Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
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Summer Camp (Ch. 1)
"No," the blonde teenager answered as she buried herself deeper into her bed, throwing the comforter over her.
"But Lucy," Layla protested, "this'll be good for you. Your father thinks so too."
"But, Mom, I don't want to go," Lucy poked her head out of her sheets with a look in her eyes that said, "please don't make me do this."
"Lucy, this'll be good for you," her mother repeated as she sat down at the edge of her bed. "You need to make some friends."
"Mom," Lucy sat up, "I don't need friends. I have you and Dad. That's enough."
"No, it's not."
Lucy sighed. Ever since she was in seventh grade, Lucy had been struggling a lot with things that had happened in her past. Everything mostly had to do with her childhood friends – well, now they're her ex-friends – and the things they did to her. Because of that, Lucy had put thick walls up around her. She had no friends; she was a loner and was perfectly fine with it.
It's not that Lucy had trouble making friends, by all means, many girls have come up to her and asked her to hang out with them, but Lucy always turned them down. When she was around people, she felt uncomfortable. She felt weirdly out of the loop and like she didn't belong. She felt crowded and in need of air. Mostly, she didn't want anymore scars on her heart.
There have been many guys that had asked her out, but Lucy would turn them down as well. She knows that it was only for her good looks and she wanted she wanted to go on dates, yes, but she wanted it to be out of love, not out of lust.
On the other hand, every time she turned someone down, every time the person would walk away, Lucy would always frown. Of course though, it's been a very long time since she's smiled, but sometimes, when she was alone, away from the crowd, and in her comfort zone, she would sometimes feel so utterly lonely…but when she was out of her comfort zone, she was uncomfortable and wanted to be left alone.
So to this day, in the middle of summer before her Junior year, she still couldn't answer a simple question: does she want friends or not?
Of course, Lucy's parents, Jude and Layla, had quickly noticed their only child's suffering and tried to help her as much as they could, but when walls are built, they're hard to tear down.
"It's a camping trip, Lucy," her mother brought her out of her thoughts. "It'll be fun."
"Mom, I really don't want to go…"
"You have to go, Sweetie. Your father has already paid and signed what he needs to. All that's left is to pack your bags and drop you off."
"What?! Ugh!" Lucy collapsed back on her bed, "why didn't you run this by me first?"
"Because if we did, we knew you'd say no."
Lucy only answered with another groan, knowing her mother was right.
"You'll be going to Fairy Tail High in August anyway, Lucy," Layla said. "You might as well join the Fairy Tail youth group and get to know some people."
Lucy lived in Acalypha with her parents her entire life. When it was said that The Heartfilias were moving to Magnolia because of her parents' job, Lucy couldn't express the utter joy and relief she felt. All the mistakes, all the bad friends living in Acalypha, would stay there as she escaped all the pain. In Magnolia, her reputation wasn't known and she could start over. The only problem was, she was too scared to get close to anyone and fear builds up walls thicker.
She just didn't want another broken heart.
Lucy sighed, "Alright, fine. When do I leave?"
"Tomorrow early in the morning. You have to be at the high school by six o'clock. The bus leaves at six-thirty. It'll take you about seven hours to get the Greenville. That's where the camp site is at."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, but when she saw that her mother was serious, she collapsed on her bed again, "I'm convinced you're trying to kill me. Ugh…seven hour bus ride…"
Layla giggled. "When you reach the camp site in Greenville, call me okay? You can't bring your cell phone, but the youth leaders will let you borrow theirs."
"So are we going up a mountain or something?"
"No, it's on ground level. There's supposed to be a bunch of fun activities planned for each day. You need to bring your swimsuit and plenty of clothing."
"How long will I be gone?"
"Three weeks."
"Three weeks?! Are you kidding me?!"
"You'll be fine," Layla pat her daughter's shoulder. "You'll have fun, I know it. Call us every once in a while, okay?"
"Three weeks…." Lucy groaned into her pillow.
"You'll be fine," Layla repeated, pulling out clothing from Lucy's closet and throwing them onto her bed. "There'll be other youth groups from different cities as well, so you might get to know other strangers as well. I think one of the youth groups is called Sabertooth…and there's Lamia Scale…You could give some of them your number and text them when you come back home."
Lucy gave her mother a look, saying, "I highly doubt it. I don't need friends."
"Come on, Lucy!" Her mother exclaimed, "Come pack!"
"Yes, Mom."
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Lucy wanted to run away. She wanted to dig a hole, bury herself in it, and hide until everybody was gone
Wrapping her arms around herself in comfort – even though it didn't help much – Lucy watched as the bubbly group of teenagers got along as they waited for their bus to arrive…Well, almost everyone got along:
"Is that all you got, Flame Brain?!"
"Nah! That was just a warm up, Ice Princess!"
"Warm up?! No wonder your hits are so flimsy!"
"Nu uh! I just hit your head too hard you can't think straight, Stripper!"
"In your dreams, Magma Breath! I'll beat you to a pulp!"
"We'll just see about that! I'm all fired up!"
Lucy watched with a raised eyebrow as a half naked man and a pink haired man wearing a scarf (Why is he wearing a scarf? It's the middle of the hot summer.) threw punches at one another.
After a moment, a redhead had come onto the scene. "Stop this at once!" She exclaimed before hitting them both hard on the head. The two boys whimpered their apologies as they rubbed their throbbing skulls.
Lucy had flinched at the scene as everyone around her laughed. She then turned around to her parents, who were behind her, and gave them a look, "Really?"
Layla sighed before hugging her daughter, "You'll be fine, okay? It's not like those boys are going to hurt you."
"They could accidentally hit me."
"You'll be fine, Lucy," Jude pat her daughter on her shoulder. "But I want you to be careful, okay?"
"I will, Daddy. Don't worry."
When Lucy's mother let her go, Lucy turned back around to look at the bustling crowd. It seemed the two boys and the girl were now chatting amongst their friends.
Friends.
Lucy looked around at them all. They all seemed like they had known each other for years…and they probably have. Lucy felt like the misfit and the one out of the loop, but that was the way she liked it…or was she lying to herself again?
Oh, who is she trying to fool?! Of course she liked it like that! If she wanted to fit in, then she might as well be back in Acalypha where everyone knew her.
Sucking in a breath, Lucy shook her head, "no." There was no way Lucy would ever go back there! Why would she even consider that thought?!
"Excuse me?"
Lucy jumped as the voice sounded near her. She turned to find a short, old man waving up at her with a big smile.
"Hi there! I don't recognize you so that must mean you must be the new member of our youth group…and the new student at that, correct?"
Lucy nodded, "yes. That would be me."
"Pleased to meet ya!" He smiled wider. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, but everyone here calls me Master. I'm the principle of Fairy Tail High. We're happy to have you."
"Thank you. I'm happy to be here," That was a total lie that went along with a fake smile, but it's not like it'd do any harm. Not only did Lucy absolutely loathe getting up early, but also the fact that she was going to be away from her parents for three weeks with a bunch of strangers she doesn't know…and doesn't want to know honestly.
Master Makarov then turned to Layla and Jude, "these must be your parents. There's some chocolate milk and strawberries over there if you're hungry. I'll speak with your mother and father for a moment."
"Okay," Lucy awkwardly said as she turned to walk toward a car. On the hood of it was the breakfast mentioned and Lucy found herself awkwardly biting her lip as she stood next to the redhead from earlier who was eating strawberry after strawberry.
Lucy quietly poured herself a cup of chocolate milk as she stared at the redhead devouring the food. Honestly, after watching her punch both boys, Lucy was kinda afraid of her and unconsciously took away from her. The redhead didn't notice though.
As Lucy finished her drink and threw the plastic cup into the trashcan next to her, she reached for a strawberry, but her hand collided with the redhead's.
"Oh!" It was at that moment, the redhead realized there was someone next to her. "I'm sorry! Go ahead."
"It's okay…and thank you."
Lucy tried to ignore the stare from the girl as she ate the strawberry, but it was hard when she was right next to her and she was hyperaware of strangers around her all the time.
"Um…" Lucy turned to her as the redhead reached to her upper lip, "you've got some…"
Reaching to her own lip, Lucy realized she had a chocolate mustache. Blushing, she took a napkin and wiped it off. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After a moment of awkward silence of eating strawberries, the redhead face palmed suddenly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I haven't seen you before so I drew a blank. I'm Erza Scarlet; I'm the Student Council President at Fairy Tail High and one of the youth leaders here."
As she held out her hand, Lucy looked at it uncomfortably as she hesitantly reached out and shook it. "I'm Lucy."
"Nice to meet you, Lucy!" Erza smiled, but Lucy didn't smile back. She was out of her comfort zone and she didn't like it. "Do you want to sit next to me on the bus? We can get to know each other."
"Um…" Lucy hated turning people down, but she shook her head anyway, "I'm sorry, but no thank you. I…was planning on sitting alone."
"Ah, I see." Lucy looked surprised at her words. "You're nervous about meeting new people. I understand. However, I don't think you'll be sitting alone. We're a big youth group crowding in a bus. There might even be three per seat."
Saddened by the words, Lucy nodded, "yeah okay."
"It's okay," Erza put a hand on Lucy which she jumped slightly at, staring at her hand as if it was an alien. "After a moment, your nervousness will be gone. We're all very lively."
"That's not the point. I'm not nervous; I'm a loner."
"Hey, Erza! Come over here!"
"Oh! I'm coming, Jellal!" Erza turned to Lucy before walking away, "excuse me, Lucy."
Sighing in relief to be back in her comfort zone as Erza left, Lucy ate another strawberry before walking back to her parents who had just finished talking to Master Makarov.
"It sounds very fun, Lucy," Jude said. "A few rules, but nothing too serious. They won't have you on a very tight leash there."
"What are the rules?" Lucy asked, but her father never got the chance to answer.
"Alright everyone!" Master Makarov announced, "The bus is here! It's time to go!"
"But I don't wanna get on the bus! Can't I walk?!"
"Not a chance, Natsu! You have to get on!"
"But I don't wanna….."
"What a crybaby…" Lucy thought, but didn't say anything out loud.
As everyone piled on, Lucy was enveloped in a bear hug from her father. "I'm sure they'll tell you the rules. Have fun, Lucy. Don't forget to call us when you get there."
"I won't, Dad. I promise."
After one hug came another; Lucy squeezed her mother right back. "Hey, Sweetie? Talk to people okay? I don't want you to be alone."
"No promises." After letting go, Lucy spoke, "don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine."
"We love you. Be safe."
"I love you too, Mom and Dad."
As Lucy entered the bus and found an empty seat by the window, Lucy groaned when she realized that Erza was right: the bus barely crammed everyone with their luggage in and someone had sat down next to her, but Lucy didn't see who.
Rolling down the window, Lucy leaned out and waved to her Mom and Dad as the bus speeded away.
"Three weeks of torture, here I come."
Little did Lucy know, this summer camp would change her life…
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11/4/16 – 11/5/16 == The date I wrote this.
-zEllie
