Chapter 1
Midknightwalker: This is a collaboration fic between gamergirl468, AngelxReaper and Midknightwalker. Enjoy!
AngelxReaper: "YAAAY! We have a collarbusation... or was collatbatation... or was it collartation...! F*CK! Forget it! I'm still no good at english! Just on with the story! Fairy Tail belongs to Fairy Tail! *mumbling* Clollartion... no collarmanation...no wrong... collaranation...? *MOTHERF*CKER!"
The first chapter is written by Midknightwalker, the second is written by AngelxReaper and the third chapter is written by gamergirl468. And so on, etc. etc. etc. Enjoy! Any flames will be watered down with the rain of my tears. So NO FLAMES.
"How are you feeling, Lucy?" Mirajane asked the blonde, who was slouching in her seat. "You seem a little upset. What happened?"
"Nothing, Mira," the Celestial mage responded, sinking down into her seat. When Mirajane didn't give up and instead pestered Lucy even more, the mage relented. She grasped her mug tighter. "It's just that I feel like somebody's watching me…" Lucy sighed and glanced over her shoulder, looking at the guild's entrance. She shivered, "It's creepy."
Natsu huddled up with Happy, who had somehow already gotten a dictionary. He saluted and questioned, "Happy, what's it called again?" He tried to guess, "Overly self-what?"
Happy's eyes widened and he chomped on a fish, he yelled, "Aye! Over self-consciousness!" Natsu laughed loudly, the rest of the guild joining in. Lucy flushed in embarrassment and anger.
Lucy snapped, "It's not that, you idiots!"
Mirajane seemed to be the only one worried, "Do you know who it is? Maybe Natsu should accompany you everywhere, if you feel that uncomfortable. I'm sure he won't mind." Natsu nodded, agreeing but Mirajane still looked concerned, "How long have you felt like this?"
"Uh," Lucy hesitated. "I think… two weeks ago." She bit her lip, "But nothing different happened, so I don't know why I'm feeling it. The worst thing is, it's everywhere; when I'm on a job, in the guild, even when I'm at home alone and especially when I'm sleeping. Like from outside my window."
The barmaid lifted a hand to her mouth and she exclaimed, "Lucy! That could be anyone. That's really dangerous, especially if the person is a guy. I insist you take Gray or Natsu."
"Don't bother with Snowflake," Natsu called out, and shouted, "I'll come with you instead."
"I can do it!" Gray snorted noisily, "I'm so much better than Flame-brain. I'll do it."
"I said it first!" Natsu argued. "Lucy prefers me better!"
"She does not," Gray shot back. "I don't destroy towns and lose her money."
Lucy coughed repeatedly, "Sure, sure. Thanks anyway."
Happy giggled, "Lucy is so full of herself, she thinks everybody want to look at her." Lucy gave the Exceed a poison-filled glare. She would've kicked the blue cat if not for Natsu being right there in front of her. She knew how protective he got over the annoying Exceed.
She stood up from her spot at the bar counter abruptly. Slipping on a jacket, she retrieved her bag and told Mirajane, "I'm sure it's nothing, probably just my imagination."
"Are you sure?" Gray asked, as now he was anxious too, "I can keep a look out, just in case." Juvia tightened her grip on the request board, the board breaking into sharp splinters.
"You don't have to do that," Lucy replied. "It's nothing, just my mind playing tricks on me, I'm sure." She felt like she was convincing herself more than convincing the others. She mumbled inaudibly, "I hope." Gray nodded, but his eyes were worried.
Mirajane shouted, "Be careful, Lucy!" Lucy nodded, walking to the exit.
Stepping outside of the guild, she wrapped her arms around herself. She started to shudder and realised it had nothing to do with the cold. She breathed deeply and saw the smoky mist come from her mouth. Something shifted. Feeling the hairs at the back of her neck rise, Lucy spun to face the side of the guild, only to find there wasn't anybody there. She froze in fear.
I swear I just saw a shadow…
Lucy turned and started walking stiffly home, her hand on her keys protectively. Goosebumps pricked on her skin as she walked quickly through the night, not bothering to balance on the ledge like she normally did.
The boatmen on the river noticed and gave her odd looks as they shouted worriedly, "Are you okay, Lucy-chan?" The boat stopped in the middle of the river and they stared at her expectantly.
She jolted before turning and giving them (what she hoped) was a reassuring smile, "I'm fine! Thank you for worrying though!" They weren't totally persuaded, but they rowed off. As soon as they'd left, she began walking faster down the street.
The thing that possibly scared her the most was that the street was dimly lit. The only light there was was the light she could see through her neighbours' windows. She could hear heavy footsteps too, steps that weren't her own.
She struggled not to turn and immediately attack the source of the sound, but she knew anybody could be behind her, not necessarily the attacker. Turning around would be suspicious too, and the person would know that she understood they were after her.
Lucy spotted the brown door of her apartment and sprinted the last strides to the door. She opened it hurriedly, fumbling for her keys. In her rush, she dropped them twice on the floor. Huffing, she bent and picked them up, albeit more slowly. She took a deep breath, told herself to calm down and slid the key into the lock, entering her apartment.
Lucy slammed the door behind her and relaxed against it. Sinking to her feet, she took deep breaths, and tried to calm herself down. She stood up again to lock the door, her movements more calm than her previous. Twisting the key, she struggled to take it out.
Suddenly, a rough hand clasped around her mouth.
Lucy screamed into the palm and then gasped for breath desperately. She felt someone's mouth whisper gently in her ear, "Before you scream again, just listen to me."
The attacker was male. His voice was definitely one of a man's and besides, she could feel his figure was tall and lanky. Lucy couldn't feel a chest anyway. She shook her head to rid of her stray thoughts.
He had her hands in his grasp too. She wriggled aggressively, trying to escape but to no avail. He wasn't going to let her go that easily, nobody ever did. She attempted to lift her leg to kick him, but he deftly moved out of the way. He mumbled quietly into her ear again, "Come on." She could feel a smile forming on his—sadly unidentified—face.
He was smiling. Smiling. Lucy tried to shove his hands of her by attempting to head-butt him, but he moved again. She screamed in frustration into his hand. She could feel him tense against her. He muttered, "Please. I won't hurt you," he promised again.
Well, he did say please.
Her screams reduced and she was quiet against his hand. His smile grew but then shrunk when he realised she'd started to shake violently, trembling with fear. Lucy shut her eyes tightly and began hyperventilating. She was trying to take short, quick breaths as they were quieter, still obediently following his instructions. He murmured comforting words to her, trying to stop the poor blonde from freezing up, "Don't. I won't hurt you or do anything. I promise." She took large shaky breaths instead, but she didn't move an inch.
With a loud—almost regrettable—sigh, the man spun her around so she could face him, but his hand was still over her mouth even through the difficult manoeuvre. She opened her eyes slowly and at the sight of a face she recognised, she shouted into his hand in shock.
The attacker winced, "Can't you be a little quieter?" Lucy's yells slowly lessened. Trusting she'd be quiet, he removed his hand. His hand curled into a fist.
As soon as he'd released her gag on her mouth, she tried to attack him again, only to realise he still hadn't let go of her hands.
His messy purple and white hair was over his face, his yellow eyes glinting dangerously in the dark. He was no longer amused, like he was seconds ago. He raised an eyebrow at her will to escape, something he'd not seen before. Lucy tossed aside her original fear as soon as she recognised him. Stepping closer, she raised her head to yell at him in anger.
The man was still a lot taller than her. He looked down at her, unimpressed, and lips in a tight line. As soon as Lucy looked up, eyes fierce, he smiled at her. It seemed to be a genuine smile too, not forced.
A breath away from him, she demanded, "What are you doing here, Hughes!?"