Hello everyone! I know this chapter has taken awhile, I apologize but I have been stuck with job applications and interviews and poopy weather :( I hope to get a little more caught up the next few weeks though! I am also sorry for the quality of this chapter, it isn't my best work, there are some awkward parts but I am just going to blindly post and hope for the best lol
As always, I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima and I thank him for their use in my own creative expressions *bows*
It was another silent ride as Gajeel and Levy left her apartment building and headed towards Fairy Street. Levy was watching out the window and thinking about the events of the last twenty-four hours, wondering how her life could go from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye.
"So?" Came Gajeel's voice from the driver's side. They were stopped at a red light and he snuck a glance over at her. "Who was that guy?"
It took Levy a second to realize that she was talking about Jet from the hallway. "Oh, that's one of my neighbors. Jet and Droy have lived in the building as long as I have, they just get concerned sometimes." Levy was blushing a little in embarrassment that Gajeel was interested enough to ask about them. They could get a little over the top sometimes but they were really sweet and their hearts were in the right place.
"He looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head, that's more than a little 'concerned'," Gajeel muttered. Levy wasn't sure but he almost sounded a little bitter about the idea that another guy was worried about her safety.
She decided to change the subject instead of answering. "So, where are we going?"
The light turned green so Gajeel was once again concentrating mostly on the road. "Laxus' grandfather's house, where he grew up," he answered.
"Oh, is that the place that he was talking about before? On Fairy Street?" Levy was curious about going into her old neighborhood.
"That's the place."
"Laxus' grandfather is going to be ok with us being there?"
"The old man isn't there very much now that he's retired, has a cottage on Tenrou Island. That's probably why it's a good place for you guys to stay for a while, quiet."
They took another turn and Levy recognized where they were, the street where she grew up.
"That's my house!" She pointed out the window as they drove passed a small white house on the corner of Fairy and Violet. Levy almost pressed her face against the glass like a kid in a candy store, it hadn't changed much in the five years since she had been there and looking at it made her feel happy but also painfully nostalgic.
"Why did you move?" Gajeel's question surprised her; she sat back down in her seat before responding.
"I had to move after my parents died," she answered quietly. Gajeel decided not to press her any further and it was a short minute later before they pulled up in front of a large brown house.
"Wow," Levy commented as she looked out the window. "That's a pretty big house, does Laxus have a big family?"
Gajeel grunted as he laid back in his seat, even though he had a head start Natsu would probably take a while to get there. "You could say that, but blood wise he is Makarov's only grandson."
"Blood wise?"
"The old man used to work for the city, something in politics I think. He got tired of seeing how bad the divide was between Crocus and Magnolia, so he quit and started a home for kids. Orphaned, abandoned, runaways, he takes in everyone, whether they like it or not."
"But I thought you said he retired?"
"He did, technically, but he still takes in strays every once and awhile." Gajeel smirked as he said that which made Levy even more curious.
"Is that how you met them?" Levy knew that the question was way too personal but she was dying to know more about the big and dark strange man.
Gajeel looked away and grunted again. "No, I didn't live here as a kid." There seemed to be more to those words then what he was saying, he sounded almost sad and regretful. Levy was thankful that he hadn't pushed her about her own past a few minutes earlier so she decided to return the favor and not ask any more curious questions.
So they sat in silence once again, each left with their own thoughts, Levy tried to think of some kind of a topic that they could have a casual conversation about but her mind was coming up with nothing. This wasn't some guy that you could just courteously talk about the weather with, but on the other hand almost every other topic was a potential mine field of disaster.
She was just about to ask him whether or not he thought it was going to rain tomorrow just to break the quiet when a motorcycle suddenly cut in front of the truck at an almost breakneck stop. It took her a second to recognize the driver's mop of pink hair and that the passenger clinging to his back was wearing an almost indecent short skirt and had a fringe of blond hair peeking out from under the black open-faced helmet.
"Lucy!" Levy exclaimed half in relief and half in horror; she opened the door and charged out onto the sidewalk. The girl was still sticking to Natsu's back and didn't seem to notice her friend waiting for her to get off. "Hey, Lucy?" Levy repeated gently. "Are you ok?"
"Levy!" She launched herself off the bike and onto her best friend, nearly knocking them both to the ground. "You're alive! Are you ok?! What are you doing here?"
"Can't breathe…" Levy was being squeezed to within an inch of her life.
Gajeel had gotten out of the truck as well and was standing on the street with his arms crossed over his chest. "What happened to you?" He asked Natsu shrewdly.
"I got into a fight," Natsu answered sheepishly, before he could elaborate Lucy cut in.
"He started a fight with my boss!" She cried shrilly. "The salon got completely destroyed, I'm going to get fired and arrested because of you!" She turned back to Levy. "We have to get out of here." She grabbed the other girl's hand and tried to pull her down the sidewalk.
"Calm down, Levy replied soothingly. "What happened at the salon?"
"That guy is crazy." She pointed to a surprised Natsu. "He came in, tried to get me to leave with him and then pissed off Cancer, they started fighting… Who are these people anyway? I thought you were going to the cops this morning, what happened?"
"Calling me crazy? That idiot stabbed me!" Natsu cut in. "With a pair of scissors." He held up his hand to show them the gash in his palm, blood was still trickling from the wound.
"People just don't talk to him that way because he's batty! But you're worse!"
"He sprayed me with a hose!"
"You told him you were going to kill him!"
Levy was so engrossed in watching them squabble that she didn't notice Gajeel had ambled over to her until he nudged her with his hip. "Is she always like this?"
"Like what?" Levy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A little over-dramatic, don't you think?" His arms were still crossed and he looked vaguely annoyed.
"Hey! I've only met him twice and even I can tell that he is not Mr. Calm and Collective."
"No argument from me," Gajeel muttered. "Compared to what I've seen him do it sounds like they got off lucky."
"What do you mean?"
"The building didn't burn down or explode."
Levy gave him a peculiar look but didn't respond, the heated argument between the other two was still going strong.
"Your dog peed on me!"
"Well you drive like a lunatic, Plue was probably scared out of his mind and thought he was going to die, I know I did!" When he heard his name the little white dog popped his head out from inside of Natsu's jacket and started barking shrilly. Natsu unzipped his coat halfway and handed him back to his owner, Lucy took her dog and placed him back in her purse. "Does he ever pee in that thing?"
"He only pees when he's scared," Lucy snapped back. "And on crazy people."
"Don't call me crazy!"
Levy had to fight back a giggle, they probably looked and sounded ridiculous to the neighbors who would surely think something suspicious was going on. A red car appeared and stopped beside Natsu's motorcycle before turning into the big house's single car driveway.
"Oh boy." She heard Gajeel mutter, which could only mean that Laxus had arrived. Lucy and Natsu hadn't noticed him yet, but Gajeel turned and walked back to the truck to get the overnight bags.
"Umm, guys?" Levy tried getting their attention without success. "Lucy!"
The blonde stopped in mid-sentence and turned to look at her. "What?!"
A piercing whistle filled the air and they all looked over to see Laxus standing in the driveway with a brown paper bag nestled under one arm. "In the house, now," He ordered.
Lucy stared at the newcomer with wide eyes but Levy took her arm gently and they followed Natsu and Gajeel.
"Where are we going?" Lucy whispered.
"I will explain everything to you, if you give me a chance to," Levy whispered back.
They walked up the driveway and to the front door, which was large and made out of light colored wood. Vines and flowers were carved into it in swirling patterns and it had an old fashioned brass knocker instead of a doorbell. Mounted next to the door was a metal plate with 'FAIRY TAIL HOME FOR WAYWARD CHILDREN' engraved onto it in large letters.
When they entered the house, Levy watched as the boys took off their coats and hung them on coat hooks that there scattered all over one wall in various heights. Below the hooks there was a two-tiered shoe rack that ran nearly the whole width of the wall, Levy could picture a dozen pairs of little shoes on it as she placed her own next to Gajeel's black boots. The thought comforted her, knowing that this was a place where needy children had grown up.
She and Lucy followed them passed the large kitchen where Laxus set his paper bag on one of the counters and then into the even larger living room area. A flat screen TV was mounted on the farthest wall with a bookcase full of DVDs underneath, along with three of the biggest couches Levy had ever seen, two armchairs and two end tables lining the room.
"Please sit down," Laxus motioned towards one couch that was furthest from the picture window that faced the quiet street outside. He probably doesn't want us to be seen, Levy thought to herself, even though the shouting match outside was too loud for no one to have heard it. As the girls sat down obediently, Laxus did go over and close the window blinds so that no one could see in and then stood in from of them with his hands in his pockets.
Natsu had thrown himself into one of the armchairs, still nursing his injured hand and a big wet spot down the front of his dark blue tee-shirt. Gajeel, ever vigilant, was leaning against the wall near the entranceway, his arms were crossed again and his expression unreadable. Levy felt like she was five years old again and about to get scolded.
"Lucy," Laxus stuck his hand out towards her like he had for Levy in his office earlier. "My name is Laxus Dreyar, it is nice to meet you." Lucy looked at the hand and then touched it quickly, more like a high-five then a handshake.
"I know you must be confused about what is going on." He glanced over at Natsu. "I'm not sure how much Natsu told you but we would like to help you and Levy."
Lucy nodded but didn't speak; Plue had climbed out of her purse and crawled into her lap for a nap.
He turned to look at Levy. "It isn't safe to go back to your apartment until we figure out who it is we are dealing with. I am trying to work out all the possibilities but that is going to take some time, so for now you can stay here. It's safe and private, this house belongs to my grandfather and he is going to be away for the weekend so he won't mind the unexpected guests, he's pretty used to it. There is everything here that you should need; you have your own beds, food, TV, books and board games if you get bored. The little dog can even go in the backyard to do his business and run around, it's completely gated in." Plue let out a yip of acknowledgement. "I just ask that you please don't leave until we tell you it's safe, or contact anyone besides one of us. We are going to make it as hard as we can for these guys to find you but to do that you have to cooperate."
"How long do you think that we will have to stay here?" Levy asked.
"I'm not sure, but at least over the rest of the weekend. I promise that I will let you know what is going on when I have more information." Levy nodded, satisfied with that answer.
"If there isn't anything else, I'll show you to your room." He turned to Natsu and Gajeel. "Wait here."
Lucy and Levy picked up their bags from where Gajeel had dropped them and followed Laxus into a hallway that turned into a narrow staircase. Up the stairs there was another hallway with two doors partway down either side and one at the other end.
"You guys can stay in here." Laxus opened the door on he left to reveal a nice sized bedroom with two sets of bunk beds, two chests of drawers and an empty closet. "The door down the hallway is the bathroom, there are towels and stuff in the cabinet by the sink. Anything else you need, just let one of the boys know and I can get it for you. I will leave you two alone, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about."
Lucy waited until they heard him walking back down the staircase before speaking.
"Explain," she ordered, crossing her arms over her chest.
Levy walked over to one of the bottom bunks and sat down with a sigh. "You should probably sit down; this is kind of a long story."
While Laxus was upstairs, Gajeel and Natsu eyed each other warily.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," the dark haired man mumbled.
"Yeah," Natsu agreed with him. "Something doesn't smell right." He ran his hand though the back of his hair and stiffened when he felt the bald spot. "I forgot, that jerk also tried to scalp me." He looked up at the ceiling like he was trying to see through the wall. "Scalped, stabbed, hosed and peed on."
Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're starting to smell."
"Hey!" Natsu stood up, but before he could get into it, Laxus came back into the room.
"Well, that went better than I expected," he commented almost to himself. "Now we just have to make sure that they don't leave."
"How are we going to do that?" Gajeel asked sceptically.
"Keep them happy and scared," he answered. "I want someone out on the street and someone here in the house at all times. Natsu will take the first house shift, but you stink, go take a shower. Gramps has some clothes downstairs for emergencies."
Natsu glared at them both before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Gajeel couldn't help the little smile of satisfaction; although most people would have thought it look sinister instead of smug. "I'll go keep watch."
"Wait." Laxus went to the paper bag he had left on the counter earlier and pulled out a black two way CB radio. "Take this with you. Set it to channel 7, it will connect to the one that the old man keeps here. If you see anything suspicious, send it over the radio, it's quicker than a cellphone."
"Gotcha." Gajeel took the radio and made his way outside. He drove around the block and parked on the opposite side of the street so that he could have a good view of the traffic in either direction. Fairy Street was quiet and residential, but it still had a fair amount of traffic. It wasn't long before his back end fell asleep and he shifted in his seat to get comfortable.
"As long as it turns out better than last time," he muttered to himself.