Her Side

The rain's stopped now and she has found her way into a clearing with a cliff just nearby. She sat on the edge of the cliff, admiring how the little stream below looked like a blue ribbon winding through the dusty ground below. She lightly swung her legs childishly, feeling bored and not knowing what to do. She's stopped crying by the time she reached the place and fortunately, her cuts stopped bleeding for now. She was feeling relieved especially since she was able to rid her mind of thoughts of him temporarily. And now, she's left alone, sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the ground far below her, absently thinking of pointless stuff.

I wonder what they're doing now…

What time is it? I'm hungry.

It's boring here. Ooohh. Was that a fox?

Has he read the letter? What does he think?

As soon as her trail of thoughts led her to the letter she wrote for him, she immediately snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head.

No thinking of him. No thinking of him. No thinking of him.

She repeated over and over in her head like a mantra. Sighing, she stood up and walked away from the cliff. She approached the patch of flowers and sat beside it, running her hands through the colorful flowers. Once she got bored, she stared at the clear blue lake in front of her while her hands played with the grass which was slightly wet from the rain.

It's like the color of his eyes.

She snapped out of her sudden thought, averting her eyes away from the lake and instead, focusing them on the flowers.

He gave me flowers on our first date. It was just like these.

Again, she snapped out of it. She hated thinking about him, it made her frustrated, angry, and sad and most of all, it made her heart ache. She missed him so bad; she just wanted to be in his arms right now. That was honestly the first time she fell in love. She usually friend zoned the guys who liked her back then since she didn't want to get hurt. But he came, he broke down her walls. Since her parents died, she's been building up walls to keep others out because she was afraid. Afraid of what? Afraid that she'll lose them too. Thankfully, she managed to make a lot of friends. They were the only ones she let in, not until he came along. When he first hinted that he liked her, her friends immediately went to their over-protective mode, threatening him. But soon, when he proved he really liked her, they let him be and they eventually became a couple. She was so happy that time since she finally met someone she wants to be with throughout her whole life, but not everything lasts forever.

Gosh. Why am I thinking about all of this again? I promised I would try to forget him! Why can't I stop thinking of you?

She was going crazy, she didn't even realize she was crying nor did she figure out it was raining.

His Side

Dear Sting,

By the time you've read this, I'm…already somewhere out here in Fiore, or maybe in Magnolia. I want to tell you that I'll be leaving soon.

'Why are you telling me this? Like I even care.'

I don't ever regret loving you, or maybe I do a bit.

'Ouch. That hurt.'

I know you're wondering why I kind of regretted loving you. Well, it's because I let my guard down. You were my first love, actually. I've set these walls around me ever since my parents died because I didn't want to feel the pain of losing someone anymore. But I eventually let my friends in, and then you came.

'Oh, Lucy. I didn't know, I'm sorry.'

At first, I was wary, thinking that you're just some jerk or player who wants to toy with my emotions and leave me shattered. But as time passed, you proved me wrong. Eventually, we dated. You don't know how happy I was to feel loved like that. I really thought you were a great guy and that you'll never break my heart but again, you proved me wrong.

My first thought about you was actually true. YOU. ARE. A JERK. Yes, you are a great guy but you're a jerk for playing with girls' hearts. I actually regret letting you in because you just smashed my heart into pieces and left me for some girl right after.

Now I just realized that you never even loved me. You're a player; you're great at charming girls and making them believe all your sugar-coated lies. I know that you'll never return my feelings at all; I know that I am just a mere toy for you and that you don't care for me at all.

'No, Lucy. That's not true.'

But despite that painful fact, I still love you. I feel like an idiot for loving you even though I know that you won't love me back. There are just things about you that I love.

Like the way you smile. Your smile is warm and charming; you can make a lot of girls swoon with one flash of your smile. But you know, whenever you smile at me, I feel like there's something different, there's something missing but when you smile at other girls or at your friends, I could feel warmth radiating from it. (Call me cheesy or whatever, I couldn't find the right words for it.)

And then there's your eyes. The sparkle in your clear blue eyes. I noticed that there's some sparkle in your eyes when you look at almost everyone else but I also notice it disappear whenever you look at me. I guess you don't really like me.

Your sweet actions and gestures. Maybe that's what made me fall for you. All those sweet nothings we shared, the laughs we had and the good times we shared. It was just perfect. You made me really happy and feel like I was the only one. I guess poor little me was caught up in a fantasy that I didn't realize that in reality, you do that to almost every girl.

I could go on and on here, but that would just make that ego of yours more unbearable.

'Ouch. Is my ego really that big?'

Well, I'm getting tired of writing here, so I'll just say a couple more things.

I'll be leaving Magnolia tonight, for now I'll be wandering around for probably the last time.

Goodbye Sting, thank you for making me happy. Thank you for making me feel loved, even though you didn't even love me at all. Thanks for all the memories. Because of you, my heart was broken once more, I felt the pain of losing someone again and now, thanks to you, I've brought up my walls again and I won't be letting anyone in (except my friends). But even though you did that, at least you helped me snap back into reality by making me realize that people are just going to leave me anyway.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.'

Well, this is goodbye.

Thanks for the broken heart, too.

Please forget me.

~Lucy Heartfilia~

By the time Sting was finished, Orga had already arrived.

"Sting? What's wrong?" Rogue asked him, shaking him.

"Wha…? Huh?" Sting snapped back to reality, a trembling hand clutching the letter.

"Are you alright?" Orga asked him. Sting nodded blankly, and then he glanced at the letter.

He felt his heart clench at the thought that he caused Lucy so much pain. He sighed sadly, his eyes scanning the painful words she had neatly written on the paper. 'It's my fault if she changes.'

"Let's eat!" Minerva yelled, bringing out her bento while the others brought out their own bento.

"Itadakimasu~!" Everyone said at the same time and dug in, quickly eating their lunch peacefully, well, except for a certain blonde.

While eating, he kept on glancing at the letter, which his friends so badly wanted to snatch and read. Every time he glanced at the letter, his heart plummeted. This just made moving on and forgetting the girl harder.

"Sting? Are you okay?" His friends asked him, but he ignored them and continued eating while glancing at the letter. Finally, he had enough. He stood up, causing his friends to look at him, and ran. Where? Who knows where, all he knew was that he had to find and talk to Lucy fast.

**Time Skip**

The blonde stopped, panting heavily. He's been running all over Magnolia, in search for the gorgeous blonde girl. He didn't even care that he skipped all his afternoon classes, he's sure that Rogue will make up an excuse for him. After a short break to catch his breath, Sting walked again, this time arriving at the entrance of Magnolia's forest. He debated in his mind if she even is here, but then he remembered that she loved to go wander in the forest for no particular reason at all so he decided to look for her there.

Upon entering the forest, Sting saw a bunch of trampled flowers and bushes. Thinking someone walked along that path, or probably ran along that path, he followed it, wishing that it was Lucy who was at the forest and not someone else.

After a few minutes of walking, it suddenly rained heavily, causing the blonde to curse under his breath for not bringing an umbrella. 'What if Lucy was here? What if she's all soaked up and shivering from the rain?' He brushed off his thoughts and followed the path of trampled stuff, also noticing that the person (or animal) that had gone through the path he followed stupidly walked into thorny bushes.

He was already soaking wet by the time he reached the end of the pathway of trampled stuff. He looked around and saw no signs of anyone so he decided to walk straight ahead, past the trees that stood in front of him, wondering what lay ahead.

The ground was all muddy and slippery so he had to be careful not to slip. The rain was getting heavier and heavier and it was getting cold but he didn't care. He just needed to see her, talk to her, and hold her one last time before she goes. Hopefully, he could even persuade her to stay…As if she'd listen to someone who hurt her, though.

As Sting reached the end of the group of trees, he found a clearing and at the end was a cliff. His heart stopped once he spotted a familiar blonde head staring at the lake in front, not caring if it was raining heavily.

Normal POV

"Lucy…?" Sting called out to her softly. The blonde girl looked up to see him, soaking wet and looking at her.

"Why are you here?" She asked him, looking back at the lake so he wouldn't notice that she'd been crying.

"I've been looking almost everywhere for you. Listen, I need to talk to you." Sting replied, sighing in relief as he finally saw her.

"No." Lucy replied coldly, avoiding his eyes. Sting just walked towards her and sat on the grass beside her, facing the female blonde.

"Why?" He asked, looking at her and noticing her current condition. Her hair was a bit messy, her dress dirty and torn and she had cuts all over her skin.

"I just don't want to." She replied, stretching out a hand to pluck a flower from the patch beside her.

"Please, just listen to me." Sting urged, taking the other blonde's hands in his. At the contact, Lucy visibly winced, causing Sting to drop her hands.

"Sorry." He muttered, watching the girl rub her wrists as she stood up. Despite the heavy rain, Sting noticed the streams of liquid flowing down the girl's face, she was crying.

"Are you alright?" He asked her, looking at her with worry as she just walked some distance from him, her back facing him.

"Why do you care?" She retorted coldly, still not facing him.

"Because…" That caught Sting off-guard. 'Why do I care? I don't really like her, right? I'm doing this out of pity, right?' Sting thought.

"See… You don't care. What? You need someone to mess with again?" She bitterly laughed, crossing her arms and staring off at the direction of the cliff.

"I-I do c-care…" Sting admitted softly, looking at the ground.

"What?" Lucy asked him, not catching what he said. 'Sh*t. Well, there's no point in denying it anymore.' The male thought. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists before saying out loud, "Why can't you realize that I care about you!"

That shocked Lucy. She turned to him, raising an eyebrow, eyes filled with disbelief but deep within those brown orbs of hers, there's a different emotion hidden.

"S-sting…I…" Lucy stuttered, at a loss for words. Sting walked towards her while she instinctively backed away.

"Lucy… Don't do this, don't distance yourself from me." Sting softly muttered, walking closer.

"Why would I listen to you?" She asked rather coldly, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"You're right; I have no right to act like this ever since I hurt you. But please, give me a chance." Sting pleaded, reaching out to hold the girl's hands. This time, when he held her hands, she didn't flinch, she didn't even back away, she just let him.

"Fine. What do you have to say?" She said coldly but deep inside, she wanted to hug him so badly and just cry right then and there. But she had to be strong; she had to force herself to move on before she even leaves, that way, it'll be less painful.

"I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. You don't know how much I regret hurting you." Sting started.

"You're lying." Lucy retorted, pulling her hand away from his grasp and backing away once more.

"I'm not! Just listen." Sting yelled in frustration. "Please! I've never acted like this toward any girl I've dated. After I broke up with all my past girlfriends, they immediately left my mind but you… Even when I broke up with you, you always invaded my mind. I know how gay this sounds but I can't stop thinking about you. I never regretted breaking up with any of my past girlfriends, but with you, I honestly hesitated. But I was too engulfed by pride and by my reputation as a player, so I had to do it. Believe me; I wasn't happy about it at all." Sting stopped to catch his breath, and Lucy used this time to speak.

"If you really loved me then you would've lowered down your pride." She hissed, folding her arms across her chest.

"I know, but I was too scared to swallow up my pride." Sting sighed, looking down at the ground in shame. "But if I didn't love you, why would I skip school just to look for you? Why would I ditch my new girlfriend just to talk to you? Why would I be here now, standing in the rain, trying to talk to you one last time, before you leave?"

This left Lucy speechless, he was right. If he didn't really care for her or even felt a bit of attraction towards her, he wouldn't have gone through the trouble of doing this for her.

Sting took Lucy's silence as an opportunity to continue his 'speech', "You see, I care for you. I really do, I just don't show it. So please, don't leave. I tried my best to restrain myself from reaching out to you and asking you to come back, because that would ruin my reputation. But I just realized just then that if you leave, I'd go crazy. Memories of you keep flooding back into my mind every time I try to forget you. I just can't move on, okay? So please, come back." By this time, Sting was already close to tears as he walked towards Lucy, gently holding her hands in his.

"I think I fell for you, hard." He muttered in a daze as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes which were filled with different emotions. Lucy didn't break eye contact; she just stared into his blue eyes, sincerity evident in it.

They just stood there, staring at each other under the rain. Finally mustering enough courage, Sting leaned closer, cupping her left cheek with his hand and slowly lowered his face to meet hers before closing the gap between them. This shocked Lucy at first, causing her to blush, but later, she just closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed back. Oh how she missed the feeling of his lips on hers. Sting instinctively wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and savored the feeling of her soft lips finally meeting his again.

After a few minutes (or so), they pulled away to catch their breaths, but Sting didn't let go of her. A minute of comfortable silence erupted between them, only the heavy patter of rain is heard and the occasional animal noises.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" Sting asked awkwardly, tilting her head up so that she could meet his eyes. He noticed that she too, was turning red.

"Yes." Lucy softly said, a small smile creeping up her face. With that, Sting sighed in relief, he felt as if a weight was lifted off his chest.

"Please don't go." He then muttered, hugging her tight. Now that she had forgiven him, he badly wanted to get her back in his life and he won't allow to be separated from her anymore.

"B-but…" Lucy stuttered, her face heating up again. She didn't know what to do…Should she continue her plans or should she stay?

"Please." Sting pleaded, still not letting go. "Stay and go out with me again." At this, Lucy pushed him back.

"No, Sting. I forgave you, but it doesn't mean I am ready to let you in again. It doesn't mean that I trust you again." She spoke.

"Why?" He asked softly, thinking for a way on how to get back.

"If I get a glass and throw it on the ground, will it shatter?" The female blonde questioned. "Yes." The other blonde replied, not getting what she was on to.

"If I say sorry to the broken glass, will it the pieces be automatically fixed?" "That's ridiculous! No." Sting replied, confused.

"Same goes for me. You broke my heart, don't expect me to be completely alright and ready to go out with you again with just a 'sorry'." Lucy replied, getting a bit furious. "Plus, you're still going out with someone else. I don't want to be the reason why another girl's heart is shattered."

"But Lucy – " Sting started, trying to reach for her. "I'm sorry Sting, but I just can't. When you fixed something shattered, it won't return to the way it was. There'll be a change; it can't go back to the way it was before it was shattered." Lucy said, cutting him off and backing away.

"I hope you understand." She said softly, feeling guilt once she saw the broken look on his face. "You just don't know what I've been through. I don't want to waste all those tears I shed and pain I felt during the time of our break-up while you managed to find someone who you could use as a rebound. While I was crying and being all miserable, I heard you partied all night and drank to your heart's content. You just don't know what it feels like."

Sting was speechless; he didn't know that this was what she really felt all the time. He didn't know that this was happening to her while he just partied and goofed off.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not ready to go out with you again. Maybe someday." Lucy said softly, taking another step backwards to have some distance between the two.

But what she didn't know was that she was backing away towards the edge of the cliff. She felt the ground beneath her crumble and she let out a shriek as the ground beneath her started to erode from the heavy rain and break off, tumbling down the bottom of the cliff.

"HELP ME!" Lucy shrieked as she fell backwards, her blonde hair flying and a few tears flowing.

"LUCY!" Sting yelled, running towards the edge of the cliff and crouching low, holding out a hand to reach her. "Hold on, I'm not losing you anymore." He ordered as he managed to grasp the tip of her fingers slightly.

"I-I'm sorry, Sting." Lucy choked back more tears as she slipped away from his grasp. "I love you, but please forget me. This way, it won't hurt you."

And with that, she disappeared down the bottom of the cliff, only appearing as a little blurry figure.

'How would I forget you if you chose to say goodbye like this?'

-END-

A/N:

Am I cruel for letting the story end like that? Well, not all stories have happy endings.

Honestly, I planned to make this story a short one-shot only, but I doubt the outcome is anything close to how a SHORT one-shot should be.

Reviews are very welcome. I'd love to know your thoughts about this story.

Word Count (story only): 5,959 out of 6,079 | Page Count: Exactly 14 pages in Word

P.S. (Not included in the word count)

Tell me if you would like a sequel or epilogue. And I cut the story into two parts so it wouldn't seem so long.