You know what, fuck the introduction. I've been not-updating my stories...and I have legit reasons for it...but for now, since I'm in a happy mood after

(a) finally getting my IB Elective Application Form in
(b) getting an A on my debate, which is, like, near to impossible and
(c) being almost done with FCAT and finished with a few piano competitions AND placed in some...

I'm ready to write and enjoy! FCAT Weekend...so I might as well get into the updating mode.

Again, sorry for, like, never updating for you guys... I'm trying my best I swear!

ALSO! OMFG: The results for the last poll? That was...wow, was not expecting this many! Got more than 40 votes in total! Jesus, you guys rock!

And the results were REALLY REALLY CLOSE. But, I'm proud to announce the winner at the end of this chapter!

CHAPTER 33

"Wait, so what do we do with-" Sting started, breaking the awkward silence of...the...

"Nakama, pretty butterflies, and happy rainbows forever!" Minerva sang.

"We leave her be! She's much better now, right?" Mavis said, floating around...but then again, the Sabertooth mages couldn't hear them.

"ALMIGHTY HEARTFILIA DEMON PLEASE SPEAK THE ANSWER!" Sting yelled.

"IF IT WORKED LAST TIME IT MUST WORK AGAIN!" And soon enough, the light dragon slayer and his exceed were doing some sort of ancient dance and chant. All Mavis did was giggle and let them be.

"I find it ironic the light dragon slayer is the one who is doing the satanic dancing," Rogue said out of nowhere. And suddenly, Sting and Lector were at his neck, causing him to feel extremely awkward.

"It's for...the greater...good!" Sting said in a whispery sort of voice.

"Do it...dooooo it...dooooooo it..." Lector said, doing his best to make an echo sort of noise.

"Fro thinks you two are going bananas!" Fro said in his usual cheery voice.

"Youuuuu toooo, Froooooo," Lector and Sting said together.

"Don't you dare infect Fro with your satanic ways!" Rogue said, quiet loudly for his usual self.

"ONLY KNOW YOU LOVE HER WHEN YOU LET HER GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Minerva sang again.

And as all this went down, the other mages stared at the Sabertooth mages...

"Wow," Erza said quite plainly, "I think they beat us in weirdness."

"Nonsense! No one beats my guild!" Natsu roared.

"...you guys are sooooo loud. Jesus. Can't a woman get her beauty sleep?" Ultear complained.

"Ultear, you weren't even sleeping in the first place, you were daydreaming about Gr-" Meredy objected.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up," Ultear said clearly. So Meredy stopped.

"I swear my house is going to be in shambles..." Lucy moaned quietly.

"We should have these so called 'fanfiction' sessions everyday!" Happy cheered.

"NO THANK YOU!" Lucy yelled, "If I have to deal with my bras flying around, strip clubs, erotic song making, Gajeel and Natsu yaoi, Gray and Natsu yaoi, the thought of me kissing every guy in here-"

"But you especially liked the ones with Gray!" Mira said cheerfully.

"No! She liked the ones with Natsu!" Levy rebutted back. And before Lucy knew it, the two were at it again with their "shipping obsessions", as she liked to put it.

"Where was I? ...oh, that's right. Having Juvia after my ass every time something about me and the stripped getting together-" Lucy tried again...but not before a growl and a bubbling noise came from the water mage, Juvia Lockser...

Lucy tried again. "Ummmm...having to wrangle Erza and bribing with strawberry cake, pill overdoses that shouldn't even exist, and now to add to my still continuing problems...I got a high as fuck Minerva-"

"A happy Minerva-chan! I HAVE A NEW BESTIE EEEEEKKKK!" Mavis corrected and squealed.

"Yes," Lucy said as she rolled her eyes, "A 'happy Minerva-chan'. You happy?"

"THE DEMON HAS SPOKEN!" Sting proclaimed, "WE MUST CALL MINERVA...MINERVA-CHAN!"

"And if the spell runs out and you say that-"

"ANYTHING FOR THE DEMON!" Lector and Sting said as they gave each other a high five.

"Bakas..." Laxus said under his breath.

"Tell me about it," Bixlow said, "We're always surrounded by them."

"You count as one, two, Bixlow..." Laxus said.

"What about me, Laxus? What am I?" Freed said, clutching his arm.

"Very...close," Laxus said with a frown. Evergreen burst out laughing from the remark.

"LUCYYYYYY! MY LOVEEEEEE!" Loke had glomped Lucy from behind and the celestial spirit mage had to wrench herself out of his grasp, unbeknownst to her that the eyes of a certain fire dragon slayer and an ice make mage were on her...

"Loke! How many times...actually, you've never done that before so I never really had to tell you that..."

"Usually I go straight for the skirt and hope I can get a good look at-"

"ENOUGH!" she said loudly with a slight blush, "What is it this time?"

"I-"

"Please tell me you did not set up another strip club in my home."

"No! I found-"

"Another bra? Another girlfriend? Something to get you on a date with Aries?" The last comment thankfully made him crimson for a while before he regained his confidence.

"Will you please hear me out? I found a story for you!" Loke said.

"...how many stories will we need to go through?" Lucy sighed.

"Enough so everyone leaves the house! Well...everyone but Natsu, he's the only one who usually comes here to get his munchies-"

"Okay, okay...we'll read the story...IF EVERYONE IN THE DAMN AREA WOULD JUST SHUT UP."

.

It took one manly minute to get everyone quiet...minus the Minerva who'd burst into random Imagine Dragons. Especially Demons and Bleeding Out...

It was quite annoying, to be honest.

Title: False Starts

"Like this whole afternoon..." Lucy muttered under her breath.

Author: leoslady4ever

"YAY! More fangirls!" Loke said.

"Don't you ever get tired of them?" Gray asked, sighing.

"Oh, shut up. You and Natsu have already stolen Ms. Heartfilia's heart," Loke said, swatting his hand to shoo off a red Gray, a pink Lucy, and a...well, hungry Natsu.

Summary: Lucy is enjoying the party at the guild when she hears something that truly shocks her, something that makes her believe the man she's been crushing on is finally taking notice of her. Now, with Laxus showing interest, she decides it's time to act...

"...oh, joy, more stories with me," Laxus and Lucy said at the same time. Mira stared at both of them suspiciously before turning back to the celestial spirit.

Not even sure where this came from, but it was fun to write. So, without further ado, here's another LaLu one-shot...

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

"I don't think I'll ever fully understand that..." Cana muttered.

"Looking hot tonight, Lucy..."

Lucy whipped around, her eyes widened in shock at the words she'd just heard. She'd know that voice anywhere, even in a crowded room in the midst of a party. Laxus...

But he was nowhere to be found. She spun in a circle, leaning to peek around the constantly moving bodies near her, but she couldn't find the tall man. It was rather ironic considering his large frame and his tendency to stick out. Still, she saw no sign of him, and feeling vaguely disappointed, she turned back to what she doing.

The blondes mentioned in the story looked at each other with a suspicious look...and then back at the story. Lisanna nudged her sister, pointing out their synchronization, but Mirajane shouldered her back, saying to stop pointing it out.

Minutes later, she was brushing the incident off, chalking it up to her own active imagination, and moving onto the dance floor with Cana. She was certain she had just been hearing things. She'd had a thing for him for quite some time, and more than once, she'd caught herself daydreaming about him expressing an interest in her. So quite frankly, this was just one more to add to the numerous others.

With that settled, she poured herself into the song that played, letting her body move to the beat until she heard it again.

"I could watch you all night..."

Lucy spun around, but once again was met with a view free of Laxus. What the hell was going on? Was she finally losing her mind?

"LUCY HAS SCHIZOPHRENIA!" Happy yelled loudly.

"Wow. That explains a lot, Bunny Girl," Gajeel said.

"I DO NOT HAVE-" Lucy said defensively.

"What's 'schizophrenia'?" Natsu asked.

"Schizophrenia," Levy said as she went into "book" mode, "Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. People with the disorder may hear voices other people don't hear. They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk. They may sit for hours without moving or talking. Sometimes people with schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking."

"So Lucy's...insane?" Natsu asked.

"Basically-"

"I AM NOT INSANE!" Lucy said as she kicked Natsu toward the other side of the room. Composing herself, she gave her celestial spirit the signal to continue.

"I'M BLEEEEEEEDINGGGG OUTTTTTTT!" Minerva sang out loud.

"Shut up, Minerva-chan!" Sting scolded.

"I can't believe you're actually going with that..." Rogue said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Lucy, everything okay?" Cana hollered, drawing Lucy from her perusal of the people around her.

The blonde frowned but turned back to her friend. She still found it strange that she was hearing things, but honestly with this many people, it wouldn't be unheard of. There was a good chance she had just mistaken someone else's conversation, so she once again pushed the incident from her mind.

She danced with Cana for several more songs, letting the odd occurrence wash away in the rhythm of the music. Shortly thereafter though, she was beginning to feel parched, and with a quick wave at her slightly drunk pal, she sailed off to the bar. She'd gone no more than halfway when that deep voice called out to her again.

"I think we could be great together..."

Okay, there was no way she had made that up in her head or simply mistaken someone else's voice. That was definitely Laxus, and once more, he had disappeared after he'd dropped another shocking comment. Now that she'd decided definitively that it was in fact the lightning mage she'd been interested in, she didn't really know what to do.

"That's not very shocking..." A clearly jealous Mira was standing in the back...though she did hide it quite well, according to Lisanna's opinion.

"I think Lucy does have that shizo-whatsit," Natsu said.

"Just. Shut. UP!" Lucy yelled. Her eyes locked with the lightning dragon slayer and was held a bit too long for Gray, Natsu, and Mira's opinion-

She stood there amidst the other party-goers and wondered why he was doing this. She didn't understand what he was trying to accomplish by saying these things and then leaving. Why not hang around for her response?

Huffing a bit in aggravation, she continued on to the bar and requested one of Mira's fruity concoctions. She'd long ago given up on asking for a specific mixed drink from the white-haired barmaid as the woman was constantly pushing a different one at her to try.

"Juvia believes that Lucy should just stay away from Gray-sama and get with Natsu or Laxus or Sting or Loke or-" Juvia randomly butted in.

"I have been paired up with too many men today..." Lucy sighed, "Excuse me while I find an aspirin..."

"Here Lucy. Give this one a shot," Mira offered, passing the blonde a glass filled with a light pink liquid. "I think you'll really love it!"

"Would it really matter if I loved it? You know you'll make me something different next time," Lucy joked, reaching for the chilled tumbler.

The white-haired girl pouted at Lucy. "Oh hush, you know you love being my guinea pig."

"Well, it does get me free drinks," Lucy quipped with a wink, bending a bit to rest her elbows on the bar. She certainly loved that particular perk of being Mira's personal taste tester. No worries about spending her hard-earned jewels on alcohol was a very good thing.

Mira stuck her tongue out playfully at the blonde mage, then hearing her name called further down the bar, she uttered a quick goodbye and moved off to help someone else, leaving Lucy to finish her drink alone.

The Celestial Spirit mage leaned on the bar and took another sip of her drink. She had to agree that Mira had made a winner here. It was the perfect combination of sweet fruit juice and alcohol and just as the barmaid had anticipated, would most likely become one of her favorites.

"I've always had a thing for you, Lucy..."

"You know what I think? I think you need to make me a strawberry cake tequila, Mira," Erza said.

"And...how would I make that?" Mira asked.

"You will figure it out...right?" Erza said in a threateningly like aura.

"Uh...yes, ma'am...!" Mira said quickly.

Her glass slammed down on the wooden surface of the bar, and she whirled around. She was annoyed to find that once again, there was no Laxus in sight. This was getting old really quick. If the man would just stay put, she'd tell him to have at it. She'd wanted to get his attention for a long time now and would have no issues being more than friends with him.

Of course, she couldn't do that with him constantly running off like that. And why was he doing something so irritating? He'd always been confident, almost to the point of arrogance. She couldn't have imagined he'd ever be so roundabout in telling her he wanted to date her.

Releasing a low growl of frustration, she scanned the room another time, and shockingly managed to find the lightning mage she'd been looking for. Finally...

"She wants her lightning, bro!" Bixlow said, nudging his leader.

"Strike her with your amazingness, oh great Laxus-san!" Freed said in a praising voice.

"I swear, everyone here has their own, like, mini-idol..." Evergreen said with a head shake.

"Kinda like how yours is Elfman!" Bixlow cackled. The "Fairy Queen" turned three deep shades of red.

"SHUT UP!" And she made sure to give him a nice bitch SLAP.

Her eyes narrowed on him, studying him talking to Bickslow and acting like nothing had happened. Yeah, well that was about to change. Downing the remainder of her drink, she set it down and began moving toward him. It was time to get some answers.

In moments, she was coming up beside him, and as he turned, she marveled at the feigned surprise that crossed his face. Who knew the man was such a fine actor?

Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, she arched a brow at him. "We need to talk."

His expression showed confusion, and he grunted, "Huh?"

"Enough with the games, Laxus. If you have something to say to me, then you can just say it to my face."

The tall man glanced over to his friend, then looked down at her, his brow wrinkling. "I'm lost here. What is it I'm supposed to be saying?"

"See? SHE IS A SCHIZOPHRENIC!" Happy said as he flew over to the knocked out Wendy. "Wendy, wake up!"

"W-Wha...?" Wendy said, half-awake. But before Happy could say something, Carla pushed him out of the way.

"Oooh! Exceed fight!" Pantherlily said in an enjoyable tone.

"DON'T WAKE UP WENDY FOR A PATHETIC DIAGNOSIS!" Carla shrieked.

"Carla...you woke me up..." Wendy said with a yawn, "W-What happened...all I remember...oh, God...now I wish I didn't remember..."

"Looks like it backfired on you, Cat," Gajeel said with a grin, "My cat is way more superior than you!" Levy gave a slight cute giggle before returning her attention to the story.

"Really? I come over here to say I feel the same way, and you're going to pretend you don't even know what I'm talking about?" Lucy snipped, propping her hands on her hips.

The blonde-haired man frowned down at her. "Feel the same way? Lucy, what the hell are you talking about?"

His response set Lucy's nerves on edge, and she could feel herself flushing with anger. Was he seriously going to continue this charade? "I don't know what you're up to here, but it's really starting to piss me off. You were just over there hitting on me," she growled, pointing in the general direction of the bar before throwing her hands up and shaking her head. "You know what? If you're going to act like this, then just forget it."

With that, she turned to head back to the bar. She didn't get a single step away when a strong hand closed around her arm and pulled her to a stop. Then Laxus moved into her line of sight, his eyes narrowed. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but I'm telling you...this it the first time I've spoken to you all night. I just got here five minutes ago."

"Wendy! Lucy has schizophrenia!" Happy wailed.

"For the last fucking time, I DO NOT HAVE SCHIZOPHRENIA!" Lucy screamed.

"I'm not trying to say that you have it...it's just that people with these serious psychological illnesses deny these claims," Levy said with a shrug.

"Not helping, Levy-chan. What does it have to take to convince you people-"

"I, uh, don't think you have it..." Laxus said quietly. That was surprising. Out of all people, he was the least expected.

.

Another manly minute of Minvera-chan singing Hollaback Girl passed before they continued.

She opened her mouth to yell at him for playing with her when she realized that he truly looked perplexed. But that didn't make sense. It was his voice. She knew it was. "But...it was you. It sounded just like you..." She was so confused.

Suddenly, Laxus' voice sounded from behind her, asking her to go out with him. Lucy's eyes widened, and looking up at Laxus, she could see he too was stunned. Hoping to finally catch the person who'd had her going all night, she spun around and found Natsu and Gray hunched over a small device, both nearly in stitches at their prank.

Why was it that Lucy had the strangest feeling to strangle both of them...but...ACK! The whole day was confusing her fucking feelings!

Lucy stood there in disbelief as the entirety of the situation caught up with her. She had been played by two of her best friends, and she had made a fool of herself to Laxus. Oh God...Laxus...

She had all but told the man she wanted to go out with him. Yes, she had been tricked into it, but that didn't change the fact that she had just confessed her feelings, not just to him, but in front of his best friend too. She was well and truly humiliated.

Reality was setting in...Laxus hadn't hit on her, hadn't said a single thing to suggest he was interested in her. Even when she'd said she returned his feelings, he hadn't blinked an eye. He obviously didn't feel the same way about her.

"Awww! That's so sad!" Cana said after taking a sip of her alcohol.

"You don't sound too sincere..." Mira said with a slightly jealous glint.

"Jealous much?" Cana said with a smirk.

"A-A if!" Mira said quickly...and a bit forced as well, "I'm happy for anyone who gets along in a beautiful relationship!"

"Especially if the relationship is you and-"

"SHUSH!" Mira said loudly, "The story is going on!"

Lucy was beyond mortified, and as the first sting of tears hit her eyes, she knew she needed to leave. She had done enough to make herself look foolish. She wasn't about to add crying to the list. She knew she couldn't stave off the urge for long, so she pressed a hand to her mouth and turned to leave.

Abruptly, Natsu's laughter stopped, his eyes widening as she saw her eyes watering. His elbow quickly drove into the ice mage's side, silencing him, and then moved toward her with an expression of guilt. "Luce..."

"For the record here, I would never pull something off like this," Gray said.

"Me too!" Natsu said happily.

"You both are liars," Lucy said, resisting the urge to throw them out the window in which they always come in through.

Blinking fast, she shook her head at him. "Don't touch me..." she whispered, pulling back from him.

Lucy knew they had only been goofing off. She knew they hadn't meant any harm, but that didn't stop their actions from hurting her. Even now as she reminded herself that they hadn't known about the crush she'd harbored on Laxus, she couldn't find it in her to tell them it was okay. She knew she would forgive them, but right now...it was just too much.

The magnitude of her foul up was washing over her like a tsunami, and she was far too overwhelmed to consider them at the moment. The truth was regardless of their intentions, their prank had reduced her to a pathetic girl in front of the one man she'd only ever wanted to impress.

With a soft sob, she pushed past their outstretched hands and pleading faces and ran from the guild.

The moment she was gone, Gray winced and murmured, "She's really pissed."

"No," Natsu corrected, his eyes staring at the doors of the guild in regret. "She's hurt. We really screwed up this time."

"This is so weird...usually Gray would be the sad one and Natsu would be the one thinking she's pissed..." Erza said randomly.

"And why is that?" Jellal asked.

"Cause Natsu is a fucking idiot," Erza said with a shrug.

Laxus stood there dumbfounded, his mind struggling to make sense of everything. He still felt vaguely lost about what had happened, and with Lucy gone, there was only one way he'd finally know the whole story. Stomping up to the now lost looking males of Team Natsu, Laxus growled, "Start talking."

The two regretfully spilled the beans on their prank and handed over the small electronic box so he could hear how they had tricked Lucy. The tall blonde man pressed the play button and frowned as his own voice filtered out.

Looking hot tonight, Lucy...

I could watch you all night...

I think we could be great together...

I've always had a thing for you, Lucy...

How about I take you on a date...

His first reaction was anger. He couldn't believe they'd used him to screw with Lucy that way. He'd known Natsu and Gray could be childish at times, but he'd never thought they would be so careless. It was obvious they had embarrassed their team mate, and from the salt he'd smelled on her when she ran out, they'd also made her cry.

Laxus felt his stomach churn with anger as well. Maybe there was magic in the story...making it screw with your damn emotions so you feel what "you" supposedly feel...but...

He felt like his heart was thumping from the intensity of...the situation? He locked eyes with Lucy for the third time and he had this awkward confused face, causing her to giggle.

That was nice. He guessed.

"BABY YOU'RE A FIREEEEEWORKKKKKK!" Minvera sang.

The thought of her so upset set his nerves on edge and made him want to beat some sense into her friends. Looking at them though, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The two of them looked completely devastated, their pained expressions showing that they'd realized how badly they'd fucked up. Still, something needed to be done.

Glancing down at the device in his hands, he dropped it to the floor and promptly smashed it with his foot. "You two are idiots."

"We didn't mean to upset her. It was just supposed to be a joke," Gray said, his repentant voice barely sounding above the noise.

Laxus stared at them in disbelief, his head shaking at their ignorance. "What the hell did you think would happen?"

"I...don't know. It was stupid, but we didn't mean for her to cry," Natsu said sadly.

"Of course she was crying," the lightning mage snapped. "You guys embarrassed the hell out of her. You had her so convinced I was screwing with her that she came over here and yelled at me. Now, she's probably feeling bad about it."

"...I think Laxus is stupid as well, Mira-nee," Lisanna muttered.

"Laxus is wonderful! He's smarter than those two, at least..." Mira said to defend him.

"But, I mean, this is so obvious-" Lisanna said.

"It's a story, sis, a story..." Mira said, keeping her eyes on Lucy and Laxus.

Natsu's eyes widened just a bit at Laxus' explanation, then his head rocked side to side. "You don't get it."

"Holy shit, Natsu knew it before Laxus?!" Lyon said.

"Apparently so..." Gray said with eyes wide.

"Knew what?" Natsu said as he swallowed a piece of...what seemed to be leftover rotisserie chicken.

"NATSU STOP EATING! GOD DAMN IT!" Lucy said as she took the chicken away from him.

"...maybe the story had depicted him a BIT too smart..." Gray muttered.

"But Gray-sama will always be the smartest!" Juvia said as she grabbed his hand.

"Uh..." Gray tried pulling away, but it was helped by a clingy Lyon.

"Don't mind that dumbass," Lyon cooed, "Come hold my arm..."

"You both are so creepy...can't believe you're Ur's disciples," Ultear said with an eye roll.

"Don't get what?" Laxus scowled at the fire mage, feeling his temper flare at his suggestion.

"Think about what we had you say to her..." Natsu said, waiting for the blonde-haired man to nod shortly before continuing, "Now, why did she say she came over to you?"

Laxus thought for a minute, then said, "She wanted me to say something to her, and she got made that I didn't know what she was talking about. She said she had come over to tell me that..." His words trailed off as he realized what Natsu was trying to show him.

"...that she felt the same way," the pink-haired man finished in a tone soft with shame. "She likes you, and she thought you liked her too because of us."

Once again, the blondes locked eyes and Lucy somehow pictured a giant teddy bear to hug forever and ever...but then the image quickly shifted to Laxus-

Turning away, she slapped the blush out of her cheeks.

Laxus was stunned and found himself eyeing the exit of the guild. He couldn't quite believe what he'd just learned, that Lucy was interested in him, but he would be lying if he said the idea didn't thrill him. The truth was that although it hadn't actually been him saying those things to her earlier, the words very well could have been his.

He'd had very similar thoughts about her before, but had never said anything because he hadn't seen any sign that she'd noticed him that way. He was proud like most men, and didn't like going after a girl who had shown no interest in him. Maybe he should have done something, and if she hadn't been a guild member, he might have taken the chance, but he hadn't want it to be awkward between them if things hadn't worked out.

But things were different now. Now, he knew she had feelings for him, and even though he had found out in the worst possible way, he wasn't about to pass up this opportunity. Turning his attention back to the culprits, he lifted a finger and pointed it at them. "I'm going to find her, and when I get back, you two better have an idea of how to make this up to her."

"Is it bad that I'm scared of story-Laxus...?" Natsu said.

"...same," Gray said with a feared look.

"You guys are so so weird..." Laxus said with a sigh.

"Now who do you have feelings for, Laxus?" Bixlow said with a somewhat cheery aura, "The white, the blonde, or the green?"

"The green...?" Laxus asked, "But the only green haired person in here is...?"

And as this conversation went on, Freed desperately searched for a wig or giant hat...either to show that his hair was NOT DEFINITELY green. "I-I don't have green hair...I swear..." he said in a desperate sort of tone.

"All Fairy Tail mages are weird..." Meredy said to Ultear.

"True that..." Ultear said, eyeing Freed oddly.

With a glare to go with his warning, he stalked to the front of the guild and pushed through the doors. He came to a stop and closed his eyes, drawing in a lungful of the night air. He sorted through the various scents that had passed through this area, and finding hers, he morphed into his lightning form and sailed off in the direction she'd run.

It took him only moments to find her hunched form sitting on the side of the canal, and with a crackle of sound, he reformed a few yards from her. Her head came up with a snap at his arrival, and he could see the tears tracking down her cheeks. Her hands came up quickly to cover her face, her fingers struggling to wipe away the evidence of her sadness.

"Laxus...w-what are you doing here?"

Laxus frowned at the tremble in her voice and slowly made his way to her side. He hated to see her so distraught. He'd grown used to her sunny disposition, her quick smiles, and her happy laughter. This version didn't suit her at all.

"Awwwwww! Laxus, you teddy bear!" Evergreen teased.

"Shut up, Ever," Laxus hissed. But it was true...he did prefer a happy Lucy over a sad one...

She stared up at him, an expression of confusion on her face as he leaned down and took a seat beside her. "I wanted to check on you."

"I...I'm fine, Laxus. Really..." She turned away, looking off down the road as she brushed a shaky hand against her cheek.

"Yeah, I can see that," he grunted, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness.

At his sarcastic quip, Lucy's head turned, and she leveled him with a look of uncertainty. She studied him for a moment, then shook her head. "Look Laxus, I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I'll t-"

"I'm not," Laxus said, effectively cutting off whatever she'd been about to say. Something told him that it would have been something along the lines of talking to the two morons about involving him in their pranks, and he didn't give a damn about that right now. He just wanted her eyes to lose that look. He wanted to see them spark with that nearly constant mirth she usually had.

"This is, not gonna lie, seriously really cute," Mavis said, "LAXUS YOU GOTTA GET TOGETHER WITH LUCY!"

"Ummmm..."

And at that moment, Mira resisted the urge to attack Mavis...though she probably wouldn't be able to do much.

"THE DEMON APPROVES!" Sting said as he fist pumped.

"AND SO DO I!" Lector said loudly.

"I BELIEVE I CAN FLYYYYYYYYY!" Miverva sang.

.

A manly minute was needed to process the randomness that Minerva was at the moment...and even then...

"God, Minerva-chan is so...weird..." Erza muttered.

"You're in it too?!" Jellal said in surprise.

"That means Jelly-man's gonna follow after his one true love," Ultear said with a smirk.

"Quit it, will you?" Jellal scowled back at her.

Lucy's head tipped to the side, her brow furrowing at his words. "I don't understand."

"Don't get me wrong...I'm plenty pissed that they used my voice to trick you like that, but I'm not sorry it all happened." He gazed down at the little blonde and found her starting back at him with a look of disbelief.

"But...why? They had me so convinced that..." She trailed off, letting her eyes drop to the ground at her feet. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't deserve that."

Laxus snorted at her apology. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, Lucy. I heard what they were using to trick you. There was no way you could have known it wasn't me."

"Yeah there was. I can't believe I fell for that. I should have known better." She shook her head ruefully, her voice morphing into a whisper. "Like that would ever happen for real."

The blonde man frowned at what she'd said. Did she honestly think he'd never noticed her, that he wouldn't relish a chance to sweep her off her feet. He found himself staring down at her, and slowly, as if feeling his steady gaze, she turned to look expectantly at him.

"You're wrong," he said softly.

Lucy and Laxus's hearts thumped together.

Mira's heart thumped as well...but not for the same reason.

She blinked owlishly at him. "About what?"

"That it could never happen."

His matter-of-fact statement had her sucking in a sharp breath, and then he reached for her, cupping her face in his hands and pulling her in close. "Laxus?" she asked, her voice whisper-soft and tense.

His mouth hovered over hers for just a moment, giving her time to retreat if that's what she wanted to do. But she stayed there, her eyes trained on his, her breath puffing out lightly over his skin.

Laxus could hear her heart pounding in her chest. He knew he had surprised her, but he was done waiting for his chance. He wanted her in his life, and the longer he dragged his feet, the greater the risk of some other man swooping in and taking her for himself. And now that Laxus knew she was interested in him, he couldn't let her go.

"UNDENYINGGGG FEELINGSSSSSSSSS!" Minerva sang.

"Okay, Minerva, you are seriously OOC right now!" Levy said, crossing her arms.

"What's that mean?" Elfman asked, "Is it something MANLY?"

"Ummm...it just means Out of Character-"

"MANLY STYLE!" Elfman fist pumped.

"I should stop reading fanfiction..." Levy muttered.

With a sigh of her name, his mouth dropped onto hers. Lucy stilled at his actions, her body freezing in place as his lips ghosted over hers. He plied her with light touches, gentle nips of his teeth, slow strokes of his tongue until Lucy gave a shuddering sigh and sank into him. Her hands inched up his chest, her fingers tangling desperately in the fabric of his shirt.

Laxus released his hold on her face and gathered her to him, settling her gently into his lap. Lucy hummed her approval, pressing herself against the front of him as she angled her head to deepen their kiss. Her hands swept up his body, her feather light touch igniting flames in every spot she touched.

"...so...beautiful...the...ship..." Erza said, dramatically falling to the floor with her hand on her chest.

"Not really..." Mira said quietly.

"Seriously, Mira?" Cana said, "Just admit you're-"

"I am not!" Mira said, her eyes threatening now.

"Okay, okay!" Cana said as she backed away...far far away...from the Demon.

Laxus felt each and every brush of her fingers. It was like his body was on fire, and such a thing stunned him. He'd never had such an immediate reaction to a woman, especially not from a first kiss, but maybe he shouldn't have been surprised. This was Lucy, and she wasn't just some girl to him. She was something special.

Slowly, Lucy eased back, her eyes somewhat glassy and her breath coming out in soft pants as she looked at him in amazement. "W-What..." she stammered, then cleared her throat and tried again, "What does this all mean?"

Laxus gazed at her and couldn't help feeling a flush of excitement that she seemed just as affected by their kiss as he was. He liked that she wasn't immune to his touch. Leaning in, he brushed a soft kiss across her lips. "It means I want to be with you."

Her breathing stuttered as he sucked lightly on her lower lip, then continued, "Everything you heard tonight is true. I do think you're hot. Not just tonight, but always. And I already watch you all the time, because I've always had a thing for you." He brought his hand up and cupped her cheek. "I know we could be great together, Lucy."

"YES! GRAY-SAMA IS MINEEEEE!" Juvia said with a cheer. That staring daggers aura is long gone now.

"Or...not," Gray said as he moved far far away...before bumping into Lucy. "Ah...sorry, Luce."

"Oh, no worries!" Lucy said with a smile.

And for an odd reason, Laxus felt his stomach churn when Gray and Lucy were talking.

Lucy's eyes were shining by the time he finished speaking, and with a swipe of her tongue across her lip, she asked, "Does that mean you want to go on a date with me?"

A laugh burst out of Laxus' mouth at her question, and he nodded. "You're damn right I want to date you. What do you say?"

"I say..."

"YES!" Juvia screamed.

She paused, leaning in until only inches separated them, and smiled. "...yes."

"YES!" A happy grin was planted on Juvia's face as she hugged Gray.

"J-Juvia!" Gray said, trying to pull away.

"Good." With a quick grin, Laxus closed the distance and sealed his lips over hers. Finally she was his, and he was determined that it would stay that way. He'd make sure she knew how much she meant to him, and as he pulled her close, he swore he'd do everything in his power to make her happy.

"That's so cute-" Erza started.

"KAWAIIIIIIIII DESUUUUUUUUU!" Minerva said happily.

"Bestie times are the best times!" Mavis said as she planted herself on Laxus's head...whose eyes were looking right at Lucy.

"Oh, God...fucking hell, I have a stripping class to teach soon...I'm gonna speed read through this— NO INTERRUPTIONS! Kapeesh? Good." Loke said quickly.

Suddenly a deep voice cut in, "Oh wow...I wasn't expecting that..."

It was followed immediately by another, "Not surprising, you idiot. You couldn't figure it out by the way he left the guild?"

"What the hell did you say, Lizard Breath?!"

With a growl of annoyance, Laxus pulled away from Lucy and tossed a glare at the two bickering males. He couldn't believe they'd not only interrupted his moment with Lucy, but that they'd done so with a damn argument. Even now, the two mages had forgotten all about him and Lucy, and were just about to start throwing punches. What the hell was wrong with them?

"Shut up!" he snapped, tossing a bolt of lightning at the road just in front of them.

At Laxus' shout, Natsu and Gray stopped fighting and turned with matching sheepish expressions. "Sorry..."

"Now, what the hell do you want?" the lightning mage grumped.

Lucy's team members came closer, trying to catch her eye, and then Natsu spoke, "We just wanted to apologize, Luce..."

"Yeah, we're really sorry," Gray added in a contrite voice.

Both seemed thoroughly sincere in their concern for Lucy, and Laxus found he couldn't really fault them for it. They were trying to make things right like he'd told them to. It was just too bad they had to mess up his time with Lucy to do it.

Slowly, Lucy lifted her head from his chest and glanced over at her friends. She studied their faces for several long seconds, and then nodded. "I forgive you."

Upon hearing her acceptance, Natsu and Gray broke out into wide grins. "Thanks Luce! You're the best!" Natsu cheered.

"Wanna come hang out with us at the guild?" Gray asked happily.

Laxus frowned at the ice mage's question. While he was glad they'd worked things out, he wasn't quite ready to relinquish his hold on the gorgeous blonde in his arms. He'd just gotten her, and now the two dimwits that had nearly ruined Lucy's night were about to take her away.

But as he opened his mouth to send them on their way, Lucy spoke up, sending a soft smile his way. "Thanks guys, but I think I'm good right where I am."

"Aww...come on Luce!" Natsu whined, poking his bottom lip out in hopes of changing her mind. "It's more fun with you there!"

Lucy giggled, "Sorry Natsu."

"You sure you won't change your mind?" Gray asked hopefully.

"No, she won't. Now scram," Laxus grunted, waving the two interlopers away as he pulled Lucy in tight to his body. "We've got things to do."

The duo left, pouting at missing out on hanging out with their friend, but they were largely ignored as Lucy leaned in and hummed, "Now where were we?"

And Loke disappeared, leaving an awkward Lucy and Laxus to think about feelings.

"That man has an obsession with stripping..." Lyon said, "I LIKE HIM!"

"I swear, you are seriously a confused bisexual..." Ultear muttered.

"Would you like me to check?" said a mysterious voice, "Cause I can hear...everything..."

Heads turned, visions blurred...and out of the closet...came a familiar face to many of the mages there.

"Cobra..." said Natsu, tensing up immediately.

"...Erik..." Jellal said under his breath.

And the brown haired poison dragon slayer had joined the fun.

Is this better? A fun experience?

And yeah! The polls were SUPER CLOSE BETWEEN COBRA AND FLARE!

Which reminds me... NEW POLL!

1. Flare
2. Gildarts
3. Kagura
4. Romeo
5. Milliana

Pick and have fun! Thank you to all participants! You people rock!

- TO ALL ARTISTS -

I am looking for fanart for this story! If anyone would...actually, I'm kinda scared...but if anyone wants to make a cover for this, please send it to me! I would love to use it!

- TO ALL RPERS -

I roleplay on this forum...ummm...I'll put the link once this section is done. :) Which is right now! OCs and Canon characters are allowed! Please join! It could be funsies!

forum/Anime-Roleplay/135963/

- TO ALL READERS -

Please check out my other stories and review/follow/favorite as well! They are all in my bio/author page if you need them. Statuses on my stories are also updated there as well!

- TO EVERYONE -

Thank you for reading my story! Have a beautiful day/night and please remember to review/follow/favorite. And participate in the poll! Man, I love polls! YAY POLLS!