A.N.: I would apologize for this taking forever to come out, especially since I've been sitting on it for like 2 months, but I bought a house and I've moved in the time that I finished this chapter and have actually gotten to sit down and review my beta's comments. Without further ado, chapter the next!

It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls

It comes awake and I can't control it

Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head

Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?

"Monster" by Skillet

14

A second crash rings through the empty house, and Levy jumps, latching onto Gajeel's arm. Words failing him, he makes a low soothing noise at the back of his throat and reaches up to place his hand over hers. She shoots him a sheepish smile, and moves to pull her hand away, but Gajeel tightens his grip.

There's another clattering coming from the attic, followed by the shattering of glass. Her parents won't be home for hours still. Most weekends they pour through the door far too late, usually sometime after she passes out from staying up reading and watching movies Gajeel. She's going have to deal with this on her own. Levy shuts her eyes, wincing as she tries in vain to slow her pounding heart.

"I think," she says, pausing to take a deep breath and peeking one eye open at him. "I think we need to go check it out."

"Or we could call the cops," Gajeel points out. "You should call the cops, and then call your parents," he amends with a grumble. He doesn't know why he'd feel afraid, but it seems her terror is oozing steadily into him as well.

The house is silent for a beat and Levy steels herself, hopping off the bed. If she calls her parents now, over something as small as noises in the attic, they'll get her a babysitter the next time they go out, and the very last thing she needs at fourteen years old is a babysitter. Snatching her phone off the nightstand, she throws it into the pocket of her hoodie and waves a hand over her shoulder, beckoning Gajeel to come with her.

The door swings open with a crash and Levy marches down the hallway, phone brandished in front of her like a sword. When he doesn't immediately follow, she pops her head back into the room, and rolls her eyes at him. He rubs a hand over his brow, shaking his head at her and slips out the door behind her. Gajeel rolls his eyes at her false bravado. Levy staunchly refuses to turn on the hall lights but thankfully the combined glow of the phone and years of sneaking out of her room to smuggle in snacks are enough that they can bypass any major obstacles.

"Oh no Gajeel," the monster says, voice in a high falsetto as he trails after the girl down the dimly lit hallway. "We should totally go up into the dark, unexplored attic. It's not like a murderer would break into my house while I'm alone and unsupervised. Nothing could possibly happen in my house, you know, the one far away from neighbors up a long driveway at the end of a dead end street."

"Are you being condescending and overdramatic, Gajeel," Levy asks, raising an eyebrow in his direction."I have a flashlight on my phone, and a monster at my disposal. I may not be scared of you, but that sure as hell doesn't mean they won't be. It's probably just some dumb kid from school. There's a rumor that this place is haunted since Grandad and Granny both died in the house."

"Squeak," Gajeel says. The tone of his voice stops her as she reaches for the door that leads to the attic staircase. "This is the part of the movie where you're screaming at the actress that she's an idiot and needs to get out of the house."

"Yeah, but the monster's already here," she says almost flippantly. Levy pokes him in the chest. He grabs her hand, pulling it down in front of him, and she takes the opportunity to lace their fingers together. "Besides," she adds, "Mom mentioned that she was having some cleaners coming to do estimates on how long it would take to clear out the last of Grandad's junk out of the attic. I bet they left a window open."

"Says the girl who's going to die," he mutters.

"Occam's razor, Gaj. The simplest answer is usually the right one. C'mon," she says tugging on his hand. He sighs knowing there's no use in arguing with her further.

She throws open the door to the attic at the top of the staircase. The hinges groan, and the door whips out of her hand. Sure enough, Levy is right. A gust of wind howls down the long narrow corridor and in the furthest corner of the room, an old picture window creeks shut ominously. The light from her phone casts darting shadows across the wall.

"See," Levy whispers, nudging him in the stomach with her elbow. "Nothing to be scared of."

"Then why are we whispering?" he asks.

"Dunno, just feels like the right thing to do," she says with a muted giggle.

Another gust of wind tears through the attic, catching a lampshade at just the right angle to send it careening at them. Levy shrieks, jumping back and Gajeel's arm comes to wrap around her middle.

The heady taste of fear steadily bleeds off of Levy, filling him to the point of nausea. Nails biting into his flesh, he winces. A stray thought reinforces the shadowed scales that line the skin along his arm. Levy grins at him ruefully, loosening her grip. She smoothes the indents on his arms with the pads of her fingers.

She's glad that the dark hides the riotous blush that stains her cheeks. The blush that she's not quite sure is there.

It's just Gajeel.

Her best friend.

Regardless of the fact that whatever version of monster puberty, Gajeel's gone through has been exceedingly kind. Not that she's noticed that kind of thing.

The door behind them slams shut and Levy jumps, throwing her phone across the room. She presses herself into Gajeel's arms and trembling, buries her face against his chest.

"Are you sure this isn't you," she asks in a voice so tiny that he can barely make it out. The words whispered into his chest scarcely more than vibrations picked up through the soft cotton of the hoodie Levy gave to him a year ago on their 'friend-iversary'

A low rumbling reverberates throughout the room, and a single box shudders directly in front of them.

Gajeel freezes, preternatural stillness falling over him. For a moment he considers dissolving into the shadows to stalk whatever lies in the box, but as if sensing his intentions, Levy whimpers. He's not about to leave her. The hair on the back of his neck, where scalp meets scales stands on end, and it's then that he realizes something truly horrifying.

If he knows where a valid food source Levy is, there's no telling who else could have found her.

The box rattles again and Gajeel steels himself, ready to throw himself between Levy and whatever's lurking in the box, and just as he starts to sink into a crouch, up pops a head.

A distinctly feline head, it's eyes reflecting in the light of the phone. The two of them jump and Levy shrieks. A string of expletives so vulgar that it makes Levy blush slips from his mouth as he trips over a box, nearly sending them careening into the box, but Gajeel catches them at the last second, righting himself and steadying Levy with a dexterous swoop. They both laugh, and if Levy's borders on the edge of hysterical, Gajeel won't mention it.

"A cat?" Levy barks a relieved laugh. She presses a hand to her temple, shaking her head at their foolishness.

She extracts herself from Gajeel's grip, set on approaching the tiny creature. It mews pitifully as she winds through boxes and cloth covered furniture towards the creature. Pausing to let it sniff her, Levy waits until it nuzzles the back of her hand before scooping up the tiny thing. It's purring by the time she gets back to Gajeel, who's remained frozen, heart beating frantically in his chest.

"Look at him Gaj. He's so tiny," she says, stroking the softest black fur she's ever felt.

A finger brushes down a scar running across its eye while she coos nonsense at him. Gajeel still hasn't moved, struck as if turned to stone at the revelation of the cat in the box.

"What should we name you?" she asks, more to herself than the feline in her arms, "Tiger? Panther? Oooh how about..."

"Pantherlily," Gajeel says, finally breaking out of his stupor. "His name is Pantherlily."

"How do you know that?"

"He..." Gajeel hesitates, before hanging his head and heaving a resigned sigh, "he told me."

"You speak cat?"

"Squeak, I regularly make parts of my anatomy incorporeal and send them off into the shadows and you're asking me if I speak cat?"