Author's note: Alrighty guys! I'm uploading my next chapter right now. I would have gotten it done sooner but things were pretty crazy this weekend. So I apologize for not being up to date sooner. So, I'm making this chapter a bit longer as an apology. Thanks for sticking with me everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, just this story.

Chapter 9:

The rest of the day way too smoothly. Lucy leans over to whisper to Levy. "Does it seem weird that neither Sting nor Rogue have said or done ANYTHING all day?" Lucy whispers.

Levy nods. "A little. But I would take what we can get. It's been awhile since they've left us alone like this."

Lucy thinks about this for a moment. "Yeah, you've got a good point." Lucy nods just as the bell rings, signaling the end of the school day.

Both girls get up to leave. As they head for the door, Lucy bumps into someone. "Oh I'm so-" "Hey! Watch whe-" Both people stop in mid-sentence realizing who they bumped into.

Sting looks down at Lucy. "Oh. Just, watch where you walk, blondie." He mutters quietly and glares.

"Um, yeah. Sorry Sting." Lucy cocks her head to the side as Sting walks away, oddly quiet.

Lucy looks at Levy. "Yeah, something is officially going on with him."

Levy nods looking just as confused as Lucy. Before they could say anything else about it, Gajeel, Gray and Natsu come up to them. "Ready to get going?" Natsu asks excited.

"We sure are." Lucy smiles. The five of them head out of the school.

"Well, I should be heading to work," Gray says, looking around uncomfortably. "First, I need to ask. Some blue haired chick has been following me around. I don't think she realizes that I've noticed. Who is she?"

Both girls look around, noticing a blue hat sticking out the top of some nearby bushes. "Oh, that's Juvia. Yeah, she's a little on the stranger side." Levy laughs uncomfortably.

Gray raises an eyebrow but nods. "Alright then. I'll see you guys later." He waves and starts in another direction. The group hears some rustling of bushes and another set of footsteps head toward Gray's direction.

Lucy shivers but turns to the remaining group. "Alright guys. Follow me to Mira's!" She exclaims excitedly. Lucy grabs Levy's hand and pulls her towards a small bakery café. It's a cute little shop only a few blocks away from their school. The outside is painted a pretty maroon color with a few tables and chairs along the windows of the café. Walking in, the inside is painted a bright sky blue with nature photographs decorating the wall. There are a small amount of table and chairs on the inside and along the back wall is a glass case filled to the brim with delectable pastries. Natsu's mouth begins to water.

A small blue haired girl bounds up to them happily. She has on a maroon tee-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and an apron that matches the walls of the café. Her hair is also tied up into pigtails.

The bluenette jumps into Lucy's out stretched arms. "Lucy! I've missed you!" She exclaims. Lucy laughs and hugs her back. "Hey Wendy! We've missed you too."

Wendy smiles wide and gives Levy a hug as well. She then looks behind the two girls at the two strangers standing behind them.

"Wendy, meet Gajeel and Natsu. They're new to our school. Natsu, Gajeel, meet Wendy Marvell." Levy smiles at the girl.

Wendy smiles at the boys shyly and bows her head. "It's nice to meet you both. Welcome to 'Mira's'. Follow me and I'll show you to your seats." She grabs Lucy's and Levy's hands and leads them over to a table near the window. "Someone will be right with you to take your order. Unfortunately I've got something I've got to do. But someone else is here who would want to see you!" She smiles excitedly at the group and skips away.

"Well she's spunky." Natsu smiles at the girl as she walks into the back.

Lucy nods. "Yeah, she's something alright. Wendy's always been a super sweet girl. She's a little clumsy, though. So she doesn't really do any serving. More just a hostess and does some of the cleaning in the back."

Just then another girl walks up to the group. She has long brown hair. She's wearing a similar outfit to what Wendy was wearing except instead off a shirt, it's a maroon bathing suit top and blue jeans. "Hey Lucy, Levy! How you guys been?"

'Is it just me or does it sound like her words are a bit slurred?' Natsu scrunches his face confused.

"Cana! It's been awhile!" Lucy gets up to hug the taller female.

Levy smiles and nods. "Cana, have you been drinking again?" She raises her eyebrow.

Cana smiles a goofy grin. "You guys know better than to ask me that. Of course I've been!" The girls sweat drops. She looks at the two guys sitting with the girls. "Now who might these boys be? They're kinda cute!" She laughs.

This time, the boys sweat drop. "Hi! I'm Natsu and this is Gajeel. We just moved here recently." Natsu gives his signature grin. Gajeel just raises his hand in a half wave.

"Well, welcome to 'Mira's'! I'll put in your food orders now and I'll be right back with them!" Cana winks at the group and saunters away.

The boys look at them confused. "How can she put in an order she didn't take?" Natsu asks.

The girls look at each other and giggle. "Cana's good at reading what people want without them even knowing themselves. She's got a gift, let's just say." Lucy smiles.

The group sits in a comfortable silence for a moment; just taking in the quaint shop they're in.

"So," Levy begins. "Why not tell us about yourselves." She gestures to the two boys.

Gajeel and Natsu look at each other before Gajeel pipes up. "Alright shrimp." Levy blushes at the nickname. "So, as you both know, we moved to Magnolia pretty recently from Hargeon."

Natsu chimes in. "Yeah, and we had to take the train all the way here." Both boys pale at the thought.

The girls cock their heads. "Is that a problem?" Levy questions.

Both boys shiver. "Yeah, we both tend to get a little motion sickness." Natsu gags just thinking about it.

"I'm not nearly as bad as you, fire-butt!" Gajeel exclaims.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to the time you barfed all over the seat next to you." Natsu laughs.

Gajeel glares at Natsu. "Whatever. Anyway, the three of us moved here with the rest of or family-"

"Wait. Our family? Are the tree of you related?" Lucy says in a surprised tone.

Natsu scratches the back of his head and laughs. "Well, sort of. Gajeel and Gray are step brothers. I was adopted by their parents."

Both girls sit there with a surprise look on their faces. "Well, I guess we should have guessed. Haha." Lucy sweat drops.

Natsu nods. "Yeah, my father Igneel died when I was little. Then Gray found me living on the streets back home. He took me to his house and from there, it was like I had a family again." He smiles sadly.

Lucy gives him a look as well. "I'm sorry Natsu, it must have been really hard." She squeezes his hand. "I understand though. My mother died two years ago today, actually." Lucy looks down.

Natsu squeezes her hand back. "I'm so sorry Lucy."

She smiles at him sadly. "It's alright. I'm hanging in there as best I can. I'm just thankful I have Levy. She's been there with me though everything." Lucy smiles at her friend.

Levy's lip quivers and gives Lucy a tight hug. Before anyone can say anything else, Cana came back with their food. "Alright guys, here's your food. Lucy, here's your usual strawberry milkshake." Lucy receives it happily, licking her lips. "Levy, here's your usual strawberry cake slice." Levy says thank you happily. "For Natsu, here's a jalapeno cheddar focaccia muffin. Super spicy, one of my favorites. And for Gajeel, a slice of our famous chocolate cake. Enjoy!" She then walks off waving.

The group digs into their respective treats. "Man! She really does know how to pick 'em!" Natsu declares, face stuffed with food.

Lucy giggles. "We told you." She winks at the two.

As the group is in the middle of their afterschool snack, a tall women with silver hair comes up to greet them. She's wearing the shop's typical uniform and has her bangs tied up in a small ponytail. "Hey everyone! How is the food?" She says in a sweet voice.

Levy smiles up at the women. "It's great, as usual! Gajeel, Natsu I'd like you to meet-"

"Mira?!" Natsu exclaims, standing up quickly.

Mira looks at him confused for a minute. "Yes, that's me."

"Mira, it's me! Natsu! I would always play with Lisanna all the time before you moved away!" He tries to get her to remember him.

Mira thinks for a second before her eyes light up. "Oh my goodness, Natsu! I remember you! You're Lisanna's little boyfriend." She giggles. "And this must be Gajeel! I don't remember you having all those pricings though." Gajeel blushes and grunts something that sounded like a greeting.

Natsu blushes as Lucy and Levy raise an eyebrow at him. "Mira and her siblings used to live by us in Hargeon before moving here. We used to play together all the time back then." He explains to the girls.

"So, you have a girlfriend already, huh?" Lucy socks her head to the side but giggles.

Natsu turns even redder. "It's not exactly like that. But yeah, I guess I still do have some feelings for Lisanna. I'm sorry Luce, I should have said something to you." He sits down.

Lucy giggles some more. "That's alright, Natsu. I'm not upset."

Mira winks. "No, of course she's not. She already has the hots for a certain blonde in the area."

It was Lucy's turn to blush as red as a tomato. "Shh, Mira. The last thing I need is for more people to find out."

Natsu just cracks a grin. "Luce, it's not that hard to figure out. We see the way you look at him." He gestures over to Levy. "Same with her and the black-haired friend of his." Levy squeaks, turning red.

Gajel cracks a small smile as well. "We just don't understand why you guys feel that way when all they do is torment you." His smile turns into a frown.

Mira looks at the girls in concern. "So, it's still happening, huh? The two of them still bothering you?"

Natsu rolls his eyes. "Bothering is a bit of an understatement." He mutters under his breath.

Both girls glare at them. "It's hard to explain. Yeah, they 'bother' us. But we've known them for a while. Especially Sting and I. It's hard to just 'get over' someone. As obviously Natsu should know." Lucy says with a smirk.

Natsu blushes again. "Yeah, well, they're the last two I would imagine you guys would want to be associated with."

Lucy shrugs. "As much as we'd like to get over the two, it's not that easy. So we're just going to ride it out until high school is over. That's really all we can do." Both girls sigh.

Mira clears her throat. "Well, both Levy and Lucy know that they're always welcome to come here and stay as long as they like. They're like family after all." She smiles at the two.

"Thanks Mira. We really appreciate it." Levy smiles back.

Lucy takes out her phone and looks at the time. "Crap! It's getting late. I wanted to go see my mother before I have to go home. I can't be late or else-" She stops in mid-sentence. Levy turns to her with a concerned look.

Gajeel looks at her weird. "Or else what?"

Lucy panics a little but tries to keep her voice steady. "It's nothing important. Don't worry about it." She waves her hand.

The boys look at each other and shrug. "Alright then. Did you want us to walk you there?" Natsu offers.

Lucy shakes her head. "It's alright; I'd rather just go by myself. You guys could give Levy some company on her way home?" She suggests despite Levy's looks of 'I'm a big girl, I can walk alone'. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye Mira! Say bye to Wendy and Cana for me!" She waves as she exits the bakery, on her way to the cemetery.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away:

"Come Sting. Why won't you come cuddle with me~" A sickly sing-song voice asks, lying down on his bed.

Sting glares at her. "Because you're annoying. That's why." He sits back in his computer chair, listening to his music and trying to study for an upcoming test.

Minerva glares right back. "Well, if that's the case, why the hell are we even together?" she yells and crosses her arms.

"You know, that's a good question. This isn't working out anymore." He takes his earphones off.

Minerva looks at him shocked before her face twists into anger. "What the hell has gotten into you lately? This is about that bitchy blonde isn't it?!" She stands in anger.

Sting stands up and gives her a look that could freeze hell. "You have no idea what the hell you're even talking about!" He throws his text book, denting the wall of his room. "That's it, I'm going for a walk." He turns to look at the girl on his bed. "And you better be gone by the time I get back." He stomps out of his room and slams the door.

Minerva clenches her fists and tries to calm down. "This has gone on long enough." She sits at Sting's computer and starts searching his files. "There's got to be something on here I can use. Those two have known each other forever." She clicks around some more before coming upon a file that reads 'Childhood Memories'. Clicking on the file, she finds all of Sting's memories in pictures and videos up until middle school. She scrolls until she finds a video of Lucy. As she watches it, her face lights up and her smirk grows wider and wider.

'This is perfect! That blonde bimbo has no idea what's coming to her!' She squeals as she downloads the file onto her USB stick. She closes out of the files and starts heading home to prepare for the next school day.