Part Three of Secrets has arrived! Things are about to heat up! Thanks for being patient with me as I work my way through all my stories. Love you guys!

GaLu Week: Day 7 - SECRETS (Part 3)

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

HURTING HER HEART

Lucy strolled into the guild, forcing a smile onto her face to hide her earlier tears. She didn't want to worry anyone about what was going on with her, especially since it was something no one could help her with. It was simply a tough situation that she would have to learn to live with. That's all there was to it.

She had barely gone three steps with a ball of blue fur flew straight into her chest, knocking her off-balance for a moment until she found her feet again. "Whoa Happy...you alright?" she asked, gathering his body in her arms.

The small Exceed looked up at her with trembling lips and wide, shiny eyes. Her brow furrowed with concern as she brushed a hand along the back of his head. "Aww...what's the matter Happy?"

"I...I just missed you," he uttered softly, tipping his head down and burying it in her chest as if to hide.

She frowned down at her little friend. His behavior bothered her. Happy was always...well happy, and it was rare to see him upset about something. Of course, he could get a little pouty if he ran out of fish or sad when Charle rejected his attempts to give her fish, but for the most part, the only time Happy was like this was if he was hurt by something. And it worried her that he was lying about what was wrong.

Still, if he didn't feel like telling her, she wasn't going to push him. She could relate at the moment just a little too much, so she'd let him keep his secret and just be there for him. "I missed you too," she murmured into his soft fur. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong, but don't forget I'm always here for you, buddy."

He sniffled against her chest and managed a squeaky, "Alright."

Lucy gazed down fondly at the normally feisty Exceed and pressed a kiss to his head before looking around the room. It took her a moment to realize that she was once again searching for Gajeel, and with a long sigh, she pushed down the urge. She had to find a way to stop that. She knew it, but she didn't have a clue how to go about it.

She felt like she'd been enthralled by him forever, and now she had far too many bad habits where he was concerned. So much of her time over the last couple months had been spent watching him, thinking about him, dreaming about him. How was she to suddenly cut it all off?

How was she supposed to resist the impulse to look at him when he was so close? How did she turn away from such an enticing sight every day when he was just there across the room? And that was exactly the problem. There was too much temptation here for her. Maybe she needed some time away.

Though the thought of being away from him tugged at her heart, she knew this might be the only way. She needed space. It was time to come to grips with the futility of her feelings, to say goodbye to her hopes of a relationship with Gajeel. She couldn't keep living like this. It was making her crazy, and as strange as she'd been acting lately at the guild, she felt certain she was driving everyone else crazy too.

Yes, it was time for a change, not just of scenery, but also a change in her life. Time to face the music, she thought. "Hey Happy, how about a mission today, a nice long one with a little fighting? Think Natsu will wanna go?"

The cat looked up with sleepy eyes, tilting his head to the side. "You want to go on a mission? But you hate fighting."

"I know I do," she sighed in response, then shrugged, trying hard for a smile. "I guess I just thought it might be a nice change."

Giving her another questioning look, he nodded his head. "Okay."

Lucy smiled wistfully down at Happy as he burrowed back between her breasts to sleep, then glanced up as Levy called her name. The blonde scanned the area and found Levy at Gajeel's table, waving her hand at Lucy in invitation. The man who normally sat there beside her blue-haired friend, however, was nowhere to be found. She bit down on her lip, struggling with what to do, and then decided to just visit for a minute.

She moved toward the table, plastering a grin she really didn't feel on her face. "Hey Levy-chan."

"Hi Lu-chan! You want to sit?" the shorter girl chirped, patting the seat beside her.

Lucy licked her lips nervously, then scanned the room again, before shaking her head. "I-I think...I better not," she stammered, hugging Happy tightly to her chest.

Levy looked up at the blonde, an expression of sympathy on her face. "Lu-chan...why don't you just talk to him? Give him a chance to see how great you are."

"I think he's already found the person he thinks is great," Lucy said, smiling sadly down at her friend. "I think I'm going to get away for a while, see if Natsu wants to go on a mission. I can't stay around here without acting like an idiot."

"Oh Lu-chan." Levy frowned, her eyes showing her concern. "You aren't acting like an idiot."

Lucy shook her head with a small laugh. "Yeah I am, and it's time to stop. Thank you for trying to cheer me up, but I-"

The blonde's words came to an abrupt halt as the back door to the guild sailed open and Gajeel came clomping in. Immediately, she felt the air seize in her lungs, and just like always she couldn't resist taking a moment to admire the sight of his strong form. Quickly, she shook herself from her stupor. He would be at his table within moments, and she needed to be long gone by then.

"I...I've got to go, Levy-chan. See you later," she offered distractedly, then turned to leave when Levy reached for her arm and pleaded, "Lu-chan, please stay."

Lucy could see him getting closer, his long legs eating up the distance between them, and with every step, she felt her throat close even more. Pulling her arm from Levy's grasp, she choked out, "N-No...I can't. I...have to leave...now."

Levy sighed sadly, then nodded in resignation. "Just promise me you'll be careful on your job, okay?"

With that, Lucy bolted from the table, nearly running into Macao in her haste to get away. She squeaked out a quick apology before rushing over to the mission board for a relatively easy job that would last a while. Forcing herself to avoid glancing in Gajeel's direction, she scanned through the posted requests, and finding one, headed over to Mira to get the mission logged in.

"Is this one for Team Natsu?" Mira asked, leaning over the large record book.

"No, it would just be Natsu, Happy, and me." Lucy shifted her weight uncomfortably, feeling the incurable desire to exit the guild.

Mira peered up at her a moment later with a bright smile. "Okay, you're all set."

"Thanks, Mira." The blonde took a quick look around, and still not finding her partner, turned back to the barmaid. "Um...can you tell Natsu when he gets here? I haven't seen him yet."

"Oh, that's odd. He was here just a few minutes ago," the white-haired woman said, then shrugged. "I'll let him know as soon as I see him. You want him to meet you at your house?"

Lucy gave a quick nod, then muttered a soft goodbye and headed out of the building. The moment she stepped onto the street, she breathed a sigh of relief, her heart easing into a normal pattern and her body almost instantly relaxing. Yes, this was what she needed...just a little space.

She didn't get far when a voice called out to her, a voice she'd know anywhere. "Oi, Bunny Girl."

No no no... Why was he trying to talk to her? She winced as she came to a stop, then slowly turned around. "Y-yeah? D-Did you need...something?" she asked, then immediately wanted to slap herself. She sounded like such a damn moron. No wonder the man couldn't see anything date-worthy about her.

His eyebrow lifted at her greeting, then he smiled. "Where are you running off to?"

"I-I'm going to the...to um...I mean, I'm going h-home," she stuttered, dropping her head to hide a cringe at her pitiful response.

Gajeel chuckled, drawing Lucy's wide-eyed gaze back up to his. "Now, why would you want to go home already? I was thinking we could talk."

Lucy's mouth dropped open at his suggestion. She couldn't understand what was going on. Why did he suddenly want to talk to her? "I-I don't k-know...um..." She trailed feeling entirely uncertain about what to say to him.

"What? You don't want to talk to me?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest as he smirked down at her.

The blonde felt completely dumbfounded at this point. Was he flirting with her?

As quickly as the thought formed, she cast it away. No, there was no chance of that happening. He was just teasing her a little because she was acting so ridiculous. But that still didn't explain why he had gone out of his way to talk to her.

Her lip tugged unconsciously at her lower lip as she considered the possibilities. It just didn't make sense to her. He'd never done this before. Normally, he only made it a point to talk to Lily and...Levy. As the last name settled in her mind, she felt her heart clench.

That had to be it. Nothing else made any sense, but the thought that he had sought her out for help with Levy had her almost doubling over in pain. She didn't want to see the two of them together, couldn't bear to watch as the man she ached to be with asked her best friend out. More than ever, she needed this job, because seeing that would be far too much for her to handle.

Thankfully, Gajeel seemed to be unaware of her revelation, and had unfolded his arms with a grin. "You know, I would have thought you'd enjoy talking to me after what I read today."

Slowly, Lucy forced her mind to refocus on the conversation, but frowned when she still felt completely lost. "W-What?"

"I know..." he said, then seeing her confounded expression, leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I know all about how you feel about me. I believe you said, 'Why does he have to be so sexy?'."

Lucy's face flared a bright red at his statement. How had he found out? Had he overheard her conversation with Levy the other day? But she couldn't remember saying that to her blue-haired friend. She'd only ever admitted how attracted she was to him in her...

The thought died away, taking the color from her cheeks with it. Her diary. He'd read her diary. The words kept repeating in her head, filling her with a swirling mass of emotions. It hit her all at once, embarrassment that he'd discovered her crush, betrayal at having her privacy violated, anger at his teasing about her feelings. She didn't know what to address first.

"Y-You read my diary?" she asked, her voice soft, nearly carried away by the wind.

Gajeel seemed not to notice the precarious position he was in and gave her a teasing grin. "If you liked me so much, you could have just told me."

"How...did...you...get...my...diary?"

His amusement faltered at her staggered question. "I...Natsu showed it to me," he said, shuffling his feet uncertainly.

Lucy felt the hole in her chest widen. Her partner had done this. One of her closest friends had found her secret and had offered it to the one man that could use it against her. She felt sick to her stomach as she realized that Gajeel had just been having a bit of fun at her expense. Had he come looking for her specifically to let her know that he knew all about her little crush? Was he just trying to make fun of her?

All at once, it became too much, and she exploded. "How dare you! That was pr-private! You had n-no right to read that!" she snapped, feeling tears spring to her eyes. With a loud sob, she gave his broad chest a rough shove. "What am I, some kind of joke to you? Just a stupid girl, thinking she had a chance with you, right?"

Choking back another sob, she shook her head, intending to leave when he winced and said, "I didn't...that's not what I was trying-"

"Save it..." Lucy cut him off, then turned around to head back to her house.

"Wait...Lucy," he called, taking a few steps to follow her. "You've got the wrong idea. I... What about your diary?"

The blonde spun around a final time and sent him a watery glare. "Keep it. Wouldn't want you and Natsu to miss out on the rest of your fun."