"Somethings trying to get out. And it's never been closer."

"P-Please just l-let m-me go" Lucy whimpered, trying to pry the shackles from her wrist. She couldn't see well and she was starting to loose feeling in her hand. The shackle was too tight and Lucy felt suffocated. Her breathing was quick and it felt like there was something keeping her from remembering how to breathe.

Her head was pounding and she was sure it was bleeding from somewhere. Something sticky had settled itself on her face.

"Struggling like that won't help," a voice commented from somewhere in front of her. Lucy only let out a choked sob in response and tried to back up into the wall. How did she even get here? Just a few minutes ago she was at the park, reading.

"W-where am I?" Lucy asked, desperate to know what was going on. Her eyes darted around the room trying to find some sort of exit. She was still fighting with the shackles. When she received no reply, she asked again. Only silence followed.

Lucy whimpered. She felt so helpless. Her chest was tight and something along the lines of fear had settled in her.

Again, she tried with the shackles, now pulling at the chain. "Help" she said, quietly. Her voice cracked and she started screaming now. "Somebody, please" she continued, banging on the walls.

Why did she leave? Why did she sneak out? She should have just stayed in the house. All she wanted to do was read in the park. It was the first time she left the house grounds in years.

An amused laugh sounded from the other side of the room. "Oh, I'm going to have fun with you."

Lucy's breathing stopped. She was shaking now.

Someone was standing in front of her. When they knelt down, her eyes widened in horror.

Inching closer to her was a face covered by a white mask. A smile stretched across the face and there was no nose, just holes. A pair of black, empty eyes stared at her.

Frozen in fear, she watched as his hand stretched out and touched her face.

"Lucy?"

From her place on the floor, Lucy looked up to see her worried coworker and friend, Levy. Blinking a few times, Lucy finally registered where she was.

She was at work.

Levy was a small girl with blue hair and beautiful Hazel eyes. She was the same age as Lucy and loved pretty much the same things, or thing, as Lucy. Reading.

Books were scattered around her body as she sat in front of a empty bookshelf near the front of the store. It had been a week since she started her new job and Lucy was quite happy with it. She got to be around one of the only things she loves; books. And she wasn't gonna lie... the pay was pretty great.

Not a lot of people came by and the shop was tucked away on a short street with other quiet businesses. The only times when there was any real noise was when some of Levy's friends from school came by, though, Lucy always hid in the back when they did.

"Lu? Are you alright?" Levy asked once more, this time sitting next to her. Levy reached out to touch her shoulder but Lucy impulsively flinched away from her hand, instantly regretting it. Levy pulled her hand back and Lucy felt guilty. She didn't mean to flinch but...

"O-Oh I'm sorry Lu! I didn-" she began but Lucy cut her off by laughing a bit.

"Nah Levy don't worry about me. I'm okay. Sorry I've just been out of it lately is all" she smiled.

'You know you're not' a voice laughed from her left. Looking towards the voice, she saw a shadow sitting on one of the book shelves. It had been a while since the voice showed his body, but looks like he got tired of hiding in her mind. The shadow outlined that of a person, but had no physical features whatsoever. She thought that once she left that terrible place, it'd vanish, but the voice had other ideas. Lucy only smirked at it.

She first met him in her second year down there. At first she resented him and practically beat herself up trying to wish him away, but then he turned out to be the only company she had.

Granted, her mind probably made him up as a last resort to saving her sanity, but she didn't care.

Looking away, she begun to clean up the mess she made, but Levy stayed.

"Hey Lucy? When do you plan on coming to school?" She suddenly asked, causing Lucy to fumble with the books in her hands. She choked on her spit at that and started coughing. Damn her awkwardness. "I really want you to meet my friends, I think you'd really like them" she continued.

Lucy only sighed.

"Please Lucy, it'd be so much fun if you started coming. I know you're still settling in from your move, but... please?" Levy begged.

The voice snorted. 'Settling in?'

Lucy ignored him.

Lucy looked over at Levy, who was giving her the biggest puppy eyes she'd ever seen. Lucy dropped her head in defeat. "I'll come starting Monday, sound good?" Lucy said, finishing up with the books on the floor. Lucy silently cursed herself as she realized it was Friday.

Suddenly being tackled into a hug, Levy started thanking her. Lucy only flinched and didn't move her hands to return the hug. She stared wide eyed at the wall behind Levy, unaware of what to do. She balled her hands and shut her eyes. She tried to stay calm, but her body began to ignore her mind.

Levy, however, didn't notice. She quickly got up though, and left Lucy to finishing her work. Lucy sat there for a few moments longer before she was able to open her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, anytime anyone touched her, her body freaked out.

'You're going crazy you know' the voice suddenly said, appearing to be sitting on the bookshelf she was working on.

"And you're beginning to annoy me" she mumbled, returning her attention back to her work and putting the last book on the shelf before getting up.

'You can't even go a day without blacking out and having one of those flashbacks.' Now he was standing against the bookshelf to her left.

"I'm fine" she continued, walking towards the break room to grab her things.

Waving goodbye to Levy, she walked out into the cold night air. Lucy had been wearing sweatshirts and leggings when she left the house so she could cover up her bandages and bruises. The last thing she needed was someone asking her what happened. The last thing she needed was for Levy to worry about her.

Levy was too kind to Lucy. She instantly accepted Lucy the minute they met. Levy had been patient with Lucy as she adjusted, and slowly over the week, they began talking more. She could tell Levy knew something was up with Lucy, but she was too afraid to ask.

'Maybe if you told someone, things would get easier' it said from where it was leaning against the wall up ahead.

"No thanks" Lucy responded, passing it by.

'You need to tell someone. If not to help you, then for your safety. He could sti-' but she cut him off.

"It's over. I'm moving on. I've escaped." Lucy firmly stated, but it seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than her shadowy friend.

She continued the rest of her walk home in silence.

Lucy's eye twitched as she stared at the large high school. Makarov had sent her her uniform a while ago along with supplies she'd need so she really didn't need to prepare for Monday.

She would've turned around if it weren't for Levy seeing her and racing to greet her.

"Eep! This is so exciting, Lu!" Levy cheered as she rushed her into the school.

"Y-yeah," was all Lucy could say as she awkwardly tried to follow the blunette.

Turned out, Lucy had her first class with Levy, along with Lunch and another class Lucy couldn't remember.

Over the phone, Makarov had told her it would be easy finding her way around and when he found out about Lucy's advanced education, he put her into the classes of her choice. Lucy wasn't too excited about being around too many people and he told her that if she needed a quiet place, his office or the library would be the best. He also informed her that her teachers would know about her situation and that if she needed to leave her classes, she could do so.

Grateful for his kindness, Lucy thanked him and hung up the phone.

Now looking at it all, she wished she never called him.

"I can't wait for you to meet everyone, they're going to love you I promise!" Levy told her as they walked into their first period.

The class was already rowdy. Everyone was on top of desks and laughing with one another. Instinctively, Lucy saw an empty seat in the back of the classroom and managed to slip away from Levy and take a seat.

Her nerves were skyrocketing. Her hands kept shaking as she looked at everyone. And it was so loud.

Everyone was wearing the same, navy and teal uniform with gold trimmings. Girls had skirts and boys had pants while everyone had the same uniform jacket and teal undershirt. Of course, everyone had their jackets off, while Lucy kept hers on.

She didn't need anyone staring at her and her bruises.

Lucy felt overwhelmed. It was her first time in a classroom and she could already see some people looking at her. 'I should just go' she thought and began to pick up the things she just put down.

"Lu! Stop hiding geez," Levy suddenly said from beside her. "Follow me real quick, there's a couple of-" but she was cut off.

"Alright class take your seats, you don't want me to call Erza in here" the teacher said while walking into the class. Almost immediately everyone took their seats after hearing the name Erza.

The man had dark blue hair and black eyes. He was wearing a long white trench coat with blue trimmings and regular clothes underneath. "Today we're joined by a new student," he continued looking at Lucy. "Would you like to introduce yourself?" he finished. Behind him on the chalkboard was written, 'Mr. Conbolt'.

All eyes landed on her and she suddenly felt nauseous. Gulping, she slowly stood up. She could hear some whispers along with some odd looks.

'Your name, you bimbo' the voice said, standing behind the teacher.

"H-hi," Lucy began, while her eyes darted around the floor. "I-I'm Lucy," and with that she sat down.

She heard a few people mumble 'hellos' and then the teacher took things from there.

"Alright class, today we'll be starting a new unit" He began, but Lucy was too busy trying to calm her nerves down. She couldn't find the source of her anxiety and all she could do was look around the room.

Majority of the students started paying attention to the teacher, but there were other students that still had their eyes fixed on Lucy.

Levy was whispering to a pink haired boy, while a raven haired boy was listening in. The raven haired boy was staring at Levy, but the pinkette had his eyes fixed on Lucy. Every now and then he would nod to Levy but his eyes never left Lucy, adding to her anxiety.

She decided to just look away from him and stare out the window.

Lucy wishes she hadn't.

'I told you to tell someone' the shadow chastised.

Eyes widening in horror, she watched her captor stare at her through the window. He wore the same mask as he did whenever he came down to see her. Not once did she ever see his face, but the way he stood and the clothes were the exact same as she'd remembered them.

Lucy couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear the teacher anymore and her knuckles were going white.

He just stood there, hands in his pockets. She could see blood on his jacket, most likely hers.

She didn't hear the bell ring and she surely didn't hear Levy calling her name, until she felt hands shake her.

"Lu, you okay?" Levy softly asked, leaning down next to her. Lucy turned to her.

"L-Levy, do, do you see that m-man?" Lucy's voice shook, turning to look at Levy. Levy's eyes traveled to the window.

"Lu, there's no one there" Levy replied, worriedly looking at Lucy. Her two friends were now behind her staring outside the window.

Lucy quickly got up and ran to the window and sure enough, there was no one there.

She put her hand against her forehead as she heard the voice whistle next to them. "I'm not crazy" she mumbled low enough for only her ears to hear.

"Hey are you okay?" someone suddenly said. She turned around and met the worried eyes of the pinkette and for some reason, his concern calmed her down a bit.

Suddenly the three people were joined by more. There was a girl with beautiful red hair and a taller blunette. There was also a boy with blue hair and a red tattoo around his eye. Another boy with long black hair also appeared next to them.

They all looked at her with worried expressions.

Blinking, she started laughing a bit. "Y-yeah, sorry I'm just out of it I guess," she stated while scratching the back of her head.

This seemed to calm everyone down as they all started giving her smiles, but the pink haired boy continued to look at her with a concerned look.

"Lu, these are my friends! They've come into the book store a few times, but I think you were in the back" Levy stated, breaking the tension between everyone.

"Yo I'm Gray" The raven haired boy said, waving his hand and giving her a smirk. He had deep blue eyes and his spiky, raven hair covered parts of his face.

"Hello, I'm Erza. It's nice to meet you. Levy's said some good things about you." The girl with beautiful red hair said. 'So this is the girl the teacher talked about' Lucy thought. She seemed so nice.

"Gajeel" a rough voice said from behind Levy.

"Hi I'm Juvia!" The other blunette said cheerfully. Lucy also admired how beautiful she was.

"I'm Jellal, it's nice to meet you" The boy with the tattoo introduced.

"And I'm Natsu" the pinkette finally spoke up, giving her one of the most genuine smiles she'd ever seen. He reached out his hand and she cautiously took it. He had a firm grasp and his hand was warm and calloused and she suddenly felt herself blushing.

Lucy gave a small smile, "It's really nice to meet all of you, I'm L-Lucy" she said, cursing herself for stuttering a bit.

"Lucy, a word of advice, flamebrain here is a total loser." Gray said, smirking at Natsu.

"WHAT NO I'M NOT. SHUT YA TRAP EXHIBITIONIST" Natsu retaliated, holding up a fist. Lucy's eyes only widened as she watched the two boys attempt to fight each other.

"I promise to lynch you both if you don't stop it this instant" Erza said quietly, glaring them both.

Lucy now understood why everyone sat down so quickly.

"A-Aye.." they both said, deflating instantly.

"Lucy should sit with us at lunch" Juvia said happily from beside Gray. She was clinging on to his arm but Gray didn't seem to really care.

"O-Oh, I d-don't know, I th-though I'd sit in the library," Lucy confessed. She wanted to catch up on some reading and in all honesty, she wanted to be alone.

"What? No Lu, you gotta sit with us!" Levy pleaded, grabbing her arm. This caused Lucy to flinch a bit, but she didn't pull away.

"Ah, okay. I'll see" Lucy hesitated, while the bell rang, indicating that they were all late. She quickly pulled away from Levy, muttering a goodbye and walked away, trying to get away from the crowd.

She frowned to herself. They all seemed so nice and genuine and Lucy... well Lucy was Lucy.

A broken cause.

She didn't want to burden them.

'They seem like great people' the voice said from inside her head. She only nodded in response.

Before she knew it, it was lunchtime. Her classes went by so quickly and she didn't really have to say anything because the teachers introduced her, for her. She had Gajeel and Gray in her math class, and they told her to sit next to them, to which she did.

They sat on either side of her and they didn't really talk much. Lucy felt a little awkward the whole time, but at the same time she felt a little happy. Their presence in that class helped ease some of her fear while the teacher introduced her.

She didn't know them, but she still liked having them there.

In her chemistry class, she had Natsu. He smiled at her and bounded over to the seat next to her. He didn't really say much, because the teacher threatened him with detention if he talked today in class, but for some reason out of everyone Levy introduced her to, she liked Natsu the most.

Not that everyone else was bad or something, they were all amazing people to talk to. It's just that Natsu... Natsu made her feel safe.

She didn't know why, but this feeling, made her feel secure. Like she could close her eyes for a few moments and everything would be okay.

So now that it was lunchtime, Lucy decided she wanted to go to the library.

She still felt like she didn't belong.

So now she sat, reading her book. Although Lucy couldn't really focus.

Her mind kept floating back to the man outside the window. There was no way Lucy imagined any of it. He looked so real. Everything down to the mud on the shoes was exactly how she remembered him last. And it scared Lucy.

What if the voice was right- what if it wasn't over?

Instinctively, she hugged herself, unaware of what to do.

'I'm always right' the voice said from the seat across from her. She only glared in response.

"Mavis- Natsu you're so LOUD." She heard from across the library, snapping her back into reality.

"Me? LOUD?" Natsu shouted in response.

"Ugh, both of you can it." A voice grunted, most likely Gajeel's.

Peering from spot in the corner of the Library, Lucy spotted the three boys and the rest of their group. Her eyes widened as she watched Natsu see her and race towards her.

"Yo, Lucy!" He said smiling down at her. She only responded with a confused look. "We've come to keep you company!" He happily stated, pulling the chair across from her and sitting down. Instantly, her shadowy friend disappeared and reappeared next to her.

'Tch' it breathed out.

"O-Oh you guys didn-" she began but Gray cut her off.

"Yeah, we did," he stated while pulling up a chair. Everyone seemed to be doing the same and taking out their lunches. They began talking as if things were normal and they all seemed to accept Lucy right away.

Feeling her eyes prickle with tears, she buried her face in her book, smiling to herself a bit.

She was probably just imagining the man outside the window after all.

Sitting on her little ledge with a cup of tea, Lucy watched the city of Magnolia. There weren't many stars out tonight, because of the clouds and rain, but Lucy enjoyed listening to it hit her window.

Lucy shivered a bit and pulled her blanket close. The lights were turned off in her apartment. She preferred sitting in the dark when she watched the city.

It was three in the morning and Lucy found herself unable to sleep. It was a reoccurring thing, to not be able to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes for too long the nightmares would come. Especially after yesterday's events.

She came to the conclusion that she most likely imagined everything but when it came down to it, she didn't really know.

'You've escaped, huh,' it suddenly said from the opposite side of the ledge. Lucy only stared in response, resting her head against the window.

Oh wow, this was a long chapter...

HELLO FRIENDS :) I hope everyone had a great day! I wanted to upload this ASAP and I spent so long finishing it up :P

Anyway, ah thank you everyone who has been reading so far. I'm sorry if things are confusing or whatever or if my writing is terrible (probably..) but anyway I hop you all enjoy!

Toastedweirdbrain: Ah thank you very much!

Alexa: It's real life setting, but later on I'm going to match their personalities to their real characters. I think right now Lucy's the only one who isn't like the real Lucy... but that'll change :D

Anyway thank you again everyone!

-Mad