Whoa, whoa! Guys.

Oh my god, I absolutely died when reading some of your reviews from last chapter.

XD My dear readers, I'm afraid you misunderstood. It's hilarious that all of you didn't catch on to what's happening.

Also, another reader pointed out that they don't like drama stories.

Yes, I'm not a huge fan of them either, but as an author I believe that I have to have at least some skill of writing in each genre. I mostly focus on Romance/Humor, but I am weak in the drama type. This is why I try to write different plots in each story, and for this one, I really want to become stronger in writing drama.

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Juvia lay in her bed, her light blue blanket wrapped around her. She felt dead to the world.

She had never had a memory of him in years. But yesterday... Yesterday, it all came back. The memories she thought she had locked away forever flooded into her mind, overwhelming everything else.

There were two knocks on her door.

Juvia didn't answer.

"Juvia?"

This caught her attention. She could recognize that small, high-pitched voice anywhere.

"I... I saw that you had an 'episode' yesterday." Levy continued. Even through the wooden door, Juvia could hear the trembling of her voice.

Juvia's eyes started to water dangerously.

"You know that you're safe, right?" Levy hiccuped. "He won't come by again."

Juvia buried her head deeper into her pillows, shuddering breaths leaving her. Hot tears streamed down her face.

"... We're not going to school today, so you can rest." Levy finally muttered after a minute of silence. "But... I really think you should tell them, Juvia. Bye. Aries will bring your breakfast."

The soft footsteps told Juvia that Levy was walking away.

"Please don't go..." Juvia whispered into the empty air.

There was no reply.

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"Natsu?"

The crown prince jumped in surprise, his heart thumping as he turned to see a confused looking Igneel.

Relief spread through Natsu's chest.

"Where were you?" Natsu asked curiously, watching his father enter the office and take off his coat.

"I had a small business meeting," Igneel answered nonchalantly.

Natsu frowned. That didn't make sense... Igneel smelled like soap and water, as if he had just taken a bath. He didn't carry the scent of ink and paper like he usually did after coming back from a meeting.

Shrugging it off, Natsu sat down in the seat in front of Igneel's desk.

"What do you want, Natsu?" Igneel sighed, his voice expressing his exhaustion. "And why aren't you at school?"

"We had a problem yesterday." Natsu's eyes darkened as he remembered the disastrous events that had happened.

"Yes, I've heard." Igneel said, sitting down at his desk and starting to sort through a small stack of papers.

"You... did?" Natsu blinked. "When? We went to bed as soon as we came home yesterday."

Igneel stiffened, and his eyes flashed with fear. Natsu's pupils narrowed as he smelled the scent of discomfort.

"... Never mind that," Igneel said after a moment of tense silence. "I've already contacted the principal. You should be go now."

Natsu brightened a little. "You mean Gramps?"

"Yes, yes." Igneel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Now go, Natsu. I have a lot of work to do, and you being here is a pain in the ass."

"Fuck you," Natsu said nonchalantly back.

"That is no way to speak to your father!" Igneel roared, slamming his fist on his desk loudly.

"Ha! You're too old to be my dad!"

"NATSU!"

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Lucy sighed as she entered the palace, and hesitantly looked down the hallway.

She wasn't quite ready to meet Natsu yet, but at the same time she didn't want to be alone.

She brightened. Maybe...

Almost subconsciously, her feet started to lead her to the heavy wooden door Natsu had first showed her when she came to the palace.

Opening it, she trotted down the stairs, coming to another door once more.

Taking in a slight deep breath, Lucy opened the second door, and a blast of hot air greeted her face.

The sound of metal clanging against metal stopped.

"What do you want, Bunny Girl?" Gajeel grunted as he stepped away from his anvil. He picked up a rag and wiped his hands of sweat.

"I wanted some company," Lucy admitted, shutting the door behind her. Already she was starting to sweat.

"Keh."

The next few moments were silent, and Lucy started to feel uncomfortable. Maybe this wasn't the best -

"Did she tell you?"

Lucy lifted her eyes at the sudden question. Gajeel's blood red eyes were narrowed and almost glaring at her. "Who?"

He started pumping oxygen into the blazing fire. "Juvia." His voice was more gruff than usual; anger was filling his tone. But Lucy wasn't sure if his anger was pointed at her.

"I... No. I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy said slowly.

"It ain't my place to tell you," Gajeel paused. "But you should ask her. About why she acted like that yesterday."

Lucy softened when she heard the small undertone of his voice; genuine worry was laced into his words. "Sure. Um... Gajeel?"

He grunted in response. He was busy shoving a piece of metal into some water, the hot metal instantly creating warm steam.

"Why don't you come to school? It... It'll feel nice to have another friend there," Lucy admitted. She smiled almost shyly at him when he turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You mean to actually stick with you," he snorted.

"Yeah." Lucy sighed. "I feel really... Lonely at school."

Gajeel smirked a little. "Gihi. Whatever. I guess I can come, I don't have too much work."

"Thanks, Gajeel." Lucy grinned, starting to head towards the door. She really wanted fresh, cool air.

"Oi."

She paused, her hand just an inch away from the handle.

"Ask her, okay?" Gajeel's voice was unusually gentle. "Juvia, I mean. The Rain Woman's strong, but she needs her friends."

Lucy smiled, looking over her shoulder at him. "I will. You're a good friend, Gajeel."

Gajeel flushed in embarrassment and scowled at her. "Whatever. Get the hell out of my forge."

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I absolutely adore Gajeel, and someone mentioned about adding him more, so I decided to ^^

Please review!