A/N: Thank you for your kind reviews!

I tried to push Zeref's face from my mind. That gentle smile, the benign look on his face as the police apprehended him, the way he just looked at Natsu. The way it had seemed like he was looking at me, too.

It was scary. I was scared. But he was behind bars now, and I could only hope that he'd be tried for all his crimes. The evidence sure added up, but knowing the way the judicial system worked in real life, sometimes evidence wasn't enough for a conviction. I highly doubted he'd be able to get away with it considering everything stacked against him, but there was always that sliver of doubt hanging on my consciousness.

So instead, I tried to involve myself back in everyday life. I'd been so involved in Natsu's issues lately that I was neglecting other issues. Important issues.

Of course, one could call me a busybody, but my overprotective instinct led me to seek out yet another friend's crush for a little talk. I did have Levy's reluctant permission to give him a talking-to — so long as I didn't overdo it, she said — but that didn't make it any less nosy.

"Gajeel!" Nobody else had that kind of long, frizzy hair, and sure enough, when he turned around I could see the piercings and his usual stern expression. "I need to talk to you for a sec."

"Bunny Girl," he said. "What's up?"

I glanced down at my tshirt, which had a graphic outline of a rabbit on it. Gajeel and his weird nicknames. Anyway. "It's about Levy."

He frowned. "What's wrong with Shrimp?"

"Nothing's wrong, per se, but...well, first of all, has she talked to you about what's been bugging her lately?"

He hummed in thought. "I've heard some things, but she didn't seem to wanna talk about it so I didn't bring it up." He shrugged.

"Well, there's that stuff, and then there's you."

"What about me?"

"You two are friends, right?"

"Somethin' like that."

"But you go on dates. And not just platonic ones."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

He had a point, but I wasn't going to let it drop quite yet. "She's my best friend, so it is my business. Especially when she admits that she's getting tired of playing guessing games with you about what you two are to each other."

He pursed his lips but didn't respond.

"Look, I can't tell you what to do, but at the very least, when she does decide to talk to you about it, give her a clear answer. No more of this ambiguity. Maybe that's how you like to do things because you're easily embarrassed or whatever, but even Gray managed to give a definitive answer when it came down to it. I expect you to do the same, whatever your feelings. Or I'll sic Erza on you. Understood?"

Gajeel's face visibly paled. "You wouldn't."

"I would," I said, crossing my arms. "Are we clear?"

He scowled and turned away. "I don't see what there is to worry about anyway. It's not like—" He paused. "Well, that Shrimp is all right."

"Just all right?"

He didn't answer.

"See? You do things like this. I assume you're a bit more forthcoming around Levy, but even she can get frustrated when you're silent on things that are important. Well, I warned you, as is my duty as her nosy friend."

"Warning well taken," he grumbled. "All I gotta do is tell Shrimp I like 'er, right?"

"Only if it's the truth."

He gave me a look. "You think I'm a liar?"

I smiled a little. "Well, if it's the truth, then I'm happy for you two. Just make sure she knows it, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Nice talkin' to ya, Bunny Girl."

"I have a name. We both have names."

"I'll use names if I feel like using names. Later."

I chuckled to myself as he walked away. Levy sure knew how to pick 'em. And I felt a bit better now that I'd talked to him personally. In a weird roundabout way, he'd just admitted to liking Levy romantically, and that put my heart at ease.

Miss Mira would kill me if she found out, but I skipped cheer practice to go see my second ever soccer game with Juvia. It was almost nostalgic; what were the odds that the first game of the season would be against Sabertooth?

"Shouldn't we sit closer up?" I asked as I followed Juvia up the bleachers to the same spot we'd sat last time.

"Juvia likes this better. Does it bother Lucy?"

"No, but the boys might complain."

"Natsu and Gray should be focused on the game anyway," Juvia said, seating herself with an air of finality.

I laughed and sat next to her.

"Lucy!" I was expecting someone to shout for me, but I wasn't expecting it to be Loke.

I sighed. "Give me a sec," I said to Juvia, heading down the bleachers. "What is it?" I said. "Where's the rest of the team?"

"In the locker room still, having pep talks or whatever. I escaped," Loke said. A smile spread across his face. "It was fate that brought me out here to see you," he drawled.

"Cut the crap, Loke."

He wrinkled his nose. "You never play along. Anyway, some of the boys are getting together after the game and I'm in charge of making reservations. So if you want to come along..."

"Why would I come? It's a team thing, isn't it?"

Loke wagged a finger. "Not quite. Natsu, Gray, and I are going, of course. But Gajeel is coming too, also Wendy, Lisanna, and two of the boys from Sabertooth."

"Sabertooth?"

"Turns out their star players lost relatives, too," Loke said. Wait, so that Eucliffe and Cheney that I'd heard so much about were also involved in this whole Zeref thing, too? Just how many people in this town had he killed? "And they're bringing that Minerva girl. I'm sure you know her."

I scowled. "Sure do. We don't get along."

"Don't blame you; our schools are rivals."

"It goes a little deeper than that." Minerva wasn't exactly the nicest girl around. Though she was hot. But that was her only redeeming quality as far as I was concerned.

"So? Are you coming or not?"

"Of course not." Especially not with Minerva there.

Loke sighed. "Well, I tried."

"Shouldn't you be, I dunno...with your team right now?"

"Relax. I always play hookie before games; they're used to it."

"You're hopeless."

"By the way, the trial's next weekend."

"What? Oh." I hadn't imagined that Zeref would try to plead anything but guilty, given all the evidence against him. A key in his house had unlocked an old warehouse where the mummifying process had taken place. Gajeel's father was one of the bodies. There were probably a dozen counts of murder held against him from all those years ago. And so far, he hadn't denied a thing.

But he apparently still wanted to go to trial rather than enter some sort of plea deal. I could only hope that this would end with him having a stricter sentence, but if he was doing this at his lawyer's recommendation, it might be the other way around.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I remembered those smiling eyes of his at the funeral. He sincerely gave me the creeps.

"Earth to Lucy~" Loke was waving a hand in front of my face.

I blinked to clear my mind. "Sorry, I was zoning out," I said.

He frowned. "I noticed. Everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," I said, though even I could tell my voice wasn't convincing.

"You don't look fine."

I gave Loke a weak smile. My dad wasn't having any luck finding another well-paying job, and the Magnolia location was closing for good in a few weeks. If he didn't find something in the next couple days, he would probably just have to take the Hargeon position before he became completely unemployed. On top of everything else going on, it was something I just didn't want to think about.

"There's just a lot going on," I finally answered. That was probably the best way to sum up the chaos that was my brain at the moment.

Loke nodded. "Take it easy, all right? Natsu's worried about you. You haven't talked about the move at all, and it's been how many weeks now?"

"Don't read my mind. What, are you Natsu's messenger or something?" I griped. "Is that why you're out here?"

That playboy grin made its appearance again. "Actually, I–"

"LOKE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Gray was storming over, his face furious.

Loke gave an exaggerated sigh. "Ah, the captain calls. Later, Lucy." He winked and ran off, brushing away Gray's lecturing with that dismissive hand of his.

I returned to Juvia unable to give any explanation for what he'd called me down for. Loke was hard to understand. Sometimes I wasn't sure even Loke understood himself, and I sure as hell had no clue what he was thinking half the time. Trying to decipher his reasoning was a task I just couldn't be bothered to take up. When it came to Loke, sometimes it was just better not to think about things.

So I put his concern out of my mind and focused on the game. Which ended up not being much of a help, because Fairy Tail lost their first game of the season.

"Good job. You played hard," I told Natsu when I met him afterwards. His usually spiky hair was damp and matted to his forehead by sweat. His effort was obvious, but he was still downcast.

"We lost," he said bleakly.

"You did your best."

"I wasn't on my game today," Natsu said. He stretched his arms above his head. "Well, I'll make up for it next time."

"That's the spirit," I said, nudging him and grinning.

"Loke told me you're not coming later."

I narrowed my eyes. "So it was you who sent him out to talk to me."

"Oh, no, he always does that," Natsu said. How hadn't Loke been kicked off the team yet?

"Why are you getting together with them anyway?" I asked.

Natsu shrugged. "We'll be seeing a lot of each other at court and all, y'know? Might as well get to know each other a little or something. They were the ones who suggested it."

"You mean Sting and Rogue?"

"Yeah."

"Well, anyway, have fun I guess."

"Oh, and uhh...Lucy?"

"Mm?"

"Good luck." He wasn't smiling. I didn't know what Loke told him, but at this point he had to know that I was having a rough time. I felt bad for not telling him about it much, but I honestly didn't have anything to say. Maybe that's the same feeling Levy had about the bankruptcy and Gajeel, and even Natsu in that first week after he heard the news about his father. It's not that he didn't want to tell us everything that was happening; he just didn't have the words to describe it yet.

I stepped forward and pressed my head against his shoulder. As if on instinct, his arms wrapped around to pull me closer so I was comfortably resting against his chest. We stayed like that for a little while, just breathing.

"You're going to need to touch up your hair soon," Natsu noted, his voice rumbly in his chest.

"You look great today too, Natsu," I said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I don't mean it like that. Your roots are getting long, and the color's fading."

"Yeah. I need to re-dye it."

"Want me to help?"

"My hair's pretty different from yours, Natsu. Would you even know how to handle dying hair this long?" Not to mention I had to bleach my roots, which was always a pain.

"I can learn," he insisted. "We both dye our hair; might as well do it together."

I laughed. "Sounds like a rather frustrating date. Let's do it."

"How about when you come over Friday?" Natsu suggested.

I pulled back to smile up at him. "Fine by me. You should probably go home now. You'll need a nice, long shower before you're ready to go anywhere in public." I laughed as Natsu protested in defense of his cleanliness, but when Makarov and Wendy found us, he was forced to say goodbye and go home.

As he disappeared from view, my wave slowed and my smile faded. I'd been reminded of a lot of things today that I didn't want to be reminded of. The move, the trial. And I knew that if I went home, the silence would stifle me, trapping me in my own mind until I thought myself in circles. So I just stood there and people-watched as the sun went down.

A/N: Seems like everyone in the story has gone through this bottling-everything-up phase at some point haha. What can I say? They're teenagers. Apparently this is just what they do. Well, from here on out, things can only get better, right? Chin up, Lucy! You can do this!

In other news, the trial is next week. What will happen? Mwahahahaha~