A/N: This is so, so, so incredibly late and I am seriously sorry. February was ACT prep month and March was the ACT. This took a while to come out 'cause my brain was a pile of mush after the tests (and I was extremely busy and literally so depressed about my score)... But chapter 14 is finally up now so without further ado, enjoy!

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 Fourteen

Subtle Little Messages

"Do you see that bright orange star?"

.

.

.

There were a dozen stars dancing around her head, spinning and twirling and holding jackhammers. Every five seconds, the stars drilled on her skull and she felt like she could burst.

Sirius... Canopus... Arcturus... Alpha Centauri...

Lucy groaned loudly, her hand touched the familiar terry-cloth stuffed pig nesting between her and the wall. At least she was home, in her own bed...

Much of what happened last night was too blurry to recall, but she did remember getting plastered with a ginger haired man... Cobra, she thinks.

Her eyes shot open. "Oh my god!"

"Whuh? What happened?!" a familiar flame head rushed to her bed, his face frantic as he looked around for anything that could have made her cry out. "What's wrong, Luce?!"

Lucy could only stare wide-eyed at the salmon haired male she called her best friend. What in the world is he doing here? "Natsu?" She glanced at the clock by her night stand. It was only nine in the morning so that was pretty good for being hungover... but that didn't explain why Natsu of all people would be in her apartment (not that he doesn't barge in unannounced anyway).

It was just that Natsu was up. And wearing her frilly pink apron. On one hand he had a metal scrapper and on the other a frying pot with a still-sizzling egg that looked awfully burnt.

"I must still be dreaming," she muttered to herself, the pang in her head returning as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Huh?" She heard the male question. "Anyway, Luce! Do you like sunny side up or cooked all the way through?"

Lucy peered at her best friend. So he wasn't a figment of her imagination... The poor egg was very much burning in the equally innocent pot. But it was sweet of him to attempt to cook breakfast for her. "I think I'll like to keep my apartment intact and not have a fire waiting to happen, please," her shoulders shook with laughter.

"Whatever," Natsu grinned, poking the charred egg with the metal scrapper. He wasn't going to deny that he was hopeless in the cooking department. "Let's go out and get some steak!"

"In the morning?" Lucy blanched when she realized that he was serious. Rolling out of bed, she walked over and grabbed his hand. "How about I just make some pancakes?"

Making said pancakes was a anything but a peaceful affair. By the time she was done pouring the batter mixture into the frying pan, Natsu and his cat had successfully smeared half of it around the kitchen—helping, he claimed. Ten minutes later, she finally managed to put two stacks of pancakes in front of the lovable idiot.

"Thanks Luce, you're the best!"

"Obviously," she laughed. "How was your paint job yesterday? You didn't mess the house up too bad, did you?"

"Aw, you know I specialize in property damage!" he said as he started to eat.

Of course, she mused, wondering if the fire truck had to come this time. Choosing to nurse her headache with a cup of coffee and some pancakes of her own, she sat across from Natsu, watching as he wolfed down the sweet treat like no tomorrow. Her mind trailed to last night. "Hey Natsu?" she started.

"Hmph?" he said in between chews.

"Did you pick me up last night from Angel-san's party? How did you know where it was?"

The salmon haired male looked up mid-chew at his best friend. Taking a quick gulp of milk, he didn't bother to wipe his mouth as he spoke. "I didn't. Your class president did, actually. He called me when he brought you back!"

Lucy was beyond surprised. Laxus brought me home? But he wasn't even at the party... "Was I, uh, doing anything weird?"

"Nah, you were out cold. You know, I had my doubts about this guy, but he's not bad after all," Natsu grinned, his mouth stretched from one side to the other. A dab of syrup stained the tip of his nose.

She snorted and reached over to wipe the syrup away. If anything, her friend was way too trustful with others. He always seem to see the good in everyone. It was an admirable trait, really, but one of these days it will get him into trouble.

"Just don't try to make friends with him," Lucy grumbled while shaking her head. By the look on the flame head's face, she knew he was totally thinking about it. "He's despicable."

"Not giving yourself a chance to believe in someone is not fair, Luce," he scolded playfully.

"I think you forgot that he's still blackmailing me," she said, putting the dirty dishes into the sink to wash. "You're supposed to side with me, not him."

He laughed and stuffed the last of the pancakes in his mouth, "Well, my intuition says that Laxus Dreyar ain't a bad guy."

Lucy rolled her eyes. The clock in her kitchen pointed a quarter till ten. She sighed and got up, "Sure, you don't have to go to school with him." Petting the blue furred feline that was resting on the table and giving her best friend a quick hug, she ushered them both out of her apartment. "Shoo, you two have to go. Mira-san's expecting me at work in thirty minutes."

"Aw, but Luce..."

"I promise I'll treat you to dinner later as a thanks for staying with me last night," she bribed sweetly. It worked like a charm; he was already down by the street before she could blink. "You know my schedule," Lucy called from the window and went back to get ready.

The blond then rummaged through her small closet for the clinic uniform she had to wear to work. Picking up the light blue scrubs, she realized that it was slightly wrinkled and a tiny stain, presumably picked up from one of the animal's medicine, peeked out from the corner of the sleeve. She kept her spare at the clinic for when she needed to work right after school, so she decided to wash this one and go to work to change.

She grabbed her keys and brown school bag, making sure that nothing was out of place before walking out of the small apartment complex. Walking down Magnolia Street, she thought about last night again.

Particularly, a certain Dreyar.

Should I thank him? she wonders, staring down at the blank, scratched up screen of her pink cell phone. Contemplating all the possible reasons why she should not, her conscience finally got the best of her. She scrolled down her contacts list until it reached 'B.'

B for Bastard.

. . .

"This is Lucy... So... Oh what the hell. I just wanted to thank you for your help last night, I guess... But don't take this the wrong way, Dreyar! I still hate you and nothing will ever change the fact that you're an arrogant pig. Okay. So yeah. Bye."

Freed watched with mild interest as his friend raised the black phone to his ear and listened on. It was rare to see the Dreyar taking his time to listen to voice mail, nonetheless look so amused with the content. When the message seemed to have ended, Freed walked up to him and handed over a clean towel. They were at the gym; the blond haired male wanted to practice some punches with him because a boxing tournament was coming to town in a week. They weren't professional boxers, of course, but it was more a pass time.

Frankly, Freed enjoyed Kendo more.

"Something particularly interesting?" he asked offhandedly.

Laxus smirked slightly. "Heartfillia."

That sure got the green haired male's attention. It's been a while since the Heartfillia first caught the proud student body president's attention, far longer than any other girl has provided.

As far as he knew, Lucy Heartfillia still hasn't claimed the title of a Heartfillia and was of no use to the Dreyar Corp.; it wasn't like Laxus to be so absorbed in one person, or girl, for that matter... There must be something up his sleeve.

"Maybe you should leave Heartfillia-san alone, Laxus," Freed offered. She was just an innocent bystander who got caught in his friend's web, and to be honest, he felt bad.

"Oh? You've never cared before, Freed," Laxus droned, walking back to the ring alongside his long time friend and got ready to throw some practice punches. "Why now?"

Perhaps he didn't care as much, but nonetheless Freed wasn't as emotionless and heartless as his exterior made him out to be. Born and raised in an environment which everything and everyone around him was the epitome of perfect order—as the heir to the nation's Secret Service Corp., it was to be expected that order was in place to preserve the company's image—he never had the opportunity to be anything less than stoic, however he was thawing.

Becoming Laxus Dreyar's friend was at first out of gratitude, but he really came to respect the male and truly enjoy being his companion. He knew there were skeletons in the Dreyar's closet that got the male the way he is now.

"Lucy Heartfillia is nothing short of harmless," he replied, ducking to avoid a swing at his face. His arm shot out for a right hook but Laxus blocked it effortlessly.

"It makes her somewhat interesting."

"Interesting?" Freed echoed, watching his friend's face in wonder. If anything, females like Ayame Hirose were interesting for the purpose of the Corp.—Lucy Heartfillia, unless she claimed the title of her last name once again, was not. "Have you grown attached to her?"

Something flickered within the blond's stormy blue eyes before he landed a blow at his opponent's side. "No," he said afterwards.

Freed wasn't so sure about that.

. . .

The phone on the reception desk rang. Reaching over, Lucy habitually wedged it between her ear and shoulder as she pulled up the appointment tab. "TakeOver Clinic, do you have an appointment or will like an appointment with Dr. Strauss?"

"Mhmm, go ahead Matsouka-san."

She nodded a few times despite the person on the other line was not able to see the movement. As she typed down the information of the new appointment, the front door of the clinic opened.

"Alright, Matsouka-san, we'll see you on Friday," she said sweetly and hung up. Someone was hovering their shadow over the counter and when she looked up, she groaned.

"Yo." There he was, the star basketball player of Sabertooth, coming to annoy her yet again.

"...Eucliffe, why are you here?"

The blond male pulled a cheeky grin as he leaned across the marble counter. "I'm here for an appointment, fairy."

Lucy scuffed. If he thinks that he was going to pull this excuse again, he was—there was a soft meow and a brown tabby jumped on top of the counter and leered at Lucy, who blinked at the cat in surprise.

Scanning the appointment table, she realized that there was indeed a slot for a "Eucliffe-san" in ten minutes. Haruka must have taken cared of it yesterday, because she certainly never received a call from the blond male. She could only imagine that he was doing this to spite her.

"Fine," Lucy sighed, pointing at the chairs at the waiting corner. "Wait there. Dr. Strauss will be right with you." She ended the sentence with a glare that said 'do anything funny and I will end you.'

"I think Lector and I will stay here," he smiled. Said tabby rubbed up against his arm lovingly as he continued to leer. Usually, the animals coming into the clinic liked Lucy, but this one seemed too hate her...

"Uh, I don't think Lector likes me very much."

Sting glanced down at his cat and chuckled. "Nah, he likes you. Right, Lector?" he ruffled Lector's brown fur and the cat meowed happily and seemed to calm down. Lucy couldn't help but think how similar the two were to her idiot best friend and his blue feline. "Here, pet him," Sting offered.

Lucy widened her eyes, "I don't think—" but before she could finish, Lector jumped from the counter to her lap. He sniffed her a few times and twitched slightly, but he allowed her to touch him. The tabby was very soft and polished—but that was to be expected of a cat raised in high society. Never settle for less when you're the best, as they always say. However, Lector surprisingly wasn't a high-class type but a rather common feline people would find in alleyways...

"So why did you bring him here?" she asked when the brown tabby returned to the male's side. There was no way that the cat didn't have a private vet of sorts, considering who the owner was.

"Hm? Oh, Lector needed a check-up," Sting replied nonchalantly.

Yeah, right. "You sure gone out of your way to do so," Lucy rolled her milk chocolate eyes at him. She was planning on doing her homework once she took cared of her workload, but if the male stayed here and pester her, it was going to be hard to get anything done. Check-ups take around 10 minutes...so if she was lucky, he will leave right after it.

Mirajane stuck her head out of the back room where she was checking-up on someone's pregnant rabbit. "Oh, you're Eucliffe-san!" she greeted, recognizing the face and beckoned the male to come forth. Lector snuggled in her arms without a fight and she smiled brightly at Sting. "Will you like to stay here or come in and watch?"

"He's fine. I'll stay out here," he told her.

Lucy could bang her head against the computer screen, but that would just be harm on herself. She glared at him as he approached her. "Eucliffe, I say this once, I—"

Ba-dum-de-ba-dum-de... Ba-dum-de-ba-dum-do...

Her phone started playing the Amelie soundtrack, cutting her off once again and she looked around for a search of the ringing pink device. Once she located it, her hand shot out to grab it but Sting was faster. "Hey, give that back!" she gritted out, not too loud to disturb Mirajane or the people around her.

"Who's 'Bastard'?" he chuckled, highly amused. At the mention of the vulgar contact name, Lucy widened her eyes.

Laxus Dreyar is calling me?

She swiped the phone out of the haughty male's hands before actually realizing what she was doing. Was she going to answer it?

...Ba-dum-de-ba-dum-do...

She answered it.

"It took you long enough, Heartfillia." The low and smooth monotone filled Lucy's ears and she pursed her lips in slight distaste.

"What do you want?" she asked straightforwardly. Now there were two blond pain in the asses she needed to get rid of...

"If I recall correctly, it was you who called first and left that passive aggressive message, no?"

Scarlet coloured Lucy's cheeks. That was true...but! "I-It was not p-passive aggressive!"

"Oh? Is that why my caller ID is 'Bastard'?" A deep chuckle reverberated from the other line, sending involuntary shivers down her spine.

Sting regarded the busty female's conversation with a frown. Who was she talking to that caused her to make such an expression?

"S-Shut up, Dreyar!"

His eyes narrowed considerably as the name of the multi-millionaire heir left Lucy's lips. For some reason, that really got on his nerves. After finding out that Lucy was the little girl he met and came to like so long ago, he wasn't about to get her slip through his fingers again...especially not to lose her against Laxus Dreyar. Barring his teeth slightly, he reached over to pluck the pink cell out of her hand.

Lucy's eyebrows shot up at his action, "Hey! What are you—" He ignored her protests and moved just out of reach before speaking into the phone.

"Ah, Laxus Dreyar. I'm afraid Blondie's too busy to talk to you now or any time soon, so why don't you be on your merry way, hm?" With that, he flipped the phone shut with a click. However, before he gave the phone back to Lucy, an idea popped into his head and he pressed a couple of buttons on the phone. Once satisfied, he handed it back to Lucy with a wide grin.

"What the hell was that about?" she growled, not too happy about what the Sabertooth have done. She could already feel the wrath that was coming the following week.

Sting hummed at the cute scowl that was etched on the girl's face. "I was merely telling him that you are busy."

"I didn't think that was any of your business," Lucy rolled her eyes. "Did you really just come here to harass me?"

"Of course not," he replied.

"Mhm, sure."

"I came to ask you something, actually," he said. It was then Mirajane came back out with the brown tabby and let the cat go back to his owner. Lector jumped onto Sting's shoulders with a content purr.

"Lector's in perfect health, Eucliffe-san," Mirajane commented with a smile, "You do a good job taking care of this little guy."

"Thanks, I know," Sting smiled back. He clicked his tongue once and gave Lucy a lazy wave, "I guess I'll leave you alone for now, fairy."

"Weren't you going to ask me something?" Lucy asked. Not that she cared or anything...she was just curious.

He only winked before leaving.

Ah, I hate men...

Her phone suddenly buzzed and she looked down at the screen. A new message from 'Your Favourite Star.' She widened her eyes at the content.

"Go out on a date with me."

Stunned, Lucy didn't know what do. How was she suppose to answer the Sabertooth? She didn't have to, however, for her her screen lit up once again as it signalled another message.

This time, it was from Laxus.

"Get ready for a hell of a week, Heartfillia."