Lucy's eyes watched the sidewalk beneath her feet move past her like a screen as they walked. Erza seemed much more calm now-though she always had the collected aura about her-and finally removed her hand from Lucy's wrist.

"What was that back there?" Lucy said after a moment of pointless walking. Lucy noticed the street sign at the corner. They had walked three blocks already.

Erza's regal face was dead set into a blank expression, her gaze settled somewhere in front of them. "Just an old grudge. Nothing to worry about it."

If Lucy had the guts, she would have scoffed right in Erza's face. "It seemed pretty serious."

The redhead looked at Lucy, her eyes filled with a bored stare as if to tell her 'gee, I hadn't noticed.' Sighing, Erza smoothed her hair back and shrugged. "It's pointless. How do you know Loke anyway?"

Loke. "He's in one of my lectures." She said simply.

Erza stopped walking when they reached the curb, standing before a stop sign as if wondering if she wanted to keep walking away or if she had enough. "Are you friends?"

"Well, I don't really know-" Lucy began.

"Then what is you're relationship exactly? Just kids who stare at each other in class?" Erza cut her off to add her own snarky question.

He would stare at her, but not the other way around. "I hadn't really talked to him before. I dropped my things in class, and Loke offered..."

Lucy trailed off, her chocolate colored eyes falling down to stare at her hand. He offered to help. Her hand didn't hurt where she touched him, hadn't felt any awful tingling up her arm. She hadn't even noticed.

It was either the work of Natsu or the work of Loke. It didn't matter; the hairs on the back of her neck stood up uncomfortably. Suddenly she wished Erza would walk with her for another three blocks.

Erza noticed Lucy's silence and took it as reason to speak up. "We don't really get along with Loke."

Finally, Lucy tore her gaze from her hand and towards the red head. "We?"

Looking at Lucy without turning her head, Erza nodded. "Me. Natsu." She said simply. "Gray."

"Even Gray?" Lucy asked quietly. Why that was a surprise, she wasn't sure. He didn't seem to like people in general.

"Look, it's really not my story to tell." Erza sighed heavily, and as the street light turned red she started walking through the cross walk. Lucy quickly jogged behind. "I was just along for the ride."

Erza's head was still held resiliently high as they kept walking. She was effortless in most the things she did, and clearly she was smart. Why would someone so captivating just be a kid on the sidelines?

That was when Lucy realized that no matter how close you were to some, there would always be something to keep you apart.

It was safe to say that Lucy spent the next day hidden in the library during class breaks. She had learned that things seemed to go more smoothly when she wasn't around to mess anything up.

Another day and another book down. Lucy closed the paperback with a dramatic clap and stood up from her seat on the floor. She grabbed her coat-which she had used as a seat-and slipped it back on over her shoulders as she slid the book into place.

Yesterday had been eventful to say the least. Remembering the shallow look of irritation in Loke's eyes made her shiver. Natsu's grotty voice had turned to the animalistic side in him yet again. It was ridiculous how quickly people could act differently around other people.

After a curt nod to the blue-haired librarian, Lucy walked outside. Things were normal so far; the blonde listening to music much too loud under the tree was still there, and the normal shirtless man sat on top of a picnic table, hunched over as if he was waiting for something.

A few seconds went by before Gray picked up his head and sought out Lucy staring at him from the doorstep of the library. She could see him sigh as he waved her over.

Lucy shouldered her bag closer to her, a hand on the knot to make sure it didn't break again. With each step she took, Lucy couldn't help but grow worried. Gray's chest was slightly pink with irritated scratches and scrapes, and the side of his face was blue with a fresh bruise.

"Christ, Gray." Lucy squeaked out as she stood in front of him, leaning over the bench of the picnic table to take a closer look. "What happened?"

Gray looked down at the grass. His elbows rested on his knees, wobbling slightly out of restlessness. "I'm fine, it was barely a punch." His voice was sharp. "Don't worry 'bout it."

Lucy pouted slightly out of worry. Her teeth nibbled at the side of her cheek. The curiosity had gnawed at her until she finally asked, "Is this about Loke? Did Natsu drag you into it yesterday?"

Gray's head shot up as if he heard a gunshot. His royal blue eyes widened in shock, or horror, or both-Lucy couldn't quite tell. "How do you know about Loke?"

Right away she knew she shouldn't have said it. "I-I don't really. No one would tell me anything." As she said that, Gray had seemed to eased up. "He and Natsu met yesterday, and Erza pulled me away before anything could happen."

The raven haired man smiled weakly as if to say a silent 'thank you' to Erza. "Sorry you had to see that."

Lucy shook her head. She opened her mouth to admit it was mostly her fault, but some things were better left unsaid. "What happened then? You know, to your face."

Gray laughed quietly and shook his head. "My beauty was temporarily impaired by a swell guy named Lyon. He really has it out for me."

The blonde furrowed her brows together, her hand subconsciously tightening around the strap on her bag. "White hair? Really weirdly formal for a college kid?"

Picking up his head once again, Gray nodded. "Yeah. You know him?"

Lucy shook her head. "We just have a class together." Suddenly that phrase was seeming to cause her a bit of trouble lately.

The man before her just sighed. "You remember that barista from the café?" Gray asked.

"The one swooning over the counter for you? I think I remember."

Gray smirked from the side of his mouth at her witty reply before he kept talking. "He's got a thing for Juvia. And Juvia has a thing for me, so naturally-"

"-he has to show off." Lucy finished for him. Gray nodded his head, and she swore she saw his face flushed with a rose tint.

Lucy smiled coyly and nudged his leg with her hand gently. "You sure you don't like her?" She asked, her voice unusually light and teasing. She was thankful to have Gray; someone she didn't mind being open around.

Gray tensed up before swatting her hand away and scowling. "No." He growled.

Lucy quickly drew her hand into her chest, letting it ball up into a fist and tighten around the fabric of her coat. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Gray cut her off. "Sorry. I just don't think you'd understand."

Lucy was unsure whether to pity him or pity herself. She shook the thought away, trying not to sulk like a child, and instead she looked at him sadly. "Try me."

Gray looked up at her with a distant expression. His eyes narrowed, studying her before shaking his head. "You don't. It's a little different than you and Natsu." He murmured, his nose slightly turned up in disgust. "Probably a lot different. What's up with you guys anyway?"

She hadn't even been talking about Natsu; she was talking about what came before him. Her heart automatically wrenched at the idea of Gray going through something as awful as she had, and she felt guilty for feeling a slight relief that she wasn't alone for a moment.

But that faded, and Lucy remembered that her past was meaningless, especially to Gray. Shoving the memories into the back of her mind, Lucy stared at Gray solemnly. "I'm not sure."

Gray gave her an obviously stupid look and asked "Why not?" as if it were the easiest question in the world.

Lucy just shuffled her feet. "He's-different sometimes. He gets really emotional." Gray raised a brow at the last word, and Lucy rolled her eyes before saying, "I mean he gets aggressive."

The raven haired man just laughed. "Natsu's pretty rash, but he wouldn't hurt anyone. Definitely not you. Mavis, the way he talks to Erza about you." Gray rolled his eyes. "I doubt that's aggression. Natsu is rarely ever mad."

Maybe it wasn't anger driving him to be that way. Lucy tightened her jaw and looked down as her boot pushed around a rock. "He was mad at Loke."

Gray sighed again. "Drop it Lucy." His voice was clearly angry, but he had a strain to it that suggested he was almost tired, like he thought about it way too much. "It's none of your business."

Lucy's hand clenched around her bag. "And Natsu and I are none of yours." She retorted, turning on her heel. The foliage crinkled beneath her as she walked away.

A part of her way waiting for his voice to apologize and call her back. She wanted to at least look over her shoulder and see the dismal look of sadness on his face. Of course, when she did, she got neither.

Lucy kept walking, wondering why she ever expected someone to care enough to call her back instead of letting her walk away. They never did, and they never will.

Lucy had read Natsu's text multiple times. He had told her to be home on the hour, that he would be waiting at her apartment. Natsu had invited Lucy to her own house instead of going to his. And they lived in the same building.

Natsu's mind never ceased to intrigue her.

Lucy's keys rattled around her finger as she walked, swinging them back and forth. Alas, there was Natsu, his back pressed against her front door as she stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall.

Luckily, he wasn't as bad as Gray. He barely had a scratch on him, though Natsu looked like he needed a few hours of sleep and a lot of food. Somehow, she saw him happily accepting both of those on her behalf.

"Hi." Her voice was quiet, but she managed a small smile.

Natsu barely moved; he shifted to the side so she could unlock the door, nothing else. He replied with a smile twice as weary. "Hey."

Lucy opened her door, and Natsu caught himself before he could fall backwards. They walked inside, silently taking in the appearance of her home which he had seen few times before. He still walked around like he'd never been there.

"What happened yesterday?" Lucy asked as soon as she shut the door. She wiggled off her coat and stuck it on the rack as she pulled off her boots.

The pink haired boy just shrugged. "Long story."

"I have all night." Lucy said quickly. "I'll even make tea."

Her comment didn't seem to amuse him as easily as it would have Gray. Natsu just shook his head and looked tiredly at the ground. "I'll give you answers if you give me answers." He suggested slowly.

Lucy furrowed her brow. "What?"

Natsu huffed impatiently. "I really hope this is as annoying for you as it is for me, or else this would be really embarrassing, but we clearly want to know more about each other. This is only fair."

He leaned back, sitting on the backrest of Lucy's couch. She crossed her arms over her chest to keep them from shaking. "I guess." She said quietly.

Natsu nodded, waiting for her to keep going. She looked at her feet for a moment before darting back up to him. "What happened between you and Loke?"

Once again, he sighed. His hand rose up to rub the back of his neck. "It's a long story." Natsu muttered huskily. "Why won't you let me touch you?"

It came across more direct than he hoped, but Lucy didn't seem phased. It was quiet throughout the apartment before Lucy shook her head and walked into the kitchen. "I better make tea. It's a long story."

Nalu Lemon Novel
Exy Koroleva © 2016
Thank you for reading.
Some triggering scenes
to be included, so please
do not report. Comments
& votes are appreciated.