Author's note: Hey everyone! The new chapter is up. It seems like this story is going to be a little longer than I thought, but I have no problem with that since I am having some new ideas about it. Anyway, I hope you like it. I do not own Fairy Tail.

HIDDEN FEELINGS

CHAPTER 3

The Fairy Tail mages made their way through the city. Gray was walking lazily with his hands in his pockets, glancing occasionally towards Lucy, who was moving in a more lively way. Loke was looking around the city smiling, while Erza was walking a little behind them, pulling a heavily loaded wagon with all kinds of stuff.

"I've missed walking around the city like this!" Loke commented, nostalgically.

"What, you don't have big cities in the spirit world?" Gray asked jokingly.

"No, not really" Loke answered simply.

"Come to think of it, I've always wondered. How exactly does the spirit world look like?" Lucy asked, curiously.

"Sorry Lucy, I am not allowed to say that. Just try to use your imagination! All I can tell you is, that it's a beautiful, starry place" Loke responded, with a small smile.

"I see" Lucy nodded, as she smiled at the thought that the spirits lived in a beautiful world of their own. She imagined large, grassy plains, tall trees and blue rivers, and a clear, starry sky above them. Lucy smile grew brighter, as she imagined the spirits living in a place like this. Gray's chest skipped a heartbeat, as he noticed Lucy's dreamy expression. She looked so adorable at that moment, that Gray had to suppress his sudden urge to hug her tightly, at that very moment. No, he didn't want to ruin his chances by rushing like this, he first needed to talk to her, to tell her how he felt.

"There's another thing that I haven't done in a while" Loke said as he noticed a café. "Hey guys, I think we have enough time to stop for a cup of coffee, right? What do you think?" he asked, as he turned towards the other mages.

"I don't think that's a bad idea" Lucy said.

"I agree. There's no need to rush, we still have some time" Erza added.

"I don't mind either" Gray agreed, as well.

"Let's go then" Loke said, as the mages entered the coffee place. They sat on a table at the balcony, and took a look at the menu. After a while, a waitress, a cute, young girl with shoulder length, blond hair, who was wearing a blue apron, came to take their order.

"Good evening! What would you like to order?" she asked, with a kind smile.

"I would like the brownies with vanilla ice-cream and chocolate syrup, please" Lucy made her order.

"Nice choice! I'll have the strawberry cake" Erza said.

"I'll take a peach flavored ice tea, please" Gray added.

"And I would like a Cappuccino Freddo, please" Loke said, as he put his menu on the table.

"Very well! Anything else?" the waitress asked.

"No, that would be all!" Lucy responded.

"Okay then, I'll be back in a while" the waitress said smiling, and took off.

"So, what's been happening at the guild lately? What have I missed?" Loke asked, turning towards his friends.

"Not much, you already have a good idea. You were in Edolas too, weren't you?" Gray said.

"Oh yeah! I wonder what Edo-Lucy is doing right now?" Loke wondered, looking vaguely at the sky.

"Do you now? She will probably bully Edo-Natsu, or fight with Edo-Levy, or something like this. But, didn't she turn you down, saying that she doesn't like playboys?" Lucy said simply. Loke nearly fell off his chair.

"Did you have to remind me that?" he groaned, as the other mages started laughing. "Anyway, I think if I had some more time with her, she would grow to like me" he continued with confidence. "I would really like to meet Edo-Erza, though."

"I am not so sure about this. That Erza was cruel and cold-hearted, an enemy of Fairy Tail. I doubt if you would get along with her" Erza said seriously.

"But she changed, didn't she? You changed her. Despite all your obvious differences, your hearts were in the same place, like everyone else's counterparts who were in Fairy Tail, right?" Loke said.

"I guess you're right. She turned out not to be such a bad person, after all" Erza admitted, smiling.

"I wonder how Edo-Loke would look like" Loke said, thoughtfully.

"He would probably be an incredibly shy guy that Edo-Lucy would beat up!" Lucy said proudly. Loke sweatdropped at the thought.

"I guess. Anyway, why are you so proud of?" he mumbled.

"I don't think he would be worse than Edo-Gray. That guy wore more clothes at once than I wear in a month!" Gray commented.

"That's not very hard, you barely wear any clothes most of the time" Erza said, coolly.

"Ha, ha, very funny! Did Cana tell you to say that?" Gray said annoyed. The rest of the mages laughed again, as the waitress approached them and left four glasses and a bottle of cold water.

"Your order will be here shortly" she announced kindly, as she left.

"Anyway, the truth is that I would really like to see these guys again. I hope they're okay. I've kinda missed them!" Lucy said, with a nostalgic tone in her voice.

"Yeah, me too. They were really nice fellows" Gray nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry about them, I am sure they are fine. Besides, Mystogan is with them now, so things should be better" Erza said.

"You're probably right. It's funny though. I had barely met the guy, but it feels a little strange to think that he is not in the guild anymore. Although, I don't think I'll miss falling asleep in the middle of the day, while I'm talking!" Gray said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Even though he was gone for most the time, there was always a feeling that he was around. He was still a member of the guild" Erza said. Loke noticed that his friends became a little depressed, so he tried to end that topic of discussion and lift their spirits.

"It's fine! Everything turned out okay, didn't they? Even Lisanna returned to the guild. There's no reason to get depressed like this. Cheer up!" he said smiling. At that time, the waitress came with their order.

"Here you go, brownies for the blond lady, strawberry cake for the red haired miss, and an ice tea and a Cappuccino Freddo for the two gentlemen. Enjoy!" she said.

"Thank you, miss! I hope that beverage is as sweet as you!" Loke said smiling, as the waitress blushed and left.

"I think she likes you!" Lucy teased, in a Happy-like way.

"Well, I was just being nice!" Loke said, simply. "Anyway, have any of you guys ever been to a ball before?" he asked.

"I have, when I was little. It was years ago, though" Lucy responded.

"I've been in a ball before. All you have to do is wear a formal outfit and dance, it's not something hard" Erza commented.

"It is, the way you dance" Gray mumbled.

"Fine, we'll talk about it later" Loke sighed. "By the way, what do you know about this lord Blackwood?" he asked.

"Not much. Just that he is one of the richest guys in the country" Gray said.

"He is more than that. He comes from an old family of nobles. His mansion is on the outskirts of the city, and it's one of the oldest buildings in the city. He is also a kin businessman, and an old acquaintance of my father. I think I've met him when I was little. I was too young to remember, though" Lucy said.

"Then he must know you. That should make things a little easier" Gray said.

"Perhaps" Lucy responded, uncertain.

"I've heard that he is a strange guy. He doesn't associate himself with a lot of people. And he doesn't do events like this very often" Erza said, thoughtfully.

"Well, if he is afraid that they are going to steal from him I guess it makes sense" Gray said.

"I don't think he is afraid. Maybe he is just eccentric" Erza commented.

"Still, I don't think that this is something that the four of us won't be able to handle. We should just relax, and enjoy it" Loke said, with confidence.

"You're right. Besides, he is a smart man. I don't think he is going to rely just on us, to protect his jewels" Lucy said. Gray and Erza nodded in agreement. The Fairy Tail mages finished their desserts and beverages, paid for them and continued their way.

"Natsu, how long are you going to keep pouting?" Happy asked. The pink haired mage and the winged, blue Exceed, were taking their walk in the city. Natsu was walking with his arms behind his head, while having a pouted expression on his face, and Happy was casually floating around him.

"What do you want, Happy? I am still angry at these guys for leaving us behind, just like that! And I know that you are annoyed too, so don't act all cool and stuff" Natsu replied.

"I thought that the whole brawling thing would cheer you up!" Happy commented.

"It did, but it felt a little strange without Gray there. Gazille is not very good at coming up with new names, and half the stuff that Elfman says are about man and manly stuff" Natsu said boringly, as they turned, and walked towards one of the river bridges. "Besides, we are supposed to be a team. We are supposed to go to missions together" he continued, as he leaned on the rail of the bridge.

"Mirajane said that they wanted us to go with them, but they couldn't wait. It's not like they just ignored us. After all, it's not like we've never been on missions by ourselves before. You're making too big of a deal out of it" Happy said simply.

"Yeah, you're right, I guess. Now the only thing left for us to do, is figure out what are we going to do these couple of days until they come back" Natsu said, with his spirits lifted.

"Aye!" Happy said excited.

"Natsu! Happy!" the two mages heard a familiar voice, and turned to see who was calling them. They saw a beautiful, white haired girl, running towards them, waving her hand.

"Lisanna!" both Natsu and Happy said, excited.

"Hey, guys!" Lisanna greeted, as she reached them and stopped to take a breath. "I've been looking for you" she said.

"You have? Why?" Happy said, wondered.

"Yeah, if this is about the guild, sorry we left before helping to clean up" Natsu said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "We'll go do this, right away!" he continued, and prepared to leave.

"What? No, don't worry about this! Mira-nee already has this under control. It's fine, you don't need to go. I just wanted to check up on you. How've you guys been?" Lisanna asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about us, we're just fine!" Natsu said, energetically.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"I'm glad" Lisanna said with a faint smile, and lowered her head.

"Lisanna? What happened? Are you okay?" Happy asked, as he and Natsu looked at her worried.

"Yes, it's just... It's my fault. You guys spent almost the entire day with me, and now you are left behind. I'm sorry" Lisanna said sadly. Natsu and Happy looked at her, shocked for a moment.

"What are you talking about, Lisanna? No one's blaming you!" Happy yelled.

"Happy's right, it's nobody's fault! We just did something different once in a while, it's no big deal! Lisanna, look at me!" Natsu said intensely, as he grabbed her by the shoulders. Lisanna looked at him with teary eyes. "This day that we spent together , has been one of the best days of my life! I couldn't be happier that you got back, everyone's thrilled about it! Including Lucy and Wendy, who didn't even know you! I don't regret this, not even one bit! So please, don't say things like that!" Natsu finished, with a heavy voice.

"We love you, Lisanna! What happened to you? It's not like you to get depressed like that, you're always cheerful" Happy said, with teary eyes. Lisanna smiled, and wiped her own eyes.

"I know guys, I love you too! Sorry, I don't know what got into me, I just thought… Forget it, it was stupid! Come here!" the white haired girl said, as she hugged them. The three of them stayed like this for a while, until they finally broke the hug with flushed faces.

"Hey Lisanna, what are you holding there?" Happy asked, after noticing something on her hand.

"Oh, this? It's nothing, just a job request. I thought we could go on this together, if you weren't mad at me or anything" Lisanna said, with a small smile and a slight blush, as she extended her hand to show them what she was holding.

"A mission, together? Cool! And it doesn't look very hard either" the pink haired mage said, as he took the job request and scanned it.

"Yeah, it's something simple. Just to pass the time" Lisanna said smiling. Natsu smiled as well, and looked at her tenderly.

"Huh, what's wrong Natsu? Why are you looking at me like this?" Lisanna asked, confused.

"I've really missed you, Lisanna!" Natsu said, as he hugged her again. "I've really, really missed you!" he whispered, as he hugged her more tightly, like he was afraid he was going to lose her again.

"Natsu" Lisanna gasped surprised, as she blushed furiously. She then smiled sweetly, and returned the hug. "I've missed you too!" she said softly. Happy watched them hugging, with a big grin.

"Hey, we should better get going, we have a mission here, right?" Natsu said, waving the job request after they broke their hug.

"Yeah, but it's getting dark. Let's do it tomorrow, okay? We'll meet up in the morning at the guild" Lisanna said, smiling.

"Right! Now let's get back to the guild. I need to get back at Gazille, for earlier" Natsu said, as turned towards the guild.

"You will do no such thing! They are probably still cleaning the guild. You will not make a mess again, or else this time you will clean up yourselves!" Lisanna said half-seriously, half-jokingly with her hands on her waist.

"Aye" Natsu said, with a deadpawn look.

"Aye" Happy added, with the exact same expression. Lisanna laughed cheerfully, and followed them to the guild.

The guild was still a mess, but in much better condition than it was a couple of hours ago, after the brawl of the day had ended. Most of the people had already left, since it was getting late but not before they did their part in the cleaning of the guild. They didn't have much choice since Mirajane had kindly requested this from everyone, the alternative being her getting angry. And that was something that brought shivers to everyone's spine. A couple of people were still at the guild doing some cleaning though, since they were a little more responsible for the mess.

"Damn it! Why do we have to do all the cleaning? Where's Salamander, he's as much responsible for this us the rest of us!" Gazille said, angrily.

"Shut up and clean! It's a man's job to clean his mess!" a big, white haired mage said emphatically.

"I know! And don't tell me to shut up! Or I'm gonna throw this bucket to your face!" Gazille snapped.

"Really? Go ahead and try!" the white haired mage challenged.

"Now, now boys, Gazille, Elfman, don't make a mess again! Just finish your cleaning, so we can all rest" Mirajane said with a kind, and a little dangerous smile.

"Fine!" Gazille said grumpily.

"Okay, nee-chan" Elfman said, sweating a little.

"Good boys!" Mirajane praised. A blue haired girl was watching the scene with a small smile, until a green haired mage approached her.

"Oh hello, Freed-san. Are you done?" the blue haired girl asked.

"Yes, it didn't take me that long. I barely did any damage. Especially, compared to them" the green haired mage answered, wiping his hands with a towel. "Are you alright Juvia-san? You look a little worried" he added, after noticing her expression.

"It's nothing! Juvia is just thinking what Gray-sama might be doing right now. Or if he is thinking about Juvia, at all" the water mage said, with a slight blush.

"No need to worry! Gray is one of the strongest mages of the guild, I'm sure he is fine. Besides I told you, you don't need to think about Gray all the time" Freed said.

"Yes, but... I can't help it" Juvia said, shyly.

"Okay, I got an idea. How about, I take you to dinner tonight? Maybe this way, you could stop thinking about Gray for a while, and perhaps, start thinking of someone else. So, what do you say? Will you give me the honor of accompanying you to dinner tonight, my fair lady?" Freed asked kindly, making a bow like a knight, and slightly kneeling in front of Juvia.

"Freed-san!" Juvia stammered, blushing deeply. "Of course, Juvia would be happy to go to dinner with you!" she answered with a big smile. Freed smiled as well.

"Great! Then I'll pick you up at around 9 o'clock. Is that okay?" he asked. The blue haired girl nodded.

"Juvia will be waiting, Freed-san" she responded.

"Good, I'll meet you there, Juvia-san" Freed said as he sassed her hand, bowed like a knight once again, and turned around.

"Juvia will try not to look too bad" the water mage mumbled, shyly. Freed turned around smiling. "That's impossible, my dear! You're always beautiful!" he said and left. Juvia smiled brightly.

"Well, it looks like you guys are getting along just fine" a brown haired girl said.

"Cana-san!" Juvia said surprised. "Yes, Freed-san is really nice" she added smiling.

"I guess he is. Well, we should better get you ready for your big date! Right, Mira?" Cana said, winking.

"Of course!" Mirajane nodded in agreement.

"Cana-san, Mirajane-san... Thank you" Juvia said, blushing a little.

The four mages continued their way on the outskirts of the city. Since they were nearly out of the city, the houses became more sparse and the forest started to grow thicker.

"Hey guys, wait! I just thought of something" Loke suddenly said, as he stopped walking.

"What is it?" Lucy asked curiously, as the rest of the mages stopped as well.

"The mission takes place at a ball. Do any of you, know how to dance?" Loke asked. The mages looked each other.

"Well, I did take some lessons when I was little. I think I know a couple of things" Lucy said.

"Yeah, I am not very good at this kind of stuff" Gray said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. Erza however, smiled with confidence.

"You guys should be more ready more the missions you pick" she said, crossing her arms.

"You mean, you know how to dance?" Gray asked, with disbelief.

"Of course!" Erza replied simply.

"There's only one way to find out. Let's practice! But first, we are going to need some music" Loke suggested.

"Where are we going to find music in the middle of the forest?" Lucy asked, emphatically.

"Oh come on, Lucy. You mean that, you don't know any spirits that play music?" Loke said. Lucy blinked for a while, confused and then she smacked her head as she suddenly remembered.

"Of course, how could I forget!" she said as she reached for her belt, and took out a silver colored key. "I open the gate of the harp, Lyra!" she said with a loud voice. A cute, blond girl, dressed in a blue and pink dress appeared through a bright light.

"Hi, Lucy!" the blond girl greeted happily.

"Hey, Lyra" Lucy greeted back, waving her hand.

"Lucy, do you know how long it has been since you last summoned me? You said, you were going to summon me more often! You big meanie!" the blond girl whined.

"I told you already, I can't summon you whenever I want. It's not my fault!" Lucy said, in defense.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that" Lyra said, with a carefree smile.

"Still as cheerful as ever, Lyra" Loke commented, laughing.

"Oh, hi there, Leo! I forgot that you were already here. You got to show me how you do this trick" Lyra said.

"I'll keep that in mind. So Lyra, will you play something for us? Something slow and a little formal, you know like in a ball?" Loke asked.

"Sure, Leo! I'll start right away!" Lyra said with some excitement, as she took out her harp and started playing a slow melody.

"So Erza, will you give me the honor of this dance?" the orange haired mage asked, making a small bow.

"Of course! Just let me put on something more convenient" Erza said, as her outfit flashed and was replaced by a simple blue dress.

"Let's go, Loke! Dancing is all about fighting spirit!" Erza said, energetically.

"Fighting spirit?!" Loke said puzzled, and before he could react, Erza pulled him and started spinning him rapidly.

"Hey Erza, calm down!" Loke tried to say.

"You need more spirit, Loke!" Erza said, as she continued to spin him around. Gray and Lucy were watching with wide eyes. Even Lyra had stopped her music, and was watching the "dance", stunned.

"I knew it!" Gray groaned, doing a face palm.

"Poor Loke!" Lucy mumbled.

"Okay, enough!" Loke said loudly, with his sunglasses hanging from his ear, while trying to stand straight. "Erza, this is too intense! You need to relax a little"

"Eeh, Loke? I'm over here! That's a tree you are talking too" Erza said, waving her hand.

"Right" Loke mumbled, as he put his sunglasses straight, tried to regain his composure and turned towards Erza. "As I said, you're too tensed. You need to relax, a little bit. Here, let me show you" he said as he moved closer to her. "As you probably know, there are several kinds of dances. Some of them are more intense and quicker. Others, like this one, have a slower pace. Here, let me show you the stance" he continued, as he put his arm around her waist.

"What, what are you doing?" Erza stammered, blushing intensely.

"Hey relax, I'm just showing you" the orange haired mage, smiled calmly. "Here, I put my arm like this" he said, as he put his arm around Erza's waist and grabbed her gently, but firmly "and you put your hand like this, on my shoulder" he continued, as he placed her hand on his shoulder. "And then, we hold hands like this" he finished as he gently took her other hand. "Lyra, can you continue, please?" As Lyra resumed her music, Loke turned to Erza again "Now relax and feel the music flow inside you. Come on, follow my lead" he finished, as he started to move slowly to the rhythm of the music. Erza followed his lead, shyly at first, but it wasn't long before she took the hand of it, and started dancing more comfortably. The light shade of pink never left her face though, since Loke was holding her pretty close to him but, strangely she didn't seem to mind. Instead, she was actually feeling like she was enjoying it. Lucy and Gray were watching them, smiling.

"So, Lucy" Gray started a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, Gray? What is it?" Lucy asked, with an innocent look on her face.

"Would you like to, um you know, practice too? You know, at dancing?" Gray asked, trying to avoid Lucy's eyes. Damn it why was he acting like this? Why couldn't he be more straight?

"Oh sure! I'd love too!" Lucy responded hastily, with a slight blush.

"Really? Okay then, come on" Gray said with some relief, as he turned towards her. "Well, I put my arm like this, right?" he asked, as he hesitantly put his arm around Lucy's waist, and then took her hand.

"Yeah, that's right" Lucy responded encouragingly, as she put her other hand on Gray's shoulder. "So, shall we?" she said softly, still blushing.

"Sure, if you're ready" Gray said. The two of them started moving around slowly, but not quite as smoothly as the other two.

"Ouch!" Lucy cried in pain, as Gray accidentally stepped on her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Gray asked embarrassed. "Clumsy idiot!" he thought angrily at himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it. Let's try again, okay?" Lucy soothed him. Gray nodded, and the two mages continued their dance, more smoothly this time. They were so close that it was strange how they didn't feel each other's heart, which was pumping like crazy. Or could they? Gray looked at Lucy's face, and felt his own face heat up. What should he do? Should he kiss her? Was it too soon? Gray shook his head to send these thoughts away. He was going to enjoy the dance for the moment, he had Lucy in his arms and that was enough. The Fairy Tail mages kept dancing for a while longer, until the sun began to set.

"Oops! It seems that we got a little bit carried away" Lucy said.

"Yeah, it's getting dark. It would probably be better if we found a place to camp, and spend the night" Erza commented. Gray and Loke nodded in agreement and they stopped their dance.

"Bye, Lyra! Thanks for everything!" Lucy greeted the blond girl.

"Anytime Lucy! See you later, Leo!" the cheerful spirit waved back, as she disappeared. The mages continued their way, and soon found a good spot to spend the night. The night had already fallen, and the Fairy Tail mages lighted up a bonfire, and set up a small camp. Lucy sat on her bedroll and looked casually at the small fire, with her head leaning on her knees, while Gray, who was next to her, was lying on his back, looking at the stars. Erza was on the other side of the small fire, and she lied as well with her eyes closed, while Loke sat next to her, and played with a small, wooden stick.

"You know Erza, you've kinda changed" he said.

"Really? Why are you saying this?" the red haired girl asked, as she opened her eyes and turned towards him.

"If I had asked you to dance earlier, you would probably punch me away" Loke said casually.

"Is that so? I guess you have a point. However, this was just for the mission. I could still punch you, if you went too far" Erza said, with a small laugh.

"Yeah, right" Loke said smiling, as he turned his head and looked at her. "I also noticed that you smile more often, than you used to. That's nice, you should keep doing this. You look really cute, when you're smiling!" he said looking directly into her eyes, without losing his smile. It was a good thing that it was night and Erza's face was half covered, because she really wouldn't want Loke to notice her furious blush at that moment. She turned on the other side and grinned.

"Really, now? That's kind of you, Loke. Good night!" she said, with her back turned on him.

"Good night, Erza!" Loke said smiling, as he took off his sunglasses, and lied down as well.

"Hey, Lucy" Gray whispered.

"Yes, Gray?" the blond girl said drowsily, as she lied down and covered herself with her sleeping bag.

"You know, you dance really well" the dark haired mage complimented her.

"Thanks Gray! You dance pretty well, too" Lucy said.

"Well, I already knew a couple of things. But I guess, I also had a good teacher" Gray said jokingly. "Good night, Lucy! Sleep well" he said softly.

"Good night, Gray" Lucy whispered, smiling. "Good night, everyone" she said to rest of her friends. The rest of the mages said good night as well, and slowly went to sleep under the clear, starry night sky. Gray turned around and watched Lucy sleeping peacefully, with a smile on her face, and smiled as well, until he slowly fell asleep himself.

Author's note: There goes this chapter! I think I had quite a few pairings in this one. I always liked the Natsu/Lisanna pairing, since they go way back together, so I wanted to do something with them. I think it turned out well, right? I also added a small scene with Freed and Juvia, I know it's a little strange, but I think they would look cute together. And finally, I really liked the idea of the Loke/Erza pairing, so I think I will continue with this one, and of course with the main pairing of the story. Until next time, take care! See you later guys!