Hey~ I'm back guys~ Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've been swamped. That and too many Stingue AUs ahaha...*sweats nervously*

But I'm back with a new chapter to make you want to scream at Natsu! XD Thanks for all the awesome feedback last chapter~ I love you guys so much!

If for some reason I randomly switch to third person, I'm sooo sorry. I wrote most of this at like midnight... DX

Chapter Seven

18 Days Before the Truth

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.

I nearly fall out of my bed at the sound of my alarm, sitting bolt upright. My head is spinning from my sudden movement, causing me to clutch my head. With a sigh, I turn off my alarm. I slide off the side of my bed, my bare feet touching the floor. I get dressed and ready very slowly, every moment seeming to take forever. By the time I reach downstairs for breakfast, it's time to go. I snatch a bagel, some cream cheese, and a banana before bolting out the door. I run to my car, my brown boots crunching across the gravel.

I unlock my car rapidly, then jump in and slam the door. I shove the key into the ignition, then turn it. My car's engine starts, and I reach for the wheel when a flashing light catches my attention. "No no no no," I whisper, my eyes widening when I realize the truth: I don't have enough gas to make it to school this morning. I completely forgot to fill up yesterday on my way home! I was so preoccupied by my mind trying to process the insane amount of homework I had that it completely slipped my mind! "NO!" I scream furiously, banging my hand on the dash board. I turn the key back, groaning in anger. I rest my head on the top of the steering wheel, trying not to freak out. Good Mavis has this been a horrible morning.

I then someone tap on my window. I whip my head upwards to see my father, dressed in a full suit and tie, looking at me anxiously. He steps back so I can open the door. "Having a problem, daughter?"

"No gas," I groan. "I could probably make it to a gas station but I'm already late as it is..."

"I'll drive you to school as long as you can get a ride back," my father sighs. "You need to start being responsible for this stuff, okay Lucy?"

"Yes, Father, I am so sorry," I apologize as I step out of her car. I sit in the passenger seat of my father's slick black car, pulling my phone from my pocket so I can call Natsu. Clicking on his contact, I place the phone to my ear. It rings twice, then he picks up.

"Yo, Lushi," I can practically hear him grinning on the other side. "What's up?"

"Hey," a smile creeps onto my lips as well. I shift in my seat as my father slowly drives down the hill. "Do you think you could do me a huuuge favor?"

"Of course~!" he laughs. "How could I say no to you, Luce?"

My cheeks heat up slightly as my smile gets even wider. "You're so sweet," I gush. "Anyways, I need a ride home from school today. My car is out of gas and I'm late for school so my dad's taking me... Can I meet you outside of your 6th period?"

For what seems like forever, Natsu is perfectly silent. When he finally speaks again, his voice is wavering. "Uh...s-sorry, Lucy, but I can't do that..."

"Did you get dention again or something?!" I respond furiously. Swallowing hard when I realize that this probably sounds really bad to my father, I quickly continue. "Come on, Natsu, we never do anything after school...please...?"

"I can't, okay?!" he practically shouts back. His voice is shaking, almost as if he's crying. "I just...can't... I'm so sorry, Luce..."

"Ughhhh!" I cry. "What is going on with you?!" I grit my teeth together, not wanting to freak out in front of my father. I hold back tears as I reply, "We need to talk during break, okay? I'll meet you by the sakura tree in the quad."

"O-Okay," he agrees hesitantly, sounding slightly frightened. "Bye, Luce. I love you..."

"I love you too," I reply flatly, then hang up. To my relief my father doesn't say a word. I find Levy's contact, deciding to ask her instead. Levy picks up instantly, unlike Natsu. "Hi, Lu-chan!"

"Hey, Levy-chan," I sigh. "Do you think you could drive me home from school? My car's out of gas and Natsu is being...difficult."

An audible gasp of surprise reaches my ears. "Natsu's being difficult? Oh, and I can totally drive you."

"Thanks," I mumble, looking down at the pink skirt I'm wearing. "He's just been acting so weird... Not caring about detention, not wanting to do anything after school... Do you know what it's about...? Do you think he's...?" My voice cracks, then trails off. I can't even say the words out loud, the three horrible words...

"I really doubt he's cheating on you, Lucy," Levy's voice is deadly serious as she speaks to me. "Natsu's just...Natsu, you know? He does weird stuff like that all the time. He's always getting into trouble... It's almost like he does it on purpose, honestly."

I fall silent. Getting in trouble...on purpose? What reasoning would he have to want to stay after school? "Oh..." is all I can say, too stunned to say much more. My head is spinning, and I feel a little queasy. Thankfully, my father pulls up to the school right then. I quickly thank my dad and jump out of the car, running towards the entrance.

BONG BONG BONG!

'No, the bell already?!' I think.

"I have to go, Lu-chan," Levy says worriedly. "I'll see you later, k?"

"Okay," I manage to reply. "Have a good morning, Levy-chan."

"You too," she answers softly, then hangs up.

The conversation with her has left an unsettling feeling in my stomach. I quickly head towards my first class, head hung. Not really looking where I was going, I crash right into someone. They stumble backwards, clutching their head and hissing in pain. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" I cry, my hands flying towards my mouth.

When the boy lifts his head, I have to bite back a gasp. It's the dark-haired boy who's friends with Sting Eucliffe. He's wearing loose fitting clothes, and that same leather bracelet on his wrist. His red eyes study my face, making me feel slightly intimidated. "It's okay," he says softly. "And there's no need to act so scared of me." He looks down at his feet uncomfortably. "I'm not going to hurt you... I know I look scary, but I won't do anything..." He sighs, his shoulders slumping. "You're dating Natsu, aren't you?"

A bit surprised by his question, I stammer out, "Y-Yes, I am. Why?"

The boy suddenly looks very nervous, shifting his weight back and forth from his left to right leg. "I'm sorry about what happened in class on the first day..."

"It wasn't your fault, uh..." I trail off, realizing that I don't know his name.

"Rogue." His voice is still just as soft as before. "And yes, it was my fault. I should've done something...and yet... I didn't."

"How could you stop Ultear-sensei from seeing the note?" I frown, thoroughly confused.

To my complete and total shock, Rogue blurts out, "Don't hate Sting, okay?! He does some pretty messed up stuff but deep down he's-"

BONG BONG BONG!

"Shit," Rogue's eyes widen. "I'm late!" He rushes off before I can ask him what he meant about the whole scenario, my heart pounding. Why did he suddenly get defensive of Sting? What does he have to do with the situation? Realization then dawns on me. Natsu's chair...there's no way that it happened on accident. Not only that...but Sting sits right behind him. It all makes sense now...

Sting was the one who pulled Natsu's chair out. Sting was the reason Natsu had detention on Monday. Sting was the reason Natsu's sweet love note was read aloud to the class. Sting was the reason Natsu rushed to the bathroom, embarrassed beyond belief.

It was all Sting Eucliffe's fault.

I stand in front of the sakura tree, arms folded across my chest as I wait for my significant other. He's late, which only infuriates me more. I'm both angry and scared, simply because this upcoming conversation could go anywhere. I have no clue what could possibly be bothering Natsu so much that he wants detention. Is he having problems at home or something? His step-mom seemed so kind though... Besides, if it was home problems, why would he turn me down? Wouldn't he want an excuse to get out of the house?

"Lucy!" Natsu's voice rings in my ears as he rushes towards me, his hand held in the air, trying to signal me. Panting, he stops right next me, hands on his knees. "Sorry I'm so late...Gray was being a butt again." A tired sigh escapes my lips as I study Natsu's face. He looks at me with nervous concern, his onyx eyes skittish. "So, uh...what's all this about?"

"We need to talk," I tell him firmly. Instantly his eyes widen with fear. In a relationship, those four words can bring more terror than anything else, as the discussion that follow could range from joyful to painful. I grab onto his arm and drag him away from the tree and behind an empty classroom. "Look, Levy told me that you've been getting detention on purpose... Is this true?"

Natsu looks down at his feet, shifting nervously. "Well...I..."

"Tell me, please," I beg, my voice cracking suddenly. My emotions are running wild, bouncing off the insides of my chest and rocketing into my heart.

"Yes..." he says softly. My heart sinks into my stomach. "It's true. I've been doing it on purpose."

"Why?!" I cry desperately. "Why would you do that, Natsu?! What do you gain from it, huh? All you're doing is ruining your chances of a good future!" I clench my teeth together in anger. "Is it your step-mom? Or your step-sister?!"

"No!" Natsu exclaims. "Of course not!"

"Then what is it?!" I scream. "What the hell is going on?!"

Natsu gasps when the violent word leaves my mouth, knowing me as one who doesn't ever swear, even in bad situations. "L-Lucy," he chokes out, a tear sliding down his cheek. He grabs onto my shoulders, his eyes wide. "P-Please Lucy," he sobs, his voice desperate. "You have to listen! You have to trust m-me, okay?!"

"How can I?!" I respond angrily, tears of my own coating my cheeks. I slap his hand away, my sobs catching in my throat. "How do I know there's not some other girl, Natsu?!"

His eyes narrow, suddenly serious. "Lucy Heartfilia," he says in a low voice. For a moment I think he's going to get angry at me for calling him a cheater, but to my shock, he doesn't. "I'd never do something like that," he whispers. "I'm never going to betray you, I swear... What I'm doing right now is...necessary."

"Necessary," I repeat, my anger calming down ever-so-slightly. "Necessary for what?"

Natsu turns away from me, tears glittering on his cheeks. "I can't tell you," he chokes. "I just can't... If I told you... I...I'd be..." He fully breaks down, falling to his knees before me.

Instantly I'm crouching in front of him. Concern floods through me, even though I'm still furious. "Natsu..." I whisper. "You'd be...what? A traitor? Is something going on with another friend or something...? Is it a secret that needs to be kept?"

"No and yes," Natsu replies cryptically. When I raise my eyebrow at him, he hurriedly continues. "B-By that I mean that yes, it's a secret but it's my problem alone... No one else should get involved... In fact, if anyone else got involved, it would make it worse..."

"Can you at least tell me?" I ask him softly, taking his left hand in mine. "I won't tell anyone, I swear..."

"No," he whispers, barely audible. "I can't, Luce... I'm so sorry... I just don't want anything to happen to you... You're so important to me..."

I squeeze his hand gently, my heart going out to him. "I trust you," I whisper, "and I'm here with you, okay? If you ever need me...come find me. Anytime... I don't care if it's in the middle of class, or at midnight... Call me, track me down, pass me a note..."

"That didn't work too well last time," Natsu replies bitterly.

My eyes widen, remembering the conversation I had with Rogue earlier. "Oh!" I exclaim. I look Natsu straight in the eyes, deadly serious. "That was Sting's fault," I tell him firmly. "He pulled out your chair!"

"I know." Natsu's voice is hollow and emotionless, although his swirling eyes give him away.

"Aren't you going to do something about it?" I ask him gently, sliding my other hand into his hair. I slowly move my fingers through his thick pink spikes, trying to calm him down.

"No," Natsu's voice is just as empty as before. "There's no point. It's not going to change anything... That's in the past now, you know?"

"So why didn't you call him out in the first place?" I try not to sound too irritated with him, even though I'm beginning to wonder why Natsu seems so cut off all of a sudden.

"Again, no point." Natsu looks upwards at the sky, tears pooling in his eyes once more.

"How is there no point?!" When he doesn't answer, I furiously continue, "Natsu, look at me!" He tilts his head downwards again, his eyes connecting with mine. "Don't you want him to get in trouble?" I ask him, my voice strong. "You could've been seriously hurt if you'd hit your head or something!"

"Lucy..." his voice is almost too soft to hear. "Things are different here than your old school. Here people get away with whatever they want, whenever they want. The teachers don't really care, and neither do the other students. 'Fair' doesn't exist in a public high school. I hate to break it to you, but the teachers aren't going to do shit. And even if they did, it isn't going to change anything. Sting's going to keep getting away with things. That's just the way it is. And there's nothing, absolutely nothing that we can do to change that."

My mouth drops open in horror. I can't believe what Natsu's saying. People get away with humiliating people all the time? And no one cares? What have I gotten myself into? "No..." I whisper. "That's horrible... H-How can this be...? Levy said that this school was f-fun..."

"Levy was wrong!" Natsu shouts, tears falling from his face to the ground. "She only sees the surface! There's so much more going on underneath, she's just blind to it all!" His whole body is shaking violently. He abruptly loses his balance, falling forward into me. His face lands on my shoulder, sobbing into my shirt. I wrap both my arms around him, holding him close to me. He cries like a lost, helpless child, which in some ways...he is. His father left him when he was young, taking away an important part of his growth.

Now that I think about it, we're both children. Our parents were torn from us at a young age, cutting out a piece of our heart and soul. We've both fought through those dark nights of flashbacks, tears, and nightmares. We've both been told things about our parents that we didn't want to believe. We've both felt the gut-wrenching pain that is having a part of your development thrown in the trash. We have both had to grow up way too soon... We aged from children to adults nearly overnight, thrown into a world where we had to take care of ourselves. We clung to our remaining parents like a lifeline, relying on them with everything we had. But as we grew faster and faster, we shed off our skin of dependency and dressed up our new independent clothes.

But it was all a game, a lie. I wore eye liner to hold back the tears, and short skirts to distract people from my broken soul. Natsu hid behind a TV screen, pretending that the bruises on his hands were from playing too many games rather than admitting to punching his wall one too many times. I wrote stories to put characters through pain worse than mine, every blister I receive from pushing the pencil to paper my salvation. Natsu lies through his teeth day by day, pretending to be sick instead of fessing up to screaming from his nightmares all night long. Both of us were are so broken, shattered into little pieces.

My stomach turns uncontrollably as Natsu chokes into my shoulder, tears soaking my sleeve. Seeing him so weak like this makes me feel so lost... I wish I could help him...

But I'm afraid that it's too late.

Heheh... Ah, sweet, sweet angst~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter~

~ForeverDreamer12, signing out!