Being a Chang

Chapter Fifteen

Even though I had no wish to be involved in the whole Queen of Fairies issue, it seemed that neither Erza nor Bickslow would let me walk away from it.

For two distinct reasons, Erza's being that she enjoyed the competition while Bickslow wanted to annoy Evergreen.

Fun times.

"Now what am I going to do about rent?" whined Lucy hand splayed over her face as she knelt on the ground. "I'll never win now..."

"You could always take smaller jobs by yourself," I answered slowly with a light knowing smirk as I watched Erza watch the other girls prepare. "Or ask Erza for some help to keep the others in control as it puts your living situation in trouble."

Because while she could be as bad as Gray and Natsu, there was truth in that Erza knew when to keep things together to complete a job. All that Lucy had to do was speak with the older girl.

Not that I could not understand her plight since her team was destruction prone.

It was why I was glad I was not the one in her shoes even if my house was paid off thanks to Kronos. Though this did not mean Natsu had not tried to eat me out of a house and home.

The other truly did eat more than should be possible for his frame.

"Right," breathed out Lucy as she peeked over to where Erza was standing before gaining to her feet with a determined look. "Thanks for the advice, Levy."

"Anytime," I called after Lucy before turning to where Bickslow was standing behind me with a wicked grin in place. "Just why are you forcing this, Bix? You know how Evergreen feels about me. Doing this will only make her hate me more."

Something I had figured he would want to fix, not make worse.

"She doesn't even know you," answered Bickslow with a frown as he ambled forward. "Plus, she's causing tension in the team because of her bad mouthing you. She's like a sister to me, and even I'm getting tired of her jealousy and fear of no longer being the only female of our team."

Now that made a lot more sense concerning Evergreen's attitude toward me.

She was afraid that I was going to take her place, which I was not. This would not be as easy to solve since her own fears will get in the way of anything I might try to do.

Because there would never be a point where I would join their team on a permanent basis.

I would always remain as a solo mage.

Probably.

"Well, I hope she starts to realize here soon that I have no wish to take her spot," I finally offered with a shake of my head before smoothing a hand over the flowing off-the-shoulder top I was wearing. "She's family to me as a member of this guild, and I would like to get to know the real her. Well, if she would let me anyway."

"Give it time," offered Bickslow before pulling me into a tight hug as my arms wrapped around his middle in surprise. "Thank you, you might not understand but I want you to know that you have my thanks and gratitude for helping Laxus in a way we couldn't."

Bickslow did not wait for me to respond as he pulled away and headed back to the front of the guild with the rest of the guys as Max announced the start of the Miss Fairy Contest.

"Finally, we have our third, and favorite, contestant," continued Max twenty minutes later as I fixed the number 3 that I had hooked to the top of my jeans on the right. "She's our very own Celestial Warrior Goddess, Levy Chang!"

The complete applause and shouting that filled the air made me fight back an embarrassed blush as I skipped onto the stage with a wave of my hands. This was mostly used to give a bit of fan service, which I was not interested in, so instead I decided to show off a few of my Star Dress forms and a few magical moves that wouldn't destroy anything.

It is why I really enjoyed Mira using her own magic to take on images of those in the guild.

Not that I was judging the girls who chose to use their looks to up their chances.

"There you have it, folks. Give one last applause for our contest number three!"

"You killed it," stated Lucy with a huff as we watched the next female mage of our guild be called out to show off. "My chances are really getting smaller and smaller..."

~ After Miss Fairy Contest ~

The complete relief I felt as the last one, Lucy, finished their little bit before heading into the back to await the tally of votes, was unbelievable.

Laxus did not attack the guild.

There would be no fairy vs fairy this time that would lead to Laxus being kicked out.

It was that alone that made this entire day amazing, that I could care less as to who would win the stupid contest. Because to me, today was already ending on a great note.

"We have our winner," called out Max as the current raised to show all of girls standing side-by-side. "The winner of the Miss Fairy Contest is, Levy Chang!"

"What?" I choked out even as Lucy grimaced but gave me a bright smile as she pushed me forward. "How in the world?!"

"Congratulations," offered Max with a chuckle as he placed the sash around me before offering me the tiara and award statue. "You did really well out there."

Just what the fuck?

I did not really have time to wonder about it, or really pay Max any attention as he mentioned the reward money being placed into my account at Magnolia's bank.

Because honestly, I was expecting either Juvia, Erza, or Mirajane to win it.

Hell, even Lucy would have been a better pick.

"A crown looks good on ya," teased Natsu the second we had joined the others as the party commenced since we would not be having the parade until later. "I voted for ya and everything."

"My rent," whined Lucy making me sigh and tug the sash off to place onto Lucy along with the tiara. "What am I going to do now?!"

"Here," I said before she could question me on what I was doing. "As for the reward money, I'll have it placed toward your rent. See it as a welcome to Fairy Tail gift."

Lucy seemed as if she wanted to argue but I had already gained to my feet even as I snagged Natsu's scarf with a smirk. Though it was surprising that he did not snatch it back, only rolled his eyes with a huff before getting into a brawl with Gray and Elfman.

Now to hunt down Laxus because I do believe we needed to talk.

Because while I was glad that he had not put his plans into motion, I still wanted to see where his mind was at concerning the guild and our members.

Then I would hunt down Gajeel to go on a job like how he had wanted.