juvia quit." Her voice held a note of pride. "And now, Juvia's going to Homecoming to profess her undying love for Gray-sama. And we're to her house because Juvia can't do that in this." She fingered the old T-shirt. "Juvia doesn't have many dresses, but-" her eyes fixed on Levy. "Levy was going to the dance, yes?"

"Ah-" Levy blinked. This all felt surreal. "Yes?"

"And does Levy not have a dress?"

"Um." Levy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "No?"

Juvia made a noise of discontent in the back of her throat. "Well, borrow one of Juvia's. Hopefully, Levy doesn't mind blue."

Gray tipped his head back, taking another big gulp of water. He cast another glance around the gymnasium, bored as all hell. None of his friends were in sight. He hadn't seen them since that afternoon, actually – Gray had wanted to go to the dance without them. He didn't want them to see Angel.

Moreover, he didn't want to make it obvious that this was nothing but a pity date.

Well, Gray thought, glancing at Angel, not a pity date. A thank-you date. After tonight, he was fairly certain he would never have anything to do with Angel again.

Her hair was pinned up, and the rhinestones on her purple dress sparkled. Gray wasn't a fashion major, but the colour didn't suit her, and her makeup was done too heavily. When he picked her up that evening, he had taken Ur's minivan again. She'd given it a dirty look, and pushed one of Ur's Phil Collins CDs out of the way.

Gray felt his lip curl up. Angel turned to look at him, a simpering smile on her face, and he forced himself to smile back.

Well, he thought glumly, at least Juvia wouldn't be here. He was having a hard enough time figuring that weirdness out, without having her see him with Angel –

"Gray-sama?"

He jolted up. Juvia was standing a few feet away, a small smile curving her lips.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but all the lights in the gym turned blue. A slow, sad, romantic song started to play on the speakers, and a few students out on the floor cheered and started partnering up. Angel heard, and reached for Gray's hand. "Let's go dance," she said, but Gray snatched his hand away.

Juvia looked beautiful. Her hair was down, tumbling over her shoulders, glowing in the blue light. It made her skin shimmer, and her dress looked like a waterfall cascading down her long legs. But it wasn't a real dress; it was more like the kind of thing you threw over a bathing suit at-

At the beach.

"It was you," Gray said quietly.

Juvia ducked her head down. Angel's hand closed around Gray's and she whispered in his ear to go, but he pushed her off. "Why did you lie?" He demanded.

Juvia looked up in alarm, but Gray wasn't talking to her. He rounded on Angel. "You weren't the one who rescued me, so why did you say you were?"

At first, Angel might have argued. Instead, she deflated with a huff. "Minerva told me to," she complained. "What was I supposed to do? Say no? Besides, you're really hot."

In a flash, Juvia was right beside them. Her cold eyes fixed on Angel. "Juvia would like to dance with Gray-sama," she said. It was a louder, stronger voice than Gray had ever heard her use. Then those blue eyes moved to him, and softened. "That is, if Gray-sama wants to."

He swallowed, and took her hand. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Angel puffed out her cheeks. But she didn't look overly upset as Gray pulled Juvia away, until they stood on the edge of the dance floor.

Gray settled one hand on Juvia's waist, and clasped her hand with the other. For a second, her free hand hovered, but then she let it rest on his shoulder. Heat spread through his body.

"So," he said, as they started to dance. "You're the blue bikini."

Her face flushed red. "Juvia hates that stupid thing," she mumbled. Gray felt himself smirk.

"Please, tell me you still have it." His smirk widened as her face grew darker.

They danced in silence for a while. Juvia's hands were shaking a little, and Gray wondered if she'd been shaking for as long as she knew him. He also wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Finally, he said, "Why didn't you tell me it was you?"

"Juvia was nervous." She didn't look up at him. "Juvia thought Gray-sama might find her...well, that he wouldn't like her."

"You thought I would think you were a creepy stalker," he stated blandly. Juvia looked away in misery, and he tried not to sigh out loud. "So, why now?"

"Huh?"

"Why all of a sudden now, you decide to tell me? What triggered it? Angel?"

"No." She took her hand off of his shoulder to pull at her hair in a nervous gesture. "Juvia quit her job today. She decided she – Juvia's not going to hold herself back anymore."

Gray smiled. He took his hand off her waist to pull the hand out of her hair. Then he pressed both their hands to Juvia's cheeks. "I'm glad. You-"

She didn't let him finish. Instead, she launched forward and kissed him.

He didn't even have time to register how nice it felt before she pulled back, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh my – Juvia is so sorry! She didn't think – she just-"

"Whatever you're 'just' doing?" Gray interrupted, grabbing her hands again. "Keep doing it."

This time he kissed her. This time, they stayed like that.

Yukino kept calling.

Lucy kept ignoring it.

"Leave me alone," she told the phone. It wasn't her cell – she'd turned that off because it kept ringing. Now it was the home phone. Lucy was about to unplug it. Because it kept ringing.

The phone silenced. Lucy stared at it, not moving a muscle, as though daring it to ring again. When it did, her body gave a violent twitch. She picked up the phone and slammed it down on the receiver. "Leave me alone!"

She didn't want to go tonight. Why could nobody understand that? Why did no one understand that she couldn't bear to face Salamander again – this time, there would be no masks, and he would find out who she was. He'd see her, but not recognise her, and soon he'd see that his supposedly perfect girl was nothing more than a servant in her own home who had stains on her T-shirt and lived in the attic.

Lucy couldn't even pretend that graduation was the end of it, and she could go her own way, not anymore. Salamander was going to the same place. She'd never be rid of him.

When the phone rang again, Lucy let out a wail and ran outside. She slammed the front door shut, effectively blocking out all noise, and any sound of the phone ringing. Then she curled up on the front step, burying her face in her arms. Goosebumps erupted all over her skin from the cold, seeping in from the stone steps through her jeans.

"Well, that was a little overdramatic, don't you think?"

Lucy jerked her head up in surprise. Standing in front of her was a sight that filled her with a sense of eerie déjà vu – here she was, the night of a dance, angry and frustrated and nearly overwhelmed by a feeling of loneliness, and someone showed up to save her.

"Flare?" Lucy asked, voice cracking.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Flare sounded impatient, crossing her arms. "I sure hope you didn't lock yourself out, because I don't have any keys."

"I..." Lucy looked at her in wonder. "What are you doing here?"

"Yukino cornered me at the dance," she said. "She says you haven't been answering her all night."

"I don't want to go to the dance-"

"Well, tough luck, because you have to," Flare interrupted. "Yukino was calling you about more than just that." She crouched beside Lucy so they were eye level. "Minerva knows you snuck out to Halloween. She has your other shoe. She's going to try and convince Natsu that she was you." Flare's eyes dimmed, and she looked down. "I knew about the whole time. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I..."

"It's okay," Lucy reassured her, pulling Flare into a tight hug. "You're here now."

The hug was sweet while it lasted. Then something Flare said clicked in Lucy's brain, and she pushed her back. "Wait, Natsu?"

"Oh yeah. That Salamander guy or whoever you're so in love with is just Natsu. Yukino and Sting found out, because apparently he's been moping over some girl for weeks." Flare looked pointedly at her. "Some girl he met at Halloween."

"Oh." Lucy felt very small. Also like the world has just opened up underneath her and she was free-falling into darkness. "Natsu Dragneel?"

"Yeah. And I know Natsu. He's a class-five certified idiot, and he might just believe the bullshit story Minerva feeds him. Meaning," Flare stood up triumphantly, "you have to haul ass to that dance so you can save your Prince Charming from putting the shoe on the wrong girl."

Lucy swallowed. Salamander...Natsu...he still had her shoe?

"Oh..." Lucy glanced down at herself. Her throat was thick, and she still felt light-headed and dizzy. "Oh, Flare, but what am I going to wear?" she exclaimed, clutching at the old T-shirt.

Flare's grin widened. "You just leave that to me."

Flare's closet was enormous. Lucy should have known that, considering how much laundry she'd done for her over the years. But instead, Lucy was slack-jawed at the awe, the wonder, the beauty that was the walk-in closet.

"Minerva's is bigger," Flare said with a shrug. "But there'll be something in here for you. I hope you don't mind red."

"Are all your clothes red?" Lucy asked, as she started walking slowly into the closet. Flare gently pushed her a few steps down to where a rack of dresses was waiting. There was one that was red and gold with a plunging V neckline and a long slit up the side. Lucy's fingers twitched.

"If you like it, try it," Flare encouraged. "I don't mind."

Lucy turned around and hugged her again. "Thank you so much," she managed. "How can I ever repay you?"

Flare snorted. "Think of it as me repaying you," she said wryly. "For, you know. Years of homework, and chores, and...stuff."

Lucy gave a wobbly smile. She was too emotional now to just be solely happy or sad. There were a thousand thoughts flitting through her mind. The one that shouted the loudest cried out, put the dress on!

So Lucy did.

Natsu leaned on a railing, overlooking the dance floor. The gym setup was very much the same as it had been for the Halloween dance, and his eyes kept wandering over to the door on the side where he and the Princess had escaped into the empty halls last time they were here.

He'd only half-managed to dress himself for the dance, he'd been so eager to go. He had the pants, the shirt, and the waistcoat, but had forgotten the tie and jacket. He looked better than Gray, but that was about it. Everyone else at the dance was dressed properly.

Speaking of Gray. Natsu could see the idiot now. He had rejoined their growing group of friends, with Juvia in tow. It looked like they were holding hands. He smiled; good. Gray had finally gotten his head out of his own ass.

Most groups of friends were out on the dance floor, or having a good time. Not his. They had huddled around Yukino. As Homecoming Queen candidate, she should have been out on the dance floor making a scene. Instead, she had been glued to her phone for the better part of two hours. Sting, her oh-so-gracious date, was nowhere to be seen.

Juvia joined the other girl with blue hair – Levy? – and they hugged. Levy's dress was also blue, and the two looked like sisters. Gajeel was there, too, wearing a tie over his plain black T-shirt. Natsu smirked a little; all right. He was better dressed than two idiots.

Every so often, someone from the group would glance up at him. Natsu looked away pointedly, clutching the little blue-white shoe in his hand.

"Natsu?"

He stiffened. "Minerva." She appeared on the rail next to him, in a long white dress. Her makeup was less overdone than usual, and her black hair was curled lightly. She held out a hand next to his, and Natsu's heart nearly stopped as he saw what she was holding.

It was the matching shoe.

"Where did you get that?" Natsu demanded, jumping back.

Minerva smiled, tilting her head to the side. "It was mine."

"No." He shook his head adamantly. "I'm not an idiot, Minerva-"

"Really?"

"I saw you that night. You were somewhere else. Who did you steal the shoe from?" he demanded.

"From no one, I-"

"From me."

Both their heads swivelled around. Natsu's jaw dropped and his heart stopped again, because it was her. Without the mask and in a different dress, but there was no mistaking her. It was-

"Princess," he breathed.

Her eyes widened slightly – brown, he noticed, he hadn't even seen them through the mask last time. "You know?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"You!" Minerva flew past him in a rage, grabbing Princess by the shoulders and shaking her. Natsu moved to stop her, but Princess was faster; she threw Minerva off like it was nothing. Minerva hissed and spat like a cat. "What are you doing here, Lucy?"

And at the name Lucy, a flood of memories surged through Natsu. A blurred face at the edge of a crowd, a derisive snort whenever he did something stupid in class, blonde hair in loose pigtails; a girl in ratty jeans and a gray Hargeon sweater.

He suddenly felt like the biggest idiot in the entire world. Of course. Of course it was her. Minerva's foster sister, the one Yukino spoke so highly about. Erza and Juvia's friend, the one who couldn't make it to the arcade group date. "Lucy."

Their eyes locked.

That was when all of Tartarus decided to break loose.

"It wasn't Minerva!" Yukino, Juvia, Levy, Gajeel, and Gray screamed in tandem as they appeared on the balcony, breathing heavily. Gajeel leaned his elbow on Levy, who rested her hands on her knees. "Fuck, those stairs are steep," he huffed.

"She's lying!" Yukino cried.

"Come on Natsu, even you're not that stupid! Maybe!" Gray shouted.

"Lucy! Don't let Minerva win! Fight-o!" Juvia called with her hands cupped around her mouth.

Natsu stared at them all in amazement. "I know it's not Minerva," he started, but was interrupted yet again by Sting and Rogue skidding to a halt in front of them, Sting's loose tie flapping around. They were flanked by two of the hired security guards.

"That's her!" Sting cried, but he wasn't pointing at Lucy. His outstretched hand was pointing at Minerva.

"Sting, what are you doing?" she growled, pushing some hair back from her face.

The security guards stepped forward, grasping Minerva's arms. "Minerva Orland, you are under arrest."

Everyone's jaw hit the floor.

"What? Why?" Minerva demanded, trying to wrestle herself from the security guards.

"Rogue's the one who...figured it out." Sting was out of breath, and he gestured over to Rogue, who pushed his hair back. It fell right back in his face, of course.

"Yukino fell asleep in the computer lab," he said, chest heaving. "And she didn't think to use her phone. She forgot a lot of things, and that struck me as odd, because Yukino's a smart person."

Yukino blinked. "So?"

"So Sting and I went to check it out," Rogue continued. "And it turns out someone put dry ice by the heating vents."

Minerva shrieked. "So? It's not like it was going to kill her, I just wanted to knock her out for a few hours so I could be crowned Queen!"

All the people on the dance floor had stopped. The music was no longer playing, and the entire gym was looking at Minerva. One of the guards clapped a pair of handcuffs on her. "Well, that's the easiest confession we've ever gotten," he said to his partner. "Let's take her downtown."

Minerva was dragged out of the gym screaming, just as Flare ran in. "What did I miss?" She demanded at everyone's face.

Natsu shook his head. High school was weird.

After all the hustle with Minerva, people started breaking off. Yukino explained to everyone about Erza. She was in the hospital, but she'd be fine, and probably back in school by next week. She also relayed the information that Romeo was doing fine, which sent a ripple of relief through the guys.

Then Yukino and Sting went off to dance in the center of the floor. With Minerva disqualified, Yukino had won Homecoming Queen by proxy, and she and Sing accepted their crowns with delight. Gray and Juvia went off to talk with Ultear and Meredy, with Gray promising to talk to Ultear about keeping Erza on the softball team. Gajeel and Levy sat on the bleachers, hands interlocked. Rogue disappeared somewhere, but he promised to come by and hang out later. Eventually, everyone trickled away until there was no one left but Lucy and Natsu.

She glanced back at him, heart pounding. He'd grabbed the shoe off Minerva, and now held both in his hands.

"Were these important?" He asked suddenly, and Lucy jumped.

"Um," her hands tightened on her elbows. "No? Mirajane – uh – my friend got them at a thrift store."

"Good." Natsu turned around and dumped them in a trash bin. "Talk about a bad memory."

His smile was dazzling, and Lucy smiled back reflexively. "Want to dance?" she asked without thought.

They settled on the far back corner of the dance floor, away from the spotlight. Their hands fit nicely together, Lucy thought. Her palm warmed quickly. "I'm sorry," she said presently. "For everything."

"Why did you do it?" Natsu asked. His voice wasn't angry, and Lucy thanked the stars. "Why'd you run away?"

"Minerva, mostly." She bit her lip. "And...well...I was scared, I guess."

"Scared of me?"

"No, scared of-" she broke off. How to say this? "Scared of you finding out who I really am."

"What's wrong with who you are?" Natsu stopped dancing, and looked her in the eyes. His gaze was so intense, she had to look away. Her face was burning.

"I'm not anyone special," she mumbled. Natsu growled, low in his throat, and she startled.

"You helped me write a two-page essay," he said stoutly. "That counts as pretty special."

Lucy blinked. The she giggled, and the giggles spilled over into tears, until she was laughing and crying at the same time. She leaned forward and buried her face in Natsu's scarf. It was the easiest thing in the world.

"I like you a lot," she said, voice muffled by the cloth. He might not have heard her.

But he did. His arms wrapped around her, and his chin rested on top of her head. "I like you a lot, too," he laughed. "Can we start over?"

"Okay." Lucy pulled away. "Hi, I'm Lucy Heartfilia. I'm going to Hargeon next fall, I dream of being a writer, I live in the attic of my house and I hate the way you throw spit wads in class."

"Hi, I'm Natsu Dragneel, and I'm in love with you."

And then he kissed her so hard the world caught fire.