a/n: I find it so fitting that the first line of this chapter is one year later because..it has been a year or two. thank you for following & thank you for waiting. and thank you for the one reviewer. you make this author feel appreciated. much love!
hope you enjoy!
a year later.
Leaves fluttered about as the sun shone harshly against the famed Vermillion statue in the center of the campus courtyard.
It was the week before a new school year started and everyone in Magnolia were either tying up loose ends, preparing for a prosperous first week, or trying their best to get through each day.
A blue-haired girl running through the town, trying to come up with an excuse as to why she might be late, her backpack hanging dangerously loose on her shoulder.
Two hands intertwined in a silent call for hope, staring up at an intricately designed foyer that was a town's hidden gem, kept secret by one of it's beloved figures.
And a brunette staring at the online article on her phone that someone had sent to her. A concerned relative, was it? It even came with added condolences and a promise of being one's confidante for an afternoon. All useless to someone that thought twice to consider them family.
Written by a Jason Philipps, it read: Magnolia's Daughter, a Year Without Lisanna Strauss
Call her selfish, sentimental, or overtly sensitive. The whole thing rubbed Cana the wrong way.
Who were they to bring this up again?
Without even reading the article, the girl shut off her phone and slid it in her pocket. There were more important things to attend to on a Sunday night.
She heard Mira call her name for help at the back of the kitchen. That, she could do.
A year, huh?
"A year, huh?" Gildarts remarked.
A cup of coffee was what he needed after a day like he had. He could've went over to the Strauss' for a cold bottle of beer, but the principal had called for him. He wasn't about to refuse an invite from Makarov.
Makarov sat in his chair and sighed deeply. "A year, but sometimes it feels just like yesterday." He gestured to the seat in front of him. "You know, the kids decorated her locker again today? Flowers, candles…it's like that day all over again."
Gildarts nodded and sat down on the plush arm chair in front of his colleague's table. It was everywhere today. The town paper's front page had a picture of Lisanna, the same one used in the press conference from last year. Their news station broadcasted a special tribute for Lisanna – at least, the memories that she left behind.
It had affected them, too. Makarov had seen Lisanna grow from a young, energetic child to a curious, eclectic young woman. He was expecting great things to come from the girl, but her future vanished in an instant when her body was found.
Gildarts was there. When they received the phone call at the station – someone had spotted a body in a nine-mile-long creek – he prayed it wasn't her. His daughter had been crying the first time they announced her missing. But the feeling in his stomach wasn't going away.
It didn't disappear for a very long time.
"We all tried our best, right?" Makarov asked him.
Gildarts raised his head to look the man in the eye. "Yeah. Yeah, we did. I guess, sometimes, there are no happy endings."
Makarov nodded and tapped away on his keyboard. He shook his head and laughed a little. "You know, kids these days and their..social media. I have no idea what a tweeting is or hashtags but some of the kids have been telling me earlier that they got 'hashtag MagnoliaStrong' and 'hashtag WeLoveYouLisanna' on the 'top trending page' or whatever." He turned the computer monitor for Gildarts to see. "I'm guessing this is a good thing, then?"
Gildarts smiled. "Well, I'd say if the kids thought it was a good thing, then it's a good thing." He shrugged and took a sip of coffee.
"Let me guess, you don't know much about the tweeting thing, do you?" Makarov smirked.
Gildarts laughed. "No, no I don't and I'm alright with not knowing what the hell that is."
His expression turned somber again. "You know, I didn't really call you in here for..chit chat. I, uh..Laxus.." The headmaster trailed off, turning back the monitor to face himself.
"What about Laxus?" Gildarts pressed. He knew the young man wasn't trouble for Makarov, but he hasn't been home for quite a while. Working, then crashing at Freed's apartment right after, apparently. But any news was wanted.
There had been disappearances happening in an adjacent town.
People going missing reminded him of last year - the worst parts of it. The anxiety, the cluelessness, all the information that they were missing but just couldn't attain. "Is he alright?"
The headmaster nodded, relieving Gildarts. "He says he has news. I don't know if it's good or bad or..I don't know." His jaw clenched, he hovered the cursor over a headline in the town's social feed. Magnolia's Daughter: a Year Without Lisanna Strauss
"He says it's about last year, what happened to Lisanna." Makarov almost didn't want to meet the man's eyes.
He knew it grew difficult for the sheriff to keep his feelings emotions in check during the entire investigation. Lisanna was like a daughter to him, too. Most of the town loved her.
Gildarts could only nod.
"Erza asked me once why it was closed casket funeral. She thought they deserved to see her one last time. I thought it was better for them to remember Lisanna as she was. Alive." Makarov half-whispered.
Lucy let go of Loke's hand, determined to get the whole thing over with and strode to the manor's front double doors.
She sighed. Despite all the trouble they were facing, there was no quitting old habits. The three-story high mansion was beautiful. Surely enough, it might be expensive. However, that was the last thing they needed.
Her father, Jude, had made a fatal business deal a few months ago. Their business partner ran off with a huge sum of money that was promised for a lot of people, leaving Jude to face the media. And man, was the media as ruthless as ever.
Devil incarnate, scum of the earth...just some of the things that Lucy has heard people call her blood and flesh. To an extent, the tabloids used this as opportunity to rile up Lucy. Publishing lies accompanied by badly lit pictures of young women who hardly looked like her to perpetuate the rumors that she was on a downward spiral herself.
Back in Crocus, she attended a private school, but mostly kept to herself. Despite all the attention, Lucy barely made genuine friends and always kept her heart on her sleeve. When the rumors about her father started swirling, the whispers started to grow louder. Once the tabloids made their rounds, they weren't whispers anymore.
"A fresh start, right princess?" Her internal reverie cut by Loke, her bodyguard. A native of Magnolia, Jude entrusted his one and only to the newest hire. Not because he trusted him, no, but because Lucy had begged him to. They had grown very close. Loke was always there for her, and was her armor, her protector. It didn't matter what they said back at Crocus, Loke knew the truth. Even when they hauled her father off to jail. Even if commentators on the nightly news slandered her father's name.
She nodded, although a bit hesitantly. "Right. Fresh start." She leaned down and grabbed one of her suitcases, Loke carrying the rest, and walked through the doors, admiring the tiny details in the door. They were exquisite. Expensive, she shuddered.
Capricorn was already there, the door already opened. "If you'd like, Lucy, we can drive around town later. Make ourselves familiar with the place?"
As she passed by him, Lucy gave Capricorn a smile. "That sounds like a good idea. Maybe grab a bite, too?" She placed the suitcase by the vase near the doorway. "We all had a long trip, and I don't want Supetto-san and the others to start working right away. We can just get us some already prepared food."
Capricorn nodded. "I see. Well, I'm unfamiliar with the place." He looked at Loke.
"Lead the way, Lion."
On the other side of town, Levy had all but ran into the building.
She had forgotten the deadline for the town paper's internship. As much as her parents had tried to dissuade her from doing so, she still insisted on applying.
Even though society was slowly transitioning to an all-digital norm, she knew an internship at the town paper could give her the experience that could potentially catch the attention of Fiore University. An opportunity to show them that aside from her own personal writing, she can put in the work needed, and Levy had what it takes to be an English major deserving of a spot - and a scholarship - at the prestigious university.
She huffed and held tight to her backpack as she reached the office of the editor-in-chief, Jason.
He had just gotten the job a few months ago, and everyone had stories of the eccentric new chief.
He had a background in photography, and used to photograph models for magazines in Crocus, tourism merchandise for Hargeon Town, and was one of the collaborators on the groundbreaking documentary about the City Without Sound - the infamous ghost town in the country of Fiore.
"S-sorry I'm late, sir! I'm here to give my application for the internship. I-I understand if the time had already passed, but I'm asking you to please reconsider! My name is Levy McGarden. I'm a student of Fairy Tail High, and I believe I am qualified to be an intern of the Magnolia Tribune beca-"
"Okay, okay, that's quite enough, girl." He had interrupted, waving a hand to signal her to stop talking. Levy was puzzled. Did she go too far? Did she seem too desperate? Great job, Levy. She thought to herself bitterly.
The man had been sitting down, engrossed in looking over all the articles submitted for the week. Some good, some bad, some boring. Actually, most of them were pretty boring. For a town who had shook the city council over a so-called war between two schools, they didn't have much interesting nor ground-breaking news to go by every day. And they told him that this was going to be a fruitful tenure..
"I've heard enough. You wanna be an intern because you love the paper and you just ran because you're huffing after every other word and you think you're late in submitting your application."
Levy raised a brow. "A-am I?"
Jason looked up at her, his wild blonde hair splayed out every which way with only his sunglasses to tame the crown of it.
He shook his head. "No. You technically still had two hours left. Office hours are from seven o'clock in the morning up until five o'clock in the afternoon. It is exactly three o'clock. Feel free to leave your application at this box." He gestured to the unnecessarily decorated submission box decked out with blue and green glitter specks.
"Um.." Levy eyed the box suspiciously. "Okay." She smoothed out the envelope and placed it in the box.
As she was about to turn around to leave, she paused.
Levy bowed, "Thank you for your time, sir."
Jason nodded, not even glancing at the girl. Not even as she turned to leave.
Natsu smirked.
Gray had taken off his shirt again. This time, while trying to convince Macao to give him a part-time job at his place of work. Not exactly the kind of impression he'd want to give.
"Oi Frosty, where'd ya shirt go?" He called out, much to the raven head's surprise.
"Damn it." Gray sighed and turned to Macao. "Sorry about this."
Macao shook his head, laughing slightly. "That's quite alright, son. How about talking to me about it another day? Not because I don't trust you, but.."
Gray looked up. "Maybe let's not talk about jobs when we're at a bar? That you're already working in?" Macao said jokingly.
"Yeah. Guess that would leave a bad impression." Gray replied, putting his shirt back on.
A slight tap on his shoulder slightly startled him. "Yes, it definitely would." A gentle voice called.
Gray laughed sheepishly. Mirajane was standing in front of him with his apron in one hand and a rag on another.
"I don't want to nag, but please get back to work Gray. I know it's a Sunday and all, but we still got people coming in." She said, handing him the items.
He scratched the back of his head and nodded. "Okay. Sorry about that, Mira. It's not that I don't wanna work here. I do, but having the extra cash really wouldn't hurt."
Mirajane nodded, giving a small smile to the younger boy. "That's understandable. I'm not mad or anything, really. Just like Macao said, try not to do it here at work." She said, adding a wink at the end of the sentence.
Natsu had already gulped down the rest of his drink when Macao tapped him on the shoulder.
He squinted at the older man's phone. "Hey, isn't that the dude with the glasses?."
"Yeah. Lion's back in town." Macao turned to Mirajane. "And he's coming over today." At that, the barmaid clasped her hands together and smiled widely.
"Has anybody heard from Levy yet?" Droy wondered out loud to the rest of his group.
Jet was leaning on the old maple tree in the courtyard while Max and Warren sat in the grassy area next to him.
Laki looked up from her phone and sighed. "No. I think she's still at the Tribune."
"Still?" Max looked incredulous, glancing at the time on his watch. "She's been running since our impromptu meeting ended an hour ago. The Tribune isn't that far from Fairy High."
Jet nodded. Warren, however, shrugged and offered a suggestion. "Maybe she finally just walked on the way back?"
"Hm..maybe." Laki tapped at her phone again.
Navigating through her contacts, she found Levy's number, tapped on it, and waited. Putting it next it to her ear and the phone rang and rang. "I hope she charged her phone before she left our dorms this morning."
Droy sighed. "I don't know. She's been freaking out about her application all week long. Her shoes were untied earlier and I tried telling her and she completely ignored me."
Laki shook her head and pressed the red circle on her phone. "It's not turned off. Is she ignoring us or what?"
She looked at Jet. "How about one of you try calling her?"
He shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt to try, right?" As Jet was about to reach for his phone, Warren stopped him.
"Maybe you don't have to do that anymore." He said, pointing to a figure running towards their spot. "She's already here."
Max looked at his watch. "-and, we have to leave. I told you guys, I don't wanna be out too late tonight. We still going to Mira's or what?"
Warren and Laki looked at each other and nodded. Laki nudged Droy and said, "Just catch up with us later at Mira's if you guys are up for it, okay?"
Jet and Droy nodded and waved them goodbye as Levy came closer to them. "I think it would've been a good idea for her to not wear her flats today." Droy remarked.
Loke opened the bar's double doors and held them open for Lucy.
Capricorn, Aries, and Virgo had chosen to walk back to the mansion at Capricorn's insistence. Another truck had arrived and they needed to move them to the house immediately.
Capricorn had given him cash, though. Lucy insisted on buying food for everyone at the house.
"So, what is this place again?" Lucy inquired, looking around the rustic looking bar.
There were several customers – patrons? – by the bar counter, but a table seems to be occupied as well.
A group of people, who looked to be around her age. Two boys, and an older man who had just welcomed three new people to the table – two more guys and a girl with glasses.
"The Strauss. It's locally owned by people I know." He replied, holding his arm out to her.
Lucy smiled, knowing that he felt her discomfort. She hooked her arm with his and they started to walk towards the group.
"Oh, you know them too?" She asked.
"Loke! Welcome back!" An older man who Lucy didn't know came over to them to pat Loke on the back. Guess that answered my question, she thought.
"Macao. Yeah, I guess I am." Loke held his hand out to shook the man's hand.
"Good to be back, actually." The man grinned and gestured to Lucy.
"And you came back with a girl." Without pulling away from Loke, Lucy instinctively bowed down and introduced herself.
"I am Lucy Heartfilia, it is very nice to meet you, um, Macao-san."
Macao looked impressed. "Impeccable manners. She's a keeper, Lion."
Loke shook his head and laughed. "She's not my girlfriend. Lucy is…uh...someone I protect."
"He's my bodyguard is what he meant. Uh…are you the owner of this bar? The Strauss?" Lucy asked, feeling a little more relaxed than before.
"Actually…" A voice from behind them had startled Lucy back into slinking closer to Loke. "I am."
Levy finally stopped running. She dropped her book bag by her feet and took a few seconds to calm her breathing down.
Droy and Jet were patient enough. "You okay Levy-chan?"
The girl held out her hand, gesturing for one more second. Then she nodded. "Yeah. I'm good."
"What's the plan again? For today?"
Jet shrugged. "Mira's until one of us leaves. Gray works tonight so he said he might get us some free drinks."
Droy pouted. "Cana never gives us free drinks."
Levy giggled. "She gives me free drinks, so I'm definitely going. Though, I can't run, so please, let's not run, okay?"
Jet laughed. "That's more than okay Levy-chan. I'm sure Droy doesn't want to, either."
Their friend scoffed. "Jet's the only one that really runs. Out of the three of us, that is. I'm good with that."
"Let's go then. I don't wanna miss out on anything fun they're having!"
Jet and Droy agreed as they all began to fall in pace with their friend, laughing along the way.
Lucy turned to the voice. The woman was tall, had long wavy white hair, and a gorgeous red dress. She seems friendly enough.
"Mirajane, it's good to see you." Loke had tugged on his arm, trying to pull away, but Lucy's grip was a little too tight.
Lucy figured what he was trying to do and loosened her grip, cheeks slightly blushing. "Sorry…" She muttered.
The two had went in for a hug. After pulling away, Mira gave Lucy a smile. "And what's your name again?"
Lucy had bowed again. "Lucy Heartfilia. I-I'm sorry, I don't really know much about this town. I'm..I'm new."
Mirajane nodded. "I figured. Why don't you come by and sit at the bar counter? I can fix you up with a drink. Do you like milkshakes?"
Lucy smiled and nodded. Mirajane gestured for her to follow.
She took the time to look at the bar once more. Loke had gone to the table of people she saw earlier.
He looked very much at home with them, it made her a little envious.
This was Loke's home. He would call the shots here – for the most part. They hugged him and gave him high-fives and handshakes.
Then two of the guys – a redhead and a guy who had his shirt off? – began to shout, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that they were about to fight.
"Um…Mirajane-san? I-Is that a problem?" She asked, pointing at the two.
Mirajane didn't even bother looking back before she replied. "Oh, it's nothing. Those two will settle down soon enough."
"Really?" She asked incredulously. "I find it hard to believe."
Mira giggled. "It's just how things are here. You'll get used to it soon enough, Lucy-chan." She winked.
Makarov and Gildarts pondered over the possibility of Laxus' news being bad or good.
"He never usually comes by personally for things that may not matter as much." Makarov noted.
Gildarts looked at him, expression inquisitive. "So..it may be important after all. Isn't that right?"
A knock on the door left the two unable to respond aside from the principal's stern voice giving a command. "Come in."
The door swung open revealing a young man in a gray tank top, a backpack slung over his shoulders. "Hey Gramps. Gildarts-san."
Gildarts gave the man a grin. "Laxus-kun! Haven't seen you in a while!" He stood up, giving the other a half-hug which was returned by the blonde. "How you been?"
Laxus shrugged. "Uni's not too complicated. It's going good so far."
"That's not why you're here for though, right?" Makarov asked him, setting his teacup down.
Laxus shook his head. "No. I have news."
Gildarts pulled another chair close to him and gestured for the other to sit down. Laxus accepted, putting his backpack on the floor.
"This might turn out to be a false alarm, but I was over at the Crocus police station. Something happened with Bix, so I had to retrieve him. That's a story for a different day, but uh..I overheard one of them talking about something weird."
Makarov didn't like how the conversation was going. Weird in their family's terms often times described something disturbing. "Like what?"
Laxus shrugged. "They found a body. Near the Crocus river."
Gildarts looked at him, listening as intently as he could as Laxus continued.
"It was a teenage girl. She looked all roughed up, too, they said. Sounded really familiar. Gave me chills."
The older men looked at one another, then Gildarts cleared his throat.
"Sounds serious. Well, let's hope that this is nothing like what happened to Lisanna."
Makarov hummed. "Is it such a coincidence? To find another body after a year? I can't seem to shake off this feeling now."
Laxus sighed. "I sure do hope so. I can look more into it if you want, Gramps. Just say the word."
The old man shook his head. "Nonsense. Focus on your academics. That deserves all of your attention now."
"I can look at it for you, Principal. I got some contacts down at Crocus. Maybe they can tell me something."
Makarov nodded. "That's fine. Just report back to me."
A moment of silence passed over the three. "Would you like some tea, Laxus?" He asked his grandson.
Laxus refused. "I'm off to Mira's. Might as well drink something before I start driving back to Crocus."
"Juice, right? It's a long drive." Gildarts remarked.
The blonde shrugged. "Maybe if I ask her nicely, she'll make me some fancy coffee. Or put it in one of those travel cups. Who knows."
Makarov gave a slight laugh. "Alright. Thank you for dropping by."
"Be safe driving, son!" Gildarts called out as Laxus began to walk out with his backpack.
"Later!" He waved goodbye, closing the door behind him.
After he left, the two older men looked at each other.
"I hope it's just a coincidence." Gildarts sighed.
Makarov could only nod in agreement.
The doors opened to Mira's bar as Levy, Jet, and Droy walked in, excitedly waving to their group of friends already huddled in one booth.
Gray and Cana had joined them earlier, already joking around with Loki and a girl he had brought with him named Lucy.
"I'm Levy! This is Jet and Droy!"
"Nice to meet you all! My name is Lucy Heartfilia!"
"I like the flower on your hair, Lucy-san!"
"Uh, Droy? Kinda looks like the flower on the table's vase."
Lucy giggled. "Cana-san put it on me earlier. I just let her do it."
Jet shook his head. "As one should, honestly."
Natsu had bumped against Gray, leading the two to fight again, only being broken up by the arrival of Fairy Tail's infamous Titania, who had just arrived from a kendo tournament in Crocus.
"Laxus will be here soon! Are you sure you would want him to see you like this?" The redhead had asked the two, leading them to behave for a few minutes, shocking Lucy as she's never seen anyone so graceful in her actions and words to be followed with such immediate results.
Mira stared at all of them from the bar counter, a small smile on her face. The smile didn't fade even as Laxus had snuck past the booth group and plopped down on one of the bar stools.
"I'm assuming you're not drinking?"
Laxus shook his head. "Coffee. I need to drive back soon."
Mira's smile faltered. "Already?"
"Yeah, I've got classes tomorrow. Can't afford to not go."
Mira nodded, understanding the situation. "One travel coffee coming up."
"Thank you."
Laxus glanced at Mira as she walked away. His eyes wandered on the bar until it landed on the newspaper from that day.
One Year Without Lisanna, the headline read.
He shook his head once more. 'Not right now.'
i tried so many different formats but eh. stuck with this one. thank you so much for waiting! and i hoped you enjoyed this one! - jess