(Tuesday Evening)

*Sting's POV*

I sat on one of the stone benches as I waited for Lucy and her friend, I had my eyes closed as I rested my head back on my arms. Wondering who this 'little tag along' would be, almost cringing as I hoped it wouldn't be Gray again. The guy seemed to always be hovering over her, it was pretty obvious he has a thing for her. A cringe-worthy thought, making me sigh deeply.

Opening my eyes, watching the few clouds left in the orange sky. The sun was almost dipping down below the hills now, it would be dark soon. I was surprised Lucy had agreed to come out this late on a school night, or really at all.

I was dying to know what happened today, I don't know why. It's not like it's any of my business, or that I should even care. Yet, I do. What the hells wrong with me? I've never been this way before, maybe it was just me trying to make new friends. To make my mom happy. Yeah, that's all it is. I'm trying hard this time, to go out of my way and make new friends. All to make Mom happy.

The sound of footsteps growing closer and giggling caught my attention, I looked over to see two figures approaching. One was defiantly Lucy, but I wasn't sure who the second one was. A short girl, so young she was probably in middle school, with long, blue hair that reached below her shoulders even tied into two pigtails, and a snow-white cat perched on her shoulder.

I waved at them as they got closer, I could see Lucy's companion better. Chocolate eyes and bright smile, the perfect picture of happiness. If I was blind maybe. I was no expert on women, or girls, but even I could see something was hidden there. Maybe that was just some secret talent of mine. Maybe it was because I grew up seeing my mom this way, with all the sadness she tries to cover up with happiness and joy. Not to say it's fake, but it's not entirely what they're feeling.

Lucy gave me a quick hug when I stood up to greet them, "sorry around not being around much today. A lot happened."

"You can tell me later if you'd like?" I really hoped she would, to my relief she nodded.

"Sting, Wendy. Wendy, Sting." Lucy introduced, gesturing with her hands as she did so.

"Hi, Sting." The girl mumbled shyly looking down at the ground.

"Hey. Nice kitty, I have a kitty too." I smiled down at her, she looked up with sparkling eyes.

"Really?" She asked, I nodded. "Well, this is Carla!"

The cat looked up at me with almost a bored look, before looking away like I'd disgusted it. I laughed, "she's a lot like my cat I guess. His name is Lector."

"The sock stealing cat, huh?" Lucy laughed, I grinned at his.

"Yeah, darn feline." I laughed too while I lightly rubbed the back of my head, Wendy lightly giggled at his while Lucy watched me with a soft smile. Man, it was warm out tonight! I think this heat is making my face get pink or something...

"Now, who's up for ice cream? My treat!" Lucy nearly shouted.

Wendy cheered out happily, I couldn't help myself from smiling as both girls fell into a fit of soft laughter. I wasn't used to giggles like this, oddly, I found myself liking it. It was different from all those girls who try too hard with flirting, their annoying giggles that make me want to cringe. And then there's Minerva who never giggled, she hardly laughed unless it was at someone else's pain or humiliation. But these two, their giggles were like magic, true and joyful. I liked it.

"Ice cream sounds pretty good," I agreed and both girls seemed to bubble with even more happiness.

Together the three of us walked down the sidewalk to the shops, most of them would be closing soon if not already since it was a weekday. Most food and markets would be the only places open after six, leaving the streets lit only by streetlamps and the moon. Up ahead a few doors was the ice cream shop, with two tables and a small stand-sign outside. The stand-sign was hand painted a bright blue, on each side were black calligraphed letters of all the ice cream flavors inside and at the top was a painted ice cream cone.

I opened the door and a jingle came from above me, I held the door for the two to step in than myself. Another jingle as the door closed behind me. I already knew what I wanted, but I waited until the girls had picked out their flavors. The man waiting on us was probably the shop owner, an older man with an old smile. Black hair turning gray, squinting eyes, and a kind smile.

"Mint chocolate chip," Lucy spoke softly giving the man a winning smile. He smiled back and nodded, scooping out a single scoop onto a waffle cone before handing it over the counter.

"And for you, Hun?" He asked Wendy.

"Cotten candy," she chirped happily. The man happily obliged and went to hand the cone over the counter, but Wendy was barely too short to reach over the high glass. So I took it for her before handing it down to her, earning a smile and thank you.

"How about you, young man?" He asked me, quickly cleaning the ice cream scoop off as he waited for my answer.

"Do you have white chocolate chunk?" I asked, the last time I'd had that was probably back in elementary school.

"We do actually," he grinned, "not a very popular flavor, but it's here!"

"After handing me my cone, he stepped over to the cash register and asking "so who's paying? That would be nine dollars."

Lucy stepped up and started fishing around in her small purse, but I quickly stepped behind her. Wrapping my arm around her and placing a ten on the counter, I felt Lucy stiffen against me and I quickly backed off a little. I didn't mean to make her uncomfortable.

The man smiled, "I was hoping your boyfriend wouldn't let a pretty little gal like you pay."

I grinned, partly because of Lucy's reddening face and partly because I'd been referred to as her boyfriend. "Oh, Sir, he's not my boyfriend. Just a really good friend! And that was supposed to be on me, this was going to be my treat!" She lightly jabbed my shoulder and frowned.

The man's smile grew larger and her eyes seemed to crinkle even more, Wendy was doing her best to conceal her grin and stifle her giggles, and Lucy's frown only deepened. "I never actually agreed to let you pay, I just said ice cream sounded good." I shrugged, thanking the man before heading for the door.

Lucy and Wendy followed after thanking the man as well. The sky was now dark with the only the light of scattered stars and a crescent moon, I noticed Lucy looking up at this scene as we walked back towards the park.

"Sure is calm tonight," I pointed out as we walked down the practically empty street. There was a small restaurant down a little, around it stood people either waiting to be seated or waiting for to-go orders. I was used to there being drunks everywhere, like back home. We use to live a short distance from a bar, almost every other night at least one person ended up passed out on our front door step. Some bloke thinking it had been his house, giving up after the key wouldn't work to unlock the door and finally ended up passing out.

I was used to there being drunks everywhere, like back home. We use to live a short distance from a bar, almost every other night at least one person ended up passed out on our front door step. Some bloke thinking it had been his house, giving up after the key wouldn't work to unlock the door and finally ended up passing out where we'd end up finding him the next morning.

So far I hadn't actually seen a bar yet, I wondered if Magnolia even had a bar.

"Yeah, most nights here are," Lucy said, breathing in deeply.

"It's a nice change I guess," I mumbled to myself. It was true, it was a nice change. It felt good, it felt more like a place I could actually call home. Where I could let my guard down, without feeling like I had to watch my back while walking waiting for some punk to try to mug me or something.

We stopped in the park, Lucy lead us to the small pond with a few benches around it. Stone benches like the one I'd been sitting on earlier. I stood looking out over the water while the girls sat, the chat had been flowing nicely throughout the night and I wasn't ready for it to end yet.

But it was a school night and I had to walk these two home, then walk myself home on the other end of town. I waited until we'd all finished our treat before bringing it up, to wake them to reality. "Alright, you two, as much as I hate to say this..."

Lucy looked around, then checking her phone and frowning. "Wow, I hadn't realized it was this late."

"Yeah, school tomorrow." I pointed out.

Wendy looked around, suddenly what looked like fear flicked into her eyes. "Guys, it's dark."

"Yeah, it's almost eight already." I told her after glancing at my phone then at her, "are you cold or something?"

Her tiny body looked like a shivering leaf, so I pulled off my overshirt and dropped in around her. It wasn't much, but it was at least a little more than that flimsy sleeveless dress she was wearing.

"Come on, better get home. Wendy isn't a fan of the dark." Lucy mumbled as she held our her hand for Wendy to take.

"Hang on a minute," I knelt to the ground, "piggy-back ride then?"

She smiled, climbing onto my back. The cat on her shoulder looked unsettled and looked ready to leap off, but I guess the better option was onto my head. The white feline dropped down from Wendy's shoulder onto my head and perched herself nicely. I sighed, oh well. Wendy and Lucy both giggled, and I couldn't stay irritated with the cat.

I carried Wendy back towards Lucy's, dropping her down at the driveway of Lucy's neighbor's place. She waved a goodbye and thanked me for the piggy-back ride and ice cream before closing the door behind herself. Then it was just Lucy and me.

"Well, night I guess," I said lazily as I shoved my hands into my shorts pockets and headed back in the direction I'd come from.

"Wait! Sting," Lucy grabbed my arm just above my elbow. I looked back over my shoulder at her, with a brow raised in question. "I'm spending the night at my father's, I can walk with you if you give me a minute to grab some stuff?"

I grinned, "sure thing. Like I'd let you walk all the way across town alone and in the dark, now that I know."

She smiled, causing happiness bubbling up in my stomach. I let her pull me by the arm into her house, letting me stand in the living room while she vanished to the back rooms. Her mom was there, on the phone while cooking. She waved a hello and smiled, I smiled back and nodded. She and Lucy do look a lot alike, her mom could pass as her twin sister who looked a little older.

Lucy was taking a while so I took a seat at the bar counter, texting a few people back while I waited. Mrs. Heartfila had gotten off the phone and finished dinner, I realized this when a bowl of spaghetti was set in front of me. I looked up in surprise, but her reply was only a warm smile. Lucy came out with her cheer bag and changed clothes, dropping her bag by the door before taking a seat next to me.

"Thanks for dinner Mom," she chirped.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mrs. Heartfilia. It's really good."

Her only reply was a soft, tired smile.

"I think I over did it at work earlier, I think I'll be headed to be early. Lucy, don't forget to have your father sign your papers tonight."

"Oh, right. I already forgot. I won't forget again, we better be going soon." She said the last part to me and I nodded, quickly finishing the amazing dinner. Lucy's mom had already disappeared, so we quietly slipped out. Lucy locking the door behind were only a few minutes into the walk, but it was all silence. Questions were eating me up inside, I couldn't stop the words from fumbling out of my mouth.

After a few minutes into the walk, it was all silence. Questions were eating me up inside, I couldn't stop the words from fumbling out of my mouth.

"So what happened today?" It was cringe worthy! Man Sting, you are such an idiot.

"Loki dumped me."

It was like my feet froze on the spot, I couldn't take another. "wait, he dumped you? What happened to you dumping him?! The sorry sack of playboy cheated on you, then had the nerve to just end it before you could get the chance to dump him?!" To say I was livid, would be a major understatement. I'm going to punch this guy's face in.

"You're starting to sound an awful lot like Cana, you know?" She tried faking a smile, one I could see right through instantly.

I gave her a stern look, I wasn't joking. What a prick... Not that I really had much room to talk, but that's beside the point. The thought actually hit me a little harder, wow. I'm a prick too...

"Yeah, well..." She sighed, stuck on a poker face mode as we walked. "Honestly I don't care. It's done, over, and I don't really mind.

Her eyes shifted down to watch her shoes as we started walking again.

"But he humiliated you pretty much," I pointed out. Minerva would be out for blood.

"If I look at it like that, then my thoughts would be shadowed with negativity." She looked at me, the moonlight made her eyes look darker and deeper. "Sure, Loki hurt me. A lot actually, but I'm not going to let that take over and make me miserable. I have more important things to think about, more important people to think about."

Was I one of those people? I nearly asked the question out loud, barely able to stop myself. She could mean Gray. Her and Gray, together. My gut felt like it twisted as the thought felt like a punch to the stomach, I felt almost sick now. I had to change the subject before I slipped up and said something.

"Uh, do you mind me being noisy and whatever?" I asked, trying not to sound struggled for words. I was just making all this up as I go here.

"She gave me a funny look, "um, ask away I guess?"

Thinking back to dinner, I managed to pull this one out of a ball cap. "Uh, what is your dad suppose to be signing?"

"Oh, well I'm leaving for a trip with Mom and some others soon. Since I'm still staying some days with him, I have to get him to sign for me to go. Especially since I'll be traveling outside of Fiore!" I nodded. "We've had this planned out since the beginning of school and it's finally happening! I can't wait!" She cheered, hands clasped and practically hopping along.

"So where you going then?" I asked, trying to not sound like I was hanging onto every word. I liked listening to her talk about things.

"The Islands of Baramara! I've wanted to go every since I was little! All those pretty pictures, things to do, the hot people!" For some reason the last part made my stomach churn uncomfortably. Hot people, huh? Come on Lucy, you're already lookin' at the hottest what the hell you need anyone else to ogle at?!

I was about to say something when we stopped outside our houses, but when I turned to look at her the words stuck in my throat like a sticky mess. She smiled at me as I stammered for words like a fool, my face probably turning a lush red color.

"Goodnight Sting," her voice only above a whisper. The next thing I knew she'd pressed her soft lips to my cheek and suddenly was halfway to her door, "thank you for walking with me."

With that, she was gone, my heart doing some weird, almost painful skipping. I could still feel the faint touch of her lips against my cheek bone, the kiss had been like a warm and soft flutter against my skin before vanishing leaving me with the cold feeling of the night's air.

I had to force myself to turn away, making myself take the steps up to my gate. I couldn't stop myself from glancing over at her door, almost wishing she'd appear back out. I knew she wouldn't, but disappointment set in as I pushing my front door open and stepped in.

The door felt heavy as I softly closed it behind me, I felt heavy. Each step felt like fifty pounds, I had to resist the urge to let my feet drag. I was headed towards the stairs when someone popped out of the kitchen, I nearly screamed as I went into ninja mode. Arms up and hands flat, ready to defend my life.

"Where have you been, young man? You'd better have a good reason for being out so late!" She was grinning like a madwoman, I probably looked stupified as I could only stare back at her with an almost horrified look on my face.

It took a moment to find my voice again. "What the heck, Mom?! Don't you know not to go scaring people like that?! Why are you grinning like that? You look like you've lost your mind!"

"So who was that you were walking with? How long have you known her? Why didn't you tell me! Are you dating?" She bombarded me with question after question, rambling on so fast I could barely keep up.

I held up my hands, "wow, hang on Mom. Slow down. That was a friend from school, we're just friends."

Her smirk told me she thought otherwise, "does this friend have a name then?"

"Lucy," I mumbled.

"Why don't you invite her over sometime?" I gave her a suspicious look.

"She's going with Rogue and the group to the festival this weekend, I guess I can have her come over before we leave?" I said slowly, watching her eyes light up. "Mom, I'm serious, we're just friends. Please don't get any ideas."

She gave a little sigh. Still smiling she said, "Okay, okay. Now, are you hungry?"

"I actually already, I'm just really tired." She looked a little disappointed and the ping of guilt hit me. She's been working so hard finding a job and trying to keep it, that she hasn't really seen much of me. "But maybe a little snack."


(A/N: Hey guys, really quick I wanted to say a few things. First, as always, thank you so so much! I know my updating is horrible, I'm trying to get better. I'd like to wrap this story up soon, hopefully before I go back to Cali. I'm over here across the entire state away from all my friends and family! I've been here since the beginning of December last year, 2016... So I've been pretty busy, the next week I'll probably have some spare time so I'll try to get a few chapters done.

Next, I'd like to give a shout out to ftfan... Thank you so much for your review on my last chapter, it really gave me the push to try to get this one up as quickly as possible! I really do agree with you entirely, I love Nalu and hopefully it will be cannon in the upcoming episodes in the new season!

My opinion is the same concerning Lisanna, it's not that I don't like her but she's also not one of my favorite characters either. I've known that Hiro Mashima didn't want her to come back and in my opinion, she shouldn't have been. Her story was good for character development for the guild, especially Mira and Elfman as well as Natsu. But I don't know why she was brought back, it just should've stayed that way. I don't hate her nor love her, to me I guess she's just there.

Anyways. For the sake of a story where Lucy is having a relationship with someone other than Natsu, I don't mind nali. But I don't really like when Lis is suddenly portrayed as evil or something to hurt Lucy, that's pretty far fetched and way too OOC. Of course, it works for some people and makes a few pretty good stories. I just can't do it, which is why in my stories she's normally just background. I try not to go too in depth with her and Natsu, especially because this is mainly a Sticy fic.

I loved your review, it made me feel really good! I love getting input from people, it really gives like an energy boost to help me continue without getting burnt out!

P.S.: As always, I'm sorry for any grammar and misspellings. Not my strongest subject, but recently I got this thing called Grammarly. I'm sure you guys have heard of it, it's free and great! I've been using it for a few weeks now and I LOVE IT. If you don't have it, I strongly recommend it. It's free, there is where you can buy a more complex version but I'm using the free version and I still like it just the way it is.)

Thank you so much for reading~!