Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail! -sigh-

Chapter 2: Sabertooth

Lucy took a seat next to Sting and looked around at all of his friends. They didn't exactly seem like a friendly bunch. Good, Lucy thought.

Sting cleared his throat. "Guys, this is Lucy. Lucy, I'd like you to meet some members of Sabertooth. This is Rogue, Minerva, Yukino, Orga, and Rufus." He pointed to each member in turn.

"Hello," Lucy waved. Only Rogue, the boy with the black hair, and Yukino, a pretty girl with short white hair, waved back. The others seemed uninterested and looked away. "What's Sabertooth?" she asked Sting.

Sting paused for a second. "It's a, uh, club, for…special people," he said, looking at her intently. Lucy looked from him to the other members, who were looking at Sting sternly. What was he doing?! they thought angrily.

"Oh…" realization hit her and her eyes widened. "OH."

She stayed thoughtfully quiet for a minute. Everyone besides Sting was staring at her in scrutiny and with distrustful eyes, trying to unravel the thoughts that were going through her mind. They all knew the rules: never trust anyone, never give yourself away.

"So you're all like me then," Lucy stated quietly. This got all of their attention.

The others showed various degrees of surprise. Rogue's eyes widened slightly. Minerva, the girl with long black hair, sat back with cautious green eyes. Yukino and Orga, a humungous man with green hair, both had their mouths slightly opened, and Rufus, a pale man with long blonde hair and an exotic hat, shook his head in disbelief. He turned his attention to Sting and asked him "Is this true, Sting?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Lucy is just like us, so please don't treat her otherwise."

The other members directed their attention towards Minerva, seemingly waiting for some sort of response.

Minerva smirked at Lucy. "Welcome to the club," she said.

Lucy frowned. "Who said I was joining?"

Sting also frowned. "Why wouldn't you? You belong with us."

Lucy shook her head, eyebrows furrowed. "No. Thank you for the offer…but I have no intention of joining you guys."

"Why not?" Yukino asked, seeming genuinely disappointed. "It isn't every day that you meet another one of us. And it's best if we all stick together. We survive better as a group."

Sting smiled sadly. "Lucy's always been more of a loner. She's very distrustful, even for one of us," he laughed.

Lucy laughed with him. "While it's true that groups offer more protection, they also draw more attention," she explained, "that's also why I prefer to solo. It helps me stay under the radar."

Yukino nodded understandingly. "Well, I hope we can at least be friends," she said with a warm smile.

Lucy was taken aback for a moment. Her only friend was Sting. The few others of her kind that she'd met in the past weren't exactly friendly. Friendliness was a weakness, it made you vulnerable to people, and that's why Lucy so often came off as rude and cruel. It's not exactly that she wanted to be that way, it's more that she had to. Her entire personality was a façade. So much so that even Lucy herself didn't really know her true self. Sting was the only one who ever brought out the real side of her.

She stared at the white-haired girl, who was still smiling. Lucy gave her a small smile in return. A real one. "Yeah, me too," she said hopefully.

Sting smiled at his friend. It wasn't often that Lucy gave a real smile to a stranger. From what she has told him, she wasn't always this way. It was only after the incident with the Hunters that Lucy became cold-hearted. While Sting enjoyed being the only one close to Lucy's heart, he was hoping that she would open up more around his friends. It would be good for her. Sting would know, he was the exact same way until he met Lucy and later on, Sabertooth. Hiding yourself wasn't always the best option. Sometimes you needed friends.

Lucy caught Sting smiling and punched him lightly on the arm.

"What are you smiling at, punk?!"

Sting only laughed and shook his head. "It's nothing," he assured her.

Lucy was about to throw another punch, this time to his handsome face, when the teacher walked in. Well, more like twirled in. Lucy had to cover her mouth from bursting out laughing. The teacher was a short man with a tuft of brown hair and a curly mustache. He had on a black suit; a red rose held on for dear life to the right. So this is Duke Everlue. He twirled right up to the front of the classroom.

"Good morning, class!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Today, we shall-" he paused very suddenly. What's up with him? Lucy thought.

Duke Everlue, in less than a second, was standing right in front of Lucy's desk. He leaned in and stared at her critically. Lucy sweat-dropped and leaned as far back as she could. What the hell? Why is this weirdo staring at me?! Next to her, Sting was trying to stifle a laugh, not succeeding at all.

"You!" Everlue yelled, taking hold of her hand rather forcibly. "What is your name?"

"My name," Lucy started with gritted teeth, "is let-go-of-my-hand-before-I-bust-your-damn-ugly-face-in-you-pervert!"

"Well my dear let-go-of-my-hand-before-I-bust-your-damn-ugly-face-in-you-pervert, I shall call you Pervert for short, I am Duke Everlue, the most superior man on the planet! And you…you have got to be the most UGLIEST creature I have ever laid eyes on!"

Lucy's eyes went wild, and she jerked her hand back, getting ready to punch him in the mouth. Sting stopped her before she could do any damage, though.

"Umm, Lucy's very shy, Sensei. She doesn't like being put on the spot," Sting apologized.

Duke Everlue nodded. "With that hideous face, I can't blame her!" He swung on his heels and headed back to the front of the classroom. "Anyways, welcome to my English class, Pervert. Try to keep your face from being a distraction to the other students, mkay? I have plenty of paper bags if you need them."

Lucy couldn't believe her ears. Who the fuck was he to call her ugly! Lucy looked around at her classmates. Some looked wary, others amused, as if this happened on the daily.

"Don't worry," Sting murmured in her ear, "he does this to all of the pretty girls," he said with a wink. "Though he's never called them the UGLIEST thing he's ever seen, so I guess you should take that as a compliment," he laughed lightly.

Lucy glared at Sting. "Well he can go fuck himself for all I care," she said, causing Sting to laugh even more.

Duke Everlue continued on with the lesson. They were analyzing Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Lucy was bored out of her mind. She's read the book like twenty times and he wasn't even analyzing it properly! Some English teacher he is, Lucy thought bitterly.

Lucy laid her head down in her arms, planning on taking a nap. Right when she felt her consciousness slipping, she heard someone yell "MY HAIR ISN'T PINK, IT'S SALMON!"

Lucy picked up her head and looked back. Natsu was standing on top of his desk, his finger pointed accusingly at Lucy.

Natsu had just been replaying today's earlier events in his mind when he had noticed that Lucy called him Pinkie. If she was going to call him by his hair color, she should at least get it right! He had called her Blondie, it was only fair!

Everyone stopped and stared at Natsu, then at Lucy, then back at Natsu.

"Whatever you say, Pinkie," Lucy replied warily.

If Natsu could burst in flames, this would have been the moment. Instead, he pulled his hair and screeched like a maniac. "Do I have to say it again? My hair is SALMON, not-"

"Natsu!" Duke Everlue barked. "Sit down! And cover your face for God's sake!"

Natsu only grumbled and did what he was told. Beside him, Gajeel and Gray snickered.

The rest of the class passed without incident. When the bell finally rang, Lucy stood up and stretched. She was relieved to finally get out of this boring class. She usually loved English classes but man, oh, man was Everlue a dumbass.

Sting poked her arm to get her attention. "What's your next class?" he asked her.

"Music with some Vidaldus guy."

"I'll show you the way if you want."

"Sure." Mirajane had actually shown her all her classes, but she wanted to talk to Sting a bit longer.

From the back of the room, Natsu watched Lucy and Sting leave together. Music, huh? He turned to Gajeel. "Hey, you have music next, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

Gray bashed Natsu on the head. "Dumbass, what have I told you about eavesdropping!"

"That I should always do it?" Natsu asked innocently. Gray just shook his head in disgust.

"Lucy has that class next, I want you to talk to her and find out as much as you can about her." Natsu ordered.

Gajeel's vein popped. "Don't tell me what to do, Flamebreath!" he said angrily.

Natsu pushed his forehead against Gajeel's. "C'mon man! If she's one of us, we need to find out as much as we can about her!" What Natsu was too dense to realize was that he'd become more interested in Lucy beyond that.

Even Gajeel couldn't disagree with that, so he gave in. "Fine, whatever." And he headed off to his next class. Gray also bade his farewell and went in the direction of his swimming class. Meanwhile, Natsu decided to do some more eavesdropping on his new little blonde friend.

Does Natsu ever learn? That's a rhetorical question, by the way.

Review and let me know what you think! Pweaseee~~it gives me motivation to write the next chapter sooner! ;)

Until next time.

-Kell