Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It belongs to Hiro Mashima.

A/N: Unless I put 'A/N:' in front, all words in bold are just like some kind of hint in the story. Well, enjoy! :)

In a blink of an eye, it was time for recess. Lucy took her lunchbox with her and went on her way to the rooftop. At the staircase leading to the rooftop, Lucy found Natsu standing there, leaning against the wall. He straightened his back and stood properly when he noticed Lucy climbing up the stairs from the third floor of the school.

"Natsu, sorry to keep you waiting! Did you need to talk to me about something?" Lucy said. "We should hurry and join the others on the rooftop, though."

Without saying a word, Natsu walked right up to Lucy and removed the plaster from her cheek, revealing the red mark that was left behind from the slap. "I knew it. Someone hit you, right? Tell me who the person who hit you is. I'll go to kick his ass right now!" Natsu said angrily. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in his anger. His expression was quickly replaced by a murderous glare. Just looking at him made Lucy feel terrified that he might kill someone.

"I-It's fine. I'm fine, Natsu. The slap mark will disappear soon anyway. Besides, I'm not really sure who she is either..." Lucy mumbled. "So let's just join the others and have recess together with them, ok?"

Natsu took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Ok. But first, you need to promise me that you'll tell me who that person is, once you find out," Natsu insisted stubbornly. He walked closer to her and took her hand in his. "Promise me."

Lucy cheeks turned slightly pink, and she smiled, intertwining her fingers with his and holding his hand tightly. "I promise." Together, the two went to the rooftop.

Everyone's attention was immediately focused on the two once they arrived at the rooftop. Mirajane grinned mischievously. "Oh, I see what's going on here," she said. "Well, I can't blame Natsu. He must've been immediately attracted to Lucy because of her beauty."

"I-It's not what you think!" Lucy quickly said. "Right, Natsu?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Mirajane? We're just holding hands. Isn't that a normal thing to do between friends?" Natsu questioned.

Lucy's heart sank a little at the word 'friends'. Wait, why am I disappointed? What Natsu said is true. We're just... friends, Lucy thought to herself. "You're so freakin' dense, Natsu. Can't ya see that the new girl has feelings for you?" A drunk-looking girl said, hiccuping as she was speaking. "Someone gimme more booze!" She demanded.

"Cana, you already downed 5 barrels. And you're not even allowed to drink alcohol in school," Levy said. "You can't drink so much just because Erza is absent," Levy said.

"She is? Why?" Lucy asked as she sat down beside Levy.

"Oh, I'm not sure either. But it she must be really ill. I mean, it must be that bad, right? Erza would never not come to school because of a small flu. She texted me a few minutes ago, saying she wanted me to go to the public library to borrow a few books for her. Want to tag along with me after school?"

"Sure! I've been wanting to borrow a few books too. This is the perfect excuse to," Lucy said.

And so, the rest of the time they had left for recess was filled with teasing and talking about gossip and rumors. Hours later, the bell rang for the school to end. As agreed, Lucy and Levy met up at the school gates, where they walked to the library together from there.

Once they had arrived at the library, they separated to go to borrow books at different sections. As Lucy was flipping through a book about the history of Fairy High, she saw someone trying to reach a book on an upper shelf. Lucy easily slipped the book out and handed it to that person.

"Oh, thank you, miss," the female student thanked. Lucy realized that that student was wearing a school uniform from a different school. The female student noticed her looking at her uniform and said, "I'm Yukino Orlando from Sabertooth Academy. I'm here at the library with my brother, Sting. I'm 16 and he's 17. You're from Fairy High, right? Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. Yes, I am from Fairy High, and I'm Lucy Heartfilia and the same age as you, Miss Yukino," Lucy introduced. "Well, I must be going to borrow this book now..."

All of a sudden, Yukino grabbed Lucy's arm as she was leaving. "Heartfilia? Do you happen to be Jude's daughter?" She asked.

"Er, yes.. How did you know my father's name? And, if you could let go of my arm..." Lucy muttered. Yukino swiftly let go of Lucy's arm and apologized for being rude.

"Actually, my mother is Minerva Orlando. She's engaged to your father. She told me that you weren't aware of that yet, so it must be a bit shocking to know that your father is due to marry my mother in a few days' time. You're my soon-to-be stepsister. I understand if this is all too overwhelming for you, so I won't expect anything to happen between us yet. I just wanted to let you know. It's fine if you don't believe me either," Yukino said.

The lady who was in her father's study the night before... was her soon-to-be stepmother? How could her father just forget about her mother and re-marry?! Was he really that cruel? Did he have a blacker heart than she had thought?

"I believe you, Yukino, but this is r-really a lot of news to take in. I... need some time to process all this. But before I leave, may I ask if you know when your mother or my father was planning to tell me? And when they're getting married?" Lucy said, her voice quivering a bit.

Yukino opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, a voice whispered loudly, "Yukino! Hurry up and get that book! We need to go, Mum's waiting for us! We need to go to the Heartfilia Mansion after this, and we can't be late!"

One of Lucy's questions was solved. The owner of that voice, a spiky-haired blonde approached Yukino and Lucy. "Lucy, this is my brother, Sting. Sting, this is Lucy, Jude's daughter," Yukino introduced. "It's such a coincidence, right?"

Sting nodded and looked at Lucy. "Wow. When I heard that Jude had a daughter, I thought she would be just some arrogant and spoiled princess, but Lucy looks normal. Nothing special," Sting commented.

Lucy didn't know whether it was a compliment or an insult, so she didn't say anything. "We need to get going, you two. Whether you found that book or not, we have to leave now. Get in the car," a familiar voice demanded.

Minerva walked to Yukino and Sting. She was surprised to see the girl she had slapped with them, but her expression was quickly replaced by her usual sickly-sweet smile. "Oh, Lucy my dear, how nice to see you again. My children and I had planned to meet you and Jude at the mansion, but since you're here, why don't I give you a ride back home with us? Come on now, don't be shy," Minerva said.

Minerva touched Lucy's shoulder, causing a chill to go down her spine. Lucy wanted to refuse her offer so badly. She did not want do anything with the crazy woman who made her father decided to re-marry and slapped her so hard that it left a mark on her face. But there was a small part of her that was curious about Minerva. Even though Lucy knew that curiosity killed the cat, she couldn't help but wonder about this woman.

Thus, without thinking things thoroughly, she blurted out, "O-okay. But I came here with my friend, so let me tell her that I'm leaving first." Lucy immediately regretted the words once they were out of her mouth, but there was no turning back. It was just a car ride. What harm could it do, right?