A/N: I do not own Fairytail or any of its characters. They are owned by Hiro Mashima.
The New Bodyguard
Lucy sighed for like the hundredth time that afternoon. Apparently, her classmates had decided to postpone their group project meeting at the last minute-no, scratch that-at the last second. She had told them that they should finish the said activity as soon as possible, so that they could submit the said project early. But it seemed like the others did not care for the said group work. In fact, they really did not care about school at all. It did not matter to them if they failed examinations or exercises or quizzes. No-in their little heads, they believe that money could quickly alter a failing grade to a passing one. That was how lax and carefree they were.
The blonde scoffed in her head as she walked away from their supposed meeting place, her seemingly golden hair illuminated by the last rays of the fading afternoon sun. She was raised to value money and the hard work that was the source of it. She was lucky to have been born in the Heartfilia family, yes, but her mother Layla and her father Jude had brought her up in the humblest way possible. She was taught that not everything was free, that she had to work hard for something if she wanted it. In other words, she was different from the other rich kids at school. She was training herself to be independent. To be resourceful. To be helpful. Yes, yes that was her goal.
"Hey miss!" Sounded a voice behind her, startling the blonde. She had not realized that she had wandered off her original track and had ended up in a semi-dark alleyway, far from the direction she had headed off to in the first place. Eyes widening in fear, Lucy hurriedly walked away from the voice-only to be pulled back to the voice's source.
"Who said you can leave, eh? Come on and entertain me for a little while, missy." The alcohol-smelling man smirked as he pressed Lucy closer to his body. The blonde recoiled at the contact, her face twisting into a look of pure disgust as she tried to escape the man's grip.
"Let me go!" She spat out, trying to force the man to release her. But all she heard was a chuckle.
"You probably are one o' those rich chics, eh? Well, well! Too bad nobody ain't gonna save you here!" He said as he forcefully turned Lucy around, his face looming right in front of her.
"Now...if you just behave and give me what I want…" Lucy's eyes reflected her fear as she watched the man come closer to her. She wanted to scream, but she could not. She felt her body go rigid in shock, her brain no longer working due to her fear. But just when she thought the man would start claiming her lips, she heard him groan and saw him fall down on the ground. The blonde's heart beat wildly in her chest as she stumbled back, her hands reaching out and touching the nearby building wall. As she steadied herself, she heard a voice speak.
"Oi, what the heck are you doing in a place like this?" Asked the male voice. Lucy tilted her head up a little, and found a young man-maybe just a year older than her, if not the same age as her-staring at her with a serious look on his face. He had spiky, pink hair and onyx eyes. He was covered in an overlarge cloak, with a hood draped behind him. His black orbs were scanning her figure, as if checking if she had received any injury. That intense gaze made Lucy shiver-but not in a bad way. She felt herself heat up a little upon realizing that she somewhat liked him doing that. Shaking herself mentally, Lucy stood up straight, her arms crossing right in front of her.
"T-thank you." She stammered, her brown orbs resting upon the young man's face. She noticed that he was kind of handsome-in a boyish kind of way. Once more, Lucy kicked herself mentally. No! Stop checking him out! She scolded herself.
"You better go home. Night time's not a safe time for young ladies like you." She heard the young man say before seeing him turn in his place and leave. In a few quick strides, the man had disappeared from her view, his cloak flapping behind him as he moved away. Lucy grasped her arms, her brown orbs still on the spot where the young man had disappeared from her sight. She then gave out a sigh, before walking out of the alley.
"Thank you...whoever you are." She repeated under her breath. Deep within her heart, she wondered if she would be able to come across that young man again. Probably never, she sighed as she walked home.
Probably never.
It was a Saturday morning. Lucy Heartfilia found herself in one of the drawing rooms of their house, awaiting the arrival of her new bodyguard. She had told her father that she did not need another guard (despite the fact that she almost got into trouble the day before). The first one had been a playboy. He was only interested in women older than him. Whenever she went out, she would always find out that her supposed bodyguard had disappeared from her side, chasing off other women within the area. The second one they hired was a complete pervert. He would walk in on her while she was dressing or undressing. He would graze his hand across her skin intentionally, probably trying to feel her up. The worst he ever did was when he tried to kiss her. They were in a car trip, and she had to hit him hard on the head, in order to stop him. Thanks to that, they almost got into an accident, had she not steered away into a nearby vacant lot. No, her experiences with bodyguards were enough to make her wary of the new one that her father had suggested to her. But this time, her father had assured her that at the very first sign of her being uncomfortable with her new 'sentry', he would kick him out and stop giving Lucy a watcher. Though that would mean that she would have to learn how to defend herself. Lucy agreed. It was better that than being molested by an unknown person.
And so that is why she ended up waiting in that particular room. She was supposed to meet the applicant, and check him out, so to speak. Lucy sighed. If this one turned out to be another sicko, she would definitely kick him herself. Preferably somewhere it would hurt the mo-
"Good morning. May I come in?" Asked a familiar voice through the door, after a knock issued from it. The blonde's heart leaped down to her stomach when she recognized the voice. No, it couldn't be possible..?!
"I shall take it as a yes, then." Said the young man, before he entered. As he closed the door behind him, his eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the lady before him. No way..! He stared at the young lady before him, while the blonde stared wide-eyed at him as well.
"It's...you…"
Apparently, that 'probably never' turned out to be sooner than you think.
