A/N: Howdy! Sorry for the lack of updates, but I had so many exams and projects for the past few months... and then Undertale happened. I just wanted to lay on the ground and feel like garbage. Guess who's Undertale trash now?
ME!
I'm sorry. I was absorbed by its fandom. The community is too strong. Chara almost took my soul. I barely came back alive, and you guys are my priority. I'll stop plaguing you guys with my rants on Undertale, I promise. Again, I'm sorry. I should get dunked on. Okay, I'll stop. After this chapter. Teehee. Let's feel like garbage together!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Undertale, Toby Fox does.
LIGHT CASTS A SHADOW
Chapter 13: A BAD TIME
Sometimes Lucy wondered if she was brought to this world as a form of twisted amusement. Did otherworldly beings huddle around a screen and find pleasure in watching a stumbling idiot tumble her way through life from one embarrassing situation to the next? Absolutely. On the bright side, things could have gone worse.
As of right now, Lucy was currently hiding in the closet of a stranger's home. She had a lot of time to think about the events that had to occur in order for her to possibly end up here.
After waking up from the seven year time-skip, she found that she would never regain the time that she lost. Her father, the only remaining person in her family, had died waiting for her return. For once in her life, she felt utterly alone. Her thoughts then drifted towards Sting who had grown while she remained frozen in time. Worry and guilt washed over her heart at the thought of the little boy being alone after all these years. Did he feel hurt when she was gone? Alone? Forgotten?
She needed to know he was okay.
Long story short, she set off on a journey to find him. However, setting off on a journey meant that she would have to take a minor absence from the guild. Since quests at the guild were her only source of income, she made less money. Unfortunately, traveling expenses ate away most of her savings, barely leaving her with enough money to scrape for basic things such as food. Which is why she decided to crash this party.
Lucy never planned on becoming a party crasher, but when she was heading back late from researching the current timeline at the library, her nose caught a whiff of something incredibly delicious and her ears were drawn to the rhythm of upbeat music. She just wouldn't able to stomach another night of Virgo's godawful cooking. Loke had managed to ease her out of her conscience to slip into the party, grab some food and drinks if there were any, then escape into the night.
To be honest with herself, this wasn't the first time they had done this. With a gentle nudge from Loke, this sort of became a frequent part of her lifestyle with all the searching for Sting and whatnot. There was hardly ever any bouncers from keeping strangers out and most of the party goers didn't even bat an eye whenever he would casually escort her into the building. Just pretend that you're invited and everyone assumes that you're allowed to be there. Easy.
So Lucy placed her hand on Loke's arm, walked up to the front door, and walked in like they belonged before she realized the eminent danger.
No, this was not your average lackluster party hosted by some young drunk mage. Nope. The moment they walked through that door, she noticed that they had stepped inside a mansion packed with people on all sides. A lot of them were dancing, some were eating, and the rest were mingling. It was a normal classy party... except they all carried around the same colorful guild mark.
She knew she would probably stand out like a strawberry in a bowl of peas without the distinguished guild insignia, but she saw a few other people without the mark, so she decided to risk it. She put on her best smile, and they made way to the bar for something to eat. The staff there was surprised at how polite she was being, but were nevertheless very welcoming to her presence. The bar was decked like a miniature buffet stacked with gourmet dishes and Lucy ate to her heart's content while Loke drove away unwanted guests who wanted to socialize.
"My apologies, but I'm afraid this young maiden is taken."
"In case you were lost, the punch bowl is in that direction."
"Yeah, I know she's cute. Touch her and I'll end you."
It was almost laughable at how fast they caught attention, but luckily no one paid it any mind. She could only shake her head at the occasional flirt here and there. After stuffing herself with the five-star meal, she was feeling pretty satisfied. Lucy turned away from the bar — resolved on leaving — until one of her favorites songs began to play.
Lucy wavered, and internally debated with herself as she went over her mental check list. -Was Loke in a safe distance? Check. -Did she happen to blend in with a huge crowd of people? Check. -Would doing this cause very little attention to herself? Check! Three checks in a row and she decided that it wouldn't hurt just to stay for a couple more minutes.
One song and a couple more minutes easily turned into dancing for about an hour and a half. Much like the staff at the food bar, the people on the dance floor were just as welcoming. Loke had eventually stopped watching and was leisurely sipping away a few drinks with some women. Lucy literally danced until she dropped — her calves were aching. Excusing herself, she headed towards a quieter area of the party for some breathing space. She should probably leave soon. Someone was bound to notice that she wasn't invited.
"S'up Blondie."
Lucy blanched at the sound of the voice. She turned to see that guy from before — the one who grabbed her outside of the library in the middle of the night — leaning up against the wall, with his hands inside his pockets. "Hello," she smiled, a little forced.
"I didn't think we'd be seeing each other again so soon." He playfully smirked, "How'd my cloak end up treating you?"
She blinked. Oh, right! The incident totally slipped from her mind. It was a really kind gesture for him to offer his cloak to her in the pouring rain, so she guessed he couldn't be all that bad. She felt bad for hitting him now. "I'm so sorry about earlier! Thanks for the cloak, but I left it back at my apartment. I can give it back to you later."
"Nah, you can keep it. I was just wondering about something." He gauged her reaction, an expression of bored curiosity on his face, "You obviously didn't come here to see me. So then, how do you know Rogue?"
Lucy didn't know who the heck Rogue was, but she wildly guessed that they might have been the host of the party. Her mind mentally blanked as she quickly went over her check list: -Was Loke in a safe distance? Nope. -Did she happen to blend in with a huge crowd of people? Nooooooo -Would doing this cause very little attention to herself? NO!
Yup, she was screwed. She was too embarrassed to admit that she was a party crasher who had wandered in from the street, so she quickly said something sensible any rational person would say—like, "I'm dating the brother."
He just stared at her. Oh God, Lucy nervously paled, I totally messed that up didn't I? What if this Rogue person doesn't even have a brother? Why didn't I just say we were friends or something?!
She waited for him to call her out, but he smiled back instead, "Huh. I didn't know his twin bro was dating anyone."
Lucy visually relaxed a bit and said, "Yeah. We're, uh, we're taking it slow and steady for now."
"Hmm. Are you just using him for his money or something?"
"What?! No way! I would never do that!" Lucy was apalled by the idea. "What kind of person do you take me for? I wouldn't even think of taking advantage of someone's kindness! He's really... kind... and um, thoughtful of others." She should really stop BS'ing things, "I'm really glad to be with someone like him."
"Great. Cuz he's a fantastic guy. So, when'd you guys start dating?"
"Oh, you know..." She was digging herself a huge grave. "Recently."
His grin grew wider, "How recently?"
She wished he would just leave her alone already, "Um, you know what, I don't have to answer that. That's kind of a personal question," Lucy took a few steps back, ready to make a break towards the exit, "It's getting late and I really should get going—" She bumped into something with the back of her leg. She twirled around to find an adorable little cat in a pink frog suit on the ground staring back up at her.
A dark haired mage came fussing over the fallen exceed. "Frosch, you need to be careful. Say sorry to our guest," He gestured towards her, helping Frosch back up. When he saw Lucy, he began eyeing her strangely. "I have to apologize again, but I do not recognize you from our guild."
"Fro thinks so too!"
Lucy didn't say anything — at least she didn't think she could. She had gone way past the point of no return to say something stupid, especially under his scrutinizing gaze. Rogue waited patiently for her answer, his expression still wary and distrusting.
He asked, "Who are you?"
Lucy felt an arm slide behind her waist and the cocky arrogant bastard had suddenly pulled her by his side. She saw him wink, a hint of dry amusement in his tone. "Rogue, this is my girlfriend."
...
Wait—What? What?
"Huh?" Frosch brought a paw up to his chin, tilting his head in confusion. Rogue just looked at him skeptically, "You're dating someone?"
"Yup," He smirked hard, trying not to laugh. He pulled Lucy closer to him, "Isn't that right, Babe?"
Lucy ignored him. She was too busy being completely mortified. She could barely hear the music over the sound of her thunderous heartbeat. "...t-then you... you must be Rogue?" It was more of a statement of disbelief than a question.
"Yes, I am," He frowned at her. "If you two are as close as you say you are, then I hope you take good care of him." Rogue paused and glared his brother, who still had his arm draped around her. "It looked like we were interrupting something. We should go, Frosch."
"Fro thinks so too!"
The second they left, he immediately began cracking up beside her, "Man, did I forget to mention that I was the brother? I didn't know I had a thing for blonde bookworms." He wiped away a tear, "Y'know, ya could at least take me on a date first."
Lucy had never felt so humiliated in her entire life. She tore away from his slackened grip and ran. When she veered past the corner, away from his line of sight, she dove into the nearest opening — the closet. She realized she should have just made a beeline for the front door, but right now she just wanted to crawl into a hole and forget about the world.
She placed a shaky hand on her heart to try to calm herself. Here she was, hiding in a closet of a stranger's house. Her face was still burning red. God, was she an idiot. That jerk enjoyed every single embarrassing moment of it. The idea of dating someone like him disgusted her. She spent who knows how much time wasting away in the depths of the closet, when she heard a subtle knocking on the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Leave me alone to die." Lucy groaned.
The door slid open and Loke's face poked in. One look at his mistress said it all. He heaved a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose before bringing her back up to her feet. He tsk'ed, "Let's go home."
Lucy meekly nodded her head and they proceeded to head out of the party. When they were walking out the front door, she took one last glimpse at the party behind her. The arrogant jerk was staring at her from across the room with an amused smile on his face. Lucy huffed in anger and swiveled her head, catching his wink from the corner of her eye.
.
.
.
Loke was puzzled by her sudden stomping and angry pout as they were leaving the party. He had never seen Lucy quite worked up like this before. Not even when she spent days in different libraries looking for clues for Sting's whereabouts. It was a nice change. "Let's never do this again. Ever." He heard her mutter.
Well, it was fun while it lasted. Sometimes Lucy would neglect eating entirely and her celestial spirits could feel her radiating with anxiety. Loke got her into crashing parties as a way to take breaks from her long periods of searching. It worked as an outlet for relieving stress and even helped monitor her basic needs.
"Okay." He readily complied. There'd be plenty of opportunities later.
A/N: Like the title says, Lucy has a bad time. You could say that searching for Sting... fills her with determination. [Megalovania intensifies.]
#SorryNotSorry
Lucy is bound to find him eventually. You could say that he's literally right underneath her nose! :D
Reviews help motivate me to write more chapters and update faster. Like A LOT! These past few months were just filled exams and tests. I can finally catch a break now that it's SUMMER! I write just for you guys and you make me All Fired Up! Kindly leave a review~
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