Pure Chapter 9 - Old friend, New event, a fairy tail fanfic

Hey guys! Good to see you again :D :D I'm so sorry for the late update, I was kinda busy last week and was stuck as to how I should progress the story but it's okay now, I've figured out the right plot for it.

Thank you for reading, following, making it your favorite story and reviewing :D Special thanks to Psyka, SimplyIsabelleS and Mandy422 :D Love you guys XD

This chapter's super long -_- The longest I've ever written (more than 8000 words ) , I wanted to cut it in two but I couldn't find the right place to cut it :D I hope you don't mind.

Sorry for the grammar errors :D I tried my best and I'll fix it when I re-read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

Pure

Chapter 9 - Old friend, New event

Natsu was standing at the door, his eyes scanned the whole class. Nobody moved or spoke anything, all eyes focused on him before his face stretched a wide grin.

"I'm home." – And everybody broke into loud cheers and claps. Fairy Tail's building was like there was an earthquake and Natsu was in the middle of the blockade of his classmates. People were patting his chest, his back, saying a ton of 'Welcome back' to him.

"Natsu, fight meee, you're not gonna get away this time, Pinky." – Gray shouted, then pointed a finger at his face. Natsu narrowed his eyes.

"Get away? Are you implying that I'm a coward?"

"You said it yourself." – Gray smirked and Natsu cracked his knuckles.

"Bring it on, Stripper." – He rolled up his sleeves and they was about to rush at each other when they felt Erza's death glare across the room. Both of them sweatdropped and halted immediately.

"I…I mean ….Good to have you back." – Gray looked at Erza apologetically and patted Natsu's back slightly. Natsu laughed nervously then put an arm around Gray's shoulder.

"Y…Yeah, H…hi Erza, long time no see." – He waved at Erza and his eyes suddenly widened when he saw the girl standing next to her. He blinked to take a better look at her. Is that ...?

"LUCY!" – He yelled then ran at her to give her a bear hug.

"Lucy, you're here, I can't believe it!" - He lifted her up and spun her around.

"Okay Natsu, you're choking her, let her go." – Erza said firmly, then tried to make him let her go.

"I can't believe you're here either ...We met each other in America." – Lucy coughed then grinned widely at him and said to everyone in the room, who was staring at them in question. They cheered and clapped again, although she didn't know why.

"Good to see you again, Lucy." - Natsu gave her a toothy grin and Lucy laughed softly.

"You, too."

[Lunch break]

"So, how did you guys meet?" – Erza asked her.

She, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray were sitting on their usual table at the canteen on lunch break. They were kinda curious to know how did those two become friends. Natsu went to Fiore two years ago, but he got a sport scholarship in America in his second year. That's a golden opportunity for him to be trained in the best conditions, so he left Fiore when there were three more months before the school's year ended. Master Makarov sent him a private tutor so he still could continue studying according to Fiore's syllabus.

Lucy smiled, but she was a little hesitant.

"Well, uhm … he ... saved me."

[Flash back]

[9 months ago]

Lucy was strolling down the street, trying to find the right way. She insisted that she would go to school by subway instead of a car like her father had told her to. She didn't like the attention she received every time she walked out of her father's limo. She hated it here, she missed her friends back home and just wanted to go back as soon as possible, but … it had been more than a year and still no sign that her father had finished his business in here.

Lucy looked around, she didn't know if she was on the right way, it was darker than usual, her phone was out of battery so she couldn't call home.

Great.

She halted in an empty crossing and wondered where should she go, she decided to turn right, but regretted it immediately. In the small alley, there were three men talking and laughing together and they didn't look very … friendly, seeing that tattoos covered all over their bodies, they wore earrings and one of them was puffing at a cigarette. Lucy turned around and walked away as quickly as possible, but they had noticed her the moment they saw her face. Their laughter died down and Lucy knew that they were following her.

Shit.

"Hey babe, where are ya going, come have some fun with us." One of them called her.

She ignored them and walked faster.

"Don't ignore us like that doll, c'mon, come with us, I'll get ya home." - They said then laughed together cruelly.

Lucy started to run, but they were faster. One of them grabbed her arm and spun her around, they surrounded her, blocking her way. One had a scar on his face, one was stunk with smoke, and the one who was holding her arm had red hair. They looked older than her about 4 or 5 years.

"Let me go." – Lucy yelled, then tried to yank her arm away from his grasp, but to no avail. She tried to call for help, but Red-hair covered her mouth with his filthy hand.

"Ooh, feisty." – Stinky eyed her from top to bottom then licked his lips – "I like it." – He approached her, trying to touch her chest, but she stepped her heel on his foot, which made him yelp in pain. Next, she swung her leather briefcase in Red-hair's face, made him lost his balance. Scar-face held her from behind then pulled her hair roughly and she cried out.

"Bitch!" – Red-hair rubbed his face then slapped her and Stinky gave her a punch in the stomach.

She coughed, then lifted her head and kicked Red-hair in the face again, breaking his nose. She tried to kick Stinky in the groin, but, unfortunately, he caught her leg and gave her another punch in the stomach. Scar-face strangled her neck, choking her, yet, before she blacked out from lack of oxygen, she fell on the ground. Her eyes blurred and she blinked to clear them. Lucy saw a guy that was fighting on all sides among three of them, and just a minute later, he was the only one who still stood firm on his feet. He knelt in front of her, eyes full of worry.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Ye… yeah, I'm… I'm fine." – Lucy managed to say and he sighed in relief.

"Thank you." – She said and smiled a small smile at him. He smiled back, then helped her stand up, he pulled out his phone to call 911.

"You're welcome." – He said then checked her up to see if there was any serious injure. She held her stomach in pain but other than that, she was fine.

"What are you doing here? It's not safe for a girl to stroll on this street at this time, you know." – He frowned, noticing some purple hand prints on her arm as well as her red cheek.

"Sorry, I was lost." – She mumbled. She was lucky that she had met him when he was passing by, she didn't know what would happen to her if he didn't show up.

"Where do you live? I'll get you home after we get to the nearest drugstore." – He offered.

"Really? Thank you." – She said then bowed to express her appreciation, he scratched his head sheepishly then grinned at her.

"It's nothing, don't worry. I'm Natsu Dragneel by the way." – He extended his hand for a handshake.

"You're Japanese, that's great. Lucy Heartfilia, nice to meet you Natsu." – She took his hand and smiled.

It's good to have a countryman in this strange land.

[End of Flash back]

"I was kinda surprised when I learned she was a Heartfilla." – Natsu spoke loudly and Lucy had to cover his mouth when some people turned to look at them. In America, it's fine when people knew that's she a Heartfilia, not like everyone knew who she was and she was there only temporarily, but it was different in here, she had to be careful.

"Hush Natsu, they don't know I'm a Heartfilla, keep your voice down." – She gritted her teeth and he murmured an apology.

"What about those punks? Did they go to jail? I would have beat them to death if I were there." – Erza growled and slammed her hand on the table, which attracted more attention than anything before. Men who beat a girl were worse than scum.

"Ca …calm down Erza." – Lucy laughed nervously – "We called the police after that, I'm sure they got what they deserved." – She said and Erza nodded.

"I'm glad that you're okay but .. you should be more careful Lucy, things could be the same in Japan you know." – Gray said and crossed his arms. Thanks God that Flame-brain was there. He thought.

"Yeah, I know." – She nodded. She didn't tell neither her parents nor Sting and Rogue about that incident, because she didn't want to make them worry. Lucy and Natsu became friends after that, but they just saw each other twice or three times a week, because their study schedules were different. Though they still hanged out sometimes at weekends.

Now Lucy remembered that Natsu had told her about his school once, but she forgot its name. She called him when she was about to go back to Japan and they said that they would reunite again when he came back as well. Natsu had a very unique outlook with his pink hair and black eyes, he was handsome and funny in his own way, he was kind, strong, and very determined when he wanted something. That's why Lucy admired him.

Now all her friends were here, her life was back to normal from all those drama that happened a few weeks ago, Lucy felt kinda relieved, although she couldn't shake off the feeling that it was just a calm before the storm.

[At the basketball court]

"A party?" – Sting raised an eyebrow at Orga, they were practicing basketball for the Sport Congress.

"Yeah, they're going to celebrate the return of Natsu Dragneel this weekend, all Fairies will be there. It's been a long time, I guess." – Orga said, then passed the ball to Rogue. He jumped and threw the ball to the basket.

"Tsk… They make it sound like he hasn't returned for 10 years." – Sting rolled his eyes and told his friends to take a break.

"But now he has come back, we might as well have a little gift for him." – He thought then said, smirking. Rogue arched his eyebrow, that idiot was up to something again.

"Who wants to crash the party?" – He asked eagerly, making them look at one another but before they could nod their head in agree, Rogue cut them short.

"Are you sure you wanna do that? Lucy probably will be there too, she won't let you get away with that." – Rogue said calmly.

Oh right, I forgot. Sting thought.

"Is she really scary? Sting looks like he's scared of her." - Mamura asked innocently.

"Terrified." – Rogue nodded, then answered him swiftly before Sting could open his mouth.

"I'm not terrified of her!" – He glared at Rogue and Rogue inwardly rolled his eyes.

"Really? I saw her smack you and you didn't do anything about it." – Rufus stated wisely.

"Are you serious? I can't hit a girl." – Sting groaned, making a face.

"That's not the problem, the thing is she hit you and you just kept grinning like a masochist." – Rufus retorted back and they busted out laughing, even Rogue was snickering at him behind his palm. Sting was red like a tomato, he was kinda careless with his reputation when he was around her.

"Shut up." - He emphasized his words to make them stop laughing.

"Question, Sting: why don't you two let us talk to her, she seems nice and it's not like we will do anything bad to her, you know." – Rufus offered and they nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, why don't you let me talk to them?" – A voice appeared behind Sting, which almost made him jump out of his skin. Sting turned around, then gave her a look of surprise.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?

"Watching you practice, of course." – She smiled and quickly passed by him, moving to stand in front of Orga before he could stop her.

"Hi, I'm Lucy, a friend of Sting and Rogue, nice to meet you." – She extended her hand. Orga was dumbfounded, this is the first time a girl initiative talked to him, most of them were scared of him anyway. Before Orga could shake her hand and say 'hi' back, Rufus shoved him aside and took her hand, kissing it slightly.

"Hey..." – Orga cried out.

"Nice to meet you, too, Lucy-san." – He said then winked at her, making her blush.

"Oi, don't touch her." – Sting yelled but the boys ignored him, they were busy shaking hands with Lucy and asking her tons of question in their mind.

"Have you got a boyfriend yet?"

"How long have you been friends with them?"

"Do you like basketball?"

"Does Sting treat you well? 'Cuz I'll treat you... a million times better than him."

Lucy laughed softly, then answered them friendly. Sting crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, Rogue put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, they won't hurt her, I can see they get along pretty well." – Rogue said calmly.

He was afraid that brutal and aggressive Tigers like them would get Lucy in trouble when he saw her coming near them, but… it could be either the fact that she was Sting and Rogue's friend so that those idiots were kind to her, or it was her own charm. Either way, it seemed like the two of them didn't have to worry about her safety when she was near their teammates. Sting sighed and let loose.

"Yeah."

"Okay, time's up, get back to work." – Sting called them.

"All right, later, Lucy." – They waved at her and started to practice again. Sting moved towards her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, I heard that you guys are going to have a party this weekend?" – Lucy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, to celebrate Natsu's come back, it'll be great... I can't wait!" – She smiled widely.

"You're also gonna be there?" – Rogue asked, standing next to her on the right.

"What do you mean I'm also gonna be there? Of course I'm gonna be there, he's my friend and I love to party, in case you forgot." – Lucy patted his chest with the back of her hand.

"Your friend? You've known each other before?" – Sting asked, knitting his eyebrows.

"Yeah, we met in America." – She said and they blinked – "He's very nice to me and he's funny, too. I like him." – She stated and they dropped their jaws.

"As a friend!" – She added and laughed at their faces.

"Oh…" - Sting said, feeling relieved. It's not like it was a big deal whether they knew each other or not, but Sting couldn't shake off the insecure feeling in his mind. Rogue noticed it and immediately changed the topic.

"Okay we have to get back to practice, later, Luce." – He patted her head and she grinned widely at him, Rogue quickly dragged Sting away from her. The idiot was over-reacting, he could see that.

[Sting's house]

"Urrrrggggg… it's so boring, Rogue." – Sting groaned. He was lying on Rogue's bed, in Rogue's room, bothering the black-haired guy when he was doing his homework.

"Go watch TV, play games or something and leave me alone, Sting." – Rogue said to drive him away, but it had no effect on Sting.

"TV is boring, games are boring, and something is boring, too." – He grumbled.

"I wish Lucy hadn't come to that party, we could hang out. It's Friday, after all." – Rogue didn't say anything, letting him talk to himself.

I wonder what's she doing. Is she having fun? Does that stripper annoy her? Do some punks flirt with her? Is there something going on between her and Natsu-san?

He thought then grunted and Rogue rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Hey... Lucy didn't say that we couldn't be there, right?" – He said then got up.

Rogue stopped whatever he was doing, then turned around half way to look at him.

"Are you nuts? It's a Fairy Tail's party, of course we can't be there even though she didn't say it."

"Aww c'mon, Lucy said that we shouldn't make a big deal out of the hostility between two guilds, you know." – Sting said and Rogue arched his eyebrow at Sting, who was grinning like a mad-man.

That was a perfect excuse to be there without turning Lucy to his bad side, after what happened in Tenrou Island, Sting just wanted to be near her all the time and he knew that he had to make her his, he had to try no matter what the result would be.

Rogue sighed then shook his head.

"Fine but… don't cause any trouble." – He warned Sting.

"Tsk ... you said like you don't care. But you're curious, too, right? About her and Natsu-san." - Sting rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." - Rogue said indifferently.

So they changed their clothes, grabbed their coat, and walked out of the door, but not before Sting wrote some messages to his teammates.

[15 minutes later]

"Are you sure they're gonna let us in?" – Rufus asked, he pulled out an elastic string to tie his hair.

"They invited everyone so if they don't let us in, they are discriminatory. Besides, Lucy is in there, she'll welcome us." – Sting smirked.

"Yeah, but if you start a fight or Orga starts singing, she'll kick us out faster than a rocket." – Rogue deadpanned. They laughed out loud and Orga turned to glare at him.

"My singing ability is just fine, thank you very much." - Sting snickered on that.

"Don't mess around, you'll have plenty of chances to play with those Fairies but not tonight." - Sting said and all of them nodded.

There were more than 20 members of Sabertooth who were following Sting, his intention was to call just his teammates, but thanks to the Internet, Twitter, and Facebook, there they were. Sting pushed the door open and the bass of dancing music immediately beat their chests.

They were in Fairy Tail's bar, the biggest bar in Fiore Academy. It was decorated in Western style and full of people, he could see some faces were from Mermaid Heel, some guys were flirting with girls, they were probably from Blue Pegasus. Screaming, cheering, booing, laughing people and music blended together and he couldn't imagine anything else more chaotic. Sabertooth members walked in and they looked like they were about to engage in battle or something. Some conscious people – who didn't put alcohol into their system yet – recognized them and they immediately stopped what they were doing.

"Hey Mira, have you seen Lucy?" – Natsu sat on the stool, looking around to find his friend.

"Oh Lucy, she went to the restroom with Levi." – Mira smiled. Mirajane Strauss aka Mira was a former member of Fairy Tail from four years ago. She had a younger brother – Elfman Strauss, who had graduated last year, and a baby sister – Lisanna Strauss, who was now a member of F1. This bar was owned by her family and besides being a bartender, sometimes a singer, she was also a famous model.

Natsu nodded, then grabbed his beer. The party was going well, it was fun, that's what he was missing when he was still in America. It felt so good to be home, with his father and friends. Seeing Lucy again was a very nice surprise, he missed her too. Although they only met a few times, it was like they had been friends since forever and he liked her, more than she knew.

"Hey Pink *hic*.. come ..*hic*... fight me, I want to punch *hic* your ugly *hic* face!" – Gray said and struggled to keep his balance by putting an arm around Natsu, but it slipped. They both fell and Gray was on top of him. His lips were near Natsu's cheek and a strain of saliva was about to drop on the pink-haired guy's face.

"Get off me, Popsicle…" – Natsu cried out, tried to push him away and stood up but froze when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"W.. what… are y..you doing to Gray-sama?" – She stammered with a red face. It was Juvia.

"A… Are you… two… dare... in public? AAARRGGGGG..." – Juvia shouted, then covered her eyes, her imagination had a chance to work again.

Juvia Lockser, the newest member of Fairy Tail, transferred from Bosco. She fell in love with Gray at the first sight and couldn't help but stalked him ever since, Gray still didn't realize her feeling yet (or perhaps he chose to ignore it?)

"Okay, Juvia, stop that right there!" – Natsu yelled then kicked Gray away from him and Gray lost his consciousness.

"He's drunk, we fell, and that's gross." He cried out and made a disgusted face.

"How dare you kick Gray-sama like that! Gray-sama, wake up, are you okay?" – She glared at him then tried to wake Gray up by shaking him. Natsu waved his hand then walked away.

Better get back to the party. He thought then looked around to find Gajeel to have an arm wrestling, but … he bumped into someone, he muttered a 'Sorry' but regretted it immediately. That's not someone he wanted to apologize to, ever.

"Sting Eucliffe?" – He said coldly and the noise died down.

"Oh, Natsu Dragneel, good to see you again, it's been a while, right?" – Sting smirked.

"What are you doing here?" – They both crossed their arms, Natsu with his narrowed eyes and Sting with his usual smug expression.

"To enjoy the party of course. As far as I know, Fairy Tail invited everyone, so … that's why we're here." – He said, moved to walk around, pretending like he was surveying the decoration of the bar.

"You and your friends are not welcomed here." – Natsu said calmly.

"Oh? Isn't that a little bit unfair, I didn't hear people said that Sabertooth's members couldn't be here, right guys?" – He said and Tigers cheered in agreement, but everyone else still didn't utter a word.

It's been a long time since Fairy Tail and Sabertooth's last confrontation. Although the trip to Tenrou Island had eased their tension to the acceptable level, that was before Natsu came back. So in short, both guilds' members were close to friends, but still remained rivals in many levels and that's not gonna change any time soon. Natsu gave him a point look, he walked to stand in front of Sting and spoke quietly so Sting was the only one who could hear him. Natsu's fists clenched, but his face was calm.

"Fine, but if you pick a quarrel with anybody in Fairy Tail, that would be the last thing you do in here, Sting Eucliffe, are we clear?"

Sting's smirk widened – "Crystal." – They were staring at each other for a minute when a voice resounded.

"Okay, the show is over, get back to the party people." – Gajeel's voice echoed through the bar and everybody got back to having fun. It seemed like everything was back to good.

"What's going on here?" – Lucy moved towards them and her eyes widened when she saw Sting, Rogue, and their friends. Levi and Gajeel were following closely behind, Gajeel arched his eyebrow but Rogue just gave him a bored look. Natsu moved to hold her arms, blocking her way out of Sting's sight, he didn't know why, he just followed his instinct, but too bad for him, Lucy already saw them. Sting and Rogue were looking daggers at him.

"Sting? Guys? What are you doing here?" – Lucy asked, smiling and waving at the boys.

"You know them?" – Natsu asked with a tone of surprise.

Oh he didn't know? Sting thought. Better explain to him shall we? He looked back at Rogue and they shared a look. Rogue sneered, then nodded slightly.

"Luccccyyyy, we're here to join the party of course, your friend has been very kind to us so far." – Sting said, then he and Rogue moved to stand near Lucy. Sting put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek while Rogue held her waist and kissed her hair. They both smirked at Natsu who looked like he was about to bust, Gajeel's face was unreadable, and Levi blinked; she felt like she was in a dramatic scene in one of her favorite novel.

"Stay away from her!" - Natsu almost shouted at them. He came closer to give them a piece of his mind, but Lucy quickly put her hand on his chest to calm him down. The duo chuckled at him.

"Wait, wait, wait, Natsu, it's okay, they're my friends." – She said before Natsu had a chance to protest.

"How do you know them?" – Natsu frowned and asked again.

"We're childhood friends, we've known each other for a veeerrry loooooong time ~" Sting said in his sing-song voice. He was enjoying it, it was good to see that Natsu Dragneel was still hot-tempered like before.

"Now, if you don't mind, we have to steal her for a minute, have fun, guys." – He bid his friends a goodbye and Rogue dragged her away.

"Later, Natsu!" – Lucy waved at him.

"Childhood friends, huh?" – Gajeel murmured behind Natsu. He sighed, his composure was back to normal.

"As long as they don't do something funny, then it's fine." – Natsu looked at them until they disappeared into the crowd and loud noise rose again. He didn't like the over - familiar attitude those two just expressed towards Lucy. It annoyed him, but he guessed that couldn't be helped. He didn't have the reason to part them away from Lucy, not when they were her childhood friends. Natsu suddenly turned around and shouted at Gajeel.

"Gajeel, I want a rematch, my arm slipped last time." – Gajeel snorted.

"Tsk, not now, I'm busy." – He took Levi's hand and walked away.

"Oh, you're chickening out to suck face of your girlfriend, that's gross and not very manly, you know." – Natsu mocked, grinning like he had just won a lottery. He knew how to get under this guy's skin.

"I don't chicken out." – Gajeel gritted his teeth.

"Then I want a rematch." – Natsu's eyes narrowed

"Fine, if that make you shut up, Pinky."

"Don't call me that."

"Whatever, Pinky."

Levi looked at them and sighed, just like the old times. Would they ever stop?

Sting and Rogue walked closer to Lucy when the trio stopped. Sting glared at every guy who eyed Lucy from the top to the bottom.

"I thought you guys didn't want to be here, why didn't you tell me when I was at the basketball court?"

"Well we just felt like it when we were at home, so we decided to come at the 91 minutes." – Rogue smiled – "You look pretty by the way."

Lucy was wearing a pair of light blue jeans shorts, hugging her legs perfectly, and a white sheer shirt with black collar that was tucked into her shorts. The sleeves rolled to her elbows and she picked cowboy boots to complete her outfit. Her hair were tied with a blue ribbon.

Lucy blushed at the compliment and smiled at him – "Thanks, Rogue, you two look handsome, too".

Rogue and Sting's clothes were just casual: black shirt, denim pants for Rogue and white stripe shirt with blue jeans for Sting, they both wore black converses All Star. It's a Fairy Tail's party after all, they didn't like something's too fancy, too motley. A party to them means beer, music, fight, and fun.

"Is this me or these punks are stripping you with their eyes, like … they haven't seen a girl wearing shorts their whole life." – Sting glared at another boy and the poor boy looked away in fear. Well, not that you could see the Lucy Love (/Heartfilia) wearing something less modest than uniform everyday, they had to take the chance, right? Beauty is an unlimited resource and wasting it means guilt, that's what they say.

"Give them a break Sting, it's normal at a party like this. Erza received even worse ogling, but she didn't mind, you can't even imagine the way they look at her with her super short cocktail dress. They were all having nosebleed when she walked by." – Lucy snickered at the scene which happened just a while ago, it was quite funny actually and from that Lucy discovered Erza's new super power: killing people without using her sword, just by her outfit.

They stopped at the bar, Mira was serving a group of Blue Pegasus' members, so they waited.

"Well, not me… " – Sting looked around and smirked, putting on his usual smug face.

"Oh yeah? Just wait till you see her." – She said and Sting's smirk widened. He leaned forward to the level of her ear and whispered in it, tugging a strain of her hair behind her ear, his hot breath fanned her cheek, his eyes fixed on the person across the bar who had red hair.

"You're the only one I will ever have a nosebleed for if you wear the same short red cocktail dress that hugs your curve flawlessly, splits to your middle thigh, exposes the back as Erza's."

Lucy's eyes widened and by instinct she spun around to find Erza. The girl was sitting at the opposite side of the bar, talking to Jellal. She grinned at the couple and turned back to arch an eyebrow at him.

"Real smooth huh? Tell me how many girls have heard you said that?"

"Just you." – He shrugged.

"Not even the girl you're having your eyes on?" – She asked and narrowed her eyes slightly. Nice one Luce. She told herself, she felt a little embarrassed when she heard him said that, so she changed the subject to cover her blush, even though the subject was not very likeable to her.

"Well… that's the different case." – Although I will also have a nosebleed if she wore that dress too, she's the same person after all. He chuckled at the thought and Lucy frowned. She found his amusement annoying so she kicked his stool, made him fall flat on his butt.

"What the hell, Luce?" – He cried out and she covered her mouth to restrain her laugh.

"Ooops, sorry, my leg slipped." – She grinned mockingly then looked at Rogue over her shoulder, he was chuckling, watching their exchange closely. She took his hand and pulled him out of his seat.

"C'mon, dance with me, Rogue." – Rogue blinked. Dancing was not something he was very fond of.

"Heyyy, don't just leave me here like this, somebody from your guild might kidnap me, you know." – Sting stood up, brushing off some invisible dust on this pants and shouted after her.

"Sorry, don't care." – She shouted back and walked into the crowd. Sting shook his head and sat back on the stool.

"Can I get you something?" – Mira's voice interrupted his silence.

"Sweet beer, please." – He said and she grabbed a glass, pouring him some red liquid.

"Childhood friends?" – She asked and he nodded.

"So have I heard. I also heard that you're a scary guy, but as far as I can see, you're different from what they say." – He looked back at her and she smiled. Sting gave her a skeptical look and she smiled again, this time a little bit enigmatically.

"I know the look that you gave her. My boyfriend – Laxus - has the same look whenever I see him." – She giggled when Sting blushed slightly at the implying.

"N..no, we're …not …like … that." – He stuttered and she shrugged.

"Like what?" – She said innocently and he knew she was teasing him.

"Nothing" – He sighed, then lifted his glass again, looked back at the dance floor to find Lucy and Rogue. Mira giggled and turned to another customer.

"Errr Lucy? How could we dance when there isn't any music." – Rogue asked, Lucy was looking around, trying to find the DJ.

"Where the hell is him? We got a DJ and here I can't hear any music since you guys walked in." – Lucy grumbled. – "And his songs suck, too." Well not like people cared anyway, they just need something to beat in their ears real loudly.

"Oh, there he is." – Lucy said and narrowed her eyes at the dark-blond messy hair guy who was flirting with some girls from Mermaid Heel. She approached him and Rogue followed closely behind. They hired him here to bring music, not pay him to flirt with girls.

"Hey!" – Lucy called, but he didn't notice her.

"HEY!" – She called again, but he ignored her again, Lucy pulled his sleeve and finally got his attention. He was having a moment with these beauties and some kid had the gut to interrupt him, he turned around, annoyed. – "What?" – But his eyebrows stretched when he saw who was standing in front of him. He smiled sweetly again.

"My my, what a goddess." – He moved nearer and grabbed her hand.

"How may I help you, my lady?" – He looked at her, trying to mesmerize her with his black eyes, but it didn't work. Lucy just sweatdropped at his change of attitude, she tried to heave her hand back, but he didn't let go. He was about to kiss it, yet another arm yanked Lucy's hand away from his grasp, Rogue pulled Lucy closer to him, glaring deadly at the guy with his red eyes.

"Stay away from her." – He said coldly. The guy flinched slightly, but regained his composure quickly. He smiled civilly.

"Oh flower had pot already, sorry if I crossed the line." – Rogue didn't say anything, just standing between him and Lucy.

"N...no, it's fine, we're friends, he doesn't mean anything, really" – She said and tried to ease the tension. The guy looked back at Rogue and smirked secretly. Possessive much? He thought.

"By the way, could you stop flirting and give us some music please, that's what you're here right Mr …?" – Lucy said, hands on her hips, back to business again.

"Hibiki Lates from Blue Pegasus." – He said and brought out his hand. Lucy eyed his hand suspiciously.

"Don't worry I just want a handshake." - He snickered.

"Oh." – Lucy mumbled and relaxed again. – "Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy, from Fairy Tail."

"I know, you're quite popular, you know that…" – He smiled at her, then looked at Rogue and diverted his hand in front of him, expecting a handshake, too. – "Rogue Cheney from Sabertooth, right? Nice to meet you, too."

Rogue inwardly rolled his eyes then spun around and walked away, not even spared him another glance.

"That's rude." – Hibiki murmured.

"Sorry, he's always like that. Anyway, here's my playlist, hit it." – She gave him her Iphone and he nodded. That was not a suggestion, it was a command. He plugged in and played it.

"Hey Rogue, ROGUE!" – Lucy shouted his name until she caught up with him, however, the music had started and he couldn't hear her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" – She grabbed his arm

It's going down, I'm yelling timber
You better move, you better dance
Let's make a night you won't remember
I'll be the one you won't forget

Rogue raised his eyebrows at her.

"Nothing, I'm fine." – He smiled and assured her.

"Are you sure? Tell me if something's wrong, okay?" – She insisted and he smiled, then rubbed her hair.

"Music is playing, dance, Rogue." – She pulled his arm and began to shake her body.

"I don't dance, Lucy." – People were dancing all around him and Rogue was the only one standing like a log. It's kinda awkward if you asked him, he didn't dance. He didn't know how, actually.

Swing your partner round and round
End of the night, it's going down
One more shot, another round
End of the night, it's going down

"You're so stiff, it's a party, what are you doing here if you don't dance!" - Lucy laughed lightly at him - "C'mon, show me what you got." – She stepped back, put one hand in the air, sway her hips around, and smirked at him.

Lucy shook her head to the music, her hair followed her movement, colorful light beamed her face, giving her a mysterious aura. She blew a kiss at him and Rogue smiled, the way she was dancing was so lively, the exact opposite to him. She was always like that, so different from him. He was cold, he was rigid, he was rude, but Lucy … she was warm, she was tender, and she was kind. Maybe that's why he was attracted to her.

It seemed like she was tired of him standing there, staring at her like that, so she moved to draw him closer, took his hands and swung him around.

It's going down, I'm yelling timber
You better move, you better dance
Let's make a night you won't remember
I'll be the one you won't forget

She laughed again when he tried to keep his balance. She moved back and forth, trying to engage him into dancing. Well, his body was moving, but not because of the music. It was because of her, so her efforts still didn't work.

She spun him around and around, almost made him feel dizzy, then pushed him away, but kept his hand in hers and pulled him closer immediately. His body hit hers and he blushed slightly at the contact. She laughed out loud, then put her arms around his neck to keep him in place and continued to make (more like force) him to dance.

"Dance, Rogue, for me." - She shouted through the loud music.

Swing your partner round and round
End of the night, it's going down
One more shot, another round
End of the night, it's going down

She swayed again and there was no way he couldn't stand still with her arms clamp around him like this...

"Seeeee~, you're dancing!" – She beamed at his reluctant movement.

Although he still didn't feel very comfortable, he had to admit it was fun. For a moment, he forgot all the things around him, all the trouble, all the thought, it was just him and her, dancing goofily like two idiots. Rogue smiled, his arms hugged her waist, keeping her closer, the warmth from his hand spread all over her back and Lucy felt her heart was racing again. He swung her around, she was taken off guard and almost fell, but he kept her balance. They both laughed at each other, seemed like coming to this party wasn't a bad idea after all.

"Beer, please." – A voice said and a figure appeared beside Sting.

"Having fun?" – He looked to the right and asked him.

"Yeah." – Rogue grabbed the glass and answered.

"I didn't know you like dancing?" – Sting arched an eyebrow at him.

"I don't, Lucy made me but it was fun anyway." – He admitted.

"Where is she?"

"She was talking to her friends" – He paused then looked at Sting.

"Do you think he likes her?"

"I'm not sure, perhaps, according to the way he looked at us when we kissed her, it's the same way you looked at the DJ guy when he tried to kiss her hand…" - Sting shrugged.

Rogue didn't say anything, just stared at him.

"What are you gonna do if he does like her?"

"Nothing." – He shrugged again and Rogue raised his eyebrows.

"Will you ever tell her about your feelings? Do it as soon as possible, before it's too late, and if you won't, you're gonna regret it for the rest of your life." – He said, loudly enough to reach Sting's ear through the loud music.

"I will, I'm just waiting for the right moment, but I will." – Sting said firmly. Yeah, he finally decided that he would tell her, everything, about his past and about his feelings for her. Whether she accepted it or not, it was fine, at least he had followed his heart.

"Where are you going?" – Sting asked when Rogue read a message from his phone, then stood up.

"To the airport, father's home."

"I'll go with you." – Sting was about to leave too, but Rogue stopped him.

"It's okay, stay with Luce, we'll meet at home, tell her I'll go first." – Rogue bid him a goodbye and left, leaving Sting watching his retreat figure.

"So you do have feelings for her." – Mira suddenly said behind him and Sting groaned.

"You eavesdropped on our exchange?"

"I didn't, you just talked too loud, somebody might have heard you, too." – Mira smiled at his grumpy face.

"Want some romantic moments with her? I can give you that, how about a dance?"

Sting looked kinda surprised.

"Why?"

"Why what?" – Mira asked, the smile never slipped from her face.

"Why would you do that? You barely know me, we're not friends."

"But Lucy is my friend, she's happy when she's with you guys, I can see that in her eyes." - She then walked away, but not before she looked back at Sting and said.

"Ask her to dance before someone else gets the chance." – She winked. He blinked then looked around to find Lucy and quickly approached her when he saw Natsu was talking to her.

"They have two cats? I have one too, his name's Happy" – Natsu gave her a toothy grin, they were talking about her childhood friends a.k.a Sting and Rogue. According to her, they seemed not so bad, they treated her well, too well actually. But he didn't like the fact that they were so close together, it proved another thing, though: that Natsu only just met her, almost a year ago. A mere year couldn't be compared with ten years, there's so much about her that he still didn't know. She told him once in America that she had two best friends in the world, her childhood friends, but he had assumed that they were girls. Who would have thought that her friends would be boys, Sabertooth's members, by the way.

"Yeah, you three could be good friends, you guys have a lot in common." – Lucy beamed and Natsu made a face.

"I don't think so."

"Why?"

"You know … The animosity status between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail originate in our animosity from the first place." – Natsu said.

"Oh." – Lucy nodded and thought for a moment. Maybe I could do something about it.

She was about to ask him something when she heard the tune of piano is playing.

"Hey, it's my favorite song." – She smiled, Mira was on the stage, she looked at Lucy and winked at her. Mira has an angel voice if you ask her.

"What song is it?" – Natsu asked, looking at her radiant smile.

"True colors by Michelle Chamuel, she's obsessed with this song right from when she heard it on The Voice US." – Sting answered before she got a chance. Lucy turned around and grinned at him, he smiled back then grabbed her hand and walked away from Natsu, leaving him dumbfounded.

"Hey..." He shouted at them, but Sting ignored him.

"W ... wait Sting, I was talking to him, that's rude."

Sting led her to the center of the dance floor, he took her arms and put them around his neck, then held her waist.

"Dance with me, I had to take you away before he stole you." – Sting said quietly and she laughed softly.

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small

But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow

They looked into each other's eyes, blue met chocolate-brown ones and it was like nothing else in this world mattered anymore. That is the magical power of music and feelings when they blend together. Lucy felt a tug at her heart, she smiled sweetly at him and he smiled back. Lucy trailed her middle finger from his eye, down his cheek then touched his lips, leaving a hot path on Sting's face, she mumbled his name.

"Sting?"

"Huhm?" – He hummed, looking into her eyes, trying to figure it out what she was thinking.

"Can I ask you something?" – He nodded slightly.

"Does she make you feel happy?" – Do I make you feel happy? She asked quietly, Lucy really didn't know why she asked that, she was still trying to understand all of her chaotic feelings lately when she was near him and the question just popped in her mind. Somehow, the answer seemed important to her.

"Yes, she makes me really … really happy." – Truly happy. Sting knew who she was talking about.

Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy, can't remember
When I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I'll be there

And I'll see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors

"Is she … the only one … who could make you feel happy?" – Lucy bit her lips and looked at the ground.

Yes, she's the only one. He stroked her hair then lifted her chin to look at her face again. Are you feeling insecure Lucy? She was uncomfortable with the question, he could see it. Does that mean you feel the same way about me like I feel about you?. He was not sure, he's still not sure, but …

"Of course not, I still have my family… and I still have you. You make me feel happy too" - He didn't want her to feel self-doubting, whatever the reason was.

"You're the best thing that has ever happened to me." – She blushed at his words and he smiled at her cuteness

"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice ..." – He kissed her cheek and hugged her tight like he was afraid that she would disappeared if he didn't hug her tighter … But falling in love with you was beyond my control.

I can see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid
To let them show
Your true colors
True colors
True colors
Are Beautiful like the Rainbow

"Thanks to you, I can be myself when I'm around you. You make me smile, you make me feel peace. You always make me feel happy Lucy." – You can see through me Luce. He murmured through her hair and she smiled again. That was enough for her, knowing that she also could be that person, too, the person who could make him feel happy. She leaned on his chest, feeling his heart's beat though her hand.

Even if we can't be lovers, we will always be friends … and that's all the matter. He thought, but felt a pang of disappointment in his heart. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. Please … don't run away from me when I give you my heart completely.

I love you Lucy, always have and always will.

[Meanwhile]

"Rogue, good to see you again, son." – Weisslogia patted the brunet's back slightly. – "You came to pick me up, how thoughtful. Where is Sting?"

"I told him I would come alone father, he's ... busy." - Rogue said carefully and the man nodded.

Weisslogia had just got down from the airplane about 5 minutes ago. They were standing at the airport, ready to go home, but then Rogue noticed a woman following closely behind his father. He titled his head to look at her and his eyes widened.

Golden hair, green eyes… She looks like…

"Oh, I forgot, Rogue, meet your future step-mother, Hazumi Weisslogia. We're engaged." - He said and the woman smiled.

… Mom… Rogue had to use all of his control so his jaw wouldn't drop to the ground.

… Sting won't like this…

End of chapter 9

The first song I used was Timber by Ke$ha ft Pitbull

The second song was True ColorsbyPhils Collin but I used the covered version by Michelle Chamuel. She sang beautifully and I-just-had to put it in this chapter :D

It's 11 PM right now and I'm so tired so sorry for the errors again :D

I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you guys :D

I'll see you next time.

Have a good day/night.