Hi there! This is Merikatori again! Sorry for the late update :D I had a Writer's block -_- Yeah, Writer's nightmare.
Thank you all for reading, following, making it your favorite, and reviewing XD Wow I got so many opinion from last chapter.
RoLu: 5, StiCy 4, Both 16 =)))) Oh, crap =))) I didn't expect that. Well, but I still have to think about the plot first before I decide which one I will take :D There are some opinions that's really interesting me :D
Here's your new chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail (Do I really have to write this every chapter?)
Pure
Chapter 20 - I'm about to do something...
Lucy was standing in front of Skyadrum's grave, gazing at the flowers. Rogue probably had put them there the day before. She laid the white daisies she bought next to his red ones. Rogue told her once that his god father loved those flowers, just like the love of his life.
They had also been best friends, just like Lucy and Rogue were now. They'd loved each other, but they had never been brave enough to say it out loud. Then, his love moved out of town with her family because of her father's business. She didn't even have time to say goodbye to her best friend and they lost contact after that. Skyadrum'd had to endure the regret that had slowly been eating him inside out for not being brave enough to say that he'd loved her. People usually regretted what they didn't do.
Deep in muse, Lucy smiled at the sudden memory. She had told Sting that she loved him… If she were to die today, at least she wouldn't regret it.
Next, Lucy thought back about what'd happened just an hour before. What Rogue had told her made her feel soaring at first, but then it'd disappeared and she felt like rocks were set heavily on her shoulders. Just like chocolate, it was sweet when you got the first taste, but the more you held it in your mouth, the more bitter it turned. She was happy, he also made her feel special, yet empty at the same time. How was that possible? She knew Rogue was adorable, no matter how grumpy he appeared. But Lucy could have never imagined that she would be able to hear something of that kind from him. Asking a friend of yours to stand by your side took a lot of courage, especially when that friend already belonged to someone else.
She really couldn't have them both? Her love and her friend? She frowned as a headache came to find her. This is so complicated.
Rogue was sitting still at the dining table while Polyuska was cooking lunch for the children. The school was holding a small festival which they had to prepare, that was why they had to go to school on Saturday.
Porlyuska sensed that something was wrong when the duo had come back from the market. They were too quiet. Lucy'd offered to help, but she'd declined it. So the girl had gone to buy some flowers and to visit Skyadrum's grave. However, Rogue hadn't joined her. That was when she knew for sure that something was wrong. The boy hardly ever left her side for half a step. To both him and Sting… Lucy was like a magnet.
Now, Rogue was sitting silently, gazing at the mug of coffee in front of him. He didn't say anything so far. Hell, he didn't even move an inch.
Polyuska sighed. – "Troublesome brats."
…..
"What the hell is wrong with you and her, Rogue?" – She decided to ask.
She was a person who appreciated silence, but that stillness was too heavy to her taste.
"Nothing, Porlyuska-san." – He murmured after a long pause.
Polyuska didn't want to pry, that was not in her nature. If the kid didn't want to talk about it, then it was fine.
"Whatever the problem is between you and Lucy, you two should figure out a way to solve it and you'd better do it fast. You're here only for a couple of hours more. I don't want the kids to be upset." – She said quietly.
Rogue just nodded absentmindedly. Things are getting worse. I shouldn't have done that, shouldn't have said that. I should have ignored it, whatever the hell is happening between them. If he just had ignored it, things would still be the same. They would still be friends, best friends, even if it was just an excuse for him stay by her side. Nothing would have changed. But now… The more he wanted to draw closer to her, the more she was drifting away. Sting has her without even try. Life sucks like that. He chuckled humorless.
Suddenly, the phone vibrated in his pocket. Rogue pulled it out and shut it off right when he read the id. It was Sting. In fact, Sting was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Actually, he didn't want to talk to anybody at that moment. He was very short tempered when someone was disturbing him while thinking or being silent. Sure, he was not a talkative person, but the silence when he was upset was very different from the one when he was okay.
What a mess. He sighed.
For the third time, Sting tried to call Rogue, but the bastard's phone was shut off.
What now? He grunted.
Lucy's mother had just called him. Apparently, Lucy'd left some messages behind in the middle of the night that sounded pretty odd to her parents. They couldn't reach her, so they had called him, thinking that he was with her. He'd told them that she was fine, she just missed them and her phone was out of battery or something. The blonde male couldn't call her either, and when he called Rogue, that jerk had guts to hung up on him. Although he knew that Lucy was fine as long as she was with Rogue, he couldn't help but feel worried. Call him a possessive bastard, but he believed the safest place for Lucy was where he could watch her 24/7.
Sting froze at what he just thought.
He chuckled. Wow, my obsession with her has been brought to a whole new level.
He shook his head. I wonder what happened with her and Rogue…
Sting was worried sick over Lucy when he didn't hear anything from her for more than 24 hours. What's more, he was sure that something was up… Rogue sometimes acted like a kid, not picking up his phone when he was upset, Sting knew that much.
Ha, sounds like a girl I know. Lucy's childish habbit had rubbed on him, that was for sure.
He smiled again, but his smile didn't last long, because he remembered the last time he had seen Rogue. He hadn't seemed very happy when he'd found out his two best friends were dating. Sting sighed, wondering if what he was doing was right or not.
He loved Lucy, that was for sure. He didn't want to let go of her, he didn't want anyone else to have her. He wanted her to be his – and his alone. But then again, Rogue was his brother, his family. Even though Rogue didn't say anything about having feelings for Lucy, Sting could still see it clearly.
[Flash back]
"Hey, Rogue…" – The 13 years old Sting called the reading brunet on the front porch of their house. Licking his ice cream, Sting looked at Lucy who was running around, playing with Lector and Frosh. She was trying to train them to catch a disc and sniff a branch like dogs. Sting snickered.
"Have you seen something weird in Lucy lately?" – Sting asked.
Rogue and Lucy had become closer since the dinner 3 months ago at Weisslogia's house. The meanie had been nicer to her and that made Sting more than happy. Rogue's eyes left his book to be set on the girl.
"What… Do you mean?" – Rogue said quizzically.
"I mean…" – Sting gulped and blushed slightly. Rogue stared at him and raised a brow.
"She… Like… I-I think she's…" – He scratched his nape and Rogue continued to gaze at him weirdly.
"I think she's becoming more beautiful." – Sting blurted out quietly, looking straight ahead and waiting for Rogue to chuckle or laugh at his face. He usually got teased when he turned sentimental.
It felt strange, talking about her like that. Sting thought. He had no problem with paying compliments to other girls… If they were beautiful, he would say that openly. There was nothing to be shy about, nothing to feel embarrassed for. But lately, Sting'd found it hard to look her in the eyes without feeling butterflies in his stomach or compliment her without blushing like an idiot. Only when he caught himself wanting to kiss her more intimately did he realize that he started seeing her more than just a friend.
He glanced at Rogue and found him staring at Lucy with such a sheer concentration.
Beautiful? He looked at her, sitting on the grass and petting the cats with a smile on her face. Her hair blew gently in the wind, her radiant smile that brought sunshine even in a gray day. Her girly laugh sometimes felt like a small hand was tenderly stroking his back when he heard it… He unconsciously blushed, coughing a couple of times to clear the lump that formed in his throat.
"Nope, I… don't see anything. She's always like that." – He said quietly and looked at his book again.
…
"Did you just blush?" – Sting said nonchalantly, but Rogue could detect teasing tone in his voice. He blushed harder and raised his book to cover his face. Damn it.
"I don't know what you're talking about." – He murmured.
"You like her?"
"No! I don't." – He quickly denied… Maybe a little too quickly. Rogue didn't want to talk about it, he wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible. It made him uncomfortable.
Sting stared at him for a moment before he smiled knowingly.
"I like her, too." – Sting admitted.
"None of my business." – Rogue said coolly, glaring hard at the book in front of him. His friend just chuckled.
"Whatever you say…" – Sting stood up, running towards Lucy to play with her.
Rogue just continued sitting there, looking at his two friends, then sighed.
[End of flash back]
The memory was still fresh in his mind, like it had just happened a day before and not a long time ago. Lots of things had changed after that. And eventually, Rogue and Sting… Well, they kinda came to a silent agreement. If it was not him or Rogue, then it couldn't be anybody else. Thanks to their 'protection' and 'silent deal', Lucy had never had a boyfriend until she dated Sting. And the weirdest thing was: Lucy always listened to their opinion about her every single 'potential boyfriend' without even complaining.
"He's too fat."
"He's too skinny."
"He's a dork."
"What kind of fashion is that?"
"I see latent violence in him…"
"I don't like him."
"I hate him."
Sometimes she argued, but the result was never too good… They would insiston her letting them meet him and then secretly threatened him or turned the poor guy's life into living hell if he was stubborn about fighting for her. Lucy had never been really mad at them for that… Annoyed, but never really mad… Guessed that she could always forgive them no matter what they had done.
Sting didn't want to lose either one of them. The three of them were like puzzle pieces in a small picture. Without one piece, it could never be completed….
[Mean while]
"Are you sure you want to do it right now, Loke? You've just been back. Rest and you could do this tomorrow." – Totomaru told his star, looking out the car's window.
Loke sighed. – "I just want to get over with it as soon as possible… And look at me when you're talking to me!" – He growled annoyingly at his manager.
"Nope. Not a chance…" – Totomaru shook his head. "I will never be able to get that image out of my head when I look at you right now."
"You're my manager, damn it! If you can't look at me, how can other people?" – Loke scowled, looking down at his body.
Holy crap, WHY ME? He screamed at his miserable life.
"That's your problem, not mine."
The car stopped near a crossroad and Loke immediately regretted not doing this a day later. He accidentally chose the rush hour and the street was full of people.
"This is bad." – He grunted.
"All right, now get the hell out of this car and do whatever she told you to do. Just stand there for fifteen minutes or so. The car will be waiting here until you return, then it'll get you home. Leave the rest to me." – Totomaru hurried him.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say that you're too eager to humiliate me." – Loke narrowed his eyes, making the other guy chuckle.
"Nonsense. I assure you, everything will be fine." – He smirked.
Loke sighed. Whatever… It was just a matter of time, he had to do it anyway. The sooner the deal was over, the sooner he could get this out of his mind.
"Um… Rogue, have you seen my phone?" – Lucy looked under the bed, looking for the device. She heard him pulling out a drawer and, suddenly, the phone was on the bed, right in front of her. Lucy turned around to frown at him. He did it without looking at her or saying a word.
The girl had come back from visiting his godfather's grave 5 hours ago. She played with the kids when they were home; Rogue didn't have the heart to join them. He'd said he didn't feel very well and wanted to be alone. It was almost 4 PM now and he told her to get ready to go home.
At first, Lucy felt guilty for causing this silence, but then she got more and more irritated at him. She didn't like playing Cold War and she hated it when he ignored her like that.
"C'mon, Rogue… Talk to me." – She pleaded, but only met silence again.
Rogue quickly put his things in the backpack, desperately wanting to leave as soon as possible. Yet, Lucy stood rigidly, staring at him.
"Okay, you know what, this is getting ridiculous. What the hell is wrong with you? I told you very clearly that I couldn't choose between you and Sting, because you're both important to me, but you wouldn't just leave me alone. And now, you ignore me? What do you want me to do? Break up with Sting?" – She said, fed up with being disregarded.
"If that's what I want, will you do that?" – Rogue stopped his movement to look her directly in the eyes with an equal intensity.
"Why?" – She narrowed her eyes.
"You can't have us both. Make your choice." – He said coldly and went back to what he was doing.
"I'm sorry, what? I can't have my lover and my best friend at the same time? What the hell is your problem with me dating Sting?" – Lucy tried hard not to raise her voice. She didn't want the children to hear.
Rogue stopped for the second time and looked at her again. His red eyes felt like a sharp knife that cut through her soul. Lucy unconsciously shivered, but she kept the eye-contact. He approached her slowly, like a predator which was about to eat her all. She felt his anger, his despair, his intimate but deadly cold touch caressed her cheek with his eyes. She took a few steps back and stopped when she felt the close presence of the wall behind her. He stared at her, long and hard.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me what you see…" – He murmured.
Rogue poured all his love, his emotions, his feelings for her into his eyes, hoping she could feel it with her sensitive soul. He didn't want to say it, it would just be more painful if he did. He just wanted her to feel it and accept it. It was still hurtful, but it would be less heart-wrecking. Lucy gulped nervously at the look he gave her. She gazed into his eyes, she saw something, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
"What do you see?" – Rogue insisted, not breaking the eye-contact.
"Eh…" – Lucy hesitated. – "Your… pupils?" – She smiled nervously and Rogue narrowed his eyes.
"You're sometimes so stupid that it frustrates me." – He turned around, annoyed.
"If I'm so stupid, then just tell me already, you jerk!"
"My problem is that I LOVE YOU, GOD DAMMIT!"
Lucy yelled at him and before she knew it, Rogue was an inch away from her in a flash, slamming his hand on the wall behind her. Lucy widened her eyes, his words resounding again and again in her mind. He… loves me?
"I love you and it hurts me to see you're with Sting." – He whispered, putting his forehead on her shoulder. "It hurts and I just want it to go away." – Rogue closed his eyes.
Lucy didn't dare to move. She stood still, listening to his breath. He was holding her hands in his, but the warmth she usually felt when their skin touched was gone. His hands were so cold and it was really weird. Rogue was always warm, no matter how cold his attitude was.
"I'm sorry." – She muttered, tightening her hold in his hands in a soothing way. They were just standing like that for a minute before Rogue pulled back to look at her, his red eyes were just as cold as his hands.
"I'm about to do something, Lucy. Promise me that you won't be mad at me. After this, we will never, ever talk about it again. If that's what you want." – Rogue said, cupping her cheeks and caressing them with his thumbs.. He loves me… He loves me… He loves me… She repeated his words in her mind like a prayer. Her best friend loved her… How was she suppose to feel about this? She couldn't return his feeling no matter what, she was with Sting now… Sad? Guilty? ... Happy? Lucy widened her eyes and shook her head like a crazy girl. She quickly touched his hands before he pulled back and gave her a weird look. Gazing at him hopelessly, Lucy could only nod.
"Anything." – If she couldn't return his feeling, she maybe could do something for him?
He smiled gently, leaning down quickly. Then he kissed her…
"Pick up your god damn phone, Rogue!" – Sting nearly screamed at the device in his hand. After the tenth effort, he could be able to hear the cold and annoying voice of his brother.
"WHAT?" – Rogue yelled on the other side.
Sting let out a relived breath instead of yelling back. "Thank God you picked it up. Listen, don't drive Lucy home. Bring her to our house."
There was a long pause before Rogue uttered a word. – "Why?"
The blonde sighed in annoyance. – "Just do what I say. We've got an unpleasant situation, I'll explain when you bring her here." – He grumbled and hung, staring at the laptop on the coffee table.
On the screen, there was a new updated article on a website of a magazine that had just published a new item about Loke's – the famous supermodel – engagement.
[Flash back]
"What are you two doing?" – 10 year-old Rogue asked his friends who were standing under a big sakura tree and giggling together. It was a Sunday afternoon and they decided to go to the park near their houses to hang out together. Sting and Lucy had become really close in a short time.
"Oh, hey Rogue! Look!" – Lucy greeted him loudly and pointed at the tree-trunk. Rogue stared at it and frowned.
"You guys engraved our names on a tree? Inside a heart-shape nonetheless?"
"Yup. And after that we'll always be friends, we used the heart-shape, because Lucy said it's prettier than others!" – Sting exclaimed excitedly, then turned to grin at Lucy. Rogue was glancing between two idiots standing in front of him, back and forth, back and forth.
"I don't want to be friends with her." – He deadpanned and turned around.
"What? Why?" – Lucy pouted.
"Yeah… That's mean." – Sting scowled at him.
"No reason. I just don't feel like it and she's annoying." – He shrugged.
"Hey!" – Sting yelled at him angrily, but the boy already walked away.
He looked back at Lucy and saw her eyes began to water. Her nose and cheeks were all red. Grabbing the fabric of her dress, she sobbed.
"He said I was annoying. Am I annoying, Sting?" – She muttered.
"Lucy, don't cry. Of course you're not. You're cool and you're my best friend." – Sting patted her head like a big brother, trying to cheer her up. He didn't want to see her cry, he wanted to see her smile.
"Rogue's always like that. Don't worry, he'll get around." – He grinned and wiped away her tears clumsily. She giggled when her tears smeared all over her face because of him.
"Do you think putting our names on a tree could make us be friends? What if he hates me forever?" – Lucy said nervously, looking at her feet sheepishly.
"Yes, I think so. I saw a lot of people do it, they wrote their names on the wall, on the table, or something and they seemed very close. And he can't hate you forever. He's just… annoying." – Sting smiled.
Lucy sniffed and nodded.. Maybe I should try to be more friendly… Yup… She thought determinedly, then looked back at her friend, beaming at him. She felt much, much better now.
"Hey, Sting… I'm about to do something… Promise me you won't be mad at me, okay?" – Lucy said mysteriously; her eyes sparkled.
Sting tilted her head, looking at her skeptically. – "Okay?"
She smiled widely, then stood on her tip-toe, kissing him on the cheek…
Rogue stood behind another tree, not far away from them. He saw Lucy kissing Sting and they were now both blushing hard like two tomatoes from face to ears.
He pouted. Friends? I don't need friends. He thought.
[End of flash back]
"What's wrong?" – Sting heard Rogue grunt even before he saw the black-haired guy's figure. He turned to look at the door Rogue just opened with Lucy following closely behind.
He looked her up and down, detecting any weird physical or mental signs. Something happened… He was sure of it. He approached her slowly, ignoring his brother for a minute. Bending down until his eyes level was equal hers, he stared at her. Lucy tried to maintain eye-contact, but the look he gave her made her restless.
"What?" – She asked nervously.
"Are you okay?" – He pinched her cheek gently, tilting his head.
Lucy nodded eagerly, looking at the ground. Sting raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, but didn't say anything. They had something to solve right now.
"All right." – He pecked her lips and she blushed slightly.
She seemed like she was trying to huddle further into her coat. Sting smiled at her cuteness and turned around to face Rogue. The brunette already sat down, crossing his legs American style; one of his arm spread widely on the back of the couch.
"Why the fuck did you bombard my phone like that? I was bringing her home and it wouldn't shut up." – He snarled, looking at Sting uninterestedly and coldly.
"Language…" – Sting grimaced and so did Lucy.
The boys both knew how much Lucy detested their foul mouth. It was not like she never swore, but she tried to control it as best she could. But it seemed like Rogue was too pissed to even care. Jealousy passed through him at Sting's little show of affection.
"Language? Seriously? I didn't know you've just decided to become a good boy, asshole." – He sneered.
"What the hell is your problem now, you jerk? I don't give a fuck what made you pissed, but I'm not gonna take your crap that you're throwing at me like a baby's throwing his tantrum at his parents." – Sting retorted hotly.
"Oh, Sting… You have no-idea…." – Rogue gritted his teeth, glaring at his brother.
"Oh, shut the hell up, you two. I'm standing right here. If you two decide to keep insulting each other like that, then fine. But I'm not gonna sit around listening to it." – Lucy threw her pack back at Sting, knocking the air out of his lungs. She unbuttoned her coat and tossed it over Rogue's head, then plopped down the armchair, facing the boys.
"Now… What's the situation were you talking about, Sting?" – Lucy asked, wanting to get the problem at hand first. The little… trouble between her and Rogue in particular; between Rogue and Sting could wait later.
Sting sighed and turned the laptop around for his brother as well as his girlfriend to see.
What the…? – Rogue and Lucy thought as they looked at the screen where a short clip from YouTube was playing.
Lucy's fiancé?
Loke?
They turned to look at each other, then busted out laughing. Lucy moved to sit next to Rogue and they huddled their heads together, looking at the screen. The clip showed Loke standing on a crossroad, wearing a female bikini while holding a big carton board: I'm gay.
"Oh God, his fans won't be happy with this." – Rogue chuckled.
"Aw, I didn't tell him that he couldn't wear swim shorts beneath the bikini." – Lucy snickered and Sting gave her an are-you-kidding-me look which made her laugh harder.
"Wait, what? You knew about this?" – Rogue asked perplexedly.
Lucy nodded and told him about the deal she made with the supermodel.
"Wow, looks like the famous model didn't know that our little angelic face Lucy actually has a devilish mind." – Rogue chuckled, eyeing her with mild fake impression. Lucy gave him a smug face and Sting shook his head in amusement.
"But that's not what I'm talking about. The real problem is this." – He closed that tab and another tab popped out. Lucy looked at the article and her eyes widened. In contrast, Rogue narrowed his eyes. A heavy silence embraced them all; none of them uttered a word after reading it.
"I saw this on the Facebook page and the electronic website of the magazine. My friends are sharing this all over their wall. After nearly half an hour ago, this clip was posted." – Sting said solemnly.
"Rogue… Have you, by any chances, already known about this? I mean the engagement?"
Rogue nodded. – "Yes. Before Lucy had the amnesia, Layla-san had told me about this."
"And you didn't tell me about it?" – Sting looked at him accusingly.
"I was waiting for a right moment to say it, just as Layla-san told me to. And I believed Jude-san didn't want to reveal this yet, since he didn't tell Lucy about Loke after the… you know what. Don't know why he did this." – Rogue murmured.
"My father didn't do this. He never does anything without purpose. Revealing the information to the press doesn't leave him any profit, only pressure since I didn't agree to this…. Yes, I remember…" – She paused to answer Rogue's look. – "The person I think that will have the advantage of this will be Loke. Revealing this will not only distract the public opinion, but also confuse them and… speed up the engagement since everybody's already known about it. They will have to check his story before they make any conclusion about the "I'm gay" board."
Rogue and Sting listened to her carefully. They must admit that she had a point.
She's so smart about these stuff, but totally an idiot when it comes to other's feelings. Rogue mentally rolled his eyes.
"But this also means that he turned his back on Jude-san since your father didn't want to tell it to the press yet. Don't you think it is a risky move? What if your father's mad at him for this… Even your mother doesn't agree on the engagement, Jude-san is his only ally, he can't make him mad." – Rogue said.
Lucy nodded her head, staring at the ceiling to think. – "I don't know. But my father seems very fond of him. Loke will think of a way to 'lure' him or something."
Rogue chuckled, but Sting didn't find this kind of situation funny at all. He recalled the image of Loke and narrowed his eyes. Over my dead body. He found the scene in which Lucy and Loke, LoLu - like the shippers would call, put a distaste in his mind. If his brain had the power to kill somebody through the internet by just looking at their faces, he would do that with Loke right then and there. He was sure Rogue also had the same thoughts on that matter.
"So… How could we get rid of this guy right now?" – He asked.
Rogue shook his head and Lucy just shrugged.
"My name hasn't been discovered yet. They just said that she's the daughter of the most wealthy man in this country, who 'accidentally' happens to be my father." – She joked, smiling as they chuckled again. "The press probably is waiting outside the mansion to catch a glimpse of me or something. I'll just call him and mom later, asking what I should do right now." – Lucy sighed, leaning back against the couch. Sting and Rogue nodded.
If it's not them, then it won't be was their guideline. This was only the beginning.
Done ^^~ Tell me what you think! XD
My gratitude to: 13darksoulsand1madhater, scarlet 145, dutchangel1979, Hollypool, lucyXnatsu1223, White Devil, sofsof2015, Guest, Guest, Guest (Leave your name next time so I could thank you personally, guys! :D), titaniazoe, SalamandaLove, Guest, GoddessPrimaBella, TwerkingPandah, rolulove4ever, guest
Mandy422: Yup, yup, yup. That's what I thought! Aw, and thanks for asking ^^~ My exam is super great XD It was pretty hard, harder than I expected. But I managed to get over it XD
zin-chan-luvs-u: Sounds like you have split personality or something =))) Here's your new chapter! :/3
Dana: Yeah, I know :D I thought about it at some points... Maybe I have to think about it again. :D Thanks for your review.
Bloody Amethyst: Yeah, that's what I thought when I decided that perhaps I should make it a 3P story... I'm still thinking about it ^^~
bluefrost15: Ha, this is the opinion that I must consider! Yeah, it will be fair, right? An open ending :)))
ulquihimesz: Aw, thank you so much! As I said, I'm still thinking about it. But don' t worry, I like Rogue, too. I won't leave him a broken heart :)))
I'm . such . a . geek: Yeah, she could be an idiot some times :))) My first opinion was StiCy, too. And I also felt bad about making Rogue so sad.
Thank you for reviewing, I'll see you guys next time!