The next day Natsu went looking for Leo. Gajeel had told him about the fight the other night and about how upset Leo was. Though Gajeel didn't really understand why Leo was so upset he didn't bother asking. Leo didn't want to talk about it so he knew it was better to just leave the boy alone. Natsu was curious because he had rarely ever seen Leo get upset. That wasn't like Leo, he had always been laid back and relaxed even in the practice room.
He went looking for him during lunch but was unable to find him anywhere in the main building, and he knew that Leo wasn't one to eat in the cafeteria. So as he searched for him around the school grounds he eventually found the orange haired boy sitting under one of the cherry trees down the hill by the gym. He was still a little sulky, but he seemed to have regained most of his composure since the other night.
"Hey Leo," Natsu said as he approached the boy. Leo looked up giving Natsu a half hearted grin. Natsu could see that Leo was attempting to force the grin in order to make him not look as depressed as he really was, but Natsu knew. Even worse Leo wasn't wearing his sunglasses that he always wore.
"Hey Natsu," Leo sighed in greeting. He was sitting there eating a sandwich, but he had only taken a bite of it. Natsu figured that in his emotional state the orange haired boy probably wasn't that hungry. "How are you doing?"
"I'm all right," Natsu answered as he took a seat next to the orange haired boy. He gazed up to the leaves as they gently blew in the breeze. The sound of the leaves swaying provided him some comfort. "Gajeel told me you were upset about last night."
"Yeah," Leo mumbled as he took a nibble of his sandwich.
"What happened that's got you so upset?" Natsu asked him. Leo turned and stared at the pink haired boy. He looked as though he didn't want to talk to him, but he figured that perhaps it was for the best.
"I saw Zancrow the other night," Leo told him as he placed his sandwich down on a napkin that he had laid out next to him.
"Who's Zancrow?" Natsu asked, he didn't look at Leo when asking. He looked back up towards the leaves watching the sway. The sunlight shining through them was blinding but it was still peaceful.
"Zancrow is," Leo paused to think his words over, "Zancrow is a friend of Damian's. He was one of the boys that set off the stink bombs last night," Leo told him.
"I wouldn't have expected you to be so passionate about some stink bombs ruining the dance the other night," Natsu said to him. "I thought that it was just a stupid prank."
"It was," Leo told him. "You see the problem isn't that Zancrow lit off a stink bomb. The reason why I'm so torn is that Zancrow was one of the boys that helped Damian send those two students to the hospital two years ago."
"What?" Natsu asked. He was interested in the whole thing now. "That's why you wanted to catch him last night right? Because he was there that night?"
Leo nodded his head. "I remember seeing Zancrow that night when it all happened, and even though I told the authorities what I saw it was still not enough to get the boy in trouble. You see because I wasn't there during the time the students were assaulted I couldn't confirm that it was them that actually them. And last night when I knew that it was Zancrow that had set off the stink bombs in the cafeteria I couldn't catch them," Leo sighed. He slammed his elbow against the trunk of the tree with such force that he actually broke some of the bark. Natsu stared at him, he could see the pain in the boy's eyes as he reflected on the story. He could understand why Leo was so upset now.
"I'm sorry," Natsu said to him, his voice sorrowful. He didn't know what else to say to Leo.
"It's like no matter what I do, it's like no matter how many times I try to get back at these assholes for what they did it seems like I can never do it," Leo growled to himself.
"Well why don't we just head over there and beat the holy living shit out of them?" Natsu asked a smirk crossing his face though it quickly disappeared as Leo shook his head.
"It's not that simple Natsu," Leo told him. "Gildarts made me promise to never go out and start fights with others, otherwise I wouldn't be allowed to train again with him in the practice rom. I can't just go and beat the crap out of them and get revenge on them. Otherwise I wouldn't be any better than them."
"Well that sucks," Natsu sighed leaning back. "So what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," Leo said in defeat. "Somehow hope that I can finally catch them, but I don't know if I ever will."
Natsu wanted to say something to comfort Leo but he knew that there really wasn't anything that he could say. He knew that the boy was hurt and Leo had always been a good friend to him, but now he didn't know what to do. He felt hopeless.
"By the way Natsu how was your date last night with Lucy," Leo asked, a sudden smirk crossing his face. Natsu's face turned a light pink, he had no idea how this had all just turned on him, but at least Leo didn't look as depressed.
"It was okay," Natsu told him, he began to chuckle to himself. "That was until the stink bomb went off, but even than it was fine."
"Oh really?" Leo asked intrigued, it seemed as though he completely forgot about his own problems. "What happened?" Leo asked curiously.
"Sean," Natsu hissed, as though the word itself left a vile taste in his mouth. "He decided to come up and take Lucy away."
"Oh I see," Sean pouted. He closed his eyes and let out a deep exhale. "Natsu I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
"For what?" Natsu chuckled. "It's not like you were the one that took her away. You don't have to apologize for anything. You're the one that needs to be cheered up, I'm just bitching about my stupid problems. I mean I know that Lucy is Sean's girlfriend but I still don't get why she's dating that ass."
"Natsu Damian is Sean's brother, I should have warned you about him before hand. I should have let you known that there was something wrong with him, but I didn't and it got you put in the hospital," Leo sighed apologetically. "It's my fault that all this has happened."
"Don't worry about it," Natsu said quietly as he rested his head back against the trunk of the tree. Leo gazed over at him half expecting Natsu to be outraged by the whole thing, but surprisingly he wasn't.
"There's nothing you could have done about it anyways," Natsu admitted. He was calm not a hint of anger or frustration in his voice. He couldn't get mad at Leo, not someone who had been such a good friend to him for so long. "I just don't get why Lucy is dating that guy if he's such a fucking douche bag."
"It wasn't her decision to date Sean and even though I knew that Sean was Damian's brother I didn't stop her," Leo said sadly. "You see when Lucy started to date Sean he was actually an alright guy. He was very polite and sincere both to her and to everyone else. So Sean became quickly accepted into the group though I still had my doubts since I already had an idea of his family background, I mean I know that he comes from a wealthy family, but so does his brother and look how he turned out." Natsu was a little more interested now. He was finally going to hear the story of Sean and Lucy.
It was a bright summer's day as Lucy stood outside on her father's estate looking at the orchards that grew in the backyard. Lucy's father was rich, incredibly rich. Her father owned at least a hundred acres of land just outside the city near the mountains. The front yard was decorated with trees and gardens as far as the eye could see. Different variations of evergreens, palm trees and wildflowers were used in vast patterns to give the front its unique beauty. A drive way lined up from a large brick gate with platinum bars that had a large H inscribed in the center. The drive way was constructed out of fine even flag stone and it led right up to the door step of the estate in a large circle that was used for parking visiting cars. In the middle of that circle was a large clay fountain that ejected water high into the air and stood over a marble pool. The back yard had two pools that stretched the length of Olympic pools made out of white marble with a dozen fountains stretching down the center shooting water off into the sky. On either side were two orchards of different trees, on the right oranges and on the left apples. Cherry blossoms lined up the middle was the pathways on both sides of the pool had a mixture of roses and other flowers that hugged the bushes in decoration.
The house itself was rather large and probably far bigger than it needed to be for just the teenaged girl and her daughter. The estate stood about four stories tall and was about the length of ten acres each side alone. It was constructed out of fine white stone that bleached the outside with stone molding that had been sculpted to depict an array of animals and flowers. There were white curtains that hung in the windows, there were fine silk that were blinding to the eye if the sun were to shine on them. The front door was massive at least a small mob of people could fit through it at the same time. It stood strong and proud made out of thick oak wood and polished to glisten in the daylight. On either side were potted plants that contained both wild flowers and small saguaro cacti.
Lucy stood on the porch that over looked the backyard of the estate. It was on the second story and had two flights of stairs that split down in the middle, constructed of flagstone like the rest of the porch. The banister was constructed of marble as well that blended in with the rest of the estate. On the porch were at least a dozen pebble tech tables with large gaping egg white umbrellas. As she over looked the estate she could see some of the gardeners working on the estate, tending to the flowers and mowing the grass lawns.
She wore a soft pink sundress that blew in the wind. The fabric was so light that one could still see the white bikini she wore beneath it, but since she was alone it didn't bother her. She was a little self conscious about being too revealing in public but she was never ashamed of her body. On her head she wore a white sun hat and sunglasses to shield her eyes from the bright sun that was beating down upon the Earth. She was debating what she would do that day. Perhaps she would visit the horse stable near the back of the estate and ride one of the horses around in the mountains. But then she realized that she didn't want to change out of her sundress.
"Excuse me Miss Lucy," a voice called to her from the doorway. Lucy turned around to see a pink haired girl in a maid's outfit standing behind her.
"Yes Virgo," Lucy said softly as she smiled at the other girl.
"Your father wishes to see you in his study," Virgo explained to her.
"My father?" Lucy said confused. She wondered what her father would want with her. He was always so busy that she rarely ever saw him, and most of the time he always wished to be left alone, even at home, so that he could concentrate on his business. If he was calling her in for something than it must be serious. "What does he want?"
"He did not say Miss," Virgo explained. "He just demanded that you meet him in his study immediately."
"Oh okay," Lucy said as she made her way to the door.
When she had reached her father's study she saw him standing behind his desk peering out through the large window that he had located behind him. His study was in itself large, covered from wall to wall with book cases each containing tomes and novels. It was dark in the room apart from the light that was coming in through the window. Even though he had a large crystal chandelier hanging upon the ceiling he only used it at night.
"You wanted to see me dad?" Lucy asked as she walked into the room.
"Yes Lucy I did," her father said not turning to her. Even at home he always dressed professionally wearing his suit. He never changed it was the only thing that she ever remembered him wearing. "I wanted to ask you how things were going."
Lucy was a bit shocked. Her father rarely ever cared about how she was doing so it was surprise for her to hear him ask. Especially that he would interrupt his busy life just to ask her how she was doing was unlike her father. "I'm fine she," she said quietly.
"That's good," the old man said. He still didn't face her. "Lucy you are a young woman now. You have grown from my little girl and become the lady you are now." Lucy was more puzzled than ever to hear her father speak in such a way, and she was even more curious about where he was going with it. "I think it is about time that you started dating."
Lucy's head shot back, she had not expected her father to say such a thing. She thought, or more like she knew that her father didn't care about her personal life as long as she stayed out of trouble. It bothered her now that he would even bring up such a sensitive subject. Perhaps he was referring to the "talk" that she had always heard about.
"However," her father began again, "you are a woman of an elite class and therefore you should only date those worthy of your hand." Lucy rolled her eyes. It was her father's same old cliché 'they were better than everyone else,' speech that he would always preach to her since she was little. Yet she thought the whole thing was garbage. She had grown to care about her friends; Erza, Gray, Mira, Lisanna, Elfman and even Natsu. She blushed to herself as she began to think about the pink haired boy and just how close of friends they had become until he moved. It wasn't until he moved that she realized just how much she had really cared about him, perhaps beyond the levels of normal friendship. "It is therefore," she heard her father say sternly as she immediately snapped out of her daydream, "that I think that you should begin dating Sean Konstantine."
"Who?" Lucy said in shock. "Was her father really going to dictate who she should start dating? There was no way that she could accept that.
"Sean Konstantine is a young man around your age," her father said still keeping his back towards her. "He is a nice handsome young man part of the Konstantine fortune. Though I think it would be better for you to date the older brother Damian Mr. Konstantine believes that you and Sean would be a far better match due to both age and interests."
"No way!" Lucy exclaimed. Her father still didn't' turn around to address her. "There's no way that I'm dating some guy I don't even know! And isn't Konstantine one of your business rivals? Why on Earth would you have me date his sone."
"Yes you will date Sean," her father ordered. His voice was stern and serious. "Though Konstantine and I are business rivals we find that a union between you and Sean will create a better interest for both our companies."
Lucy knew exactly why her father was doing this now. He was doing it as a way of avoiding some law. The idea made her furious. "I will not begin dating some boy I don't know for your benefit!" Lucy yelled.
"Yes you will," her father said sternly. "You will unless you wish for me to cut you off."
"What?" Lucy said shocked by her father's threat. "You will start dating Sean Konstantine or I will permanently cut you off. That means you will go to Magnolia Academy and though I will pay for your schooling now I will not pay for your college, I will not pay for your living expenses once you turn eighteen, I will not pay for any food that you want and I will certainly not pay for any food or supplies. I will simply cut you off permanently."
"You can't do that!" Lucy cried, she was on the verge of tears now.
"Yes I can," her father stated. "Once you are eighteen you are a legal adult and I have no inclination to support you. You will be thrown on the streets!"
"How can you do that!" Lucy called.
"I do it because I am concerned about you Lucy!" he bellowed. "I am worried that the ravel and filth that you associate with are beneath you. There is no better suitor for you in this city than Sean Konstantine! You are part of the elite of society and you will start acting like it! You will date Sean as instructed or so help me God I will disown you! I will not have my daughter become part of the street rats! You were fine as a little girl Lucy, but you are now becoming a woman and all you're doing is ruing both your reputation and this family's."
Lucy broke down in tears now she couldn't believe her father could say such horrendous things about her or her friends. She had no idea where any of this was coming from and she just hated him for hit.
"You will do as you are instructed is that clear?" her father roared from behind the desk. For a while there was nothing but silence except for Lucy's crying. "I said, 'Is that clear?'"
"Yes," the young girl finally whispered in defeat.
"Good," the old man said.
Lucy immediately ran out of the study and to her room, crying as she did so. She couldn't believe what her father had done, what he had said. Her heart was breaking and all she wanted to do was run away. She needed someone to comfort her and tell her it was all going to be okay. As she ran crying she whispered, "Natsu where are you?"
A/N: So what's up guys sorry I haven't been able to reply back to you comments and reviews, just know that I've read them and want to reply back, but haven't really had the chance. Been trying to focus on writing each chapter. So this maybe the last chapter until Friday since I'm going to Las Vegas for some personal reasons. I hope to continue writing while I'm there but no promises. Just wanted to point that out to you guys and I will update ASAP and reply back to any comments or concerns I wasn't able to answer before.