DISCLAIMER: HIRO MASHIMA OWNS FAIRY TAIL


CHAPTER SIX

DROP THE GAME

The sound of her own name rang in her ears. She felt like she was having a dream within a dream. There, he stood in front of her, his dark eyes wide.

"This is silly. I'm seeing things again." Lucy said with a giggle. She went back to bed in a zigzag and collapsed, hey eyes heavy and her head hazy. Gray cleared his throat but the girl did not move a muscle. He saw his brother lying on the floor with nothing but a pair of boxers on. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist into a knuckle, wanting to punch him. He went inside and kicked Lyon's shin.

"Wake up, asshole!" He didn't know why he was pissed but there was the evidence and he made his conclusion. He kicked Lyon again, this time on his side, who finally stirred and opened his eyes.

"What the fuck?" Lyon stared at him and then looked at the figure lying on his bed.

"Heh. So you got laid, huh? Congratulations." Gray said sarcastically and stormed off to his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. I should have fucking known! He paced inside his room, angry.

Lyon sat for a while, trying to process everything. He shrugged his shoulders before he stood up and got dressed.

"Lucy," he poked her cheek, "hey wake up."

The girl mumbled and yawned. "What? Oh. Is it morning already?"

"Yeah. Come on. I'll make breakfast."

"I thought I woke up already." Lucy crawled out of bed, took her bag on the table and fished out her hair brush. Lyon only laughed, trying to remember what they did the night before.

"Crazy. I'll be downstairs."

Lucy went to the bathroom and fixed herself, wearing her clothes again from last night. Her mouth was dry but she was glad that her head wasn't pounding. Just... kind of hazy and floaty. She laughed, remembering her "dream". Silly me. I must probably miss him. Lucy shook her head and headed downstairs.

She helped Lyon make breakfast, just something simple. "Last night was crazy, huh." She said with a laugh.

"Yeah. Damn, that movie we watched, what happened? I know we finished it but I didn't understand anything." He said, toasting bread.

Lucy laughed. "Oh, man. It was scary, all right but I don't know too. All I remember was that I kept on screaming every time the psycho appeared. Can't remember much."

They sat on the table, heard footsteps descend down the stairs and an angry looking Gray arrived. Lucy choked on her coffee.

"Gray? What are you doing here?"

"Duh. I live here."

"Eh? You don't know? Gray's my brother." Lyon explained seeing Lucy's confused face. He looked at Gray who ignored them who pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"What?! No way!"

"Half-brother, actually." Gray said snobbishly and Lucy raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look who woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Lyon smirked while Lucy was lost in her thoughts. So, it wasn't a dream after all.

"And look who got laid last night. How was she? Wild?" Gray spat, glaring at Lucy.

"Eh? Lyon? You got laid?!" How slow, Lucy. How slow of you.

"What, what?" Lyon was confused. Did he got laid? But he was with Lucy all night. Did they...? Impossible.

"Did I fucking stutter? Tch. Whatever." Gray left the two who fell silent. Lucy felt her spirit crash while Lyon was confused what got his brother's knickers in a twist. Lucy suddenly had a bad feeling about this. They finished their breakfast in silence and she decided to leave. She wanted to talk to Gray but decided against it. There was nothing to explain but what's more is that she was surprised that he was Lyon's brother and the fact that she was fooling around with him finally made her feel like shit. If he was someone else then she wouldn't care less and not give a damn about it but at the back of her mind she admitted that she was slowly getting attached to the raven-haired guy but it's not like she can blame herself directly for choosing the wrong person. She didn't even know that he was "her friend's brother". Shaking her head, Lucy decided that whatever they have must come to an end whether she liked it or not. Time to drop the game.


The sound of the phone ringing woke her up. Lucy checked the clock on her bedside table and groaned. She took her phone and saw an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Lucy? Is that you?"

Wait. Lucy thought his voice sounded familiar. A husky and warm. But she wasn't sure.

"Uh, yeah. Who's this?

"It's Loke. I'm back."

Gray was furious. No. He was fucking furious at his brother... at Lucy. He knew he was not in the position to get mad but what his eyes saw made him feel like he was being played at and that he was doused with a bucket filled with boiling jealousy. He was aware that he was over-reacting. It has been a long, long time since he got pissed like this and the alcohol from earlier didn't help. Not even one bit.

He arrived at Sun City, an underground spot used for skating, where his other friends were having a skate-off. How the place got its name was something that always made him wonder. He wanted to take his mind off from what happened but the image of Lucy wearing his brother's shirt and Lyon on his boxers would only mean one thing. What a fucking slut, he sneered in disgust with the idea that she had been sleeping not only with him but she was banging his brother as well.

As much as he wanted to get mad at her right in the face, it was impossible but he almost wished that Lucy had an excuse. True, he didn't actually see them in a compromising position but they were almost naked and she spent the night over. He remembered how they laughed that night, how fun they sounded. He envied his brother for making her laugh like that, for being close to her. Gray bit back his anguish and toppled down his deck on the ground before pushing off. The thrill excites him and the cold rush of the afternoon breeze made him feel like his red emotions were being blown off behind him by the wind.

The speed was nothing to him, it made him feel like he was in control. Free-riding, Gray pushed further and moved to a pre-drift before doing a full one on a curve. He was dizzy from the alcohol but he shook it off while building up a sweat. Air breaking, he watched his friends follow, doing a 180 degrees while the others did a freestyle. He pushed back uphill with a force and did a hard wheel slide downhill but his concentration disappeared as Lucy's laughter rang inside his head. A surge of anger boiled up towards his head in a heartbeat, seeing how close she was with Lyon. He knew he can't match up to what they have and that very idea enraged him even more.

Gray heard a series of shouts calling his name that sent him to panic but he was too late before making a shut down slide in emergency. He was thrown off his deck, his elbows grazed in friction against the concrete and felt the back of his head hit the ground as he rolled over. Lucy's bright and smiling face flashed in his mind before his thoughts came to a complete stop.


Lyon felt someone tap his shoulder and grinned when he saw Loke. His golden mane was cut short but his flirty smile remained the same. He sat across Lyon and ordered a beer. At first Lyon was surprised when he called him earlier that day. The boy left the country a year ago but they were not able to see each other. They were tight back then, when both of them were still in Sabertooth along with Lucy but it was Lyon who left Crocus first.

"Look who's back!" They fist bumped.

"The one and only."

"You're still the same, you jerk."

Their drinks arrived as Loke launched on and on about his experiences abroad, all the crazy parties, and about all the girls that he dated when he was away and Lyon only listened.

"I heard from Rogue that Lucy moved here. I called her earlier, actually. How is she? Have you seen her?" The blond asked, his eyes following a girl who walked past their table.

"Yeah. She moved in with her cousin so I see her every now and then. From what I heard she ran away from Crocus. I figured it was the whole deal with Sting."

Lyon did not miss the look in Loke's eyes at what he said.

"It was a mess, man. Lucy was out of control. Shit, every time I see her during those days I felt like my heart was being crushed into a tiny million pieces."

There were holes. Holes that only Lucy can fill. Lyon figured that she was still suffering otherwise she never would have thought of running away but she did. He suddenly remembered how she used to be the silent, meek, and shy but beautiful girl who was being pushed around while he can only watch in the distance until Sting pulled her out from the sea that she was drowning in. He regretted the fact that he had been a coward towards his feelings about her. Maybe, just maybe, if it was him instead of Sting, Lucy wouldn't have messed up her life. Maybe she would never have experienced all those bad times that she had to go through when he left, whatever they felt the sudden need to protect her and the want to save her. She was in a new place and he decided, then and there, that he would heal her and take this opportunity to love Lucy and make her his before anyone else can take her away from him...again.

Shaking off his thoughts, Lyon snapped back to the present. "Why did you leave the country anyway?"

His friend sighed deeply and drank his beer. "Because I got caught. I was on rehab."


FLASHBACK

Loke woke up with a bad hangover. His head was pounding mad. Groaning, he shut his eyes close and rolled on his stomach trying to go back to sleep. Last night had been really bad. He spent the night drinking, draining a bottle of vodka as if it was a bottle of water. Turning his head, he noticed that he wasn't alone. Just like last night and the night before yesterday.

Opening an eye, he looked at the figure beside him who was curled up in a fetal position with her naked back on him and her blond hair fanned all over the pillow. Loke noticed that her shoulder was shaking. He sighed and brought his hand to caress her back.

"Ssshhh. It's okay, Lucy."

The girl heard him but did not turn. Loke moved closer to her and secured his arm around her small waist, resting his forehead on the back of her neck. She had been crying again. Loke wondered if she had even slept since he was the one who fell asleep after they went a trip to la-la-land.

He knew that she was in a fragile state and it wasn't like he was taking advantage over her. They both agreed and compromised, both of them knew that they need each other. He had been more than willing to let Lucy use him because he knew that she needed someone and it was the least that he could do. Loke was perfectly aware of their unhealthy relationship but when Lucy came to him, he had no other choice but to agree. He knew that he was being a total asshole, seeing that what he had been doing was something that a real friend shouldn't be doing but that wasn't his excuse just so he could get inside her pants.

Other than Rogue, he was the only one who was perfectly aware of what happened and what's been happening having witnessed everything first-hand. He welcomed Lucy along with the mess inside her head with open arms even if he only saw her as a friend. He was the only one who can handle her and he was the perfect guy for the position. Neither of them can fall in love, hell, they can't afford to fall in love. Loke hushed her to sleep, chanting words of comfort beneath her ears.

"It wasn't your fault, Lucy. None of it was."

He felt her shoulder shake harder and her muffled sob broke out. She turned around and snuggled herself on his chest.

"If I didn't... Sting... He... It was my fault, Loke. It's all my fault."

"No, Lucy. It wasn't. Remember that. It was never your fault."


"Lyon? Lyon?"

"What do you want, Ultear?"

"Where are you? I need you to come over here at the hospital."

"Eh? Why?"

"It's Gray. He had an accident."

TBC


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