Chapter 11 pt.2:

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! What?

.~ ... ~.

MY P.O.V.

As I walked, rather slid from side to side, back to the living room, I notice the familiar smell of ash. I shrugged, probably just Natsu burning off Michael's adult magazines. But as entered the living room, I saw Gray leaving for the bathroom and my cousin resting his arms on the sofa as he sat on the floor, his head lying on his elbows for support. I kinda felt bad for him, and as much as I didn't like to admit it, I sort of wanted to do something to cheer him up.

Walking to the sofa and taking an empty spot next to him, I patted his head to make him look at me. He did so, and his eyes were half-lidded, probably from sleeping.

"Sorry 'bout, you know… your magazines…" I said, awkwardly because I didn't really know what to apologize for. In my opinion, he shouldn't be that upset, the majority of his magazines were doubles of his originals anyway, last time I checked.

"It's okay…" he muttered, facing down again. "Just don't let them touch my room again after they finished…" I nodded, not needing him to see to say that I've agreed. I've settled down on the sofa and started browsing through their family's novels. Though he never found interest in them, his mother seemed to be a big fan for the literary arts. I scanned a book that I deemed interesting, and submerged myself in it. About a few minutes as I began to read, I heard snoring beside me. I steered my eyes towards my cousin, who was now sleeping on the sofa. I rolled my eyes, but took a pillow from the sofa and adjusted his position enough to fit the pillow. Just because he doesn't care much for anime doesn't mean he's an ass. Okay, maybe he is, from time to time. But he can be good, like now. Letting us stay here even when there's only little entertainment he can give. He doesn't show it, because of the way he was raised, but he can be a pretty nice guy.

I sighed and read the rest of the book. Although I didn't make it on the first paragraph when I heard laughing and screaming from upstairs, and feet stomping to get down. A few seconds later, a giggling Levy ran down along with a smiling Meredy. They went to the living room and sat on one of the couches, quieting down as they noticed the sleeping Michael. They looked at me for a moment before giggling and pointing to the stairs. I awkwardly steered my eyes to that direction to see what was going on.

Then, a screaming Lucy came down the stairs, someone, I think Natsu, was throwing ash at her. The powdery byproduct of the burnt magazines clung to her hair, giving it that smoked smell. I saw her scramble from the stairs and maneuvered her way to the living room, tiptoeing as she noticed the also sleeping Michael, before running out the front door. It was dark out, so I have no idea if she'll rush back in or not. Then came down Natsu, holding a pile of ash in his hands as he grinned wildly, his eyes narrowed into mischievousness as he searched for his target.

"Oh Lucy~…!" He called, cupping the side of his mouth as he scouted the room. He saw me, and grinned. "Has any of you seen Lucy?"

"Nope…" I quickly answered, then went back to reading the book. The girls shrugged, causing Natsu to pout at us. He must really like messing with Lucy, and her hair. Too bad for him though, he probably couldn't smell her from all the ash on her hair! Just then, we heard the sound of something flushing down the toilet, and out came Gray wearing nothing but his boxers again. I really don't know where his clothes go after taking them off. Heck, I don't see him looking for them, and just magically finds them when someone asks him to wear it. I sighed, I've been thinking too much on this. I looked back on the book, but I saw Natsu flash a smirk. And before I knew it, he threw a ball of flaring ash towards the ice mage.

"Eat ash, stripper pants!" the pink-haired Dragon Slayer yelled. Gray looked back only to have enough time to cast a shield on the area where the ash was about to hit, basically his head. The ice melted when the fire made contact, nullifying both spells. The raven-haired man glared viciously at the fire-mage.

"The hell was that for?!" he growled. Natsu shrugged, causing him to get angrier. Without a second's notice, the ice-mage threw a snowball at Natsu, prompting him to block it with his arm. He chuckled before getting more ash from his pockets.

'Seriously, his pockets…?' I thought to myself. Mira's going to have one heck of a time doing their laundry. They started throwing both fire and ice, just above my head. Lucky for the house, their throws kept cancelling each other out. But unlucky for me, they always cancel out on top of me, dropping wet ash on my head. They continued their little elemental fight, ignoring me for all the care in the world and chuckling at their even aim. I couldn't even finish the book I was reading! And if I stand up, I might risk getting thrown at. My eye was twitching as the vapory dust hit me on the head. Deciding I couldn't take it anymore, I took another book and threw it at both of them. The two didn't see it coming and I had a lucky hit on both their faces, the books leaving red marks on their faces.

"Will you two stop it?!" I exclaimed. "In case you didn't notice, someone is asleep, so keep it down!"

"But… you're louder than us…" Natsu pointed out. I jolted back a little before looking at my sleeping cousin. He was still, for the life of me, asleep. I sighed, then scanned the room again. Levy and Meredy had already left, possibly to the kitchen, leaving only the four of us in the living room. Running a hand to my wet and ash-covered hair, I began to walk up to Michael's room.

"I'm going to take a bath…" I said. If I remember correctly, I still had some leftover clothes here when I last stayed here, which was a few weeks ago, because our families wanted a sleepover. I didn't mind, and neither did Michael, but I was disheartened into coming over ever again when I awoke to the sounds of grunting and moaning. I shivered little before going up. I opened the door to his room, smelled like ash. I was right. When I opened the door, ash was scattered all over the place. I'm going to have to get Lucy to clean this up along with Natsu and the other girls. Sidestepping along the ash trails, I got to his cabinet and got my spare change of clothes; a light-blue shirt that says, 'Universal' and a pair of black baggy shorts. Underwear wasn't a problem, because I also left some. Sometimes I wonder where all my clothes go, guess I don't have to now.

I grabbed my clothes and got a towel hanging on a hook behind his door and went down to go to the bathroom. As I passed the living room, I saw Michael was laying on the sofa now, his body straight except for the one leg that hung downwards. I raised a brow at this. Did Michael wake up, or did Natsu and Gray carry him up? Upon closer inspection, as in looking at his face, I saw marker symbols embedded on his face. Some marks were drawn on his eyebrows, while others fake mustaches and other silly things.

'Yep…' I sweat dropped. 'Definitely Natsu and Gray…' Sighing, I head for the bathroom once more. Before closing the door, I heard something that made me think.

"You can't be serious!" That sounded like Dani. Oh, well. Whatever it is, I'm sure they'll solve that problem later. Now, bath time~!

.~ … ~.

DANI'S P.O.V.

I pouted ridiculously longer than I should. This argument isn't going to be a win for Mira, even if she is an S-class mage. I'm not backing down from her!

"I'm just saying that the ice-cream flavor should be peppermint, since there are lots of us…" Mira tried to persuade me with her melodious voice and big blue eyes.

"No way…!" I quickly said back. "Cookies 'n Cream are the best 'fun time' ice cream especially since there are a lot of us!"

"Now that's not technically true…" Mira tried to correct, but I cut her off quickly.

"No!" I exclaimed. "With the meals you cook, Cookies 'n Cream are the best compliment for it! Peppermint will ruin that!" We continued our little debate on what flavored ice-cream we should be eating after the buffet, all the while getting weird looks from the other guild members.

"Are they serious…?" Gajeel asked Levy, who was sitting right beside him.

"Can't you tell?" the blue-haired script mage asked. Gajeel shrugged, and continued watching us as we pointlessly fight over what ice cream we should eat after dinner. Meredy was with Ultear, stirring something in the pot that I don't know. Lucy's back from who-know's-where, hugging Happy while Wendy sat on her lap sideways, holding Charles. Lily was flying just above them, observing us with those serious eyes of his. Gray had an arm around Juvia's shoulders as the water woman leaned against his bare chest. I was starting to get jealous again, but a fan's sacrifice is as great as any other if they wish for their character to be happy. Natsu was watching Lisanna cut up more vegetables and put it in the mix Meredy was stirring.

Mira and I argued for almost ten minutes, before finally deciding that we should get both flavors of ice cream for everyone to enjoy. I walked to a chair nearby and slumped down, feeling exhaustion from running and playing outside in the morning, and cooking tonight. I seriously need to lie down. But before I could think any further, the kitchen door burst open, showing us a very angry Michael.

"Who did this?!" He pointed to his face full of marker symbols. I couldn't help but giggle at that. That look suites him! He moved to the sink to wash off the markers, then dried his face with a white towel. He went back to the door to look for anyone that he could suspect. But either way, when I saw Natsu and Gray chuckle evily, I knew it had to be them. Michael narrowed his eyes on the two of them before smirking.

"You two, huh…?" he asked.

"So…" Natsu restrained a laugh while half-covering his mouth. "What if we were?" Michael leaned on the door frame, his arms crossed and his eyes giving off a dark, almost sexy, stare. His bangs weren't helping in decreasing that. Not one bit. I could've sworn I saw Lisanna blush a bit before she continued cutting the vegetables in a much quicker pace.

"I wanna show you two something…" he said. "Come with me…" He straightened up, and went back to the living room, the two guys, who were still smirking, following suite. They closed the door, and we didn't know what happened then.

"Dani-san," I heard Wendy's voice call. I turned to see her still on Lucy's lap. "Mira-san said that the food is almost done. She was trying to call you but you were ignoring her. She thinks you're mad at her and now she's outside," she pointed to the back door. "I think she's upset."

"Oh, shoot!" I exclaimed. I quickly got to my feet and ran to the door, instantly meeting the cold evening breeze. Ignoring it for now, I saw Mira sitting on a chair, her legs folded neatly while hugging her knees as she leaned her body downwards.

"Mira-san…" I called her, quickly getting her attention. I walked closer to her, and I saw her eyes sparkling a bit before she blinked them away.

"O-oh, Dani-san…" she muttered, her voice a little shaky. "Listen, I'm sorry for…"

"Stop right there," I said, quickly cutting her off. "I'm not mad at you or anything. Wendy said that you thought I was ignoring you, well stop it. I was just… lost in thought…" I said as calmly as possible. I saw her blink a few times before smiling warmly.

"Well, I'm sorry for misunderstanding…" she answered, and I smiled back. "By the way," she added. "How on earth did you get Jellal and Erza together? You even got Gray and Juvia hook up. Can I ask how?"

I smiled at this and took a chair and sat with her. I started explaining about Jellal and Erza, from the fan fics up to their secretive relationship. Gray and Juvia was a little easier since they just started a few hours ago. After I was done explaining, Mira looked deep in thought.

"So, who are you going to pair up next…?" she elbowed my arm gently, a wink present in her eyes. I smirked at this, but I still don't know the answer, so I shrugged. She pouted a little, before going back to thinking. Seconds later, it seemed like an idea popped in her head.

"Maybe a certain Iron Dragon Slayer and his little Solid-Script Mage should be next, hmm?" the white-haired beauty asked, a little playfulness in her voice. At that, my eyes sparkled.

"Ooh, they're my favorite!" I exclaimed. "You're totally right, now all I need to do is tell Pen-san…! Speaking of which, where is he…?" The two of us blinked once before shrugging, and then proceeded to giggle. Afterwards, we stood up and went back inside. We were greeted by the aroma of food wafting through the air. Our eyes landed on the dining table where all the food was. At that, my stomach quickly grumbled, eliciting a giggle from the white-haired Take-Over Mage.

"I'll go get you a plate," Mira said. I smiled a bit before nodding. Everyone else was eating ahead of us. Lucy and Levy were by the table, the only people mild-mannered enough to eat without having too much on their plate. Lisanna was with them, but she had more than the other two. Gajeel was by the door, holding onto his plate as he ate. Wendy and the Exceeds were smart enough to eat by the counter. Juvia was sitting alone near said counter, silently wishing that Gray would join her. Meredy and Ultear were at the farthest end of the table, talking to each other like they were the only ones in the room. Elfman was the only one who was chugging down meat after meat in his mouth like some bottomless pit. Mira quickly scolded him, though, and soon enough he was like a proper gentleman. Then, Mira came back to me with a plate full of food.

"Eat up," she said. And I couldn't say no. The food smelled so delicious, and my appetite was growing. But before I did that, I just had to ask.

"Have you seen Natsu and Gray?" I asked Mira. "They're gonna miss this if they don't get here. And this is partly for Gray, anyways. Partly for Juvia, too…"

"I don't know," Mira replied. "Last time we saw either of them, they were following Michael-san, right?" I nodded, not needing to say anything more then took the plate from Mira.

"Well, I'm sure they'll come around…" I said. "Anyway, thanks for the food!"

"You're welcome," Mira smiled. We both sat across Lisanna, Lucy and Levy and engaged in conversation with them. Everything was going well. I just hope Pen and the others can make it before the food disappears. Seriously, Gajeel's enjoying himself there. I wonder how he'll react if we pair him and Levy up next…? I 'm so excited I nearly broke out into a grin, but I kept it for the small risk that everyone might think I'm insane.

.~ … ~.

MY P.O.V.

I stepped out of the bathroom wearing the clothes I brought with me. Feeling refreshed, I felt happy and can't wait to start eating. I'm getting hungrier just by thinking about it! As I walked to the living room, though, two blurs, one pink and one black, raced on either side of me and went for the bathroom, leaving the door wide open. I went back and slowly peeked in, not knowing what I might see. Then, I heard both Natsu and Gray puking their guts out.

'I wonder what's gotten into them…' I thought to myself. Then, I heard laughter reverberating from behind me. I turned to see Michael, his arms crossed and his smirk evident. If I had to guess, I'd say he's got something to do with this. He nodded at me in greeting and I followed the gesture, before he stopped in front of the bathroom door.

"Well…?" he asked the two, who were still dumping their early buffet. "How'd it feel…?"

"B-bastard…" I heard Gray cough out.

"S-sick…psychopath…" Natsu continued. All they got from response was a chuckle from Michael. Slowly, the two recovered and stood up, both glaring at Michael now.

"If you guys mess with me again, it will spread to the others… Understand?" Reluctantly, the two mages nodded. "Great! Now, let's go get some bites to eat, eh Pen-Pen?"

"Stop calling me that!" I exclaimed, completely forgetting what had happened earlier. He just chuckled again and I followed as he led the way to the kitchen. When we got there, everyone else was eating ahead. Sighing, I grabbed a plate and started to pick out what I wanted to eat. After getting a spot to eat, Gray and Natsu emerged from the living room, grumbling angrily as they grabbed their plates and just shoved down food on it before taking their own spots to eat. They kept a glare locked on Michael while eating, but that didn't change the atmosphere of everyone.

About an hour or so, around 8 in the evening, everyone was finished with their meal and was helping out in cleaning before the others said their goodbyes. Of course, Wendy, Lily and the Strauss siblings stayed at Michael's, but I stayed, forcing Natsu to stay too because I forced him to clean Michael's room of ash.

Both of us were upstairs, the Strauss bunch plus Michael busy still cleaning up. I was standing by the door with a black trash bag in hand while Natsu scooped up the ash with a broom and dustpan before putting it on the bag.

"Hey, Natsu…" I called. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" he asked. "And it better not be about earlier in the bathroom, alright?" At that, I sweat dropped. I completely forgot about that, and I guess there's no asking for it now. I'll just ask Gray about it later.

"Okay," I replied. I stood in silence for a while, thinking of what to ask him. Then, it finally clicked me. Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Do you like anyone right now?" I saw him stiffen up at the question before returning to his normal stature.

"No…" he said. He wasn't convincing me, so I pressed further.

"Really…?"

"Yes…"

"Really, really…?"

"Yes…"

Really, really, rea…"

"Alright, fine…!" he exclaimed. "I'll tell you! Just… keep your mouth shut about it, okay?" I blinked a few times, then nodded my head. He took deep breaths, as if preparing to tell me something that he wouldn't like sharing. Then, after one final breath, blush evident on his face, he looked me in the eye, before lowering his head to hide a deeper blush.

"It's Li…s….na…" I couldn't make out the words, it was too inaudible.

"What…?" I asked again.

"I said," he took a deep breath and sighed. "It's…L…"

"L…" I pressed. He lowered his head again before blurting it out.

"It's Lisanna…!" he said, barely a whisper but barely a shout either. But it rang through my ears and my eyes turned wide as plates. Did I just hear right? Did Natsu say that he liked Lisanna? I didn't know how to respond, but apparently my brain did.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What?" I asked, hoping what I heard was just a figment of my imagination.

"Are you deaf?" he asked me. "I said I like Lisanna… Now shut up, I'm embarrassed just talkin' about it."

"I guess I really am deaf," I laughed hysterically, still finding it hard to believe. "B-because I thought I heard you say you like L-Lisanna…?"

"You heard right," he said, making my eyes wide even more. "I like Lisanna. Now zip it, someone might hear."

"But…!"

"But nothin'!" he said. "Either shut up or eat ash…" At that, I shut my mouth, and he grinned. Stupid sadist… Still, I can't believe it. Natsu likes Lisanna? Natsu likes Lisanna and not Lucy?! I was hysterical and I didn't know what to do.

Oh, NaLu fans of the world help me now!

A/N:

Dun, dun, dun! The end of part two signals trouble for us NaLu fans! XD I have nothing against NaLi, except , you know, the couple itself, but I still know that people have different tastes in that. XD Anyway, NaLu fans, what will we do? Natsu says he likes Lisanna! What's gonna happen now? XD

Anyway, I forgot to mention this in part one, but here I go. To my final four, just tell me in your reviews if you finished your story, and I'll visit your profile to check it out! XD And the two who win will get the following rewards:

1. A starring role in my story "Me and Fairy Tail", covering an arc of about 5-6 chapters. Meaning that for those chapters, it'll be all about you~!

2. A chance to appear in my other stories again, if chosen! No need to be picked out, if I feel like putting you there, I'll just put you there! XD

3. A chance to pick a pairing of your choice to get paired up first!

I updated early, huh? Yeah, I'm kinda shocked by that, too... Hehe... XD Well, that's it! Thanks again for always supporting this story… But the reason I updated early was because after this, I won't be updating for awhile, more like, ever. I guess… I've been down all day and I kinda feel like I'm a lousy writer… I know I'm self-loathing, but I think it's true… I don't do plots, I can't finish my stories in time, I can't even get good remarks from strangers! T^T I love you guys, but I really don't know what to do about myself… I'm guessin' this'll last a little while… To my final 4, don't worry, I'll still be checking up on you every now and then, but I might not update. Maybe by Christmas, I might have my motivation back, but before then, I'll just be writing bits and pieces then redoing them because I think they're horrible… And, for the last time for a long while…

Ja Ne~