Snores filled the house as everyone was in a deep slumber, exhausted from their long journey. Luna snuggled up in between Juvia, Lucy, and Levy. Natsu and Gray sleeping on the hard wood floor, fighting over the blanket, while Cana slept soundly on the warm bed. Erza and Jellal sharing the couch while Gajeel slept on a old mattress next to couch.

The day couldn't have been more stressful, but in the end it was all worth it.

Or so they thought.

He marched down the hallway, teachers following behind him. He was determined to discipline the students who wrecked his cafeteria, but he didn't want to disipline them too much, he had such a soft spot for them and it would break his heart if he ever saw them mad at him. But rules are rules, and he needed to take action.

He opened the door, "ok brats, it's midnight, you guys are free to go-" he looked around the empty room. His face was red in anger as he kept searching around the room with no sign of them.

"Sir, I think they're gone." A teacher said.

"You don't think I know that!" He yelled. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "find them!" He yelled, his voice reaching the whole school.

Natsu and Gray opened their eyes in unison and turned to each other, "Gramps!"

The sun was rising, the birds were chirping and the cool air was blowing, making that hot morning bearable.

Cana stretched her arms, "I haven't slept that good in years." She removed her covers and walked to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and saw a whole carton of orange juice, "come to mama." She closed the fridge only to be terrified at what she saw in the corner.

"He's going to kill us, he's going to kill us!"

"Natsu! What are you doing? You scared the shit out of me." She started drinking from the carton.

He was rocking back and forth repeating those same words over and over. His eyes had bags under them and his hair just made him look even more crazier.

She kept staring at him, "Who's going to kill you?"

"Gramps, he's going to kill us for sneaking out! We're dead I tell you, dead!" He continued rocking back and forth.

"Don't worry I doubt he'll kill you, well... I don't know." She continued drinking from the carton. She turned around to be face to face with a exhausted, moody Gray.

"I couldn't sleep last night." He said, slurring his words a little.

"Why?"

"I was thinking of all the ways gramps could kill us." He opened the fridge and grabbed a half eaten muffin.

"Ok you and Natsu are insane. The worst he will do is probably make you clean the whole school."

Natsu grabbed her shirt, "you don't know what he's capable of! I heard one time a kid disobeyed him and he locked him in the hole for three whole months. Scary Johnny was never the same again."

Gray shivered at the name, "that kid freaks me out."

"What's the hole?"

"It's a place where he sends the..." he looked around, "bad kids." He whispered.

"Oh really, what does this hole look like." She asked.

"I don't know and I'm not trying to find out."

She grabbed his hands off her shirt, "ok Natsu, I'm going to put this in the nicest possible way... you're stupid and you're insane."

"That's wasn't nice." He said.

"Yeah your right." She went back into the room with orange juice to watch TV.

Lucy came out of the room caring a drowsy Luna, "Good morning guys." She yawned.

"He's coming! He's coming I say!" Gray said, sitting in the corner rocking back and forth.

"Who's coming?" Erza asked, stretching.

"Gramps." He said biting his nails.

"Is that why the both of you are all worked up?" Lucy laughed, "It's not going to be that bad guys. The worst he can do is probably wave his finger in your face." Lucy looked back up to see Erza joining them in the corner.

"I can't get into more trouble, what will my dad say!?" Erza said, rocking back and forth.

Lucy sighed, "you guys are hopeless." She looked in the fridge and searched for my favorite drink, "where's the orange juice?"

"In my belly." Cana came out the room, throwing the carton in the trash.

"You can't just go into someone else's house and drink and eat all their stuff."

"Sorry, I'll buy you some more... when I get money."

"You are ridiculous."

"What's with all the noise?" Gajeel asked, scratching his head. He looked around and saw Lucy and Cana arguing, well, more like Lucy lecturing Cana and Gray, Erza, and Natsu in the corner rocking back and forth repeating he's coming, "I think I'm just going to go back to sleep." He said nervously, brining the covers over his head.

"That's enough!" Juvia said, taking a wooden spoon and banging it on a skillet, "you guys need to keep it down." She whispered, "Luna is sleeping."

They all looked at the child on Lucys shoulder.

"Sorry." They all apologized.

"Says the one banging a wooden spoon on a pan." Jellal whispered.

"Say something else Jellal, I dare you."

"Sorry." He said.

She sighed, "You guys should hurry up and get ready for school."

"No! We can't go back there." Natsu said.

"Yeah, it's suicide!" Gray said.

"I don't care! We have to get this done sooner or later, and I rather have it done sooner, so let's get going." Juvia said, walking back to her room.

"I didn't know Juvia could be that scary." Natsu said, shivering.

"Yeah, it's kinda hot." Gray said, making everyone turn to him, "What? It's true."

"I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that." Gajeel said.

Everyone was getting ready, dreading the trip back to the school.

Lucy was sitting on the couch while everyone was getting ready.

"Why aren't you getting ready?" Cana asked, taking a bite into her apple.

"I'm not allowed to go into the school until lunch time. I'm a threat remember."

"You don't seem like a threat to me."

"Well that's because you haven't witnessed my powers yet."

"And that's supposed to change my mind into thinking you're a threat?"

Lucy stared at her blankly, "What?"

She took a bite into her apple, "I know what you're going through Lucy."

Lucy chuckled, "no you don't."

"Actually, yes I do. Being isolated most of life, people being afraid of you and giving you dirty looks, even though all you did was wave at them, not being able to control your powers."

"I'm able to control my powers just fine."

"Oh really, then what are these?" She took out a used needle.

"It was something I took for when I was sick."

"Or you're using whatever is in this to suppress your powers. To hide."

Lucy looked down, " look, I'm not proud of it, but I want a chance to be normal like everyone else, to be free of this curse."

"What's the fun in being normal?" Cana smiled, "It's good to be different, It separates you from the followers, the wannabes."

Shw sighed, "We're you always able to control your powers?"

"Oh gosh no, I remember when I first got my powers, I thought I was going crazy hearing voices in my head. It wasn't until later I figured out it wasn't me but it was everyone around me. I told my parents about it and they did what any other logical parent would do if their child said they could read other people's minds, they sent me away to a mental hospital." She laughed, "there's not a day that goes by that I don't regret telling those assholes."

"They sent you away too huh? My mother sent me off here when I was three. She told them that she couldn't take care of me, she told them I was a monster." Cana looked down to see Lucys hands trembling in fear, "when that incident happened they sent me somewhere. I don't really remember what it was, all I remember is when I came out I wasn't the same person. They made me blame myself over and over again until actually believed I did it on purpose. They didn't let me eat or sleep for months. They abused me." A tear slipped through her eye landing on her hands, she wiped her face, "I'm sorry I'm telling you this. You probably don't wanna hear my life story."

"It's fine, really. It seemed like you needed a person to talk to anyway."

"Very much." Lucy laughed, "not that many people living out in the forest around here."

"Just remember Lucy, whenever you need someone to talk to, I'll be there."

She looked at Cana with tears filling her eyes, and a smile, "thank you Cana, I'm glad I can call you... my friend."