I'M back with chapter 45 of my wonderful story. Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.

POV: Lucy

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Gasping, I sit up and gulp in as much air into my aching lungs as I can. It feels as if I spent more than an eternity holding my breath and my eyes sting as if they were flushed out with water. For all I know I could have been drowning in water, but I'm dry and the heaviness of my coat help me calm a bit down.

I look frantically around me expecting to find the jail cells with Kageyama in the Fairy Tail headquarters, but instead I find my room. It looks just how it did when I had left this morning with my drapes shut tight blocking out most of the morning light. My bed looks lumpy, as if there's a person sleeping there, which is just a bunch of pillows and clothing I arranged in case anyone were to come into my room while I was gone.

Judging from how nothing seems to be out of place I'm sure Laxus has not yet noticed that I had left the house. For a second even I'm convinced that I never left until my eyes land on the manila folder lying on the ground beside me. It's wrinkled and specks of blood decorate the once pristine folder. It is the only thing I need to convince me that what I had encountered was not a dream if not reality.

I did sneak out of my house behind my families back again. I broke into private property and sought out the one man that had practically torn my life apart. I found the answers my loved ones fought so hard to keep from me and learned things I wish I could forget. But most of all I made an enemy out of the one man I'm now sure I love, even when he himself does not know it. Not even I knew he was my real enemy until I learned the things I did.

Stifling a sob, I try to collect myself as I kick the manila folder under my bed so that it will be out of my mind, at least for now. Once the darkness swallows it up, I proceed to getting up off the floor when a light knock on my door causes me to freeze.

"Lucy," Laxus's muffled voice calls from the hallway, "Are you up yet?"

"Yeah," I manage to say without my voice cracking, "I'll be down in a bit to eat."

"Alright, try not to take too long or your food will get cold." With that I wait and listen as his footsteps recede away from my door and towards the stairs. I don't move until I hear him reach the landing downstairs and even then I wait a few seconds to calm my racing heart.

Once I'm certain that I won't pass out from my exhaustion, I pick myself off of the floor and quickly grab a change of clothes along with some undergarments. After I have my clothing ready I rush into my adjoining restroom and dump my clothing on the floor next to the sink.

My head swims in dizzying circles that no doubt has to do with the sore bump on my head and the loss of blood. I open my medicine cabinet and take my medication for my anemia and duck my head into the faucet to drink some water. When I look up in the mirror the sight that greets me is astonishing as well as frightening.

My hair is wild and windblown even though it wasn't all that windy outside and my eyes are bloodshot making it look as if I were crying. A large bruise has formed on my nose and forehead from where I crashed into the door and my skin is far paler from the lack of blood. Specks of dried blood dot my lips and chin along with the top collar of my shirt and jacket. I'm a complete mess and I thank the heavens that Laxus didn't come into the room when he did because I'm sure I would not have been able to explain my appearance. The only thing I'd probably be able to explain is the bump on my face by saying that I fell in the restroom and crashed into the door. I mean, I did crash into a door but as to which door and when I had crashed into it can be turned into a little lie.

Although lies nowadays for me are what could be the only thing keeping me alive.

Shaking my head, I turn on the shower putting it mostly on warm. Steam instantly begins to gather around me as I peel off my jacket and throw it into the nearby hamper. I continue to change out of my clothing and it almost feels that every article I peel off is a piece of the old me that I'm removing. Once all of my clothing has been removed I jump into the shower and lather my hair with soap and scrub my body raw determined to remove any trace of my adventure, to remove any trace of the girl who was clueless and scared of things she did not understand, the girl who lived in an oblivious world where she did not know who she really was.

When I finish my short shower I wrap myself with a dry towel and climb out of the shower to stand before the mirror. I wipe the condensation away to reveal that the old me has no doubt disappeared and is now replaced with someone new. A girl who finally understands the world that surrounds her along with who she really is stares back at me. The knowledge shining in her eyes is beautiful and yet it is also heartbreaking. If anyone were to see that knowing light I would no doubt be in greater danger from the people I love.

I've gone through a sort of metamorphosis, but even as a butterfly I can't yet show my wings.

With that, I slowly pull on my clean clothing doing what I can to cover the new me up. She'll have to remain hidden under thin cotton and polyester away from prying eyes. She is my secret and the truth about her can only remain in the knowledge of both Kageyama and myself. At least until I can figure out what my next move is going to be.

Once I'm completely changed into a pair of sweat pants that fit me too long and a hot pink T-shirt I bound out of my room down to where Laxus waits in the dining room. When I spot him sitting in his usual seat with a cup of coffee and a newspaper in hand I can't help but feel nervous. I mean, what if he notices my change? What if he sees the truth in my eyes? What if he finds out what I am and turns me in? What if I mess everything up?

"Are you alright?"

Snapping from my miserable thoughts I look over at my cousin to stares at me over the edge of his newspaper, "I'm fine," I mutter as I take my seat across from him and dig into my meal with no appetite, "Anything good," I ask while indicating the paper with my fork.

"Not really," Laxus grumbles before folding up the paper and tossing it on the table beside him, "They're basically just repeating what they wrote in the last paper."

I watch him dig into his meal noticing that he doesn't really look up at me once. He's too preoccupied eating and that makes me feel a bit more at ease. I feel that if he stares at me too long he'll read me like an open book and find out the truth.

"So how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You look a little pale," he says while continuing to look down at his plate.

"I didn't get much sleep last night," I say and he nods without asking further questions, "So what are going to do for Thanksgiving?" I ask honestly curious.

As worried that I am for getting caught I can't help but feel a bit excited for the upcoming holiday. It's mostly because I've never spent a single Thanksgiving in Magnolia since dad is usually overtime during this time of year. Because of that mom and I would have our own feast along with the servants around the house while dad locked himself up in his office.

Laxus look up at my question as he chews lightly on some bacon before swallowing to give me an answer, "Gramps usually holds a feast over at the dorms and we eat with the kids since most of them don't have any homes to go to during the break." I look down at my half eaten food as I feel my stomach drop a bit, "The students usually cook up something on their own and then take it down so that everyone can eat. Although we're usually the ones that get stuck with the turkey," he groans as he pushes his plate away.

"Sounds like fun," I say as I too push my plate away not feeling like I can eat any more, even though I've hardly eaten a thing.

"More like a pain in the ass," he grumbles with an annoyed frown, "Every year Natsu and his friends always find a way to ruin things. They either finish all the food or destroy it with their unnecessary fighting and sometimes we have to remodel the building's dining hall due to the destruction left behind by those idiots," I sweat drop just thinking about the time everyone had gathered to study here last year and practically destroyed half of the house.

That had been the time where Cana had disappeared. No doubt her astral body had been killed that time which explains the way she had acted when she returned to school.

"There never seems to be dull moment here, huh?" Laxus snorts at my question and shakes his head.

"Unfortunately. Last year Natsu and Gray somehow managed to burn and freeze more than half of the food. We got stuck ordering pizza to make up for the ruined food. The year before that Gajeel got in a fight with Elfman and they both broke a chandelier that Makarov had barely installed that very year. Gramps was so pissed off." I laugh imagining his stories coming to life as I feel myself grow eager for the upcoming holiday even more.

"I heard through the grapevine that you somehow shot down the power grid and that the whole neighborhood blacked out for three whole days."

"That was all Loke's fault," Laxus quickly argues, "Both him and Jellal thought it would be a great idea to use some busted up wires to hang up the Christmas lights outside. I'm surprised they didn't get electrocuted when everything short circuited when it did. They also thought it would be a great idea to put the blame on me."

I crack up unable to hold in my laughter. My side's burn but I can't help not joining in on my cousin's cheery mood. It's been too long since I've had such a lighthearted conversation with my usually grumpy cousin and all of my grave thoughts just vanish, if only for a while. I sort of wish we both had more moments like this one where we exchanged funny stories and laughed.

Laxus's smiles are so rare sometimes and he almost never laughs. I guess it has to do with the rough childhood he had at his father's side and then him joining up in a gang which practically almost killed him. The things he lived through no doubt left quite a mark in his life, but thankfully he came around after his last fight that almost cost him his life. The only thing left from that fight was the scar on his right eye and a lifetime of bad memories.

Our heartfelt laughter comes to an end when Laxus's cell phone starts to ring. We both freeze at the noise and I silently watch as he takes out his phone from his back pocket. He stares at the caller ID for a few seconds before clearing his throat and standing up from the table with a low, "Excuse me," before he heads towards the foyer.

I watch him leave the room before I too stand up and gather up all of the dishes from the table so that I can wash them. As I'm picking up the last of the dishes Laxus's voice booms so loud from the foyer that I almost lose my grip on a cup that I'm holding.

"WHAT?!" Laxus screeches into the speaker, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN THAT SOMEONE BROKE IN," he yells clearly unaware that I'm still within earshot, "Why in the hell didn't you call me when you got there," there's silence as Laxus waits for an answer from the person on the other side as he runs a heavy hand down his face, "How in the hell were they able to get those documents? Juvia had them under lock and key. How could they have just been taken?" I almost choke when I realize what documents he's talking about, "Look, just – just wait there. I'll be on my way in a minute." Laxus hangs up his phone and storms into the dining room where I'm hurrying to dump my load in the kitchen sink.

I race back into the room in time to see Laxus pulling on his leather jacket and stuffing his phone into the back pocket of his jeans, "What's going on?" I ask, worry creeping up my neck.

"Nothing, I just need to go check something out. Will you be fine here on your own for a while," he asks and I nod, "Alright, I'll see you in a bit," and with that he storms out of the house without another word.

To try to keep myself from panicking over whether I could get caught, I quickly start washing the dishes to distract me. There's no way I could get caught. I mean, it's not like Natsu saw me or anything and I didn't leave any evidence behind. There's no way on earth that they could ever suspect that I had been the one to break into their headquarters without any evidence…

Realization sets hard into the pit of my stomach as a glass cup slips out of my soapy fingers and shattering on the floor. I cover my mouth with my wet hands as I try to keep from having a full blown panic attack.

How could I be so stupid?

I left my grandfather's key back at the hideout. A key that should have been hidden away in his office here at home.

So originally Lucy was supposed to leave both the key and the folder behind, but it wasn't until I was writing this chapter that I realized that I had only left the key behind. Well at least it worked out in the end. What do you all think?

Anywho, midterms are finally over *cheers*and I'm really excited because I have a four day weekend which is more than amazing. I get more time to write and be lazy around my house with no worries of school. I'm also counting my days till graduation, but at the same time I'm not ready to go to college just yet... The struggle is real.

On another note, just to clear up any confusion from my previous chapters, no, Natsu does not know that Lucy is dead. Only Kageyama and Lucy know the truth and the only reason Natsu continues to protect her is for the fact that many 'outsiders' who have found out the truth all went crazy. That is the reason Natsu continues to watch over Lucy, but he doesn't know that she remembers everything from before and he also doesn't know that she is already dead.

Shout Outs

Great amazing thanks to all of my Fantastic Favorites...

- Under Celestial Stars

- Clairessa88

- Nekogirl 15

- PewDiCaprio

- Sarahmavis

- NovaTheHedgehog7500

To all of my Fabulous Followers...

- Under Celestial Stars

- Clairessa88

- ThatGuyQQ

- Nekogirl 15

- lovelyfox

- sarahmavis

- bunnyhouse0611

- NovaTheHedgehog7500

And to all of my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- richgirl555cub = Watching Natsu get all serious in the manga and the anime sure makes my heart stop. I just had to make him serious here and I'm really glad how the chapter came out.

- BeastlyTick59 = I'm glad you liked it and as long as you review I'm totally fine.

- MeGustaZeref = Natsu doesn't know anything. All he knows, or more like think he knows, is that she's oblivious to what's going on around her when in fact she knows everything. He doesn't know that she's already dead and that's why he's still protecting her.

- Snavej = There is hope. There is always hope! Lucy shall prevail!

- FanFictionLeon = He most probably will lose her. I guess we'll have to see and find out. Apparently Gray is doing it to find E.N.D and now that I found out about the whole Frosch thing and him being more than determined to destroy E.N.D makes me kind of nervous when he finds out the truth about Natsu. I also agree about the whole Juvia and her perverted thoughts. Also, I started squealing when Gajeel and Pantherlilly finally came out. I would have never expected for them to work for the council.

- NovaTheHedgehog7500 = It makes me so happy to hear that you are enjoying my story. I'm glad that I have you captivated and hopefully I can keep it that way until the end. As for our lovebirds, well their future will eventually be revealed.

Well that's all the shout outs for today.

If you are enjoying my story 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 in the story you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it in the story.

Until next time my lovelies.