I own nothing but the vast expanse of emptiness I call my mind. In other words, I'm crazy and I don't own fairy Tail. Boo.
Chapter Two
Fried waves goodbye to Lucy over his shoulder, leaving after some small talk which only purpose was to wait out the rain and try to pretend the earlier events didn't happen. Or maybe to forget them, to live "normally" again. Well, that is a nice thought, at least. This newfound knowledge will probably haunt him until he – they find a cure, or get more of Lucy's medicine.
Deciding to head home instead of going back to the guild, he leaves Lucy's house without looking back, deep in thought. He couldn't just leave Lucy, after all, there must be something he can do to help, something that doesn't include being passive and simply keeping her secret. Lucy forbade him to go to the old mansion, as well, to see if her father had kept any of her pills. He wouldn't go against her wishes, even though he wishes so badly to do so.
Once Fried has left Lucy's sight, she goes back inside to see Loke sitting at the table, in the seat Fried had just evacuated. She groans to herself, sighs outloud and asks, "So what now?"
Loke raises an eyebrow. "How did we not know?"
Lucy sighs again and sits down across from him. "Because I haven't had an attack in years. Certainly not since I joined Fairy Tail. You're not the only one who's been kept in the dark. Aquarius, Taurus, Cancer, and Capricorn knew. I asked them to keep it a secret."
"Why?" Lucy looks up from her hands at the pain in his voice. "We all love you, Lucy. We would've tried to find a cure, and we will now. Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because," Lucy says simply, "Because. You guys would have stopped at nothing to help me. There is no cure. I've accepted that a long time ago. As much as I love you guys, I didn't want you to worry and exhaust yourselves because of me. Don't worry, okay? Please just accept my choice."
"I won't. I won't accept it. But I can't do anything if you forbid me to, you know. Please, Lucy. At least let us try."
"Try for what? There is no cure! I told you that already! The only thing I can do is take my medicine!"
"Then let us go get some more! Let Fried go to your old house and find the rest of it! We, the spirits and Fairy Tail, won't just stand by and watch you suffer!"
"Well, you don't have to! Fairy Tail doesn't know, and I can leave before any of them find out! I can find new owners to take care of you! I can get through this all by myself!"
"No you can't! You need us as much as we need you! You love us as much as we love you! You can't leave!"
"And why not?!"
"Because. Running away is just giving up! It's running away!"
"So why can't I run away? Why can't I give up? I don't want to watch the people I love in pain because I am! It would be better for everyone if I left."
"No it wouldn't." Loke's voice is now quiet, a sudden silence from the shouting match. "I don't know why you would think that. We would worry more about you if we couldn't see you. If we didn't know how you were doing. At least if you stay, we could watch over you and protect you,comfort you every time. You wouldn't be alone to suffer. We're your family, right? We don't want you to run away. Please, Lucy. Please stay. Please don't run away."
Lucy sags, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm not running away," she says, but it sounds weak even to her own ears. Loke softens at the sight and picks up Lucy to put her on her bed. He stays there, hugging her until she stops crying and falls asleep, emotionally and physically exhausted.
"Please, Lucy," he says one last time, once he's sure that she's asleep, and fades back into the spirit realm.
Lucy waked up pleasantly the next morning, until she remembers the events of the past day and groans. She looks around, vaguely remembering Loke carrying her to her room and staying with her. Making a decision, she says softly, "I'm sorry, Loke. Please forgive me, Fried."
Getting up slowly, she dresses, eats, and heads out to the guild hall. Natsu and the others should be back soon, today or tomorrow. She would be there to welcome them back home. And then... and then what? Would she really leave? Would she tell them? If she left, would Fried tell them? Loke had a good point; they would be more worried about her than if she stays.
"Mira-san," she calls out, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. "Good morning!"
"Good morning, Lucy," Mira responds with a pleasant smile. "Are you going to go on a job soon?"
"Ugh, I have to. My rent is due soon," Lucy complains, taking a seat at the bar counter.
Mira's smile stays. "Natsu and Lisanna will be back soon. So will Erza and Gray. You guys can go on a mission once they're rested and healed. They're probably going to need the money after destroying everything again."
"Probably," Lucy chuckles. "Hey, Mira-san?"
"Yes?"
"Is... is Master Makarov in?"
"Yeah, he's in his office."
"Alright, thanks." Slowly, Lucy gets up and starts walking up the stairs. Coming to a stop outside of a door, she knocks. "Master?"
"Come in."
Lucy complies and sits down across from him. "Master, I have something to confess... I have schizophrenia." Lucy waits for Master Makarov to say something, but goes on when he remains silent. "May I have a leave of absence?"
"A leave of absence?" Honestly, Lucy expected him to say more, but she's thankful that he doesn't.
"Yes please. A yesterday, I had a schizophrenic attack. I used to have medicine, which is why I've gone so long without having an attack, but it's gone now. I've used it all up. Fried was there when it happened and he brought me back to my apartment, and I told him that there was more at my old mansion, but I forbade him from going to get it. At first, I was going to leave the guild before anyone else found out about it, but Loke convinced me not to so now I want to go get the medicine myself," Lucy explains.
"Why do you want a leave of absence, as you put it, then?"
"Because,"-Lucy diverts her gaze- "I want you to tell everyone that I've left the guild."
A/N: Mwa-ha-ha-cough-choke-dies. I'm evil aren't I? But don't worry, there is no method to my madness. Okay, worry.
Thanks for all the reviews, everyone!
Rockin' angels: Yep, I agree. I don't think there will be too much, if at all, on Lucy's end, but here really is no method to my madness.
