The Angel and the Fairies

Chapter 18

Levy was in shock and awe. Angeles was The Puppeteer? That was... That was mind-blowing.

There were so many differences between The Puppeteer and her guildmate that she never would have thought they were the same person. While The Puppeteer danced and performed, creating shows that brought smiles to many faces, Angeles himself looked like he didn't know how to be, well... Happy. The Puppeteer would let children get close, allow them to gently touch his clawed gloves. Angeles used to not let anyone touch him. Lately, it has only been Thomas and Natsu. At first, Levy thought it was because he didn't like them. She realized now that it was because Angeles was afraid that he, himself, would shatter into millions of pieces and none of them would want to pick up the pieces.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Lucy exclaimed, grabbing Levy's attention. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Yeah, he's pretty cool." Levy nodded, unable to help a smile forming on her face as she thought of the beautiful performance. "I've always heard so many stories about The Puppeteer that I was so excited when someone mentioned that he was joining Fantasia."

"Oh, you guys had fun."

The two girls turned around to see Angeles standing with his hands behind his pockets, his head tilted. He was wearing a black turtleneck that Levy vaguely remembered The Puppeteer having and the same colored pants. His hair, paired along with the matching clothes, made his already bright green eyes seem even more scintillating. 

"That's good," He continued, studying the two. He looked at Levy. "It took a lot to convince him to join the parade."

Levy smiled gently, nodding her head. "Tell him thank you for us, please. We really appreciate it and we had so much fun."

"Sure, I'll do that."

The two girls walked off, called away by their other guild members who wanted to celebrate with them. Angeles watched them go, a sigh leaving him as he turned around to walk away from the Fairy Tail building. He kept his hands in his pockets and ignored anyone that tried to call out to him when the small few recognized him as a member of the guild. He needed to talk to someone, he didn't have time for fools that didn't even know that the town had been a magical minefield at one point.

"You've finally made it."

Angeles released another deep sigh, running a hand through his hair. "You've caused a lot of problems for this guild, Laxus."

"Yeah..." The lightning dragon slayer nodded, looking down at the ground. "I thought... I thought I could change things here."

The green-eyed mage eyed the other for a moment before walking over to a bench and gesturing for him to sit next to him. "You tried to change something that didn't need to be. You began to view Fairy Tail as a team or an obligation. Once upon a time before you used to view the guild as a family. Maybe you still do, I don't know, but no one will be able to tell if all you do is keep fighting them. Master may have let you go from the guild but that does not mean that everyone else doesn't still view you as one of them."

"What about you?" Laxus wondered, turning a bit on the bench to look the other in the eyes. "You aren't friends with any of them except Natsu and, even then, that was only recently. Why?"

Angeles sighed. It felt like that was all he ever did those days. He looked at the fallen leaves on the ground for a moment, stretching out his legs as if he could catch some of them on the tips of his boots. "Before coming to Fairy Tail, my life was... Hard. I've been stabbed in the back by those I've needed most. I've been lied to by those I love. And I have felt alone when I couldn't afford to be. At the end of the day, I've had to learn to be my own best friend, because there's going to be days where no one is going to be there for me but myself."