AN: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and its characters!

Hehe, loving the reviews! :D When I started uploading this I hadn't really expected so many brilliant readers to actually pay any attention to this ^_^ Just to say, I actually have a separate email address just for , so don't worry about sending 'too many' reviews or messages – it's the only thing I go to check there! So you're fine, Titania99, I was actually really enjoying your comments! So, I'm rambling again! Sorry!

Here's the next chapter as promised, continues straight after the last one!

Chapter Ten - The Truth Hurts

Lucy stepped into the empty staff room and started to sob quietly into her hands. She'd just had to escape; she just couldn't hold the tears back anymore. She wasn't even sure who she was angriest with – Laxus, Natsu or herself. How could Laxus put her through all that?! After everything that had happened?! Had he really been that drunk that he couldn't remember what he'd said...?...no wonder he'd been so upset with her...he'd seriously thought she'd left him for someone else. It was just her luck that the first time he seen her after she'd left him would be the first time she'd brought Natsu to the club to meet all of her friends. Of all the places they could have met! She should have answered his calls, it wasn't entirely his fault that they'd broken up – she'd pushed him too hard and she knew it. He still shouldn't have shouted at her last week though! And how dare Natsu tell Laxus something like that! He knew how confused she was!

Lucy paced round in circles, biting her bottom lip, tears streaming down her red face. Levy slid quietly into the room and shut the staff room door. She looked up at her best friend, wanting to comfort her but not knowing where to start. She'd been so emotional recently; you could tell she was getting further through her time.

"Lucy? How'd it go? ...did you manage to tell him?" She asked soothingly, wrapping her arms around her crying friend.

"...no, I don't think I want to...not now..." she whispered into Levy's shoulder, still sobbing.

"Sssh, its ok. Lucy, you need to breathe, take a nice deep breath. Now, tell me what happened once you got outside? What did he say to you?" Levy rubbed her friend's back gently.

"He said he wasn't going to ask me to take him back...because he 'knew how I felt about him'. Natsu had told him he was just my 'scumbag ex', how could Natsu betray me like that?! Natsu had no right to say something like that to him! ...and...and Laxus told me...that he...that he loves me..." Lucy eventually managed to explain, slowly finishing her crying.

"He told you that he loved you...? And now you don't want to tell him...? Lucy, if he really loves you...he'll understand, he could help you! Lucy, Natsu...I really like him, and I know how much you like him...but he won't be able to give the same kind of support...I know I'm probably just making you even more confused right now...but Lucy, if you give Laxus a chance, maybe he'll understand and maybe he'll even let you stay with Natsu...and still help you?" Levy reasoned, hoping she'd persuaded Lucy to tell Laxus what he had a right to know.

Gajeel watched the door that Shrimp had just disappeared through. He'd seen Lucy rush in there just before Laxus had come back in from the alleyway. The large guy looking pretty upset, not crying or angry – just that he seemed to be dealing with confusingly mixed feelings, Gajeel thought, watching his cousin cross the club towards them. He ordered a pint for Laxus and passed it to him as he reached the bar.

"I told her." Laxus stated.

Gajeel knew exactly what Laxus meant. They sat in a heavy but companionable silence, drinking their pints. Gajeel looked round to Bixslow, wondering if the big idiot was even aware of how his friend was feeling. He had never seen Bixslow so serious.

"Laxus, she's with that hot-head now. The last thing the two of you needed was for you to say that now. You need to let her go; you want her to be happy right? Don't try to pull her back, you'll just both be miserable. If she'd came back to you without you saying that then maybe it would have worked, but Laxus – you've just shot yourself in the foot. You'll only feel guilty if she came back now." Bixslow sounded so serious. Gajeel had no idea how Laxus would take having the truth thrown in his face like that by a guy that's never serious.

"Yeah? If that's what you think then fine, that's your opinion. But if she came back, I'd make sure she never wanted to leave again. Even for the runt. Why? Because she's the best damn thing that ever happened to me! I went straight after I met her! Life became about so much more than just girls, money and power! You remember what I was like before her!? Of course I want Lucy back!" Laxus exclaimed, resisting the urge to shout at his friend.

Gajeel looked back and forward between the two men. He wasn't going to move, if he moved they'd probably be on top of each other on the floor. The sparks coming off his cousin in pure fury at his best mate's disbelieving glare were impressive. It was getting harder to breathe as the tension grew. Gajeel could expect to be stuck in the middle of a brutally merciless fight at any second.

"Can I get you a refill?" The sweet female voice from behind the bar called amiably to the powerful males.

All the tension vanished from the air as everyone's attention was drawn to the innocent smile of the tall barmaid. Freed was standing behind Bixslow with an encouraging smile, trying to persuade his friends to take her offer and drop the offending subject. The three of them all agreed and the entire club seemed to let go of the breath they'd apparently all been holding in. Gajeel grinned at Freed, silently complementing him on his choice of woman.

A girl suddenly popped up behind Freed. Her short, white hair seemed vaguely familiar as she smiled at him. She was wearing a little black dress just like Indigo and Shrimp. She grabbed a tray off the bar and disappeared into the crowd as quickly as she had appeared. Bixslow looked over his shoulder to see what Gajeel had been looking at and only seen Freed chatting up the barmaid again. He let out a sigh. He'd been hoping that his devilish angel had arrived. He'd text her to tell her not to be too long 'cause without her he had no reason to hang around. He'd even pointed out that he wasn't going to leave alone like he had last time: he'd had a rough night last time after her teasing.

The demon barmaid grinned at him. What had he done? He glanced at Freed only to be met with the same grin. What the hell was going on?! He looked down, checking for spilt beer or an open fly. Nothing. He went back to his pint, silently annoyed that he'd clearly missed a joke that had been made at his expense. He finished his pint and decided he'd get his revenge for being stood up by finding himself a nice little stand-in for her. He turned to begin searching the dance floor, but stopped upon hearing an annoyed sigh from the woman behind him. He remembered 'Shrimp' warning him about 'Mira' being his devilish angel's older sister so he decided that he should maybe go find another bar.

Damn.

There she was. Walking towards him, looking as innocent as ever, carrying a tray of empty glasses. She was a damn waitress – no wonder she'd known the other girls last week! He sat silently watching her as she made her way towards the bar. If she was leaving with him, he'd have to wait 'til her shift finished. He made himself comfy, waiting for her to say something to him. She placed her tray on the bar where Mira cleared it of all the empty glasses. She didn't even glance at him but smiled sweetly at Freed. Should he do his usual grin to try to get her attention, to maybe make her laugh? No. He'd text her, it was up to her now – he'd already said too much.

She picked the tray back up off the bar and turned to walk away. Her index finger slid along the outside of his left thigh. His eyes went wide and he looked down at her. She looked totally innocent as she walked away, it was as if she'd done absolutely nothing and it was all in his head. She disappeared back into the crowd, leaving Bixslow completely confused. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the others who were all deep in their own conversations and pulled his phone out. He seen it was a text, tapped it open and just about rushed out the door! 'Meet me out the back about 2.30, if you're late we won't be able to head back to your place.'

He was gonna get lucky tonight!

So, we have a confused Lucy hiding something, Laxus on the verge of even shouting at his 'best mate', and Bixslow's luck seems to have finally turned ;) So, I figured you'd like the fact you're finally getting to hear what Lucy and Laxus are thinking, i.e. they're talking to the people they're closest to, and our poor 'narrator' almost got stuck in the middle! (Well done Mira and Freed!) Hope you liked it, the next chapter is up tomorrow!