A/N: New story. Can't get the concept out of my head. Plus NaLu. Yes, I'm trying NaLu. Hope you like it. Now, read. Thanks.
Memoirs of Desolation
Peace.
An eternal, never ending dream, shared by those thoughtful enough to remember times said to have been forgotten. A vision embraced by those bearing an imagination of a child who everyone would call naive. But isn't it because of this single thought which people call irrational that the phenomenon known as peace doesn't even have the slightest chance to prosper? Or is it because the roots of revenge are carved so deep into our souls that we unintentionally turn a blind eye to the concept?
Ah, the eternal dilemma no one seems to be able to solve. Truthfully, it seems even more perplexing than the so-called 'hot topic' that is the meaning of life. Or perhaps, those two are intertwined, like the strings of fate that bind us to the path we take, changing our destination with every passing moment, switching our roads from the sun-coated fields to the dreaded damp and dark forests.
However, no matter where fate deems you worthy to traverse, it is ultimately you who decides which path to take. The threads the supernatural uses to bind us is not something that cannot be cut or broken, but it takes an individual with an extremely powerful force of will to accomplish such a feat; something I, I'm afraid, was not capable of.
Hear me, dear readers, for these are my thoughts, my confessions, my dreams, and the events that shaped my life, all of which were clawed away at by vengeance, chaos, and guilt. Everything that I can remember up until now; everything will be put on paper for you to take in, digest, and hopefully use to learn. In writing this, I hope that, whoever picks this up, will reflect on my words, and be able to stay far away from the path that fate thought me worthy of.
"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man… huh?"
The tram shook violently and slowly squealed to a stop, the ear-wrenching sound resounding throughout the whole of the high-end district. The people within the packed vehicle rustled, and some went towards the exit, while others simply moved away from the paths of those rushing to get out.
"Belcross Academy. Next stop: Marseilles Cathedral."
As soon as the doors of the tram opened, teenagers sprung from its insides, and all took to their feet towards a shared destination. Some walked slowly, some took their time to meet with their friends and chitchat about the events that occurred during the long yet too short summer vacation. One girl in particular just stood by as the tram left for its next stop, and stared, wide-eyed and awestruck, at the humongous district in which she found herself.
Her mother had told her about Crocus and Belcross Academy when she was just a child, but seeing the sight for herself proved to be a different experience altogether. The academy grounds were situated on a large building of a sort, encompassing around a square kilometer of space, and was surrounded by gigantic skyscrapers that pierced the sky. For what the building on which she was standing on was used she did not know, however she was too mesmerized by the sight around her for the thought to even cross her mind. The sun shone from the clear blue skies above, its rays of light ricocheting off of the many glassy structures surrounding her, creating an area completely enshrouded by sunlight, emphasizing its radiating beauty all the more.
Shaking her head to get her mind out of the gutter, the blonde girl placed the old journal she had been reading back in her bag. She was careful not to injure the old memoirs of a person she knew not of, but she was definitely interested in its contents. She was a writer herself, after all, so any and every source of inspiration helped her out; especially when it's something from the Great Magi War and the Technological Era that preceded it.
The girl was of average height, and possessed a set of deep hazel eyes, slightly covered by her long and bright blonde hair. Her curvaceous figure was covered with the usual clothing the students of Belcross Academy adorned; for boys, it was a uniform consisting of black suit pants and a blue blazer, underneath which was a black vest and a white shirt, with a red tie on the neck. For girls, the uniform was much alike; the only thing that differed was that they had to wear a skirt ending at the mid-section of the thigh instead of pants.
'Come on Lucy, it's your first day in this Academy. Don't make a fool out of yourself now.' The girl thought to herself, trying to keep her eyes away from the many blimps of the Happy cat floating in the sky. Nodding to herself, she stepped forward and proceeded through the pathway that led to the academy's grounds. The trek along the brick road took seemingly longer than she anticipated, yet she didn't mind. She still had a while before her classes started, so she took the time to appreciate the forestry surrounding her. Truly, she felt that the mixture of a technological metropolis and a magical sanctuary of nature was something serene. Various holographic checkpoints portrayed as arrows led her to her destination, entangled by the rare thread of magic that this place leaked uncontrollably. The sight manifested itself like a picture from a child's fairy tale book, and that made her remember her mother and the many different stories she told her.
'No wonder mom loved it here.' Lucy thought with a smile as she blended into a crowd of students, figuring it would be easier to just follow them to the entrance of the school.
She realized that her decision was the right one when her eyes were set upon the large white structure that was the academy itself, situated in the very middle of the large pedestal-like building she was standing on, '…and no wonder this place looks so extravagant. It has a pedestal and everything!' She sweatdropped at the image of the building and its craftsmanship; it was beautiful in every sense of the word, yet the money that must have went into building just this structure in particular probably cost more than her entire konzen was worth.
Without waiting any longer, the blonde girl entered the academy, and she once again felt awestruck at the sight of the interior. It was more like a mansion than a school, if she were to be painfully honest. But she didn't find it surprising; Belcross was a name known not only in Fiore, but the whole of Earthland.
"Out of the way!" Lucy felt something bumping against her back rather harshly, and she found herself hitting the floor face first.
"Oww…" She muttered while rubbing her face and trying to get up. Her eyes groggily scanned the area, only to find a groaning petite blue haired girl, rubbing her behind while trying to stand up.
"I'm so sorry!" The girl cried out as she scurried to help Lucy to her feet, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, somehow…" Lucy replied with a smile, dusting herself off. Lifting her head up, she quirked an eyebrow when she saw the petite girl scrutinizing her curiously, "...what? Is something on my face?" She asked somewhat hesitantly, and the blunette's brown eyes met Lucy's.
"Are you new? I haven't seen you before." The girl questioned, to which the blonde chuckled nervously before mustering a reply.
"It's that obvious? Yeah, I just transferred today. I'm Lucy, nice to meet you." She introduced herself, and the blunette smiled brightly at her in response.
"Nice to meet you too! My name's-"
"Oi, Levy, stop pestering the new girl already or you'll be late!" Someone from the crowd of students walking through the halls spoke, and Lucy couldn't help but let her head slump down in defeat.
'It's that obvious?'
"I'm coming, Jet! Jeez." The girl, now known as Levy, shouted a response in slight annoyance, before redirecting her attention to Lucy, "As I was saying, my name is Levy McGarden. It's nice to meet you, Lucy."
"Likewise." The blonde replied with a smile and a nod of her head. She felt glad that she could meet someone on her first day here. At least being the 'new girl' wouldn't be as awkward as she thought it would. No, awkward wasn't the right word. Awkward it was, but it definitely wasn't as lonely. Then, as the girls waved goodbye to each other, something struck her; she was in a completely new school, and she had class in two or so minutes. She had no idea where to go! "Hey, Levy!"
"Yeah?" The bluenette questioned after hearing the new girl call, and turned around to notice her trying to catch up, "What's up?"
"Umm…" Lucy fiddled with her bag for a short while, before taking out a somewhat crumpled piece of paper and unfolding it, "It's kind of embarrassing to say this, but I literally have no idea where to go. Can you help me out?"
Levy stared at her with a clueless expression, before bursting out in a fit of laughter which made Lucy frown slightly, "Ah, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Don't worry, we all go through that same process eventually. Let's see… Oh! You're in 3A!"
"And that means what exactly?"
"Oh nothing… just that you're in the best class ever to be gathered in the history of Belcross Academy." McGarden replied with a cheeky chuckle, "Come on, we have Runes and Ciphers in 305!" She grabbed Lucy's hand and drug the girl through the hall towards the stairs, something that Lucy didn't necessarily appreciate seeing as how she and Levy differed quite a bit in bust sizes… and crawling through the academy's student body with a petite girl in the lead proved to be quite the arduous task.
Lucy panted heavily as the two of them finally reached the third floor and their appointed classroom, "Decided to drag the newbie along with you, eh?" A person whose voice the blonde vaguely recognized asked before two figures emerged from the crowd of teenagers scurrying to their classes.
"She's in our class. Lucy, meet Jet and Droy." Levy introduced as she pointed to an orange haired man with a hat, and secondly to a tall slim man with strange black hair.
"N-nice to meet you." She greeted, still finding it rather difficult to catch her breath. Moments later, the small group of four entered the class, and Lucy found herself sitting at the very back of the room, in the middle row. She watched as different people entered the same classroom and took their seats, all of them greeting each other and casting curious glances towards her. Soon, the bell rang, and, as if on cue, a man with long light green hair entered the class, his uncovered blue eye scanning the people present.
"Welcome back everyone. How was your summer?" The man questioned with a smile, and instantly chatter erupted within the large room as people discussed with one another the events that they couldn't describe during their short time before class. The man sighed, and waved his hand, "Quiet down. I know all of you had fun, but wait until after class is over." As he said this, nods of affirmation moved the heads of the people present, and the place remained silent.
"Okay, let's see who of you are present." He said as he voiced out a list of names in a roll call, "Oh, someone new? Lucy Heartfilia." Lucy's ears perked up, and she silently gasped in surprise before hurrying to stand at attention. The teacher gave her a quick look through, before smiling, "It's nice to meet you, Miss Heartfilia, my name is Freed Justine. I hope you're finding this academy to your liking. Tell me, why did you transfer here?"
The blonde girl remained silent for a few seconds, feeling herself become more nervous by each passing second she had to spend in the spotlight under all those curious gazes. Her eyes met hazel, and she sighed inwardly in relief when she noticed Levy's smile. At least she wasn't totally unknown.
"Thank you, Mr. Justine. My father's business took us to Crocus from Magnolia, and my mother attended this academy in the past. She told me a lot about this institution and how amazing it was, errr, is, and I wanted to see for myself."
'Layla's daughter, I presume.' Freed thought with a knowing smirk before nodding, "That's good. I'm sure you'll find your stay here even better than what your mother described." He assured, and continued with the roll call, which prompted the girl to sit back down in her seat. She glanced back to Levy, and giggled quietly when she saw her holding both her thumbs up.
"Natsu Dragneel?" Freed paused, and Lucy caught the tired sigh that escaped his throat when no one spoke up, "Not today either, huh…" He paused yet again, and continued with the roll call. The blonde haired girl glanced to her left side, and noticed that the seat next to the window was completely empty, yet untouched. It probably belonged to this Natsu person, if no one took it. The back window seat was the best seat in the class, after all.
After the bell signaling the end of class rang, Lucy slumped down in her seat and rested her forehead against the table, 'First day of school being difficult wasn't just a rumor. Well… it was more like an understatement.' She thought to herself with an inward huff. She was feeling exhausted, and she had at least five more classes left for today.
"Hey." A familiar voice woke her from her musings, and her head rose to meet the happy face of Levy, "Feeling beat already?"
Lucy hummed in response and nodded her head, "Yeah. Going to school is definitely different from homeschooling."
"You were homeschooled?" The bluenette answered with a question to which the other girl nodded in affirmation, "Sounds nice. But school still beats homeschooling."
Lucy blinked, "And why's that?"
"Well, first there's the teacher actually explaining everything thoroughly, answering any questions you have, and giving examples. And then…" She smiled from ear to ear, and motioned towards the entire class, "There's all these people to keep you company."
The blonde stared at the other girl, somewhat surprised, before cracking a smile in her direction, "Yeah, I guess you're right." She paused, "I don't know anybody besides you, Jet and Droy though."
"Ah, but that can be easily rectified." She stood up, and Lucy quickly caught on to what she was about to do. She tried to stop her, but there was just no stopping this small yet extremely fast girl, "Hey, everyone! Come say hi to the new girl!"
'New girl again…' Lucy thought with slight embarrassment, hiding her face in her arms by slumping down in her seat.
"Pestering her already Levy?"
"Yeah, give the girl a break."
"Getting used to a new school probably isn't as easy as it looks."
"Oh come on, that's why I'm making you guys meet her!"
Feeling her curiosity eating away at her, Lucy finally raised her head to glance at the people present, and was nicely surprised when she noticed that she was completely surrounded by most of the class. Talk about overkill.
"Hello there~ My name's Loki, and I think I've fallen in love." A man of a rather dark shade of orange hair hummed while talking as he crouched down near Lucy's lap, causing the blonde to recoil back with a slight blush on her features.
"L-L-L-L-L-Lucy… N-Nice to meet you…." The blonde stuttered out, trying her best to hide both her embarrassment and shock from the rest of the group.
A tired sigh reverberated through the classroom, before the crouching womanizer was slapped on the head and sent smashing against the floor rather violently, "Loki, what have I said about teasing girls?"
"T-that I must not do such a misdeed, Erza-sama." Loki answered with a stammer, making sure to quickly disappear from the woman's sight.
Heartfilia quickly regained her bearings, and her eyes locked on those of the red haired beauty standing in front of her. Instantly, she felt a pang of jealousy towards her; she was simply beautiful and radiant in every way possible. Her long, crimson hair, her deep brown eyes, and her curvaceous figure made a combination Lucy found to be perfection, 'The school's uniform does not do her any justice. I wonder how she'd look in a dress…' She was quickly brought out of her musings when the woman's voice rung through her mind.
"…I'm Erza Scarlet, head of Belcross Academy's Disciplinary Committee." She said, and Lucy gulped down. Disciplinary Committee fit this woman, in a way.
"N-Nice to meet you, Erza-san."
"You don't need to use the honorific, Lucy. You're a part of our class now, which means you're family." A man of azure hair suddenly stated as he appeared from behind the redhead. Lucy noticed the strange red tattoo the man had over his right eye, and she couldn't help but be awed by how it fit his features and contrasted the color of his hair.
"Even if you're the Council President, I don't think you can decide whether or not she needs to use it, Jellal." A man of wild raven hair interjected, his dark blue eyes staring at the whole event rather disinterestedly.
"Gray, clothes!" A woman of short white hair spoke this time, her blue eyes narrowed, locked on the brunette who had seemingly lost the upper part of his clothes out of nowhere.
"Hello, Lucy." Another beauty of long white hair with a small pony tail over her forehead spoke. She smiled as she leaned forward, her big blue eyes seemingly staring into the blonde's soul, "It's nice to have a new face here. My name's Mirajane. These are my siblings, Lisanna and Elfman." Mira spoke as she pointed to the white haired girl from before and a tall, bulky man of the same colored hair. Well, bulky wasn't the right word, since the man's muscles scared her to a degree… and him screaming 'nee-chan is a real MAN!' was rather unsettling as well.
"Oi, Cana, get your hung over ass up and meet the new girl." Gray shouted, and Lucy's stare was directed to a brown haired woman who was snoring lightly with her face resting on her desk. She woke up momentarily, glanced over to Lucy, winked, waved, and went back to sleep. For some reason, Lucy found the wink extremely suggestive, which made her cheeks adapt a light shade of pink, "Geh, that drunk never changes."
Lucy couldn't help but be surprised by how immersed everyone was into their own world. She was amazed at how easily every single one of them accepted her, and weren't just pretending to be someone nice, but were being themselves. It was like she was a part of their small community from the get-go, even though this was the first hour she spent with them. The blonde couldn't help the small smile that took over her features; she felt extremely glad to have come here already. She had assumed that it would take a long time for her to get used to being admitted into a new school, and forging bonds of friendship with people, yet these certain individuals accepted her like it was their second nature.
"Hey, Lucy?" She was once again awoken from her own thoughts, and her eyes glanced curiously at Levy, "We're going to town after class to catch up. Maybe you want to join us?"
"That's a great idea, Levy." Erza interjected, showing both girls a smile of her own, "That will give us a chance to get to know you better too."
Lucy pondered the thought, wondering if she should go or not. She didn't have anything to do after class ended, and she didn't know much about Crocus either. This would be like killing two birds with one stone; she could get to know people from her class, and would be acquainted with the city itself.
Her smile grew, and she stared back at Levy, "When you put it like that, I can't refuse."
Lucy sighed tiredly as she sat on the bench of a moving tram, her eyes drifting towards the window only to notice how dark it had gotten. She checked her phone – it was 9PM already. She shook her head and chuckled quietly; time really flies when you spend it with friends.
Yes, after the evening with her new class she could easily call everyone there a friend. She got to know everyone better, and allowed others to get to know her. Having been homeschooled for most of her life, she could definitely say the experience was different, yet not an unwelcome one. She found out that Levy was the head of the Literature Club, and was actively searching for new members; something Lucy didn't find unappealing considering her love of books and writing. She also found out that Erza and Jellal had a past, what kind of past, however, they didn't say. What she did know for sure though, was that the two were more than friends. Again, they didn't elaborate, but the way they got embarrassed when you addressed their friendship as 'something more' was a dead give-away and a good sort of amusement.
That was exactly how Lucy became better friends with Cana. The girl loved to collect dirt on people, and to quench her need for that sort of amusement by cracking suggestive jokes towards those unlucky enough. Lucy wasn't the type to make fun of people, but she couldn't deny that she found it amusing how both of them began to stutter when brought under the spotlight.
She had also found out that all of them were extremely capable mages. She tried not to pry too much to not seem overly curious, but in the end she still found out that, contrary to her appearance, Erza was a real monster on the battlefield. Gray, who seemed like the type to not be swayed by anything, literally shook in his seat when asked about Erza's battle-power.
"I… Erza is… was… is…"
Lucy remembered how he simply turned away and refused to disclose anything further. Going by Mira's explanation, Gray had quite a bad experience with her in the past. Something about him being crushed in front of the whole student body in a training regime designated to show the first years how to use magic in a combat situation. Apparently, Gray was playing the attacker, and Erza, from what Lucy could tell, couldn't really hold back.
Heartfilia chuckled at the memory, and thought back on how much all of them laughed at the poor guy. Of course, Erza had apologized, but she implicitly stated that it was Gray's own fault for not training enough. Subtle apparently wasn't in her vocabulary.
"Dear passengers; there has been an unscheduled change in tram routes. The next stop, Vextra Harbor, will be the last one due to repairs in tramways. We are sorry for any inconveniences this might have caused."
Lucy's eyes glanced at her phone once again, and she gulped down worriedly. Okay, this was not going to ruin her day. As soon as the tram stopped, she stepped out of the vehicle, and looked around; the place was completely foreign to her, which was not surprising considering it was her first week in the city. She noticed a man of blue hair with a tattoo above his right brow sitting on a bench in the stop, and felt rather unsettled after seeing his eyes locked on her and a smirk on his features.
Almost without thinking, Lucy averted her gaze from the man, and decided to bolt from the area when an ominous feeling overtook her. She did not like the man's stare, nor his strange smile, especially since she found herself in a place she knew less than nothing about. She took many a quick step to exit the tram station, and proceeded to walk through a dark alleyway, completely shadowed by rusted buildings of the old age. They were tall, bulky structures, without many a window to let any light pass through them. What window she did spot, however, was encased in pitch-black darkness.
After feeling a dangerous gaze on her, Lucy's head turned over her shoulder, and she saw, wide-eyed, as the man of blue hair was now following her through the alleyways, his phone close to his ear as he spoke with a disturbing grin on his face. She gasped, and felt a cold sweat cover her body, before she quickly shifted gears into a stride and made her way down the never ending pathways between the tall dark buildings.
Lucy felt her breathing becoming heavier by the second, and her eyes widened even further when she found herself at a dead end, stuck between the man closing in from behind her, and two other shady men who were snickering darkly as they stared back at her.
"You found quite a catch, Bora-san." One of the two thugs spoke through his cackling, "Looks like she's from Belcross Academy too."
"Holy shit, just look at her tits. Are all the girls there like that?"
"Now, now; don't startle her or this will become even more difficult." A voice rung out from behind the blonde girl, prompting her to turn around and gasp when she found the same man of blue hair standing directly behind her, around a meter from her, 'When did he…?'
"Shhh… stay quiet and come with us. We won't hurt you." The man who Lucy assumed to be Bora spoke as he leaned closer towards her. Suddenly, Heartfilia could feel a warm feeling overtaking her, and she felt her vision getting blurry. She was losing consciousness without any apparent reason, and she figured out why when the blue haired man moved his hand to touch her cheek and she saw the ring on his index finger.
Lucy found the energy to move, and slapped the man's hand away, "Get away from me!" She shrieked loudly and pushed through Bora, breaking into a run towards the exit of the dead-end.
"Tch, she saw through the charm, huh? Get her and you can have all the fun you want!" Bora ordered his henchmen, and the men grinned like hungry dogs as they stared at her running form.
"Don't mind if we do!" In mere moments, one of the men managed to catch Lucy's hand, and was pulling her back into the alley, "Come quietly, you-"
Suddenly, Lucy felt her body jerking backwards as no one pulled on her anymore, and she fell on the ground, her head hitting the cold and hard ground. Her head was spinning from all the adrenaline and the blood rushing into her brain. The slight head trauma she just experienced didn't work in her favor either as she could barely see anything, yet she still tried to examine what had happened.
Her eyes turned back to where Bora was, and she was met with the sight of a back turned towards her, and a lean, muscular figure, standing tall in the darkness. She couldn't discern who the person was, but she realized that this man had most likely jumped from up high as his boot was pinning one of the thugs' head to the ground which had cracked under the pressure of his landing. She saw Bora's mouth move, yet she did not hear his words; she hit her head harder than she thought, and she could feel a sense of dread wash over her. She could, however, hear what the mysterious man was saying, and the words he spoke sent a shiver down her spine, yet also made her feel a sense of trust towards him.
"Quit staring at me, blondie." Slowly, the man's head turned over his shoulder, and the only aspect of him she could discern due to her dizzy state and the hood that covered his head were his sharp onyx eyes that pierced her with a ferocious gaze, "Get out of here, now."
Lucy's whole body shook in fear, yet she could hear and comprehend his words as if they were imprinted in her mind. She scurried to stand up, and ran as fast as she could, her head never turning back. She just ran, and escape was the single thing that occupied her thoughts until she heard the sound of police sirens.
Heartfilia sighed tiredly as she sat in her seat, her mind mulling over the events that had happened the previous day as she touched the bandage that was wrapped around her head near her temple, "You sure it was nothing, Lucy?" Her eyes moved to meet the concerned gaze of Levy, and Lucy could tell that the girl was feeling guilty for leaving her alone in a city she knew nothing about.
The blonde girl feigned a smile, and shook her head dismissively with a slight hum, "No, really, I just fell. I'm clumsy like that."
"Clumsy is an understatement. You really had us worried, you know?" The bluenette asked and sighed in relief, "I'm glad you're okay though. All of us are, really." She admitted, and Lucy nodded in gratitude before McGarden left for her seat as the bell signaling the start of class rang.
Her excuse, however, was just that – an excuse. She consciously lied to her new friend as to not worry her. Well, she did not exactly lie; she did fall and injure herself. She did hide the whole story though. After she ran out of the alleyway, she managed to get a hold of some police officers who had called an ambulance for her. The paramedics arrived in mere minutes, and, while they were treating her, a police officer came to question her if she could describe what had happened. She told them that she couldn't remember exactly what had occurred due to her head injury, and she later found out that Bora and his henchmen were found pinned with heated chains to one of the walls in the alley with serious burn injuries covering the whole of their bodies.
The girl kept wondering what had happened, and her mind kept mulling over it left and right, trying to figure out who that mysterious man was. All she could discern were his eyes; cold, stern, yet concerned, and his voice, which denoted everything she needed to do without room for argument.
She leaned back in her seat, and sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time this morning. There really was no point in trying to figure out what the heck happened the other night; this was the capital of the country, and she was unlucky enough to find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Lucy Heartfilia."
"Here." Lucy answered Freed's roll call and raised her hand tiredly, before finding herself lost in her own thoughts again. Even though she tried to convince herself that what happened was simple bad luck, she still felt it was a traumatic experience. She had never before in her life been exposed to that kind of situation due to her father's overprotectiveness, and something like this hit her all at once. The police officer had told her that the men that were after her were notorious slave traders, and the blonde girl dreaded to think what would have happened if the man who had saved her hadn't appeared.
Suddenly, the door to the class was opened violently, waking even Lucy from her thoughts as she focused on the man who had arrived. Strangely enough, she did not recognize him, and she reckoned that he wasn't present the day before. He was of average height and had a slim, yet muscular and lean build. His hair was colored a bright pink, and was spiked up in every direction with a few bangs covering his forehead, yet leaving his sharp pitch-black eyes untouched. He wore his own version of the academy's uniform; his blazer was unbuttoned, and he completely discarded the black vest and red tie, with only the white shirt covering his body, yet leaving the upper part unbuttoned and the lower part untucked. He also wore a pair of somewhat skinny black jeans, and clean white sneakers. A distinct addition to his apparel was the scaly white scarf, loosely wrapped around his neck.
The pink haired individual threw his backpack over his right shoulder, and proceeded to move to his seat. Momentarily, his and Lucy's eyes locked, and the girl couldn't help but feel like she had seen him somewhere before he sat down to her left, near the window seat.
"Natsu Dragneel."
The newly arrived individual raised his hand lazily, and Freed glared at him, "Why weren't you present yesterday?"
He rolled his eyes and groaned quietly, "Figured it was still Sunday so I slept in."
Lucy zoned every single thing but the pink haired man out of her mind as she heard his voice, and her eyes widened as they kept watching him. Her brain started overanalyzing things, and she was slowly starting to piece the parts together. The man noticed her, and their eyes met once again.
"Quit staring at me, blondie."
Her eyes widened even more when she remembered the events from the night before.
"Quit staring at me, blondie. Get out of here, now."
Her hazel eyes remained locked on his, and he stared back at her with an annoyed expression. She remembered the onyx orbs that addressed at her through the cover of a darkened hood, and now she could recall one other thing that she completely disregarded due to her injury and the complexity of the situation.
A strand of pink hair.
'It's him.'