DISCLAIMER: Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.

Chapter 6:

"Stop glaring at him, Natsu."

Natsu scoffed, folding his arms in front of him. After a great deal of explaining and damage control, we were now peacefully sitting down and trying hard to avoid another fight from happening again.

"I should apologize," Axel said, turning to Natsu. "I didn't mean for it to happen like that. I was just caught off guard when you attacked me. I acted on instincts."

"Instincts? You call that instincts?" Natsu was raising his voice again. He turned to me. "Did you do a background check on this guy? Because I'm pretty sure no civilian would have that kind of strength."

"Well, I did grow up learning self-defense and various fighting styles with my brothers," Axel answered. "Our father wanted us to be able to protect ourselves even without magic."

Natsu frowned, turning his eyes away from Axel. "Whatever."

The tension was finally beginning to dissipate, so I took that chance to change our topic. "Anyway, I haven't really introduced you guys." I smiled at Axel. "These are my friends, Natsu and Happy." Happy smiled at him while Natsu gave a scoff. "I met Axel when we came back from our last job. He's here in Magnolia to visit a family of his."

"So what are you doing here then?" Natsu asked. "Is that family of yours a Fairy Tail wizard?"

"No, I uh, I came here for Lucy," Axel answered, lowering his gaze as his cheeks flushed.

Happy grinned. "I see, so you wanted to ask her out?"

My eyes widened as I felt heat on my face. "Wha- what are you saying, Happy?"

"Lucy's blushing too so I guess she likes you," Happy continued with his teasing.

I stood up, not waiting for Happy to turn this already awkward conversation into a disastrous one. "I'll talk to Axel alone. You guys wait here."

Natsu rose from his seat. "We're not leaving you alone with a stranger. What if he's one of those weirdos you attracted?"

That didn't occur to me at all. What if Axel was indeed one of them? What if he was here because he was affected by the jewel too? Somehow, the thought that he was only talking to me because he was forced to by the jewel sent a bitter taste on my mouth.

"Hey you." Natsu faced Axel. "Do you have any feelings for Lucy?"

It was very Natsu to ask without beating around the bush. Axel's face became redder, he was now fidgeting with his glasses while avoiding looking at me.

"Well, I uh…

"Do you think she's attractive?" Happy asked.

Way to make it more awkward, Happy. I was pretty sure Axel was quite ready to be swallowed by the ground right now.

"O-of course, I mean…" He took a deep breath. "Even a blind person could tell that she's attractive."

"Oh?" Happy raised his eyebrows. "So, do you love her?"

I face palmed at that. Great, I now consider this as one of the most awkward conversations I've ever had in my entire life. I was quite ready to leave and find a rock big enough to crawl under as I process the events that had led to this conversation.

"That's uh, a little bit early to say," Axel managed to say. "But I don't mind getting to know her better. I mean, spending time with someone and getting to know them is one way of knowing if you really like them. At least, that's what I believe."

"So you're not in love with me?" I found myself asking. And regretting it immediately when I saw Axel's eyes widened. I wracked my brain for anything to say to alleviate the wreckage I just caused. "What I meant was, you're obviously not in love with me. And the reason why you're here is because you wanted someone to show you around Magnolia, right?"

Axel nodded, glancing at me before letting out a small smile. "Yes, if you're still alright with it. Do you mind giving me some of your time?"

I gave him a smile. "I don't mind at all."

Natsu cleared his throat. "Aren't you going to ask us if we mind?"

"Natsu, he-

"Can I," We all turned to Axel who was now looking at Natsu, "Can I borrow Lucy for a little bit? I promise I won't let anything happen to her while she's with me."

I stared at Axel, surprised at how steady he held Natsu's gaze. There was determination in his eyes and courage. And for a second, I felt warm. Natsu continued with his staring contest with Axel before he finally gave out a long sigh.

"If you do anything to hurt her, I'll be the first one to knock you out." Natsu sat down, folding his arms in front of him.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Axel replied. He turned to me. "I don't want to take up too much of your time, so I'll just be quick about this."

I led him to another table, feeling the eyes of some of my guildmates looking curiously at the both of us. Great, there would be an endless amount of questions and interrogations after this for sure.

"So, about that tour around Magnolia?" I began.

"Well, yes." Axel fixed his glasses. "I'm truly grateful that you agreed to show me around, but I'm afraid that I have to go back home earlier than expected."

"Oh, that's too bad." He raised his eyes and met mine which caused for my cheeks to heat up again. "I mean, what I mean was Magnolia has a lot to offer. It's too bad you couldn't experience all of them. When are you coming home?"

"I plan on taking the morning train this weekend," he answered. "And I was hoping that we could do that tour tomorrow? That is, if you aren't busy, of course."

"Tomorrow's perfect."

A slow smile found its way on his lips and I kept yelling at myself not to, but I couldn't help the redness on my cheeks. Axel was definitely attractive. And he seemed like a genuine, kind person. And the way he speaks and interacts with other people showed how tactful he was.

We agreed to meet up in the morning before I sent him off because my guildmates were now obviously staring at the both of us with big, teasing grins on their faces.

"Was that your boyfriend, Lucy?" asked Cana before taking a drink from the bottle that she was holding. She sat down in Axel's seat in front of me. "He's quite cute isn't he?"

I felt my cheeks flushing again. "H-h-he's not…I mean w-we

"So when are you going to introduce him to us?" Mira added, sitting herself down beside Cana.

"I don't think-

"Must be nice to have a handsome guy as a boyfriend, right Lucy?" Cana continued.

"You guys are having the wrong idea, he's really not my-

"No point in denying it, Lucy." Cana smiled. "You two looked really cozy talking to each other like that."

I suddenly felt very hot. These girls were speaking their mind openly about my nonexistent relationship with Axel and it was making me feel embarrassed. And he was only staying here for a week. There was no point in pursuing any relationship with him because he would be leaving soon anyway. At present I could only try and enjoy his company.

"Lucy, are you alright?"

I turned to Mira, surprised by her question. "Yeah, why?"

"You look really red," she answered.

"And you're sweating," Cana pointed out. She reached across the table and felt my forehead, taking back her hand right away, her eyes widening. "Wow, you're burning up."

"What?" I laid my hand on my forehead and my neck, not feeling anything unusual. "But I feel fine."

Mira and Cana looked at each other, worry was both evident in their eyes.

"You don't look fine to us," Mira said. "Maybe it would be better if you go back to your apartment and rest? Just to be sure."

I know nothing I could say would change their mind about this. My friends are really protective and that was one of the things I liked most about them.

"Alright, just to be sure." I stood up. "I'll see you guys later."

I walked over to Natsu. "Hey, I guess-

I froze, feeling that familiar, yet unbearable pain on my skin. It was like getting drenched in molted metal. I felt my entire body burning, screaming for this pain to go away. The pain was so intense and deep. I thought that there was no end to it even as I felt myself sinking into unconsciousness.

...

I know we didn't have any GraLu moment in this chapter, but I promise I'll make up for it next time.Don't forget to comment!