Alone and Unwanted

3. An Attempt to Restore Hope - Part 2

Juvia's POV

When our friends heard the news, they were almost jumping with joy. Erza and Natsu suggested to jump on the train and go kick his ass. All of us at least agreed to the train part.

Once we bought the tickets, all of us took a ride to the train. The train ride wasn't that long. The city is only a few hours away, however it was not enough for Natsu and Gajeel, since they felt queasy during that trip, and it took Lucy and Levy to calm them down.

Once we got off the train, all of us looked around for a blacksmith shop. There was at least a whole section of the city dedicated to all the different kinds of smiths. It was a bit intimidating seeing how large the section was, but we have come too far to quit now.

We asked many smiths if they had seen him. At first, none of them knew until one had directed us further and further down the streets.

All of us ended up towards the edge of the city, looking at a shop. Well, it looked more like a shack than a shop. Levy was the one who walked up and pushed the door open. When we looked inside we saw our old friend.

Or, what was left of him...

Standing over an anvil, hammer held high, was a one legged person. His face was covered in hair and his clothes were torn and worn down. Most importantly of all, he was missing a leg. In its place was a wooden prosthetic.

"I'm busy today. Come back tomorrow." His voice sounded deeper and... empty.

"(Y-Y/N)... It's us." He stopped his hammering and looked at our group. Maybe we could get him to come back and get his life back.

"Go home." He turned back to his work. Me and my friend's jaws dropped to the floor. We came all this way to take him back...and he just told us to leave.

"W-what do you mean?" Lucy asked him what we were all thinking. He sighed and stuck the metal in some water.

"Exactly what I said. Go home." Erza stomped her foot, creating a small crack on the floor.

"Not without you we won't!" (Y/N)'s empty face turned into a frown.

"Yes you are." He turned around and tried to walk into a different "room", only to be stopped by Levy using her Solid Script magic. She did this in case he tried to run...on his one leg.

"Please at least tell us why" Not seeing a way out, he slumped his shoulders.

"I couldn't stand it."

"Couldn't stand what?" I built up the courage to say something.

"Watching other people's happiness and failing in my own." Levy's magic stopped and I lowered my gaze.

"What do you mean 'failed happiness'? Weren't we enough!?" All of us looked over to Erza. She was taking it as a personal attack. That is when (Y/N) turned around and looked straight in her eyes.

"Tell me. How do you feel with Jellal?"

"What?" Erza, along with the rest of us, raised an eyebrow. Out of nowhere, (Y/N) kicked over the anvil he was working on.

"TELL ME!!" (Y/N) shouted right into her face. Erza all but turned white at the outburst.

"I-I feel h-h-happy and l-loved." I could agree with her, feeling the same for Gray.

"Now how do you feel around your friends." (Y/N) eased off her.

"I feel happy and loved." Erza slowly gained some courage. She did make a good point though. (Y/N), however, brought a hand to his face.

"But it's different, isn't it?" She couldn't come up with any more arguments, so she nodded.

"Now imagine having to watch everyone you know find that love that you would never get in return. How would that feel?" Erza looked down on the ground, not meeting his gaze.

"How would it feel to watch others talk about finding their perfect match, raising a family, and living their lives to the fullest, while you are still stuck without anyone to hold you close and love you more than anything in the world?"

I couldn't meet him in the eyes either. My whole life I have been making everyone happy, but I never once thought how showing happiness could be a bad thing.

"I didn't think so. So please, just go." He walked into the other room, if we could call it that. The only separation was a thin curtain.

Me and the others slowly turned around and headed for a hotel. It was too late to get a train back to Magnolia. Jellal found a nice place to stay near the tracks. The whole walk back was in silence. Never in my life would I have thought smiling could make people frown. It just wasn't right, and I didn't know what to do.

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Juvia's POV

When we arrived at the hotel, Lucy paid for a room big enough to accommodate all of us. We walked to my room and sat down on the floor. Once we all found a spot, Levy spoke up.

"Is it our fault?" All of us looked at her. "Is it our fault that he was driven away." Gajeel gave her a supporting hug.

"It's no one's fault, shrimp. He just couldn't handle what he already had."

"Then why did he leave?" Our attention went to Lucy. "If family and friendship are supposed to be everything we need, why are we all married?" Gajeel didn't have any argument.

"I can't help but feel like we neglected him for so long. We all moved on with our lives, but he was stuck in his place. I heard he was shot down from multiple women, but I didn't think they all would turn him down."

Levy looked at her in astonishment. "Wait a minute. You knew he was going through this?" Lucy nodded solemnly. "Why didn't you bother to say anything!?"

Lucy recoiled a bit. "I didn't think this would happen. I just got caught up with Natsu and..."

"It's not your fault Lucy," Jellal spoke up. "We all should have seen the signs: the drinking, the lack of getting out, his face when we would tell him about our new families. But we didn't, we ignored it and thought that it would be enough. Now look at him. He is worse than ever: poor, lonely, and crippled." He gave his two cents. The rest of us lowered their heads.

"I just want everyone to be happy." I mumbled quietly. All of them fell silent until Erza spoke up.

"So what do we do now?" I looked to Lucy. She would know what to do. She always knew what to do.

"I... don't know girls. He won't go back on his own, or with us. I don't want to put him through any more pain, but he won't last long living in the condition he is."

"What if we found him a girl?" Lucy shook her head at Mirajane.

"I don't know about any of you, but I don't know any single girls."

"I think I may know one." Mirajane picked up a flier that was sitting on the nightstand over to Lucy. Once Lucy took it and read it, she slammed it down.

"No! Absolutely not! I wouldn't do that to anyone, let alone (Y/N)."

"Lucy, what choice do we have? I don't want to see him living that way any more than you do." Lucy looked back down at the flier.

"But her? I don't think she would be a good match for him. She would probably push him away more than ever." Natsu walked over and sat by Lucy.

"Do you want to be the person that does nothing and loses humor, the person that tried everything she could to save her friend?" Lucy gave a sigh of defeat.

"I guess not." Mirajane hugged her close.

"Good, now let's get some sleep. We will have a busy day tomorrow."

Mirajane and the rest of us walked back to her bed. However, Erza, Levy, and I walked up to see who they were talking about.

Suddenly, I wasn't too sure about Mirajane's decision.