Chapter Ten: The Offer Still Stands

"There were a lot of unresolved issues I left behind when I made the decision to switch schools, and practically abandon my life. I didn't think much of them at first, but slowly as life at the new school began to develop normality with me, I kept running into these problems." Lucy had been lost in her story for the last ten minutes; it was almost as if she had forgotten a crowd was even there. The cameras that were pointing to her all around the stage - she carried on as if they didn't exist. Slowly, layers upon layers of unspoke events unraveled, not only leaving the crowd shocked, but also to everyone watching outside.

"There was also the constant fear of being exposed as Lucy Heartfilia - hence I adopted my mother's maiden name in the transcripts. I wanted her to fade away from people's memories; I wanted Magnolia High to believe that Lucy packed a bag and left Magnolia for Kyoto, or Tokyo, or somewhere far away from here. I just didn't want her to be remembered anymore - especially the rumours that were spread about her."

"I don't get it…" Juvia spoke up out of nowhere, stunning the silent crowd in the classroom. "Who started these rumours to begin with? I mean, now that I think of it, I've heard people talk about them here, but it all just sounds ridiculous now. Who the hell would try and sabotage her like this?"

After letting out a long sigh, Sting chimed into the discussion. "Lucy and the girls went to Fiore Composite High School before all of this. I don't know it for a fact, but I think that the rumour started there." Lyon paused to think for a few moments, before nodding alongside Sting. "I mean, no one was talking about this until two weeks after the accident, right? So whoever started this, must've started it back in Fiore High."

"I still don't understand who would try to hurt Lucy like this…" Levy spoke in a gentle, yet sad tone. She turned to Lyon and Sting, who kept looking back and forth from the screen, and to the other kids who were also trying to make sense of the events. "Do you know anyone who would do this to her…?"

"Lucy wasn't the type of girl to make enemies." Lyon stated, "I mean, Fairy Tail was made up of four girls releasing music on Spotify and Soundcloud - they didn't even have a record deal. They may have been popular, but they didn't exactly have the momentum to make people jealous to this extreme."

"Do you think that this could be the same person that caused the crash in the first place?"

All eyes soon fell upon Natsu, who had been fairly quiet throughout the entire video sequence. Taking each bit in, a surge of guilt and pain flooded Natsu's emotions as he listened to Lucy's story. As he laid his eyes on her delicate face, he was taken back to all the moments he had shared with her - his vulnerabilities, his insecurities, and his personal intimacy - and this entire time, Lucy struggled with inner demons of her own; demons so strong and dominant, that they made her feel worthless. "I mean, if the police think that this isn't an accident, then this was obviously a planned execution."

"I think people were able to easily point the finger at Lucy simply BECAUSE she was the only surviving member…" Rogue began contributing to the discussion. "I think that if the person who started these rumours was the same person who tampered with the breaks, they would not only want to divert the attention from themselves, but also protect their own ego from the fact that they weren't successful in killing all four members."

The whole room went silent after Rogue uttered his words, wondering if a possible cover up was occurring at this very moment - even almost a year after the accident.

…

"We don't have to talk about anything. Just us."

Throughout the whole morning, Lucy kept repeating those words throughout her head. Her ability to pay the slightest bit of attention to any of her classes was non-existent. Replaying the two nights they had shared since three days of meeting each other, Lucy kept having a mental conflict with what Natsu had offered her. No strings attached. No commitment. No emotions. Just good, clean fun. She knew that she liked him, however, her heart kept telling her that he didn't like her as much as she did. Was he really willing to give himself to someone he doesn't know, and will probably never truly like? But more importantly was Lucy ready to accept that? The countless thoughts kept flogging her psyche up until the lunch bell rang, startling Lucy out of her daydreaming phase.

"Hey girl!" Juvia plopped herself onto an empty desk near Lucy. Lucy smiled back, while packing her notes and pencils. "So, I know you don't know a lot of people her. I often hang out with my friends in here, since the classroom remains empty throughout most of the lunch break, so I was thinking… do you want to hang out with us?"

"Will your friends like me?" Lucy chuckled, as she got out of her seat, sitting on top of the table.

"Of course they will! What's there not to like?!" Juvia said, which brought a gentle smile upon Lucy's face. "So why don't you wait here, and I'll text them to let them know we have an addition to the playground!"

As Juvia pulled out her phone, Lucy nodded in response, and slowly made her way towards the large window which covered most of the right wall of the classroom. Out through the glass, Lucy saw the other high school students running around, talking, and eating. The bright sunlight glistened over the sight, as Lucy made her way towards the rim of the window, and sat on top of it, leaning her head back.

"You guys are literally the slowest people ever!" Lucy hollered as she ran towards the patio, alongside the dozens of kids. Yukino, Sherry and Sherria were lagging behind, finding it difficult to catch up to the hyper blonde.

"Well, can't you learn to slow down a bit?!" Yukino panted, as the girls finally made it to the seats that Lucy had saved for them amongst the sea of high school students.

"Well I would've," Lucy began to speak while getting out her bento box, "But if I did, we wouldn't all be sitting down in actual seats, now would we?"

"Okay okay…" Yuki mumbled, while stuffing her face with Udon. "Mmm… this is so good!"

Sherry fished through her bag, and took out a few napkins. "Could you maybe not be this messy…" she grunted irritably as she handed a slothering Yukino the napkins.

Lucy giggled, "Ah, let the girl eat," she said, while taking a bite out of her pickled beans. "I don't think either of us had a proper meal in the last few days, right?"

"I was up last night mixing the last two songs for our album, and I forgot to eat dinner." Sherria added as she opened up her own bento box. "We really need to stop getting take out for lunch."

"I mean, I did offer to cook here and there…" Lucy snuffed, as she was eating. "Maybe I can cook for us tonight?"

"Ohhh! Could you make the Shoyu ramen?!" Yukino chimed in, once she was finished her mouthful of Udon. "I haven't had that in so long!"

"Yes, I can do that!" Lucy giggled, while the other girls followed suit.

"Hey guys!" Juvia's voice broke Lucy's trail of thought, leaving her momentarily stunned. Once a moment passed, Lucy turned her head, finding a large group of people entering through the classroom, surrounding Juvia. Dropping herself off of the window rim, Lucy made her way towards the crowd, as Juvia also made an effort to walk towards her. "So, you're not gonna remember all the names here, but it's fine! So guys, this is the new girl I've been telling you about!"

Stunned at the sheer number of people that were present, Lucy tried to acknowledge all the names that were being hurdeled towards her, such as "Gray" - who she met before, "Levy", "Gajeel", "Rogue", "Loke" - who also felt the need to make a comment on how good her ass looked, "Wendy", "Elfman", and "Cana". She couldn't even begin to imagine how a group of friends can exist to be this large.

'So, you're the newie Juvia wouldn't stop talking about!" a playful voice popped out, which made Lucy's head jerk. A towering blonde young man headed towards her, with features familiarly distinct. The moment Lucy looked at his face, she went numb. Her eyes were fixated onto his, and she stood still as the man extended his hand towards her. "I'm Sting."

For a brief moment, Lucy didn't react. The moment may not have had any impact to the people around her, but it felt like hours to Lucy. Sting. It was Sting. A rush of anger, pain, and remorse flooded Lucy's body instantly. The man whom Yukino had fallen in love with, completely disregarded Lucy after she survived the accident. Closing her eyes during that brief moment, Lucy took a deep breath, smiled, and shook his hand. "It's so nice to meet you."

As soon as she had done that, another face that was all too familiar walked towards Lucy. White hair, pale smirk, devilish smile. Those were all the things Sherry fell for when she was introduced to Lyon. It seemed as if Yukino and Sherry met their match with the two boys, however, they seem to act as if the accident never happened in the first place. "After Natsu posted that video of you on his Snap, we were all excited to meet you!"

"Thank you! It's nice to meet you, as well." Lucy had her fake smile intact, as she greeted Lyon. She tried to shake out of the betrayal she was feeling, and attempted to oppress it. These weren't the emotions that the new Lucy should be feeling. New Lucy wasn't like that - New Lucy could also pretend that none of this happened, and start over. New Lucy shouldn't feel hurt that Sting and Lyon no longer cared about her; she needed to accept that this is where she is.

"Hey, where's Natsu and Lisanna?" Juvia blurted, breaking the building tension in Lucy's mind. "Were they not with you guys?"

"I saw them walking away together, but I don't know where they went." Levy said quietly, while catching Lucy's attention.

"So, they're still together?" Juvia asked, becoming increasingly confused.

"I don't know… Natsu called me last night, telling me it was over." Sting added, while placing himself on top of one of the desks. "I mean, they've been together forever. It's so weird that they're not together anymore."

Feeling uneasy by the second, Lucy started wondering whether Natsu was full of shit or not while telling her that whatever he had with Lisanna was over. Were those nights full of shit as well? If they were, then all she was used for was rebound sex. That's all this would've been. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Without saying anything else, Lucy dashed her way out of the classroom, not even allowing Juvia to check up on out of the room, Lucy felt conflicting emotions of anger, confusion, and sadness. Sting, Lyon, Lisanna, and Natsu. It was only noon, and she was already overwhelmed.

Sifting through crowds of people, Lucy attempted to fight back tears. However, at the same time, she kept thinking she may have deserved all of this in the first place. Why couldn't she just pull herself together, and act normal, so she can appear normal rather than damaged.

After pushing away all the students hanging outside the hallway, Lucy found a closed classroom with the lights shut off on the inside. Hoping she would find some peace inside, she swung the door open. However, before she could turn on any of the lights, Lucy heard two separate voices, bickering at each other.

"Let me guess, she's your new girlfriend."

"Why do you care?! You're the one who dumped me!"

"I didn't expect you to start dating other chicks THAT quickly!"

"Again, why do you CARE?!"

The conversation was interrupted with Lucy turning on the switch, allowing the lights to flicker. The faces of Natsu and Lisanna were revealed in the now lit classroom, and both their eyes settled on the visibly shocked and embarrassed Lucy.