Thanks to everyone who PM me their thoughts on the story! You were all pretty close. If you change your mind about your theory, go ahead and PM message me it. I would love to see who well you are all picking up clues. There is usually one per chapter.

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Lucy's neck felt oddly warm when

she woke up. In fact, her body felt super warm. She just figured Layla had the heat up and went back to sleep. But when she felt something move beside her, she opened her eyes.

She looked around and saw that she was in her room. She looked down and saw black hair. She fought the urge to scream. Gray was nuzzled against her neck, hugging her waist tightly. She unclenched her fists after realizing that she was gripping his shirt.

"Gray?" she asked. He didn't seem to move. She moved her hands up to his neck and pressed his pressure points as hard as she could. She heard him gasp and lift his head up.

"What was that for?!" he yelled, rubbing his neck. He blinked a few time and looked at Lucy. He forgot that he had to spend the night. Hey, she wouldn't let him go.

"Get off my bed," she hissed. She pushed his chest, and he fell on the floor.

"Why are you making so much noise?" Laxus mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he entered her room. It wasn't even six in the morning, so he did not understand why Lucy was making so much noise. He already learned the hard way that she wasn't a morning person, so he didn't even think she would be up.

"Dumbass was raping me in my sleep," Lucy huffed, crossing her arms.

Laxus looked around her room. His eyes landed on Gray. He didn't even realize that he spent the night, let alone sleep with Lucy. Honestly, he was too tired to care. He only got home from Natsu's a few hours before, so he only got a few hours of sleep.

"I did not rape you!" Gray yelled. "You were the one who wouldn't let me go!"

"That is not true!"

"You wouldn't let go of my shirt!"

"I'm glad that you didn't rape each other, but be quiet!" Layla screamed, entering the room.

"Great, let's have a fucking party in my room," Lucy said. Layla glared at her. It didn't matter how early it was; she had no reason to swear.

"Laxus, go to bed," Layla said. He nodded and left the room. "Lucy, you really wouldn't let Gray go. He probably could have taken his shirt off, but he wasn't walking home shirtless. Since you are so obnoxious, you're going to let him sleep in your bed until a decent time." She turned to leave the room. "Besides, I don't think you really mind it."

Lucy stared speechless as her mother left the room. She almost had a heart attack when Gray got back on her bed. "Are you seriously sleeping in my bed?!" she asked worriedly. He plopped down beside her and pulled her back to him.

"I carried you clear across town. I'm tired," he said against her neck. Lucy sighed in defeat and just let him be. She remembered being attacked and Gray saving her, but she doesn't remember anything after that. She probably did fall asleep, forcing him to carry her.

X

Lucy scrunched her eyes tightly when she heard laughter. It stopped, so she relaxed her eyes again, slowly drifting back to sleep.

When she heard it again, she opened her eyes. How many times was she going to be woken up? She sighed when she saw Gray still beside her. He was sleeping like a rock, so he must be tired.

Remembering why she woke up, she looked around the room. She shrieked and jumped when she saw all her friends standing in her room. They started laughing louder. Gray stirred beside her, but seemed to go back to sleep. How could he sleep through the noise?

"I knew that you liked Gray!" Mira said happily. Lisanna and Levy nodded in agreement. Lucy felt her face heat up.

"I don't like him!" she whisper-shouted. She wouldn't normally care if she woke Gray up, but he did save her, so she owed him a few extra minutes.

"Why haven't you pushed him off you yet?" Erza asked.

"I don't want to wake him up," she said. When her friends gave her 'I told you' looks, she realized she should have explained more. "We were up late last night, so he is probably still tired." Her friends started laughing.

"Fuck!" she screamed. "I didn't mean it like that!" She mentally slapped herself when Gray moved. He still didn't wake up, though.

"Apparently someone attacked her in an alley," Laxus said as he entered the room. "I guess I forgot to tell you guys that part. That's why he spent the night. Actually, he stayed because Lucy wouldn't let him go. He had to carry her here, and she had a death grip on his shirt."

"You called them?" Lucy hissed. She knew her brother was trying to ruin her life.

"Stop picking on them," Layla scolded, pushing her way into the crowded room. "You guys need to leave and let Gray sleep. He has to go to a skill-analysis today. I can't have him tired when he shows the judges his fighting skills. He can earn a lot of brownie points for the competition next month."

"Do you mean that martial arts thing?" Lucy asked. She remembered Wendy explaining it to her.

"Taking an interest?" Layla teased. Lucy blushed and denied it. She just didn't like being the only one that doesn't understand what's going on. Yeah, that's it.

"I'm dragging you along, anyways. Someone needs to keep Wendy company," Layla said.

X

"Are you sure that you guys only slept last night?" Layla asked, looking into her mirror at the two teens in the back seat. Wendy giggled from the passenger's seat.

"I'm more than positive," Lucy said, looking at Gray. His head was resting in her shoulder. He was awake long enough to get in the truck. They woke him up at four in the afternoon, and it was now seven. He was still asleep. She wasn't completely sure when they got home the night before, but either way, he still shouldn't be tired.

"We'll be there in an hour," Layla said. "He doesn't have to be awake to check-in, but it would be nice if he could attend the welcome banquet."

"Wait, are we staying the night?" Lucy asked, finally realizing that it is night time. A lot of people were attending the competition, so they wouldn't be able to meet everyone in one night.

"We'll be back sometime Tuesday, why?" Layla asked. Lucy couldn't imagine how long the competition itself would last. She would be missing a lot of school, luckily.

"Miss Layla," Wendy started. If she wasn't calling her master, she always called her miss. "Will you tell us another story?"

Lucy groaned and tried to tune her mother out. She had heard over three hours of Layla's stories, and she was sick of hearing her voice. The view was amazing, so she occupied herself with looking out the window.

When they finally arrived, Layla, literally, threw Gray out of the car. He sat up quickly and looked around. He still looked like he hasn't slept for weeks.

"I'll go park the car. Take everything up to our room," Layla said, throwing the room keys to Wendy.

Lucy looked around in awe. So many people were around her, talking and laughing with each other. The building was specially used to house the contestants.

"Why are you so tired?" Lucy asked Gray. She had his arm around her shoulder, and he was practically falling asleep walking.

"I'm," Gray said, "not." Lucy rolled her eyes at his pathetic lie. She clearly saw him closing his eyes for a few more seconds then necessary between his words.

"Have fun, Sleeping Beauty," she said, dropping him on of of the beds when they entered the room. She set the bag she was rolling behind her on the couch and walked to the door

"Where are you you ?" Wendy asked, setting her back down, along with Gray's.

"Don't worry about it." She slammed the door behind her and started wandering around.

She smiled when she found the door that would lead to the back of the building. She quickly went outside. She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it. She hadn't had a chance to smoke since she moved to Magnolia, and she was really stressed out. She never considered herself to be addicted, but she really needed one. She sighed in relief as she let the smoke pour out of her mouth.

"Are you even old enough to smoke?" a man said. He pulled the stick from her mouth a took a puff of his own. Lucy followed the hand up. It led to a man about her age, she assumed, with spiked blonde hair. She really appreciated his tight green shirt. He was wearing gray sweats and flip flops, despite the cool weather.

"Aren't you a little smart ass," she said. She blushed slightly when he put the cigarette back in her mouth.

"Sting Eucliffe," he said, extending his hand.

"Lucy Heartfilia," she said, returning the gesture.

"So are you competing?" he asked, leaning against the wall behind him.

"Naw, I'm here because of my mom," she said. She looked up at the clear sky and took another puff. "What about you?"

"Yeah," he said. Lucy noticed his blue eyes. "Have any friends competing?"

"I think I may have just added another."

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. Lucy couldn't deny the fact that he was attractive. He was probably the first person she could say that about since...

"Lucy!"

"Dammit," she cursed. She could hear Wendy running closer. "Hey, I'll see you around, Sting." She put her cigarette in his hand and ran off. He smirked and threw it on the ground, stepping on it.

He didn't even smoke.

X

"Where were you?!" Layla yelled. At this point, she knew Gray wouldn't wake up. If he did, that'd be perfect.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lucy said in a teasing voice. She walked over and unzipped her bag. She knew Layla packed it, so she had to see what she would be wearing for the weekend. She suddenly cared what she looked like, thanks to something blonde. She had a pair of white jeans, a pair of yoga pants, short gym shorts, a black tank top, a white shirt, and a purple hoodie. From the looks of it, Layla packed things that she would wear if she were going to work out.

"I have your outfit for tonight hanging in the bathroom. Go get ready while I wake Gray up," Layla said.

Lucy took a quick shower. Layla packed her strawberry shampoo and vanilla body wash. She brushed her teeth and hair, then looked at her outfit for the night. It was a dark blue dress that seemed to be a little too small. It was tight, strapless, slightly sparkly, and had a black bow over the chest area. When she put it on, it only reached a few inches past her hips. It wasn't too tight, but it did squeeze her breasts, causing them to stick out a little. She knew Layla would ask her for her dress size next time. She clearly had no clue what size to get her. Lucy shrugged and put on the black heels.

"Wake up!" Layla screamed at Gray.

"Mom, let me try," Lucy said. Layla moved aside without even looking at her daughter. Lucy crawled into the bed and put her chest right up to Gray's face. She kicked him in the shin. He woke up, but got a nosebleed in the process.

"Is he-" Layla stopped talking when she saw Lucy. Her dress was way too short and low-cut. "Gray, go get dressed. And take care of that nosebleed."

"Y-yes, ma'am," he said, blushing. He left to go change in the bathroom. When he came back out, he was wearing dress pants, a blue dress shirt, and black leather shoes.

"Let's go party!" Layla cheered.

And Sting enters the story! If you aren't a fan of that pairing, don't worry. Sorry for the spoiler, but nothing serious happens between them.