I'm back with chapter 18 ready to be read by all of you amazing people. Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.

And the mystery continues...

POV: Lucy, Natsu

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Pallets of rain pound on my window and short instances of lightning flashes illuminating my room with white light. I snuggle deeper into my covers feeling the room grow colder as another wave of thunder rattles the empty house and I wince at the sound pulling the covers up to my nose.

I have my back to the window and the curtains are closed from the pouring night and all the while I'm regretting not going along with Laxus to the gym. Watching him train would have been less scary than staying home alone in a storm like this, or I could have gone with Loke to watch a late night movie to wait for my grandfather to come home from the meeting. Instead I decided to lock myself up in my room after that strange encounter I had earlier this afternoon feeling my heart sink further. Truth is that the tears have all but stopped flowing.

Another flash of lightning flashes along with a great resounding crash of thunder that makes my heart stutter and it doesn't help that along with that flash of lightning I see a shadow loom near my bookshelf looking menacing and dangerous. I sit up and once the room darkens again I notice that no one is in the room but me. I scramble to my feet clutching my book to my chest and keeping my covers wrapped around my shoulders as I make my way toward the bookshelf just in case anyone was actually there, but my room thankfully holds no one else but me.

Sighing, I chuckle at my paranoia and I set my book back on the shelf when I feel a cold breeze hit my back once I hear the sound of my window opening. The patter of the rain increases with the open window and the wind makes the papers on my nearby desk scatter across the room onto my wooden floors. I turn around just as another flash of lightning reveals a dark figure crouching at my window looking like some sort of demon trying to break into my room and take my away.

I scream at the top of my lungs and grab hold of the first thing I can find and throw it across the room hitting the thing dead on. It falls onto my bed with a groan and I take a step back to run but my legs get tangled into my blanket and it isn't soon that I'm on the ground trying to untangle myself so I can get away. I scramble up to my feet and grab a hold of a brass candlestick holder while searching the wall with my free hand for the lights to see who has intruded my room while holding my weapon over my head ready to swing unwilling to tear my gaze from the shadow. I finally find the switch and almost instantly the lights shoot on blinding me for a few seconds before my eyes quickly adjust and I'm staring down at my unwelcomed guest/intruder.

"Natsu?" I ask incredulous to find the pink haired teen sitting on my bed nursing his wound I had inflicted on him from throwing a small plastic toy at him.

"Geez Luce, what'd you do that for?" he grumbles, sincerely confused as he continues to rub at his head where a small lump has begun to form at the top of his forehead.

Blinking a bit puzzled, I stare at him before I feel my face burn with oncoming rage, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WHY'D I DO THAT?!" I screech waving my weapon at him making him flinch and cower a bit, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SOME SORT OF BURGLAR!"

"Well it wasn't a burglar, it was just me," he says matter-of-factly making it sound as if I were dumb as he crosses his arms across his chest looking a bit indignant as if I had just insulted him.

"HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT YOU CREEP?!" I yell continuing to wave my weapon at him.

"Luce, do you really have to yell so loud. You'll wake up the neighborhood," Natsu states while closing the window behind him shutting out the wind and rain that has probably soaked my entire bed by now. I swear, the nerve of this guy.

"WHO'S FAULT IS THAT?!" I shriek incredulous at his attitude toward the situation, "Besides," I huff, crossing my arms across my chest trying to calm myself down before I get the sudden urge to strangle him here and now, "Who in their right mind would climb up the side of a two story house and break in through the second story window?"

"I didn't break in," he mutters looking almost like a child and I hold in the urge to roll my eyes as I move over to my closet and pull out a towel before throwing it at him once I notice how soaked he is.

He takes the towel giving me a small thanks and starts drying off his hair almost immediately, "What the hell are you doing out in a storm like this?" I ask while moving over to where I abandoned my blanket picking it up and rolling it into a ball before placing it on the bed next to Natsu, but he's looking at something on the floor clearly ignoring what I had just asked him.
Reaching down, he picks up a piece of paper and starts reading what's written on it while asking, "What's this?" and it doesn't take me long to recognize what he's reading.

"NOTHING!" I cry out while snatching the piece of paper from his hand and quickly picking up the rest of the scattered papers that now litter my floor.

Once I finish recovering every last piece of paper, I stuff them all into one of my drawers all while Natsu stares at me with a funny look from my bed. I sigh, relieved he didn't read anything that he wasn't supposed to, and turn to glare at my pink haired invader as he casually smiles at me while surveying my room. We stay quiet for what seems like ages as he continues to look around before his Amber eyes, which look almost black at the moment, land on something nearby bedside table.

He reaches out once more taking hold of the picture frame that holds a picture of my mom and me when we had gone to Akane Beach a long time ago. He smiles and his expression softens when he says, "You look a lot like your mom," and for some odd reason this unsettles me.

"So I've been told," I mutter still a bit fumed from the scare he gave me, "Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here? Shouldn't you be back at the dorm in your own bed instead of drenching my own and scaring me half to death?" I ask and he chuckles while putting the picture back from where he got it.

"I noticed that you were all alone and I thought I'd come by and give you some company until someone came home," he states standing up from the bed with my towel wrapped around his neck. He looks at me, probably for the first time since he entered the room, and his smile disappears being replaced with a look of worry, "Have you been crying?" Shocked, I move over to my dresser and look into four foot mirror to notice that my eyes are bloodshot and puffy from crying and my nose is a bit red from all the times I've been blowing my nose, "Lucy, are you alright?" Natsu asks breaking me from my reverie and I turn to look at him forcing a small smile onto my face.

I want to tell him, really need to tell him, what had happened earlier this afternoon. It's probably a silly idea, but I feel that those three people were dangerous and that if I were to tell Natsu anything something bad would probably happen to either him or me. Besides, just the thought of telling him what had happened makes the warning bells implanted in my head go haywire making my head hurt from all the none existent noise.

There's also the fact that I feel like we're being watched.

"It's nothing," I whisper rubbing my arms feeling cold and guilty, "I'm just a bit homesick is all," he stares at me for a few more minutes unconvinced, but eventually nods and his cheeky smile has taken over his face before he moves on over to my bookshelf searching the shelves where all of my DVD's are stored.

"Hey Luce, let's watch a movie," he says eagerly scanning the endless amount of movies that I've collected over the years and brought back with me from Crocus. They were probably the first things I sent over here before my clothes and other essential necessities.

I'm more than eager to comply with his simple request unwilling to kick him out and spend the rest of my evening alone. He came all this way after all just to give me a little bit of company, might as well enjoy it while it lasts before my grandfather and cousin return.

Looking at Natsu's soaked clothing I ask, "Do you want me to find you some clothing for you to wear?" I ask and he turns to me, a puzzled look on his face, "You're soaking wet and the last thing I want is for you to catch a cold," he looks down barely realizing that his clothes were indeed wet. Without warning, he drops his towel on the floor and starts removing his shirt without a second thought and I instantly feel my face burn up in flames once I catch sight of his well toned bare chest, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" I cry out pointing an accusing finger at him, "Don't just strip in my room without warning. There's a restroom right by that door, go and change in there while I grab you some clothes,"

With a wide toothy smile, he picks up his discarded towel and shuffles over to the indicated restroom as I face palm before leaving the room and searching through Laxus's drawer for some pants and a shirt. Once I find a shirt and pants I head back to the room to find a pile of his wet clothing on the floor in front of the restroom door. I bend down to pick up the clothing and when I look up I find Natsu standing by the doorway wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and a big grin plastered on his face.

"NATSU YOU PERVERT!" I screech covering my eyes while throwing the dry clothes I found for him at him and all he does is laugh before closing the bathroom door behind him. I stare at the door incredulous at what just happened knowing very well that if Magnolia or my ultimate clumsiness didn't do me in, he probably would.

The ending credits scroll up the TV signaling the end of the movie and I look over at a nearby clock seeing that it's past midnight. Outside I don't hear any more rain falling and other than a soft rumble and quick flash of lighting the night seems to be very calm. It would probably be a good idea to leave now before the rain started up again. I can always come back for my clothes later when morning comes seeming as it won't be long before the Dreyer males get home from who knows where they're at. The last thing I need is to have Laxus on my ass again, especially since he all but threatened me to stay away from Lucy way before she even got to Magnolia.

I hear a soft murmur and look down to find Lucy fast asleep, leaning into me and grabbing my shirt to keep her from falling. She fell asleep somewhere near the end of the movie and so I wouldn't wake her I wrapped my arm around her just to make sure she wouldn't fall. I wonder how she'd react if she were to find us cuddling like this. I'm tempted to wake her and see her reaction, but I think better of it as I recall the night before she got here and the conversation I had with both Makarov and Laxus…

"You know the rules," Laxus states standing a foot behind his grandfather with his arms crossed in front of his massive chest, "For no reason whatsoever must you make any contact with Lucy once she arrives into Magnolia, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah I know. Keep my distance, keep my mouth shut, and make it a point to stay invisible from her as much as I can without giving anything away," I mutter waving my hand in the air bored from where I sit in the lumpy guest chair, "Anything else you'd like to go over, or am I free to go?"

Laxus's fists clench in anger, but otherwise stays in his spot behind the headmaster who has stayed quiet this entire time. He opens his eyes, which have been closed until now, and stares at me with his ancient threatening black eyes indicating that whatever he's about to say is very serious, "Do not take this lightly boy," the old man says sounding very well sinister making my spine crawl with the silent threat his words carry, "I will not allow you and your recklessness to endanger my family in any way or form. I'm telling you here as nicely as I can to stay away from my granddaughter or I will not be so kind the next time we meet," his eyes harden and it takes everything in my power to keep from flinching, "If anything happens to Lucy and I find out that you or any of your people are responsible I will personally hunt you down and I'll be asking questions second," he slams his hands on the table as if his words weren't threatening enough.

Nodding, I stand up shoving my hands deep within my pockets and turn to leave. Before I reach the door to his office, I turn around and ask, "What if she goes after me or the others instead and starts asking too many questions to the wrong people?" I ask sincerely making Makarov sigh looking far more tired than he usually looks.

"Leave that to me, other than that; promise me that you'll stay away from her," Makarov says and both Dreyer males glare at me awaiting my answer.

"I promise," and with that I leave the office without another word.

Sighing, I hold Lucy a little closer to me and she smiles in her sleep before I gently remove my arm from around her shoulders and unlatch the window quickly jumping out after closing it tightly in case it started to pour again. I shove my hands into the pockets of the borrowed pants I have, which are a bit too big on me, when I turn toward the dark foliage near the house feeling annoyed.

"What do you want?" I ask irritated as three figures appear from the shadows, two males and a female, who all glare at me with the same intensity, "Thunder God Tribe," I mutter recognizing the trio almost immediately.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Evergreen asks, crossing her arms across her large chest, "You have order to…"

"To stay away, I know," I cut her off rolling my eyes, "Geez, I'm a teenager, not some goddamn amateur," I spit making her glare intensify. She's never liked me in all the years we've worked together and I'm not afraid to say that the feeling is very well mutual.

"Well then stop acting like one," Freed speaks up surprising me since the man is usually quiet and collected, "Besides, weren't you the one who said it wouldn't be so hard to stay away from some Crocus brat?" Freed asks and even if those were once my words it doesn't stop me from getting ticked off.

"You don't understand…"

"Well then please enlighten us," Evergreen cuts in at the air around us starts thickening with the ongoing tension. I really don't need any of this crap right now.

Bixlow places a firm hand on Evergreen's shoulder but his eyes, even though I can't see them, are trained on me, "Listen Natsu, we've known you for a really long time and you're the best at what you can do and the last thing we want is for you to get hurt," Bixlow says sound almost pleadingly, "But you're not making our job easy by breaking Master's rules and sneaking into his house in the middle of the night to meet up with granddaughter doing who knows what," feeling insulted I open my mouth to argue with him but he cuts me off, "You made a promise, just like we all did. If you're worried about Lucy's safety you can be assured that we have it all covered,"

"It's exactly why Master hired us," Freed interjects, "To keep Lucy out of harm's way and I'm sad to say this but you're the harm we must keep her away from,"

Nodding, I turn to walk away before I hear Evergreen say, "It's for the best," and when I turn back around they're gone.

Promise me that you'll stay away from her, I look back up to the house at Lucy's window feeling Makarov's warning ring around my head like the warning bells that always ring when I'm around Lucy or doing things I'm not supposed to be doing.

Freed's right, I did call Lucy a spoiled Crocus brat, but that was way before I actually met her. Ever since I coincidentally met her at the hospital that day, since Erza all but dragged me there threatening me all the way, I haven't been able to keep Lucy out of my mind. I've tried to stay away while also warning her as vague as I could, and after she got hurt breaking all those rules I made it a point to stay completely away from her, but I always found myself slowly falling back towards her. I was like an iron nail and she was the magnet. No matter much I resisted, she'd always pull me towards her without either of us realizing it.

"I'm sorry gramps," I whisper to myself as I turn to walk away feeling the sky rumble as another wave of rain falls down on me soaking me once more, "But I won't be able to keep the promise I made you, at least not this time."

So I made sure to make this chapter extra long for you all and did everything I could to keep it interesting while giving vague hints as to what is happening. Can you guys guess what's going on, or are the secrets still too strong to decipher. No worries, it will all be revealed eventually, just keep reading so you don't miss out.

Shout Outs

Thanks to all of my fantastic Favorites...

- 1999

- Niminaa

- Sammyluv21

- starfiresusan18

- FanFictionLeon

- ladyparty123

- Magyk of Fyre

- U don't say333

To all of my fabulous followers...

- 1999

- andreww428

- DazzTugz

- Sammyluv21

- starfiresusan18

- FanFictionLeon

- ladyparty123

- Magyk of Fyre

- U don't say333

And to my Fantabulous reviewers...

righgurl555cub - I'll always keep updating until this story finishes. I make it a point to always try and finish what I started. I'm also really happy to hear that you liked the chapter, hope you enjoy this one as well.

MeGustaZeref - Because he's grumpy and it's started to rain :P

FanFictionLeon - Thank you so much. I absolutely ADORE when people say that they love my story. While you spend your whole morning and balancing school to get up-to-date with my story, I spend whatever free time (which is sadly limited) to write for wonderful readers like you. BTW I hope you have an amazing year as well.

Owl's song - I read your review sometime after I had decided what to write in this chapter and it's funny how we both had the same thought. I had thought that there were too many intense scenes and I wanted to liven it a bit. I hope you liked it.

Well that's all the shout outs for today

If you are enjoying my story so far please follow, favorite, and review - remember, reviews are a writers candy - and if you have any questions or ideas you'd like to see put into this story you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it in.

Until next time my lovelies.