A/N I told you I would update soon! Ten moments after posting the first chapter, I already got either a follower or a favorite, so thank's for the support! Just remember to follow if you want the update notifications. Anyway,wanted to clarify that in this version, Fairy Tail wasn't destroyed in the Tartarous arc. I hope that clears up some confusion.

Enjoy!

Ever since that day on Tenroujima, Lucy felt like she was being watched. Lucy felt like she had to keep peeking over her shoulder to make sure she was alone.

Their mission was a success, and no further encounters with the dark mage happened. Lucy and Erza put flowers on the grave, Gray made an ice one that would only vanish if his life ended, Natsu lit the candles, and Happy sat a fish beside the grave. He asked if Mavis could eat it, and no one told him, but everyone thought she wouldn't even if she could.

Lucy was on her way home, walking on the side of the river, like she did every normal evening.

"Be careful, miss!" a guy on a boat warned.

"Okay!" she responded, practically ignoring him.

Her apartment was close, she could see it from where she was. But, the strange feeling returned, and she whipped around, expecting to find her stalker.

"I know you're there! You've been following me all week! You can't hide forever!"

She could've sworn that she saw a person's shadow sticking out from an alleyway. It vanished, and when she looked down the alley, there was no one there.

Lucy huffed and stormed into her apartment, locking her door. She installed some protection runes at the entrance just to be safe.

After dinner, she went over to her desk and started writing her daily letter to her mother.

Dear Mother,

As you know, we went to Tenroujima to pay respects to First Master. I didn't tell you last time, but I had an encounter with the dark mage, Zeref. He didn't harm me (surprisingly, since I'm one of his enemies) but decided to speak to me. He said he was surprised I wasn't dead. I remember a weird wave of death from our first encounter. Natsu barely survived, but his scarf managed to absorb the damage. Zeref seemed to be in pain, as if it was a curse. Am I somehow immune to it? It didn't go off around me like it did when the others were there the first time.

Anyway, ever since then, I've felt like someone has been watching. I'm surprised Natsu hasn't noticed, since he has really strong senses. Maybe the person backs off when Natsu gets close, afraid he'll be discovered by him. Maybe he truly is after me.

Well, I have to go to bed, and I'll keep in touch, if my stalker doesn't kill me beforehand. Just kidding! I won't go down without a fight!

See you later, mom!

Love,

Your daughter, Lucy

"Goodnight!" she said, to no one in particular.

She slept for a few hours, then heard a noise. Her blood ran cold. There was cold air that wasn't there before, and she realized that the window beside her bed was open. Lucy reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her keys, before she let her bare feet hit the carpet.

Lucy crept through her apartment and realized that the kitchen light was on. She did not leave it on. Then, she peered into the room, and yelped.

"Hello, Luce!"

"N-Natsu?! What are you doing here? It's two in the morning!" she said, gesturing to the clock on the wall.

"I was hungry, and I was hanging out with Happy, who was tired, so I let him go home, and decided to stop here for a midnight snack. What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?! It's two a.m! I was trying to sleep! You can't just break into someone's house like that! I could've hurt you!"

Just then, Natsu noticed that she was holding her keys. She was really mad, and tempted to hurt him either way, but restrained herself. It wasn't like he knew someone was stalking her.

"Natsu, please leave."

"But-"

"Leave!"

He crawled out of the window moments later, muttering something about her being scary, and a party-pooper. A scary party-pooper.

'Sigh,' "I haven't slept much all week. Maybe I'm hallucinating?"

No one answered her. That was good, because it would've been creepier if someone did.

"Yeah, that's it. Nothing a good nights sleep can't fix!"

Then, she got some milk, chugged it down, curled up in bed, and fell asleep shortly after. But, before that, she locked the window.

For the first time in a week, she felt safe.

…

Zeref was watching the house. He planned to appear before her, but he had to wait for the right moment. He had seen the Lucy Kick before, and didn't wish to receive one.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered, before disappearing into the shadows.

…

Lucy woke up the next morning and she felt well-rested. She was relieved, because she didn't have any bags under her eyes. If she did, some of her teammates would definitely have some comments.

Lucy walked beside the river (again) and didn't listen to the peoples warnings (again). Instead of ending up like usual, her toe hit part of the stone, which made her wobble. She closed her eyes and prepared to get drenched, only for some pressure to form on her wrist. Then, she realized that she didn't get wet and someone held onto her wrist, preventing the water from soiling her clothes.

"T-Thank you," she muttered, when she stabilized herself.

Then, she saw who it was that saved her, and glanced behind herself, realizing that she couldn't retreat.

"You."

…

Zeref watched her, and amusement twinkled in his eyes.

"I just saved you, and 'you' is all you can say?"

"I can swim," she mumbled, hating being saw as defenseless.

He saw her hand press against her keys.

"We shouldn't cause trouble here," he stated.

She was about to retort, but he grabbed her wrist, and teleported them to her room. Then, he closed the curtain, cutting off their view of the outside world.

"What do you want?" she asked, desperate to end the conversation.

"What are you?"

"Huh?"

"My curse. You've seen it before, it kills everything in its path. Earlier, it should've killed you, but here you are," Zeref explained.

"I'm just an ordinary mage."

"Liar! If you were ordinary, you would be dead!"

His eyes blazed crimson, and he saw her take a deep breath, and hold it. He took a moment to calm himself, letting his eyes return to normal.

"What is your name?"

…

Lucy hesitated. She didn't want to tell him, but she knew he would be around for awhile, and wanted to at least have a normal conversation with him.

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia."

"So, you're a Heartfilia. That explains everything."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she questioned.

"I've had history with many of your clan, mainly your ancestor, Anna Heartfilia, and some with Layla Heartfilia, and none of them have been affected by my curse, just like you."

"Wait, you knew my mother?!"

"Before you were born, Layla tried to hide you from me. She used to work close beside me as one of my strongest warriors, then she disappeared. But, she didn't boycott her duties, because shortly after, she helped with a little project," he explained.

"Project?"

Zeref nodded.

"Your ancestor, Anna Heartfilia, helped me create Eclipse. Its purpose was to send some powerful warriors into the future to defeat Acnologia, or at least that's how Anna saw it. I saw it as a way to defeat him, and myself."

"You wanted to destroy yourself? Just, what exactly did you send into our time?"

"In time, it will all be revealed. But, your mother died shortly after the weapons were brought into this time. She didn't want you to have that fate, so she sealed her own. You should be grateful, Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy ran forward and tried to punch him in the face, but he swiftly dodged.

"You killed my mother! You killed my father! You killed Aquarius! You killed my family!"

She kept trying to whack him, but he avoided each strike with ease.

Then, she got close, and he caught her fist.

"I didn't kill any of them. All that happened was inevitable ever since the night I received this curse," he said.

"Why... Why couldn't it have been me?" she sobbed.

…

Zeref watched her. He completely understood what she felt. She blamed herself for those tragedies, like he blamed himself for Natsu's death. If only he could've took Natsu's place.

'But, would it have been enough?' a voice in the back of his head asked. 'Would he have became the person you are now?'

'No, it wouldn't have happened. Natsu's better than that!'

'But, you never know. You were once pure like him.'

"What would that have accomplished? If you took your mothers place, she would've been sad, and your father would have to take care of her. He wouldn't want to see her that way, and would say 'Lucy, why did you have to go? Why couldn't it have been me?' It sounds like Aquarius chose her fate because she wanted you to live, and you want to honor her death by dying?"

Zeref didn't know what drove him to say those words, but he truly spoke from the bottom of his heart. He could tell he struck a cord in Lucy, because she started to shake. If he looked at her face, he would'e saw tears.

"And, what of your nakama? I'm sure they treasure every moment they have with you. If you died in Aquarius's place, everyone would've died! You summoned the Spirit King and saved Fairy Tail! Only a strong mage could do that, so don't thing for a moment that you're useless!"

…

Some fresh tears stained the carpet. She didn't know Zeref, the darkest mage could speak like that. For a moment, she felt like he actually cared.

Then, she remembered the day that Natsu invited her to Fairy Tail. The warm smile he had her on her face. Just thinking about it brought a small smile to her own.

Something about Zeref reminded her of Natsu, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It definitely wasn't the look, it was how he encouraged her to move forward, lending her his strength.

Next, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him gently.

…

She was touching him. Him. The darkest mage. Shouldn't she be afraid? Ready to attack the second he moved?

Not sure what to do, his arms somehow made their way to her back, rubbing against her sun colored strands of hair.

"D-Don't touch me, human," he warned, not having touched a human in so long.

"Zeref, I'm okay!" she told him, shocking him.

For some reason, the curse didn't lash out and consume her. He was right about her, she definitely was an oddity.

Tears broke out of his own eyes, and he did the best he could to silence his cries. She let him pull her close, and their knees touched the soft carpet.

"It's okay."

…

Lucy would remember that day until she went to rest, but she was currently focused on what the future would hold, especially if her nakama found out she had been communicating with Zeref. Gray and Erza had a bad history with him, and he was an enemy that Natsu swore to take down.

"Hey, what will happen if my nakama find out about you? They don't have the best history with you, and will try to take you down on sight."

"I don't plan on having contact with them anytime soon. Why, do you want me to stay?"

"I-I won't mind if you stay in the area, but you have to be careful, and if you become a threat, I'll report you. Got it?"

Zeref nodded.

He seemed to have got the message. She knew she should report him immediately, but he didn't seem to be as bad as the rumors said. Plus, she wanted to know more about him, and he clearly hadn't told her the whole story about her mother, and she wanted to know whether or not his weapons would be any threat to Ishgar.

She looked down and caught a glimpse of his face. Tears filled up his eyelids and his cheeks were slightly pink from crying. Lucy blushed. He was so-

He got up and turned away, wiping his eyes with his toga. She pretended she didn't see anything for his prides sake.

"Lushee!"

"Happy!" Lucy called, before hissing, "hide!"

…

Zeref bolted to her closet, and hid behind a laundry basket. He hoped the darkness in the closest would help him blend in. He grimaced when his head bumped a shelf. It was cramped. There were various items of clothing that he had no interest in touching, which made the situation more annoying than it already was. He was Zeref, the darkest mage of all times, yet here he was, in a young woman's closet.

Then, he almost face-palmed.

Why didn't he use his teleporting magic?! He must've been to caught up in the moment to think of it, and now, she expected him to be there when she finished with her guests. Great. Just, great.

...

There was an explosion that rocked their room.

"Sorry!" Lucy said, yanking Natsu and Happy inside.

"What was that, Luce?" Natsu asked.

"I must've dropped a magic charm over there," she lied, wishing she could tell the truth.

"Keep it down!" a person downstairs demanded.

"Sorry!" Lucy shouted, back.

…

Zeref got as close to the door as possible, wanting to hear all of the conversation. Natsu Drageel, his brother, his baby brother was there. He had never had the chance to hear what Natsu was like when he was happy, since he was always in a bad mood around Zeref.

The Book of END appeared out of thin air and landed in his arms. He wrapped his arms around it, in place of the hug he would've given Natsu in another reality. Zeref held back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes. He already cried enough today.

…

"I'm sorry about last night, Luce. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"Want some fish?" Happy asked, holding them out to her.

"How about this: I'll take the fish and I'll make us a feast for dinner tonight."

"Really? Luce, you're the best!" Natsu complimented, making her blush slightly.

"Aye! Thanks, Lushee!"

She rubbed the exceeds head.

"Anytime! Just, don't break in like that again, okay, Natsu?"

"Aye!"

Then, she went over to the fridge and stored the fish.

She turned around and noticed that Natsu was sniffing the air.

"W-What is it?" she asked.

"You smell different."

"R-Really?"

Lucy knew it was because Zeref's scent rubbed off on her when they hugged earlier. Hopefully, he wouldn't recognize Zeref's scent.

"Oh, I just haven't showered in awhile," she lied (again)

Wow, Zeref really was a bad influence on people. She just met him and she already turned into a liar.

"Lucy's stinky," Happy said, before holding back a burst of laughter.

"You cat!" she snapped, before chasing after him.

…

Zeref listened to the whole conversation. He was glad that he found someone who cared for his brother. Someone who would be so kind. He wondered if the rest of Fairy Tail was like that.

The next thing Natsu said scared him.

"I've smelled this scent before."

"N-Natsu."

He assumed that Natsu got really close to her and made her nervous. He could tell by her voice, and the silence that struck the room.

Zeref had to think quick, and he had to come up with something good!

…

"Natsu, what are you doing?"

Lucy looked up and saw Gray there with nothing but his boxes on.

"Put some clothes on, ice striper!"

"Was that supposed to be an insult, flame eater?"

"Flame eater? Are you running out of insults?"

It looked like a fight would break out any moment.

"Not in my house!" Lucy yelled.

"Fine! Meet me outside."

Natsu left and Happy flew after him, after Happy said 'bye'.

Smoke appeared around Gray and Zeref was there in his stead.

"Wow, you impersonated Gray really well. How'd you do it?"

"I understand the 'emo' type pretty well," Zeref said, shrugging. "It's not like this was my first time seeing him."

"True."

"Well, I better get going. You have a novel to give your friend, right?"

"H-How do you know that?"

"I have my ways."

Then, he disappeared, leaving her alone again. She definitely had to shower before going over to Fairy Tail. Multiple dragonslayers in one place meant a huge chance of being busted, and she didn't want to take that risk.

So, she entered the shower, with her thoughts filled with a certain mage.

A/N And, that's it! Did I make him to occ? I tried to stick to his character as much as possible. I think I did a decent job. You have to take note to the fact that his curse wasn't killing anyone for once, so that changed him a bit.

I will focus on him and Lucy a bit before making him interact with the other Fairy Tail members, so be patient! I'm sure most of you were here for the Zerlu anyway.

See you next time!