Freak.

Weirdo.

Strange.

Worthless.

Waste of space.

Unattractive.

Cry baby.

Those words rang in her head over and over again. She knew that people were mean but never had she been treated that badly before... And by words nonetheless. She hated it and she simply wanted it all to stop but of course no one would listen to her... They never did. She was usually laughed at for speaking differently, or her sense of style. Boys didn't like her because try didn't find her pretty. Her so called friends never really cared at all. She wanted the pain of all of this to go away but this had been going on for such a long time that it had simply become a part of her life now and she learned to deal with it...

Juvia Lockser was sixteen when the bullying became worse than it was from her childhood. The people who she grew up with and called her friends had all turned on her an decided to make fun of her for their own gain, trying to make themselves feel better while making her feel worse and worse about herself in the process. They knew that she was hurting but they didn't care, they continued to poke fun at the girl. On numerous occasions she had tried to make it stop but due to the overwhelming words being thrown at her, along with wads of paper, she ran away crying... And that of course also made people laugh. The world was a cruel cruel place and Juvia Lockser was everyone's punching bag.

She took their jabs and their hits. She cried on the inside when the words came her way and saved her actual tears for her pillow. She hated the words they said. She couldn't help who she was. She hugged her pillow as she cried into it. She had to make it through a full day at high school listening to the words her classmates threw at her while her teachers didn't do anything about it. It was heartbreaking. But what really made her lose it was when her now ex boyfriend Bora decided to break up with her in front of everyone by calling her unattractive and a whore. "Bora never really loved Juvia like Juvia loved him," that was her conclusion. She cried into her pillow some more as she continued to speak, "he just used Juvia." She felt her already fragile heart breaking into tiny glass pieces that were ripping at her insides as they fell down into her stomach. She hated not having the voice to stand up to the people around her but then again... It really wouldn't matter. They wouldn't listen to her anyway. They would all still make her their victim as she was caught in the middle of their bullying.

More tears rolled down her cheeks and on to the pillow in her grip. She couldn't control her emotions any longer. Things had just gotten worse and worse as the years passed her by. Of course she couldn't tell Gajeel, the only friend that stayed by her side. He was unaware of the situation at hand. People in her school knew Gajeel and they knew what he was capable of doing. They kept their remarks to themselves whenever he was around the bluenette but the second he left they spat their words at her, hell some even SPAT on her. Juvia so badly wanted to tell Gajeel about the situation she was in, but she also knew that the student body at Phantom Lord High would play it off like they knew nothing of the sort and make Juvia feel dumb for saying such things, even if she knew it was the truth.

She felt herself calming down as she sat up in her bed. She wiped away the last of the tears that remained as she composed herself. It was nearly dark. She sighed as she stood up slowly. "Maybe Juvia will take a walk to clear her head," she spoke aloud to noone. She grabbed her jacket and put on her boots before she exited her room.

The cool, crisp autumn air hit her face. It made her forget about all of her troubles. Her long, blue curly locks danced in the breeze with every step she took. It was nice being alone, not having people around to hurt her even more than they already had. She wanted life to always be this easy but she knew that it wasn't... Life was never easy. As she continued on her walk, she stumbled her way to Hargeon. It was a dock town surrounded by the beautiful open blue waters. Waved crashes against the shoreline and the docked boats at the port. The salty sea air made her feel much better about herself and the situation she was currently in.

"All Juvia wants are friends," she spoke softly to herself as she sat down on an old wooden bench that overlooked the water. She took in the smell of the air and the water around her as she sighed.

"Hey guys look over there, it's the freak."

"Hey Juvia, if I give you twenty jewel will you sleep with me? Bora said you were a good time."

"Guys why are you even talking to her? She's a waste of space. She's useless."

She knew those boys. They were the three usual guys who always poked fun at her and they were always the meanest out of everyone she had to deal with. She had to ignore them. She was trying so hard to just ignore them but their words kept coming her way and echoing in her ears.

"Have you ever considered killing yourself? No one likes you so I doubt anyone would miss you."

"You're a freak, you know that right? You speak in third person and that's just weird. You're weird."

"I hear the circus is coming to town. Go join them. You'd fit in great with the freak show."

She was crying again now. She was trying so hard to not let them get to her but they always wiggled themselves under her skin and they knew how to bother her.

"Please stop," Juvia's voice was soft and mumbled through her tears.

"Hey, the cry baby is at it again you guys!"

She didn't dare move. She just sat on the bench and cried into her hands as their words continued to come her way. They made her hate herself. Hate life. They made her hate everything.

"Hey!" That was a voice she had never heard before. "Why don't you assholes pick on someone your own size huh? Now get out of here before I call the police!"

Juvia heard her harassers' boots hit the cobblestone road as they all ran off. She then heard footsteps approaching her. She looked over her shoulder and saw a man approaching. He sat next to her. She hid her face.

"Hey, word of advice, don't let those assholes get under your skin. They're just unhappy with their own lives so they feel the need to make others miserable too."

"Th-they always do that to Ju-Juvia," she wheezed out as tears rolled down her cheeks and through the spaces between her fingers.

"Then you need to speak up and not let them bother you."

"Juvia has tried that, but they just laugh and call Juvia more names."

"How about act like it doesn't bother you? They might stop then."

She couldn't believe it. This stranger was giving her advice about what to do to stand up for herself against her bullies. She didn't know who this man was but he was showing her kindness and compassion.

"I know that might be a difficult thing to do but don't let them see you crying. Just hold your head up high and ignore everything they have to say about you. If they see it doesn't bother you then they'll stop because they'll get bored. Trust me, it usually works."

The man next to her looked up at the moon as he stood, "always try to find the positive in a situation and that'll help get you through all the hard times that come your way. Life is a bitch but don't treat it like one." And those were his final words before he walked away from her. He had stood up for her and she considered him her hero.

She used his words of helpful advice. She ignored what they had to say and all the hateful words eventually stopped. She couldn't believe that that was actually working. She always thought about one positive thing every time someone said something negative to her. She thought about him and his words of kindness. She thought about how he stood up for her even though he didn't know who she was. She thought about her mystery hero and how he gave her the confidence that she needed in order to make all the hateful words disappear from her life.

And now, seven years later, Juvia Lockser was happy with her life. She had a college degree, she was successful in her work place, and she now loved life with all her heart all because of that one certain guy; that one certain guy that made the rain stop falling and showed her the sunlight. That one guy that she will forever consider her hero. That one guy whom she met that one tough night and again through her friend Lucy - whom she had met thanks to Gajeel's girlfriend Levy - and that one guy whom she now called her boyfriend. That one guy who had saved her was the man that she loved and she knew that she wouldn't be where she is today without the help of Gray Fullbuster, the man who saved her life.

Author's note : So I decided to write a new oneshot about bullying just because this is a serious issue that a lot of people try to keep to themselves and they do it they're afraid of what might happen if they tell people. Yes, I was in fact bullied in school and yes, I did let that bother me. If you read my Jerza story called Help (link here: s/8809778/1/Help) then you also know that I went through three years of depression. That depression was caused by my so called friends and their bullying. I hated life then and I didn't want to tell anyone about it because I was just so scared. Just know that it's okay to tell people because they'll know what to do. Tell a parent, or a teacher, a friend, someone and anyone if you're getting bullied. This is an issue that should not go left unheard. I'm even here if you are being bullied and you want someone to talk to. I know what it's like, I've been there. I also pulled through it. Just know that life will get better if you just ignore what they say to you and show it doesn't bother you like they think it does. Everything will get better if you just speak out.