Warnings: Non-con, Dark, Death, Violence, Obsession, OOC-ness, AU, Suspense, Bad language, abuse, cameos, and many graphical scenes.

Chronicles of a Fallen Heart

Part II

.

.

.

On a chilly, rainy night. Erza would never forget when Jellal had given her a last name.

The waves clashed harshly quite early in the morning, and that's how the group knew a storm would be coming soon and had packed as much food into the warm cave as they can; trying their very best to survive another night of living in the Tower of Heaven. They had a campfire set in between all of them, awaiting the tears of the sky to fall, along with the high tide to arrive anytime soon as each and everyone held onto each other—desperate not to be apart. The dirt crunched underneath her bare feet; ignoring the worms and the little life of insects and worms fluttering around her. The tall trees swayed heavily to the side, moving ferociously along with the pounding rain. The drops slowly making their way into the cave with loud thumps as everyone stared outside in silence.

None of them hadn't minded the storm; even though it was mostly wet and the wind was ferociously slapping the tree leaves. The redhead was always comfortable with the sound of rain, it was intensely soothing and made her sleepy. Sho was usually scared as well, but he was sitting right next to her; occupied by the small little hums of Milliana counting numbers, and Simon scratching his skin from mosquito bites. Wally on the other hand would just stay silent along with Jellal; however, Jellal was currently playing with her red strands, caressing it softly as he looked at her with a strange, but soothing look in his eyes. She didn't mind the tender care he'd give her most of the time; but then again, Jellal had usually spoiled her silly so of course she didn't mind.

"Does anyone hea' got last names?" Sho asked all of a sudden. His rough accent echoed the cave. His question, however, peaked everyone's interest as they all looked at the tanned boy.

Jellal huffed, when everyone stood quiet. Either not wanting to answer, or they just simply didn't have one. Which wasn't a surprise since most of the children in the Tower of Heaven were mostly abandoned or orphaned children. "So…I guess I'm the only one, huh?"

Wally looked at the blunette. "What's your last name?"

Their leader stood quiet for a moment. "Fernandez."

"Fernandez?" They all asked in unison, puzzlement displayed on their faces.

Jellal agreed. His eyes lidded. "I'm from the Philippines. Last names like that aren't uncommon."

"Hmph. I wish I had a last name." Millianna said. Losing count of the numbers she was humming. "It would be pretty nice, ya know? To be a part of something."

"Well, I guess we're together, ain't that being a part of something?"

"No, stupid Sho!" Milliana smacked him across the head. "I mean…being a part of a family."

Jellal sighed, watching the two bicker. "If it makes any of you guys feel better, I really wasn't a part of a family."

"But, you have a last name." Wally looked at him.

Their leader combed his fingers into Erza's hair, "Everyone was a part of a family. If we weren't, we wouldn't be here. But…let's just say, last names don't really matter."

"Yes it does!" Millianna placed hands on her hips as she stood up. "That's not fair! We need last names to like…feel complete! It's the only way!"

Simon scratched his head. "Hey now, if Jellal says our names don't matter—"

"I don't care! Jellal isn't the boss of us! I mean sure we all agreed and stuff but that doesn't mean we can't have a vote on it! My island has a…domo…demisary—"

"Democracy? I heard about that somewhere, forgot where." Jellal asked.

"Yeah, that!" Millianna exclaimed. "I say we all put a vote on it. Last names, yes or no?" She raised a hand and watched everyone look at each other with anxiety. Sho timidly raised his hand, so did Simon and Wally.

"What bout' ,Erza?" Sho asked, watching the sleepy red-head moan tiredly.

"Let her sleep." Jellal said sternly, giving Sho a cold glare.

"But—"

"Quit it." Jellal hissed, and the conversation had ended. "Pick last names fer yourself. I don't care; just leave her out of it. She's tired."

Sho averted his gaze, feeling his body hair rise at the bold glare he was getting from their leader. "Fine…"

"I say my last name is Katz. I like cats, so it's only fair I get a last name for something I really like." Milliana huffed. "I don't like my real last name."

Wally said nothing as he stared longingly into the fire. Simon, however, felt the need to put in his opinion. "I say my last name would be Strong." He said quietly, everyone's gaze falling upon him. "That's what I want to be one day. Strong. So that is something I want, as a last name."

"I say my last name would be…."

"Coward." Millianna grinned. Cause that's what you are, a coward." Sho looked offended.

"Shut up Mill!" He flushed a bright red. "I want my last name to be something cool and awesome…"

"Why would ya wanna be named after something that you lack?" Millianna laughed, ignoring Sho's loud voice booming in the cave.

Jellal watched the two bicker, shaking his head. "How about naming yourself after the island you came from?"

Sho looked at him, raising a skeptical brow. "St. Lucia?"

"Yeah, you always told stories about your life there. Seemed fun." Jellal responded. Visualizing how gorgeous the island must be, from what Sho would describe endlessly whenever they had their outings.

The blonde thought for a second. "So like, Lucia?"

The blunette shook his head again, signaling a negative. He clicked his tongue as he made eye contact with the green pixel like eyes. "I was thinking more' like…Lucian. Sho Lucian."

Sho mouthed his full name for a couple of seconds, repeating it quietly—again and again before a small grin came upon his lips. "….Not bad. I like it. I can use it when people ask for my full name! And I'll be like, 'Sho Lucian.' Wouldn't it be cool Jellal?"

Jellal gave a small smile before turning his gaze back to Erza. He heard Milliana ask, "And what about' you, Wally?"

Wally gulped nervously from all the stares he was getting from the group. "I would say, Buchanan."

Millianna blinked for a moment. "The cartoon super hero?" She questioned loudly. "The one who wear's underpants and laughs every time he shows up? Ain't he a gambler?"

Wally nodded. "Back in my old home, it was my favorite show. I looked up to him before I was taken here. I hope one day I'll become just like him."

Jellal understood, staring at Simon before turning his gaze back to Erza. Her eyes a little more open, which meant she was still paying attention. If only, a little. Removing the small knots that tangled on her short, red tresses.

"Erza?" He asked quietly, since the group was still questioning themselves about last names.

"Hm?"

"Can I….can I give you a last name?"

Erza thought she heard wrong for a second. Her eyes a little more wide before making contact with Jellal. His face, a little flushed. Sure, she wouldn't mind.

"I…if you really want to. I guess…sure, go ahead."

Jellal thought for only a moment before saying it out loud. Erza figured he must've had this in mind since the conversation began. "What about Scarlet?"

"Scarlet?" Millianna looked at Jellal and then back to Erza, seeming to have heard the conversation going on between them. "Well, I guess it makes sense. But what does it mean? Is it like a scarf or something?"

Jellal shook his head. "Scarlet means red. Like…a beautiful red. A color, that is so pretty and bright."

Sho shrugged. "So why can't you just call her, Erza Red?"

Jellal shook his head vigorously, like he had already made up his decision. "No. Scarlet is her last name. The color is pretty, and so is she."

Simon moved closer, peering into Erza's skull as she tried hard to cover the blush that attacked her face. Jellal complimenting her was totally uncalled for, but she couldn't find herself to be mad at him. "Well…" Simon spoke quietly. "Her hair is red. There's no denyin' that."

Sho got the idea and nodded before staring into the fire. "Yeah. Sorry about that, Jellal."

Jellal said nothing, gazing at the fire before he patted Erza's hair. He sighed; the air he breathed was visible now, meaning it was getting unbearably cold out now. "We gotta take the fire out."

Wally and Simon decided to do the honor, but Millianna whined yet again. "This sucks…its so cold out."

"Doesn't matter." Jellal said, and Erza had completely missed the fact that Jellal's lisp went away when his new tooth grown out. "Unless you guys wanna starve again, that's fine by me. But I don't wanna fight Simon and Sho again; I got a half eaten apple and some cookie crumbs, and that was barely enough to feed for Erza."

"Yeah, yeah. We all know you'll do anything for her." Millianna said, her spitefulness reached but obviously ignored by none other than Jellal. Realizing that their group leader wasn't going to say anything, Milliana sighed before beckoning a finger to the tanned boy. "Sho, come over here. You're warm, and you too Simon. You're a big guy, I wish I can use you as a blanket." She said, then her eyes widened. "Oh, cool. Now I can be big and warm!"

"Shut up, Mill." Both boys said as they settled comfortably.

Erza sat up for a moment, her spine and body popping into place before leaning her head against Jellal's bony yet firm shoulder. She watched as Wally remained between all of them, a small ripped cloth barely wrapping all of them as the darkness of the cave surrounded the entire group.

After that, those nights had felt broken and irreplaceable. The contempt feeling of being warm and safe hadn't taken long; especially when Guinn suddenly went missing.

No.

Erza wouldn't say she missed the man or any of his horrible crew that treated them like gum underneath their shoes; but it was the confusing state of just being a child trapped in an island that frightened her the most.

She was just a child.

It was only natural for her to be scared. An adult was like a comfort zone for her, although she lacked one during her time in White Lagoon; the mental pictures of Harzor walking away constantly ran through her mind; and although Harzor wasn't an 'amazing' father, he did what he could and left her on her own at a decent age instead of just throwing her away when she was an infant. And even when Harzor left her, there were still adults around her, sure they weren't there for her, but they were still there to be around.

At least it was better than nothing…

But the fact that there was only five kids left in the island kind of made her feel vulnerable, and she felt it was only a matter of time before something extremely bad would happen. Although Jellal was made leader, thanks to Millianna with all the talk of 'democracy' and whatnot. Jellal managed to prove her wrong from the very start. The boy worked hard enough for the rest of them, scouting food, grabbing sticks and sharpening them into spears as he, Sho and Simon went hunting for fish or anything that looked quite edible to scavenge around the area.

However, the swirling glint in Jellal's hazelnut eyes was something she was never fond of…it usually appeared whenever someone of the group looked at his face for too long, or her; and it seemed that Jellal still held so many grudges on not only against the man who caused his facial scar, but many things that he had yet to voice out.

Or was afraid to voice out.

It was obvious to say that Jellal probably….hated himself. She couldn't agree, because who was she to randomly assume these things. But Jellal was different. He wasn't a diamond in the rough per say…he was more amongst the extraordinary category; a strange yet beautiful thing that was once safely kept, then thrown and forgotten into a chain of memories.

Erza had never forgotten how Jellal had been completely out of it lately. Probably because the scar on his face was peeling badly and shedding itself into a darker, redder scab. She would usually scold the leader as he had a habit on picking at the dryness; making the overly carved 'design' on his face bleed continuously; making it get infected when the time called for it, and some blood loss eventually led Jellal to knock out on her lap. Erza would know this because Jellal had always told her she was a good healer, among other things. Same with Millianna and Sho; who helped out the best as they can. Jellal told her it was best for her to be the 'nurse' when it came to these situations since they were now the only ones living in the island. Even though she would refuse, she always found herself becoming the 'nurse' at the end of the day. Sometimes she wondered if Jellal was injuring himself purposely to spend time with her…

But there was no way Jellal would ever do that.

Although his face would go from swollen to dry; than dark and bloody continuously, she had gotten so used to it happening that she wasn't even cringing at the sight of blood anymore.

Before, she had found it hard to stare at his face and so had the others. Yet the guilt she would feel was not only of the fact that she found Jellal escaping their eyes constantly. But the fact that that night was when she felt absolutely helpless to do anything; she was upset. Jellal knew however, that if she spoke up, she would be next to join him. That's why he had made her promise to him that no matter what she would keep her thoughts to herself. This made her more contemplative; less outspoken, but all the more worried for the blue-haired kid that saved her life way too many times she had lost count.

It was sad to say that Guinn had severely ruined his and all of their lives, and Erza and the rest of them had kept on trying to make Jellal happy again. At least a little happy in order to bring the cocky grin that stood up towards the adults who kept on beating him down peg by peg. She found herself constantly missing that conniving smirk full of mischief, and she would never forget that expression when they first met. Even more, she wanted him to know that he was being cared for; and that none of the group, nor her would leave him.

She made sure of that.

Throughout the days, Jellal hadn't smiled as much as he used to, but he was still trying to, for her sake. But she understood, seeing as how the remembrance of the scar Guinn gave him seemed to create a dark reminder, and he would feel that on his face for the rest of his life. Even if he tried to discourage it, put it in the back of his mind and try to forget it, Jellal would always remember and she completely understood why.

But even if it was for a little moment, she wanted to see the wide smile he used to give her. She craved to see the little heat behind his cheeks as he would hug her, speak with determination, happiness, and understanding like how the old Jellal would.

However it took her a long time to find out her resolve.

During those many months, she expected it to end quicker. Like the fireflies that had once danced around her in the casual nightly heat, they would blink out once the sun came to and so would everyone else. However, it was slow, but barely noticeable until one day Jellal had pointed out that her hair was growing longer with time; and that her old scars faded into a tinged pink that was no longer recognized as many wounds. Her eyes grown more mature, something Jellal had admitted not liking. Eyes that were quick to mature was always a bad sign, seeing as how she had noted death and a horrible life at such a young age.

But the next thing she knew she was growing older, was that Jellal had reminded her that she was officially thirteen years old.

She wouldn't call it her birthday, but Jellal had randomly made the assumption up one night.

"January 31st. It's a nice, chilly evening."

Erza narrowed her brows. "You're always making things up for me…why?"

Jellal grinned, his missing bottom tooth gaping back at her. "Cause you deserve it, like any other kid in this world should."

She would never tell Jellal how much those words made her heart drop into her stomach.

"Pfft. Whatever." She ignored the blush spreading like a disease as she walked away.

Sho had outgrown the 'cowardly act,' something Millianna called whenever the tanned blonde would run behind any little animal that so much as flickered around him. She took a guess it was mostly because he would go out and have runs with Jellal and Simon whenever they had the chance; she was proud that Sho learned to fight back, and especially she would find herself stuck in the middle of a dispute between Jellal and Sho. Constantly bickering within the small fire of themselves in the cave; arguing how many portions of food was left, what to plant and when to go fishing around the area.

Wally was the same as ever, quiet yet understandable. He mostly stood behind Millianna when it came to going around the island; but those two would always find themselves inside the cave, working on other things that would benefit the group; such as gathering more wood and mapping out a decision on when and how to get found on the island. Millianna would sometimes hangout with Erza, probably because she was the other female in the group; and mostly because she was comfortable being around the red head; sometimes Erza found herself telling Millianna things she would never think of, like her life before coming to the Tower of Heaven, and the little bit information of her father whose name she still hadn't forgotten.

Simon was practically Jellal's right hand man. Erza could never forget the fact that those two were always together discovering things around the large place, always coming back with good news with giddy smile on their faces. However she always caught two stumped expressions of both of those idiots hiding things from the rest of them. Jealousy was a very ugly thing, and Erza found herself getting a lot of this ugliness whenever the two boys hung out with each other. But then again, she chanted in her mind that she had nothing to worry about, because she trusted everyone, and everyone trusted Jellal. Because her leader would have a lighted expression when looking at her, and coming to her whenever they spoke about what happened in the day's events and what they planned to do afterwards.

Jellal promised her a life of freedom…a family, a home, and made sure that they will always be together.

And whenever he said that, it always left her reeling with gooeyness inside of her.

Because Jellal was Jellal. A boy who was forced to become the most mature of them all. She watched as the Jellal she once knew became more serious and all the more intelligent than anyone she had ever come to encounter. He was growing in more ways than one.; like a tree, with branches expanding into soaring heights; those roots of his were spreading and attaching to everyone as they had all come to know each other the most.

It was an important time for her, as they all grew; evolving into something like warriors. It was like an epiphany of sorts, fighting, training, scouting for food in groups and on your own; and she felt like she was the only once noticing the grand change happening between them all. Their sticks that were once for poking and prodding turned into sharpened spears and sometimes into shapes of swords themselves. Millianna was a great climber as she reached into the many palm trees; grabbing coconuts and fresh mangoes. Sho scouted around the island, usually catching fish with Jellal and Simon as much as he can. Wally stood as a lookout, catching any ship that could possibly be nearby the island. While she on the other hand, was to stay still…and alive, by none other than Jellal himself.

It was weird how he would explain things to her; like she had already understood that the boy was very overprotective of her, but sometimes he'd just use excuses as if she was just a fragile vase just waiting to be 'accidently' broken. Sure she was a girl and all, but Jellal made sure that he taught Millianna and her how to fight like rabid dogs and taught them to do things that most girls at their age couldn't and probably never would do; and believed them to be just as the rest of the 'guys' in their crew.

Jellal, however, thought differently when it came to her. Like a bee would to its queen, Jellal treated her this way. As long as she stood alive, maintained and healthy, he would be fine, calm and collected and not in the mood to oppress the rest of the group with constant irritation as much as he usually would. Although most of the time, she was accompanied by Millianna, seeing as how she was the other girl in the island, and they shared many things in common. Sometimes she would find herself scouting around with Jellal and no one else; even sharing some ideas with Millianna as they considered living a life of their own as well.

"Maybe it'd be cool if we like…I don't know, just…I miss my alley cats, ya know?" Millianna said to her one day, in the heat of the summer night. "I got kidnapped cause' I lost my mom in the market, couldn't find her. Then, bam! A guy said he'll help me find mama. Said she was in this nice, big boat waiting for me. And like a stupid…stupid girl…I fell for it." Erza watched as the woman sat up using her elbows.

"Mama loved cats. Heck, we had a bunch of em' to be a whole island. Stray kittens were our favorites, and we gave em to people who knew how to treat their animal's right with care. But now…I won't be able to see mama or any of our cats because of my…" The fat, glum tears fell onto the sand, and Erza found herself hugging the younger girl.

Millianna smiled a little, her tears wiped away from her arm. "Jellal will get us out of here for sure. I bet he will, cause' he promised. Jellal would never break a promise..right?" She sobbed a little more, her eyes glistening as she looked onto the taller red head. "Just promise me Erza…you won't forget about us. No matter what happens, and...I know you didn't have family or anything we are your family." The sweet ache of hearing those words made her heart make a large thump against her ribcage. And she hadn't noticed she was immediately crying into the arms of Milliana too.

Neither did she notice the hidden, haunted expression carved into Jellal's face as he closely watched the embrace.

Many storms were coming and going around the island, she had expected it was the aftermath of a hurricane that must've hit somewhere nearby the west coast of the islands. So, she took it upon herself to make sure no one left the cave at the night, seeing as how it was mostly cold and the rain didn't let up until the morning hit. Especially when the thunder and lightning clapped the skies during the darkest hours. The storm settled well sometimes, but it was still wet outside and the air became a little chilled with the morning breeze, which was the coldest of them all.

However, she realized one rainy morning that Jellal was missing.

He was simply gone from the warm space she cuddled up with at night. Sho and Wally had no idea of his whereabouts, and Milliana and Simon had no clue because they were still snoring loudly. As she walked around the cave, her brown eyes spotted the small red splattered drops trailing towards the entrance; and it was either Jellal was bleeding from his face again, or someone from the group had been hiding an injury.

And that someone was most likely Jellal.

The first thing she did was grab the small emergency packet and whatever contents were left of it before leaving the cave. She stuttered a quick goodbye to the rest of the group; warning the others she would go look around quickly for the blue-head. She didn't have the time to look at the disagreements in their faces as she ran out. Her mind only clouded with the blue-head boy who was only her savior.

Her eyes looked around the scenery after the first ten minutes of looking. The island had looked like another uproar, and some trees had either fallen, or stayed leaning to the side permanently. The water was still in high tide; and the skies had turned an ethereal gray that had gotten her worried. Another storm was to come, and Jellal was nowhere to be found.

She was sure it wasn't the first time Jellal went missing, if anything, she considered it possible that he'd go missing every morning. Just…wasn't up and awake to even realize when the boy was gone. Erza never understood why he left so early, despite how many times she found him by her side in the end of it. Sometimes she would try her best to wake up, but nevertheless, Jellal felt so soft—so comfortable with his bodily warmth that she was surprised she barely noticed whenever he vanished.

She would wonder what he was doing sometimes; but then again, Jellal had been acting different lately.

Different, where she and the others was now beginning to suspect he had something to do with Guinn's disappearance.

She didn't suspect him, she loved him, and Jellal loved her. They cared for each other and always had each other's back. Although he was protecting her the most, she would do her best to protect him from accusations no matter what, even if it was wrong…

And even though words that were spitted out behind Jellal's back weren't good words. She felt She was worried for him, believing that if he really did kill Guinn…then…

What would she do..? What can she do?

The idea of being scared of Jellal wasn't something she feared greatly, yet couldn't see it happening. Neither would she want the rest of the group to go against their leader.

And she didn't want Jellal not only losing his sight on the island, but she didn't want him to lose himself, especially as a leader and her friend.

...She will protect him.

The group had become a little skeptical in his whereabouts; and it gotten to the point where she heard him mumble things in his sleep. But it was nothing new, seeing as how Jellal usually spoke in his sleep. A little hum or a whisper of her name, sometimes he even spoke in full sentences that were hard to make out; and she would blush lightly at the cute display as he drooled into oblivion. But lately, the words that had been escaping his mouth had turned a little…louder, said with so much spite and the words he said became….darker. But sometimes she couldn't even protect him from that, seeing as how they all slept together and Sho was definitely another witness to hear those words.

He would say things she never heard him say before.

Die.

I hate you.

Burn. All of you, burn.

And sadly…his actions hadn't stopped there.

In an stormy morning, she caught Jellal talking to himself one time. His eyes were blacker than what she was used to as he stared onto the ocean; his knuckles were fisted so hard they had looked whiter than a sheet of paper; yet she hadn't ignored the heavy dark blood crusted within his hands and fingernails. The rain blew out of proportion, pounding into the waves that waved to and fro among his feet as he held no reaction to the cold, dangerous weather; and she had almost felt her heart stop when that empty stare went into tiny pupils when he spotted her.

It was a terrifying look that had her feet stuck into the sand.

It wasn't a glare, but a mixed look that left her heart feeling heavy; so shaken up that it if it wasn't for the blue hair, she would completely mistake Jellal for someone else. It was so dark, so immersed in confusion and anger that she felt the need to run when he staggered towards her, a disgusting grin that wiped his face clean right onto the high of his cheeks.

But she stood her ground.

The sweat was peering onto her body all of a sudden as he moved lazily, yet all the more threatening. The look he was giving her was like a fire ignited in him; a predator now spotting its prey, instantly on the wait to see if either she, the prey, would humor him in a chase, or make this extremely easy and die.

She chose the latter.

He took her chin, slowly, soothingly. "You look so absolutely beautiful..it truly makes me want to puke." His smile was lost to hers, eyes swirling with clarity, honesty, and a scarce obsession that she had nearly felt fear claim her in a large hug. He watched her in amusement, his small grin that used to make her smile was turned sinister, like a man who found fear and death entertaining.

And that's when she found lips attached to hers.

A suckle, a bite with a bit of pain. His kiss wasn't innocent but quite ferocious as if he were claiming her. This wasn't right, she can tell it wasn't; but when she tried to fight it, Jellal held onto her wrist tight enough to the point where she can hardly feel the blood running through her fingers. It felt forced, harsh and gritty. His teeth clanging with hers as his small tongue danced with hers; attaching itself like a bridge. She felt the odd sting of her lip being bitten, at least to the point where she can taste the blood dripping inside her mouth. But Jellal continued, licking up the small dot of red as he kept on kissing her until he was satisfied. Her lips were assaulted as well as her neck. And he would look at her, the lost, swirl of caramel pooling into black as he continued to kiss her that rainy morning.

She then found herself laid along with the sand. The water landing through her whole body as the rain drops pounded all over Jellal as his body nearly lied right on top of her. His smile looked genuine for a second before his ruined knuckle brushed against her cheek; his tongue licking his own lips as he continued to stare into her own, coffee frightened eyes.

It was too early, yet too late.

Jellal Fernandez, her leader…her…friend.

Had stolen her first kiss.

And it was more brutal than the harsh thunderstorm surrounding them.

It was a few months later and Jellal had gone back to normal. She was still wary around the blue-head, but the boy acted like he didn't remember a thing afterwards. Treating her like the boy she once knew before Guinn attacked him. She hadn't questioned him about it, but she felt content that the boy was back to normal, and she didn't want to strike the idea of that Jellal coming back anytime soon.

But a part of her believed that she was just being stupid. That…that Jellal was just playing a cruel joke on her. A kiss was…was nothing..right? It didn't—no, it shouldn't matter. Albeit, the lingering feeling of catching Jellal's eyes with her own had made her spine tingle in anxiety…and she felt the need to stay away from him.

However, she ignored that feeling.

Jellal was back to normal.

And this time, she was completely convinced when he continuously smiled brightly at her. Petting and ruffling her hair like an adored pet. He would glance at her, observing her before peeking a smile and waving at her as he spoke away with Simon and Wally. She would do the same, smiling back as she walked away with Millianna and Sho.

Surprisingly, Sho and Jellal had calmed down a bit, but that still didn't mean they didn't have their disagreements; but it did settle down so she didn't really complain.

She remembered when everyone had fell asleep on a beautiful heated night, Jellal had softly woke her up. Softly grabbing her hand to a part of the island the rest had yet to discover. But she was astounded to see the large stack of books left inside of what used to be 'Guinn's hideout.' It was a hut, small, but well maintained and was surrounded by many trees and bushes that she would've overlooked it if she didn't spot the small lamp inside, illuminating the dark.

Jellal smirked; his hand patting her shoulder went he walked ahead of her. He grabbed a book and passed one. "I found em' when I went scouting around again. Guinn or those other guys must've had these for awhile and I started checking them out."

Erza look astounded, "You've been reading these the whole time? All alone?" She held one heavy book she had almost dropped on her toe before Jellal easily snatched it away from her.

"Not the 'whole' time! Sheesh, I can practically taste the jealousy in your voice. I'm not that cruel, Scarlet. I just… wanted to share this with you…I can teach you how ta read if you like?" He asked, blushing slightly as he averted his gaze away from her. His nervous habit of scratching his neck came to view and she instantly smiled. "I kept this from the others cause' ya know, I just wanted us to be alone. I'll tell em' about it some other time."

Her face matched the color of her hair as she agreed with boy, "Fine I will. But…Jellal, can I ask you something?" The blunette looked at her, his eyes turning back to the book placed in between his legs as he sat down.

"Sure. You can ask me anything, Scarlet."

She nodded, the saliva in her throat felt stuck. "Are..are y-you okay?"

Jellal's eyes widened for only a second before rolling his eyes. "Oh god, not you too. Millianna just asked me this about an hour ago…She still has yet to tell me about the bruise she got on her face. Bet Sho started something again." The blunette groaned. "I'm fine, what's up with you guys thinking I'm sick or something, I've just been thinkin' to myself these days. That's all."

"About what?" She asked, her face scrunched up in puzzlement.

Jellal stood quiet, and she was convinced he wasn't going to answer until he spoke again. "When we're going to get outta' here, and how. I wanna leave, and I think it's best to start making a signal than just the typical fire."

Erza looked startled for a second. "Do you mind if I ask…what was your family like?"

Jellal looked at her, his eyes focused. "I don't mind." He closed the book before looking at her once more. "I come from a family of six. I have my dad, my mom, uncle, aunt, two cousins, and then there's me."

"Oh. How was that like?"

"Different than most." He said, his voice was low she could hardly make out his words.

"Did you like your parents?"

"My mother and father we're a bunch of nice people." He said, grasping his own chin while thinking aloud to himself. "My father was a man who wasn't all that polite, however, he was still a good person. My mom on the other hand, was stricter than my dad, always teasing me about growing up. She wanted to see me as a grown man so badly; Scarlet. I think it's her dream to see me have my own house, get married and all that other icky stuff grownups do." He shivered. "My aunt and uncle, are a different story. My Aunt is a total maniac, forced to marry my uncle, the same with my mom, but at least my mom loves my dad. My aunt cannot stand my uncle, and my two cousins were hyperactive and weird, but they were cool once you stayed away from them. This is something I always did." He grinned heavily. "My uncle…kind of reminds me of Guinn, he favored me a lot more than my cousins. I guess you can say cause I was the only boy, and my cousins were both girls."

"…Would you ever go back to them?"

"No." He said with no hesitation.

Erza's eyes widened. "But I thought...you loved your family?"

"I do. But that doesn't mean I want to go back to them." He said quietly, eyes boring into hers with lack of emotion. "When I left, I practically begged Guinn to take me away. I'd bid for anything to get me off that island, and he was the ticket outta there." A dark smirk came to his face. "Let's just say my memories of my home and family wasn't the best things to talk about."

"I…I see."

Jellal slowly grabbed her hand. "Family is family. There's no way to replace that. We've all had one in our lives, but mines were different because I pretended to love them." He caressed her pale skin with his rough hands. "I…don't love them as much as I love you. And if I had the choice to go back in time' I would choose you over them, anytime, any day."

"Stay away from him." Sho said to her one day.

"H-Huh?" Her face blew up with complete bewilderment.

"You know who I'm talkin' about." Sho repeated, slowly, yet all the more dangerous. "I'm not the only one who thinks this, so if you wanna save him, go ahead." He said quietly. "But I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Sho…" She said, looking down. "I…Jellal isn't himself when he..he gets…different sometimes, but I'm sure whatever he did…he didn't mean it."

"Tch." Her attention was brought back up, meeting those dark green eyes again. Yet she found furious rage dancing within those beautiful emeralds of his. "Take yer time thinkin' bout what yer going to say. Because I'm not keeping this hidden anymore." He said, his hand scratching the odd purple ring around his neck. It looked weird, but she didn't point it out. "Just cause' Jellal likes you and you love him doesn't mean you have to side with him all tha time.' I'll protect ya too. Way better than he ever does! And if you think what he's doing is okay, while you play dumb and innocent when the others get hurt like I did, than you're probably worse than Guinn would ever be."

He walked the other direction, grabbing his spear that was on thrown on the sand a while ago. "Why am I the only one who sees that Jellal isn't our savior…but the complete opposite?"

She pretended she didn't hear those words.

"Jellal's been disappearing lately." Simon said one campfire night, his body laid out as he looked at the stars. "He's been actin weird lately…"

Sho looked around, his height towering the most of them as they all sat in a circle. "I'm sure he'll be back." He said, looking straight into Erza's eyes with a deadpan stare. "He always does this. I'm just surprised he left his precious Scarlet behind."

An impressed whistle came between all of them. "Wow, Sho, you don't pull any punches anymore." Millianna gloomed, her eyes narrowed as she passed a mango to Wally, instantly shrugging. "Maybe he went hunting by himself again? It wouldn't be the first time ya know."

Wally took a look at the many books Jellal brought him two days prior. "Maybe he found something amazing? More books probably?"

"That stuff is boring," Millianna yawned, waving it off. "It's late. Let's go to bed, maybe he's in the hut and decided to rest there?"

They all nodded.

Except Erza, who felt her heart pound. Ignoring the fact that something was about to stir; and she guaranteed Sho had something to do with it.

Come on, there's some cool stuff I wanna show you." The blunette waved at Erza, motioning the red-head to sit closer to him.

"Look. I found something interesting," Jellal said out of nowhere, another random dark night of a small lamp placed within their secret hut. "There are more places out there than just the island ya know, look over here." He beckoned Erza to come closer as he pointed at the page, "This is called America. Maybe we can go there sometime? Looks pretty awesome. It has…states, and their all different. Found by like, people who claim em."

"Look at Asia and Europe!" She said, her voice couldn't hide the excitement at the map that was shown in front of her. "It's pretty big!" The boy nodded in return, she hadn't noticed the grin that came at Jellal's face when she said this.

"Yeah," Jellal yawned, his back leaning against the rocks. "Say… Scarlet?" He caught her attention. "Where do you wanna go once we leave this place?"

Erza hummed to herself for a second before shrugging and giving up. "I don't know, whatever looks fun I guess. You?"

"Anywhere you will go, I'll go."

Erza smiled.

Erza had forgotten about the many full moons that passed by on her time here in the Tower of Heaven, the endless blue ocean that seemed to isolate them from the rest of the world as the heavenly skies changed many colors by the season.

She was sure it had now been one full year since they all arrived in the Tower of Heaven.

She wouldn't let it passed her, but what Sho said to her had her contemplating to herself a lot more than she should have. Leaving her with many doubts and frustration towards herself and everyone around her. She had been quiet most of the time, and Jellal was always making decisions for her sake before leaving with Simon to go "explore" and she had yet to voice out all of her opinions because she felt like she at least owed Jellal that.

For everything he's done for her.

And she would, because Jellal would always be Jellal, and although the way he had acted towards her had been affecting her, she would pretend like nothing ever happened.

Because he cared deeply for her.

And so she would return the favor herself.

Erza knew she wasn't like most children. Matter of fact, most of the group didn't really act like children…but more of a society of equals. It wasn't hard, surprisingly, at first. Only because she thought with Millianna's feistiness, Sho's stubbornness, Simon's eerie quietness, Wally's odd intelligence, and Jellal's sudden inner hostility taking root. Although they never really disagreed on anything, it became a little hard to find out that they had been disagreeing; only because she felt the frustration of being stuck in an island had hit everyone. Destiny's talons holding down everyone by their necks as irritation had come to make it worse. Back then, she was the small girl that didn't really have much to say, only because if she said anything, she wouldn't know what to say.

She was sleeping away that night…well, was sleeping away. But the loudness of the group had startled her awake, and she wasn't too far away from them. The bon fire was large enough to signal anyone that they were people on the island, but she guessed people had yet to notice how far and how isolated the Tower of Heaven was. Peeking into the area where everyone was, she hid behind the many leaves surrounding them. Her feet, silently patting to stop a few ten feet away from them, and she watched as she could see the dispute still going on between their leader and the rebellious Sho.

She watched as Jellal had sat Indian style right by the fire, like a victorious pirate about to be sent to his death. His dark, chocolate gaze was beaming heatedly at Sho. His scar had become better, still quite a little dark and red, but the swelling stopped, which she was extremely grateful for.

Sho on the other hand looked quite mature, less angry, yet all the more frustrated. She didn't understand what was happening between the two, seeing as how the two boys were as close as ever nearly two months ago. But now, things had gone quite worse.

Sho and Jellal argued consistently, as if it fed them both to the point where they would vigorously—and verbally chew the other person to a state of disfigurement. It was quite a bit aggravating to see the two go back and forth with each other like two out of control canines fighting over a bone, and she damn well didn't like the fact that they kept it a secret on what they were fighting about. It was annoying, and she couldn't help but be bothered just like everyone else.

"Let's just make a decision, okay?" Wally asked, his hands waving lightly as he did not want the dog fight to turn to him. "We can't just keep doing this…what i-if we vote?"

The cat girl screeched. "I agree with Wally. You guys have to stop fighting—"

"Fine!" Sho exclaimed. His thick eyebrows narrowing. "But you can't keep her from us Jellal, it's not fair!"

Jellal looked livid. And the eerily quietness from the campfire they made left a feeling of remorse for her. His hand slammed against his own kneecap before pointing threateningly at the blonde. "She stays with me!"

"We barely talk to her anymore! You always tell her to stay in the hut! It's been like this for two weeks now!" Sho threw his hands, completely fed up. "Jellal, I know you're our leader n' all, but you're not the boss of me. Erza is free to do whatever she likes, like tha rest of us."

Jellal frowned. "She's fine just the way she is. Leave her alone; and I know she can do whatever she wants! But she's…she's mine alone to take care of."

Erza found herself frowning at the immediate declaration. "When we leave this island, or if we do, she's gonna have to face the fact that you aren't everyone's hero. You murdered Guinn, Jellal." Her eyes widened in shock.

It had gotten disgustingly quiet, everyone looking at each other with large, wide eyes before Simon broke it. "Jellal…is it true? Did ya kill em?"

"No I didn't!" He yelled, his eyes tearing up, lost and hurt. Erza can tell that Jellal couldn't make his mind; his eyes blinking continuously as she saw the tears stream slowly passed his cheeks. Erza hadn't seen Jellal cry since Guinn assaulted him. "I just found him, dead. He was in fronta' me, jus lyin der and I didn't know what ta do!"

"But the shovel that Sho found was covered in a lot of blood." Millianna said, her eyes twinkling. "I'm not surprised at all."

"I didn't do it!" He shouted, standing up. "Yes! I had the shovel and I threw it somewhere in the bushes! But I didn't do it. I swear on my family's grave, I didn't do it!"

...So…his family was dead? All of them?

"Yer lyin!" Sho got up on his face, the little boy she once knew was snarling like a caged animal trapped into submission. "You were plannin it! I know you were!"

"I'm telling you Sho! I'm not lying!" Simon instantly grabbed Jellal's forearm, immediately knowing that their leader was about to make a move and attack Sho. "What does it matter anyway!? It wasn't like we needed him!If he was still here everything would've been worse! Hell, we wouldn't even be here right now!"

"Doesn't change the fact that ya killed em'!" Sho returned, dark green eyes glittering in pure anger. "That's it! I can't take this anymore! For our safety, you stay tha hell away from us! We're taking Erza and you're stayin on your side of the island!"

No.

Millianna intervened, her eyes mixed with a sudden sadness and astonishment. "I agree with Sho."

No…god, please no.

"I disagree," Wally spoke, his timid self gripping Sho's hand. "Guinn would've killed us a long time ago if it wasn't for Jellal, and I understand why. Kill or be killed. Guinn shows no mercy to none of us, specially ta Jellal. He did this for us."

"Jellal would've killed us a long time ago, even in our sleep…but he didn't." Simon said. "Jellal doesn't break promises. We made him our leader cause we all know this."

Sho looked down right infuriated. "So what? We're gonna trust a murderer plan out everything for us? We have brains for a reason, and Jellal isn't our brain." He said loudly. "I wouldn't bet my life on one, not even a killer. Even if he is our leader! He can't be with us." Giving Simon a pointed stare.

"He has a point though." Millianna said softly, her hand rubbing her arm. "Would any of you guys wanna sleep safe and sound knowing that there's a killer among us? What if one day we make Jellal pissed off or he goes weird again and suddenly, we're dead?"

Wally looked nervous; Sho stared into the broken face of his leader. Jellal looked completely lost, confused. "Weird…?" He said quietly. "I get weird? How?"

"You don't get weird Jellal." The tanned blonde said. "You completely lose it at times; and you barely notice that you hurt people all around you!"

Jellal's eyes widened In astonishment; yet confused all the more. "S-Since when have I—"

"Since Guinn disappeared, Jellal." The name of their old master silenced everyone. "You freakin' changed man! It's like I'm here with Guinn allova again! Did you even know that you attacked everyone here without even knowing it? You think we'd forget the incident when you smacked Millianna to the ground a couple months back?"

Erza's world stopped.

What?

Everyone turned to the other girl, and she turned herself away from everyone's gaze. "It…it happened the same night I first spoke with Erza. When I told her everything about mama…" She threw a bittersweet smile. Erza's eyes shaped into saucers. She remembered when the girl came in with a cheek bruised the size of a coconut, and had refused to talk about it no matter what.

Jellal did that to her? Just for talking to her?

Sho cleared his throat. His rough hands clutching tightly to themselves. "Everyone, please…listen to me..."

Erza chose that moment to introduce herself. "Why?" She asked, all heads turning to her. "Why are you doing this to us Sho?"

"Erza…" Sho muttered. His face full of guilt. "We can't have him here. It's nice that he did this for us and all, but it's for the sake of living."

"Why do you want to get rid of him so badly?" She accused, "What did he ever do to you to hate him so much?"

"I have my own reasons, n I don't hate em."

"You're lying!" Erza screamed, her face turning bright red. "You have always hated Jellal!"

"No I don't!" He yelled back. "You're putting words n' my mouth Erza! An I really don't wanna argue with ya!"

"You've always felt this way! Ever since we made him leader, you've been angry all the time! Why? Can you at least answer that!?"

"WHY?" He stepped forward, stomping right in front of Erza. "You should know why! We we're both there! Don't act like ya didn't hear a thing! You ignored it cause you didn't want your precious 'savior' getting hurt!"

"What are you going on about this time Sho?" Simon questioned, his eyes looking at the tanned blonde with exhaustion in his eyes.

"Erza…I know it hurts, but we have to do this! He isn't safe to be around with, me and you both know this." He said, his voice, shaky.

Erza felt the hold of tears threatening to pour out, but she had to ask. "I don't understand! Even if Jellal did kill Guinn! He did for us and none of guys understand that!"

"We've all seen him have conversations with himself," Sho said again, "He tried to kill me, Erza! He freaking strangled me for even starin' at ya!" The tanned boy pointed at the purple rings around his neck. "You've have seen it!"

Erza shook her head, "Not true! Sho, please stop it!"

"Wally got attacked too." Sho said, making her blood run cold. "Tha only one who survived mostly was probably Simon…and you." Staring into the eyes of Erza, he backed away from her. His bangs hiding the upmost anger before looking back at her. The redhead had never seen the small tanned boy so hurt before, and she was nearly crying just seeing the emotion take place right in front of her. "I…I just can't take it anymore. This has been going for far too long, an' we haven't said nothing cause we've been doing everything fer you!" He yelled at Erza.

Simon felt himself lose control of holding Jellal when the blunette screamed, "Don'tyell at her!"

The blonde ignored his former leader, "You're selfish Erza!" He pressed her body against the bark of a tree, "You're over here tryna save him like an idiot! Even when ya know he lost his damn mind! You know all about tha crazy shit he says in his sleep an you're still protectin' em! WHY?"

Stop it Sho!" Simon intervened, but Sho continued to attack her.

"He's crazy about ya and he's been practicing' ta kill us cause of you!"

"STOP IT!"

"Notice how we all said everything about our lives to each other, but Jellal! All he says is that he's from the Philippines—"

"He spoke to me about his family; he just doesn't like talking about his past, Sho!" She yelled.

"Oh yeah?" The blonde scoffed, "What did he tell you?"

"He doesn't get along with them—t-that they're nice people; his mother was a good woman, so was his dad. His aunt was crazy, he has two female cousins, and his uncle reminded him of Guinn—"

"Did he tell you that he killed them?"

It was like her entire world stopped.

"Oh? He didn't tell any of you guys?

"Did he attack ya?"

Erza didn't answer, and when she refused to, Sho held by the shoulder, his hand gripping harshly onto hers. "Answer me!"

"I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!" Jellal escaped Simon and flew onto Sho, immediately socking him right in the face. It was an immediate breakout after that as Sho clutched him by the ragged shirt punched him right on the nose; it was a horrible experience watching the two go at it like grown men in a street fight' but what terrified her the most was when Sho had suddenly went into his pants and whipped out the familiar knife.

It was a moment where it was about to get way more physical than need be.

"S-STOP!" She screamed, halting the entire fight all together. "Please…" She said softly, afraid that one wrong word would have one of them dying. "Please."

Sho wiped his mouth as Jellal scoffed and turned the other way, instantly eyeing the familiar knife with wide eyes.

"Fuckin' answer me Erza." Sho repeated, "Did he attack ya, yes or no?"

Erza gulped, her eyes wide and teary as she muttered. "Yeah….he did. But it wasn't his fault Sho—"

"Shut it—"Sho said, his eyes dead staring into Jellal's eyes. "You harmed the one I love, that's as far as you go."

"Love?" Millianna broke the deadly atmosphere. "Sho, you love Erza?"

The blonde ignored her. The knife that was held in his right hand was back into his pocket. "Remember this?" He pointed at Guinn's weapon. "This was in your secret hut. Why is that?"

When the blunette refused to answer, his eyes worn out and nose bleeding. Erza knew it was about to get worse by the second.

"Vote to keep him locked up, say I." Sho finalized.

"I."

"I."

"…I." Wally said softly, his eyes looking at the floor. He looked utterly disgusted with himself. "I'm sorry Jellal."

"…And I." Simon finalized. His eyes, averting Jellal's brokenhearted ones. "I don't want to live my life in fear when I'm around you Jellal…"

Sho shook his head. "The way I see it, Erza's gonna have to choose who ta side with." He said, his words echoing through her head. "It's either us, or him."

"Please." Jellal croaked. It was too heartbreaking for her to see his face. "Please don't put her in this. She had nothing to do with it."

"I…" She froze; her body refusing to cooperate with her. And when Jellal had given her that look; the same, broken look when he warned her not to say anything to Guinn, she knew Jellal was going to be okay. That everything was going to be back to the way it once was, and although it would take a lot of trust to get the group to trust Jellal again, especially Sho, she knew Jellal would stick with her no matter what.

And he would make sure that they will be together again.

"I…I choose to stay with the group."

(A/N): Oh my god I'm finally done. Finally. Lord. Starlord.

This has to be the longest chapter...for now, it was killer working on this, but I've made my changes, and whoop' der it is :3.

So, I've been busy vacationing in Florida and big things come up, and now I'm moving over there. It's a big thing for me, so I'm hesitant cause I'm leaving my whole life here to start over, but I'm willing for changes, so it took me awhile to update cause one, (I forgot the wrong document) then two, (I told my brother to send it to me, which he did, I give him all the hugs and kisses when he comes back from work later on..) and three, (Me moving was my final decision.)

I'm moving somewhere around September, so I'll try and work with as much stories and updates as I can, because while I'm moving, I won't be able to post any stories for awhile, so I might as well go on a roll for the mean time. Grammar and spelling, I'll fix eventually, but if you point them out, that'll be a great big thanks for helping me. Most mistakes I blame on my tablet for full blown auto-correcting me, (damn thing.)

I would write back to all my reviewers, but honestly, I'm really, really tired. I just arrived yesterday from the plane and it seems all the jet lag and body ache is now hitting me hard, so I'll PM my thanks to you guys there. Love the support everyone! .!

Good bye, and see you again next time!