As soon as Natsu handed Erza the paper, he observed her from his chair, staring at how graciously her hands moved slowly, it was mesmerizing to say the least. "Wow, look at that, you can draw." He said mocking tone.

"Shut it Dragion…" Erza exclaimed right back at him, concentrating on making the dragon's wings look ferocious.

"…" He sat there quietly, with only a smirk across his face. It was an awe thing to say the least bout what was happening right in front of him; the slacker of all time actually doing something for once.

"Can you wipe that smirk off your face? I will punch it, I will." She threatened without looking at him.

"It's just, funny, that's all." His smirk grew bigger, holding back a chuckle.

"You know what else is funny? My fist in your face." Once again, she threatened the pinkette.

"Trust me, your fist isn't the only fist I've had in my face…" Natsu rolled his eyes, remembering all those times as a kid of the constant bullying he's had. His life was made much more easier when he became friends with Lucy, which to say the least, protects him like a younger brother.

"Oh?" She stopped for a second, turning to look at Natsu who simply watched her from his seat. "You've been beaten up before?" By the sound of her voice, it almost surprised her.

"Yeah, back in elementary school," Natsu sighed. His elementary school years were never his fondest, and the bullying made that much clearer. "Can you hurry up? I want to see your drawing."

Erza stared at him for a couple of seconds before her eyes were back at her paper.

After several more minutes of drawing and silence, Erza was done with her drawing, adding the final touches to the dragon. "….and here you go!" She handed the paper to Natsu.

Natsu took his time, inspecting the marvelous piece of art in his hands. "Wow, this is awesome! This is almost identical to the ones I make in my small comics."

"You make your own comics?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well… yeah, but they're nothing special." He answered.

She awaited for his appraisal.

"Like I said earlier, this dragon is pretty amazing, but…" Natsu had stopped mid-sentence.

"But what?" An annoyed look was made on Erza's face. Hearing the word but after a compliment was truly something she never liked.

"I think the dragon has to be longer," he told her. "Don't get me wrong, this dragon, again, is amazing, it's just, I feel the need that it's not quite long enough for the central wall of the school."

"So, you want to go more for a Chinese Dragon then?" She suggested to him.

"Yeah, it'd be the perfect fit for the wall." He answered her. He took out more white blank papers and another spare pencil.

"No arguments from me, I just want to get this done." Erza groaned, receiving blank pages from Natsu.

"The sooner we finish, the sooner we'll no longer be partners," he gave her some encouraging words. "Got it?"

"I'm not a child." She exclaimed at him.

"You certainly have the mentality of one though." He retorted back at her.

…

After 35 minutes of just making Chinese Dragons on their blank papers, Natsu and Erza placed each and every one of them side by side, comparing them.

"How about this one?" Erza took one of the ones she drew. This one was that if one embalming it's long scaled body to a mountain, roaring into the heavens.

"Not bad," Natsu now took one of his own drawings. "How about this one?" His Chinese Dragon flew around some clouds, soaring high in the sky and flying with flocks of ducks.

"Not Badass enough like mine." She chuckled.

"Haha, very funny."

The two continued to look at their drawings until their hands touched as they attempted to take one that peaked both of their interests. Natsu slightly blushed at the small interaction, as did Erza but simply brushed away the man's hand to grab the picture.

She cleared her throat before talking. "I'm guessing this one we can agree on." This one was of the Chinese Dragon, almost similar to that of the duck one but the dragon itself soaring into the heavens, having mighty warriors on it's back. This one was done by Natsu.

"Yeah I guess," he scratched the back of his head. "We can change the warriors to that of the football team."

"No arguments from me," she simply didn't care of suggestions so long as she completed the task. "What are we gonna reference their faces with though?"

"Well my friend Lucy's girlfriend, Cana, she's apart of the School's picture book, I'm sure she can help out with that." Natsu suggested.

"Whatever, so long as I have a reference, I'm good." Erza didn't care.

"Well I think this is enough for today I guess," Natsu started to pick his pile of drawings, placing them in his journal and into his book bag. "It's almost going to be 5:30."

"Yeah I guess," Erza did the same. "Longest I've ever been in school."

He heard her mumble. "You know, after just spending the day with you, I feel like you don't put yourself up to high standards." He remarked.

"What do you mean?" She stopped what she was doing, trying to understand where the man is getting at.

"I mean," Natsu stopped for a second as well, taking a few seconds to iterate himself. "From what I've heard, you're failing art, yet look at you're drawings! They're amazing." He complimented.

"So just because my art is amazing, I shouldn't be failing that class?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Not just that, it's just, you don't put 100 percent, you only put 20 percent into it," Natsu continued. "You have potential other than just being whatever the heck you're doing."

"…" Erza took his words into consideration. Does she truly have the potential that he says she has? "You know what? You talk too much Dragion." She simply shrugged off his friendly observation of her.

"That's another thing, you deflect and you do that a lot," Natsu continued with his assessment of her. "Why do you brush off things like that? Are you afraid of something Knightwalker?"

"You know, you keep talking like that and I will make sure your face meets the floor." She threatened him.

Natsu stopped himself for a second. He knew right there and then he was stepping on some thin ice over a lake. "Whatever, I'm going home now, see you tomorrow I guess." And with that, the pinkette had exited out the library.

"Tch, the nerve of that kid."

…

On her trademark motorbike, Erza had gone back home.

Going through some of the roughest neighborhoods in Edolas, she found her run down home; a red roofed home with a boarded up broken window and a mailbox barely standing.

It was small. The front gate was gone only leaving the metal fence, her front porch, having old and small wood stick out. She took out her keys and entered her home, breathing in a rose like aroma, nothing you would've expected from a home like that.

On the outside, it may not look like appealing but the inside spoke in a different manner, everything was neat and organized.

She went through the living room, seeing the TV on but volume so low it was almost inaudible. She had gone through the kitchen, though a few messy dishes, it was nothing she couldn't clean. "Mother, I'm home." Erza threw her book bag onto one of the kitchen chairs.

A dark wined colored hair woman came out of a room, next to the kitchen. Strikingly familiar to Erza, the woman came out of her own room, in a wheelchair. "How was your day at school, darling?" She asked.

"It was alright, got paired up with a nerd," Erza looked over at some mail over at counter next to the sink. "We're supposed to paint a mural of some kind in the central wall of be school."

"Ah, that explains why you came home late." The older woman scooted her wheelchair to the table, getting some fruit from the basket.

"Yeah," Erza kept looking through the mail until one with her mother's name was on it. Eileen Knightwalker, it read. She opened it and saw that it was another doctor's appointment. "You have another appointment at the Doctor's this Friday."

"Again? This is the third one this month." Eileen rolled her eyes at the news.

"It's probably another check up for your surgery next week," Erza placed the mail back on the counter, now getting a glass of water for herself and her mother. "You know, the one that'll help you get back walking."

"I know, darling, I know." Though she was stuck in a wheelchair, Eileen and Erza had been meeting a doctor who is supposed to be able to get her back walking after her car accident.

"Here." She gave her mother her glass.

"Thank you dear," Eileen took a small sip. "How about you? Have you looked into colleges yet?"

"Mother, you know I can't d that, not while you're still in that chair." Erza remarked.

"I'm certainly sure you can." Eileen retorted.

"I can't go to college and leave you like that, I can barely go to high school without you falling down the stairs in that chair." Erza argued back.

"It was a one time thing darling." Eileen retorted once more.

"Besides, even if I wanted to, my grades aren't all that great." Erza grunted.

"You told me since last month that you've been trying to get them back up," Eileen couldn't believe her daughter at the moment. "Have you been lying to me?"

"Mother, this is hard on me just as much as is hard for you," Erza explained. "You think I like living this way? I don't but you're my mother, I can't simply think on my own without thinking of you."

"Erza-"

"I'll be right back!" Erza now stormed out of the kitchen and back into the living room. "I need a few minutes to cool off!" She slammed the door right behind her.

"Huh, that girl is something…"

…

Leaving home, Erza found herself walking around in her neighborhood as the sun set behind the horizon.

Just simply walking around her block, she found herself at the corner of her street where the liquor store was. Inside she saw Mystogan.

She went inside. "Hey." She greeted him.

"Hey," The blue haired man strolled through the back where all the cold stuff were. "You had another argument with your mom?"

"You guessed it," she sighed. "I hate fighting with her."

"You always say that you know?" Mystogan told her. He opened the refrigerator door, now getting what he wanted: milk.

"Since when were you the milk man?" She joked.

"Since my father told me to come and get some groceries for him." He told her.

"Uh-huh." Erza played along with him.

"Anyways, at least you two are trying, my father and I simply just don't see eye to eye anymore." They went to the cash register, waiting behind a line of people.

"I love her but she expects high standards from me at a time where it shouldn't be expected, especially in her current position." Erza sighed. She knew the hardships and sacrifices she had to make in order to meet standards between herself and her mother.

"I mean, it's going to be harder, but still, that shouldn't stop you," the line moved up. "Besides, isn't she having her surgery like in another week or so?"

"Yeah, but still, it'll take a long time before she's able to completely walk." She remarked.

"Still, you should be planning something." Mystogan and Erza were now at the cash register.

"Cash or debit sir?" The cashier asked.

"Cash." Mystogan took out his wallet.

"Like what?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Mystogan awaited for his change. "I know you like to draw, maybe there some potential in that."

"Here you go sir." The cashier handed his change.

"Thanks." Mystogan grabbed his milk and continued their talk as they walked outside.

"Ugh, now you're starting to sound like Dragion…" Once again, she heard the same stigma from earlier today.

"Dragion? You mean the pink haired guy?" Mystogan raised an eyebrow at her sudden remark of the man.

"Yeah, he stroke the same nerve you're striking right now." Erza placed her arms around her chest.

"Well good," Mystogan stopped prompting Erza to do the same. "Not even a day and that man knows you have potential."

"Whatever, even if I wanted to do better now, I can't, my grades are ass." She pouted.

"Well maybe you can ask that Dragion guy to tutor you or something, I know he's pretty smart." He suggested.

"Did you really just say that?" Erza now had a Stern look on her face. "I can barely tolerate him, and you want me to get more help from him?"

"It's just a suggestion," Mystogan looked at the time on his phone. "Well, it was nice talking to you and all but I got to get home now, see you."

And like that, Mystogan had left Erza to think to herself.

As she walked home, she took into consideration everything she's heard today. "Huh…" Erza sighed.

Apart from having an education, she knew that her mother was right, some day, she will be able to make decisions on her own without thinking of her mother. Though because of her current predicament, Erza only had a small amount of time.

She entered her home. "Oh, you're home sweetie, how was your walk?"

"It made me think for once."

Author's Note: I'm sorry for dragging my feet with this update but holy crap, I finally did it.

Unlike the first 2 chapters, this one is more Erza-centric. Hope you enjoyed it.

Anyways, apologies for taking long. I hope you liked it. See you 'til the next update.