Rings of Promise
Chapter Four
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
"Hurry up Luce!"
"It's not fair, you're running too fast!"
"If you're too slow, you're going to miss it."
"What did we have to come all the way up here for?"
"Look, isn't that sunset pretty?"
"It's pink like your hair!"
"Stop laughing, it's not that funny!"
"But it's so cute."
"It's not supposed to be cute."
"But it is."
"W-whatever."
"...Lu-chan..."
"Lu-chan!"
"Lu-chan, are you awake?"
"Huh?"
"Did you not get enough sleep last night?"
I slowly opened my eyes to see Levy hovering over me. Flinching a little at the glaring sun, I placed a hand over my eyes to block out the light. I felt a tickling sensation at my neck and remembered that I was lying on the grassy field by the cherry blossom trees. Groaning, I pushed myself up and leaned against a tree before yawning.
"Sorry, guess I fell asleep," I said.
"You've been out of it since this morning, did something happen?" Levy asked.
"No, just a little tired."
"You shouldn't stay up so late if you're going to be like this."
"I know, but you know I suck at Japanese."
"Speaking of which, Ms. Evergreen really laid it on us this time," Levy sighed.
"I'm pretty sure she had a bone to pick with us."
"Maybe something went wrong with her love life."
Levy and I spent the rest of lunch break talking about what was happening with school. When it was time to head in, we said our goodbyes to each other before going to our separate classes. This happened to be the only class period that I didn't share with Levy. She wasn't interested in astrology as much as she was in an advanced course in literature. When I entered the classroom, I was instantly glomped in a hug by Aries.
"Hi Lucy," she smiled.
"Hey Aries," I said.
"Am I hurting you, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed and took a step back.
"It's fine, you don't have to apologize," I said.
"It's good to see you Lucy-sama," Virgo greeted.
"You don't have to address me like that Virgo, you're older than me," I sighed.
"Will you punish me?" she asked.
"Of course not," I replied.
I was taken by surprise when a pair of arms wrapped itself around my waist from behind. Loke placed his head and my shoulder and nuzzled my cheeks with his wildly untamed hair.
"What are you doing Loke?" I asked.
"I'm just happy to see you," he said.
"Can't you just greet me like how everyone else does?"
"But you're so soft and warm~"
"Erza would kill you if she saw you like this."
"But you won't tell her right?"
"Who knows."
"You're so stingy~"
Loke sighed and removed his arms. I turned to pinch his cheek and smiled before going to my seat. This time, I was seated in the front between Scorpio and Aquarius. After taking a seat, I pulled out my books and set it on the table.
"What's up Lucy?" Scorpio asked.
"Hey, nothing much," I smiled.
Turning over to Aquarius, I was instantly stricken by nervousness and fear at her gaze. Taking a deep breath, I managed to greet her.
"H-hi Aquarius," I stuttered.
"Tch."
"Don't worry about her, she's just a tsundere," Scorpio leaned over and whispered to me.
I giggled a bit and was given another look by Aquarius which promptly made me stop. Scorpio nervously pulled back and returned to his seat. It still makes me wonder how Scorpio could date someone so intimidating, he must have really loved her.
A moment later, the door opened to reveal Mr. Crux, our astrology teacher. He closed the door behind him and slowly made his way to the front where he began taking attendance. Even though Mr. Crux was quite old, he was still an excellent and knowledgeable teacher. As he launched into a lesson about the constellations, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Gem. He gave me a note and pointed to the back where Loke was sitting. I thanked him before taking the note and turning around.
Opening the folded piece of paper, I saw that Loke had written a message asking if we could talk after class. I ripped out a page from my notebook and scribbled a quick reply before giving it to Gem. A few minutes, later, he tapped my shoulders and handed me another note. On it was a heart and a badly drawn picture of Loke giving me the thumbs up. I giggled quietly before tucking it away.
"Ms. Lucy, are you paying attention?" Mr. Crux asked.
"Y-yes," I answered.
"Then would you mind telling me what is the 13th constellation in the zodiac?"
"Uhh..."
xxx
"The answer was Ophiuchus," Loke said.
"There's no point in telling me that now," I grumbled.
Loke laughed a little as we walked to gym class. A few girls waved to him as we passed and some even shot me glares.
"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"I wanted to ask if you wanted to go anywhere else after the movie," he said.
"Oh, I'm not sure."
"I know this really great restaurant that we could eat at," he suggested.
"Sure, if you want to go."
We parted ways at the gym's entrance to head to our separate changing rooms. Levy was already changed when I got to my locker. We chatted for a few minutes while she waited for me to change.
"So I saw Erza with Jellal again last period," she said.
"What were they doing?" I asked.
"Nothing, again," she sighed.
"I doubt anything is going to happen soon, this is Erza and Jellal we're talking about," I pointed out.
"But it's so frustrating to see them like that," Levy complained.
"Just give them time, those things take a while," I said.
"They've been together since they were little and still nothing has happened. What makes you think Jellal is going to make a move on her now?" Levy asked.
"You've got a point."
As far as we knew, Erza and Jellal were in love. Except, they didn't know it themselves. While I didn't worry too much about it, Levy was always complaining on why they won't just go out already. Of course, she had once brought this up with Erza and was met with refusal of holding any kind of feelings beyond friendship for Jellal. As for him, we've never really talked since he was rarely seen around and if he ever was, he was always with Erza.
"We'd better hurry up or the teacher will yell at us," Levy said.
"Yeah, just let me tie my hair up," I said.
Gym was exceptionally unpleasant as always. Nothing much has changed since yesterday except that Loke was now made to participate. To everyone's surprise, he was actually quite good. The girls began cheering when he picked up the pace and flew past the other guys. However, that didn't last very long when Natsu and Gray intervened.
"It's getting pretty ugly out there," Levy remarked as the guys wrestled for the ball.
"Are they really even playing anymore?" I sighed.
When the whistle was blown, signaling that class was ending, we joined up with Natsu and Gray as they began walking back to the indoor gym. Levy instantly struck up a conversation with Gray about club activities while I was left with Natsu. He was breathing heavily as we walked, his shirt drenched with sweat.
"Natsu, are you okay?" I asked.
"Never been better," he grinned.
"You seem like you had a lot of fun out there," I said.
"Yeah, Gray kept getting in my way though," he grumbled.
"Of course that was going to happen, he was supposed to stop you."
While we were talking, I felt a soft poke at my shoulder blade and turned around to see Loke. His hair was disheveled and his cheeks were slightly tainted in pink. He smiled once I greeted him and fell into a step beside me.
"Loke this is Natsu and Natsu, this is Loke," I motioned to both of them.
"Nice to meet ya," Natsu grinned.
"The pleasure is all mine," Loke said.
"So what's up Loke?" I asked.
"Nothing really, I just wanted to talk with you," he said.
"This is a first, don't you usually flirt with the girls in the back?"
"I wanted to flirt with you today," he smiled.
"Nice try."
Loke sighed in defeat as I smiled a little at his adorable expression. Feeling a little bad for rejecting him, I decided to offer him my water.
"You're so sweet Lucy~"
"Whatever."
xxx
It was the end of the day and we were leaving school. Since Natsu didn't have any plans or was involved in anything yet, Levy had invited him to accompany us. However, before we were able to leave the school building, someone had asked Levy to stay back for an emergency club meeting and I was left to go home alone with Natsu.
"Good luck Lu-chan," she whispered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked but she was already gone.
"Something wrong?" Natsu asked.
"It's nothing, let's go," I said.
During our short walk home, I talked to Natsu about clubs, sports, and the like. It turns out that he was interested in basketball and wanted to join soon. As for clubs, he wasn't very interested in anything except for the cooking club. That was until he found out that he had to make his own food.
"Are you part of anything?" he asked.
"Not really, I help out with the student council from time to time though," I said.
"You should join something, it could be fun," he suggested.
"I don't know, nothing really captivates my interest."
"Then what do you like to do?"
"Mostly reading and writing."
"Isn't there a book club?"
"I prefer to read on my own."
"But isn't it boring to stay at home all the time?"
"Sometimes."
"Hm...then let's start a new club."
