TO MY READERS: Chapter 7 is here and I hope you all enjoy this latest installment of Love Amongst the Stars! I know this might be a bit of a slow period but it's all leading up to a great scheme, I promise. And don't forget to check back next Monday for Chapter 8!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN any of the characters or places mentioned in this story. It all belongs to the original creator, Hiro Mashima.

VII - Come Meet the Family

It turned out the dining hall was in the same tent Lucy visited last night. Natsu pulled the curtain back and stepped aside to let her through first. She nodded in thanks and walked inside to see all the circus workers hurriedly walking around to get their breakfast before beginning their work for the day. Lucy had to avoid getting hit by a few people running with their plates to get a seat next to their friends. She was astonished at how noisy the tent was compared to the previous night, though she assumed it was because most of the people had gone to retire to bed early.

"You hungry?" Natsu asked, sticking his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"I ate at Cana's before going to see the Master. But I'll go with you," Lucy replied, not wanting to be alone in such a huge crowd. At Lucy's reply, Natsu headed to the far back of the tent where the bar was but, now in the early hours of the morning, the counter was covered with hot tins filled with food and heated by small burners hanging underneath. Every dish Lucy could imagine was on display as Natsu grabbed a plate and began piling food on it: from pancakes to fruit salad, it was all there for people to consume.

"Good morning, Natsu," a sweet voice called. Lucy looked up and saw the girl the Master had called Mira standing behind the counter. She had long white hair tied above the hairline in a small ponytail and wore a long, pink dress decorated with a few bows. When she noticed Lucy standing next to Natsu, she smiled kindly and crossed her hands in front of her. "And good morning to you, too."

"Oh, hey, Mirajane," Natsu said. "You've met Layla, right?"

"I haven't had the pleasure," Mirajane replied with a wide smile.

"Hello, my name's Layla," Lucy said, bowing slightly. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Mirajane, but everyone calls me Mira. And it's wonderful to meet you as well. So, what was the Master's decision?"

"He pawned her off to me to help me with some stage work and stuff," Natsu said, already having taken a bite out of a piece of bread. "I don't really have anything planned for today so if you or Elfman need any help, just come by my tent."

"Thanks," Mirajane replied.

"Who's Elfman?" Lucy asked, looking between Natsu and Mirajane.

"Elfman's my little brother," she said. "He's the circus' 'Beast' and my sister Lisanna, our friend Evergreen, and I assist him in his acts."

"Oh! I didn't even get a chance to see your performance last night," Lucy said with disappointment.

"Well I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to see them while you help with props and shit," Natsu said, balancing his humungous plate with the napkins and utensils he gathered. "C'mon, there're some other people I want you to meet."

"Have fun, Layla!" Mirajane called after them as Lucy followed Natsu to a table. Lucy waved goodbye as they receded into the crowd and smiled. Mirajane seemed like a really nice person and Lucy hoped Natsu would actually let her help her with Elfman's act.

Weaving carefully through the tight spaces between people, Natsu finally spotted a table where Erza, Juvia, and Gray were all sitting. Lucy's heartbeat picked up nervously as she moved to take a seat on the wooden bench.

"Hey, Natsu," Erza greeted with a smile. When she got comfortable, Lucy noticed the only thing Erza was eating was a slice of what looked like strawberry shortcake.

"Good morning, Natsu-san," a little girl with long, blue hair said.

"Hello, Natsu-san," Juvia said with a smile. Everyone else at the table exchanged greetings while Lucy sat awkwardly at the far end of the bench, waiting to be introduced. It was Erza who finally acknowledged her presence.

"And isn't this Layla?" she asked. All the heads suddenly turned to Lucy who tried not to look too flustered at having all the attention on her.

"Hi, everyone," Lucy said in the calmest voice she could muster. "My name's Layla and I'll be working with all of you for the next two weeks."

"That was your punishment?" Erza asked. Lucy nodded.

"If you ask me that's a pretty mild penalty," an angry-looking guy said. Lucy turned to the voice and saw he had long, spiky black hair and spikes all on his face.

"She wasn't really doing anything wrong, Gajeel," Natsu said to him. "She was just trespassing on private property. It's not like she was stealing from us or nothin'."

"Yeah, but if we keep givin' light punishments to everybody, no one's gonna take us seriously and we'll have the same problems like last time happen again," Gajeel argued.

"Don't ya think I know that, Bolts-for-Brains?" Natsu snapped.

"You askin' for a fight, Salamander?" Gajeel growled.

"Enough you two," Erza commanded, silencing Natsu and Gajeel immediately. Even Lucy got chills up her spine from the harsh tone Erza used.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Flame Brain," Gray admitted. "If Layla wasn't really doing any harm than why bother dolling out a serious punishment?"

"Juvia is always on Gray-sama's side," Juvia added lovingly.

"Besides, after the ass-whooping we dealt out do you really think any of those bastards would dare cross us again?" Natsu challenged. Gajeel stared at him for a while but didn't reply, only giving Lucy a mean side-glance before turning back to his meal of nuts and bolts.

"Anyways," Erza continued. "I think we should all introduce ourselves to Layla. I know we already met, but my name's Erza Scarlet."

"My name's Levy McGarden. Nice to meet you!" a cute, blue-haired girl said who sat next to Erza. "And the angry one's Gajeel." Lucy looked to Gajeel who gave a short grunt and continued to eat his breakfast.

"I'm Juvia Lockser. As long as you don't pose a threat as Juvia's love rival, we should get along fine," Juvia said cooly.

"I'm Gray Fullbuster," Gray smiled to Lucy who returned the gesture.

"Love rival," Juvia hissed lowly.

"And I'm Wendy Marvell!" the little girl sitting a few inches from Lucy piped up. "I look forward to working with you!"

"I look forward to working with all of you as well," Lucy replied, bowing her head in respect.

"So where do you come from?" Natsu asked. Lucy's heart dropped to her stomach at the question, not sure of how to answer. The last thing she wanted was to tell anyone at the circus who she really was but she wasn't very good at lying. She had to think of something, and fast.

"Well, I—I'm from Acalypha and have lived here for my whole life," she replied with a slight stutter. Hopefully no one would notice and it was a good thing Cana wasn't there to try and get the truth out of her.

"Won't your family be worried with being gone for two weeks?" Erza asked with concern. "I'm sure the Master would let you contact them." Lucy looked down at the table, remembering how much trouble she'd get into once she returned home. Her father would no doubt be furious, not just with her disappearance but at the embarrassment of being the father of a run-away.

"My father won't be worried that I'm gone, only for the consequences that will follow," Lucy said flatly. Silence fell over the table at Lucy's sudden somber attitude but the conversation was quickly started up again.

"So who will you be working for?" Gray asked gently. Lucy finally looked up and tried to put her cheery disposition back on.

"Mostly Natsu but I'm more than happy to assist any of you as well," Lucy said.

"That's great, Natsu-san!" Wendy exclaimed. "Haven't you always wanted a female assistant?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if Layla could learn what Happy and I practice for two months every year," Natsu sighed.

"There's no harm in trying," Erza suggested. Natsu shrugged his shoulders and continued eating but didn't say anything more.

"So, what was it exactly Natsu caught you doing?" Levy asked. Lucy's face turned a slight pink as she thought up of a way to explain the series of events which wound her up working for the circus.

"Well, um, you see…I, uh…" she sighed. "I snuck into one of the tents as everyone was leaving for the night."

"Which tent?" Erza asked with a slight laugh.

"The black one with the old piano inside that says Euphony of the Fairies on it," Lucy replied. Everyone at the table went silent.

"Is that true, Natsu?" Gray asked, astonished. Natsu nodded but kept on eating.

"Seriously?" Gajeel asked in shock.

"What?" Lucy asked, confused.

"That tent was where our founder used to perform," Erza finally explained. "She was a genius when it came to playing piano. Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Play the piano?" Gajeel asked, becoming frustrated.

"Well…yes. I'm a pianist myself," Lucy said.

"That's incredible," Wendy mused.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lucy said, feeling her temper rise at not knowing what everyone was getting so freaked out about. "What's going on? What is everybody talking about?"

"No one has gone inside the tent since our founder died," Erza said. "We only put it up as a sort of symbol for everyone who knew her. It was a very plain tent but the Master tells us she played so eloquently, there was no need for a flashy tent to attract patrons."

"Who was the founder?" Lucy asked, extremely intrigued.

"Her name was Mavis Vermillion. She died when she was twenty-four," Erza said.

"I trespassed on private property and not only that, but the circus' founder's former performance tent?!" Lucy shouted, exasperated. She was laid out on the floor next to Cana in her newfound friend's tent, pillows underneath them and a plate of cheese, crackers, and grapes between the two as they ate lunch.

After being told the backstory to the tent Lucy had unknowingly entered, she decided she would go help Cana with preparations for the show. She had waited until lunchtime to finally delve into the whole story with her friend.

"Maybe that's why the Master went so easy on you," Cana suggested. Lucy turned her head to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you think that would've been more of a reason to throw me in prison?" she asked. "Plus, how would he have known?"

"You said Natsu was in the room with the Master and the officer. He probably told him then," Cana surmised. "And, if anything, I'd say you going into that tent was even more proof you aren't a threat."

"Why's that?" Lucy asked, pushing herself up on her elbow.

"No one's entered Mavis' tent since she passed away all those years ago. People say it's haunted or just stay out of it because we consider it bad luck to enter her tent. Something must've drawn you to it." Lucy thought back to the night she decided to investigate it.

"I—I guess I was… Drawn to it, I mean," Lucy began. "A huge part of me was just curious but, as I got closer to it and stepped inside, I felt a sort of warmth in my heart and I was completely calm. I guess I just didn't realize that until now." Cana turned her head to Lucy and watched her carefully.

"There you go, then," she replied. Lucy shifted her head to her friend and looked at her with confusion.

"What?"

"The rest of us in this circus see that tent as a bad omen, a place that should not be entered. But you come along and are filled with a warm feeling when you see it. Maybe the Master figured—in some way—Mavis was giving you permission to go inside, like you were an old friend. I think it's testimony enough of who you are as a person."

Lucy rolled her head back to stare at the ceiling of Cana's tent, reveling in the comforting sensation she experienced when she had gone inside Mavis' tent. She also began to realize how she felt her mother's presence much more strongly, almost as if both Mavis and her mother were present inside the tent as Lucy played the piano.

"Well," Cana said, sitting up and finishing off a glass of water, "time to get back to work." She rose from the pillows and brushed off her pants, standing over Lucy with her hands on her hips. "You should probably head over to Natsu's tent to make sure he doesn't need any help before working with me again."

"Alright," Lucy said, slowly standing up. "I'll see you later tonight then." Cana nodded and waved Lucy off as she made her way out the tent and began searching for Natsu's base of operations.

Before she had gone off to see Cana, Natsu told Lucy his tent was off more towards the end of the circus. He usually performed little acts at night for some of the patrons, though he closed his tent an hour before the Goodnight Ceremony so he could warm up and practice. As Lucy neared the back of the camp, she easily spotted the large structure: it was most certainly hard to miss given the fact it had a large sign displayed on the front with Natsu and Happy's names written on it and two fake flames on each end, as well as the fiery appearance of flames seemingly emanating from the fabric.

Lucy pulled back the curtain and walked inside the large tent. There were benches on either side of the aisle to face a black stage, which Lucy presumed was fire=proof. The same clay pots she had seen on stage with Natsu the night before were placed on either side of the stage as well, but there were no flames flickering inside since there was no show.

"Natsu?" she called, the tent appearing empty. "Natsu!"

"Oh, Layla, back here!" she heard Natsu reply from behind the curtain at the back of the stage.

Lucy made her way up the stairs and slipped backstage through one of the entrances, slinking through the narrow hallway which revealed the area behind platform. It wasn't as big as she would have thought, but big enough to hold all the props Natsu used for his performances: there were at least a dozen other clay pots stacked up against the wall on Lucy's left with different patterns on each, various types of equipment, and a rack of different types of clothes. There was also two couches sitting across from each other down at the far end of the wall, one with a red blanket and one with a blue blanket. Lucy spotted Natsu over near the couches as he sat hunched over something and she began walking towards him.

"Hello," Lucy said as she came up beside Natsu. She glanced down and saw a piece of clothing in his hands which he was attempting to sew.

"Goddamnit!" he shouted, sticking a finger into his mouth. He pulled it back out to observe the pinprick he received from the needle: a large drop of blood pooled on his skin and he sucked on it again. Lucy couldn't help but giggle.

"What the hell's so funny?" Natsu grumbled, throwing the shirt onto the table placed in between the two couches. Lucy looked to where Natsu threw the garment and saw his partner Happy laid out on his couch with the blue blanket folded across the top of the furniture.

"He's been trying to sew that shirt since we took our lunch break," Happy explained, rubbing his hand through his short blue hair. "Maybe Layla could help you." Natsu was busy fixing his hair into a neater ponytail so the strands would stay out of his face and he threw his hands down on his lap in frustration.

"I'd be happy to help," Lucy said, stepping around Natsu and taking a seat next to him. He handed her the shirt and laid back against the couch with his arms behind his head, watching Lucy work.

"You know how to sew?" Lucy asked with a little smirk. She narrowed her eyes at Natsu who's face was turning pink with embarrassment.

"Not really," he admitted. "I saw the costume designers do it so many times so I figured it was something you could pick up by watching. But I guess it takes a lot of practice." Lucy nodded.

"I remember when Ms. Spetto first taught me how to sew," she smiled as her hands went through the familiar motion of guiding the needle through the fabric to make the proper knots. "I had so many pricks from the needle she had to cover my hands entirely with gauze. I almost gave up after the first day because they hurt so badly. But Ms. Spetto gave me some really good advice."

Lucy brought the string up to her mouth to bite it, set the needle on the table, and began knotting the end of the string. She handed the finished product back to Natsu with a smile. "She told me to never give up, even when things seem difficult or sometimes impossible. If you give up, you'll never forgive yourself because you'll never know what could've been if you had stuck with it."

Natsu graciously took the shirt and shook it out. It didn't seem flashy enough to be for one of his acts given it was just simple and black, but it looked brand new now that Lucy had worked her magic. He smiled and nodded to Lucy in thanks, grabbing a hanger and putting the shirt on the clothes rack.

"Wait, who's Ms. Spetto?" Natsu wondered. Lucy's eyes widened as she thought up of an excuse. She didn't know why, but being around Natsu made her open up about things. It was strange and she didn't like how quickly her guard came down in front of him.

"My…um…sewing instructor," Lucy said, wincing internally at how stupid the excuse sounded. Natsu glared at her and sat back down on the couch, leaning over his lap with hands folded seriously.

"I know you're not telling me the truth," Natsu said seriously.

"Why does it matter?" Lucy asked, looking away from jim and fiddling with her hands. "I'll only be here for two weeks so what's the point?"

"That's exactly the point," Natsu said. "We're all so close here because we don't hide anything from anyone. Everybody knows everything there is to know about everyone else. You don't keep secrets from your family." Lucy was silent for a while, almost deciding on telling Natsu everything . Luckily, she caught herself last minute and kept her mouth shut: she couldn't tell him who she really was. It's only two weeks, she told herself. You can keep a secret for fourteen days.

"Yeah, well, I'm not part of your family so it doesn't matter," Lucy insisted. She allowed her eyes to glance over at Natsu who continued to stare at her with a hard expression, expecting her to change her answer. When she said nothing more, Natsu sighed and leaned against the couch with his arms crossed behind his head.

"I'm sure you'll change your mind," Natsu said with a knowing smirk. Lucy narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrow, plastering a grin on her face to shake off her nerves.

"Are you guaranteeing that?" Lucy asked. Natsu turned his head towards her and, upon noticing her playful expression, smirked and lifted his head back to face the ceiling of the tent.

"I won't put it in writing, but mark my words," he said. "It's hard to keep things from the people you trust."

"And what makes you think I'll grow to trust you and the rest of these people?" Lucy asked a little defensively. The last thing she wanted was to spill her secret to the whole circus. Natsu shrugged his shoulders, not seeming to notice Lucy's sudden hostility.

"Two weeks is enough time," he replied simply. Lucy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, giving up.

"Anyways," Natsu said, striking up another conversation. "I still haven't thought up of anything for you to help me with yet but I was thinking, since everyone seems to want me to try and get you to be my assistant, I could go over some basic stuff with you."

"Really?" Lucy asked, excited. "You'll teach me to become your assistant?"

"Yeah, sure. And if it doesn't work out, what's the harm in teaching you a thing or two?" Natsu said casually.

"You're not worried about me trying to recreate your own performances?" Lucy asked. He turned to her with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile.

"I don't think I have to worry about that," he replied. Natsu stood and held out his hand to Lucy with a wide smile on his face.

"C'mon then, apprentice," he said. "Let's start our adventure!" Lucy stared at his hand for a moment before matching his goofy grin and sliding her right hand into his.

"Okay!" she replied, lifting herself from the couch and following him to the stage.

A/N: Don't forget to leave a review because I appreciate every single one and I'll see you guys next week!