Hello again! I know its been a long time since I've posted any stories on here, and so I'm sorry for that. This story was actually a project for my English class: we had to write our own short story based off of one we read called "The Necklace." We had to incorporate the same sort of message that "The Necklace" has in ours, and so naturally I wrote a fanfiction. I feel kind of bad for my teacher though; I don't think she knew that this was a fanfiction! xD

Anyway, the usual disclaimer applies for this story: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail. I hope you enjoy!

He was a man who couldn't see life for what it was. Jude, a man of extreme wealth, had so much already. Money, luxury, a family- things he had so desperately wished to have. His father had always given the impression that he didn't love his son. He hadn't ever paid much attention to what his son was doing or how he was growing, and as an adult hadn't given Jude an inheritance. He was always on a hunt for more: more money, more wealth, more power. As a child, Jude wanted nothing to do with his father. He strived to be exactly the opposite of him, and for good reason.

What he failed to realize, though, was that in his foolhardy quest to be rid of his father and his mentality, Jude had become exactly the same. Layla- his wife- and Lucy- their daughter- both had become very close as a result of it. People often whispered that they looked very much alike, but they didn't care to elaborate on the fact that Lucy was never really seen alone with her father. She was unlucky enough to have been born after Jude started to act differently, and his hunger for power often made him lash out or ignore what was right in front of him. This made her young mind afraid of him.

Layla often dwelled on the fact that maybe she should have tried harder to make Jude see what he was doing. When she first married him, she hadn't been happy at all- for theirs was arranged. Neither had any sort of say in the matter. This went against anything Layla had ever believed, for she was of the opinion that love was something that the two people involved didn't even need to think about, that they had to really know and understand each other. Betrothals were, in her eyes, a surefire way for that love to grow into a sort of agreement- an agreement to love each other. Love wasn't supposed to be a contract, it was supposed to be an instinct!

Jude wanted to make the most of this new situation, but he had no idea on how to approach the matter. He wanted to make her see that he was not happy with the circumstances either, but that he didn't put the fault on her shoulders. For a good bit of time, neither really spoke to the other during the day, agreeing to do whatever they pleased in the large mansion they shared. Though the mansion was large, it did not mean that they could stay clear of the other all of the time. Jude started to notice peculiar and, almost attractive things about Layla, and Layla the same. These feelings eventually grew to love- before they knew it they had a daughter- and they all lived in great content.

But as all good things are, their love did not stay that way. It was a subtle change at first- Layla began to notice that Jude's earlier infatuation with her showed less often. It seemed to her as if he no longer wanted anything to do with her. More often than not, Layla found herself alone in raising their daughter, a task that they were supposed to collaborate on. Quite simply, he lost interest in her, and she even made this apparent to him. He would respond to him by bringing her the finest of jewels in the hopes that she would forgive him, but to his utter surprise and disappointment, this tactic never worked.

So here they were again, isolating themselves from the other. Lucy, when she grew around the age to understand what was happening, oftentimes wondered if it was she that was the root of her parent's division.

"No, no no no sweetie!" Layla told her in a tone of false cheer. "Your father, he just seems to care more about his job than what really matters."

Her voice had turned bitter with a hint of sadness at the end, and Lucy recognized it as a desperate attempt at reassurance, but also the fact that her mother couldn't help being sad about it. She had every right to be angry and unhappy, and she could never speak of her feelings to anyone. So Lucy ended up leaving the topic alone.

The biggest turn of events came when Layla fell ill and died a year after diagnosis. Jude saw the death of his beloved as the final straw. He didn't have anything else to live for, except...

"Daddy?"

Lucy.

He constantly ignored her after that, and Lucy never took it very well. One night, while Jude was on another one of his runs to business, she had finally had enough. She was done constantly begging for his attention; she had packed her things and was to catch a train to a neighboring city that night.

Upon her arrival, she had made a nice life for herself. She rented a fairly stable apartment and kept a steady job. Her job, though, was where she was introduced to Natsu. They quickly discovered that they had a lot in common- his dad had left him from an early age- and so they went on the path to friendship. Natsu was something else, she soon discovered: he seemed obsessive over fire itself. Her first assumption was that he was definitely a pyromaniac, but when she asked he revealed that he just held a deep appreciation for it.

So they worked together and had a wonderful friendship that was quickly turning into other feelings. Outsiders could easily tell by the way they looked at each other that the two loved one another. What no one could figure out was how they themselves never seemed to notice it. On the inside, though, Natsu and even Lucy never confessed for fear of rejection. They still were happy, but not completely satisfied.

Out of the blue, they decided to meet up in a nearby park, both secretly plotting to confess. They both simultaneously said it, and were completely shocked and relieved. They had nothing to fear after all! Lucy was content to bask in her excitement, but Natsu had other plans. He grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her deeply. Both left the park feeling an even deeper appreciation for the other.

The subject of what her father did to her was always in the back of her mind, like a buzzing fly she couldn't seem to get rid of. It bothered her to say it, but she was afraid that one day Natsu would do the same thing to her. Lucy knew it was an irrational fear; she had known ever since the day in the park that Natsu loved her more than he even he could understand, but it still troubled her. The thought stayed in her mind until she summoned the courage to ask him herself.

"What? Why would I do that?"

Lucy explained her fear to him, revealed why she had separated herself from her lovely, albeit lonely, manor.

"Oh," Natsu recalled how, when they had first met, Lucy had often looked wistful, thinking heavily upon things that a girl her age should not have to. In fact, the reason he had first approached her was because he didn't like the sight of her eyes. Her chocolate brown eyes, clouded with an unimaginable amount of pain. Lucy, of course, had not been filled in on this detail. Natsu felt it better for her to not know that fraction of information. He simply wished to make her smile again, to make her soft features light up with laughter, the beautiful sound emanating all around him.

"I want you to listen to me, Lucy. I'm not good at this whole lovey-dovey crap, but I'll make an exception. I want you to know that I won't ever hurt you, okay? If I do I'm gonna hold 'ya to the promise that you'll tell me. Besides, have I ever done that before?"

"No," She replied. "But-"

"Then don't worry about it. I know you're a little worried still- you're a weirdo after all-"

This earned a small protest from Lucy .

"But no matter what, I'll always protect you, you got that?"

She recognized the earnesty in his voice, and how, yes, he was a boy at heart, but that didn't mean that he wasn't being completely honest.

She trusted him, after all.