AN: This is my entry for the Fairy Tail Laxus x Lucy Halloween Contest. I know it's hella late, but what the heck. Hope you guys like it!

"You always hurt

The one you love,

The one

You shouldn't hurt at all"

Tonight Laxus Dreyar wanted to be alone with nothing but his good old buddy Jack Daniels, but it seemed that tonight of all nights the whiskey failed him. It didn't lessen the ache that reared its head whenever this specific day came around every year.

He threw his cell phone on his desk annoyed as Erza's name flashed across the screen. It seemed that his grandfather recruited Titania to get in contact with him. His gramps must have lost his mind if he thought that he would answer her calls. The last thing he needed was her breathing down his neck. He shuddered at the thought of her contacting the Strauss siblings or Natsu and Gray for backup.

Why does gramps have to have a bleeding heart? Perhaps he should shoot a text to the old man to let him know that he was still alive and kicking. It really didn't help that he hadn't kept in contact for close to six months. He simply packed up his bags and moved away without a word. In his defense the decision to move had been a hasty one and he hadn't been right in the head when he left.

He still wasn't…

Freed had told him that it would take time, but a part of Laxus felt that he couldn't go back to how things were.

The desperation of a mother to find her daughter had opened old wounds he thought long gone.

The girl had died because he had been too late in putting the clues together.

Her name had been Anna.

And the screech her mother gave out when they found Anna's corpse had shaken him.

It reminded him about the sound he made when he found out about his mother's passing.

His right hand curled on the bottle of whiskey as he glared at it. It was supposed to help him feel numb, it was supposed to help him forget for a night and it had failed. He was tempted to throw it against the wall.

Lucy Heartfilia had been forced to grow accustomed to being alone.

Her mother passed away at a young age and then she met her own end just a few years later at the tender age of seventeen. Her father, who had become obsessed with work after her mother's death, spiraled into depression when he stumbled upon her body hours after the crime had been committed.

"Lucy… I've always loved you." The words she had longed to hear while growing up, her father uttered them at her grave with no witnesses. Lucy had cried alongside her father who had fallen to his knees.

Somehow she remained. Even though her father and the servants who helped raised her could no longer see her, she could see them. She didn't feel alone so long as they remained.

Then the unthinkable happened. The Heartfilia Konzern fell due to financial debt. Jude Heartfilia and the employees were forced to leave the Heartfilia Residence.

Lucy could do nothing but watch them leave and it was then she felt truly alone. Time became a foreign concept to her as days became weeks which turned into months and then years. All that time spent alone, but not wasted. She learned to move objects and so she would spend her time in the library inside what used to be her father's study. Books kept her company and would remind her of what she had wanted to do. She had wanted to be a writer.

There was also that pain came seven times… the one that would never let her forget what had been done to her. Perhaps it was the price to pay for continuing to somehow exist.

Then a man with blond hair, blue-grey eyes, and a distinct lightning bolt-shaped scar on his right eye opened the front doors. The corners of his lips were tugged down in a fierce frown. His arms crossed over his chest as he strolled further in followed by two men and one woman who wore glasses.

The male with green hair, who she would later find out that his name is Freed, looked around with uncertainty. "Perhaps we should find you a smaller place to live in."

"It doesn't matter I already paid for this. For better or for worse it's mine."

Lucy felt something spark within her. It demanded to be felt and seared her with its intensity. I won't be alone anymore. It didn't matter that he couldn't see her. Someone else will be living here again.

"Am I the only one who feels like we're being watched?" asked the second male with blue and black hair. He glanced around as if trying to pinpoint where exactly the feeling was coming from.

"For once can you not say something creepy?" The woman with brown hair shuddered.

"We only got to have Laxus look around and then we'll know for sure." He grinned at the blond. "So what do you say?"

The words of his friend had interested her.

"I'm done with that." Laxus's gaze traveled up the stairs to where she was standing. "Whether something resides here or not is none of my concern."

Lucy felt herself freeze when his gaze pierced hers. For a moment she truly did believe that he wasn't looking through her, but his expression gave nothing away. She was forced to come to terms that it was only wishful thinking as his gaze shifted away. Still she could not stop the sense of anticipation that knotted her stomach when he walked up the stairs and was quickly crushed when he walked passed her without incident.

Disappointment settled in the pit of her stomach. His footsteps along with those of his companions became faint. She was lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the blue and black haired one had stopped beside her at the top of the stairs until he spoke.

"Hey,"

She looked at him shocked. He wasn't looking at her but had his head tilted to the side towards her.

"If there's something there and if you can hear me, cut Laxus some slack. He needs a break right now."

Lucy could only watch the man, who she would later discover was named Bickslow, walk away with a slight bounce in his step.

During the next six months she would see firsthand how Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow took care of Laxus. They each loved him in their own way and were loyal and protective of him. Lucy wanted to know how such stoic man could invoke such feelings from the three of them.

They weren't the only ones though. She saw more visitors come knocking on the doors of what used to be the Heartfilia Residence. There once was a loud pink haired young man that had demanded to be let in or he would break the doors down. Lucy believed that he was capable of doing just that from the force of his knocks, but had been stopped by the dark blue haired young man that accompanied him. She wasn't quite sure what happened other than they began to fight with each other and were escorted off the premise by Freed when he came to visit Laxus.

There had also been another young woman with scarlet hair that tried to reason with Laxus to open the door and when he didn't she asked him not to push them away and to call their grandfather who was worried about him.

A silver hair young lady had also shown up as well carrying a pink cardboard box. When no one opened the door she left the box on the floor with a sad smile and walked away. Once she was gone Lucy watched curiously as Laxus opened the door and grabbed the box before slamming the door closed. She walked beside him as he opened the box, wanting to know what was inside the box. He came to an abrupt halt and Lucy was baffled by his reaction when she saw it was bread. There was a slight tremble in his hand as reached for one and Lucy could only watch in wonder as he bit into the baked bread and his expression lit up like that of child eating ice cream. She thought he looked adorable especially when his cheeks puffed out as he ate. He reminded her of a gerbil.

She couldn't stop the chuckle that spilled passed her lips and quickly pressed a hand over her mouth when he glared at her direction. Once again she thought he could see her but he closed the box and stomped away like a child sulking.

Lucy suspected there was more to Laxus than what she was saw. There would be nights he would wake up hoarse from shouting or he'd sit up abruptly gasping for breath. His naps during the day were calm without a trace of nightmares biting at his heels. There were times she found him wandering the residence aimlessly as he combated against sleep. It was those times she wanted to help him the most, but instead she kept her distance and watched him from afar until he made it back to his room and knocked out from exhaustion.

Today something was amiss. Laxus had asked Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow to be left alone. He wanted to no visitors or calls. Lucy had noticed that he left early in the morning and didn't return until late in the evening only to lock himself up in the study.

Lucy had been pacing outside the door not knowing if she should continue to respect his wishes or go inside and check if he's fine. She took a deep breath and without giving the matter another thought she walked right through the door. She froze at the sight that greeted her.

He was bathed in moonlight. His head tilted forward and his posture rigid as his right hand curled around the neck of the bottle. She stepped forward cautiously and took note of his white knuckles and the slight tremble his entire form gave. At any given moment he might snap. Lucy heard the sound of something vibrate against the desk. Her gaze landed on his cell phone to see a call coming in. She glanced back at Laxus to see him grow tenser at the sound. She remembered watching Freed turn it off once and willed herself to touch the button.

A sigh of relief escaped her when the screen flickered one last time before powering off. She risked a glance toward Laxus and gasped when her gaze met his blue-grey eyes. Lucy knew that without a doubt he was looking at her and not through her.

"Hi." Lucy said in a greeting that was passed overdue.

Laxus shouldn't be surprised that she was there. For the most part he always saw her in the corner of his gaze and when she wasn't there she was not too far away. He chose not to acknowledge her because he was done with everything having to do with the supernatural. She was the first ghost he ignored since he began to live with his grandfather. His grandfather who viewed his abilities as a gift just like his mother had.

"You must never be afraid of seeing what others can't. It's a gift that has been entrusted to us Laxus."

But Ivan had viewed it as something darker.

"It's not a gift Laxus. It's a curse."

His decision to no longer acknowledge those abilities helped in making his decision to pack his things and move out. His grandfather had already been disappointment by his good for nothing pops, he didn't want the old man to go through all that again.

He was done with the supernatural, but there was something about this ghost. She hovered around him, but never made contact. Not until tonight of all nights. He looked at her trying to figure out what she wanted, but came up blank. Perhaps he should have done research on new property. "What do you want?" He growled the question feeling out of sort and she was not helping even though her turning off his phone had put him slightly more at ease.

"What?" She tilted her head slightly to the side.

His gaze went to the blonde strands that cascaded over her shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

He met her gaze again. "You must want something if you're still here."

"I don't know."

"It could have been a freak accident or a murder most foul."

She frowned trying to catch on to what he was saying. "What are you talking about?"

"Your death. In most cases the manner in which one dies can keep the person from moving on."

He tone nonchalant as he spoke of her death and rubbed it her in the wrong way. "If you wanted to know how I died you simply had to ask."

"It would be helpful in my search to send you on your way to the other side."

He was dismissing her and that pissed her off more than him not acknowledging her. "If it's necessary then I see no point in not telling you." She hissed the words. "The man I was betrothed to stabbed me in the chest."

Laxus had heard many stories of murders, but there was something in way that she fisted her hand over where her heart used to beat. The anger that glistened in her eyes made him feel slightly guilty for the way he treated her.

"Right in the heart." Her eyes held a faraway look. "Each beat drove the knife deeper." The want to call for help, but not being able to due to the blood that clogged her throat.

He stayed silent knowing that he crossed a line that he shouldn't have.

"Is that enough or do you need more details?"

"It's more than enough." He cleared his throat. "I have an idea of what I can do."

"I don't need your help." She glared at him. "I don't need help from a stupid blond like you!"

"You're blonde too!" From all the responses he could have thrown he chose that one. Laxus blamed it on his lack of sleep.

She was tempted to throw a book at him, but restrained herself. It had been so long since she had felt this angry. She was accustomed to pain and loneliness, but since Laxus moved in her emotions have varied. She sighed feeling her anger slip away and chuckled at the weary look he gave her. "I think we should start again." When he remained silent she continued. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia."

Over the years Laxus has grown acquainted with what ghosts were capable of doing. He was not a fan of being thrown down, thrown against, or having things thrown at him. It was in his best interests to get along with her. "My name is Laxus Dreyar…"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Laxus." Her lips curved upwards.

Now he knew she was lying. He would not be fooled by her smile.

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Not only was she a liar, but delusional as well. He was screwed. "I'm not a good friend."

"I don't have the luxury of being picky."

He bit back a grin.

Lucy had wanted to be a writer and go on adventures, she never imagined dying tragically and becoming a ghost.

Laxus hadn't asked for the gift of seeing the 'dead', he never imagined that on the anniversary of his mother's passing he will befriend a ghost.

This night marked the beginning of the adventures of Laxus and Lucy, the friendly ghost.

"You always take

The sweetest rose,

And crush it

Till the petals fall"

You Always Hurt The One You Love (The Mills Brothers)

AN: I apologize for any grammatical errors. They can be stubborn and it doesn't help that I'm horrible at catching them. I want to say that this is completed. There's a high chance I will add more to this verse. It also depends on if you guys are interested in reading more. =)

I also want to give a shout out to the wonderfully awesome sxtrisoul, who I owe a LaLu AU piece and has been patient with me. I haven't forgotten about it and it's in the works. I hope this makes up for some of the wait. ^^

With that said, please review telling me what you think or if you have any questions. I love hearing from you guys. =D