©Sunrisepainter: Once Upon a Time in Magnolia

A/N: Thanks again for all your nice comments. I wanted to upload this chapter before I leave for my holdidays, so I didn't have enough time to correct any mistakes, but enjoy reading anyway. As soon as I am back, I will reupload the corrected version.

Introduced in this chapter:

- Cana Alberona (17, student): member of the Dragon slayer, daughter of a famous yakuza boss and passionate drunkard, class 2-D

- Mirajane Strauss (17, student): member of the Dragon Slayer who usually is a nice and innocent girl whereas in a fight she turns into a demon, class 2-D

CHAPTER THREE: Tremor

"Salamander is on his way here", Warren repeats when no one else says anything, "what should we do?"

I feel something cold running down my spine. My whole body goes numb. The faces around me look all hazy and fuzzy, but I can still see the terror in everyone's eyes.
"Shit!", someone curses, and some girls start to whisper. They sound scared. Levy automatically grasps my wrist. Her face doesn't look any better than mine. I try to think about how to get out of here, but my mind is all blank. The only one who seems to keep her composure is Laki:
"Let's just act as if we don't notice them. Maybe, they'll leave soon…"

"This is bad, this is bad…" Warren mumbles while he rocks back and forth in his seat.

"Hey, let's just get out of here", Levy whispers in my ear. I force myself to nod. However, just when we're about to raise from our seats, we can hear it: Heavy footsteps down the hallway.

My blood runs cold. It's too late.

The door is opened forcefully which sakes all windows. Everyone in the classroom tenses up. Even Laki clutches her desk now as if it would protect her from any harm. I quickly cover my face with my hair and carefully peek at the door. Slowly, the Red Salamander walks into the room. He looks the same as the day before: spiky pinkish hair, darting onyx eyes. He is followed by a bored looking Gray Fullbuster and two girls I haven't seen before. The first one has brown, curly hair and green eyes. She wears an extra-long version of the school's skirt and her blouse is pretty tight, showing off her large breasts.
" 'sup, folks", she smirks and looks pretty amused by her classmates scared faces.

The other girl is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. She has fine features, porcelain skin, big blue eyes and white silky wavy hair. She reminds me of a china doll I use to have when I was younger. Fragile and beautiful. She's the only one of the four who greets her classmates with an angelic smile. This must be Mirajane, the one Warren confessed to. And the other one is probably Cana. No doubt about it.

I can see Salamaders' eyes searching the room when they land on me, his lips curl up in a sardonic kind of way. I quickly avert my gaze and hold my breath. Form the corner of my eyes, I can see his feet moving in my direction. I'm relieved as he just passes me by without saying anything, but I crow to soon.

"This is my seat now!", he says in a threatening voice to the person sitting right behind me.

"Y- yes", the guy behind me stutters in fear and scrambles to another desk. With a loud noise, Salamander sits down right behind me and puts his boots on his table. My hands clasp the edge of my desk as I feel his eyes piercing through my back. His friends take the other desks around me, Levy and Laki, so that we're surrounded.

"So, you're the one who kicked Natsu's ass", Cana bows down to me and examines my face. Then she starts to laugh and pats my shoulder:

"Way to go, blondie!"

I tense up even more. Is she praising me or making fun of me? I just keep my mouth shut and my eyes on my desk.

"Oh, she seems to be a little shy", I hear Mira say in a voice which is as angelic as her smile, "your name is Lucy Heartfilia, right? You're really pretty."

As I peek in her direction, she smiles at me. What are these people up to? Why are they suddenly so nice to me? Is this part of their plan? Buttering up to before beating me to a pulp?

"Shut it!", Salamander roars and kicks the back of my chair. I shriek and clutch my desk until my knuckles turn white. I can feel his breath on my neck as he leans in closer. Instinctively, I pull up my shoulders and squeeze my eyes.

"Listen blonde bimbo, you still owe me some cigars", he snarls, and his husky voice gets my hackles up. I keep my eyes shut and try not to move. I'm too scared to remind him dropping his cigarettes into the water was not my fault to begin with.

"Unless you don't want to make life for you and your new friends a living hell, bring a new pack to the roof top after school. Alone. And don't you dare tell a teacher!" He pulls my hair, so that my head darts back and I'm forced to look at him from upside down. His eyes shoot daggers at me. Tears well up in my eyes because of the pain and the fear.

"Y-yes", I cannot recognize my own voice as its filled with terror.

"Good girl", he smirks and finally let's go of my hair. He raises to his feet and walks out the door.

"See you later, Lucy- chan", Mirajane crosses her arms behind her back and smiles at me.

"And don't you forget our appointment, blondie", Cana cackles as the two girls follow their leader. The only one left is Gray. The whole time his friends talked to me, he has stared outside the window with his hands in his pockets. As I watch him from the corner of my eye, I can't say what he's thinking right now. His face is a closed book to me.

"How were the cookies?", he asks me out of a blue. His voice sounds indifferent. I wonder why he even asks if he's not interested in the first place.
"G-good", I lie, "thank you."

He watches me closely and I blush. Did he see through my lie? However, he says nothing more. He just nods his head and leaves the classroom.

When the four of them are gone, the whole class simultaneously sighs in relief. It's like time starts ticking again. Everyone gives me a sympathetic look and I slouch my shoulders.

"Are you okay?", Levy asks me. She looks worried.
"I'm not sure", I mumble. My voice still trembles, but at least the feeling of dizziness is gone.

"That was weird", Warren frowns, "I expected them to drag Lucy- san outside and beat her up…"

"Will you really go to the rooftop?" Laki asks me. I shrug my shoulders. I was too overwhelmed to think about that.

"Let's go together", Levy suggests.

"NO!", I say, and I'm surprised myself about my sudden loud voice. I clear my throat and clutch my hands:

"I mean I have to go alone. Didn't you hear them? I don't want anyone of you to get hurt."

"Aw, you're so sweet!", Laki squeaks and hugs me.
"Are you sure about that?", Bisca asks me. I didn't even realize that she and Alzack came back. No, I'm not sure about the whole thing with Salamander and his gang. I'm scared. However, I can't tell them. I better listen to those bunch of delinquents if I don't want to make this matter any bigger.

"I have to. I give him his stupid cigarettes and apologize for kicking him. Let's just hope, he'll let it slide after that…" I try to smile at my classmates. They all know it's a fake smile, but nobody tries to talk me out of it. They sense that I already made my decision, no matter what they would say to me.

"Sorry Levy- chan, I can't go to your house today", I apologize. She just smiles:
"Don't worry, let's do it some other time after you've solved your problem."

I nod and decide that she'll be my best friend from now on.

After school, I immediately go to buy some cigarettes for Salamander. Well, it's actually not me buying them as I'm still underaged. I somehow end up having a middle- aged man doing it for me. I have to flutter my eyelashes at him and purse my lips to get him all flustered and instantly doing what I ask of him. As a service in return, he wants to meet me in a bar later. I must stop myself from throwing up when I hand him my (fake!) phone number with a seductive wink. Fortunately, he buys my lie and leaves with his face all red. I feel disgusted by myself. However, I would do almost everything to get Salamander of my back.

I take a deep breath before I walk the stairs to Fairy High's rooftop. It's a peaceful afternoon. I can hear the shouting of the football club doing their afternoon training. In the music room, someone plays the piano. I still don't know which club I should join. At my old school, I had been part of the tea ceremony club as my father wanted me to. I never liked it, thought. Now, that I don't have to follow my father's standards any more, I am free to choose my own path in life. However, I still don't know what I enjoy doing or what I am good at. As my life had been planned out for me (marry into a wealthy family, being a good mother and wife etc.), I never had the chance to contract a passion for anything. Besides, I have to sort out my problems before I could enjoy a peaceful school life in the first place.

My hands shake like crazy as I place them on the door handle of the rooftop entrance.

Am I ready to face them all on my own?

Do I really have the guts to open this door?

I take a few deep breaths and clutch the white plastic back in my right hand. There was no helping it. I already seduced a middle- aged man (even thought it was fake) and want to resolve this thing once and for all. I would apologize to Salamander and his friends, compensate him for the packs of cigarettes and ask them to leave me and my new friends alone from now on.

Determined I raise my chin a bit and open the door. To my surprise the roof top is deserted. There is no one and nothing except for a couple of chairs.

I frown. Did they forget about our meeting? My heart starts to flutter. Perhaps, they forgot all about me and already found someone else to pick on.

"Yo, blondie!" I wince as I hear a familiar voice above my head. I look up and see Cana's head peeking over the edge of the entrance building to the rooftop.

"Get your ass up here!"

Is she serious? I suspiciously glance at the rusty, wall-mounted latter. The dark- haired girl smirks at my reaction:
"What? Don't tell me you're afraid of heights?"

Did I already say that I don't like this girl at all? She is like a female wolf. Mira's head pops up next to Cana's. In contrast to her friend, she gives me an encouraging smile:
"Come on, Lucy- chan, it's not as dangerous as it looks."

I have no other choice. I want to get this over and done with. Clumsily I start to climb up the ladder. It was not as easy as Mira said as I tried not to look down while I also had to hold on to the plastic back. I can feel my heart beating like a drum. When I almost reached the top, I slip and close my eyes, expecting to hit the ground any minute. However, big, cold hands grip mine and strong arms pull me up onto the rooftop entrance enclosure. Blue indifferent looking eyes meet mine. I wink a few times and mumble shyly:

"Thanks."

Gray Fullbuster just shrugs his shoulders and coolly sits down on a chair the wrong way up.

"How can a gracious looking person be such a klutz?!", Cana laughs at me and leans onto a baseball bat. I glare at her.

"You're okay, Lucy- chan?", Mira softly touches my shoulder and gives me a worried expression. I just nod my head even though I don't feel okay at all. I try to stay as far away from the edges of the small enclosure as possible. Still, I cannot fight the funny feeling in my stomach.

"Stop mollycoddling her, Mira!", I hear the voice of the person I hate the most in the world (aside from my father). Salamader sits cross-legged on a bench, his intimidating eyes fixed on me. My legs turn to jelly, but I try to look at him with confidence in my eyes

"Did you get my cigas?", he asks. I nod my head and clear my throat. I chose my next words wisely:

"I did you get the same brand of cigarettes and some snacks. So, I hope you're satisfied with that. I sincerely apologize for kicking you back then. I just misunderstood something", I bow my head and feel as if I am betraying my strong sense of justice. After all, I had a good reason for kicking him. Salamander doesn't answer. From the corner of my eyes I can see the smug grin on his face which almost makes me snap. What a jerk!

"Let's see what you've got there, blondie", Cana snatches the plastic back from my hand and rummages through it. She looks disappointed:
"No booze?"

I raise an eyebrow:

"You only told me to get some cigarettes and snacks. No one said anything about alcohol…"

"Next time you have to do better, blondie", the brown- haired girl grumbles. Next time? What does she mean by that?

"Don't look so surprised", Salamander raises to his feet, walks towards me and stops right in front of me. I clench my fist and glare up to him. He looks quite amused:

"From now on you bring us snacks and cigas every day."

"And booze", Cana adds.

Salamander rolls his eyes but nods his head. I open my mouth to say something, but the words just won't come out. I look at Mira and Gray for help. I don't know what I expect from them. Maybe, I want them to speak in my favor. I mean, Mira doesn't seem like the kind of girl who would bully others and Gray…well…he helped me twice already, right? However, Mira just smiles like she usually does, and Gray just looks indifferently up to the sky. No, I have to stand up for myself now. I close my eyes and take a few breathes before I force myself to crack a fake smile at the hateful person in front of me:

"I compensated you for the loss of – by the way very unhealthy – cigarettes and even apologized to you. I think I don't have to run any other errands for you. Just leave me and my friends alone and everything will be fine…"

I don't even know where this sudden confidence comes from, but I appreciate it. Salamander squints his right eye and raises his left eyebrow which makes him look quite dangerous. Automatically I put my head between my shoulders. Did I go too far this time?

Suddenly Cana starts laughing and hits my back with such force that I stumble forward and crash into Salamander.
"You're really funny, blondie! I thought you were some boring wimp, but you actually have some guts! I like you."

Well, I don't like her but like hell I would say that aloud.

"Would you mind moving your stupid hands!" I hear a growling voice above my head. It was only then that I realized my hands were still pressed against Salamander's chest, I blush and dart back like a scalded cat. He brushes the place where my hands had touched his school uniform with the back of his own hands as if I were someone dirty. Then, he sighs deeply:
"Gosh, ya really annoying, ya know? How can someone be so dense? Just because you brought my cigars and apologized doesn't mean were even."

I can literally feel all color fading from my face when he says that.

"Wh- what?"

He smirks and leans in closer again, so that our foreheads almost touch:

"Are you deaf or what? I said you're our errand girl, alright?"

"Let's get along from now on, Lucy- chan!", Mira rejoices and hugs me from behind. I'm too flabbergasted as to react. In shock, I stare back and forth between the four people in front of me. What is wrong with them? Why would they make me do something like this? Is this supposed to be the beginning of months of bullying? And why do they make it sound as if it is something I would enjoy doing?

"I think this is enough for now. You can go home", Salamander puts his finger in his ear and looks quite bored, "just make sure to be here tomorrow as well."

"See ya, blondie. Don't forget the booze!" Cana smirks.

"Yes, see you tomorrow, Lucy- chan", Mira winks at me with her angelic smile. Gray grunts. What is going on? Automatically my feed makes me turn around and leaving the rooftop.

Near the school entrance, Levy is waiting for me.

"What did they do? You look startled…" Her eyes flicker in agitation. I don't answer but just keep on going. I fasten my steps until I start running.

"Wait. Lucy- chan, what is going on? Did they hurt you?" Levy has troubles keeping up with my longer legs. She's alarmed because of my strange behavior. But it was only after we reached the crossroad we both split up the day before when I finally stop and catch my breath.

"Gosh, you're fast", Levy pants.

"I'm sorry, Levy- chan", I say after I caught my breath, "I just wanted to leave as soon as possible…"

"Did something happen?"

I briefly tell her what happened on the roof top. Levy's eyes widen:
"They can't be serious! This is not acceptable! You have to report them to a teacher!"

I bite my bottom lip and have to stop myself from bursting out in tears:
"I can't! You said yourself that not even the teacher can stop these horrible people. Ah, I should've stayed home today after all…"

"I'm sorry, Lucy- chan", Levy's expressions were filled with guilt, "if only I would've went with you…"

"You couldn't have done anything anyway. I don't want to insult you or anything, but these thugs are too much for us average people to handle…"
"You're probably right...", Levy mumbled, but then her face lit up.

"Yes, Lucy-chan, that's it!"

"What do you mean?", I cock an eyebrow. She suddenly looks a little excited:

"We as average people can't do anything to stop them, but maybe a person who's not average!"

"Do you know someone like that?", I can't hide my curiosity.

"Well, it's not that I'm very close to this person, but she is the only one who can control the Slayer. They respect her, but…?"

"But?", I ask. Levy puts her hand to her chin, musing:
"She rarely bothers to involve herself in other people's business. Plus, she is a very busy person as she's the head of the kendo club and the school council's president."
"So, she is our president", I nod my head. Of course, the school's council is responsible for every student's well-being which means they also have to protect everyone from the Dragon Slayer's.

"I'm not sure if she can help us with those bunch, thought…what if she can't and they'll get to me for snitching on them?", I say. Levy nods in agreement:
"You might have a point. Still, let's talk about it tomorrow."

After Levy and I decided on a time to meet, we go our separate ways. As I reach my room, my head is still spinning with lots of questions. I still couldn't understand why Salamander and his friends made me their personal maid. Well, I clashed with him on my first day, but I apologized. There was no reason for them to make my life harder as it already was.

"What's wrong, Lucy- san? You look kind of down", Wendy asks me when I meet her in the hallway. She still wears her school uniform, just like me.

"Did you find Carla?", I ask her instead of answering her question.

"No", she shakes her head and snobs, "I hope she isn't in any danger or so…"

"Don't even think about that. Let's go looking for her again", I propose. Wendy smiles half-heartedly:
"Thanks, but today I have to go see my relatives." I cocked an eyebrow:

"These people don't want you to stay with them, but you still pay them a visit?"

"I have to", Wendy's face looks said, "my uncle is a politician and I'm kind of their "social project". Once a while I have to pose with them for show. This evening we're going to have dinner with some important trade partner from China."

"That's disgusting! Don't let them use you like that!", I can feel the righteous side in me boiling with anger. Wendy looks up to me and her eyes looks so much wiser than of any other 13- year old girl:
"I can't. I know it's foolish of me, but I need them, I'm still underaged and can't go to work. I need them to pay for my room and my tuition fees. I have no other choice!"

I feel my chest tightening. Wendy is so much younger than me, yet she already went through so much. Losing first her father and then her mother along with her step-dad. Plus, she is used by their evil relatives to gain their own reputation. It's just not fair. I swallow down my anger and try to give the younger girl a soft smile:

"Aright, then I will go look for your cat on my own."

"Oh, you mustn't, Lucy- san", Wendy made a gesture of refusal.

"Don't worry, I wanted to go grocery shopping anyway. I can take a look around while going to the supermarket." This was a lie, but I couldn't tell her that I needed to do something to get my mind of some bullies at school who made me into their personal servant.

Wendy's eyes lightened up and she bowed her head a few times in a row:
"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Later that evening, I take a stroll along the canal. From time to time, I stop and search an alleyway for a white cat with a ribbon on its tail. I also brought some posters with me, posting them randomly on walls and lampposts. The mild breeze this evening feels nice. I jump onto the edge of the canal, open my arms and carefully taking one step at a time.

"Be careful, young lady!", I hear someone shout from the other side of the canal. I can't hear them as I'm lost in thoughts again. Is our school's president really strong enough to get Salamander and his gang under control? And would he help us in the first place? What would happen if he couldn't change anything? Would I be kicked around by the Dragon Slayers until graduation?

"Excuse me", as someone touches my arm, I startle and look at them with my eyes wide open. It's a middle- aged man, probably an office worker going home. He looks like he's in a hurry.
"If I were you, I would leave here right away. I saw some dangerous looking people fighting over there", he says and points towards a nearby bridge. Then, he quickly walks of.

I squint my eyes and look towards the direction the man pointed at. Indeed! There were some swift movements under the bridge. At the same time, I hear the siren of two police cars stopping on top of the bridge. I watch a few police men getting out the cars and different voices yelling and screaming. Just when I jump down the canal's edge to go home, I hear fast steps behind me. Upon turning around, someone crashes into me with full speed. The impact makes us both fall to the ground and I immediately feel a sharp pain on my chin which hit the ground.

"Shit!" I a voice groan and the weight which presses me down is suddenly gone. I scramble to my feet and stare at the person who run into me. My eyes widen, and he doesn't look less surprised than me.
"You!", we yell at the same time.

"Stop right here!", the police men head towards our direction.

"Shit!", Salamander repeats his curse. His looks back and forth between me and the policemen, then he grasps my hand without any further ado and drags me with him.

In shock, my feet move on their own. There is no reason for me to run from the police. I didn't do anything wrong. Yet, I run. We wind through countless narrow alleys, one darker than the other. One of my hands is captured by a dangerous delinquent, the other somehow still holds on to the pile of posters. The situation seems pretty messed up and yet, I let myself get dragged along. Perhaps, it's because I'm too surprised or maybe, it's because I don't feel like going against Salamander again. I can't tell.

Finally, we come to a halt under a streetlight near a park. We're both out of breath. My heart's racing.
"Why do people always call the cops? Can't they mind their own business already?", Salamander grumbles. He looks very pissed. All in all, he looks more dangerous than ever. The streetlight illuminates only parts of his face, making his messy hair look like burning fire. His face is bruised and there is blood dripping from a cut on his left cheek, staining his school uniform. I slowly draw back and look for a way to make an escape. However, his eyes now focus on me and his expressions change. How I hate this arrogant smirk of his!

"I guess we're partners in crime now, bimbo- chan", he purrs. I perk my eyebrow up which probably makes me look stupid:

"Say what?"

He leans in closer so that our faces only inches apart. His amusement is more than conspicuous:

"You run with me from the cops just now which makes you as suspicious as me. They probably already blacklisted you…"

"No way!", my eyes widen. He can't be serious, right? I mean, the police didn't even see my face so why would they go after me? I wasn't even involved in some stupid fight! His grin broadens. He's toying with me! I forget that I'm supposed to be scared of him and furiously I push him away:

"You're nuts! Don't get me involved in your childish games!" I turn on my heel and take a few steps, then I stop. Where the hell am I?

I've never been in this part of the town. I don't recognize either the street names nor the buildings.

"Oh my, you're a lost kitten, too, so it seems!", I hear that annoying guy say. I glare at him and see him standing behind me, waving one of my posters. I must've dropped it while pushing him.

"That's mine", I say, snatch the poster from his hand and walk off. Even though I don't know how to get home, I won't spend another minute with this bastard! However, he must have been some sort of gum in his past life as he sticks to my heels.

"Is that your cat?", he asks as if we were close enough to get to know each other better.

"None of your business", I mumble and fasten my steps. I can almost hear his smirk as he says:

"Compared to this morning, you're pretty sharp- tongued. Finally, showing your true colors, eh?"
I press my lips together and keep silent. If I just keep on going, he might get bored and leave me alone.

"That's the wrong way. You have to turn left, now", his voice still sounds amuse. I stop and hesitate, then I turn right. He chuckles:
"You're smarter than I though."
"I would never trust someone like you!", I hiss without looking at him.

"Someone like me?", he repeats somewhat musing, "damn, that's cold! You're not cute at all."

I abruptly stop which makes him bump into me.

"Ouch! You're not only mean, but also dangerous to public safety…"

I glare at him:

"You're calling me dangerous? Look who's talking! You're arrogant, ruthless and a psycho! I would never want someone like you to find me cute! I rather get beaten to a pulp by you and your friends than becoming your stupid errand-girl!" With that I start running without looking back. I don't care that he might be the only one telling me the way home or at least back to where we came from. I just want to get away from him as far as possible.

Just when I'm sure, he can't see me anymore, I dare to slow down. It's then when I realize what I've just done.

"Oh no, no, no, no…!", I matter under my breath. Have I gone completely berserk? Why did I have to make things worse? Breathlessly I bang my head against a board fence and curse myself for my short temper.

Unfortunately, it was even worse than I imagined. After calling him all sorts of things and making a run for it, Salamander stares after me. His eyes are filled with delight, pleasant anticipation and thrill.

"Interesting", he mumbles to himself, puts his hands in his pockets and walks away with a creepy smile on his face that would have made me shudder if I had seen it.

End of Chapter Three.