Lucy sighed in exaustion as she crumpled into her favorite barstool, resting her head on the smooth counter. She stared at the scar that ran from the middle of her middle finger down to her wrist of her now healed hand, a reminder of her encounter with Natsu. She had asked Wendy to heal her hand, but all she got in response was "do it yourself," so she had to wait as her doctor, who wasn't as skilled as Wendy when it came to healing, to help her. She found out that the scar was caused by a sharp peice of glass or something.

What bothered her the most was how Natsu had reacted when she had retold the story to the guild, leaving out her encounter with Nastu of course.

He had simply watched her quietly, his eyes never leaving her, and when she finished he grabbed the backs if Erza, Gray, and Wendy's shirts and dragged them out the guild.

She ran after them, along with a few other guildmembers, but the four had simply vanished.

Mira sat a glass of strawberry milkshake in front of Lucy and leaned onto the counter.

"Still waiting on Natsu and Lisanna huh?" The she-devil asked.

"Yea. Lisanna said that they would only be stepping out to talk but it's been about ten minutes now," Lucy replied, sitting up and grabbing the cup between her hands.

"Well speak of the devil! There they- oh no," Mira began, her face twisting into horror.

Lucy turned around, only to see Natsu standing over Lisanna, who was gripped tightly in his arms, and their lips intertwined, just beginning their elaborate dance that is the art of "making out."

Lucy turned around quickly, facing the bar again, and Natsu smirked against Lisanna's lips. The two pulled apart and Natsu turned to face the guild, who had all gone silent to see what was going on.

"I'd like to announce," Natsu began, grabbing Lisanna's hand and smirking.

"That Natsu-kun and I are a couple!" Lisanna finished.

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Lucy gagged in disgust and turn to face away from Lisanna and Natsu, who were to the left of her at the bar, as the two made out. Mira sat a bowl of vanilla ice cream in front of Lucy before leaning onto the counter, a sad smile on her face.

"You know, I shipped them together when they were younger," Mira sighed as she played with her fingers.

Lucy picked up the spoon that sat next to the bowl and scooped some ice cream with it before eating it.

"Do you still ship them?" She asked before sticking the spoon in her mouth.

"Oh No! I ship Lisanna with Bixslow and you with Nastu!" Mira exclaimed before looking down sadly. "Bixslow and Lisanna had been friends when they were younger, even though she had spend most of her time with Natsu. He really seems upset that he was to late."

Lucy and Mira both glanced at the second balcony where Laxus and his team usually sat. Bixslow was lying on the table but his 'babies' were floating around with their eyes trained on Natsu and Lisanna. Lucy looked back down at Mira, preparing to say something, when a shadow appeared along with a sudden drop of temperature.

"H-hey Gray," Lucy greeted nervously as she turned around in her seat, afraid to make eye contact with him.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked as he grabbed Lucy's wrist.

Lucy looked up and stared at him, wide-eyed with shock that he talked to her in a normal fashion, as loud splintering noises filled the room. Juvia glared heatedly at Lucy as Gray dragged her out of the hall, still holding onto her wrist. Gajeel jumped down from the ceiling, causing the nearby guild members to jump in surprise, and lumbered out of the building. He followed the sounds of hushed whispers until he found Lucy and Gray talking behind a tree. He stayed out of sight as he began to pick up on their conversation.

"...you need to stay away from the team! It's for you own safety!"

"...but why? You guys shouldn't have to put yourselves in danger because of me! I want to help!"

"You don't understand Lucy. The team is the danger! Yakunan is dangerous! He knows mi-" Gray stopped suddenly as he grabbed his head in pain.

Lucy reached out to grab him when he shoved her away, and that's when she noticed it. His hair was messier than usually and he was fully clothed. His usual calm demeanor was all but casted aside, on with fear taking it's place as he shook with pain and fear.

"Gray what's wrong?! " Lucy cried out.

Gray had stopped shaking and instead stood there without moving. Lucy reached out and he grabbed her hand before she could touch him. Ice began to creep up her arm and she let out a cry of pain from the frostbite that came with it. He slowly looked up at her as tears filled her eyes. His eyes had become duller and empty, all of his other emotions nowhere to be found, and a sinister smile crossed his face.

"Now I can't let my newest pets scare away my prey now can I?" He asked in a cold voice.

"Gray let me go!" Lucy screamed as she fought to break his grip.

"Didn't he tell you? Oh wait. I almost forgot I wanted to play with you a little longer Little Heartfilia." He grinned as his grip tightened.

Just as Lucy began to scream again, Gray's hand was ripped away from her arm by a larger one, one that belonged to Gajeel. Before anyone could say or do anything, he had swiftly knocked Gray out. Lucy reached out and caught the unconscious ice mage before her crashed to the ground, falling to her knees with the sudden extra weight as she stared at the iron dragonslayer with tears in her eyes.

(1034 words)