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Pure
Chapter 13 - New life
Urgg…Where am I? – The girl opened her eyes, rubbing them to clear her vision. She blinked, it took her almost thirty seconds to become aware of the fact that all around her it was black and she couldn't see anything. Her mind was empty.
What happened?
She stood up and begun to walk carefully. She was scared that she might fall because of the darkness. The girl blinked again, but squeezed her eyes shut when a headache appeared. Gahh…. She pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the pain.
The girl re-opened her eyes and saw her surroundings changed. She spotted a white straight line at the horizon. Slowly, the line curved into different shapes all around her: buildings, streets, lamps, a school, a very big house – she guessed. All of them were black, but they bordered with white, so she could figure out their shapes. It looked like a painting, she thought. The girl suddenly heard laughter and she spun around to find the source of the noise.
"Hello?" – She called, but nobody answered her. Out of nowhere, a group of… people appeared. She knew that they were talking and laughing and teasing one another, but she couldn't figure out what they were talking about. The strangest thing was they were all white, like paper, with no faces or clothes, just white human shapes. Lucy frowned. Where the hell is this place?. She lifted her hands and looked at them, but it was so dark. Those shades walked pass her and she opened her mouth.
"H… hello?"
Right after that, all those forms stopped and everything was quiet for a moment. They suddenly started to come near her and she took a step back, scared. Her mouth was rigid although she didn't feel intimidated.
They approached her slowly, closer, closer, until their shapes joined together in one, then it came even closer and faster. She started to panic. The white shadow raised its arm while holding something that looked like a knife. The girl turned around to run, but the shadow changed to some kind of rope and gripped both of her arms. A sharp bolt of pain burst in her hand and shoulder. She cried, but no sound came out. That was when she found herself falling into the darkness with no ending point.
Her eyes snapped open. There was a white ceiling facing her. The girl panted slightly and winced in pain when she tried to sit up. She slowly looked to the left and saw a cardiograph which was running monotonously. I'm in… A hospital?. Her left hand was bandaged, as well as her left shoulder, she could see the white cloth under her light blue shirt. The girl frowned at her injuries, but her face stretched when she heard a small groan. She turned to look at her right arm. Her hand was held by a woman and she was sleeping, the girl assumed. She stirred her fingers and the woman woke up immediately. She widened her eyes.
"Lucy! Thank God, you're okay."
Lucy? My name is Lucy? Why don't I remember that?. She thought, but before she could say anything, the woman quickly opened the door and sticked her head out.
"Doctor! My daughter has awakened."
Daughter? She's my mom? No, she's not my mom. My mom is… Who is my mom? She frowned.
A doctor with two nurses appeared and they swiftly checked her state. Following them there were the woman and… Two guys. One of them was blond and the other had black hair.
"Lucy!" – They said loudly and the girl blinked at them.
"Miss Lucy, how do you feel?" – Okay, so my name's Lucy. She looked back at the doctor.
"Ehh… Fine, I guess?" – The doctor nodded. Lucy took her time to look around the room. There were two closed windows on the left and it was pretty dark outside. She turned to look at the clock on the opposite wall, it was 6.30 PM. On her right, there was a small table with lots of gifts, cards, and a bunch of red Roses.
She diverted her look to those guys and they smiled widely. She locked her eyes with the one who had black hair. He waved at her.
Seriously, who are they? She forced a smile. Maybe it'll be impolite to not return their gesture. She was about to raised her hand to wave back, but the doctor cut her short.
"Her condition is stable, Mrs. Heartfilia, you can see her now. If there's something wrong, just tell me." – And with that, he and the nurses left. The woman quickly approached her. She stroked Lucy's cheeks and asked nicely.
"Hey, Lucy, honey. Are you thirsty or something? Can I get you anything?" – Lucy blinked and stared at them again.
Come one, try to think, who are they?
She tried to force her brain to work, but nothing came out. She was slightly panicked, but she told herself to calm down. Lucy tilted her head and asked.
"Who are you? And what happened?"
Layla, Rogue, and Sting were stunned at her question.
"What do you mean, Lucy? This is not funny, we're so worried about you." – Layla said. Rogue exchanged a wordless glance with Sting. Perhaps they both knew what was going on.
Lucy scowled. - "No, I'm serious, who are you? You're my mom? Why can't I remember you? – Lucy started mouthing, her nervousness was rising at the woman's answer. – "What happened to my hand, my shoulder? Who are they? Where is my family?" – Her breath quickened. The duo widened their eyes and instantly came to her sides while Layla took her hand.
"Hey, hey, Lucy… Calm down, honey. I'm here, I'm your mother. Calm down, okay? Breath." – She said and Lucy slowly regain her composure.
"That's it, inhale, exhale. Just, be cool, okay? Everything will be fine, I promise." – Layla kissed her forehead, making her feel warm.
"Lucy…" – Rogue called quietly and Lucy turned to him. She tried to think again, but gave up when a slight pain slowly came to her head.
"Are you my family?" – She asked innocently and he smiled tenderly at her.
"Yes, Lucy. I'm your family. We're you family." – He said, gesturing at Sting and himself.
"Oh, so… Who is younger?" – Her look darted between two guys who were staring quizzically at her.
"Huh?"
"I mean, you're both my older brothers, or my younger brothers, or something?" – She said and their mouths dropped.
"What?!" – They almost yelled at her and Layla scolded them.
"Shhhh… both of you."
"Gomenasai, Layla-san…" – Sting scratched his head and turned to Lucy again. – "No, Lucy, we're not your brothers or anything. We're your friends, actually. I'm Sting and this is Rogue." – Sting smiled and Lucy was motionless for a second.
His smile looks so sad. She thought.
"Lucy, why didn't you tell the doctor that you can't remember anything in the first place?" – Layla stroked her hair.
"Well, I thought that I would remember after a while, but clearly I can't." – She murmured.
Rogue took her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"It's fine, we're glad that you're okay." – Sting nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we could deal with this problem later." – He added. Lucy smiled at them and let out a relieved sigh. I hope so.
"Oh, and… What happened?"- She asked while yawning. Sting and Rogue looked at Layla, she slightly shook her head.
"It was an accident, you should rest and we'll tell you later, okay?" – Layla smiled and Lucy nodded. She lied down and Layla carefully tucked her in. Sleep came quickly and her mind was sunk in darkness.
Layla, Rogue, and Sting stayed together in silence, listening to her breath. Their minds, unlike hers, were filled with new anxiety. After almost ten minutes, Layla broke the silence in the room.
"She's fine now, Sting, Rogue. You two go home and rest, I'll talk to the doctor in the morning." – She smiled in motherly fashion at them.
They lifted their heads to look at her, then smiled back slightly. - "Hai, Layla-san." – The duo said obediently.
Rogue handed her the bag with fruits and milk, telling her to rest as well, and walked out. Sting kissed her cheek, then followed him.
Outside of the hospital, the sun had already set a while ago, the light from street's lamps lightened their way, but not their hearts and minds. Everything was gone. The way she looked at them with blank expression, it made them feel like all the memories they had together had never existed.
Sting sighed. He had hoped that when she woke up, he could tell her that how sad he had been all the week, that he appreciated what she had done, and he wouldn't let anything like this ever happened to her again. But, it didn't matter anymore.
"I mean what I said, she's okay and that's the best." – Rogue said, glancing at his companion. Sting quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Well, I meant it, too. When I nodded in agreement, you know." – Sting rolled his eyes in irritation. Rogue made it sound like he attached more importance to Lucy's amnesia than Lucy's well-being.
"You look disappointed." – Rogue stated and Sting stared at him in disbelief.
"Seriously? Lucy-has-an-amnesia, it makes her loose all her memories about us, about her family, and friends. Of course I'm disappointed, what did you expect? I dare you to tell me that you don't feel the same." – Sting furrowed his brows.
"Yes, I do, but I also have a hunch that she's gonna regain her memories soon, so don't worry." – Rogue said calmly and Sting made a face.
"A hunch?" – Rogue nodded.
…
"A hunch." – Sting repeated.
"*sigh* Yes, a hunch." – Rogue replied.
"Hunch?" – Sting looked at his friend weirdly. Rogue sounded like some kind of psychic. Rogue gave him a bored look.
"Yeah, a feeling that something is gonna happen in future exactly as you expect it to, if you don't understand, google it." – Rogue responded mockingly. Sting only shrugged.
"Well, your hunch worked last time." – He murmured.
Both of them knew that he was referring to the time at the basketball court, before that happened.
"I wish we had come home earlier." – Sometimes, a minute or just mere ten seconds would make everything different. Sting sighed again. Now that the damage is done, there's nothing we can change.
"Focus on what's important, Sting. I hope that Lucy's amnesia is just temporary. Maybe we can help her recover or something." – Rogue patted Sting's back. So do I.
[5 days later]
"Do they always behave like that?" – Lucy said, looking at her friends who were still bickering and wrestling, like usual.
"Yeah, always." – Levi smiled and shook her head slightly.
"Natsu, Gray, stop it. We're in the hospital." – Erza said firmly, leaving no room for argument and they immediately halted, mumbling apologies.
It had been five days since she woke up. The doctor had come to examine her condition again the next morning. He had said that because of Lucy's collision with the ground from her fall, her brain was having a post-traumatic amnesia. Amnesia was rather rare, however, he couldn't have told whether it was temporary or not. Some people only needed a week to get back to their previous condition, some people needed two weeks, sometimes a month. It depended on patients' cooperation. The doctor had said that he would write out a prescription for her to help her regain memories, but he had also said that if the recuperation process lasted more than two months, that meant she had to fill her mind with new ones.
Despair had been written all over Lucy's face when she had heard that. The chances now were 50/50, there was nothing that ensured she could completely recover. She had also asked her mother what had happened again, but Layla, along with Sting and Rogue, had decided Lucy should wait. That was horrible and definitely not something they should tell a patient when she was still recovering.
Besides Sting and Rogue, Erza, Natsu, Levi, Gray, sometimes Gajeel, and Juvia would come to see her every now and then. They talked much and her friends told her stories of 'the previous Lucy'. Lucy always listened carefully, but she found it hard to comprehend all of those thing about 'the previous Lucy' that they told her.
"Hey, when will you be discharged from hospital, Lucy? The sport congress is going to happen in about a week, we want you to come and see us playing against Sabertooth." – Natsu beamed and cracked his knuckles, he couldn't wait to crash those Tigers.
"Yeah, I really want to see their faces when the judges announce we are the winners." – Gray added excitedly.
"Huhmp… I'm not sure, but I think I will be released next week, hopefully before the game." – Lucy said, looking at the ceiling. Her hand and shoulder weren't fully healed yet. She still couldn't move them much, but they definitely had got better.
"I'm glad that you're okay, Lucy." – Natsu suddenly said, staring at her intently, she blinked.
"Thanks, Natsu." – And gave him a tender smile. Natsu looked at her ruddy face and his cheeks were slightly reddish, the room started to heat up.
Gray rolled his eyes while Levi and Erza exchanged a meaningful glance. As soon as Natsu lifter his head to look at her again to say something, he was cut off by a cough. All of them turned to the door to look at the intruders. Natsu even glared at them. The silence was settled among them, it was truly awkward and unbearable. Lucy eyes flew back and forth between her classmates and her childhood friends.
"Is… Something… Wrong?" – She hesitated. Erza looked at Lucy over her shoulder, maybe it was time to leave.
"Nothing. We should go now, sleep well, Lucy." – Erza gave her a small smile and Lucy waved at her. Levi hugged her slightly and followed the red-haired girl. Gray rubbed her hair and finally, Natsu pecked her cheek. She blushed at the gesture, not expecting such an act.
"Good night, Lucy." – He mumbled.
Natsu could feel a glare that screamed murder behind his back from a certain person, but he paid no heed. Lucy bid him a goodbye and Natsu walked slowly out of the room, not forgetting to glare at the blonde who was clearly waiting for him to get lost.
Revenge is soooo sweet. Natsu inwardly smirk.
Lucy stared at them. Somehow, the scene sent some déjà vu to her mind. Rogue raised his hand to greet her but she didn't notice him.
"Are you all right, Lucy?" – Rogue sensed her wandering thoughts and snapped her out of daydream. His hands were working with the vase and the flowers on the small table beside her sickbed.
"Y…yeah." – She said, reassuring him. The door closed and Sting breathed out in irritation. He did it on purpose. He moved to sit on the chair near her bed, smiling at her.
"What was that?" – Lucy asked.
"What… Was what?" – Sting responded, cocking his head.
"I could clearly feel the pressure between you and Natsu, why? You two don't get along?" – She required.
Exactly. Sting thought.
"Yeah, we weren't very fond of each other. In short, he hates me and the feeling is mutual." – Rogue snorted at the statement, Sting sent him a glare.
"Hate? Oh please, you don't hate him." – Rogue murmured quietly but Lucy caught that. She gave Sting a look of pure surprise.
Sting sighed before said in uncaring manner. – "Well, I don't practically like him either. But you, Rogue, admire him so much, don't you? – Sting smirked at his friends, Lucy's look transferred to Rogue and he rolled his eyes.
"Admired, not admire."
"Why?" – Lucy cocked her head aside. – "Something happened between you guys in the past?".
"Mostly between Sting and Natsu, I'm not involved..." – Rogue paused, peeling an apple before spoke again. - "…And the reason for what happened was totally stupid." – Rogue deadpanned. He handed her a small piece of apple. Lucy took it, then thanked him.
"It's not stupid and he started it, okay?" – Sting grunted, his partner just merely shrugged. Sting looked back at Lucy who was munching the fruit like a squirt, clearly expecting him to tell the anecdote like a kid waiting for bedtime story.
He sighed. - "It happened when we were ten…"
[Flashback]
"Hey, Rogue, have you seen Lector?" – Sting asked, frantically looking around to find the red cat. Today was 'Pet's day', everyone in his class had to bring a pet and introduce it to his/her classmates. It was playtime and Sting had left Lector in his class to go to the restroom, he couldn't bring a cat along when he was relieving himself.
"You lost Lector again?" – Rogue raised a eyebrow, Sting pouted.
"I didn't lose it, it went outside without my permission." – Sting groaned, Rogue rolled his eyes at his friend's stupidity. It's a cat, it didn't need your permission to go out.
He clicked his tongue and sighed. - "Fine, let's go find it." – With that, they started to search for Lector. Two young boys checked every place they could think of and asked everyone they thought that could have seen the cat, but it was nowhere to be found.
"Have you found it?" – Sting asked while opened another trashcan. Rogue shook his head, but remembered that his friend couldn't see him. He stood up behind a bush.
"Nope." – He sighed, hands were on either his hip. He looked at the his friend again.
"If you were Lector, where would you go?" – He asked. Sting turned to face his friend and put a finger on his chin to think.
"Somewhere that has food?" – He shrugged. Rogue knitted his eyebrow in concentration.
*tink*
His face lit up and he punched his palm.
"The backyard!" – He exclaimed, then dragged Sting, who was still confused at his friend outburst, to where he was heading.
There was a large fish tank that was placed in the middle of the vegetable garden at the backyard. It was for decoration and relax purpose when children were tired of planting. Lector was probably there. They turned around a corner, the white fence became bigger and bigger with every step they took.
No sooner did they arrive to the garden, they heard some grunts from a cat. Two cats, actually. They halted when they saw Lector and a blue cat were facing and growling at each other. Lector seemed like it was having the upper hand. Besides them, there was another 'creature', a clown fish which was struggling convulsively on the ground. Yeah, you could guess what happened.
"What the heck?" – Sting asked loudly when two cats suddenly dashed at each other, scratching the 'enemy's' fluffy face.
"Happy!" – A shout was heard and the duo turned to look at the source of the noise.
Natsu-san? Rogue thought. It was Natsu Dragneel - captain of class 1-2 soccer team.
Rogue never admitted this to anyone, even Sting, but he secretly admired Natsu very much. Natsu was naturally good at sports. Rogue, however, hated them. He was never good at them, therefore, he found sports a real waste of energy. That's why, when he saw Natsu playing so confidently and full of determination, he couldn't help but feel a great amount of respect for him.
Since then, he started to practice playing soccer. Although he still hated sports and was nowhere as good as him, he began to think that maybe playing something wasn't so bad. He wished that he could surpass the boy someday, but he knew it would be so, so, so hard.
"Happy? Who names a cat Happy?" – Sting quirked his eyebrow as Natsu came to scope the blue cat in his arms. Sting, on the other hand, considered Natsu as a goal that he needed to defeat. Since Natsu became the captain of class 1-2, his team was the only one that could overcome Sting's team from class 1-5.
"I named it Happy, you got a problem with that?" – Natsu glared at him. The red cat hopped to his arms before purred in delight when Sting pet its head. The blonde smirked. Rogue moved to pick up the fish, then allowed it to go back to its home, which was the fish tank.
"Happy!" – Natsu gasped when he saw scratches were all over Happy's face, the small cat mewled in pain. - "What did you do to Happy?" – He asked Sting angrily.
"I didn't do anything, Lector did." – Sting said innocently.
"Why did your cat scratch Happy?"
"Huh?" – Sting cocked his head aside.
"Why did your cat scratch mine?" – Natsu lowed his voice in attempt to make it sound more dangerous, but ended up having to clear his throat to ask again, because Sting seemed like he couldn't hear him.
"How would I know?" – Sting glared at the boy. – "Maybe your cat disturbed him while he was eating." – He sent Natsu a pointed look.
"Happy never disturb anyone. Your cat did." – He said in an accusing tone.
"Pardon me? Lector is the most polite cat I've ever met in my entire life…" – He said proudly, not noticing that Rogue was snickering behind his back. – "… Therefore, it must be your cat that disturbed mine."
"No, it didn't." – Natsu retorted back.
"Yes, it did." – Sting exclaimed.
"Your cat is a bully." – Natsu accused, pointing a finger at Lector.
"Well, your cat is weak and a rude one." – Sting shrugged.
"It is not weak and not rude, your cat is!" – Natsu yelled. Both of them started to approach each other, throwing insults at the other's cat, which was returning 'disturb', 'rude', 'polite', 'weak', and some other things completely off-topic. Rogue took off his sandals and sat on them in Indian style, putting his chin on his palm, watching the scene played out in front of him with a wide grin.
"You could never be a teacher, because you can't even teach your cat not to disturb the other cat's meal!" – Natsu yelled at Sting.
"Excuse you, but I want to be an astronaut, not a teacher! Lector is smart so it could learn it by itself. You are a bad owner, like owner, like cat! – Sting shouted back. He took a step forward to face his 'goal' nearer, but suddenly slipped.
In Rogue's eyes, it was like a slow motion scene in an action movie. Natsu and Sting's eyes widened (as well as Rogue's). Sting swung his arms in the air, throwing Lector in the process, his body was slowly leaning toward Natsu. Natsu, thinking that Sting was trying to hit him, took a step back to take his fighting attitude. Happy jumped off his arms. Unfortunately, it was too late. Sting successfully 'attacked' him, he (unintentionally) pinned Natsu to the ground. They both fell with a loud thud. Natsu quickly aimed a punch at Sting's face, almost breaking the boy's nose. Sting, thinking that Pinky (Natsu's nickname since primary school) was using his unbalance to start a fight, fought back. Two boys started wrestling and punching small fists at each other.
The motion back to its normal speed, Rogue quickly stood up to stop them.
"Okay, stop… Sting… let go of him. Natsu… stop!" – He yelled but either of them heard him…
[End of flashback]
"Okay… But, what was next?" – Lucy asked when Sting finished his story.
"The principal had to call their parents to his office… You know what happened after that. Since then, they became more hostile to each other. Natsu moved to Edolas when he was eleven. Four years later, we met again at Fiore Academy in our first year." – Rogue finished other details. Lucy nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well, that's not my fault. That fight proved that he had violent sign when he was young…" – Sting paused. – "... You should stay away from him." – He added, putting on his innocent face.
Rogue smirked knowingly while Lucy made a face.
"Rogue said it was just an accident, it didn't count as 'violent sign'." – She made air quote with her right hand.
"Y… Yeah, right…But he didn't think that was an accident in first place, he jumped in conclusion and punched me first, so it counted." – He replied stubbornly.
"I don't know, it sounds pretty…stupid…" – She trailed off but quickly changed the topic. – "But… You know it was a misunderstanding, why didn't you two make up and be friend with each other?" – Sting, who was looking at her, narrowed his eyes and diverted his look to Rogue.
"Well, our dear friend, Rogue, hadn't told me that it was an accident until after Natsu-san came to America. He said it was fun to see us still fight because of some stupid misunderstanding in the past." – He said accusingly.
"That was my only source of entertainment beside hanging out with Lucy." – Rogue said with a poker-face. Lucy didn't know why, but she suddenly felt shy at his statement.
Sting rolled his eyes at friend's evilness, but didn't retort back.
A comfortable silence settled in the room, yet, it disappeared when the door to her sickroom opened. Lucy turned to look at the men and smiled widely at her father.
"Dad!" – Jude was stunned for a moment before he pulled himself together again. No matter how many time Lucy called him 'dad' since she woke up, he still couldn't get used to it. She always called him 'father' before, sounding more formal. Jude smiled tenderly at her.
"Good evening, Lucy." – He turned to the standing duo and nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'll take care of you for a few days, your mother needs some rest." – He said.
…
Silence once again embraced the atmosphere, this time, it was very uncomfortable. Rogue and Sting weren't very close with Jude. There were always some kind of silent tension among them. Sting never knew why and neither did Rogue. Jude, however, didn't care.
Awkward. Rogue thought and decided to leave.
"Maybe we should go, good night Luce." – Rogue waved at her then bowed at Jude. Sting did the same, he also wanted to kiss her goodbye, but finally decided against it. That perhaps wasn't a very good ideal with her father's presence.
Jude waited for them to leave, then sat down on the chair that was occupied by Rogue a while ago.
"How do you feel, Lucy?" – He asked. Although he was pretty busy, he still tried to find some time to visit his daughter.
"I'm fine, dad." – Lucy smiled. It was a rare sight to see his daughter smile at him. He wondered why he didn't notice his daughter's beautiful smile before. Lucy was closer to her mother than father, because Jude was always busy with work. Although Layla usually scolded him for spending more time at work than with his daughter, he still couldn't rearrange his schedule to play with her. Of course, 'this Lucy' didn't know that. Jude sighed quietly.
Maybe some other time.
He came here with the intention to tell her about Loke, but maybe that could wait. Loke came to visit her when she was still in coma, yet, he was busy in Brazil after that, so Lucy still hadn't met him. Even thought she lost her memories, he knew she would act exactly the same way that she used to when he first told her that she had a fiancé.
"How was your work today?" – She asked in attempt to start a conversation.
Jude smiled a small smile at her and told her about his day. He felt bad when he thought about this, but… Somewhere deep down inside, there was a little piece of him that was thankful for her lost memories.
[A week later, 5 days before the sport congress.]
Lucy got off her father's Roll-Royce and stood in front of the biggest mansion she thought that she'd ever seen. She took a deep breath. It was refreshing to be able to smell something different from scent of the hospital. Cool wind, the smell of the grass and wild flowers helped her mind relax. Layla adjusted Lucy's trench coat to keep her warm, Sting and Rogue followed closely behind. Lucy had been released from the hospital today, the duo came to help her and Layla moving Lucy's important things from the hospital and the dorm back to her room at home. Her mother insisted that she stayed at the mansion so that Lucy could be taken care of better.
Two young boys came to open the gate and they beamed at her. It was Gemi and Mini, the twin gardeners of Heartfilia's mansion. Lucy waved back in courtesy, although she didn't know who they were. She looked at the big house in awe, it was splendid. Lucy couldn't believe that she lived in a place like that.
"It's funny to see her like this, because she used to dislike this place, saying that it was bored and stuff." – Sting whispered to Rogue and the guys chuckled. Lucy caught that, but she didn't say anything.
"Layla-sama, Lucy-sama, welcome home." – Caprico and Virgo bowed and nodded at Rogue and Sting.
"Thank you, Caprico, Virgo." – Layla smiled, then turned to look at her daughter. – "He'll lead you to your room. I'll make you something to eat. Rogue, can you give me a hand, my dear?" – Layla kissed Lucy's forehead and smiled at Rogue. She had something to talk to him.
"Of course, Layla-san." – Rogue and Layla left, leaving Caprico, Virgo, Lucy, and Sting standing in the middle of the hall.
"Right this way, Lucy-sama." – Caprico gestured them to follow him.
Every servant that they passed by bowed and smiled to Lucy in a welcome back manner. They were all worried when they heard that she was in the hospital. Lucy nodded at every single one of them, sometimes she forced a smile that was clearly fake.
Sting noticed her actions and he was slightly worried. He didn't know how long it would take for her to recover, but he was afraid that if she didn't regain her memories soon, she would never be the same Lucy that they knew. Lucy was slowly turned to someone else, she rarely smiled genuinely and he still didn't hear her laugh once since she had woken up. Her mind was usually like it was wandering somewhere else, looking for something. When he asked if there was something wrong, she would simply nod and say that she's fine when she was clearly not.
Perhaps I should act like I normally do, doctor said that maybe it would help her recall something that she forgets.
Caprico opened the door quietly and Virgo pulled her baggage inside. Lucy stepped in and jumped.
"Something's wrong, Luce?" – Sting put a hand on her shoulder, eyes full of worry.
She stared at her room for exact 30 seconds before she nodded.
"Y.. yeah… there's just… so much… pink." – Her lips parted slightly at she looked around. Baby pink wall, classic rose curtains, deep carmine pink mica desk, lavender rose carpet, magenta windows frame, orchid pink bed...
Sting chuckled. - "I was horrified when I entered your room for the first time I came to your house. I couldn't believe there was a girl that was obsessive with pink like you."
She smiled, but her back was facing Sting, so he couldn't see it. Lucy unbuttoned her trench coat and attempted to use one hand to take it off, but Sting quickly stopped her. He didn't want her injuries to open.
"Let me." – He said quietly and tenderly helped her remove the item. He lifted her left arm gently, careful not to move her shoulder too much. Sting did it with sheer concentration.
So close.
Lucy stared at his face, she could feel his breath gently fanned her cheeks. His fingers brushed against her neck, leaving some hot trails on her skin. The heat from his body spread through her and she felt her heart rate slightly pick up. He took the coat completely off and looked at her when he felt her eyes on his face. Lucy quickly looked at the ground and coughed to cover her embarrassment when he caught her staring.
"Something on my face?" – Sting asked innocently. He, of course, was used to their proximity, but he forgot that Lucy wasn't. She shook her head frantically, blushing slightly. Sting furrowed his brows at her odd reaction before he shrugged. He hung the coat on the wall and Lucy came to sit on her bed.
"Hime, is there anything else I can do for you? I've finished unpacking your things." – Virgo bowed. Hime? She always call me that?. Trying to put that thought aside, Lucy waved in dismiss.
"No, thank you… eh…"
"Virgo, Hime."
"Ah… Thank you Virgo. You could go." – She said. Virgo bowed again and left.
Lucy's eyes landed on the pile of pictures on her dressing table. She picked some up and checked each one of them, leaning against the table. Those were from her dorm. Apparently, Layla thought that those photos could help her daughter remember something. Most of them were of Lucy, Sting, and Rogue. Lucy touched her face on the photo. It was like seeing another one but not her. Lucy in the picture was so lively, Lucy in this real life at the moment was a little dull.
"Beautiful, right?" – Sting said beside her, making her jump. She had forgotten that he was still in this room for a minute. He chuckled and put an arm behind her, hand rested at the other side of her hip. He leaned in closer to look at a photo that showed him a smiling face of Lucy.
She blushed at both: the close distance and his compliment. Lucy made an inclination of the body to the right to create some space. Fortunately, that went unnoticed by Sting, who was still looking at the picture in her hand. Lucy turned to another picture and her eyes widened. In that photo, she was sandwiched between Sting and Rogue and they were kissing both of her cheeks. All three of them were wearing red graduation suits, Lucy assumed that they were at their secondary high school graduation. Sting snickered when he spotted her pink cheeks just by looking at herself being kissed.
"Ah… Another pretty photo, you look cute." – He beamed. Her face darkened in color again.
Is it just me or this room's starting to heat up?.
She shook her head to clear her mind, Sting looked at her quizzically. She began to feel really uncomfortable, being near her friend like this. His presence was clouding her mind and she couldn't think of anything except the warmth of his body.
Why?
Lucy didn't know why she was feeling this way, she couldn't control anything in her mind and heart.
Was the 'previous Lucy' feeling this way, too? If she did… then… it means she had… some kind of… feelings for him? Lucy thought, oblivious to the look that Sting was giving her. If that was the case, then it would explain why I feel this way. But… Considering his behavior, he probably didn't know about my feelings, he introduced himself as my 'friend', right?
Lucy locked eyes with Sting, brows narrowing slightly in a calculating look. Sting blinked at her weirdness and tried to fight back his blush when she stared at him with such intensity like that. But again, if I didn't feel that way about him before, does that mean… I'm abnormal? Lucy thought, then scrunched her face in worry. She still looked into his eyes, but her thoughts were focused on something else.
"Eeh…Lucy?" – Sting hesitated.
If it was the first case, should I tell him?
"Lucy? Do you hear me?" – He asked again, louder.
But if it was the second case, should I stay away from him so it would go away?
"Lucy?" – Sting frowned. What is she thinking?
I didn't feel like this when I was in the hospital… Maybe because I wasn't being near him like this before.
"LUCY!" – Sting practically shouted in her face and Lucy jolted from her thought. She squeaked and stepped back, almost falling from sudden outburst of Sting, if not because of his instant reaction. He quickly caught her before she hit the ground, an arm putting under her shoulder while the other embraced her waist. His face was nearly an inch from hers.
"Eeeek!" – Her eyes widened before she squealed and shoved him off, wincing at the pain that shot to her shoulder and hand.
"Idiot, be careful!" – He scolded her and took a step forward to check her injuries, but she held up a hand to stop him, panting slightly.
"I-I-I-I am fine, just s-st-stand there." – She put her right hand on her heart to calm its rate.
"Lucy, really, you're making me worry. Are you okay?" – He tried to take step forward again, but she took a step back, creating more distance between them.
"Really, I'm fine. Could… you… give me… a private moment?" – She gulped.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong." – Sting demanded and approached her, Lucy continued to recede. She finally decided to take all her courage and strength to push him out of her room.
"Just get out. I need to think. I'm fine, don't worry." – She insisted.
"Luce, something's wrong, I can tell. Tell me Lu-" – He didn't have the chance to finish his sentence when her room's door slammed on his face. Lucy leaned against the door while Sting's presence was still on the other side. Her breath started to slow down.
"Lucy! Lucy, open the door." – Sting coaxed and pounded at her door. Lucy groaned at his persistence.
"Just go away, Sting. I'll be fine." – Lucy said loudly.
"No, you're not fine. Lucy, c'mon baby, don't be like that. Lucy? Luc-" – Sting suddenly stopped as Lucy's eyes widened to comic proportions when they realized what he just said.
Did I/he just call her/me 'baby'? – They both thought and blushed furiously.
"Ne-never mind, I-I'll leave you for a moment." – He stammered and quickly ran clean off. Lucy breathed out a relived sigh when she heard his footsteps slowly disappeared.
Too much for one day.
End of chapter 13
Phew~ Finally! Well, I'm almost late for school so... enjoy. Until next time!
Bái bai (it means bye) XD