Leaving Magnolia station, the four of us drop our luggage off at our house before returning to the guild to sign off our job request and start perfecting our plan to bring the guild back to its former glory.
"They rebuilt it then." Evergreen states as we stare at the newly designed guild hall.
"It looks crap." Laxus comments.
Bickslow laughs at Laxus' remark before noticing a ruckus going on in the guild hall.
We enter the building and see a now grown up Gray and Natsu fighting each other, ice and fire crossing paths quickly.
"At least I don't flash my underwear to everyone!" Natsu yells as he punches Gray in the face.
"It's better than burning down buildings because you can't control your temper!" Gray retorts as he hits Natsu in the stomach.
"What did you just say!" Natsu shouts.
"Old habits die hard don't they." I say bluntly as the four of us observe the fight taking place in front of us.
"The only difference here is that they've grown taller." Evergreen adds.
"Forget about em. Let's go outside for some peace and quiet." Laxus mentions.
We leave through the back doors and enter the courtyard.
"What's going on there?" I ask.
Laxus once again returns to his grumpy mood as he grumbles under his breath.
In front of us, Levy was stood by one of the trees as Jet and Droy were beating up Gajeel.
"I'm gonna kill that punk for what he did to our guild!" Laxus shouts.
Laxus storms off towards the commotion only to make matters worse.
As much as I wanted to stop him, I couldn't. If this guild is going to get any better, then I'm going to have to trust Laxus that he knows what he's doing.
Me, Bickslow and Evergreen stood on the sidelines, watching Laxus becoming more and more furious at Jet and Droy for being weak as well as Gajeel for destroying the guild hall.
I saw a flash of lightning hurtling towards Levy suddenly.
"No!" I cry out as I begin running to the scene.
I trip over a tree root and roll down the hill to the flat land. I'm 3 meters away from Laxus as I quickly get up to see what happened.
As it turned out, Gajeel protected Levy.
Everyone dispersed, leaving just me and Laxus followed by Evergreen and Bickslow catching up to us.
"Laxus... how could you do that!" I shout.
"What?" Laxus questions as he turns around to face me, his face still full of anger.
"Fair enough, you want to beat up Gajeel, but leave Levy out of it! She's done nothing wrong!" I yell as I hit Laxus' chest without thinking.
"Freed..." Evergreen mutters, worried about what I just did.
My eyes widen as I step away from Laxus.
"I'm sorry, Laxus I'm sorry." I apologise in fear as Laxus approaches me as I try to step back.
Laxus grabs me by the lapels of my jacket and pulls me towards him.
"You listen to me, Freed. I thought you were strong. If Levy is so strong and fit enough to protect the guild, then she shouldn't need that piece of scum protecting her. If you don't want to be part of my plan, then join the other weaklings that are gonna get their asses kicked." Laxus explains with a deep voice as he releases me.
I want to cry, scream, shout, punch Laxus to the ground... I've never felt so low in all my life. Why should I help him, after the way he's treated me? Why am I still with him if he treats me like shit? I can't make excuses for him, but maybe I was wrong. This is a dog eat dog world out there, if our guild is going to regain any reputation back then, we're gonna have to fight for it, even if it may mean kicking off some of the dead weight.
"I will continue following you. I'm sorry for disrespecting you." I apologise solemnly.
"Good to hear. Let's get back home and start planning our scheme." Laxus replies.
I sigh as I try to hold back any emotions I may be feeling. Emotions are for the weak, I've learnt that now.
Six weeks later...
Our plan went off without a hitch. The only thing that stopped us from succeeding turned out to be Laxus himself, as well as Erza, Natsu and Gajeel being key players in our defeat.
Laxus learnt Fairy Law, I helped teach it to him, but there was one thing he didn't count on, even though I said it to him. It destroys your enemies, but it won't destroy anything you hold dear to your heart. It was at that point, where Laxus learnt that he still cared about the entire guild.
Before all of this started, his goal was to help his grandfather run the guild and make it stronger, that was what I was supporting. What I didn't support in the end was killing our comrades, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Me, Evergreen and Bickslow were sat in the park, watching the sun go down. We all felt terrible for what we did and were considering our futures in the guild.
"This is it then." Evergreen says with remorse.
"Looks like it." Bickslow replies.
"It's a shame it had to be this way. If only we could've found another way to help Laxus without destroying him and everything else." I explain.
"It was just an unfortunate turn of events on our part. I never intentionally set out to go this far with his plan." Evergreen responds.
"None of us did, but at least now we can reflect on it and hopefully make up for it somehow." Bickslow adds.
"Hey guys." I heard Laxus say.
All of turned around and saw Laxus walking towards us.
We all got up from the ground and ran up to Laxus to give him a hug.
"What's this all about?" Laxus questions.
"We're a family aren't we?" Evergreen asks with tears filling her eyes.
"Yeah." Laxus says quietly as he wraps his arms around us.
Laxus let's go of us and looks down at the ground sadly.
"I've got some news, but you're not gonna like it." Laxus states.
Me, Bickslow and Evergreen look at each other in confusion before looking back at Laxus.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Firstly, you guys are still members of Fairy Tail. Master Makarov believes that you caused no real harm and that he'll overlook what you did." Laxus explains.
"That's great news. What about you though?" Bickslow questions.
"That's the part of the news you might not be so pleased about." Laxus replies.
"You're leaving?" Evergreen asks with a broken voice.
Laxus nods his head before taking a deep breath in and out. He's clearly struggling to take in the news as well.
"Yes. However, I think it's for the best. You guys deserve a better friend than me." Laxus states.
Evergreen breaks down into tears as Bickslow wraps his arms around her for comfort. Meanwhile, I'm finding it hard to absorb what Laxus has just told us. I can't cry, I can't even feel sad, I just feel empty. I sort of knew that this was coming, Laxus deserved everything that was coming to him for what he did to the guild, but somehow, I didn't want to believe it. I thought Master Makarov might've just tried to reform him... maybe Laxus just couldn't be saved.
Laxus tries to console Evergreen to calm her down, as well as trying to reassure Bickslow that they will be fine without him. Laxus turns his head to look at me, his smile dropping.
"Hey, guys. If you don't mind, I would like to speak with Freed in private." Laxus says quietly.
"Sure thing buddy. Let's go Ever." Bickslow replies.
"Bye Laxus. Please write to us... if you can." Evergreen whispers.
Laxus hugs Evergreen one last time.
"You'll be fine without me, but if I'm able, I will write to you." Laxus responds.
Evergreen nods before Bickslow puts one arm around her back and takes her to a different part of the park.
Laxus approaches me and holds my hands in his.
"This is it then." I state.
"I'm afraid it is. Freed...." Laxus says sympathetically.
"No. I just want to speak first." I reply.
"Ok." Laxus confirms.
I look directly into Laxus's doleful eyes and try to control my breathing, as well as figure out what I was going to say... there's a lot I want to say.
"Despite our issues, I really thought we were going to have a happy ending, it turns out I was wrong. You have done some awful things, and I'm actually ashamed of myself for letting you go ahead with it." I explain.
"I know." Laxus says with regret.
"There were points where I genuinely wanted to leave you; because, I couldn't handle you and your problems anymore. However, I made a promise to you when we were kids, that I would never leave you and I would protect you no matter what. I kept that promise, but it seemed like it wasn't as important to you." I say as my voice begins to crack with melancholy and tears begin to surface as all of my feelings and hurt rise up.
"It was important." Laxus says quietly.
"Not when you picked me up a month ago and threatened me, but then again, that wasn't you, was it?" I question.
Laxus stands in silence.
"No. That was my asshole of a father." Laxus states.
"I know it was. I wanted to hear it from you, that was all. In conclusion to what I want to say, I bloody love you Laxus Dreyar. Please don't go." I reply as I fall into Laxus' arms and sob into his chest.
Getting all of my pent up feelings out and just staring at my gorgeous boyfriend helped me to activate my emotions button that I haven't been able to function properly for ages. I feel like me again, and I'm just so happy that Laxus could see the old me once more before we departed forever.
Laxus grabs hold of my shoulders, and pulls me away from him so he can look at my face and say his final words.
"Freed, I don't deserve you, I never did. I've always been messed up and the only reason why I'm probably still alive is because of you." Laxus says with sorrow as he tries to hold his tears back.
I look at Laxus with surprised eyes.
"You're the only person who has always believed in me and made me feel loved. Thank you for that. I want to stay and be here with you, but after what I did and the way I treated you, I can't be with you anymore, I don't deserve someone as special as you anymore." Laxus finishes.
Finally, the rivers of tears stream down Laxus' face. I hold him in my arms and try to embrace him for as long as I can before that feeling eventually goes cold when he leaves me for good. If I could turn back time to stop him from making this mistake, I would in a heartbeat.
"I'm so sorry Freed. I'm sorry." Laxus cries.
"It's fine, Laxus." I reassure, a couple of droplets rolling down my cheeks.
Laxus and I release each other as Laxus dries his eyes and picks up his rucksack and suitcase.
"I hope you find someone who will treat you like a diamond. I love you, Freed Justine." Laxus says with a soft voice and a gentle smile before walking away.
As I watch Laxus walk into the distance, I fall onto my knees and break into tears with a smile on my face. I can't feel sad anymore, I've made my peace with Laxus and I'm happy that he's finally trying to make amends. I just hope that one day, we can meet again and that Laxus feels like he deserves to have me.
Evergreen and Bickslow meet up with me again as the three of us share a group hug.
"What did he have to say?" Bickslow asks.
"Um, we're not together anymore. We thought it was for the best." I reply with slight sadness coating my voice.
"Oh, Freed." Evergreen comments sympathetically as she wraps her arms around me.
"Thanks Ever. I am upset by it, obviously, but at the same time I'm feeling okay. I just hope that Laxus will re-discover himself and return home again one day." I explain.
"I'm sure he will. In the meantime, we better do him proud and continue his legacy in the guild." Evergreen replies with a smile.
After we finished our short conversation and we had taken the time to spill our emotions about Laxus, we returned to the guild hall and aimed to be as helpful as possible to our fellow guildmates from now on to show our remorse. As an extra olive branch extended to the guild and to turn over a new leaf in my life, I cut off all my hair. It felt weird initially since I've practically had long hair for most of my life, but I got used to it and Master Makarov appreciated the sentiment.
Laxus leaving the guild was not only rough on us, but it was hurting Master Makarov too. Although he didn't show it, there are the odd times when I notice him feeling blue. Master Makarov still loves Laxus deeply, but he was duty bound to follow guild protocol, I hope that someday he will forgive Laxus for his actions against the guild and things will return to the way they used to be when me and Laxus were kids.