A/N: I'm so sorry for the overdue update! My AP teachers are really shoving assignments down my throat this year. I'll try my best at updating this baby somewhat-frequently, but no promises on any set schedule.
I can't think you guys enough for the nice reviews! This one goes out to ConstellationOblivion ^^ Enjoy this extra long chapter, everyone!
Decoding
Laxus Dreyar was entirely too many things: too hot, too rich, too manipulating. And he has his sights set out for a certain, unsuspecting Heartfillia.
Chapter Nine
Don't Talk to Strangers
Lucy walked down the halls with Levy by her side, chatting away about their weekends. She had a few minor details left out, of course.
"And I've taken up volunteering at the Fairy Hills Library today! Did you know that this school doesn't allow students to have outside jobs?"
Tell me about it, Lucy rolled her eyes internally. It was stupid rule; if she's able to keep up her studies while juggling a part-time job, why won't the school permit it? She'd voice it out loud to the Headmaster, but there was always the possibility that he'd kick her out upon revealing her job. Lets not forget a certain president who love to hang that threat over my head.
"Yeah, I know," she said softly, trying to hide the irritation that was ticking away her right eye at the mere thought of the president. She adjusted the notebooks in her arms as they made way to their next class.
"It sucks for some of the scholars who need jobs to help their family...or want a job...not that there's a good handful of scholars or anything. I mean, I get Headmaster Makarov's point of view and all..." Levy commented offhandedly, fiddling with a strand of sky blue hair as she pouted.
"Ho-ho, did I hear my name coming from a pretty young lass?"
Levy gasped in surprise as they faced the man in question. The Headmaster was short— very short, and looked no younger than sixty and was balding towards the middle of his head. But he was far from senile.
The girls bowed respectfully. "Good morning, Headmaster Makarov!"
His cheeky grin stretched across his kind, old face and he patted their shoulders. "Ay, ay, just Makarov is fine!" he giggled, almost like a school girl, causing Lucy to raise a questioning brow. "My, you two are the scholar transfers! Pretty and smart lasses!" he acknowledged with zest, a pair of crows feet crinkled around his eyes.
"Yes, um, I'm Levy McGarden!" The blue haired scholar was blushing as much as she was excited to see the old man. She turned her head slightly over to Lucy, "And this is— "
"And Lucy Heartfilla, yes, yes! I know all about you two," Makarov said, nodding enthusiastically. "Especially you, Lucy. My grandson likes you, doesn't he?"
"I'm—w-what?" Lucy sputtered, eyes wide.
"You joined the student council, didn't you?" he skipped to another question, "Be careful now, don't fall for his charms too quickly!"
This was Laxus Dreyar's grandfather? Lucy was lost for words; the headmaster intercepted his grandson's practical jokes on making her life miserable as willingly spending time with each other. But what was she suppose to say to him? 'Hey, you've got the wrong idea here man...your grandson is actually just blackmailing the crap out of me—and oh, don't let me forget to mention that it's because I broke one of the major rules of Fairy Tail. Would you like to expel me now, Headmaster-sama?'
"The student body president has been really nice to us!" Levy spoke instead, a big smile on her face. She poked Lucy teasingly, "You didn't tell me you were cozying up with the prez!"
Lucy's cheeks burned as she tried to form a coherent sentence,"I'm not! Really, I'm just...I'm not!"
Makarov pulled a dramatic pout, "Is my grandson that bad?"
Yes, yes he is, she screamed in her head,"O-of course not Headmaster, but I'm-"
A soft cough resounded through the hall, catching the three's attention. Lucy though she saw the headmaster's expression harden for a minuscule, but brushed it off as she faced the newcomer.
"Sorry to intrude, Headmaster Makarov, but...my tour?" she smiled apologetically. Lucy recognized the girl as the silver haired beauty she almost collided with in the morning, and as it looks, the girl recognized her as well. "You're the girl from earlier, right?" A pale hand reached out for a handshake, "I'm Angel Aguria, I just transferred here."
Lucy stared at the outstretched appendage for a second before she shook off her daze and took it. "Lucy! Um, Lucy Heartfilla. And this is my friend Levy," she nodded at the petite girl.
Angel turned to acknowledge Levy with a brilliant smile, "It's nice to meet you both...Oh! Headmaster Makarov, do you mind if Lucy gives me a tour of the school instead?"
"Why is that?" Makarov asked.
"I met her this morning so I'd feel more comfortable with Lucy showing me around. If that's okay with you, of course," Angel said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear shyly.
"I wouldn't mind," Lucy suddenly said, willing to help the girl to feel more at ease.
"Lucy-chan does have classes..." He didn't sound like he approved of such idea, but with both girls giving him the puppy eye, Makarov caved. He agreed on the girl shadowing Lucy for a day and left, leaving them to go to their next class.
They parted ways with Levy as the petite girl left for her history class, and silence took over them briefly. Lucy felt self-conscious around the beautiful transfer, with a head of luscious hair and graceful stature—unlike her messily tied up hairdo from rushing to school this morning. The girl probably thought she was an idiot!
"So how long have you been in Fairy Tail?" She heard Angel ask as they turned around the corner to her economics class.
"Not very long," Lucy replied with an embarrassed smile, "I started this spring semester, so about a month now."
"But you must know a lot of people by now; you seem to fit right in with the others," Angel mused, but the blond haired girl shook her head.
"N-not really. To them, I'm just the 'commoner scholarship student' with Levy." At least that's what she hoped she was to them. The fewer people who knew about her heritage, a lesser chance that man will find her. She believed only the headmaster and Laxus knew who she really was, but that was as the extent of their knowledge.
"But you're not, are you?"
Lucy stiffened, "Pardon?" A million things raced through her head, none of them calming. She knows! How?
"You're nice and intelligent, they must know that," the silver haired girl grinned, catching the relieved sag of Lucy's shoulders. "This is your class, right?"
They stepped into the large classroom and Angel instantly earned some curious glances from the students already seated. A couple recognized her right away and rushed up to greet her. Lucy, on the other hand, edged away from the crowd and sat at her regular seat by the door.
Who is Angel Aguria, anyway? It figured she would be caught with another hotshot amongst the rich and didn't know about it. The bell rang and the economics professor strode in with his briefcase in hand. "What is the meaning of this?" he furrowed his greying brows at the sight of the foreign student.
"Angel Aguria. I'm shadowing Lucy-san for the day," Angel answered and bowed with much elegance. The old professor nodded and motioned her to sit next to Lucy before clearing his throat to quite the rest of the class down. Lucy heard whispers behind her, and she caught parts of their conversation, but not much. Something about 'London models.'
"Lucy-san." She heard Angel whisper as a feathery touch squeezed her hand. "I was hoping...can we be friends? It's a new school and I feel intimidated..."
Lucy's heart warmed and she squeezed back with a smile, "We already are, Angel-san."
"Thank you..."
Lucy faced Angel and gave a reassuring grin, "You'll fair just fine here," she whispered, careful not to gain the professor's attention when he was in the middle of his lecture. He was known throughout the school as 'The Old Grouch.'
"Japan's different from London, where I come from," Angel continued, absentmindedly playing with her diamond earring stud. "I haven't been back here since I was five. The people are different."
London... Mama used to tell stories about a trip she took to London, Lucy thought, staring in front of her with reminiscence. A spark of light bounced across the the table and landed a few feet from the professor.
Angel gasped softly, "Oh no, I lost my grandmother's earring!"
Lucy looked at the silver haired girl; she looked panicked, looking around for the precious earring that was right by the professor but couldn't place its location.
The professor had his back turned from the class and he was going to kill her for interrupting him; yet, Lucy slowly slid out of her seat to retrieve the runaway earring. Once it was in her possession, she carefully inched back to her desk, hoping to be undetected.
"What do you think you're doing, Heartfilla-san?"
She winced. "I..."
"Sit down and don't let me catch you out of your seat again."
"I'm sorry," she plopped herself down and sighed, handing the earring back to Angel. A few guys snickered from the back, and she burned with embarrassment.
"I'm so clumsy... Lucy-san," Angel set a gentle hand on top of Lucy's, "I can tell him that it was my fault."
Lucy shook her head reassuringly at the silver haired beauty, telling her that it was okay. She was here to guide this graceful heiress, and she was going to do everything in her power to keep her subject content. The professor continued on his lecture without any more interruptions this time, droning on about numbers and percentages of agriculture and such. She missed the smallest of a smirk blooming on the silver haired girl's face.
. . .
"I don't like you."
The blond haired scholar blinked several times at the brusque remark. She recognized the girl as one of the student council members—the sexy brunette who always sat next to the devil himself—but she's never spoke to Lucy before. Until now, that is.
"Uh...what?"
"You heard me," the brunette scuffed, arms crossed. "What does Laxus see in you, anyway?"
Lucy felt like she accidentally walked into dangerous territory. The lion den. A bad love-triangle drama. She was just the innocent bystander, why was everyone seeing it as she was getting with the school president or something? As far as she could tell, she's been trying to keep minimal interactions with him.
"I'm just here for the council meeting..." she offered weakly. Checking the clock, she mentally noted that the meeting should have started with five minutes in, but where was everyone?
"It cancelled." Upon hearing that Lucy jumped around in circles within her head, ecstatic that luck was finally coming her way. She made a gesture to thank the (unpleasant) third year awkwardly and stepped aside, eager to leave. However, the brunette's next comment made her pause. "If you know what's good for you, stay away from him."
"I think you're getting the wrong idea here," Lucy bit her lips.
She was intimidating; a few inches taller and stone cold eyes that looked as if it could kill. She opened her magenta fan with a swift swipe of her wrist, peering over the tip like a lioness ready to pounce on its prey. "Do you know what happens to people who cross me?"
Wouldn't I ever... A massive headache was starting to form and Lucy didn't have time to stand here and be talked down by a third year she doesn't even see outside of those blasted council meetings. She was done with all her classes and had about twenty assignments to do before going to work and she seriously didn't want to deal with any of Laxus' groupies. Her fists clenched. It was fine time she took up another training session with Elfman.
"Look, I don't know why you're accusing me whatever you're accusing me of—I don't care, either," she grumbled, massaging her temple, "but I can reassure you that, no, there is absolutely nothing going on with me and the prez." She has never tried this hard or this many times to defend herself in a single day, and it was saying something: never associate with Laxus Dreyar in any shape or form.
"Leave her alone, Evergreen." A muscular arm slung around her smaller frame and she inwardly groaned. He was just the person she needed to clear up the misunderstanding. The brunette—Evergreen—looked surprised to see him. "Came back to grab these babies," Laxus lifted his Sound Pod with a good-natured smirk.
The magenta fan slowed to an agonizing wave as a scowl formed on the brunette's full, pink lips. She didn't look the slightest bit amused. "Laxus," she sighed, reaching out to pull him away from Lucy and towards herself, "if you were just going to come back, don't send a messenger."
"I appreciate your help, Ever," Laxus pulled an appreciative grin.
Evergreen rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Don't even." She gave Lucy one last scowl before she flipped a lock of honeyed brown hair behind her and sauntered away.
After she left, Laxus turned his attention back to Lucy, who was more than ready to leave herself. "Want a ride?" he offered with a smirk.
Lucy scuffed incredulously, "I've learned my lesson," she replied, remembering the last time she 'asked' for a ride. He couldn't be up to anything good. "I have two legs and here's always the subway."
"There's always danger out in the streets, princess, and the subway's hardly safe."
"I'm nothing the student body president of Fairy Tail should be worried about," she raised a delicate brow with with mock reassurance. She stiffened when Laxus reached out to caress a strand of her hair. "Now if you'll excuse me."
She was walking away, but he wasn't done with her. "We have another game this week. You know what to do."
Lucy was two seconds from flipping him the glorious finger.
. . .
The Fairy Hills Library towered over her, its presence grand but very gentle, like a strict grandmother who really has a soft heart. Lucy walked up the steps of the grand stone staircase and pushed open the glass doors. It was very mellow and warm inside, with the room lit up by the giant, circular window doming the ceiling. Lamps illuminated around the darker corners of the library with a soft orange glow.
Levy paused her book-stacking for a minute and brightened up. She was surprised to see her friend show up where she was volunteering. "Lu-chan!" she stage whispered, clearly happy to see her.
"Hey," Lucy greeted softly, quick to stand by her friend's side and helping her with the stacks of heavy books.
"Hey! I thought you would be at the council meeting or something," Levy smiled with thanks as the heavier books were lifted from her pile. She started to organize the thick novels in alphabetical order in a cart and wheeled them towards one of the many rich paduak shelves.
"It cancelled, so I figure I'll come here for a bit."
"Aw, thanks Lu-chan!" the petite girl handed Lucy a book, "I saved this one for you, 'cause you were interested in celestial spirits and stuff."
The book was simply called Celestial Spirits with a dusted, golden binding. A twinkle lit within Lucy's milky brown eyes and she held onto it with precious care. "You are the best, Levy-chan! I've wanted to get my hands on this for such a long time," she cried.
"Of course I am," Levy giggled with a wink. "Hey, I'm only here to help for an hour so we can leave together afterwards...If you don't mind to wait."
"Sure!" Lucy agreed. She had a good two hours before she had to go to the clinic for her job, so she plopped herself down at one of the round tables and pulled out her school work.
. . .
"You're going to be WHAT?" Levy couldn't stop laughing. Her whole form was shaking with uncontrolled laughter as she took in what her blond haired friend told her in confident. "Y-your a-a...I," she gasped, almost tripping over a tree root that had sneaked its way out of a crack in the sidewalk.
Lucy shot a playful glare at her friend and regretted ever telling Levy about her 'side job' of being the school's mascot. "Mou, stop laughing!"
"S-sorry," Levy wiped away a tear, "but you're going to be in a bird suit! Oh my god, I am so going to the game!"
Similar to the previous game Lucy was forced to participate in, she will be parading in the Bird of Paradise suit for the duration of the game. She had hoped that by telling Levy of her dilemma, the petite girl would sympathize with her. Obviously, she was too busy laughing her ass off.
"At least nobody will know who's in the costume," she pouted. Except for the council members and now Levy, she added to herself. 'You better not tell anyone! Especially not Jet and Droy."
"I will never," Levy didn't sound too certain only because her promise was being overrun by giggles, but Lucy knew her friend could keep a secret. They rounded the corner of the quiet street and rows of humble houses came into view, lining adjacent to a flowing canal that pass through Lucy's street as well.
A couple of rogue-looking guys were crouched at a corner before them, loitering by a pole with cigarettes between their fingers. The one with greasy brown hair looked their way and wolf-whistled, followed by a couple more from his companions.
"Aye baby doll, what you say me n' you go out an' have some fun?"
"Damn pretty bitches, they are. Look, they from that rich school too."
"I got the blond one, back off," the tallest one of the group chided, rising to come towards the girls.
His eyes were droopy, ringed with dark circles and he looked like he hasn't shaved in a week. Levy coward behind Lucy, who was positively disgusted with their behaviours. It was broad daylight on an open street—they had no shame. She posed in a fighting stance, legs bent and fists out in front of her, ready to take the three filthy men on any second. They seem unfazed, but rather amused.
"Hottie's got some moves, too," a rough, meaty hand reached for her, "you're comin' with me babe."
"Not a chance," Lucy smirked and swiftly kneed him in the crotch. The husky man doubled over, holding his private parts in pain and his face flared crimson.
"Get her!" he yelled, stumbling to hang onto the telephone pole.
The other two jumped in motion to grab her, but Lucy managed to have time to set her bag aside as she ducked and tripped the greasy brunette. She pulled the lankier guy into a restraining arm-lock and he cried out in agony. She didn't give him a chance to escape as she threw him to the ground where his other buddy was trying to pick himself up.
Too easy, Lucy thought, slapping away invisible dust from her hands and looking at her handy work. Pathetic bunch of scums.
"EEEEK!"
She twisted around and widened her eyes. "Levy!" How could I forget about that bastard, I'm so foolish! Her blue haired friend was being manhandled with her arms pinned behind in her back. The man she immobilized seconds ago was now smirking disgustingly, his one meaty hand restraining Levy from breaking away as the other one was cupping the smaller girl's face. "You let her go right now!"
"Or else what? You ain't got nothin' honey buns," he taunted, gripping Levy's arms harder to make her scream. He shouted for the others to get their asses up and surround Lucy. She immediately got ready to strike, but the foul man laughed. "Now you make any sudden moves n' I can't guarantee what happens to this pretty girlie, got it?"
Lucy weighed her options; she could yell for help, but there was no telling what those disgusting men would do to Levy. She didn't care what would happen to her because she knew fully well that she can take care of herself. But Levy? The poor girl was shaking despite trying to put up a brave front.
"Lu-chan," Levy begged, "run!" Run, run and get help. I can hold on for a few minutes, go!
"Hmm I wouldn't do that." Another scream was evoked from Levy as the pressure on her arms intensified. Two pairs of rough hands clamped onto both of the blond's arms.
"Get off!" Thrust as she might, she was helpless against two angry men wanting revenge for their humiliation and another one hanging a precious threat in her face. "What do you want?" she spat.
The man she offended, who was very clear now the leader of the three, showed her his row of yellowed teeth. "I wanted to have some fun, but I think I have a better idea."
"What are we gunna do?" the guy on her left asked.
"We're gunna teach 'em rich girlies a lesson," he replied, shifting his eyes to the abandoned brown school bag. "Lets see what's in the rich girl's bag."
He walked towards it, dragging Levy with him harshly. Despite protest, he kicked it slightly and the flap opened, revealing a few notebooks and the Celestial Spirit book. He frowned, picking up the bag to dump all the contents out.
Lucy grind her teeth tightly, "I'm not rich, if you haven't caught on yet. Someone's going to come by sooner or later, you better let us go."
"Eh, what useless craps," he whistled lazily, about to kick the fallen objects into the water. Lucy's eyes widened in fear of the new book she got from the library, which was quickly going to become a sloppy, wet goop in the bottom of the canal.
"No!"
"Better idea, how 'bout y'all go in the water for a swim?"
The two guys holding Lucy captive wolf whistled, no doubt imagining two dripping wet school girls. They started pushing Lucy and Levy towards the canal, the formers having to exert more force than their huskier leader. Lucy struggled to break away when she saw that her friend was seconds away from being tossed into the cold water, when suddenly the leader was knocked on the ground by an ulterior force.
"Son ohfa' bitch!" he was grabbing face now, trails of blood flowing freely down his newly broken nose. The other two immediately panicked and threw Lucy aside—she lost her balance and slipped into the canal.
"LU-CHAN!"
. . .
Splash. Thrash. Thrash Thrash.
The water was cold, despite the warm weather, and it stung. She tried to stay above the surface, knowing only the bare minimum about swimming. She was never a fan of water, and she wasn't the best swimmer out there. The canal was deep, very deeps.
Curse these scums curse myself for being weak curse this water curse the cancelled meeting curse Laxus Dreyar. Yeah, curse him this is all his fault.
Splash.
Lucy felt herself being pulled upwards toward land. It was the same person who punched the foul street rat in the face.
"Lu-chan! Lu-chan!"
Once she was out of the canal, two dark, toffee colored eyes darted around her person worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"I'm...I'm okay," Lucy wiped her face and looked at her surroundings; the gangsters were gone, scared off and perhaps beatened up pretty badly, judging by a the few blood splatter on the ground.
She tried to wrung as much water out of her hair as possible. Her clothes were soaked and she needed to take them off before they get wrinkled, but that wasn't bothering her as much at the moment. Levy was in tears, crying and apologizing and hugging her. She chuckled and tried to comfort her friend, telling her it was all right. She was a tough girl, a little water wouldn't kill her.
However, their savoir wasn't too incredibly touched with the scene as he watched them while taking his spot leading against a tree, scowling. "Damn, Blue, quit your cryin'."
He was the opposite of what you'd expect to be a knight in shining armour...with a black and silver rocker bike. He had jet black hair that reached down to the middle of his back in a wet, spiky disarray; he was tan and muscular with menacing ruby eyes. The most prominent feature were his piercings, which lined both the brows and nose.
"Uh, thanks for your help?" Lucy offered, not wanting to offend their savior.
"You mean thanks for saving yer asses," he grumbled, "my shit's all wet now."
An eye twitched as she stood, glaring at the complaining male. It was one thing to be a hero, but another to be totally arrogant about it! "E-x-u-s-e you! You didn't have to help and I hardly needed any ass saving, for your information; I was just about to break free when you showed up." Now that I think about it... "You're the reason they actually succeeded tossing me into the water!"
"Careful bunny-girl, I'm not above throwing you back in there," he scowled, sharp teeth grinding together. "Even if ya could, Blue over there wouldn't be able to. Look, she's drownin' ya with her tears alone."
"You-"
"It's okay Lu-chan, he's right," Levy half-laughed, wiping the tears away, "if it wasn't for me, you'd have no problem taking care of these ruffians." She turned face the male, "Thank you for saving us, um..."
"What?" he raised a pierced brow after a moment of silence.
"She's asking for your name," Lucy openly rolled her eyes.
"..."
Levy sniffed, "I-It's okay, if you don't want to t-tell us I under-"
"It's Galeel Redfox, you happy? Stop the damn rambling," he cupped one large hand on top of her head of blue locks, making her look at him in the eye for a split second before he broke the contact. He then picked up the biker jacket on the ground and hopped back on his bike.
"T-thank you, Galeel-san!" Levy revised, a tomato red blush blooming across her face.
"Yeah whatever," Galeel scuffed, not looking at her anymore. He mounted his bike, "And Blue, next time I save you, there better not be all that damn waterworks." With that, he rode away with dust and dirt swirling behind him like a mini tornado.
"Gajeel..."
"I can't believe the guy," Lucy muttered, ready to give up on the male population. Levy was giggling behind her hand, watching as their savoir got smaller and smaller down the street, until she couldn't hear the rumbling of the motor engine any more.
"I think...I like him."
"He butts in," the blond continued, completely disregarding the last comment, "and complains about it! I can't—AH-CHOO!"
The sneeze snapped the shorter girl out of her stupor, "Oh! My house's close by, let's get you into dry clothing," Levy patted Lucy in the back, gathering the discarded notebooks and library book back into her brown school bag.
"I'm fine—AH-CHOO!—I'm...wait," she seemed to realize something, "did you say that you like that guy?"
"...Yes?"
Lucy looked at her petite friend incredulously (why do girls like jerks?) and shook her head with a laugh. "You have problems, Blue."
GaLe :3 there will be much more LaLu next!