Thank you for your support guys! I appreciate it C: Imma make it short lol. Enjoy the new chapter~

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Chapter 2

Gray's POV

I was a little shocked as I slumped into a desk. The dented wall stared at me, not that it had eyes or anything.

The whole class whispered annoyingly. It was tiring, so I shot a deadly glare across the room. It shut up some of them. Lucy was gone. She had ditched class.

Like usual, the teacher was late, and my friends waved me over. The seats weren't arranged yet, so we were allowed to sit wherever we wanted. But I sighed. I wasn't in the mood to talk.

When Lucy sat down, I realized that she was uncomfortable. Everyone immediately scooted away from her desk, in fear of her wrath. But her eyes glistened with sadness. It was almost as if she wanted to meet people. My heart wrenched a little, and I felt myself drifting over.

I groaned and palmed my face. That was reckless. I should've talked to her during lunch. But no one knows where she disappears to during the period.

"Oi Gray! You didn't hear us call to you!" An orange-haired guy appeared, his hazel eyes sparkling in interest. Girls from left to right squealed when he entered their two-meter radius.

"I did, Loke."

"That was pretty brave, talking to that hardcore girl." He commented and flicked aside one of his stray hair bangs. A girl nearby fainted as some shrieked. I couldn't tell if they were staring at Loke or me. I rolled my eyes as he continued, "But now new rumors are flying. About the both of you now."

I scrunched my shoulders in guilt. "I just…felt a little bad that I never talked to her before."

He opened his mouth. "By the way Gray, you sort of—"

"GRAYY-SAMA! JUVIA IS HERE FOR GRAY-SAMA KYAAAA!" A blue girl spun towards me as I widened my eyes in horror. She bulldozed through the crowd and appeared in front of my face a second later. "WHAT DID LUCY DO TO GRAY-SAMA?! DID LUCY PUNCH GRAY-SAMA? OH KAMISAMA!" She shrieked and pointed to the dented wall that sadly sat there. "VIOLENT! RIVAL! KOWAIII!" (**note: kowai means scary).

I tried to calm her down. "Wait Juvia, she didn't do anything."

"JUVIA HEARS THAT LUCY IS VIOLENT! GRAY-SAMA MUST STAY AWAY FROM-!"

"Juvia. Look at me. I'm fine."

"BUT BUT BUT!" She blubbered. She then averted her gaze towards me and flushed tomato red while gawking. "Gray-sama…is…"

"…you sort of stripped." Loke finally finished.

I looked down, only in my boxers. Blushing, I quickly gathered my clothes around the desk and started dressing. Some girls groaned in disappointment. So that's what they were staring at…Juvia fainted as I saw a stream of blood trickle from her nose.

"JUVIA LOCKSER!" A huge voice bellowed. A large tanned man appeared with steroid-like muscles. Students shrieked a little as they scuttled away in silence. He stomped into class A and pulled Juvia by her back collar. "DITCHING CLASS? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BETTER MAN!" He ignored me and dragged her as she struggled to get back.

"JUVIA IS NOT A MAN!" she wailed. "JUVIA WANTS TO BE IN CLASS A WITH GRAY-SAMA! NAKED AND BEAUTIFUL GRAY-SAMA! NOT WITH BAKA ELFMAN! NOT IN CLASS-B!"

"THEN BE A MAN AND IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH GRADE!" he retorted. She thrashed wildly and managed to get a good kick at Loke's thigh. He hissed in pain.

"JUVIA WILL BE BACK! JUVIA WILL BE BACK FOR GRAY-SAMA!" she yelled before finally disappearing into the crowd. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That obsessive freak." My friend seethed in anger. "Ohh Gray-sama~~" He mockingly tilted his head with a dreamy gaze and snorted. I heard distant screaming in the classroom next to ours. "What language does she speak? Juvia-nese?

"Oh come on, she's not that bad." I waved my hand and pulled up one of my legs to rest it on my other. Loke gave me an are-you-serious look.

"Wait wait. She's obsessed with collecting stuff that look like you. She watches all the anime shows that have a black-haired protagonist or have a name similar to yours. She talks Japanese/English which sometimes makes no sense at all. She licks pictures that have you on it. She tortures those who confess to you. And she makes out with pillows that have your face imprinted on it. You say that she's not that bad?"

"Well she—wait what?" I thought I heard the last few parts wrong.

He shrugged. "Just a rumor I heard."

I threw up my arms. "Rumors. Rumors. Everyone just loves rumors, don't they? With their stupid bickering mouths, a lie could turn into their truth."

"It's school. It's entertainment." He commented. He swished his hair as new squeals erupted. A few boys shot him a glare. Probably because their girlfriends were fawning over him.

"Well I hate it. Everyone's an idiot." I got out of my seat and headed outside.

"Wait, where are you going? Class is about to start!"

I turned my head back. "I'm ditching. It's that old fart's fault for being late. Bye."

"I'm coming with you!"

"Don't." I swiftly turned the corner and pranced towards the rooftop. It was only 8:15, and my day felt like ten hours passed. Climatic. I needed some alone time.

"Cold bastard…" I heard my friend mutter before I walked out of hearing range.

XXXXX LUCY'S POV XXXXXXX

I sniffled as Mirajane gave me another tissue. I hated today. I was promising myself a good one. And no, it was just chaotic. That pink-headed jerk. And that raven boy who offered to be my friend. An offer which I turned down. I remembered the event and groaned, covering my face with my hands.

"Lucy…" she warmly patted me on the back. "Do you want a drink? I could go get one for you."

I shook my head and blew my nose into the tissue. It was covered in my snot, to my disgust. Embarrassed, I quickly wiped away the remainder of my slime and threw it in the trash. Mirajane only chuckled, bemused.

"Is that personality of yours getting out of hand?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yea."

She looked at me, expecting more. I sighed.

"This morning, I encountered a motorcyclist. He asked me if I was ok, and then…" I groaned, replaying the conversation.

"Then?"

I slumped onto the bed and rolled over, my back facing her. "You know the typical…"

"Ahh…" was all she said.

"And he was really cute! He even offered to get coffee with me. But my stupid mouth just shot out stupid stuff….I wish I could talk to everyone like I could with you." I blubbered. "Life would be so much easier…"

"Mhm.."

"And today in class, a guy offered to be my friend."

"How did you react?"

"I punched the wall and stomped out. Rejected him. God…"

"Lucy…"

"Yea I know. But I don't want to hear the medical stuff. I just want a normal conversation."

"It's better if you face it though. And talk about it with your dad."

At the mention of my father, I shot up and bit my lips. "No, not ever with my father. No."

"But—"

"No. I stay out of his life. He stays out of mine."

Mirajane tried to explain. "Lucy, depression isn't bad. A lot of people have it. It's just that this is affecting you more than others. Your father will understand."

"Yea and it's making me have a slight bipolar disorder too…I should go to a mental asylum."

"But you can talk to me normally, Lucy." She smiled warmly. "You can control it, but it's only your mind that can, not your body."

"I wish I could be normal."

"I like you this way Lucy," she said. "I think it would be best just to continue life and try to make friends."

"It's hard."

"I know." She waved her hand. Suddenly, she leaned in and cupped her mouth. "Wanna hear my backstory?"

"Wait what? You have a backstory?"

Mirajane chuckled. "Everyone has one, Lucy. Some are more peaceful. Others are more dramatic. Depends on the individual's past and his or her viewpoint." She shrugged.

I nodded, interested. "Tell me." I sat criss-cross on the bed as she scooted her office chair over.

"Well," she began, "I used to be a monster when I was your age. Punk and demonic were written all over me."

My ears perked up. "That's nonsense. You can't possibly be mean, Mira."

Suddenly, her face darkened. "Oh it's true. Every person who went up to me, I went WHA-BAM!" She imitated a punch and squeaked when her chair rolled to the side. "Everyone was scared of me. And I got the nickname 'Demon Mirajane.'"

"Wait, did you have depression too?"

"Oh no," she waved her hand, a little embarrassed, "I just was too overprotective over my brother since we were both in high school. It then got out of hand." She laughed sheepishly.

"You have a brother? Who is he?" My orbs widened.

"I'll give you a hint." She winked. "He teaches at this school. White hair."

"Lyon?" I guessed.

"No. Plain white. Not with a hint of sky blue. And he's a student. But I wish he were." She dreamily cupped her face. I rolled my eyes, but I was laughing.

"Angel?"

"Lucy. My brother's a man."

"Makarov."

"He only has white hair because he's old. Way too old."

"Uhh…"

"Another hint." She winked again. "Class-C."

I gaped. "Mr. Strauss?!" I mentally facepalmed myself. Mirajane Strauss and Elfman Strauss. Sometimes my common sense lacked a little.

"Yea Elfman," she laughed. "Strange isn't it? He used to be so weak. Now look at him." Mirajane wiped a tear away. She then got up and headed towards her medicine cabinet, arranging her stuff neatly.

"Elfman? But he's so big and strong. Like a man. POWW!" I stretched my arms and made a wide circle. Mira looked amused.

"True. But back in those days, he was short, stubby, and easily targeted by bullies. I had to turn into a devil so I could protect him."

"But how? What made him transform? And what made you transform?"

She stopped in the middle of her action and thoughtfully placed a hand on her chin. "I'm not sure…but when he graduated…I remember…"

"Remember?" I eagerly leaned in to listen.

She looked down, her face suddenly nostalgic. She rubbed her arms. "He said, 'Mirajane. Thank you for protecting me all those years. But I don't need you now.' I was hurt by that comment and…"

"And?"

"…landed a roundhouse kick at him." She turned towards me with an innocent smile. My jaw dropped to the floor.

"W-w-what? WHY?" I stumbled a little. A slender Mirajane kicking a muscular Elfman. I shook my head.

"I was honestly hurt by what he said. He was my brother. I protected him from elementary to high school, and now he suddenly said he didn't need me anymore. I was about to land another kick until he explained."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me it was his time to protect me and our little sister. He was tired of being weak. And he was tired of being a burden on me. Even though I told him he wasn't. But he got up and took me by my shoulders. And told me to be serious." She paused and sat back in her chair, contemplating.

"Oh…"

"He realized I had no friends because of my violent behavior. And he knew he was the cause of it. I was always alone. Even he had a couple of friends who supported him. So he told me to let him go. I was refusing it at first, even though I agreed. It was time for him to be independent. He was going to college. And I had to finish two more years of high school. Reality sucks."

"Yea….I hate reality." I lay back down on the bed and looked out the window. The lunch area looked so peaceful without students.

"Everyone does." She smiled. "But during that summer, Elfman worked out every day and ate twice his usual intake. He grew, and he mentally trained himself from all those years of bullying…Seeing this, I realized I needed to work too. I bought girlish clothes that I had always wanted. I didn't keep my hair in a ponytail. And I tied up my bangs to…"

"To…?"

"…show everyone my true face. That this was also the real Mirajane. Not just the monster Mirajane. Just to let everyone know that I had improved. And so, Elfman and I went our separate ways…but we still ended up back in Fairy Tail high school." She laughed.

"Wow.." I was amazed. "You guys are amazing."

Mira only chuckled. "You are too, Lucy. You just don't realize it."

"But…" I pouted, looking down at my legs. "I'm probably the loneliest and saddest person on the planet….No one wants to be my friend…Not to add that I'm damaged…"

"Lucy…" she scooted over, struggling a bit due to the uneven floor. After about a minute, she finally came and took my hand into hers. "The loneliest people are the kindest…the saddest people smile the brightest….and the most damaged people are the wisest. You are kind, cheerful, and intelligent. If you face your fear, everyone will want to be your friend."

"I'm none of those…" I muttered, a little embarrassed from Mira's compliments. "I have no friends. All my classmates think I'm violent. Some think I'm a slut because of these." I pointed at my chest.

"Well, you aren't. Only you know the truth. None of the others do." She smiled warmly. "And with friends, you can start with me." She held up one finger. "One down, seven billion more to go!" She tilted her head cheerfully.

"Wait, you want me to be friends with everyone on the planet?!"

"Yep!"

"Mirajane!" I groaned, but we both laughed. I felt cheered up and optimistic now. "I'll go back to class. Thank you." I really meant it.

She nodded as I got up and headed towards the doorway. "Wait Lucy! Let me write an excuse for you. I don't want you to get into trouble."

I squealed. "Thank you so much! That would be awesome!"

She laughed and quickly ripped out a post-it note to write it. "Hope you'll make it up with that raven-haired boy."

"Yea I will! Right when I get back to the classroom!" I hummed cheerfully as suddenly the door opened.

"Hey Miss Strauss. I have a small headache, so could I rest here for a bit?"

My orbs widened. He turned and saw me, his orbs also widening.

"G-G-Gray?" I managed to squeak out as I backed into the wall. He opened his mouth.

"Lucy?"