Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!

I made a playlist of the chapter titels on youtube for this fanfic, so if you're interested just type 'Fanfiction Remember to forget list' and you'll find it!
I hope you enjoy the chapter x

Lucy didn't know why she came along but this woman seemed trustworthy and the graceful barmaid too. She didn't know where Gray was, but Juvia said he was doing some errands in town and would be in the bar by the evening. Lucy had no reason to worry as this woman didn't have any connection with her father. She was told that someone wanted to talk with her because of her celestial magic. She couldn't help but be curious about what this person would know more than the notes she found in her mother's diary.

They arrived at the eastern forest and Juvia told her to wait while she looked for her correspondent. So Lucy waited on the road like the naïve girl she was. It was a nice spring day, flowers were blooming and birds were joyfully singing in the trees. She wondered why this time was so different running away. Her thoughts were slightly focused on how her father would be handling this when something bumped into her at a high speed and made her fall on the ground. There had been no one near her, so she was a bit surprised with the dead weight on her back as she faced the ground. The person on top of her had to be thrown out of the bushes next to the road... He apologised immediately and stood to help her up.

"I'm sorry! She's overdoing it this time… Hey, are you ok?"

It took a while to register why her body was frozen, but then she noticed why. That voice was way too familiar… She turned around slowly, careful and with one of her hands near her keys on her belt. In front of her, there was the feared boy with pink hair. Her heart pounded in her chest. Fear and confusion took over.

Why would the boy from her nightmares really exist?
Why would she, from those millions of places to be, meet him?

All of her nerves were on edge. Her stomach turned from the memories of all those sleepless nights. Her body remembered her fear, but her mind tried to calm her down. The boy offered his hand to help her up, pared with one of the biggest smiles she'd ever seen. He smiled... He wanted to help... She tried to make up her mind about the situation. He seemed different. No tattoos covered his arms or face, nor horns were attached on his head. The boy in front of her didn't have that aura she knew so well. No feeling of anger, murder or death was present on his face.
He seemed as normal as a boy can be with pink hair…
As she didn't reach for his hand he showed worry and thought she was hurt. He came closer and seemed to have hurt his left side as he grasped it.

"Damn it Erza, give me a break."

Lucy didn't want to admit it, but she felt safer now that she saw he was hurt.

"I'm sorry about that, she really gave me a hard time. Let me help you up."

He reached for her to help her up but Lucy backed away and stood up herself.

"I'm… alright."

He was confused for a second and she saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. He recovered quickly and stood up, looking back at the forest. He seemed crazy as he yelled at it: "Is that all you've got?"
Lucy didn't know what was going on, but slowly reached for her whip which was attached on her belt. He looked at her and she felt the same adrenaline from her dreams, seeing his hands getting engulfed in fire. Her mind feared the worst. But the boy only warned her: "You should watch out, this is going to be rather destructive."

And the moment he said that, a woman came rushing out of the forest, covered with an orange-reddish armour. She aimed at the boy with deadly intent, but he pushed Lucy away and dodged it right on time. The fight really was disastrous as Lucy had to move three times to stay out of their range of destruction. Walls, trees, pathways, everything was cut and burned. The woman he fought used all kinds of swords and wore a thick armour, like a female soldier you shouldn't mess with. He used flames, just like the one from her nightmares. But it wasn't as hot from anger. It wasn't as destructive as the murderous intent she knew. She didn't know what to think, but her mind told her to run. Run while he wasn't focused on her, while she still had a chance.

So her feet moved and her mind turned blank. She ran to the nearest town, through it, continuing in the woods, fell a couple of times and got back up. When her lunges didn't seem to work anymore, she stopped. As if she had no breath in ages, her body gathered all the oxygen around her until her mind felt fuzzy. She took in her surroundings and noticed she arrived at a new town. She slowly walked towards it. Her legs felt so heavy that she leaned against the wall of the first house she encountered. Her mind started recalling everything that happened while she caught her breath.
Her only clue to her celestial magic was gone.
She met the demon from her nightmares...
and he didn't live up to the known fear of the last couple of weeks.
And… she didn't know how to get back to Gray.

Great.

It started raining and she looked up to the dark sky. Feeling the small drops on her skin, she sighed. Just what she needed. Without a place to sleep or even a coat to put on, she would freeze in a couple of minutes. At home, she would have three maids with an umbrella ready. Maids who would shelter her before she even knew it was raining. But things are different now. She had to be strong. What was a little rain anyway? The moment she said that, it started pouring. Everyone closed their windows and she saw a pile of books walking through the streets under an umbrella, paired with small legs under it. Curious… she watched and saw that two books fell off the tower to reveal the head of a girl with blue hair, tied up with a colourful bandana. Her face was full of fear. Probably fear for water damage to the fallen books. Lucy rushed to help as she knew how awful water damage to a book can be. She picked them up and put them back on the pile of books.

"Here you go."

The girl smiled and looked at Lucy.

"Thanks. Oh my, you are so drenched!"

Lucy felt her strands of hair as close to her face as physically possible, similar to the fur of a wet dog. The girl thought for a moment and looked up at Lucy.

"If you want… you can come to my place, to show my gratitude. I'm not forcing you! It's just better than staying here in the rain… My name is Levy by the way, Levy McGarden."
"That would be great, Levy. My name is Lucy, Lucy H... Euhm let's just keep it with Lucy."

The girl looked confused as to why she wouldn't give her last name, but she dismissed it and started walking. Lucy followed the small girl through the streets. Anything was better than staying out like this. The girl halted at the edge of the town, searching for her keys as she gave Lucy the pile of books for a moment. When they were inside, the room felt somewhat familiar. A fireplace burned and a person on the couch turned towards the door. Hair black as the night and piercings all over his face, he looked scary as hell until he spoke.

"Levy, you said you wouldn't bring any strays over anymore."
"Come on Gajeel, don't be so rude! It's pouring out there! I couldn't leave her like that."
Levy turned towards Lucy and whispered: "Don't worry, he's a real sweetheart behind that grumpy attitude."
"I heard that!"

Levy went to the couch and hugged him from behind.

"Aw come on Gajeel, she's just staying until her clothes are dry and the rain has stopped."
"Fine. But! Only because I love you."
"I love you too."

And with a kiss on his lips, he seemed content. Lucy got the feeling that this cute petite girl could make that man feel like his legs were made out of jelly. She took off her shoes and levy went upstairs to get her some dry clothes to put on. An awkward silence filled the room as the water on her skin dripped on the floor.

"So, blondie, don't you try to use my girl, alright? She's too kind for her own wellbeing."
"The name is Lucy, and I have no intention of using your kindness for wrong intents."

He turned towards her and Lucy didn't know why he looked like she was an alien.

"Well educated, huh? That's new for a stray. I don't think she ever took someone home who even looked smart. Well, you two can entertain each other with books then. She'll like that."
"She will eat all our food, she's so fat!"

Lucy looked towards the other voice and noticed two cats laying on the couch. A blue one with a white tummy and a black one with a scar on his face. The blue one walked towards her and started talking to her.

"Just don't eat my fish!"

Why would a cat be able to speak?! And if it was that normal, then why was this such a rude cat! At that moment, Levy came back with a top and skirt in blue and white and showed her where she could change. After a while, she couldn't imagine a more loveable place to be right now than this simple home. It was the first time since ages she saw a happy couple who didn't have to put up a façade in public. They were themselves and loved each other more than they knew. Her heart warmed and she felt slightly jealous. Remembering her home when her mother was still alive, loving and caring. She missed her more than anything in the world, she missed the happiness and the carelessness. But that was gone now, she had to find her own happiness and she hoped it would look at least a bit like theirs.

They dried the wet books and Lucy noticed she already read half of the titles present when she was younger. Levy was ecstatic when she told her and showed her their private library. It already stopped raining, but they kept talking at the fireplace with Gajeel sitting on the couch next to Levy. Lucy sat on the other couch, facing her back to the door. The blue cat surprisingly laid on her lap. So he didn't hate her… Levy told her his name was Happy and he seemed to like her. It was so comfortable to be here that Lucy forgot the whole event earlier. She lost herself in the stories and laughed… a lot. Not forced, just spontaneous laughter. Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening stilled their conversation. When the new guests talked, Lucy stiffened up.

"Hey Happy, everyone, we're home!"
"There you are! What have you guys been doing in the rain today? And why didn't you take Gajeel with you?"
"Natsu had to be thought a lesson."
"Yeah right, Erza just wanted to test her new armour!"
"Who figured you would be fighting… Hey you have to meet Lucy! She helped me earlier!"

A sudden hand was laid on Lucy's shoulder.

"So that's your name, huh? You ran off like that, I couldn't even ask you! Are you ok now? You seemed hurt earlier."

Lucy jumped up, putting Happy on the couch. Why was he being so friendly? She excused herself and told everyone she had to go to the bathroom. She locked herself up and didn't know why she acted that way. She was never rude. But she couldn't fake it. Why in the world was it possible he would come to this house? Was the world really that small? She couldn't fake not to be scared… Those nightmares kept her up every night for so many weeks. The only time she slept a whole night was yesterday, when she took those medicines from Gray… Oh great, she lost those too… Someone knocked on the door and she heard from the voice it was Levy.

"Lucy, are you ok? … You can talk to me, alright? I don't know what's going on, but those two are really good friends of mine. You can trust them, I promise."
"… I'm fine Levy, thank you for worrying, I'll be right back."
"Ok, take your time."

Ok Luce, get your shit together and face that boy in the living room. He's not the one from your nightmares. He's a friend of Levy. He looks the same but maybe he's the friendly twin or something. Don't be scared when you don't even know him.

She hesitated.

Come on. You can do it. Put up that fake smile and talk like it's a deal from your dad. It's as simple as that. Just pretend and it will be alright. They won't know you're a scaredy-cat.

She looked at the mirror. Who was she fooling? She was an open book right now. They would see she was acting weird. The best thing to do was to leave this place and never come back. She would hurt Levy, but maybe Levy would understand. She had to get back to Gray. So she entered the room and everyone looked at her.

"Levy, I'm sorry but I'll be leaving now. Thank you for everything, but I have to get back to my friend. He's waiting for me and I should be back by the evening."
"But Lucy, you can stay for dinner if you want, I have enough food for days. The boys always eat two fridges in one go."
"No that's alright. I have to get going. Goodbye everyone, nice to meet you."

She rushed outside, forgetting her own clothes and she could literally facepalm herself all evening. What was she doing? How could she just leave like that? Levy has been so kind to her… And she just ran off in the rudest way possible…

"Hey Luigi."

Lucy turned around and there he was, the oddly familiar stranger who murdered her in her sleep.

"Can we talk? It's obvious you're scared of me but I want to know why you're taking it out on Levy. She seems to like the idea of being your friend a lot. She's done so much for me. Whatever is troubling you, you don't have to fight it alone. Let us help."

Title: Ashes Remain - On my own

Thank you for reading!