I really am an asshole.

I'm so sorry for not updating in so long. This story really does mean a lot to me, and I intend to finish it. Hopefully, I can get back on track!

I'm still amazed as to how many reads this story still gets. It really blows my mind. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the continuous love. I really appreciate it.

Let's get onto the chapter!

Chapter Eighteen: The Big Showcase Turned Reveal

Lucy's anger-ridden eyes bore holes into Lisanna as she clutched her damp dress. Yukino began to hurl at Lisanna's direction - as if she was ready to throw punches, but Lucy immediately stopped her. The crowd nearby drew towards the scene, looking rather perplexed at the potential fight breaking between the two of them. "If you hit her, she will win," Lucy warned Yukino as she pushed her back with her arm. The smirk on Yukino's face widened as she basked in the damage she had just caused.

"What's the matter?" Lisanna threw a look of mock-pity at Lucy's direction. "Are you going to hide behind your friends yet again?" Her smirk almost mocked Lucy, "you will never change. You're such a pathetic bitch, Lucy."

Sherry pushed her way in front of Lucy, eyes flaming with pure hot anger. "I get that you're angry Lucy won that competition and you didn't, but I swear to God if you don't fuck off in the next ten seconds, I'm going to beat the absolute shit out of you!"

A mix of 'oohs' ran through the crowd, who became enamoured by the scene that had been unfolding in front of their eyes. Lisanna let out a mocking laugh, "you're not going to hurt me." Eyeing Sherry and trying to read her own eyes to call her bluff, Lisanna's voice lowered. "You don't have it in you."

Suddenly, a salmon-haired boy broke through the crowd, calling out for someone. "Lisanna? Babe?" When he had found himself in the middle of the scene, his eyes peered over Lucy's, and then to his girlfriend. "What the hell happened here?!"

Lucy scoffed, as she rolled her eyes towards the boy's direction. "Your girlfriend was just being friendly, as you can tell by the state of my dress - and my hair." With that sentence, Lucy walked away, with Yukino, Sherry, and Sherria following suit.

Unbeknownst to Lucy, Dan had seen the entire scene unfold, and ran from his seat to meet the group. "Hey, are you alright?" he panted as he caught up with the girls.

"Oh, I want to do bad things to her," Sherry said bitterly, resulting in her twin nodding in agreement.

"You should've let us do something, Lucy!" Yukino's tone became more irritated, as she folded her arms in frustration.

"Guys," Lucy sighed as she glanced at her group of friends. "She didn't touch any of you. If you were to hurt her in any way, we would've been the ones in trouble, not her."

Sighing at their friend knowing she had been right, they decided to drop the subject. "Now," Lucy said with a new sense of enthusiasm, "I'm going to get cleaned up and change into something new so that we can perform our song together." She glanced at Dan as she said this, a reassuring smile glazing her face.

"Our song." Dan smiled back at his friend. "I love that."

…

Lucy's eyes fluttered open slowly, but her vision was met with a blur. After a few seconds, the haze faded, and her eyes were then placed upon the familiar face of a boy with sweeping brown hair. A concerned expression greeted her, but soon it was softened to a look of relief. "Thank God… you're awake."

Struggling to sit upon the bed that she had found herself in, Lucy glanced around the unknown sights of the room. There were multiple beds around her with curtains - but only her bed had been occupied. She felt a throbbing pain in her head, resulting in her hand being placed over it. "Where am I? What happened?"

Before Dan is able to answer her question, a young woman wearing a nurse uniform walked towards them holding a glass of water, and what appeared to be a small cup with medicine within it. "You had a panic attack, and you fainted." Her sweet tone almost threw Lucy away as she was given the water and the medicine. "However, nothing serious took place. You were just asleep for an hour."

The nurse's words widened Lucy's eyes. "An hour?! But my classes! I -

"Don't worry." The nurse said reassuringly. "I excused you for the rest of the day. You're free to rest here for as long as you need, or you can go home." After calming down, Lucy took the medication given to her. The nurse took back the empty glass and cup back with her, leaving her and Dan to themselves - an awkward silence looming over them.

Lucy wasn't sure whether or not she was supposed to be the one starting a conversation. She resorted to taking a deep breath and allowed her eyes to fall onto her hands, which had been placed above the white covers. She had a spotty memory of what she had screamed at Dan before she passed out. Although she regretted the timing of the situation, she definitely didn't regret making her feelings known to him. She understood he was upset with her for keeping such a towering secret from him, but if anyone was going to condone her… it wasn't going to be him. As more and more thoughts attacked Lucy's mind, the less she knew how to start the conversation. Luckily, however, she didn't have to ponder for too long. "Lucy, I'm sorry."

Her eyes shot up to meet Dan's, almost not believing what she had heard. But his eyes were facing downward as if he wasn't able to look at her. "I shouldn't have said any of that to you. Not just because of your panic attack, but also because I have no right to say any of it."

He slowly lifted his head up, revealing his tear-stained face. Lucy was taken aback by what she was seeing. Her eyes immediately softened as he wiped his tears away. "I should've gone to see you in the hospital. I should've called. But you were gone for two whole weeks… my mind just convinced me that you were never coming back."

Lucy felt her own eyes growing mistier. "I woke up, Dan. You must've known that."

"I know…" Dan sniffled. The guilt was straining his voice. "I was so selfish. I thought it was going to be too painful for me to see you again, knowing what had happened. I was so busy thinking about myself… I completely disregarded you in the process."

She didn't know whether it was just a reflex of hers, but Lucy felt her hand enveloping the hand Dan had placed beside him on the bed. She knew there was no point in staying angry at someone who had and still meant the world to her. They had both hurt each other, and she knew that they both needed to find a way to move on from that hurt. At least, to the best of their abilities. "I'm sorry for lying to you, Dan."

Dan smiled in response, putting his other hand over Lucy's. He didn't have to say anything to her for her to know he had forgiven her, and Lucy didn't need to say anything more to Dan to let him know she had forgiven him too.

"Lucy…" Dan interrupted the brief moment of bliss, while his face contorted in confusion. "I hadn't heard about the rumours. Who started them?"

Lucy's expression darkened upon his words. "I wish I knew, Dan," Lucy said while letting out a deep, heavy sigh. "I was mortified. I didn't want to be crucified anymore, so I changed my hair colour, adopted my mother's maiden name, and changed schools."

"Because you wanted to be left alone." Dan completed the puzzle, and his empathetic eyes once again met Lucy's. The blood in his veins began to boil, angry at all that Lucy had to endure in such a short period of time. He was angry at the torment she had been subjected to by the people around her, he was angry that she had to cope with the excruciating pain alone, and worst of all… he hated himself for not being a good enough friend to stand by her side when she needed people the most.

"Sting and Lyon didn't visit you either?" Dan watched Lucy slowly lower her head after the words left his lips, and he knew right then. They hadn't visited her either. He almost wanted to punch the wall in anger over how horribly all three of them had handled the situation, but he felt Lucy's hand gripping onto his own tighter as if she knew what he was feeling.

They stayed in silence for a few moments, thankful for their reunion, although it had been anger and heartbreak-ridden. They had finally come to an understanding, which meant more to the both of them than they were letting on. "I'll keep your secret, Lucy."

Lucy was shocked that she didn't have to ask him beforehand. She was dreading that moment, as she knew she had to be selfish towards the friend she had just gotten back. But Dan's reassuring eyes relaxed her, and she knew she would be able to trust him with her secret. However, the reassurance was quickly replaced with worry, and Lucy immediately understood what was going through his mind. "When do you think you're going to start telling people?"

She had been dreading this question; she knew she wouldn't be able to keep the charade up for long. She had already been caught because her defenses were so fragile. It wasn't going to take much to destroy them completely, and that destruction would happen sooner than later. "I don't know." That answer was as honest as she was able to be at the moment with Dan. "I need to be able to feel safe again before I do so."

The rumours wouldn't be going away anytime soon, and Lucy knew that. But even when they aren't as present as they are, Lucy still wasn't sure if that would be enough to reassure her sense of safety. She kicked herself for not finding a way to clear her name, as it was just so easy to place the blame on her. She had been the star of that group, and she probably had enough of her friends. It didn't matter that she was in a coma. It didn't matter that she had also been in that accident, clearly in harm's way. All that mattered was that she survived, and no one else did.

Dan looked down at his hands, which were still gripping Lucy's. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth again. "I'm not going to abandon you this time." He removed one of his hands and placed it on Lucy's cheek. He felt the tracks of her tears and used his thumb to wipe them away. "You always looked out for me, even when I didn't deserve it. I know I let you down, but will you let me make up for it?"

A soft giggle escaped Lucy's lips as she took her free hand and placed it over his hand on her cheek. Her words were breathless, but audible, and laced with pure bliss. "Yes. Yes, of course I will!"