"Friend: You're so pretty!

Best friend: Shrek called; he said he wants his face back."

-Lolsotrue # 2169

CHAPTER 9: BRIDGE

5:13 PM

Fairy Hills, Magnolia, Fiore

"So what do you think about locking them inside Horologium?"

Gray Fullbuster casually asked, walking beside the scarlet-haired girl and followed by a skulking pyromancer behind them towards Fairy Hills.

Natsu Dragneel did everything in his power to convince the two that he really didn't need their so-called 'help'. Unfortunately, his 'concerned friends' just stamped a huge 'DENIAL' word on his forehead and proceeded with their crazy planning.

The requip mage turned to him with a disbelieving stare, "The talking grandfather clock inside Master Makarov's office?" she asked, before rubbing her forehead in exasperation. "You are demented."

"What? You said 'romantic cliché high school love story.'" He answered with a yawn.

"Yes, not 'horrifying, strange, awkward setup by Fullbuster the almi-"

"Yes, thank you. I get it." Gray thought it was rather amusing; watching her reaction everytime he cut off her pattern of speech. She looked as if she had been offended in the most inhumane way.

'We're in a truce, Erza. A momentary, friendly, despicable truce.' Erza reminded herself, taking deep, calming breaths.

"Good." She answered, maintaining an air of superiority and making the ice mage dully stare at her with an expression of 'Seriously? That's it?' look on his face.

"What about the hiring a skilled assassin to target Lucy? Then Natsu saves her, they both get to know each other, and the rest is history." he suggested once more, earning another incredulous stare from Erza Scarlet.

"You need to visit a psychologist." She simply said, once more thinking about the momentarily truce and how she wasn't allowed to hit him with the hilt of her sword. Even though she was supposed to.

"Speaking of Lucy," Gray noted, noticing the figure of a blonde-haired girl standing in front of Fairy Hill's mahogany doors.

"Hey, pyro," he called to the sulking fire mage, "Your princess is here."

Natsu shot a glare at the ice mage before passing them and running towards the blonde-haired girl.

Lucy's hand was hovering over the door, internally debating whether to knock or just run away in full power.

"Hey, Lucy!" a new voice spoke up, making the said girl turn around with wide, shocked eyes; only to be met by the pink-haired fire mage inches in front of her. Her breathing hitched and she hastily stepped backwards, her clumsiness showing as she stumbled. She'd be sitting on the floor if it wasn't for Natsu wrapping an arm around her waist in support.

"Woah. You alright?" He asked in concern.

Blood rushed to her cheeks.

Unbeknownst to them, Erza Scarlet had discreetly dragged the complaining Gray Fullbuster to the nearest tree. The requip mage's eyes were sparkling delightfully at the scene in front of them.

"So… how long are they going to stay in that position?" Gray whispered, Erza elbowing him and making a frantic 'Sshh' sound.

Seconds passed.

"Seriously. Are they waiting for the background music or something?"

"I swear to Earthland, if you aren't going to keep quie-"

"Guys! She's okay!" Natsu yelled towards the two, Erza face-palming at Natsu's pitiful denseness.

"Hello, Lucy." Erza stepped back from their supposed-to-be inconspicuous hiding place, dragging a muttering Gray Fullbuster by the collar.

'This week is getting worse by the second.' Lucy thought, slightly smiling at the two.

"Why were you behind the tree?" Natsu obliviously asked.

"The view of the house looked better from there." Gray uninterestingly replied, Erza just nodding with scorn at the stupid reason while opening the doors with her key.

5:17 PM

Fairy Hills, Magnolia, Fiore

"It's not here." Lucy monotonously said. Before facing her fellow companions in the vacant room where she last slept.

"IT'S NOT HERE." She repeated, this time with panic clouding her brown eyes. She looked like she was about to hyperventilate and faint on the spot.

"I-It's okay. Maybe it got swept by the housekeeper in some dark corner of the house." Levy comforted the girl in vain; Lucy's actions getting more frantic by the second.

"Puuun," The snowman-like puppy-like creature said, only heard, noticed and understood by Natsu Dragneel.

"What's that?" he asked, the creature replying with another 'puun'.

"Lucy, your dog said maybe it's in the river." Natsu said, earning disbelieving looks from everyone in the room.

"Juvia can go with Lucy to the river." The blue-haired water mage volunteered, Lucy just furiously nodding her head in lost hope.

5:20 PM

The River, Magnolia, Fiore

Juvia Lockser held some sort of stone in between her hands whilst her eyes were closed in concentration.

Lucy, on the other hand, had the urge to personally jump into the now peaceful river and search for her mother's locket everytime Juvia brought up either trash or some unidentifiable object from the river.

Minutes felt like hours before the water mage opened her eyes and frowned.

"It's not here." She truthfully said, watching as the blonde-haired girl sat helplessly on the ground. Juvia sat by her and silently patted her back, staring while Lucy sobbed weakly.

"It's okay." Juvia comforted, genuinely feeling sad, as the necklace she was looking for definitely held importance.

"It was my mother's locket." Lucy hastily wiped her tears away. "She gave it to me before she… disappeared." The water mage furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, not fully understanding. Lucy, realizing her mistake, noticed that Juvia was about to ask about the topic, so she changed the subject immediately; this not going unnoticed by the water mage.

"It that stone a magical water item?" Lucy asked, as Juvia's eyes sparkled brilliantly. Lucy cheered herself for a distraction well done.

"No, it's just an ordinary ice stone I received from someone before." Juvia nostalgically said, and she started her storytelling, Lucy not really listening in full concentration.

Flashback

Ten Years Ago

An eight-year-old, blue-haired girl tightly clutched her teddy bear, willing herself not to cry.

Her eyes frantically looked around the huge amusement park; it was filled with people, and her parents were nowhere to be found. She had been aimlessly wandering around for the past ten minutes, and her hope that she would be found diminished by the second.

"I'm lost." She said to no one in particular; thoughts about being sent to the orphanage bringing tears to her eyes.

She sat at the edge of the fountain, sobbing helplessly while the people around her were all smiles and laughter.

"Momma," she called out, "Daddy," her sobs became louder, her tears now freely flowing.

She considered just screaming bloody murder and crying like there was no tomorrow. Until someone spoke up.

"Hey there, princess; is anything wrong?" a raven-haired, shirtless boy about her age approached her with a boyish grin.

She sat there; startled and quiet, eyeing the stranger as he took a seat beside her.

"Don't worry, princess," he spoke reassuringly, "Your knight is finally here to save you." He cheerfully spoke, taking her hand and giving her a chaste kiss on her knuckles, making the girl furiously blush.

The boy, noting her reddish face, frowned and stooped in front of her.

"Are you okay? You look red." He felt her forehead with the back of his hand.

What she looked like: Calm and curiously staring at the boy with wide eyes.

What her thoughts were: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH.

What she said: "I-I'm alright. It's just that… my parents…" she bit her lip in frustration.

The raven-haired boy smiled coyly, taking her hand and softly dragging her up.

"Come on, then. Your prince shall make you smile again."

The two spent the day exploring the amusement park, and it turned out to be the happiest and most fulfilling day of her life; the blue-haired girl thought, watching her new-found friend as they happily rode the merry-go-round. They talked, walked, and even ate her favorite ice cream together.

Just when the sun was setting, she finally saw her parents frantically talking to one of the security guards in the amusement park.

Her parents were, of course, furious and relieved at the same time. She turned to the boy one last time.

"Thank you for everything, my prince." She spoke with a blush, and he smiled in return.

"It was my pleasure, princess." He comically bowed, and started to walk away.

"Wait!" She said, grabbing a hold of his hand, "Take this." She removed her blue, diamond-inlaid hairclip and gave it to him.

"Don't forget me, alright?" she childishly asked,

The boy simply raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"I won't." he replied, before handing her a curious ice-looking stone, connected to a dark, red string in return.

"Take care, princess." and they finally parted ways.

"It was only when we got home that I realized; I didn't even knew his name." she turned to her right, facing her companion who was supposed to be sitting just beside her. The wind blew and she found herself sitting alone by the riverside.

"Err, Lucy?"

1:56 AM

The River, Magnolia, Fiore

A certain scarlet-haired girl stopped writing.

She set her pen aside and stared at the digital alarm clock feeling a sense of dread when the red digits flashed 1:56 AM. Erza Scarlet did this a lot. Reviewing non-stop and always starting and completing various drafts of her plans concerning Fairy Tail High. God knows just how much she loved the school.

She wrapped up everything and arranged her things with a spell, begrudgingly dragging herself to bed and flicking the bedpost lamp off.

The weird part was she didn't even feel a bit sleepy. She groaned and relentlessly turned.

Minutes passed and she was still consciously staring the ceiling. She got up and sat contemplating things, before deciding that she just probably needed some fresh air.

She grabbed her phone by the bedside table and stealthily got up; using the screen light to walk out of the room and into the balcony, bare-foot and clad in nothing but a thin, silky nightgown.

Her eyes began scanning her dark surroundings as a cool breeze blew through her scarlet hair.

Her eyes stopped short of their roaming and landed on a fairly bright square of light directly in front of her.

'Who's up and defying curfew sleeping hours?' Her eyebrows furrowed in disdain, knowing full well that she was, herself, also awake at the moment.

The boys' dorm was just across the girls' dorm. And she continued to stare at the brightly lit up room.

A silhouette passed through the transparent glass, the shadow seemed to be holding a phone to his ear, and running a hand through his hair as he paced the room back and forth.

She checked her phone and the screen lit up, now the digits read 2:05. She was about to go back inside her room when the sound of the balcony door sliding open made her freeze on the spot.

A familiar raven-haired ice mage stepped out of his room and into the balcony, his eyes slightly widening in surprise at the red-haired girl standing across the other side, phone in hand, and eyes unblinking.

'Maybe he can't see me. I'll just go back now.' She was stealthily about to step backwards, when she nearly jumped at something vibrating in her right hand.

Erza glanced down, and she saw the screen of her phone lighting up; the words '1 New Message' were visible. She narrowed her eyes before reading the message.

'I know you're still up, Scarlet.'She scowled at the unknown number, knowing full well who just sent it.

'How'd you get my number, Fullbuster?' she typed back,

'I have trusted sources. What are you doing still up?' the message read, and she quickly typed back.

'Does what I'm doing matter to you?'

'I guess not; but if you're about to jump off the balcony then just ignore me and proceed.'

She scowled and shot him a menacing glare.

'I can't sleep.' Why she sent that text was beyond her. Maybe her patience and kindness just comes out at such ungodly hours.

'Scared of the Boogeyman? :P'

'How dare that intolerable jerk mock me…' she thought.

'Curfew was five hours ago. Go to sleep.'

She squinted through the darkness, but instead of seeing him type back a reply, he seemed to float up higher in the air, and walk straight towards her. Her eyes widened as he stopped short, now noticing that he just made an ice bridge in the air. She consciously wrapped her arms around her body.

"What're you doing, Fullbuster?" she hissed.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm floating." He simply whispered back, and she sighed, feeling another cold breeze drift through.

"You're standing on ice." She replied. "And we're breaking rules." She whispered lightly, as he shrugged; now moving to sit on the rails.

"So? It's not like you're going to tell the housekeeper out of guilt." He said, as she just stared seriously at him, as if considering the idea.

"You can't be serious." He shook his head at her.

"Alright; I won't tell anyone." She sighed, feeling the guilt coming on much early than she expected.

"Good."

The silence that followed his reply made her stare almost unconsciously at him. She noticed his slightly ruffled raven hair, his dull, uncaring eyes, and… what just happened?

"Two o'clock has officially driven me insane." She thoughtlessly said, leaning her chin on the palm of her hands, still staring at him.

"Why?" he asked, turning to her with a curiously.

"It makes me think you look good." Her answer just made everything awkward. Until he broke out laughing at her.

"It's been three days and you've already fallen for me, Scarlet." He said in between laughs.

"Dream on, Fullbuster." She lightly punched his shoulder, pouting as she did. Now it was his turn to stare.

Cute.

He moved forwards, staring at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. She was instantly frozen, and Erza Scarlet's eyes widened when he huskily whispered in her ear, "Are you trying to seduce me, Scarlet?"

Her jaw dropped, and with a flabbergasted expression, she pushed him away, indignantly watching as he amusedly laughed at her.

"Thank you. Now I am forever scarred." She shot him one last glare before entering her room and angrily shutting the balcony door and drawing the curtains.

"Hn." He simply said with a laugh.

She slightly peeked to see the ice mage walking on his cursed ice bridge towards his balcony and without a second back-glance at her, entered his room and slid the door shut. She sighed in relief, seeing the lights turn off.

She stood with her back against the balcony door for a minute, silently fanning herself in attempt to regain calmness. And air.

The requip mage then finally made her way back to bed where she carefully laid down and put her phone back on the nightstand. Now the digital clock read 2:13 AM.

'I am not, in the slightest bit, affected.' the scarlet-haired girl mused, now feeling more tired than ever.

Her eyes were slowly drooping, until the vibration of her phone against the bedside table shook her awake. She grabbed the phone and stared hatefully at the single word contained in the message sent by one of the most unbearable, conceited pricks in the whole universe, to her, that is.

'Goodnight.'