~.~
Chapter 2
"Wow, there's so many people here." I couldn't hide my amazement. "We'll be here forever."
We arrived at the Fairy Tail building, which was surrounded by people. Fairy Tail Records was the biggest music publishing company this side of Fiore. They produced only the best musicians, every one of their stars becoming award-winning celebrities. In the city of Magnolia, anyone could see their building climbing the skies from anywhere - the only other building that was as tall as the Fairy Tail building was the cathedral.
The street in front was blocked off to accommodate the amount of people that were around, and there were vendors in the street. It was almost like it was a faire instead of a contest. Along the front side of the building was a giant banner of the logo. Underneath were the words: Become the next face of Fairy Tail!
I had to hold on to my doctor's arm, the energy of everyone and the festivities pressing onto my body. My nerves shot through the roof, and I suddenly felt like I wouldn't be able to do it. If there were this many people here, surely there were people there who were better than me, right? There was no way someone like me could win a singing contest against this many people.
My whole life, I had been singing in secret, and that was only when I wasn't sick in bed. Compared to most of these other people who had probably been singing every day of their lives, my experience probably equalled only a week. We walked past people as they sang chords, listening to music on their sound pods.
I felt a large hand on my head and I looked up at the only man who believed in me. He smiled down at me.
"We don't have forever, do we?" he asked in mock fright. I nudged him with my elbow, and went back to looking at the tents that housed various vendors. I felt him lean down so he could speak close to my ear. "Good thing I know someone that could get you in and out so we can be back home in two hours."
I gasped and looked up at him. Don't tell me that he's using his connections to help me win? No, he wouldn't do something like that. He's just using his connection to get me in then out. I don't know how I would live with myself if I had won because he knew someone.
I looked out at the people who had worked so hard to be there. One of those people deserved to win, and whether it was me or not, I wanted that decision to be made fairly.
There was a loud ringing noise that echoed over the crowd, and everyone quieted down and looked toward the front of the building. A tall, white haired woman stood in front of the doors, a megaphone in her hands.
"We will be starting in ten minutes," she said. "In that time, we would like everyone to line up in an orderly fashion at the tables here in the front, and grab a number. We will call everyone up by their number."
With that, she turned and disappeared through the spinning doors. Without waiting another second, everyone competing made their way to the front of the building where there were tables set up along the sidewalk.
I moved to go with them, but my doctor held me back. I looked up at him to question why we weren't joining the others, but he jerked his head to the side. I followed him without a word as we started walking away from the commotion. We walked a few blocks down and turned down a street.
"Where are we going?"
"Well, we can't just waltz in the front of the building, now can we?" He chuckled softly. "My friend is meeting us around the corner to take us in the secret entrance."
"Secret?" I looked around and saw that we were headed to a small black sedan. The windows were completely tinted, in fact I couldn't even see into the front windshield. I barely registered how dangerous that was, but my mind moved away from that as the driver's door opened and a tall man with spiky orange hair stepped out of the car. He wore a dark black suit, and black sunglasses. He looked absolutely frightening, and I could feel my feet start to falter as we made our way closer to him.
He slowly raised his hand in the air as he saw my doctor, but his face froze when he looked at me. He pushed his glasses down his nose and gazed at me over them.
"Loke," my doctor greeted, and my hold on him tightened. Loke, the orange haired man, smiled widely when he saw me.
"My dear Caprico, who is this angelic vision of Heaven latched onto your arm?"
I blushed and fought the urge to hide behind him.
"Keep your hands to yourself, Loke," my doctor growled. "You come any closer to her, I'll take my scalpel and castrate you where you stand."
The man blinked and backed up a step. I blushed as I realized what my doctor was insinuating, but felt it best to keep quiet. Loke put his hands up.
"Okay, I get it. Off limits." He smiled as he opened the back door for me. I got into the car and immediately put my seatbelt on. My doctor and Loke and entered the front seats of the car and Loke started driving. "So, we'll have to be quick about this," Loke started. "In about five minutes they'll start letting the first of the contestants in. We've been allowed to put her in after the first ten people while Mira rallies up the next group."
"Who all is going to be in the room?"
"The president, a few of the publishers…" We drove up and pulled into the parking garage behind the Fairy Tail building, and he pulled to the side where a man stood guard. Loke waved at the man, and he waved back, pushing a button. A door moved up in front of us, and we slowly inched through, and immediately started driving down into a dark tunnel.
After driving a few minutes in silence, Loke glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
"So, who may I ask is the lucky girl to have captured dear Caprico's heart?" He smirked as my doctor pinched his arm.
"This is the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia," he growled. "Lucy."
Loke blinked at the doctor, seemingly unfazed by the fact that his arm was just assaulted, then at me. "Heartfilia? I didn't know they had a daughter."
"Not many people did," I said quietly, looking out the window at the blackness.
"So, what are you planning on singing?"
I blushed, suddenly regretting my choice. He gave me no reason to, but the thought of singing something that my father wrote that wasn't previously released seemed a little egotistical. I didn't choose my song because I was over confident about my ability - quite the contrary, I had pretty much came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to win - I chose it because it was written for my mother, and the song held so much feeling behind the words that I wanted the people of Fairy Tail to know how my parents lives affected me.
"She's kept it a secret, even from me."
I looked up at the men in front of me, their conversation taking a new turn to their lives and how they've been since they last saw each other. I sighed and slouched in my seat, singing the song in my head. The fear of the morning happening again just hung to the side of where my mind was focused on. I didn't want to have an attack in front of the judges, but it would be just my luck that I'd pass out, either from my illness or from being too nervous.
~.~
Ten minutes later, I found myself in a waiting room, alone. There were chairs and a couch but I couldn't stay seated for too long. My nerves had me pacing the room. I was told to stay put while the first group of contestants finished their auditions. I knew I should have used this time to practice my song, but I could barely make a sound come out of my throat.
I froze, my hand going to my neck. My throat wasn't going to start burning, was it? Had I lost my voice again?
"Hello?" No, my voice was fine. I sighed in relief. At least it was fine for now, but who knew how long it was going to last.
"Hey."
I jumped when a voice sounded behind me. I whipped around and was greeted by Gray and Juvia, sitting next to each other on the couch. Gray was slouching while Juvia happily lay her head on his shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
Gray shrugged. "Figured we'd follow you and make sure you're okay."
At this, Juvia opened her eyes and glared at me slightly.
"But why?" I couldn't understand why these two were following me, and I didn't have the luxury to really fuss about why I'm being stalked by two….whatever they were. "Look, I'm going to do the one thing that I've wanted to do all my life, and I'll probably never get another chance at this, so could you guys maybe...leave?"
Juvia sat up. "How rude! After my Gray-sama worked so hard to make sure you could be here at all, you tell him to just leave?"
"Juvia…"
She stood up and pointed at me. "You haven't even thanked Gray-sama yet, after he saved your life."
"Juvia!"
Sighing, I allowed her to berate me. She was right, though I still didn't understand why. I didn't get how he saved my life, or who or what they were, and why they were following me around suddenly.
I turned to Gray and bowed. "Thank you very much for saving me." Juvia was silenced. "I still don't understand what's going on here, but you did save me, so I thank you. You have no idea what it means for me to be here right now." I stood up and smiled.
Gray blinked at me, having jumped off the couch when he shouted at Juvia. He cleared his throat as he blushed again, looking away.
"It was nothing." He shrugged. "It isn't your time to go, so we're here to make sure you see each minute until that time comes."
"So are you like my guardian angels?" I looked between them.
"We were sent here to watch over you," Juvia said. "We can't tell you exactly by who, and we can't tell you for how long, just know that we're here to protect you and make sure you're safe."
"But what are you?"
She smiled. "We're spirits. No one can see us or hear us except for you."
"Spirits? So why are you dressed as a bunny and a cat?"
Gray jumped, his face going redder. "Well, thats - "
"It's cute, right? It was Juvia's idea!" The girl pointed to herself. "Dressing alike means we're part of a team!"
I smiled slightly. She said they were dressing alike, but they didn't look alike at all. What was so similar about a cat and a rabbit? I opened my mouth to talk more, but the door opened and a small, white haired woman walked through. She looked like the one with the megaphone earlier, except her hair was shoulder length.
"Miss Heartfilia?" she squeaked, sounding almost timid. I nodded at her, and she smiled. "We're ready for you, now."
I gulped. The way she made it sound I felt like I was going into surgery or something. I took a deep breath, turned to Gray and Juvia, and gave them a thumbs up. Juvia waved and Gray gave me a thumbs up in return. I hadn't known them very long, and I had the sinking suspicion that Juvia didn't like me very much, but I fed off their presence, and I was suddenly feeling extremely confident.
I followed the girl out of the room, and we walked down the hall, the woman asking me questions and writing down the answers on a clipboard.
"Lucy Heartfilia, age 18. Address?"
I answered her, and she wrote down my answer. She asked my phone number, emergency contacts - to which I answered my doctor, instead of my aunt...if she found out about what I was doing, she would be the one to kill me, not my ailing body. She asked if I needed backup music, to which I declined. My song hadn't previously been released, so there was no music to compliment it.
Before I left the room, I had calmed down and felt confident about what I was about to do, but as we got closer to the room, my heart began thumping fast again. We stopped right in front of a gray door. The woman took her paper that she was writing on, and she handed it to me, with strict instructions to hand it to the president as soon as I walked inside.
She opened the door and I followed her in. The room was big, with a single table along the large window that stretched the length of the room. There had to be about fifteen people seated at the table, each one with their eyes on me. I glanced at the far corner and saw Gray and Juvia, waving and smiling. Juvia was even clapping.
In the middle of the table was an old man. The woman led me to him, and I handed him my application. His eyes roamed the paper, and he glanced up at me. His hard eyes softened as he smiled. He held out his hand and I placed mine in it. He gently held my hand and patted it, giving me an encouraging nod. As soon as he let go of me, the woman who was escorting me gently pulled me back from the table where a big red "X" was on the floor.
As she stepped away, her eyes on me were wide. She nodded at me and wished me luck. I stood there, taking in each and every person on the judging table. To the right of the old man was the other white haired woman, the one with the megaphone from before. She smiled sweetly at me. To the old man's left sat a red haired woman, and I could feel my breath leave my body as I saw who it was.
Erza Scarlet. The Erza Scarlet. Loke failed to mention that I'd be singing in front of the professionals!
I gulped again as I was handed a microphone.
"Lucy Heartfilia," the old man said.
"Yes!" I jumped when he spoke my name and squeaked my response. I jumped again when I heard my voice echo loudly from the microphone.
He chuckled softly as the rest of the room quieted down.
"My name is Makarov Dreyer," he continued. "I look forward to hearing what you have to sing for us."
I bit my lip and took a deep breath.
"You'll do fine." I looked over to Gray when I heard his voice and smiled at him.
I closed my eyes as I imagined my father sitting at the piano, gently caressing the keys to the tune he'd come up with for the song. I felt my throat clench slightly at the memory, and I fought for control. I will not cry. Not yet. I have to sing for these people, first. I have the rest of my two years to cry, so I can't start now.
In my mind, I followed the melody, my body swaying slightly. I brought the microphone to my lips and began to sing.
She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati
On a snow white Christmas Eve
Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat
Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline
It'd been a long hard year
I opened my eyes as the first trickle of tears fought their way through my control. The people in the room disappeared as I sang, and the images of my mother and father stood in front of me.
She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention
She was going way too fast
Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn't even have time to cry
She was so scared
She threw her hands up in the air
I had to take a deep breath. My song wasn't over yet, I hadn't even gotten to the chorus, so I couldn't afford to lose control. The images of my parents smiled and nodded at me, encouraging me on.
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel
I closed my eyes again, fighting against the sorrow, reminding myself that I'm not alone in this room. I'm not singing for my parents, but for a room full of judges.
It was still getting colder when she made it to the shoulder
And the car came to a stop
She cried when she saw that baby in the backseat sleeping like a rock
And for the first time in a long time
She bowed her head to pray
She said I'm sorry for the way
I've been living my life
I know I've got to change
So from now on tonight
I could feel my throat straining, and I had to take a deep breath, not wanting it to be obvious that I was having difficulty. The heat from earlier was returning, and I had to bite my bottom lip to try to push it down. I was almost finished with my song, and I was not going to quit now because my throat was burning. I shook my head slightly, and I hoped my earlier emotion was what the judges saw, not my physical pain.
I felt a cool pressure on my neck, and I opened my eyes and turned my head slightly.
"Keep going," Gray whispered, his fingers gently massaging my throat like he had done earlier. "They can't hear or see me. Finish this."
I took another deep breath and finished.
Jesus take the wheel
Take it from my hands
Cause I can't do this on my own
I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
Oh, Jesus take the wheel
Oh, I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
Save me from this road I'm on
From this road I'm on
Jesus take the wheel
Oh, take it, take it from me.
Oh, wow, ohhhhh.
[Jesus Take the Wheel; Carrie Underwood]
I realized I could see my breath as I sang, due to the cold Gray was producing in my throat. I wasn't sure if anyone else could, and I hoped that, if they could, they didn't think it was odd.
I bit my bottom lip as I watched the judges reactions, especially President Makarov's. He stared at me, his eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded at me. I bowed and thanked them for allowing me to sing for them, and turned to move but someone spoke.
"Who wrote that song?"
I stopped walking and turned to the person who spoke. The woman sat a couple of seats away from Erza, and everyone either looked at her or me. My hands fidgeted with the hem of my skirt.
I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice cracked. I coughed, and felt Gray's hands on me again.
"Jude Heartfilia," I answered when I felt my voice would be okay.
"Singing an original song is risky," the woman said, leaning forward. "Are you sure that was the right choice?"
"I just wanted to sing something from the heart," I said, shrugging. "I wanted to show you how passionate I am with my singing, and I felt that singing a song that my father wrote would help show that."
"It was beautiful," said another voice. I followed the voice to its speaker, someone sitting in the far end of the table. I hadn't noticed him before, but he was pretty hidden from my view. I blinked at the man who had stood up from his spot, staring with wide eyes at me. I couldn't see much of him, but his odd colored hair was unmistakably pink. He wore a black tank top, showing his tanned, muscular arms, the Fairy Tail logo tattooed on his upper arm. He looked oddly familiar.
I blushed slightly and bowed. "Thank you, very much."
Juvia floated behind him and gave me a thumbs up. I covered my mouth as a giggle fought its way through. His mouth twitched and he soon broke out in a goofy wide grin. I cleared my throat and glanced away, catching President Makarov's smile.
"Thank you, again, Miss Heartfilia," he said. "Now, if no one has anymore questions or comments we shall see the next contestant."
I bowed again and hurried out of the room before someone else could stop me. I was quickly making my way back to the room I was in previously, wondering if Caprico was waiting for me. I felt Juvia and Gray following me, but what stopped me was someone calling my name.
I stopped suddenly and turned, jumping and letting out a shriek as Juvia floated through me. I had stopped so suddenly and I didn't realize she was so close behind. I blinked and looked at her as she shrugged and apologized. I turned back to the person who stopped me.
The man with the pink hair had jogged to catch up to me. I looked at him with wide eyes.
"Didn't mean to scare you," he said with a chuckle. I almost corrected him, but then what would have scared me if not for him? He couldn't see Juvia and Gray.
"It's okay," I answered. "I guess I'm just a little jumpy."
"Why?"
Because I have two spirits following me, protecting me from death, and I also just sang a very personal song in front of fifteen strangers. I didn't say that out loud. Instead I steared the conversation away from that.
"Why did you call me? Can I help you with something?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He blinked at me as he closed his mouth. He looked like he was searching for an answer, but nothing would come to mind. Did he follow me with no reason? That I couldn't believe, but his speechless actions told me otherwise.
"He looks so familiar," I heard Gray mumble behind me. I glanced back at him from over my shoulder. He stared at the man with such an intensity I would almost say he must have hated the guy. But I shared his sense of familiarity. Where had I seen this guy before?
"How could that be, Gray-sama?" Juvia asked. "There's no way you would know him."
"I know, it just feels like I've seen him somewhere before."
"But when's the last time you've been to this realm?"
"I don't remember, Juvia, that's why it's so frustrating!"
I loudly cleared my throat as their conversation became louder. The man in front of me jumped, thinking I meant it for him. He blinked at me, and I had to wave my hands in front of me, assuring him that I didn't mean him.
Good job, Lucy, look like an angry lunatic in front of him. The first man to attract you in your whole life, and he probably thinks you need to be sent to a psychiatric hospital.
"I'm sorry. What's your name?" I asked, moving my arms behind me as I played with the hem of my skirt. I noticed it was a nervous habit of mine, to play with my skirt.
He jumped slightly, taken aback by my question. "You don't know who I am?" He placed a hand on his chest, his eyebrows shooting up.
"I'm sorry, no."
He chuckled and held out his hand. "I'm Natsu."
"I'm Lucy," I said, taking his hand and shaking it.
"Lucy Heartfilia," he said quietly. He held onto my hand, and I felt a little compelled to just let him hold it as he stared at me. "Jude and Layla's daughter. I'm sorry for your loss."
I nodded and glanced away before whispering a thank you. It had happened so long ago that I didn't freak out every time someone mentioned something about it, but I did still feel a sadness in my heart whenever my parents were remembered.
"Jude was an inspiration of mine," he continued, still holding my hand.
My snapped to him. "You write?"
He chuckled at me again. "Not just write."
I nodded at him, urging him to continue. I may have seemed a little too over excited, but this man was inspired by my father. I knew my parents were talented, but not enough to inspire someone's life and their own musical career, and that made my chest fill with more pride than I have ever felt in my life.
He blinked at me. "Ah, I'm also a singer." He finally let go of my hand and put his hands on his hips. "You really don't know who I am?"
I thought for a moment. Maybe he was a family friend? Had he come to the house once before? I couldn't think of where I might have known him, and I shook my head.
"You know about the contest but you don't -" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Do you know anyone famous from Fairy Tail?"
"Of course! Levy McGarden, and Erza Scarlet, she's my favorite. I can't even begin to tell you how nervous I was when I saw her in there. She's practically my idol. I mean, after my parents, Titania is probably the biggest inspiration for my music. She's so strong and her voice is so powerful. She has her own sense of justice about the world, and that makes her one of the strongest women I've ever seen."
I stopped my rant when I realized Natsu was laughing at me again. My face flushed.
"Of course you would have heard of Erza, but you haven't heard of the great Natsu Dragneel?" He stepped back and pumped his fists in the air, making ridiculous sound effects as he did so. He smiled and his eyebrows jumped up and down, nodding as if that made me remember him. I took a nervous step back, and shook my head.
"I'm sorry, no."
He deflated, his arms falling to his sides, and he slouched, his face falling into a pout. I shrugged and felt compelled to defend myself.
"The amount of music I'm actually allowed to listen to is very limited. I only heard about the contest because my doctor is a friend of someone who works here."
"Eh? But you're Jude and Layla's daughter. Why wouldn't you -"
"Lucy!" We both jumped and I spun around. Loke jogged up to us. When he arrived, he put his arm over my shoulder. I blinked up at him. We only just met about thirty minutes ago, and he's already acting so familiar. "Hey, Natsu. How did our little angel do?"
Natsu stared at us for a moment, before shaking his head and quickly putting his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers together. "She did great. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually won."
Loke jumped up. "That's my girl! May as well tell everyone else to go home." He held his palm out to Natsu, who, in turn, gave him a high-five.
I sighed. There's no way I would win. They had only seen ten people before me, and, considering how many people were outside that morning, they would be seeing a lot more. The only thing I had going for me that made me stand out was my parents, and I didn't want to win just because they were my parents. I wouldn't feel like I had won fairly, and I would probably give up the position.
Despite my pessimistic thoughts, I allowed them to celebrate. Their energy was a little contagious, and I could feel heat slowly warming my body. It wasn't a painful heat like before, but more of a comfortable heat. It was nice to be around other people. For about ten years the only interaction with people I had was with my doctor, my aunt, and the few people who worked at the mansion. None of those people would act like these two, and the amount of happiness radiating from them warmed my heart.
"Good news?" Caprico came up to us, placed his hand on Loke's arm that was around my shoulder, and gently pulled Loke off me. I looked up at him just in time to see a death glare sent to the man, and Loke slowly backed off. My doctor stood in between us, and smiled softly down to me. "Are you ready to head home now, Lucy? We've stayed later than usual, so I'm sure your aunt will be worried."
I nodded and instantly clutched his jacket sleeve. I waved to Natsu as we started back down the hallway. Natsu and Loke stood there, watching us leave.
"Loke, you're driving," Caprico snapped. The other man jumped and hurried after us, sending Natsu a farewell.
I glanced around and noticed Gray and Juvia had disappeared. I wondered, for a moment, where they had vanished to, but I was suddenly overcome with fatigue. I leaned my body onto Caprico as we walked. Without thinking, he crouched down, put his arms under my knees and behind my back, and picked me up with little to no effort. I wrapped my arms around his neck and instantly fell asleep.
~.~
AN: Please review!