Chapter 3

Lucy woke up to the sound of her alarm at 5:20 in the morning. She wasn't exactly thrilled about waking up so early, but she figured that the sight of the Magnolia sunrise would be worth it.

Once she was finally ready she headed out to meet Lisanna at the front of her apartment building. Lucy waited a seemingly long five minutes for Lisanna to show up.

"So sorry I'm late! I misjudged the amount of time that it would take me to get here. Are you ready for today?"

"It's fine Lisanna, don't worry about it. I hope my apartment isn't too far from your place, I don't want you to have to walk a long way."

"No it's okay, we would've ended up backtracking and had to walk even further had we met in the middle. Let's walk and talk we really need to get going if we're going to see the sunrise in time."

"Okay, but really let's meet up somewhere next time. I don't feel like a good friend making you walk so much without a break."

"Whatever works for you Lucy."

They made small talk on their journey towards the outskirts of Magnolia.

This is more like a hike, Lucy thought.

As if reading her thoughts Lisanna said, "Almost there."

"Good, my legs are starting to hurt from going uphill so much."

Not three minutes later Lisanna stopped "hiking".

"We're here. Look."

Lisanna pointed back towards the way that they had come from, and Lucy was breathtaken. She could see the ocean from here! She could see a small town square with a fountain in the middle, and the rows upon rows of houses and apartments. She could see the church, and a bell tower, and was that the Fairy Tail logo she saw in the distance? No way, Fairy Tail is huge! I can see it from here! I wonder just what it'll be like working there for the next few months if not the next few years, maybe I can make a career out of it. I wonder who I'll be working with. I hope they're nice and have a music taste compatible with mine.

"Lucy!"

"Huh?"

Lisanna chuckled. "Judging your reaction I think it's safe to say that you love the view?"

"Oh absolutely! Thank you for bringing me here Lisanna! I really do love this view. It's quite astounding."

"I knew you would love it. Besides, no one who lives here can say that they haven't seen the sunrise from afar, nor the sunset, but we'll save that for another time."

"I would love to see the sunset with you sometime, it would only be right considering you showed me the sunrise."

"Maybe some other time. Anyway I'm ready to go whenever you are. You look like you need to catch your breath from our course up here."

"Could I spend a few more minutes taking this all in?"

"By then the sun will have risen quite a significant amount. It'll be hot going back into town if we stay for too long."

"Okay, lets go then."

Lisanna led the way back down in the pursuit of a long and labored day, not that she would make it obvious. She would do as much as she could to make it seem like she herself wasn't being worn out by the days course of events. Oh how it brought her malignant joy to be showing Lucy around her city. As long as she doesn't have the energy to go out with Natsu tonight then I've done my job.

"We're getting closer to the edge of town. Do you want to get something to eat or drink before we head into the heart of this place? Things are much more pricy there and I wouldn't want you to be without money before you get a job."

Lisanna already knew that Lucy had a job as a songwriter though, but she didn't know where. She also lied about the prices being more expensive deeper in the city, in fact it was the opposite. Prices were higher on the outskirts for several reasons. It was in high demand, it was a long way before any other place would be seen that sold it, and it was a long way from the ocean. The ocean was what they used as their water source, and so it was few and far between that shipments of water came through to this part of town.

"Actually I brought my own water," Lucy said.

Damn.

"But I do need to fill it back up. I drank a lot earlier."

Yes.

"Okay," Lisanna said brightly. "I know a place that has some cool refrigerated water."

Lisanna picked up her pace a little bit, which was also part of her plan to wipe Lucy out. Her logic was that the longer Lucy walked faster, the more tired she would become more quickly. "Hurry it up Lucy, the water is only getting sold to others. Literally."

As they entered the little shack of a store Lucy realized that Lisanna wasn't kidding when she said it was getting sold to others. There was literally a line of people holding only bottles or cases of water among other things, but not one person didn't have water.

"Wow. You weren't kidding when you said that it was literally getting sold to other people. I guess we better get some while there is some." Lisanna had already gotten six bottles though. "Why so much?"

"Three for me and three for you. It should last us the entire day."

"Oh, okay."

A few minutes later Lisanna spoke up. "I'm paying for them."

"What? No, I insist on paying. In fact I intend to pay all day as a way to say thank you for showing me around Magnolia."

"I couldn't possibly let you pay for all of these waters. At least let me pay for my own. I don't want to be a burden."

"Not a chance. I'm paying and that's final."

"But Lucy-"

"No but's. I'm paying for this and anything else we get all day."

"But-"

"No."

"I don't-"

"Lisanna I'm paying and there's nothing you can do about it, so just accept it already."

Lisanna finally gave in and put the waters on the counter for the cashier to scan. "Thank you for letting me pay. It's my way to say thank you, so please don't do this again later during lunch."

Lisanna faked a huff of annoyance. "Fine," She said. "Some other day though I will pay."

Lisanna didn't plan on paying in the first place. She suspected that Lucy would want to pay, she didn't however predict that she would want to pay for anything and everything all day. Works for me, she thought. "Next we're going to the main center square where a lot of the good food vendors are, as well as the gigantic fountain I'm sure you saw earlier. And then we'll go to the bake shop. And then the book store, and some other really great places to hang out at."

"If they're anything like the sunrise then I can't wait to see it all."

"They're not as amazing as the sunrise, but they're definitely something."

On the trek back into the city Lisanna talked and talked about the history of Magnolia, and how it became a country, and why it's named Magnolia even though it doesn't have any magnolia trees, but instead Sakura trees. She then started to stray from the topic of Magnolia and talked about herself and her family. She told Lucy about Mira and how she had a crush on a guy named Laxus. She told her about her brother Elfman and about how his girlfriend Evergreen hated yet loved his habit of saying "MAN" all the time. She told her about the people she considers family that hang out at the bar, which Lucy learned was named Efflorescence as opposed to Flower just because all the guys thought 'Flower' was too girly for a name for a bar. Lucy also learned that Mira was the co-owner of the bar and that the owner, Gildarts, was always out on business, so Mira ended up taking care of the place most of the time. The bar would go to his daughter, Cana, when he decided to retire.

As Lisanna talked about her extended family she asked Lucy about her family, pretending to know nothing about it.

"Why do you want to know about my family?" Lucy asked, getting defensive.

"Well I've been talking all this time, and I've told you about my family. So I figured why not ask about yours."

"Oh. Umm…" Lucy wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. Her family was a touchy subject. She hadn't thought of how to tell people that her mom was dead and that her dad worked for the princess for the king. She hadn't thought of how to tell people that her parents were famous, even though it's been over ten years since her father had stopped performing. She didn't know how to say her mother dad died without crying. "I-I…uh…they…well…" Lucy thought for a moment wondering how to word this and stop herself from getting teary eyed in front of Lisanna. "I-"

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry I asked, I was just wondering."

"No, it's okay. You just caught me off-guard is all. I'm fine…I'm an only child," Lucy began. "My mother is dead and my father is a songwriter." That's safe enough, Lucy decided. Until Lisanna asked questions that is.

"I'm so sorry about your mother. How did she die? How long ago? Has your dad ever been published or does he only write the songs? Where is he now?" Lisanna knew she was pushing, but that was the point. Get her thinking about things that made her sad and she'll be thinking about it later on her date.

Lucy stopped walking and stared at Lisanna. She inhaled sharply and let it out in a sigh with her head looking down. "She died in a plane crash when I was seven. Yes, my dad has been published long with my mother. He currently works back in the castle in Crocus. I don't know how he's doing but he's still making a lot of money."

"Still?"

It was this question that came from the opposite girls lips that made Lucy realize her mistake. She said 'still'. Damn. "Uh…yeah. He used to go on worldwide tours and make a lot of money doing it."

"Oh really!?" Lisanna faked enthusiasm. "What was his name?"

Lucy had dreaded this question the most since Lisanna first brought up her family, she had no choice now though. She was in too deep to try lying about it, she would find out eventually what her last name was and who her parents are along with it.

"Jude. Jude Heartfilia." Lucy looked over at Lisanna.

To say she was stunned was an understatement. She had stopped walking and had turned around to fully look at Lucy. She was bug-eyed and slack-jawed with her arms limp at her sides.

"J-Jude H-H-H-Heartfilia, as in THE Jude and Layla Heartfilia?!" Lisanna already knew this of course, and this was close to her original reaction at discovering such information. Lisanna was a good actress though and knew just how any normal person would react, so she did just that.

"Umm…yeah? It's not a big deal really, I mean-"

"NOT A BIG DEAL!? I'M TALKING TO THE DAUGHTER OF JUDE AND LAYLA HEARFILIA AND IT'S 'NOT A BIG DEAL'? It's TOTALLY a big deal! You're the daughter everyone knew about but was never really seen because they didn't want you in the spotlight because of all the hate and criticism that comes with it. No one ever knew you're name either, at least I think they didn't. I don't know, some people might have. They were huge in the music making industry! I loved almost every song Jude ever sang and every single one that Layla sang with him. They're my favorite duet pair. I can't believe I've befriended the daughter of the greats!"

"Lisanna stop shouting. You're drawing a crowd." Lucy looked around nervously, and indeed people had started walking slower or stopped altogether to hear what Lisanna was saying about the Heartfilia duo.

"But Lucy why? You're the daughter of Jude and Layla for crying out loud! People should know about you!"

This was clearly heard by people in their vicinity and they started to grow closer to the two girls in wonder.

Then came the whispering.

The dreaded, awful whispering.

"Could it be?"

"She does kind of resemble…"

"She's almost the spitting image…"

"Jude and Layla…'

"Poor Layla…."

"Poor Jude…"

And then Lucy couldn't take it anymore. She ran. She didn't notice the satisfied smirk Lisanna gave or the way she followed her through the growing crowd, so as not to lose her. All she noticed was a blurry pink head of hair coming her way before she knocked into it and started crying. She grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him closer so she could put her face in his chest. "Natsu," she said. She didn't fully realize that she was still in the main square, or that she left Lisanna behind. All that mattered in this moment was the chest she was burrowed in, the arms encircling her, and the warmth it gave her.

"Lucy…Lisanna?" Natsu said confused.

At the mention of Lisanna Lucy looked up and saw that, indeed, the girl was standing there. She wasn't just standing there though, she looked ready to kill and had her hands balled up into fists. As Lucy looked at her though Lucy questioned whether the girl had ever looked furious at all, for her composure was quickly replaced into a calm and collected look.

"I'm so sorry Lisanna. I just couldn't take all the stress of that situation. I was being selfish and completely forgot about you. I'm so so sorry." After a moment of silence Lucy said, "Lisanna say something."

Lisanna was seething inside, but she maintained a calm exterior. "Are you ever going to let go of Natsu?" she asked.

At this Lucy looked back at a slightly blushing Natsu who was looking at her. She quickly let go and stumbled over apologizing to him for messing up his shirt.

"No, it's okay. It seems like you needed it. Why were you cryin' Lucy? What's wrong?"

Both girls looked away for different reasons unbeknownst to each other. Natsu grabbed Lucy by the chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. "Luce. What's wrong? Why were you crying? Who made you cry?" Lucy started to tear up again just thinking about it but she sucked it up.

Seeing Natsu touching Lucy did something to Lisanna. She went past seething and straight to 'beyond-livid-bitch-mode'. She had to do something to get his attention off of Lucy and onto her. At this thought she latched onto the arm that he was holding Lucy by, forcing him to look and pay attention to her.

"Oh Natsu it was terrible and amazing at the same time! I found out who Lucy was and started yelling it at the top of my lungs, and so people started crowding around and I guess she just couldn't take the pressure after being sheltered her whole life. I'm so sorry by the way Lucy. I guess this is my fault for bringing so much attention to it and it caused you to break down. I feel awful. Really, I do."

Lisanna looked at Lucy whilst still holding on to Natsu, giving the best sorry face that she could muster. It was hard when she was so angry yet giddy with joy that she was touching Natsu and not Lucy.

Lucy looked at Lisanna and realized that it was very much Lisanna's fault for all of the commotion just a few minutes ago. She became angry with her and was about to speak her thoughts when Natsu butted in. "Wait, what do you mean 'Found out who Lucy was'?"

Lisanna smiled at this, but not in an entirely good way. "Oh? You don't know Natsu?" She noticed the sharp look she got from Lucy but plowed on. This was a turn in the road that she hadn't expected but it was turning out alright. "She's Lucy…Heartfilia." She waited a moment to let Natsu sink it in, but was disappointed when it didn't click.

"Who?"

"It really doesn't matter-"

"Lucy Heartfilia. The daughter that was hidden from the media by Jude and Layla Heartfilia."

It was clear that Natsu got it then. How could he not? He was a singer for crying out loud. What kind of artist didn't know who Jude and Layla were? He turned to look at Lucy and immediately saw the resemblance to Layla that he hadn't seen before.

"Luce…you…look a lot like Layla." He finished dumbstruck. Why hadn't he noticed it before? How hadn't he noticed it before?! He practically idolized Jude for his singing and envied Layla for her songwriting. He continued to stare at her, unknowingly causing her to become uncomfortable and start blushing. "You are the spitting image of Layla, Lucy. I can't believe I didn't notice it before. Ha. Well now I can say I know a famous person, how cool!"

Lisanna nearly choked on her own spit. She hadn't been expecting that reaction out of Natsu, she doesn't know what she was expecting really but it definitely wasn't that. How could he?! How could he just accept her like that?! He wasn't supposed to accept her! He was supposed to think that she would attract too much attention to himself and drop her like an un-kawaii potato! As Lisanna thought about it more and more she realized her mistake. Of course Natsu wouldn't mind, he accepted everyone. He was a singer himself. Of course he wouldn't mind. Especially the daughter of the singer he idolized, not that he knew that she knew that about him though. She was pulled out of her reverie by someone talking.

"Uh-yeah. I-uh. I'm the d-daughter of people who used to be famous. So what?"

"So what?!" Natsu exclaimed. "Luce do you realize all the opportunities you could get with having famous parents? They're still very famous by the way. Almost anyone you ask could tell you about them, myself included. You could get a high paying job in the music industry. You could become a singer or a songwriter! You could play for a band, or create your own band! OH! I KNOW! YOU COULD WORK AT FAIRY TAIL!" Natsu said excitedly.

"But Natsu-"

"No buts Luce! You should work with me at Fairy Tail!"

"Natsu."

"Why are you so against working there? Is it because Bix works there, because if that's it I can compromise to have you come in on the days that he doesn't….Is it because I work there?" He asked the last part quietly.

"Natsu." Lucy stated. "A few things. One, I didn't even know you worked at Fairy Tail. Two, I've already used my backstage fame to get a job that I've turned into an amazing career. Three, I have a job here in Magnolia as a songwriter…at Fairy Tail." She waited for his response.

"You work at Fairy Tail!?" Lisanna said appalled.

"You've got a job at Fairy Tail? When? How? Do you know who you're working with?" Natsu asked without a pause.

"One question at a time Natsu."

Lucy purposefully ignored Lisanna's comment, and it seemed that Natsu was too enthralled by her to notice the girls comment, so she figured it was okay to ignore her for the time being. She'd acknowledge the girl once Natsu did.

"I got the job offer a couple months ago and I start the day after tomorrow. I don't know who I'm working with and I won't find out until I meet with Makarov or Erza when I get there. That answer most of your questions?"

"No."

"No?"

"Will you come with me? It's almost seven anyway and I figured we could start early." He looked away blushing slightly when he met Lisanna's eye. "Oh hey Lisanna! I forgot you were here. Sorry. Do you mind if I steal Lucy away? We kinda have plans in a bit and where I'm taking her is far from here."

Lisanna looked back and forth between Natsu and Lucy, deciding whether to lash out or keep up the façade wall of calm. She decided on the ladder. "Sure Natsu. Go ahead. Want to finish another day Lucy?"

"Sure." Lucy said tersely. "Ready to go Natsu?" she said much more sweetly.

Natsu grinned at her. "Whenever you are Luce."

"I'm ready now." She turned to Lisanna. "Bye Lisanna. I'll call you when I'm ready for that raincheck."

As they walked out of the square all Lisanna could think was that Lucy was a no-good, boyfriend steeling, fuck-faced, two-headed, conniving, scheming, bitch-faced, motherfucking whore. "I hate her. I hate her! I HATE HER!" she yelled.

Just you wait Lucy Heartfilia. I'm going to ruin your life. I should've just kidnapped you and hid you in a box someplace, before I saw just how into you Natsu realy was. He's never acted like that with me. He's never touched me except for the occasional hug. He's never forced me to tell him what's wrong like he did with you. He never let me stay latched onto him for so long much less cry into his chest. He's never had such enthusiasm in a conversation with me before. He never does all the talking, never letting me get a word in. I'm always the one doing the talking and trying to get him to put a word in. How come he doesn't do that with me? How come he does that with you? What makes you so different? Why doesn't he like me like he so obviously does you? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Just you wait Heartfilia. I'll get you eventually. I'll make sure that you stay away from Natsu. I'll make sure you never want to work in Fairy Tail again. I'll make sure you never want to visit the bar. I'll make sure you want to leave Magnolia. I'll have you crawling back to your deadbeat dad in no time.