"Congratulations on becoming an S-Class Laxus!"

Cheers and whistles jostled through the Great Fairy Hall as the S-Class examinees returned, tired, battered and beaten while one walked through the hall exhaustedly stoic. Laxus Dreyar. At 17 years old he had beaten all the other contenders and was now officially a high ranking mage in his guild fairy tail.

People were slapping him on the back, offering him jugs of drink and grinning ear to ear. Laxus didn't reply to anyone but sauntered through the hall to his usual seat where his newly found entourage clamoured around him desperate to show their pride in his effort. Not that they had ever entertained him before by talking to him. This was the first time they were directly positive to him, normally he was Makarovs brat. Only in the guild because of his blood, which he shouldn't have been anyway. Didn't they remember how they abandoned his father Ivan? Didn't they remember the stares and silence they greeted him with day in day out? Laxus was born into the guild and was never a day without it but after his father left he wasn't popular. How could one exam make so many people suddenly praise him? He resented their foolishness for idly praising someone they had so quickly turned upon and suddenly 360-ed their opinion. The only people he wanted to see was his three guards and friends Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen. Together the four of them were equally as outcast as the other and lived together in Fairytail as the Thunder God Tribe protecting Laxus and looking out for each other.

"Stop treating him like a God he's same old Laxus get over it"

Awkward silence settled upon the crowd around Laxus as they stood shocked awaiting his response.

Laxus looked over his shoulder to see a flutter of scarlet hair flick past the crowd and stomp towards the bar decidedly. Erza Scarlet. Of course only she would dare to say anything of the slightest towards Laxus especially now he was an S-Class.

Recognising the determined voice of the weird girl that joined Fairytail 2 years ago after some sort of pathetic sap story forcing her here, he grinned morbidly laughing to himself at his luck. Not even a day back home and someone wanted to start a fight? He didn't care if it was a girl she was a pretentious little recluse anyway. The only person that talked to her or tried was the weird little emo ice kid.

"What would you know about S-Class little girl?"

He sneered as the whole guild remained silent, a sudden parallel to the joyous and extravagant celebrations prior.

Erza remained silent and sat at a table alone in a corner her young legs just touching the floor from the chair and her elbows jutted out leaning on the table as she shuffled into a comfortable position.

"Well? What you ain't gonna reply to me cause your chicken now? All talk when no ones listening now the attentions on you whats wrong you little wimp?"

She sat at the table silently as a few guild members tried to calm down the firey teenage Laxus by tugging at his arms to ignore her and keep talking to everyone, anyone else.

Agitated he shock their prying grasp off and stood up forcefully

"This is why you're a pathetic little dweeb with no friends, I bet this is why you ran away from your old life in the first place, you're too much of a-"

"LAXUS! Is that how Fairytails newest appointed S-Mage should behave?"

The booming voice of Makarov Dreyar, master of fairytail, Laxus grandfather, boomed throughout the fairy hall. Everyone looked up to the upper SS-Class balcony to see Makarov glaring down at his grandson.

"THAT is NOT in the spirit of fairy tail. As an S-Class you now have more than ever a responsibility to represent and honour our guild, its spirits and beliefs. We believe in friendships and bonds not attacking our comrades"

A small shuffle came from the corner of the room as 13 year old Erza stood up and turned towards the crowd surrounding Laxus. Her brown eyes glowed fiercely as tears dotted her left eye in her clear porcelain face, framed by her fiery scarlet hair that shined intensely, framing her face. Her small developing frame stood strong and steadfast.

"I know more about S-Class than you EVER knew at my age"

She glared ferociously as she steadily walked back through the hall and was watched by a stunned guild and even more stunned and aggravated Laxus.

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW YOU'RE JUST A KID!"

"LAXUS!"

Master Makarov cut off his grandson mid rant again glaring at him in disappointed silence as everyone in Fairytail edged away and all set at their respective general tables. Laxus glared back at his grandfather furious he let him be embarrassed by a puny child 4 years younger than him. What the hell would she know pathetic little cow he snapped snidely in his head.

"Laxus, come with me… NOW"

Begrudgingly Laxus pulled himself up from his seat and dragged himself to his Grandfather as they walked into the masters room and a slamming door swiftly put an end to what was left of the celebratory atmosphere.

Outside Erza sat at the reiverbank, hot tears stinging her left eye and a dull ache echoing through the glass remains of her right eye. She stared at the ripples in the water caused by the breeze reflecting the burnt orange sky shimmering in it's fiery glory in the water.

Haunted by her memories a tear slid down her face asshe stared blankly at the water, swearing to herself she will never be that weak again. What did she know? She knew heartbreak, torture, slavery, pain, death, imprisonment and more importantly the sheer price of freedom and life in the darkest edges of the world. She knew more about surviving anything than that spoilt blonde brat and she'd stop at nothing to prove that.

"I'll be an S-class next before that arrogant so and so knows it"

Pictures of Laxus flickered through her head and she memorised each of them, taking in each strand of spikey blonde hair, his dull, shadowed green eyes, his flimsy chicken muscle frame, all fake anyway, his vain fairytail stamp and tribal tattoo, every image was burnt into her mind as she vowed to make herself the strong and light filled Erza she once was. This darkness wouldn't bury her and nothing that obnoxious rat could say would ever take away her shine.