Okay. Wow. I'm back. I have not updated this for so long, i'm not sure if you guys even remember this story. Honestly, this should have been updated a lot earlier, but I went through many unsuccessful attempts at writing this. And then my laptop sort of died on me, and we had to erase all the files on it, and I couldn't recover this. So, back to the start it was, to write this. I had to take a break from April onwards as I had major exams this year, and they've just only finished. This story was my number one priority, and I've finally finished it.

Thank you for waiting for soooo long, and for your support for this story. Please enjoy, the start of Crush's L.A journey!

~X~

Lucy

I toss around the stiff seat that's been reclined back slightly, trying to get some much needed sleep. The rest of the girls have already knocked out, except for Juvia who had slept for a while earlier and woken up. A pair of headphones sat atop her head, as she drummed her fingers to whatever she was listening.

We had been on the flight for several hours, having to stop at Tokyo for a while, before boarding again. We were halfway to L.A already, and I glanced down at the dark blue waters of the Pacific Ocean from the window by my seat.

The number one reason for my lack of sleep would be the fact that I was wracked with guilt. Whatever had possessed me to leave home in the most rebellious teenager-ish way possible, I had forgotten. Oh right. I was going to live my dreams. What the hell Lucy, this isn't some TV show. Well it was technically, what we're participating in but-

"Lucy? Are you awake?" Juvia's soft voice interrupted my weird thoughts.

"Um yeah. I couldn't sleep," I replied, turning to face her over a sleeping Erza next to me.

"Oh," she said. "I couldn't help but notice Lucy, you've looked a little off ever since we arrived at the airport. Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah, it's just that…" and I explained to her what had gone down at home.

"I see… I'm really sorry that you have to go through this, torn between your family and your dreams."

"Exactly. The family is important to me, but this is an opportunity I can't afford to pass up you know, and my mom's face when I left… I can't bear to remember it Juvia. Will they even let me come back?"

"Lucy. No matter what, they're your family. Of course they would let you come back. I'm sure they might be upset now, but over time they will surely accept it and support you."

"You think? They could never really accept I wanted to do music. My dad studied medicine, and he always wanted his oldest child to do the same, or something else as worthy."

"Lucy, every parent might have their own hopes and dreams for their child, but you can't live off your parents' wishes. You are your own individual."

"Yes you're right, and that was what really made me pack my bags… but still, I've upset them," I said, blinking away the tears in my eyes.

"There was no other choice though. You had talked to them, but they had still refused. You couldn't have done anything. Don't be so hard on yourself, okay?" she said, squeezing my hand with a smile.

"Alright…" I said, a small smile forming on my face. Sometimes, I see in Juvia what I can't see in Erza. Juvia's ability to comfort me with sense was a lot better than Erza who had never tried. I don't know if she had even noticed that I was upset.

"You should try catching some sleep before we land Lucy. If I'm not wrong once we land we'll still have some sort of itinerary before they let us rest again."

"Okay, I'll try. And Juvia, thanks a lot."

"Sure! Nights, Lucy," she said, before placing her headphones back in. I curled to the other side, facing the window, as I watched the ocean move sluggishly. My eyes started to droop, and sleep soon found me.

Ultear

I grabbed my unmistakeable neon orange suitcase, hauling it off the conveyor belt and into my luggage trolley. Placing my backpack on top, I wheeled it off to where the rest of the girls were waiting. We had landed around fifteen minutes ago. The first thing I had noticed when I stepped out, was the smouldering heat, true to California's summer. Thank god we had quickly gone into the bliss of the air-conditioned airport.

When I joined the girls, we all started off towards the arrival hall, where there were several people waiting for passengers. We scanned the hall for someone familiar, or some sort of sign. As I looked, I noticed that there were a group of people holding cameras, and were snapping away in our direction. Another guy balanced a larger camera on his shoulder, also aimed at us.

Are those…

"Nope, they're not the paparazzi, don't worry. Not for now at least," a male voice said behind me.

I whipped around, to see a guy standing behind me. The first thing that I noticed was his beaming smile. He looked pretty handsome, with black eyes and dark blonde hair. He had on a white polo tee with some jeans on his lean physique, and wore a lanyard, with the words "PROJECT SUPERSTAR" on it.

"You must be Ultear Milkovich, am I right? I'm Hibiki Lates, assistant manager for your band," he said, extending a hand out in greeting.

I took it. "Yes I am, it's nice to meet you, Mr Lates."

He chuckled. "Oh no, please call me Hibiki. I'm not that old."

He went around introducing himself to the rest of us.

When we came to Lucy, I couldn't help but noticed his eyes were practically laser focused on her, and he shook her hand a little longer.

"Welcome to the city of angels, Crush," he said, eyes still lingering on Lucy. "If you'll follow me, I'll escort you to your chariot. Today, your wish is my command."

"Oh man, I was thinking more of a divan carried by male models who'll also feed me grapes," Erza said, linking her arms around Hibiki, without a care in the world.

We walked through the arrival hall and arrived outside, where the heat blasted me in the face again. I caught sight of a large black car, which looked like an SUV. Looks like that's our ride.

Hibiki turned to Lucy. "How about you? Shall I find some grapes to feed you?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Nah I'm good. Kinda mastered the art of feeding myself when I was a toddler."

He chuckled. "Well, anytime you feel like forgetting, let me know," he said, as he helped haul up her suitcase into the vehicle.

Wow. Did he just ignore Erza's attempt to flirt in favour of Lucy? I smirked. I'm going to have to ask Lucy about what she thought of Hibiki later on.

Wendy giggled as Hibiki said something funny to her, as he helped carry her suitcase up too. I then got out my phone, checking for any messages. I saw one from my Mom and one from my grandma, asking if I had landed safely. I quickly replied to them, saying I was fine and how amazing it was.

I noticed Lucy looking at us, with a sad expression on her face. She then got out her phone. I approached her.

"Hey, any news from home?" I asked kindly, knowing her current predicament.

She keyed in her password. "I'm not sure, I don't think-" She paused, as I saw a message notification pop up. Lucy opened it, and I saw it was from her parents. She breathed in harshly, as she clicked on the conversation.

Pls let us know you've arrived safely.

"Hey look, they messaged!" I said cheerfully, patting her back. Lucy smiled, her eyes a little glassy, as she typed out a quick message.

Just landed. Love you. Please don't be angry.

As she put her phone back in her pocket, she smiled contentedly. We heard Hibiki calling for us to get in the car, so we went in.

As the door slid shut, Hibiki switched seats to his one next to Wendy, to the empty one next to Lucy. Lucy visibly flushed, and gave Erza a frown, as she was grinning at Lucy knowingly.

As the car began to move, Hibiki began to speak.

"Right, so welcome to L.A! You guys are gonna have an awesome time here, but also be super busy. As I said, I'm your assistant manager for your time here. You will receive your schedule everyday directly from me, and anything and everything about where you go, what you do, I will know. You guys do have a manager, but he won't be with you at all times, unlike me as he'll be busy doing stuff for you guys. So, you're stuck with me. Any objections?" he asked.

No one said anything, so he continued. " Currently, we're going to the place you'll be staying at for the summer. I'll give you guys the morning to unpack, and then we'll head out for lunch, and then you girls can do whatever shopping you want for the house. Then, we'll come back and rest, and the next day, we'll be headed for the studio, where our manager will be coming to discuss everything over."

We nodded. I was really excited for this now, I couldn't wait to get started.

The car took a steep turn, and suddenly we entered a new road, and it literally took my breath away. The plain green signs that stood on the road now looked so real that I couldn't even believe they existed outside of movies.

"Sunset Boulevard?" Lucy gasped. "We just took a left and now we're on Sunset Boulevard like it's nothing? Oh my god!" she exclaimed, pressing her face against the window, much to our amusement.

"Of course, we're in L.A silly!" Erza said, chuckling gleefully. This was nothing new to her, considering that she had lived here for a long while back when she was younger.

"Holy shit is that…!" Juvia exclaimed, as she pointed to someone on the street.

"Oh my god, he looks so different in the movies!" I said.

"Yeah he looks so much chubbier?" Juvia said, her mouth dropping in awe.

The driver slowed, and we turned into a narrower street. The car drove past a residential gate and stopped.

As I climbed out of the car, I stared at the building in front of us. I'm not sure if it even qualified for a house. It was sleek and angular, all modern architecture, and had more windows than walls.

"I can't believe we live in Laurel Canyon now," Lucy said, her voice quiet with wonder.

"What's so great about Laurel Canyon?" I asked.

"This place is like the centre of rock and roll history. Everyone has lived here- Jim Morisson, Long Road, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell…"

"And now Crush!" Erza exclaimed, as she pulled her bag out of the car.

Hibiki chuckled at our reactions. I had almost forgotten he was there.

"Now now, Let's all get inside shall we? Oh wait, before we do that, I should probably warn you of the hidden cameras."

"Hidden cameras?" we all turned and faced him, surprised.

"Yeah. Since this is part of the show, everything will be recorded for the TV broadcast, about how you live. Don't forget, everything you do this summer is gonna be on cameras. But don't worry, there won't be any near your bedrooms and the bathrooms."

"Now, there is a strict policy on alcohol consumption. You're not allowed to bring in any alcohol at all, and the cameras are also there to monitor it. Well, almost. I can teach you guys how to get past it, because, well, I'm awesome, and it used to be a pain in the neck for us too."

"For us?" I said questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Oh. I didn't tell you guys? Well, I was also one of the finalists on the show, a few seasons back."

"Woah!" everyone exclaimed. I had never pegged Hibiki for the rock type, because honestly he gave of a more idol type of vibe to me.

"So what happened?" Erza asked.

"Oh, well we didn't win the finals, and then after that everyone went their separate ways," he said. I'm not sure if it was just me, but I felt like he was hiding something. Yep, I think it's just me.

"But anyway, Let's go in!" We trudged through the porch, and Hibiki unlocked the huge black front door, and let us inside. As I walked in, I couldn't help but gasp. The interior was really nice. Posh black sofas and a smart TV on the wall, and a floating staircase up. The kitchen was done up in black and white, with black granite counters, and it looked like it was already stocked up on food.

There were four rooms upstairs, where two shared a room, and the last person had to share the room with all our instruments. We quickly decided on Wendy having the last room, as she needed space to place her keyboard too.

I was sharing with Juvia, while Lucy shared with Erza. We quickly unpacked our things, and took our time to explore the huge house.

"Hey Ultear, come check this out!" I heard Erza call to me from the first floor. I padded down the stairs, and out to find the source of the house. I found a set of glass sliding doors and stepped out, only to find that we had our own infinity pool, that faced the view of the city from the mountains. It was beautiful. At the side of the pool, there were deck chairs, tables, a grill, and even a mini bar.

"We should totally have a party here," Erza said, her eyes glinting.

I silently agreed, and the five of us stared out at the view of the city, where we would embark on our dreams.

Wendy

Later in the evening, Hibiki took us to a frat party. I had panicked, as I had never even been to one before, much less a college one. I had little to no social experience. Lucy and Erza were playing some game in a circle with a bunch of people, Ultear was nowhere to be seen and Juvia was chatting with a girl.

Some people had smiled at me, and asked me if I wanted a drink, but I had politely refused. I had never drank alcohol before, and I intended to keep it that way.

I wandered around like a ghost, not quite sure what I was finding for. I met Hibiki, who patted me on the head and asked If I was fine. I nodded quickly, but he had disappeared into the crowd of gyrating bodies, as the music blasted through the dorm.

I sighted a room with fancy glass doors. Through it, I could see a piano. Success! I quickly bounded for the room, shutting the doors to block out the noise and switched on the lights. I quickly opened the lid of the piano, and placed my fingers over the keys. Instantly, I relaxed. Pianos were like magnets, they drew me in all the time. I slowly started to play, slipping into Gershwin.

As I finished the piece, I could hear clapping behind me. I jumped, and turned around, only to find a boy standing in the doorway. He had dark hair, it was almost a purplish hue, and dark blue eyes. He wasn't very tall, but looked taller than her anyway.

"Oh sorry I….I didn't mean to…." I stuttered in embarrassment.

"No, don't be sorry, that was amazing! Short Story, Gershwin right? The violin part is amazing. It's might absolute favourite thing to play in the whole world."

"Oh you play violin?" I blurted, surprised. He looked more of an athlete, with a slightly muscular build.

"I know, I know," he said with a grin. "A frat boy who likes classical music, We're a rare breed."

"Romeo Conbolt." He said, extending his hand.

"Wendy Marvel." I said shyly, taking his hand, and shaking it.

"So Wendy," he said, taking a seat next to her, on the piano stool. I flushed. "What brings you to my rec room, in the middle of a party?"

"I, um, I came with friends. I was bored and um, I stumbled across this, and I couldn't help myself from playing.

Great, now I sounded like a deranged piano addict. But Romeo was actually nodding, as if he understood what I was saying.

"I get what you mean. I missed an exam once because I found some Chopin sheet music for a nocturne I hadn't played in a while. I decided to take a couple of minutes to play and relax, but two hours later I was still playing, and I missed the exam," he said, with a wistful look.

"It's mesmerizing isn't it?" I said. "Almost like time stops."

"Exactly. It's like I'm under a spell…how come I've never seen you around before?" He said with a mischevious grin. "Don't tell me you're here visiting one of my frat brothers."

I giggled. "Nah, My friends and I got invited my our assistant manager who was from here a while back. Hibiki Lates?"

"Yeah I know him. Assistant manager?" he said, confused.

"Ahh yes. My friends and I are in a band actually, and we participated in this show called Project Superstar."

"Oh and you're in the finals? So that's why you're here. You don't sound like you're from L.A or anything. I mean, not like that's a bad thing or anything- I like your accent a lot, um… I mean…urgh shut up Romeo!" he said, smacking himself on the head. "Sorry. I tend to babble in front of pretty girls sometimes."

Now I was definitely blushing. He thought I was pretty?

"Um yeah, we won. We'll be here the whole summer for the show. I'm nerve-wracked of course, but I'm excited as well. I've never been here before, and I hope I'll get the chance to sightsee," I said.

"What do you want to see the most?" he asked.

"That's easy. The Walt Disney Concert Hall. They say its got the best acoustics in the whole world, and I'd die to play there."

"Actually, I play for this philharmonic group here sometimes. I'm way too young for them, but sometimes I fill in for them when my Dad is guest conducting, and they invited me full-time back this year."

"Wow, you must be good," I said, impressed.

"Thanks, I just love to play. Anyway, I'm there all the time, and if you really want a tour I could always take you-"

Then Ultear popped in. "Wendy! Thank god I found you. We're leaving now."

"Oh…okay, coming," I said sadly. I really wanted to talk to Romeo for a while longer.

I got up and ran for Ultear, but then I stopped. This guy had asked me for a real date, and I had already blown it, acting as if I wasn't interested. I turned back and ran back to him.

"Give me your phone," I said, palm outstretched.

"What?"

"Your phone, Mr Conbolt."

He chuckled. "Yes ma'am," he said, placing a white iPhone in my palm.

With shaking hands I dialled my phone number and ended it. I tossed the phone back to him.

"That's my number, so you can text and tell me when you're taking me for the tour," I called over my shoulder, as I dashed towards the door and left, a smile on my face. As I glanced back at Romeo, he was gazing at his phone with a small, dazzled smile on his face.

A/N: Okay I hoped you liked it. Do leave a review and tell me what you think!

And also, I wanted to talk about Fairy Tail in general. I have been keeping up with the series (the manga) and... holy shit. You manga readers might know where I'm going with this. The amount of angst and revelations in FT now is insane, and it left the whole fandom in shock (and tears). Hiro Mashima played us all, god. Especially with the whole Natsu/Zeref thing. I won't elaborate on it as I don't want to spoil it but if you haven't, please read the manga. You have no idea what you are missing out on.