Two pairs of best friends just want to make it big: a writer, a model, a fashion designer, and an influencer. Can they achieve their dreams?
— Big City AU
Life in Crocus
Lucy Heartfilia had it made for her: She was the daughter of Jude Heartfilia, owner of the hotel chain "Lucky". She was set to inherit the company once she turned eighteen, but business wasn't her passion. She wanted to follow in her deceased mother's footsteps, who was an aspiring young writer rising at the time of her death. Her father hadn't supported her dreams, so she ran away from her mansion that was more like a dungeon on the night of her debut. That's how she found herself miles away from her friends, in a city that was unforgiving.
Instead of becoming the businesswoman her father had become, she was a struggling writer in the city known as Crocus. It was the city of dreams; everyone came Crocus to achieve a dream because you could be anything you wanted without judgement. That's how she met Erza Scarlet, her current roommate and best friend.
Erza Scarlet never had it easy growing up; Born Erza Belserion she was forced to change her last name Scarlet; her mother was a the mafia boss and her boyfriend an abusive drug lord, she fled from Alvarez when she was just sixteen. She wandered into the streets, the dark nights swallowing her. Fortunately, a kind family had took her in; the Mikazuchis offered her a place to call home even though they knew her situation. A year passed, she finally thought she had a normal stable life, but the family's house burned down with her adoptive parents and brother in it, the little girl she considered a sister had disappeared. It was arson they said, she knew exactly who was responsible. So she ran, faster and further than she ever did before. She assumed a new identity under the name Scarlet in Crocus, hoping to make a life for herself.
Once upon a time she was signed with the biggest model agency in Crocus, Tower Heaven Agency managed by Jellal Fernandez. She was the face of the company, the front covers of magazines were hers, until Jellal had wanted her to do something and she couldn't. So she quit because he refused to give her any gigs, and soon after her popularity dropped. With the name and power her former boss had in the industry, rumours about her inability to deliver were spread. It was difficult to find gigs and she was currently unsigned, that's why it was hard even with a roommate to pay rent.
"I'm telling you, my hair can wait. However, the landlord won't. We already missed last months rent but he was generous enough to wait another week. I don't think he'll be as patient for a second time, Lucy," the older of the girls urged her blonde friend to think logically. They were respectively nineteen and twenty, both without post-secondary education, and renting an apartment right at the centre of a big city wasn't exactly cheap.
"Nonsense, Erza. Remember I got that reward money for placing in a writing contest. I can use that," the girl settled.
Erza felt guilty. Her friend had sacrificed the luxuries she was accustomed to for her. They could have gotten a less expensive place if they chose to live on the outskirts instead centre. Lucy reasoned that a writer could write anywhere, but Erza had no car to drive herself to her gigs. Lucy already used up most of her trust fund in the first few months of moving in. Since the red-head didn't have a set salary, Lucy often paid for her share. She promised Lucy she would pay her back and her friend always retorted that she didn't what that money anyways. If Lucy hadn't seen the signs she put up when she was seeking a roommate to make ends meet, she didn't know what she would do.
"You should spend your money on those fancy stationaries you always talk about," she insisted. Lucy pressed Erza to get treatment for her hair, horrified by the split-ends. Erza replied she didn't have money and her friend dragged her along anyways.
"I don't need those fancy pens and papers to write, Erza. You on the other hand, need to maintain your beauty to impress those scouts," Lucy justified. "Your hair is always so pretty, I still don't understand why he would make you dye it," she huffed frustrated.
Erza revealed the reason for her downfall when Lucy admitted she looked familiar when she was sure she never her, it was a topic she never liked to discuss. However she was glad, that for once in her life someone was on her side.
"Can we please not talk about him?" she groaned the complaint.
"Okay, okay. Anyways, hush now. We're here," the girls entered a modest salon. An employee, who recognized them as regulars quickly tended to them. As they made there way to the counter to make their payment, the owner and close friend of theirs greeted them.
"How was the service today, ladies?" Mira Jane Strauss, a girl whose hair was so platinum it appeared almost white, interrogated.
"As usual. Your place is the best in this big city!" Lucy enthusiastically boasted before reaching for her wallet.
Mira stopped her was she was about to hand her the wad of bills, "Business has been going great lately, this time it's on me."
"We'll be sure to refer you," the two roommates claimed as they gratefully thanked her. They were about to turn to leave before Mira called out to them.
"Wait! I almost forgot. This is for you, Erza," Mira handed her a business card.
Erza inspected the business card before shoving it in her purse. She wondered why Mira gave her a card that was terribly designed. In Crocus, having a good business card could make or break a business. The more inviting a card seemed, the more likely someone would call. A shop owner like Mira were experts at telling professionalism.
"Look, I know it doesn't look like much, but would you please consider. My brother's friend needs a model ASAP, and who else better than you. You don't even need to go through auditions or castings or whatever you call them. They job is yours. Give the guy a call, Elfman said that the guy was good," she pleaded.
"Alright, I'll think about it," Erza complied.
"Sooooo... are you actually going to call?" Lucy quizzed.
Erza snorted, "Pfft, as if. I mean, look. This business card is a joke," waving the said card in front of her friend's face.
"Maybe he pays well?" she added hopefully.
Erza slump down on the sofa, as Lucy came out of the kitchen with two plates of food. Erza crossed her legs to make room for the other girl, "If he did, he wouldn't have such poorly designed business cards," she disputed.
"But a call wouldn't hurt, would it?" she added optimistically.
"I guess you're right," she reached towards her cellphone on the coffee table, "I also haven't been offered any gigs lately."
He put her plate down, as she dialled in the number on the business card, one ring, two rings, three rings until the other line picked up.
"Hello is this...," she squinted at the name that was finely printed on the back of the card, "Gray Fullbuster?"
"Gray! Would you hurry up and answer your damn phone?" his best friend, also rival, griped, "I'm trying to edit my vlog, and the ringing is distracting me."
"It's not my fault you can't focus without 'complete silence'," the raven haired boy yelled across the room as he picked on his phone.
Gray Fullbuster was a twenty year old young fashion designer; he wanted to carry on the legacy his mentor and adoptive mom, Ur, created. She was a master of fabrics until an unfortunate accident left her with a crippled right hand; that had led to be the end of her career. She committed suicide soon after that injury, leaving Gray with his adoptive brother. Lyon, his brother, was angry at Ur for killing herself. Lyon sold his mother's designs for money that didn't amount to its greatness, and Gray never forgave his brother for that. Ur's works and reputation were forgotten by the people of the industry, Milkovich, the name had no value anymore.
Everything was going how it was supposed to go when Gray had gotten a scholarship to a prestigious fashion school. However, when he got there, it was nothing like he expected. He didn't agree with how they did things, and eventually dropped out. He didn't want to reform to the trends, he wanted to make them. He believed that designs weren't just about being beautiful, but expression as well. That's why he declined the apprenticeships he was offered, he wanted to build his own brand. He had yet to do that as he was scrambling in preparing for his first show.
His best friend and roommate since high school, a salmon haired boy named Natsu, was aiming for fame. Not exactly, Natsu was just a boy that wanted to share his experiences. The boy grew up in an orphanage as he was abandoned as a newborn and was never adopted. A sponsor had paid for a chance that the boy go to a boarding school in Crocus where he met Gray, and they both ended up staying.
Natsu considered himself as an influencer; he often explored the streets of Crocus, recording his adventures. Natsu just wanted to enjoy life and spread joy and happiness. Crocus happened to also be were his supposed biological father resided, since his biological mother confirmed to have died giving birth to him.
They crafts weren't exactly ideal when it came to paying the bills since materials were pricey and being an influencer was unpredictable. So the two boy's worked part-time at a café.
"Uhhhh yeah this is Gray Fullbuster speaking," he tried putting on his most professional most and failed miserably.
"My name is Erza Scarlet. I was calling to ask about some work. I heard your interested in a model and I would like to have more details," Gray inwardly grinned, he pumped a fist in the air. He had set up a meeting for tomorrow. Maybe he could actually pull it off.
"Yo Natsu! Make sure you're free a week from now! I got you some content!" Gray rushed to his studio in the other room, he had some designs to finish.
Lucy heard the long beep indicating the end of the call, "So how'd it go?" she asked eagerly.
Her roommate hugged a pillow to her face sighing is disappointment, "Oh Lucy, you should've heard the call. He sounds like he's a teenage boy with no knowledge on how anything works," she wailed.
"Did you find out the details?" the blonde trying to find out if there was any good news.
"Ughhhhh, he set up a meeting with me for tomorrow to go over them," she responded.
"Then why are you sitting here moping? You basically got the the gig, right?" Lucy confused by her negative attitude.
"Lucy...don't get your hopes up. He wants to meet at a freaking café," enunciating every word saying it as if it was poison.
"What's wrong with meeting at a café?" she wondered.
What was wrong with having meeting related to work at a café? Lots of things, the red-head thought. It did not show professionalism. Cafés were crowded and busy. Generally, talking about work at a café completely defeated the purpose of one and Erza generally disliked the aesthetic.
"I'm just used to offices," she gave a simple answer and for the majority of it was truthful.
Lucy begged her model friend to accompany her, Erza cautioned that the meeting was business exclusive, but still she persisted. Lucy promised that she could still write at a café and Erza finally gave in. That's how two girls ended up at the café instead of one.
The café this meeting was supposed to occur at was walking distance from their apartment so no taxi was necessary to arrive at the quaint coffee shop.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail Café! May I take your order?" a ravened hair waiter attended to the new customers. Erza had only skimmed the menu when she selected a slice of strawberry cheesecake, her partner on the other hand taking her sweet time as always before settling on classic chocolate cake.
Lucy stifled a squeal as the waiter left, and Erza shot her friend a funny look.
"What?" Erza challenged, both eyebrows arched. Her friend gave her no response but a small smile, she didn't pay any mind to Lucy's odd behaviour before mentally preparing herself for her meeting with her potential employer.
Although the business card and phone call only disheartened Erza about the legitimacy of this guy Mira's brother supposedly thought was good, she treated it like any other casting call and callback. Her portfolio tucked into her hand bag, a simple yet elegant outfit to sell her body figure, and her makeup was done to enhance her looks. Her hair was styled in loose curls, and she wore a standard pair of eight-inched pumps. She certainly carried herself with grace and she prided herself on professionalism. She had the 'model' face and body Crocus' modelling industry loved. If agencies only looked at that she could've signed a contract with any other big name, however her reputation was tarnished. There was also the problem of her hair; when she discontinued being the face of the Tower Heaven Agency, her hair was no longer an asset but a curse. According to scouts her hair wasn't a selling point and many had suggested a change of colour, and Erza had adamantly refused to listen every time. So she may have sacrificed an easy way to success, but she'd be damned if she lost her scarlet hair.
Lucy had left her friend alone, as she recognized the routine Erza was doing. Erza twisted a strand of hair around her left index finger three times before she unravelled it and repeated it until her nerves calmed. She used to do this to try and cope with the extreme anxiety and stress as a child, and it stuck as a therapeutic method to release stress, anxiety, and nervousness.
She didn't realize the plate of strawberry cheesecake was completely scraped clean until another waiter, this time with pink hair, retrieved it. If her hair was disliked in the industry, she wondered what this guy would experience. She amused herself at the thought. She took a deep breath, it was almost one o'clock, she would meet with her potential employer soon.
It was five minutes until he was either saved or doomed for failure, if this meeting didn't work out he would have to postpone, or worse, cancel his first fashion show. He ended his shift early, as he changed into more impressive clothing, his own work. He tidied his spiky raven hair before heading out to the tables and claiming the table in the corner of the café.
At one o'clock, no new person entered the little shop and Gray had started to worry. He waited ten more minutes until he picked up his cellphone and pressed a recently saved contact. Another phone rang across the room, where a scarlet-haired lady sat. Quickly he ended the call and headed over.
The girl was visibly upset he observed, making himself more agitated than he already was.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Scarlet," he introduced himself, extending his arm. She looked up at him with a confused look, causing Gray to chuckle nervously.
"I'm Gray Fullbuster. We have a meeting to discuss the details of this gig."
"But you're a waiter?" she finally shook his hand before he took the seat across from her.
"I work here part-time," he informed her.
"You're quite young to be a designer," she commented as she examined his appearance.
"I was taught by the best," he answered prideful. The meeting had gone without a hitch, surprising both young adults. He apologized for his lack of experience and he explained his position, and since she was promised a decent check and found the man likeable she greedily agreed to work with him.
Being in the industry for three years, Erza had mastered adjusting herself to work with a collection of people and materials. She was faced with employers that didn't know what they wanted, a big no for a model. Models were supposed to express themselves to the photographers and designers taste, it was problematic to achieve greatness with unsureness. There was also the short-tempered editors, the photographer that overly criticized, and others who made model work difficult. Yet Erza could work with it, she worked with anything and produced results. So she could work with unprofessional. Her week was planned full since the show was six days away, and Gray needed her all week for fittings, rehearsals, and photos.
There were making light conversation about their professions and Gray was telling her about his great mentor, "Ur Milkovich was once a household name a few years ago. I remember her wishing she would have a chance that you would model on of her works, so I'm glad I'm getting the chance," he confessed earnestly.
"A few years ago?"
"Yeah, she passed away two years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear," she gave her condolences.
"She said that she met you once, very briefly, so I doubt you would remember. You had passion, that's what she said," the boy began reminiscing. Erza stayed silent as she processed his words, Gray noticing her slight discomfort apologized again.
"I don't know why I'm telling you all about my personal life...but I do wonder why Erza Scarlet is doing such a small-time gig, not that I'm complaining," he was deep in thought.
Erza thought it was only fair she share her sad story of how she ended up in this situation, "You don't have to believe me. I thought since I know about you, you should know a little bit about me," she finished.
"I believe you," the statement was so simply, but meant so much to Erza. Maybe this gig wouldn't be so bad after all.
Author's Note: This is a Fairy Tail character AU that revolves around Natsu X Lucy and Gray X Erza. I know this chapter is heavily centered around Gray and Erza, but I promise to have balance in this series. Since this is an AU fan fix everything that happens in the actual Fairy Tail series is irrelevant. I've altered some of the characters' personality, but I try to get them to behave as they actually would, taking that fact it is a totally different world into account. I've added some ironic twist like how Jellal actually wants Erza to dye her hair, and Gray is now a clothing designer contrast to his stripping habits. Crocus is basically acting like New York City. Hope you enjoyed! I try to update as soon as possible :)