Not so different anymore(book 2 of the 'different' series)

Friends

-Lucy's pov-

"Ahhh, no!" Levy shrieks as Gajeel carries her over to the pool. They land with a big 'splash!' We are currently at the pool in the middle of the night. It's early March so it's not as cold anymore. I sit on one of the chairs. Everyone is laughing and jumping into the pool. "Lucy! Get your ass over here!" I glare at Sting. The fact that he said get your ass gets me mad.

"For your information, I can take my ass wherever I please," I cross my arms over my chest, turning my head to the side, "And I don't feel like getting my ass into the pool." Instead of his smirk falling like I expected it to, it just grows. I raise an eyebrow. Suddenly, the chair sinks under me as I scream. I look to to my side and see Natsu laughing. "Yay Lucy!!" Levy cheers. I scream in both excited and surprise as Natsu jumps in the pool; he holds me tightly as he does so.

I close my eyes and quickly close my mouth as the water splashes around us both. My body slaps the water and we sink in. Natsu's arms are no longer around me. I quickly swim back to the surface. My head pops up from the water, not long after Natsu. He has his toothy smile on his face. Everyone cheers and laughs. "Guys don't be too loud! It's like 3:30 a.m.," Erza scolds us. She is currently sitting on the opposite side were I was sitting with Jellal by her side. Or rather, Erza is sitting on his lap. They both just finished getting out of the pool; their hair drips water as their bodies still have drops of water on them.

"This was the best idea ever!" Juvia says, floating on the water. Out of all of us, her and Gray are definitely the ones enjoying this the most. Gray comes up from under Juvia and flips her over. She squeals in surprise before going completely under. Gray comes up, a huge smile on his face. "The water just needs to be colder," he says.

Lisanna gasps, "Colder!? It's already freezing!" She does have a point. Because it's night, the water is a lot colder. Juvia comes up, a giant grin on her lips. But, it falls off her face, quick. I turn around to a light shining at us.

"Hey! What're you doing!?"

"Shit! Run!" We all quickly get out and get our things. The police struggles to get the gate to open. The guys help the girls get over the fence first. Then they come after us. Natsu and Sting push me up and over the fence as the police runs over to us. Erza left a puddle so the police slipped and fell into the pool. I stifle a laugh as we all run away from the pool. I look back to see everyone made it out on time. Levy runs next to me, laughing her ass off.

"That was great!" Gajeel shouts as we all slow down. We soon come to a stop. All of us are breathing heavily. "It was. We should do it again!" Natsu seems un-phased by the running we just did. I fall dramatically to the ground. I feel the cold grass as I breathe heavily. Levy does the same, except she groans, "What do we do now?" Everyone does the same. Levy looks over to Gajeel. His long black hair is still really wet. He looks like a mop.

"We should probably all go back to our house. We still have school on Monday." Sting groans. Even though Jellal just said we should leave, none of us move. Gajeel moves to sit next to me. "Did you like it?" He asks, a small smile on his face. A big smile comes to my face, "I loved it. Thank you, Gajeel, Jellal." The said bluenette walks over and sits down. "Thank you for everything, everyone. I'm glad all of you are my friends, I don't know what I would do without all of you. Thank you, Gajeel, Jellal, for being my friends for 3 years. I just wanna keep saying it. Thank you; thank you so much everyone." I grab Jellal and Gajeel's hand. They both look at me, smiles on their faces. Levy's eyes tear up. "Lu-chan, you know I cry easily!" She throws herself to me, hugging me from behind.

"I want to change. Not just for me, but for all of you. I want to show you guys how much better I've become." Levy cries on my back. Everyone scoots closer and we're soon all in a group hug. "Guys, let me be closer to Lucy." Natsu shoves his way next to me. Levy pulls me closer. "No Natsu, you always hog Lucy." I sigh as Natsu wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me in a kiss. Levy sees and screams, "Ewww!! Natsu!!" I pull Natsu away as everyone pulls away. "Natsu!! We were having a friend moment!!" Levy shouts at him, both anger and sadness laced in her voice.

"That's nasty." I laugh as Levy pulls me closer. "You know what? Erza, Juvia, Lucy, Lis and I will all hang out tomorrow. Without Natsu."

"Hey, hey, hey! I was supposed to take Lucy out somewhere!" I shake my head; this is so stupid. They continue to fight as Jellal shows me something on his phone. "Wanna come?" I look over to get a better look.

New band on the horizon! Come to the main plaza at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday to listen to what they have in store!

I big grin plays at his lips; he has an eyebrow raised making him look almost mischievous. "Sure."

"Gajeel will pick you up at 10:30. I'll meet you guys there." Levy turns to look at Jellal. "Excuse you?" Both bluenettes start a staring contest. Jellal smirks, "You heard me, Gajeel and I have already planned something. Sorry to break it to you, but Lucy is ours tomorrow." I laugh as Levy pouts. I get my phone out from my bag. The bright light surprises me as I turn it on.

4:00 a.m.

Holy crap. All of a sudden, my eyelids feel heavy. "Woah, Lucy." I feel Natsu behind me. His chest rising up and down as he breathes. "I think we should all go home. Anyone need a ride?" I force my eyes to open, but they fight back. I force myself to get up. Sting holds my wrist as we walk away to where our car was parked. I groan, "Why did we have to park so far?" Sting laughs before my feet are off the ground. I shriek as my vision is blurred before clearing up. "What are you doing!?" He has me over his shoulder; he's carrying me like a sack of potatoes.  He laughs. But, I don't complain.

-Time skip-
-Lucy's pov-

I walk around the park, Gajeel and Jellal at me sides. They band just finished playing. And might I say, I really enjoyed them. I sip at my Icee as Jellal gets his phone out. "Say cheese!" I smile as I hear a click go off. I can't wipe off the smile that's on my face. I love this feeling. No worries, no stress. Jellal shows me and Gajeel the photo. "This," he goes through his camera roll until he reaches a photo," used to be this." I almost burst out laughing. Gajeel's hair is way longer than what it is now. There's a major difference; I'm not smiling in this one. I look at my old self... I know I was happy, I just didn't show it. I sigh, "Thanks guys, for taking me out here." The bluenette puts his phone back in his pocket.

"Anytime, Luce."

I haven't heard that nickname in ages.