Happy Fourth Of July My Wonderful Readers, hope you're all enjoying your day so far by swimming or watching movies or just reading fanfiction. Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.

POV: Lucy, Narrator

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

"LOKE!" I screech wrapping my arms around the male's neck feeling his hold tighten around my waist while we both laugh as he continues to swing me around. I squeal while clutching onto the man feeling like we're going to crash into something and fall down. Also my injuries are beginning to hurt and I'm doing everything I can from crying out.

After what seem like hours of spinning, even though it's only been a few seconds, a loud earsplitting scream booms throughout the house seemingly making it shake, "LOKE YOU PUT THAT GIRL DOWN BEFORE YOU HURT HER EVEN MORE THAN SHE ALREADY IS,"

Loke almost drops me as we both turn toward the doorway leading into the living room to find Makarov fuming red where he stands, veins popping out of his forehead seemingly ready to explode, "Hurt?" Loke asks confused looking down at me noticing something he hadn't earlier when he had lifted me up, "Princess, your arms," he traces the several bruises and scratches that adorn my arms and I blush at the sound of his old nickname for me, "What happened to you," Loke asks then tracing the large band aid covering a cut just under my jaw.

"Oh, you know, fell down a flight of stairs at the airport when I got here," I say pulling my arms away from him and scratching my cheek feeling a bit caught. His hard gaze softens and his beaming smile returns.

Without further questioning, Loke wraps his arm around my shoulder and leads me toward the dining room toward where Laxus is setting up the table with the help of a still fuming Makarov. I turn to look at Loke and notice how tall he is compared to the very last time I had actually seen him which had been when I was eight, sometime after my mom had passed away. He and his family had moved to Magnolia because of his father's job and I hadn't seen him since. I had still talked to him over the phone and at times we would write each other letters before we both became way too busy that we stopped both completely.

Loke is twenty one, four years older than me, and has taken on to working at his family's business, Star enterprises, along with Jellal. They're both still in college and mostly just help out with some office work here and there. His bright orange hair is spiked wildly to the sides and his blue tinted sunglasses sit snuggly at the edge of his nose covering his large hazel eyes. He's wearing a black business suit with a white button up shirt and a red tie neatly tucked behind the black suit. He's handsome with all boyish features that I used to know gone revealing lean broad shoulders and chiseled features. He smells of pine and fresh soap along with a hint of cologne, familiar scents that bring me back to our childhood when we used to play with each other as kids.

We all sit at the table as I ask him how things have been going and I grasp every word wanting nothing more than to catch up with my one true friend, other than Levy. Loke and I go as back as when I was two and he was six when our parents used to get together for lunch. I was a very lonely child and Loke always found a way to brighten my day, until the day he left.

I explain to him about everything that had been going on these past few years back in Crocus and he listens intently while eating his meatloaf happily. Everyone listens to me intently each laughing along with me when I mention all the other times I've had to go to the hospital because of my clumsiness. It's so much fun that before we know it all the food is gone and I continue with my story while Wendy and Laxus clean up the table.

The atmosphere is smooth and joyous up until I mention meeting Natsu and the rest of the student council. Wendy drops her spoon to the floor at the sound of his name and everyone else grows quiet looking at me as if I had just set off a bomb. This is the second time that someone tenses up when I mention Natsu, well Laxus really actually caught me talking to him so that is different. Loke is actually the one who seems to glare even more than the rest of the males in the room.

"Did I say something wrong?" I ask looking over at Makarov who has his eyes closed in concentration with his arms crossed across his chest.

"No Lucy, you did nothing wrong. It's just…" he trails off seeming to be weighing his response heavily inside his head, "It's just that I would prefer it if you wouldn't talk to Natsu at all," he says finally opening his eyes looking at me with concern and what seems to be fear. Was Natsu really that bad?

"How…" I start to ask but a familiar voice rings throughout my head along with the warning bells that had rung in my head a few days prior when I first met Natsu. Don't bother asking questions no matter what the cost. The warning rings through the air like a threat making me close my mouth as I press it into a fine line and I can't help but feel scared.

"Please princess," Loke says while reaching out and grabbing hold of my hand from across the table, "Please trust us when we say that he is bad news. If you hang around with him you'll only call trouble to yourself and you may get hurt far worse," Loke too? He sounds just like Natsu this morning when I caught him talking to that strange Juvia girl at the hospital.

I look around at all the worried faces that stare at me within the room and I can't help feel like I'm being watched from behind. I feel my mouth grow dry and the pressure within the room seems to intensify as I look at each face. I force a smile onto my face trying to look reassuringly at them, "Don't worry about me guys, I'm a tough girl," I say lifting my arm into a flex in a poor impersonation of strength, "But I'll take your word to mind," I say making them finally relax.

"Alright, who wants cake?" Makarov asks pulling a large chocolate cake from under the table and holding it up over his head like a treasured prize changing the atmosphere in the room dramatically. We all raise our hands yelling "Me" while laughing at Laxus's poor attempts to retrieve the cake from Makarov and though I try to laugh it off, the strange prickling feeling of having a pair of unwanted eyes on me continues to pull at my attention. I look at the window finding nothing but the dark forest nearby.

Weird.

From the nearby shadows, dark amber eyes stare in through the open window curiously watching the happy group interact with each other. He's been here since the moment the guests arrived about an hour or so ago and not once has he moved from that spot. His eyes have mostly stayed on the young blonde and when it came to the point where their conversation moved to her he couldn't help but hang onto every word those rosy lips said.

A name was said, and then a warning heard, making the atmosphere grow dark within the small comfortable house. Her large brown eyes are confused and when she's about to ask a question he knows she shouldn't be asking she shuts her mouth pressing it into a fine thin line. Another warning from an orange haired male that grasps her hand and she is silent for only a heartbeat before her contagious smile returns. She holds up her arm trying to make it look like she's showing off muscle, though there really is nothing there, before agreeing with them.

The atmosphere then changes and they begin laughing again, all of them except the curious blonde who looks out the dining room window straight at the forest. Her expression is confused, but most of all questioning, as she continues to stare outside into the lonely forest where the amber eyes watch her.

"Interesting," the figure says with an inquisitive smile before he melts back into the shadows.

Do you guys know who Cherami Leigh is? If not she's the lady who does the voice of Lucy, Whom I Adore, and coincidently she is coming out in a movie soon made by one of my favorite YouTubers Shane Dawson. The movie is called Not Cool and if you want you all should check it out.

Shout Outs

Uliary - Thank you for following and favoriting my story.

Coolanime14 - Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

eplekake - thank yo as well for favoriting and following my story.

guinealuv17 - thank you for favoriting my story.

Sakura Frost - It was Loke, as you probably just read, and if you guessed it was him then that is awesome.

Fuinneog5eva - thank you for following.

PhantomInsanity - thank you as well for favoriting and following my story

thatonguy666 - many thanks for following my story.

Well that's all the shout outs for today.

If you're enjoying my story so far please favorite, follow, and review - remember that reviews are a writer's candy - and if you have any questions or ideas you can PM me and I'll gladly add it in.

Until next time my lovelies.