Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not and sadly will never belong to me but this plot does! I'll sue you if you attempt to steal it haha ^w^
(A/N: Welcome back minna to D2L (Dared to Love)! My extremely late update has an extremely valid reason so kindly refrain from hating me because I love you all lots! Thanks a lot for reading this and to all those who reviewed and follow/favorite-ed! Kindly leave a review after you're done! Yosh, ikuzo!)
RE-WRITTEN: 09/01/14
"Lucy Heartfilia; the new kid – that's your target" Gajeel stated and the three boys went into thought.
"Heartfilia as in the one from literature?" Gray wondered aloud and Gajeel nodded to confirm his theory.
"Ouch… she's a tough one Gray. She's a man-hater trust me!" Loke said in a – timid? – tone. Hearing this from Loke was enough to believe it because surely there was no girl in the school that Loke didn't know about and it was very rare for Loke to agree that a girl is hard to get.
"So Fullbuster? Still in?" Gajeel asked in a tone that just showed how much he believed he was going to win this. But Gray was determined and so he gave the answer in the affirmative.
"Valentines prom" He said. Valentines prom was the limit he had. If he couldn't get Lucy to say the three magical words to him by then, then he will have officially lost the bet.
With that said, the four dispersed.
-the next day, literature class-
Evergreen, their literature teacher was once again teaching something when her annoying ringtone sounded throughout the class and everyone groaned, knowing that once again, her mysterious boyfriend was going to be on the line – and as predicted, he was.
Gray turned to look at his seatmate – Lucy. She was again on her cell phone; he peeked to see what she was doing and saw that she was texting Levy.
From: Levyyyyy (15/01/13) 9:36am
Yeah we're all going to the nearby café. Pleaseee come along!
He watched as she typed her reply
To: Levyyyyy (15/01/13) 9:38
Levy….You know I'm not a people person…. And I don't even know most of the people in your gang, being 'the new kid' n'all. Maybe some other time.
"You know you'll always be the new kid to us till you actually TRY…" Gray whispered into Lucy's ears and a spark of electricity was felt in her chest. She turned to look at her seatmate who was giving her an amused look and she didn't even realize her mouth was hanging open till he held her chin with his index finger and thumb and closed it for her. She could feel the blush climbing up to her cheeks and it was NOT because it was THE Gray Fullbuster and it was NOT because he was so outrageously gorgeous but well, there was just something about his voice…
"You know that flustered expression actually makes you look pretty cute" He teased and just then and there, she snapped back to reality.
"I-I am NOT flustered pretty boy" she huffed, turning her head away. There had been many of these 'Mr-popular' guys in her previous school and there was one that she had fallen completely head-over-heels for… She would never get over it of course: the heartbreak, the embarrassment and that feeling of complete worthlessness that her first rejection had all left in her. Then there was her first ever relationship resulting in her second heartbreak that hurt her even more than the first. Her first ever boyfriend, she had caught him with another girl…And to think she had actually 'loved' him. She was no fool to ever get anywhere near all that again and that was why, guys like Gray Fullbuster were an absolute NO – in fact ALL guys. She didn't want to ever have her heart race for ANY guy ever again because it was no good knowing no guy would ever genuinely feel that way for her. She wanted to keep her own safe distance from them all… One or two guys had even asked her out once or twice but she had given her flat 'NO' because her first relationship was enough for her to know that 'love' was a fantasy where the male species were involved.
"Heartfilia, Fullbuster, DETENTION" Evergreen shouted and sighed heavily, "these kids… I'm gonna grow old quicker this way!" she dramatically said to herself making a few students face-palm and a few snicker or giggle at her idiocy.
"Well how does retiring sound then? That way even WE can live longer" Lucy mused and the class erupted in laughter and Evergreen fumed with rage.
"YOU! Miss Heartfilia you will spend three days of detention! Let's see how long it takes for a nonchalant kid like you to get some manners" Evergreen reprimanded her while handing Lucy, who was yawning three detention slips and Gray, who was stifling laughter, one.
They both walked out of the classroom together. Lucy could feel her stomach tighten…she seriously didn't like male company now it seemed. Gray on the other hand was pretty much care-free as he walked, hands in his jean pockets. They walked into the library and handed their detention slips to a very serious looking Freed Justine.
Upon seeing the raven-head the muscles on his face relaxed and his lips curled into a welcoming smile, "Gray" he said in acknowledgement as they bumped fists.
"Freed" Gray said as he smirked. Lucy just looked entirely baffled. This was DEFINITELY not the Freed Justine she had to face each time she was kicked out of Evergreen's class. Next, she saw Freed, or rather Justine-san as she addressed him, his expression as serious as ever – a total contradiction to his previous envisage with Gray.
"Lucy-san, regular detention is not a very good start for a newbie… you need to buckle up, even Evergreen needs to be tolerated at the cost of your academic profile." Freed lectured her.
"Yes Justine-san" Lucy said politely, feeling somewhat offended for the fact that Gray was let go so easily. But she wasn't going to mention any of that now. Freed instructed them to arrange some library books and the library was pretty much empty, save for Yukino, the timid exchange student, who supposedly had free period.
"Let me help you with those" Gray offered Lucy who didn't look like she was going to be able to hold onto the stack of books she was trying to carry. She stopped and looked at him, blinking about three times before turning her head away in refusal. She staggered her way three steps forward and before she knew it, Gray had taken half the load off her hands and was carrying them along with his own stack with much ease.
"You don't always have to be so stubborn Luce" He said as he walked with her side by side towards the shelf where they were to arrange the books alphabetically. Lucy blushed slightly, 'Luce?' she wondered. Somewhere, the nickname was said in such a warm manner that she just couldn't stand to correct him.
'It's just a nickname… I can't get carried away with it.' She assured herself. She had a few other nicknames too: Lu-chan, Lulu, Lucky Lucy… Luce was a new one but it WAS after all JUST another nickname to add to the list… But somewhere deep down she felt like that nickname was just meant for him alone to use – 'STOP!' Lucy thought to herself.
"So, you're coming to the café today? It'll be a good opportunity to get into the gang" Gray asked her casually as he set the pile on the carpeted floor.
"U-um…no. I don't want to go, thank you" she replied, stuttering slightly. He took a seat on the carpet covered floor, crossed legged and began handing her books as they were to be arranged and she took them one by one, placing them tidily on the shelves.
"You should come. Levy and I'll be there. You won't feel out of place. The girls are very…welcoming" He encouraged her but she still refused.
"Ok let me guess, you're the type of girl who's into reading and poetry and stuff like that?" He asked and she paused for a moment.
"Girls have no type. It's just the interest that changes. All girls are the same, just as how all guys are…"
'just as how all guys are jerks' she wanted to say but just let it be.
"You're really…shady y'know" He told her but the way the aura around her changed, he felt like he just hit the soft spot.
"…what… would you know…" came her soft reply, so soft, yet full of scorn and anger and…sadness. With that said, she left him surrounded with the rest of the books and walked away. He watched her as she left and sure as hell he didn't miss the sound of her sniff – she was crying.
(A/N: PLEASE READ TILL THE END :D There we have it – D2L chapter 3 COMPLETE! This chapter I've done my best with it, considering I just finished my last exam and am totally exhausted.)
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW ABOUT HOW YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER! FOLLOW/FAVORITE AS WELL, IF YOU ENJOYED IT
NEXT CHAPTER: THE TEARS BEHIND THE MASK
Gomen for the late update and here's the fairly valid reason which I believe you guys have a right to demand for: exams. Yes, those ugly five alphabets that spell total hell when combined. But they're totally over now so I'll have more time to spare. 2nd term just began and so stuff may get a bit busy by next week but Christmas holidays are coming up too so please rest assured. Thank you for understanding.
As for my other story 'DOTSOL' (Delirium of the secret of life) – that will be updated either tomorrow or by next week because I'm still working on the next chapter.
Please take some of your time to read my completed fic 'Mystery Lovers', another high school romance which I'm sure you'll like. Or, my one-shot 'Destined'. Arigatou gozaimasu!
You can follow me on twitter: Sahaita_DQueen
Until Next time,
Ja'ne Minna!