Nalu; The Essence of A Drug

2~

"Life's all about trying new things..but was this a mistake??"-Unknown
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

"WELCOME CONTESTANTS!!" Maya, the gameshow's host, screamed into the mic as the eight teenagers walked towards the penthouse from the limo with their luggage in hand. She sat inside her small tech-laboratory behind the computer screen. She oversaw everything that was and is about to happen in the house. Her cameras stretched towards everywhere in the city. She observed each contestant as they all waved and walked through the aisle of vegetation. They entered the house more quickly than Maya had anticipated. She thought they would've been a bit more wary of the huge mansion but surprisingly they seemed excited.

"Good.." she grinned.

As soon as they were inside, they all gazed around the building awestrucked. Maya could only chuckle at their shocked expressions as she slowly made her way down the stairs towards the group.

"Isn't it a bliss to bathe in riches?" She asked rhetorically, flexing her wealth on the determined teens.

"Fufu, of course it is." Lucy snickered behind her elegantly embroidered fan. Her eyes squinted, glimmering with mischief in the light.

"Oh Mavis we got a stuck up blonde on the team.." Natsu groaned as he banged his head against the wall repeatedly.

"And she's rich too.." Gray sighed, pinching his nose in frustration. "Let's just get this intro over with please. It took a long time just getting here. I want to rest." Maya rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah. '' She sighed and cleared her throat. "Welcome! To "The Essence of  A Drug" where you eight will be staying in this penthouse for the week. During your stay here you will be competing against each other in a bunch of mini games in the attempt to survive to the final night. But here's the catch.." she paused, gazing into everyone's eyes one after the other.

"Enough with this dramatic pause! Just give the damn instructions!!" Gajeel growled in frustration, balding his fists. Maya could only roll her eyes more at the impatience of the teen players.

"And I thought adults were moody.."she groaned under her breath.

"Amongst the lot of you is a serial killer. Figure out who they are by the end of the week and you succeed in this game. Fail to find that person and..." she chuckled.''Well you won't be alive to see what happens." Everyone's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Hold up, hold up, hold up. You mean like in this game we are actually losing our lives?" Levy asked in disbelief.

"Bingo! You're such a smart cupcake." Maya smiled sweetly. It did no use in comforting the crew as their wary hearts pounded in their chest.

"Fuck this shit, I'm out." Jellal threw his hands in the air and began walking towards the exit whilst pulling his bag behind him. His fingertips merely grazed the door when he heard a sole click behind his head. He froze. Everyone did. No one dared to move as they were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe their eyes.  Maya, the host, was holding a pistol behind Jellal's head. A maniac smile formed across her features.

"This game has already begun. The only way out is to defeat the game or die trying." She snickered. Jellal slowly raised his hands, surrendering to her.

~Confessional with Jellal~

"Okay listen, I'm a man okay. Sometimes I just don't have the guts to go against a crazy bitch that's holding a gun to my head. Any normal teenager would freak out."

~Confessional Ova~

"On second thought, this penthouse is quite lovely to stay in for the week. Guys let's catch this serial killer and uhm..yeah w-win the game." He stuttered towards the end of his sentence as the nervousness slowly crept in more and more.

"That's more like it." Maya snickered pushing the gun roughly against his head before shoving it back to once it came. She then began walking towards the staircase. "The rules are simple. One, you aren't allowed out of the city. Two, you must all be in the penthouse at 12am, and three, no one else is allowed in this house. At the end of each night you have a chance to vote. Whoever you vote off is going to be sent home." She concluded. "Oh and one more thing. I have eyes and ears all around this place and the city included. Do not test me and don't try to escape." She cackled maliciously as she disappeared into the shadows behind the staircase.

Everyone gazed around at each other, scanning each other's features in disbelief. They couldn't comprehend what was going on or why either of them decided to participate in such a twisted game show. Nonetheless, they each had the same exact objective; Catch the serial killer.

"Well, since all of you are going to sit around staring at each other as if the words 'serial killer' is going to appear on one of our foreheads, I'm going to sleep." Lucy proclaimed as she tossed Natsu her suitcases. "Pinkie, carry my things up to my room please." He dropped them out of his hand and sent a death glare in her direction.

"What do you take me for? A maid?" He grimaced in disgust. Lucy simply rolled her eyes.

"Well I didn't say you were doing it for free." She dangled 3 hundred dollar bills in front of his face. Natsu attempted to grab it but she was a bit faster than him. "Ah ah ah..I'll pay you for this entire week if you work for me and become my butler." Natsu frowned.

"Oh, now you're pushing it."

"Well.." she hummed, examining her perfectly manicured nails. "Ten thousand dollars isn't exactly a small amount of money for such an easy job." Natsu's eyes widened.

"Aight it's a deal Luce!" He cheered.

"You'd do anything for a little bit of money huh flame brain." Gray snickered.

"Bro come on! It's 10,000 dollars. We aren't even sure if we're going to make it to the 7th day. The least I wanna do is live my life in wealth."

"10,000 dollars isn't exactly wealth ya idiot."

"It is for a week." He shrugged, picking up Lucy's bags and following her up the stairs. As soon as they left, everyone shared a similar suspecting look.

"Juvia does not trust the blonde." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Rich people have their way of sweet talking to get what they want." Levy pointed out as she glanced towards the vacant staircase. "We should keep an eye out for her."

"I agree Levy." Erza rested her hand on Levy's shoulder.

"Oi! Hands off of my wife. Who knows? You could be the killer and framing the blonde just so we won't suspect you." Gajeel glared, yanking Erza's hand off of his wife's limb.

"Oh? Then how would I know that you aren't the killer either? The mere fact that you're married to a 15 year old is suspicious."

"It's not my fault that we're in an arranged marriage." Gajeel folded his arms.

"So then both of you are rich as well?" Jellal questioned, stepping forward towards the four.

"Um yes." Levy pushed her fingers together. "Which is why I can tell you how rich people think."

"Hah." Gray chuckled.''So you're one of the snobby deceiving rich kids portraying to be a victimized little girl."

"That is such a low blow." Juvia commented and turned away grabbing her suitcase. "Juvia trusts no one in this house. All Juvia knows is that Juvia will win the case prize and survive to the seventh night." She declared confidently whilst walking up the stairs with her luggage in hand. They all watched her until she disappeared behind the wall.

"Sus...." they muttered simultaneously.