Hiii! So...for all of you who want this to end in NaLu, then you are in luck, but for those of you who don't want NaLu, then...this is awkward. So just read it and hopefully you still like it :D Also, some GaLe for you

OH and one more thing! I want to make more of these Vermillion University fics, but I don't know who I should make my next one on? So I will set up a poll on my page. It would really help if you vote! Thank youuuu

Lucy felt the anger welling up in her like a storm as she walked out of Mira's. This was like a problem she just didn't want to deal with, and she felt like she was running away. Everyone told her not to run away from her problems, but it's so much easier to do that.

She rushed down the street, shoving her hands in her pockets. The wind was picking up, and bits of snow were beginning to fall. Lucy randomly thought about how Natsu didn't like the winter, but she quickly shook away the thought. 'No more Natsu,' she whispered under her breath. 'I'm running away from my problems.'

As she walked more, the snow and wind began to pick up, and sadly, her wool leggings weren't very warm. She turned the collar of her coat up and rubbed her hands together for warmth. If only she had a scarf. Natsu's scarf came up in her mind. And his warm presence.

"Lucy!" A seemingly distant voice called out. Lucy whipped around and saw an old black car. The windows were tinted gray, but inside, Levy had opened a window and was waving at her. Lucy could see Gajeel in the passenger seat.

"Levy," Lucy smiled with relief.

"Need a ride?"

"Yes!" Lucy exclaimed and hurried into the back seat. "Levy, you are a lifesaver. Hi, Gajeel."

Gajeel simply nodded and Levy blushed. "Oh, it's nothing, Lu-chan!"

"Yes, it's something! I would have frozen to death," Lucy said, and savored the warmth of the car.

"Dude, you can't stop here!" Gajeel exclaimed exasperatedly. "What the hell? You're gonna wreck my car!"

"Oh, it's fine, Gajee! I only stopped for a second!"

"Well, quit talking, and start driving!"

"Don't tell me what to do! I can drive."

"Yeah, but this is my car, and despite its bad-ass-ness, it can't survive you!"

"You have to-"

"Shit, there's an officer over there! Sit up so you look taller!"

They both immediately became quiet, and Levy began to drive more normally. Lucy couldn't help but smile a little. Gajeel and Levy were so cute. They were just like her and Natsu, but clearly they didn't have the same problems.

"So, Lu-chan," Levy started. "Why were you even out in the cold?"

"I was out for a walk. It was okay a half hour ago," Lucy explained.

"Ya didn't see the weather picking up?" Gajeel furrowed his peirced eyebrows.

"I was inside," she said. "At Mira's."

"Oh? You know, I lost you at the graduation party," Levy said, glancing at Lucy through the mirror.

"I left about ten minutes later," Lucy said quietly. She didn't feel like lying to Levy, nor did she want to talk about Natsu, so she offered no explanation.

But Levy was Lucy's best friend, and it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.

"Something happened with Natsu," she said, like more of a statement.

"Um, yeah, kind of," Lucy said. Gajeel turned a little.

"What did that punk do? Should I beat him up for you?" he asked.

"If it really is that bad, I'm sure Gajeel could beat him up," Levy agreed.

"No," Lucy smiled a little. "I don't want you to do that."

"You're right, actually," Levy nodded. "That's no way to solve a problem. You should talk to him."

"I tried, but...it didn't turn out that good."

"Well, try again! If you two are really meant to be, then you can work it out," Levy said. "But it's not going to come immediately. You have to try in a relationship."

Lucy listened intently. This was the best advice she had ever gotten.

Then Levy added, "You both have to try."

Lucy frowned. "But he hasn't attempted to talk to me yet."

Levy winced a little. "But he's Natsu. He's a little dense."

"Hella dense," Gajeel interrupted.

"Like you're any better," Levy scoffed, then kept talking. "Anyway, Natsu needs a little push. Soon he'll come around."

"R-really?" Lucy asked.

"Yes! So go again, talk to him," Levy said.

"Should I call him?" Lucy asked warily.

"No, talk to him," Levy pressed. "I can even drop you off at his dorm."

"Yo, drop me off, too," Gajeel said. "We're at the same dorm."

Lucy could see Levy rolling her eyes in the mirror.

"Okay," Lucy agreed slowly. "You can drop me off there."

"Yay! Go, Lu-chan!" Levy smiled.

"So what are you doing after this?" Gajeel asked Levy.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go to the library," Levy shrugged. "Or shopping."

"Yeah, okay, drop me off then," he said flatly.

"What? Do you want to hang out?" Levy asked eagerly.

"I don't know," Gajeel shrugged. "I'm just bored with this whole winter break thing."

"It is boring."

"Let's go to the skate park," Gajeel suggested.

"It's snowing."

"Ugh. Fine. Let's go-"

"Wait, we're here," Levy interrupted. "Here's your stop, Lu-chan."

"Thank you, Levy-chan," Lucy said. "You're awesome."

"No problem!" Levy said. "Oh, wait, let Gajeel walk you in."

"What?" Gajeel groaned.

"Be a gentleman! Go walk her in!" Levy ordered.

Lucy smiled inwardly and stepped out of the car. She loved how Gajeel would do anything for Levy, despite his cold demeanor.

Gajeel jumped out of the car and began walking towards the dorm. Lucy struggled to keep up with him.

"Thank you for walking me in, Gajeel," she said gratefully as they walked through the doors to the lobby. It was warm inside and students were enjoying hot chocolate and coffee.

"Yeah, no problem, bunny girl," he shrugged. He had called her that ever since she dressed up in a bunny outfit during a moment of weakness.

Lucy kept walking towards Natsu's dorm room. Once they reached the stairs, Lucy turned to Gajeel.

"You can leave now, you know," she said with a small smile.

"Okay, I'm out," he said and turned away. "Oh, and if Natsu's still an asshole, then I can beat 'im up for you."

"Um, thank you," she said, unsure. "Bye."

He just walked away. Lucy smiled more, realizing how much more energy she now had. And she climbed up the stairs to the second floor.

The hall was emptier today because of winter break. Most of the students who stayed were in their dorms, hiding from the snow.

Lucy couldn't believe what a change of pace she had gone through. One moment she was walking sadly to Natsu's room to face him, and now she was going again with a new energy. All in one day. Of course it was Levy and Gajeel who cheered her up. Levy, her best friend, could cheer anyone up.

Her friend. Natsu was Lucy's friend.

He was like her hero when her father was being unreasonable. He was like a knight in shining armor.

And Lucy knew that, even if they weren't a couple, she didn't want to lose him.

With that thought, she knocked on Natsu's door.

Of course, it was Sting who opened the door.

She sighed. "Why is it always you at the door?"

Sting smirked. "You came back?"

"Natsu is my friend," Lucy explained. "I don't want to lose a friend to something a small as a relationship."

"Pfft," he scoffed. "That's bull. You should find him, knock the daylights out of 'im, then walk away with no explanation."

"I'm not doing that!" Lucy exclaimed, but found his 'solution' to be amusing.

"Eh, have it your way," he shrugged absently. "Ya wanna wait inside?"

"Um, no thanks," Lucy shook her head. "I just want to know where he is."

"I dunno. I can text him if you want," he said and pulled out his phone. Then he moved from the doorway. "You sure? I don't want you to get cold."

Lucy sighed. She considered it, then finally accepted. If he tried to take advantage of her, she knew some self-defense.

She walked in and let Sting close the door. It was a little strange, she had to admit, being in Natsu's room and being with Sting. But she decided to anyway.

Natsu and Sting's room looked a lot like her own. It had two twin beds, each pushed against opposite walls, two desks, next to the beds by the window, and two closets. Lucy could easily tell which was Natsu's side: it was messy, with clothes scattered all over, and the desk was like havoc, but there were pictures of Natsu and Lucy all over. It was sweet of him, at least. Lucy couldn't help but wonder if he would take them down once they broke up.

Sting's side was a little neater. The bed was unmade, but there were no clothes scattered around and the desk was much neater. He had one picture only, and it was him and Rogue when they were children. Lucy did think that was cute.

"So...uh...you can sit down. Sorry 'bout the mess," he said.

"It's okay," she said, sitting on Natsu's bed.

Sting began to write a text to Natsu.

"You know, I can ask him," Lucy said, taking out her phone.

"Nah," he said without looking up. "That jerk might lie. He's honest to me."

"I-I don't think he would've lied to me," Lucy turned red.

Sting simply shrugged and kept texting. "Where...are...you...asshole?"

Once he was done, he put his phone next to him on his bed, then looked up at Lucy.

"Are you sure you're gonna forgive 'im?" he asked.

Lucy fought to make eye contact. "I...I think I have to. I mean, we're practically family."

"Isn't that kind of weird to date your family member?"

Lucy half-smiled and looked down. "He's not family-family, just like family. My father's kind of a workaholic and he can be inconsiderate, so my friends are the only true family I have. And Natsu is my closest friend. I don't think you would understand."

"Actually..."

"What?"

"I kinda do get you," he said, looking away. "I grew up in a foster home, and no one really wants to adopt a ten year old kid. So, you know, Rogue was my only friend. My family."

"Really?" Lucy said quietly. "Is that why you get so mad when Natsu calls him your boyfriend?"

"Well, everything Natsu says pisses me off," Sting gave her a small smile. "But seriously, he's like my brother. I actually got adopted one time. But it was some lady who needed government money and was adopting kids left and right. So I got sent back a month later. And sure enough, Rogue was still there. 'Cause, you know, no one wants an angry kid with red eyes. And I guess no one wanted me either. So yeah, we've been friends ever since."

"Oh," Lucy said. She didn't exactly know what to say. Sting had just confessed something deep to her and she didn't have much to say back.

But thankfully, Happy- Natsu's cat- hopped up the bed and climbed onto Lucy's lap.

She smiled. "Hey there, Happy."

Happy purred in response.

"Are cats even allowed in this dorm?" Lucy asked Sting. The question had never crossed her mind until now.

"No," he said. "But me and Natsu hid them really well."

"Them? There's more cats?"

"Yeah," he smiled and looked near his pillow. "Lector!"

A little maroon cat crawled out. It was small and energetic looking, and it bounced onto Sting's lap.

"Say hi to Lucy, Lector," Sting said, waving the cat's little paw.

Lucy giggled. "Hi, Lector. Do him and Happy ever fight?"

"Nah, they're okay. But-"

Sting's phone beeped suddenly. He picked it up and glanced at it. Lucy noticed the cheerful expression leave his face.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said slowly. "It's just one of my friends."

"Not Natsu?"

"No."

Lucy squinted at him. He was hiding something, obviously.

"You're a bad liar, Sting," she said. "What did he say?"

He looked away nervously. He always seemed so confident, so this was very different.

"What?" She stood up. Happy bounced off her.

Sting relented and handed her the phone, without looking at her. She took it anxiously, but quickly. What did it say? What was so bad that even Sting wouldn't tell her?

She read, [w/ lisanna at th park. y?]

Lucy stared at it. Really? Did Natsu really leave Lucy to go with Lisanna? Was he that idiotic? She wanted to shake her head and sigh with exasperation at his foolishness, but she couldn't. It was just harsh irony. Natsu had always been so nice to her. They had a special bond that was different. They had reached a level of comfort, and she had no idea that he had the same with Lisanna. Or did he? Was he really just caught up in the moment like he had said?

"Are you gonna break up with him?" Sting said suddenly.

Lucy thought for a second. Would she...?

"Maybe," she said softly. She slowly handed Sting the phone. She didn't feel like crying anymore.

Sting took it and tossed it aside.

"Y-You know, maybe he's just talking to Lisanna or something," Sting said.

"You don't have to say that. It's-I'm done," Lucy said. "I have to break up with him. I thought all this time that he only loved me, but...I guess not."

"I don't know why he did that," Sting said.

"He must really love Lisanna."

"His loss."

Lucy looked at Sting. "Really?"

"Yeah," he glanced away. "I mean...you're beautiful."

Lucy stared at Sting, who was looking away. She didn't know what to say. She's heard it before from many people, but only few could sound as genuine.

"Thank you," she said softly, "Sting."

Then Lucy headed to the door. She had to leave now.

Sting didn't follow her.

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sorry so late. i've been super busy. but here!

also vote on the poll.

thank you luv you