"Are you okay?" Layla asked Lucy after the song ended.

"I am, why?" Lucy replied with a sniff.

"You are crying sweetheart" Jude answered with a worried face.

"I was?" Lucy was shocked to find tears on her cheeks.

"Oh my god, why am I crying?" Lucy laughed as she wiped her tears.

"Great question" Layla said with a confused look.

"I have no idea, I really don't" Lucy laughed more and smiled at her parents.

Both Layla and Jude looked at Lucy weirdly but decided to let it go.

Lucy was grateful for that, since trying to explain to her parents that in her dream, Natsu sang that song in a contest and looked at her throughout the whole performance because they dated in her dream and she was in love with him there and that she might still be in love with Natsu but it's not the same Natsu and so she is very confused with her feelings almost all the time and that that is the reason she cried while listening to the song.

She thanked the lord that she did not have to explain that.

"Okay, would you like to order anything else? Or shall we walk around the place?" Layla asked with a smile as the waitress came to take the now empty plates.

"Let's explore, I remember the map showed an arcade, we can go there" Jude said, recalling the map he and Lucy checked when they entered the building.

"I hope they have the dancing machine" Lucy smiled and got up.

"I'm sure they do" Jude laughed as he and Layle both got up as well.

The family walked around slowly until they reached the arcade, Jude went to buy tokens for the family while the girls looked around to see what games the arcade has to offer.

"Oh, a Pac-Man machine! I haven't played it in so long!" Layla said to Lucy, pointing at the machine area on the left to them.

"You should play it then! I think I'll go search for the dancing one, I really want to play it" Lucy smiled.

"I think I see it back there, next to the punch machine" Layla pointed at the back of the room.

Lucy looked and indeed, she saw the dancing machine waiting for her.

"Yes! They have it!" Lucy exclaimed with a jump.

"Here, takes these tokens and go wild" Jude said as he got back, handing Lucy a bag of tokens.

"Thank you, dad!" Lucy smiled and left her parents to go play her beloved dancing machine.

"Have fun!" both Jude and Layla yelled to the excited girl as she practically ran away from them to the back of the arcade.

Lucy noted the back area was quite vacant of people, there was maybe one more person walking around there, checking what games there are.

"Less crowd, less stress" Lucy nodded to herself with a smile.

"5 tokens for 1 song, 7 for 2 and 10 for 3... I guess I'll take 3 for now" Lucy decided and inserted 10 tokens into the machine.

"Please select your three songs" Lucy read what the machine asked her to do.

"I haven't played in so long" Lucy giggled to herself as her excitement grew as she scrolled through the options.

"Oh, they have songs sorted by year?" Lucy noted as she looked for an easier way to find songs.

"Let's do... newer to older" Lucy decided and pressed sort.

"Oh, they have Say So? I'll try that" Lucy picked the song.

"Now, what else" Lucy searched for another song to add.

"Level Up... That might be a hard one..." Lucy said to herself and decided to not add it.

"Wait, what?" Lucy stopped as she noticed there was a different sorting option she never used before.

"Pop, rock, hip hop, K-pop... K-pop?" Lucy smiled and picked K-pop, making all the songs be swapped to only K-pop songs.

"Wow, this is going to be so fun" Lucy smiled hard as she picked her songs, Kick it by NCT 127 and Gee by SNSD.

"Alright, start!" Lucy clicked start and stood in position, a countdown from 10 started, letting Lucy know the song Say So by Doja Cat will soon start playing.

The soft music started to play, and Lucy copied the moves from the screen and danced herself, enjoying the song and having fun.

As she danced, she started to sing along with the song. She didn't care about anything in that moment and she let herself fully enjoy it, since no one was there to look at her or judge her.

When the song finished, she had an option to wait or to start the countdown for the next song.

Lucy smiled and started the countdown for Kick It by NCT 127.

"This will be harder" Lucy noted to herself and got ready.

When the intro to the song played, the character on screen didn't move much, making Lucy think that maybe this is an easy song as well.

And then song actually started.

And Lucy was quickly out of breath.

But she kept on dancing.

"Oh my god!" Lucy yelled as the song was nearing its end.

"I did it" Lucy fell to her knees, out of breath, as she struggled to get up to click on the wait button.

"That was really good" Lucy heard a voice say.

Shocked, Lucy turned to see who was speaking, and saw a petite, blue haired girl.

Levy?

"T-thanks" Lucy blushed and bowed her head.

"You're Lucy, right?" the girl asked as she got closer.

"Yeah" Lucy answered quietly as she got up.

"I'm happy to see you feel better! I'm Levy, Levy Mcgarden, I'm from your school" Levy said with a smile and brought her hand to Lucy, asking for a hand shake. Lucy timidly agreed.

Same name, same looks, same voice

"It's nice to meet you" Lucy offered a small smile.

"Oh wait, you gave me the new Zekua Melon book, right?" Lucy remembered suddenly.

"Yes! Daybreak! Did you like it?" Levy gushed.

"I haven't read it yet, but I already love it! Thank you so much" Lucy bowed again.

"You don't need to be so formal, I'm younger than you" Levy laughed.

"Younger?" Lucy asked as she straightened up.

"Well, you and Natsu were both born in July, And I was born in November, so yes, you are older" Levy explained with a smile.

Right, she is part of Natsu's friends' group.

"That doesn't really count as older, it's just 4 months" Now it was Lucy's turn to laugh, making Levy join in.

"What is your next song?" Levy inquired as a reminder to start the song countdown popped up on the screen.

"Gee by SNSD" Lucy recalled, she then turned to click on the wait button again.

"Oh, cool! I almost always pick that song, I love it!" Levy clapped her hands with excitement.

"Well, there's an option to turn the solo dance to a duo version, would you like to join me?" Lucy asked with a smile, she liked this Levy and felt really comfortable around her, might as well get closer to her.

"Yes!" Levy cheered as she stepped in front of the machine to get detected.

Both girls giggled as Lucy changed the dance version, making the machine ask for confirmation.

Lucy looked at Levy to see if she was ready, making Levy smile with her thumb up in response. Lucy smiled back and pressed start.

The screen showed the 10 second countdown begin, and both girls were ready to sing, dance and have fun with each other.

As the song played, both girls laughed as they missed some steps or sang the wrong lyrics. They both enjoyed each other's company and from just that one dance, they both felt like best friends hanging out together.

"That was so fun!" Lucy laughed when the song ended.

"Yeah! I usually always play here alone, no one likes dancing with me since I don't try too hard to ger a high score" Levy giggled.

"I don't like playing with competitive people" Lucy shook her head. She would hate to disappoint a partner that was competitive.

"Well, would you like to dance more? Or play something else?" Levy asked with a smile.

Lucy looked around to see if there was anything that caught her eye, and she found something.

"What's that?" Lucy pointed at an area that looked like a VR room.

"Beat Saber, a VR rhythm game where you slash the beats of adrenaline- pumping music as they fly towards you, surrounded by a futuristic world" Levy read the poster.

"I know that game, and this room looks really cool" Lucy said as both girls went closer to inspect the posters more.

"Oh, there are 5 sets, we can both play at the same time" Lucy noted as she looked around the room.

"Why yes, you may either both play the same songs and see who scored better, or each play her own game" a light-blue haired man showed up from the back of the room.

"My name is Invel, I operate the VR room" He interduces himself to the girls with a bow.

"Oh, hello. Please take good care of us" Levy bowed back, making Lucy bow as well.

"So, what will it be? Will you both play the same songs, or each play her own?" Invel asked as he led the girls to the Beat Saber VR sets.

Both girls looked at each other with a smile, then turned to Invel as they both answered "Same".

"Can I join in?" a new voice yelled from the entrance.

"Hey Lisanna" Levy yelled back without even looking back.

"Would it be ok with you to have more people join?" Levy quickly asked Lucy before Lisanna was close enough.

"Sure" Lucy nodded.

I'll just leave if I feel pressured Lucy told herself and took a deep breath.

"Come one Lis, we are putting the sets on" Levy yelled, making Lisanna jog over.

"Hey! Lucy, right? I'm Lisanna, it's so nice to finally meet you" Lisanna said with a smile, and Lucy couldn't help but see Mira in her.

"Yeah, thanks, you too" Lucy replied with a shy smile back.

"You are so cute!" Lisanna suddenly gushed, making Lucy jump with wide eyes.

More energetic than the dream Lisanna Lucy noted.

"Come on ladies" Invel urged the girls to step into their playing areas.

"Wait!" a new voice was heard yelling from the entrance.

"I would like to join as well!" the voice said as it got closer to us.

"Oh, hey Juvia" both Lisanna and Levy said as the blue heard girl joined the group.

"Hello" Juvia bowed with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Lucy" Lucy said with confidence, having everyone be so nice, she felt more comfortable to meet more people.

"Juvia, I'm happy to officially meet you" Juvia waved with a grin.

"Well, there is room for one more. Will anyone else join? Or shall we start the game?" Invel inquired as he showed Juvia to her spot and gave her the VR set.

"I'll join" a stern voice said, making all girls turn around with a scared face.

"Oh no" Juvia whispered.

"Not you" Lisanna added in a hushed voice.

"Erza, please, we are just having fun, this is not a competition" Levy warned.

"Of course, we are all here to have fun" Erza nodded and went to the last spot and waited for Invel to give her the last set.

"Not fair, we wanted to play" Lucy heard voices a little further away from where she was.

"Let's just wait"

"Fine"

Lucy giggled. She heard the pout Natsu made as he spoke.

"Lucy?" Erza looked at Lucy with a small smile.

"Yes?" Lucy stopped her giggle and looked at Erza.

"It's nice to meet you, I am Erza Scarlet" Erza said in a formal tone.

"Lucy Heartfilia, it's nice to meet you too" Lucy formally nodded back.

"Shall we?" Erza asked the group, making all nod and put their sets on, with the help of Invel.

"What song?" Invel asked as all 5 girls were ready.

"there's the really long one, the angel something" Lisanna said as she scrolled through the playlist.

"Too hard" Levy said.

"Oh, all the DLC's are open here" Lucy said as she looked through every pack there was.

"Yes, but the customs are off" Erza explained.

"How about, Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons?" Juvia asked.

"I like that song" Lisanna nodded.

"Me too" Lucy agreed.

"Bad Liar it is, then" Erza concluded.

"I will play it for all of you in the same time, then. Be ready" Invel said, making all girls nod.

As the music started, the girls moved their hands to hit the cubed that flew their way.

Every time someone missed, a little yelp was heard.

There were many yelps throughout the song.

When the song finished, the girls were about to remove the headset to see the scores, but Invel stopped them.

"Wait, you have 2 more songs before you see the final score" he said.

"Oh?" Erza said as she adjusted her headset back.

"Well, I guess that's fine" Levy said.

"What now then?" Juvia asked.

"POP\STAR? It's pretty fun" Lucy suggested.

"I love that song! Let's do it!" Levy excitedly responded, earning a giggle from the girls and the guys that were behind them, watching them have fun.

"K\DA it is then" Invel said and put the song on.

Both Levy and Lucy sang along as they hit the cubes and danced.

The boys behind them that waited for their turn had their own fun listening to the song, with Natsu having his fun looking at Lucy playing and singing.

"You are so whipped" Gajeel said to Natsu quietly.

"As you are" Natsu replied, making Gajeel turn his head and 'tsk' in response.

"Shut up guys" Jellal said with a laugh.

The boys agreed to be quiet and enjoy the music.

When the song ended, both Lucy and Levy were out of breath compared to the rest of the girls.

"Need water?" Lisanna asked as she heard them breath hard.

"Nah" Levy simply replied.

Lucy agreed with a nod, not that Lisanna could see her.

"What will be our last song?" Erza asked a few seconds later, giving the girls that time to catch their breath.

"I want Country Rounds" Lisanna declared.

"Sure" all girls agreed.

"Yes!" Lisanna cheered, making Invel laugh as he put the song up.

When the song started, the cubes immediately started flying in, making all girls jump a little at how fast they were going.

"What level is this?" Juvia asked quickly as she tried to hit all cubed.

"Expert" Invel nonchalantly answered.

"WHAT?" all girls yelled, but they all kept going.

"You are all quite good, I decided to give you a challenge" He simply said.

The girls didn't reply as they had to concentrate on the fast-moving cubes.

When the song ended, all girls immediately removed the headset from their heads and breathed heavily.

"I don't remember that song being this hard" Lisanna said with a pout.

"It's because you don't play on expert level" Erza replied.

Lisanna wanted to argue, but she had to agree. She is not the competitive type to try and beat herself.

"It was really fun though" Lucy said with a laugh as she looked at Levy, who was still trying to catch her breath.

"It was" Juvia agreed.

"Our turn!" Lucy heard Natsu yell from behind her.

"Have fun" Levy muttered as she gave Gajeel her set.

"Girls, you may go to the left to see your scores" Invel said as he pointed to a screed on the left of the Beat Saber area.

"Thank you" the girls said as they left.

"You were awesome" Natsu whispered to Lucy as she passed him.

"Thank you" Lucy quietly replied as she left with the girls.

"In fifth place..." Erza started to announce.

"Lisanna!" Erza cheered with the girls.

"In fourth place, Levy!" the girls cheered again.

"In third place, Juvia!" the girls cheered once again.

"In second place..." Erza started but stopped as she looked at the screen.

"Well then... In second place, Erza!" Erza clapped for herself with Lucy, but the other girls stood in silence.

"Will she make Lucy go on a rematch?" Lisanna quietly asked.

"I hope not" Levy answered.

"Why aren't you cheering for her?" Lucy asked, making the three girls gulp and cheer.

"Lucy, well done, you are the winner" Erza said with a bow.

"Thank you" Lucy bowed back.

"I would be happy to have a rematch with you some day" Erza said with a smile.

"Sure" Lucy smiled back.

"Wow" the three girls looked from the side.

"I was sure Erza would have made her play again right now" Juvia said.

"Me too" Both Lisanna and levy agreed with a nod.

"It was really fun guys, thank you for playing with me" Lucy said with a smile.

"Thank you for letting us play with you" Lisanna replied with a grin.

"Yes, it was real fun meeting you as well" Erza added with a nod.

"Are you leaving?" Levy asked as she noticed Lucy was looking back at the arcade entrance.

"I might be, I need to find my parents first" Lucy said.

"We will probably stay in this area so if you want, you can come back" Juvia said with a smile.

"We will see, thank you guys" Lucy bowed and waved as she left the group.

"She is so nice" Juvia said when Lucy was far away enough to not hear her.

"She is" Erza agreed.

"I don't get why kids said she was rude" Lisanna frowned.

"Not everyone is smart enough to see through things" Levy shrugged and turned to go inside the VR are again.

"true" Juvia agreed and turned as well.

"I will beat anyone who talked badly about her ever again" Erza declared as she and Lisanna also turned and went back in.

"As if you didn't do it until now" Lisanna laughed.

The girls all laughed as they went to the little waiting area to watch the boys play.


When Lucy got to the front of the arcade, she saw her parents both stand in front of the claw machine area, with her mother laughing while her father looked rather annoyed with a machine full of plushies.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked as she got closer to her parents.

"Your father really wanted to get a plush doll for you, but he used almost all of his tokens and didn't even get one plush out" Layla explained with a laugh.

"I will get it" Jude declared as he put his last tokens into the machine, moving the claw right above a pink plush doll that resembled a bunny, as the claw went down, it got a hold of the plush, making the three heartfilia's breath hitch as they watched the claw grab the toy. As the claw got up, the toy followed it, but midway the toy fell again, making Jude sigh in defeat.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you the doll" Jude said with a defeated and ashamed look.

"I never asked for it, and I have enough plushies at home" Lucy giggled at her father's overreaction to the situation.

"that's right, she really doesn't need another plush doll" Layla agreed as she patted Jude's shoulder.

"Alright" Jude agreed with a sigh.

"What time is it?" Lucy asked as she looked around for a clock.

"It is now 6:30pm" a Voice said behind Lucy.

"Oh! Thank you" Lucy turned fast to see who answered.

The man had black, spiky hair, he wore a pair of purple trousers partnered with a purple blazer with a white long sleeve dress shirt and black boots.

"You are quite welcome" the person said.

The man smiled at the family and left the arcade.

"What an interesting pick of clothing" Jude noted as the man left.

"I liked it" Layla said.

"I didn't" Lucy shook her head.

"Well, it is almost 7pm. What would you like to do now?" Jude asked the girls as they walked out of the arcade.

"I would like to get something to drink" Lucy said with a smile.

"I would like that too" Layla smiled back at her daughter.

"Alright then, let's find something to drink at the bar" Jude agreed and the family left in search for the bar.