Author's Notes: Hello again, dear readers! Before you begin, I wanted to thank you all again for the fantastic feedback you are giving to this story and for your patience in waiting for the events between our beloved couple (NaLu). I think some of you will enjoy this chapter, since it will be set around a more personal scene between the two of them. Since I don't want to keep you all waiting so long for the special moments that you want to see between them, I'm trying to write and update this as fast as I can to deliver them to you all as soon as possible!

Also... For those of you who are fans of a certain character, I think you'll be happy to see his introduction into this story during this chapter! With that said, have a good read!

I didn't know where else to go. I was standing outside Levy's house trying to hold back the tears that were forming in my eyes for no apparent reason. The tightness in my chest and the tingling I felt in my body were too strong for me to control and because of that, I started to feel down. It was like I was losing control of my own body and emotions. I was a complete emotional wreck at that moment. I knocked on the door again, until finally she opened it and looked at me with an expression as if there was a ghost in front of her.

"Lu-chan? Your face looks pale, are you okay?!" I couldn't control it for some reason and tears came down my face involuntarily, "What's wrong? You're scaring me."

"May I come in?"

"Lu-chan, what happened? I don't want to push it, but you're starting to worry me."

"I don't... I don't know how to explain, I don't even know what to say. Levy, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"But... you went home so happy, you were so well. What the hell happened to leave you like this?"

"I didn't know where else to go... You're my only friend here and I really needed to talk to someone."

"Of course... You know I'm here for whatever you need..." we both sat down slowly and Levy wiped away one of my tears, "Do you want to start by telling me what got you in this state?"

"I arrived in Japan...and the first thing I did was see Sting. I missed him so much, but I was so dumb..."

"What do you mean? Lu-chan, did he-"

"He was with someone else, Levy. Sting was with another girl and I didn't even know anything about it. It didn't take long for him to forget about me and sleep with someone else."

"That bastard!" she hugged me again, "Lu-chan, whatever you do... Don't let him bring you down, you hear me? Don't let him win. I understand you're upset, but he doesn't deserve for you to be like this for a disgusting thing he did. You're much better than that, in the end he's the one who's going to realize the person he lost."

"How could I have been so dumb, Levy? I just wanted to go home and be with the people I care about... Instead, I got punched in the heart and I don't know how to feel."

"I get it... Believe me. I'm always here for whatever you need."

"And as if that wasn't enough... As soon as I got back, I... I don't know what came over me, the first thing I wanted to do was go down to the office and... and..."

"And what?" she moved a little closer to me.

"I can't even say it... I feel so embarrassed about everything, I don't even know why I went there or why I feel so..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." she smiled.

"No... You're not the problem, Levy. It's me, I'm the one who doesn't know how I feel anymore."

"What are you talking about?"

"I went down to the office... I went down there to talk to Natsu, I don't know what got into me... I think it's the habit of having been in that place for months in the same space as him that made me impulsively go there as soon as I got back from Japan... When I got there, he was... He was with-"

"Lu-chan, are you-" she paused for a while, "Are you hurt by what you saw?"

"I don't know... I know absolutely nothing, Levy." I got up slowly and started to ramble, "I don't know what's wrong with me, I really don't. I felt a tightness, a strange feeling when I saw him with Lisanna in front of my eyes, but I don't... I don't know why. I don't know what I feel, Levy. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Hey, take it easy, okay?" she came close to me and grabbed my shoulders, "For all we know, you were probably just confused and overly sensitive about everything that happened before, that's all. Don't worry so much, the best thing for you to do now is rest."

"I think I've been needing rest for a long time now... I haven't been thinking straight, I haven't been reacting in the right way."

"Hey, you should never feel guilty about how you feel. I'll make you some tea to calm down and get some sleep, then we'll talk more about it, okay?" I nodded, "Good, sit here on the couch and I'll be right back!"

I drank the whole tea after she came back. The herbs were helping me fall asleep faster and I slowly noticed my eyes closing against my will. My head was probably so tired that sleeping was the only option it had to recover.

The next morning, I woke up and noticed that I still on the couch with a blanket on top of me. I must've fallen asleep right after drinking the tea and Levy didn't want to wake me up in order to move me to her guests' bed. I heard some noise coming from the kitchen and I immediately got up to see her.

"Good morning! Feeling better?"

"A little..." I sat up and put my hands on my head, "Ugh, I'm so stupid."

"Hey, what have I ever told you about saying those things? It wasn't your fault in either situation."

"Which one? I feel stupidly different about both."

"Hmm, that depends... How do you feel today?"

"That I'm going crazy."

"Come on, that's not a nice thing to say. And I don't like seeing my good friend treat herself this way either." she picked up a plate she had in the kitchen, "Here you go, freshly made!"

"Only you could spoil me like this after yesterday's situation... You and my mother, of course."

"Speaking of which, how was the rest of your trip? Not counting things that don't matter."

"It went very well. I had already missed being with my mother. I told her I would introduce you to her someday, I think you two would enjoy each other, especially if the subject is lecturing me."

"You can be sure that if it's up to me, I'll always do that when I feel it's necessary!" she smiled, "So... Are you going back to work today?"

"Unfortunately... I can't even get my head to think straight, going back to work was the last thing I wanted."

"Well... Maybe it'll help your head distract itself from things you don't want to think about. It helps me."

"It's kind of hard when I have to see Natsu practically every day in front of me in that damn office."

She smiled gently, "I'm sure everything will be fine. Also, you already know you can always call me to save you!"

"Are you forgetting that I was the one who came to your rescue last time?"

"Umm, not quite. Don't you forget that I had to help you with your boss' help to get you home, silly." she giggle, "I'm sure you'll be fine! Besides, he doesn't really seemed like the kind of person who would leave things feeling a bit awkard, right?"

"I guess... Although, he doesn't really I was at the office last night."

"Well, even better! You can just pretend like nothing happened, since... Well, he doesn't really know what happened." she giggled again, "Anyway, I need to get to work too, so... In the meantime, why don't you eat the lovely eggs I made for you?"

I smiled at her words and we continued eating the wonderful eggs with bacon that Levy had cooked for breakfast. I was not at all looking forward to going back to work. I was nervous about how I would react once I saw Natsu in front of me, but right now my life was filled with moments that were trying to put me to the test.

It was almost late afternoon and I took a deep breath as soon as I finished all the tasks I had to do. I closed my eyes and tried to relieve the pain I was feeling in my neck. Most people had already gone home and now it was my time. As I kept my eyes closed, I was suddenly startled by someone's voice. Of course it had to be Lisanna.

"Miss Heartfilia... The receptionist told me you called here last night. What did you want?"

"Oh, nothing! I just wanted to let you know I was back from Japan, that's all."

"Is that so?" she raised her eyebrow and examined me, "Anyway, Mr. Dragneel called you to his office. He's going to leave the office soon, so don't keep him waiting too long. I know you have a lot of work to do, but..." she looked at me with a cold stare, "Do it faster."

She went on her way without saying anything else. It was so strange to look at her after knowing what had happened the night before. Every time I thought about the images I had seen in front of my eyes it was harder and harder to look at her face and not think about it. It would be even harder to look at Natsu's face and act as if I knew nothing. I stood up and sighed. I grabbed all the strength I could and walked to his office. Once I got there, he didn't even give me time to say anything before speaking.

"I know that you are a reserved person. I know that you don't exactly share your life much and you can't do it because you still think that I'm your boss and I can't get to know you. I've come to expect you to be that way." he turned and looked at me, "Yet, somehow you continue to surprise me."

"Umm, I'm sorry?"

"You were here last night."

"Huh?" I widened my eyes and froze completely.

"The receptionist said you called the company asking if I was here... She didn't see you come in, but she said she saw you leave as fast as you could. Why didn't you come over here to meet me?"

"I... I had to come to get some things I left here before I went to Japan and I needed them, that's all. I ended up forgetting that you were still here and left because of the rush I was in. I'm sorry, it was an oversight on my part."

He looked at me so intensely that I just felt like hiding. I was not at all expecting him to approach me with that subject, much less to know that I was present at the company the night before. Did he know what I had seen? Did he suspect anything? After a few seconds of looking directly at me, he spoke again.

"Is that right? This is the first time an employee of mine has left their things from home at their place of work."

"It was an oversight on my part... It happens sometimes."

"Are you sure? You're not just making up an excuse so I don't get a bad impression of you?" I tried to deny it with my head, but he stood up and started walking towards me, "What did I ever do to you to make you ignore me so evidently? Have I offended you or something?"

"No! Of course not. In fact, you've been nothing but nice to me. It's... not like that at all."

"Then tell me what really happened?"

"I've already told you, I-"

"You know that's not true, Lucy."

Him calling me by my name at that moment was making it harder for me to lie. I tried to look away.

"It's true..."

"Then look me in the eye while you say it." he moved a little closer, "Why are you lying?"

"I'm not lying-"

"What's wrong? Why do you seem to be acting so defensive? Did something happen on your trip to Japan?"

At that moment, my impulse wanted to tell him. For some reason, I wanted to tell him everything that had happened on my trip, but I couldn't. My body was so nervous now that I didn't know if I should continue in that same spot or if I should run out of there. I knew perfectly well that I was on the defensive, but what the hell could I do in that situation?

"Nothing happened! My trip was... great."

"That's it?" he raised his eyebrow.

"I... I guess that's not why you called me here, right? I just came here to the office yesterday because I forgot my stuff and that's all. I apologize if I ended up forgetting to come to your office, I didn't mean to."

He looked at me with the same intense look as before, probably to see if I would feel intimidated and say something to him. He turned his back to me again and walked toward his chair.

"All right. If that is the case, I am more enlightened now. Thank you for telling me the truth."

For some reason, the look in his eyes conveyed nothing more than the words being spoken. I looked at him and could feel that he didn't believe what I was saying and how could he? I knew myself that I wasn't telling the truth and every word that came out of my mouth was costing me more than I expected.

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"Just a reminder... You haven't forgotten that the event is in two days, have you?"

"How can I forget? It's a Fairy Tail tradition, right? I have to keep track of these things all the time since it's my job."

"Good point." he smiled, "Have you decided who you're taking with you?"

"Hmm, I'll let you guess."

"No need. I can already see her blue hair in the distance as soon as I walk into the salon."

I laughed, and that's when I realized that that strange feeling had returned. This was not quite the kind of interaction I was expecting last night when I rushed out of the office. I wasn't expecting that I would be able to talk to him this naturally again and honestly...it scared me. I tried to find my voice again.

"You got it right... Umm, I'm sorry but if there's nothing else important to talk about, I... need to get back to my work."

He gestured to the door and nodded, "Go ahead. I won't take up any more of your time."

I nodded and I walked to the door. Before I could close it, something inside me made me want to look back and I could see him sitting back in his chair looking out the cityscape through the large window. A beautiful sunset was beginning to form in the horizon. The sky was turning to beautiful shades of yellow, red and orange. If I had a window like that in my house too, I would spend all day looking outside. He was looking rather thoughtful and a part of me wanted to ask him what it was, but maybe that was wrong.

Before I could leave the office, I looked at one of the shelves on the wall and stopped for a few seconds to get a better look at the photograph in front of my eyes. It was two men, both dressed in suits. Well... One of them certainly much older than the other. As I got closer, I noticed that one of them was Natsu and the other was a short old man who was smiling at the camera. Natsu still had his back to me and must not have known that I was still there.

"Umm, is this your father?"

He was surprised to hear my voice, I knew he thought I had already left the room and when he looked in the same direction as me, he laughed and stood up towards the picture. He picked it up and handed it to me.

"No... That's Makarov, my master."

"Master?" I frowned.

"Yes, he taught me everything I needed to know about this company. My father needed someone to stay with me every day and teach me what I needed to know to become a good businessman. I guess I can say he did a good job." he smirked and I smiled at the teasing.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know... It's been at least two years since I last saw him. Since the day I took the place my father wanted, Makarov's services and teaching have ceased to be needed. Although I think that he managed to be a second father to me rather than just a master. He taught me much more than just business."

"You never tried to contact him? To at least know where he is or if he's okay."

I felt like I was intruding into his personal life at that moment. Part of me regretted that I was asking so many questions, but the other part was just as curious as the first day I saw him. I tried to come back to reality and avoid any more questions, but he kept answering and seemed to encourage more.

"Knowing him as I do, I'm sure he's fine. There's nothing that can stop that old man..." he smiled and looked at the window, "Sometimes I think he understood me better than my father ever could. He valued what I wanted for my life."

"Yeah... I know what it's like to feel like your father doesn't value you." I lowered my head as I examined the photo, "That's when you start thinking that you have to take care of yourself..." he looked at me with a confused look, "Umm, nevermind... Sorry, I don't want to bother you with my life problems."

"No... I wanna hear it."

I was surprised by that answer, since I wasn't expecting or prepared to know what to say next. I paused for a moment and sighed before speaking again.

"I don't even know where to start, since I haven't talked about this ever since it happened... My father abandoned me and my mother when I was younger." I gently put the picture back in place and started walking to the window, "Since then, it was my mother who always took care of everything... Me, the house... And since that time I could never understand why he did that. To this day, I could never forgive him for doing it." he walked in the same direction as me and stood beside me looking at the window as well, "She suffered a lot after he left... She cried for weeks, I didn't know what to do to help her." I paused for a minute, "Since that time, I realized that I wanted to help her the same way she always helped me, I didn't want her to suffer because of my father anymore."

"Is that why you want to make her so proud?" he looked at me, "You want to give her a reason to be happy?"

I nodded, "I don't know how she does it, but... even after everything that happened, she still doesn't blame my father. She forgave him, even when I tried to reason with her several times... He left without ever caring about us again, without ever... ever..." I lowered my head as I tried to finish the sentence, "...wanting to know how his daughter was doing. I admire her for that... The compassion she has is indestructible. Sometimes I wish I could be as strong as she is."

"From what I've seen, I think you can manage on your own pretty well." he smiled, "Well... Not counting with that episode in the bar, of course."

"Hey! Don't make fun of me, I was embarrassed enough that day." I smiled back, "I just wish I could... get some answers out of him, you know? My dad was with us one day and the next, he left without saying a word. I have no idea where he is or...if he's even alive. It's like a part of my family has disappeared off the map and I'm not even able to find it to relieve my mom."

"You want to give her some kind of closure?" I nodded, "I can help with that." I looked at him confusedly, "I have a lot of contacts out there... I guess that shouldn't be any news to you, right? I might be able to try to reach your father somehow. Do you have any information that might help me get started?"

"Umm, no... Not exactly. It's like I said, I haven't talked about this since the day it happened... I'd have to ask my mom or try to find out something when I get home again." I closed my eyes and sighed, "It almost feels like I'm bringing back ghosts from my past when I talk about this out loud."

"For that, your father had to be a ghost, right? For all you know, he could still be out there somewhere."

"If that's the case..." I lowered my head, "Why didn't he ever come back looking for us? Why didn't he even bother to send us a letter or something?"

I felt a tightness in my chest. I never thought that talking about that subject and thinking about all the possibilities about his disappearance again would trigger so many emotions. It was even hard for me to be reacting like that, he didn't deserve it after leaving us just like that. My head started spinning and I felt some tears wanting to form in my eyes and it was at that moment that I became completely alert. Why was I reacting like this? Was it because I was so sensitive after everything that had happened in the last few days? I was feeling ridiculous for thinking about it, especially that I was letting myself down with it. I brought my hand to my face and tried subtly to stop the tears from falling. Unfortunately, he looked at me and noticed.

"Are you okay? I can do nothing about it, if you prefer."

"No... I just got carried away, I guess... I appreciate you wanting to offer help, but I really don't think there's anything that can be done about it."

"You never know... Maybe one day your dad will come back and be able to make it up to your mom somehow."

I laughed at his optimism, "Thank you, but I really don't think that would ever happen except in a fairy tale." I paused to wipe the rest of my tears, "See? I know what dad issues are too." he just smiled at me, "And I think this is the first time I've ever told this to anyone, so be thankful that a reserved person like me told you this story."

"I confess I'm surprised..." he smirked, "I wasn't expecting it, but slow and steady goes a long way, right?"

"I guess so... Ugh, I feel so weird after talking about this."

"It's a feeling I can understand well when I talk about my father. It feels like I'm talking about the president than properly the man who raised me."

"I've never seen him... Doesn't he usually come to the company?"

"He spends his life too busy with more important matters than coming here to visit his son." I looked at him with a worried look and he noted, "It's no case for such concern. With all the years that have passed, I guess I've just gotten used to it. I've known since I was a kid that my relationship with my father was never going to be exactly paternal from the day I took his place in this company. To be honest, some days it doesn't even affect me as much as it should anymore."

"Yes... I know what that's like, until the day the subject comes back to bite you in the ass."

I was surprised when those words came out of my mouth and felt like covering it with my hands. Instead, I widened my eyes and looked at him at the same moment he looked at me. We stood for a few seconds looking at each other, me with my surprised expression and him looking at me as if he was also amazed to hear that expression said by me. Suddenly, he couldn't seem to contain himself and laughed. His laughter was too contagious for me not to do the same.

"What bold words that came out of that mouth, Miss Heartfilia."

"I'm so sorry! I got carried away again, I promise it won't happen again."

"No, don't worry... It's a sign that maybe you're not as uncomfortable around me as you thought you should be."

After that, he went back to looking out the window at the horizon and I did the same. The sky was getting more and more beautiful. The colors that were forming in the sky were mesmerizing. The sunset was truly the most beautiful time of the day and it was impossible to ignore it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked.

At that moment, before I could hear his answer, I was startled when I an unexpected contact on my hand. Our hands touched at that moment and I was surprised to feel the warm contact of his skin on mine. It was then that I realized how close we were to each other. My startle caused me to suddenly look at him and he was also looking back at me, which made me even more nervous when our eyes met. The sunset light hitting his face made him look even more attractive than he already was. That image was distracting me and for a moment, my head went completely blank. Then, after a few seconds, he finally answered while still staring at me.

"Yes, it is..."

The tightness in my chest came back and I suddenly felt my heart beating faster. I could feel my body getting more nervous being in that situation and looking at him like that. Our hands were still touching, even though they sometimes moved apart, they would touch again and it seemed that neither he nor I realized it enough to care. The nervousness and all that feeling I was getting wasn't letting me think straight, so as soon as I blinked my eyes I started to come back to reality. I couldn't let myself get lost in that moment.

"Umm, I better get going..." I said as I slowly walked away from him.

"Yes..." he cleared his voice, "I have some things to do today as well... Sorry I took up so much of your time."

"No, it's okay! I've been here too long bothering you with my problems too."

"Not at all, I confess I actually quite enjoyed listening. It was something I wasn't expecting. I think I'll enjoy it if it becomes a habit."

I smiled as I walked slowly toward the door. Once I got there, I grabbed the doorknob and before I closed it, I looked back.

"Have a rest of a good day, Natsu. Thanks for listening to me and... for the help."

He just nodded and smiled. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I sighed too deeply as if I had been holding it back. I put my hand on my chest and my heart was still beating too fast. I had to calm down... I couldn't feel that way. For a moment, when I felt his skin on mine and looked at him with that light hitting his face, I stopped thinking about all my problems and seemed to be just focused on that moment. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

After work, I stopped by a restaurant with Levy to order dinner home for us. We were going to spend another evening together talking, it was exactly what I needed to cheer me up after all the past events. We were standing in line waiting for our food.

"So, how did the conversation with Natsu go?"

"Actually... It went exactly the opposite of what I expected. I don't know what to do, Levy... Was I going crazy yesterday?"

"I don't think so... I don't think I would enjoy going to my office and catching my boss with another woman either... In fact, I don't think I even want to think about it." she shook her head to push those thoughts away and I laughed.

"I think he knows I saw him, Levy... He knows I was in the office."

"Really?! What did you tell him?"

"I made up an excuse... I feel bad that I'm lying, but I can't just tell him what I saw, right? It's weird enough that I saw that, let alone say it out loud."

"Yeah... It would be really-" at that moment, before Levy could finish her sentence, she leapt forward when someone bumped into her from behind, "Hey! Big guy, aren't you going to apologize?"

As soon as I looked behind her, I noticed that a man with big black hair with a kind of strange style was looking at her with a look of contempt as if he had seen something that irritated him. He had several piercings all over his face and a kind of rocker style. The look on his face startled me as soon as he looked at us.

"Watch where you're going, shorty."

"Shorty?! Who do you think you are that you can be rude to me?"

"Umm, Levy... I don't think you should-"

"Don't worry, Lu-chan! I can stand up for myself, but thanks for the suggestion."

"That's not what I was-"

She left me before I could finish and went after him. I still tried to get her attention, but she didn't hear me and kept walking behind him, even though he wasn't even noticing it.

"Hey, brute! Where do you think you're going? I'm not done talking to you yet!"

"Were you talking to me? I couldn't see you down there. Now piss off, shorty. I have better things to do."

"I won't do it until you apologize. How rude!"

"Apologize? As far as I know, you're the one who was in my way, probably because you can't see a few feet above you."

"How dare you! You think that just because you look that badass that I'm afraid of you and won't tell you what you need to hear? Apologize for coming at me and insulting me, right now!"

"Listen here, shorty... Don't you think you're pushing your luck?" he almost growled as he said that, "Go back to your friend and don't bother me."

"Hey, where are you going? Wait, I'm not done yet-"

I grabbed Levy's shoulder to try to calm her down and keep her from going after that man who was already on his way without looking back. The look on her face was furious, that man had managed to make someone like Levy go out of her mind.

"Did you see that?! I've never seen a person as rude as him before!"

"I know, Levy..." I laughed, "To be honest, I actually thought it was kind of funny to see you so angry over this."

"What's so funny?" she sighed, "I swear if I ever see that man in front of me again, he won't leave until he apologizes to me for his behavior. He must think that just because he has that rocker hair and some piercings that he can intimidate me."

"I'm sure no one can do that. Although, I think that would only happen if you saw him again and I think that's unlikely." I smiled, "Come on, don't think about it anymore and let's go back before we lose our spot, okay?"

It still took her a while before she finally walked back with me and she kept looking back with an angry look on her face as if she was waiting for that man to come back to do what she had asked him to do. I had to admit, it was funny to see Levy in that state.

When we got home, I put our dinner on the table. Levy as soon as she arrived, immediately sat down on the couch and crossed her arms.

"Ugh, I can't believe I ran into such a rude person as that man. He even took away my appetite."

"Are you still thinking about that?" I laughed, "Come on, let's eat and you'll see that you'll soon forget about it."

"It's just that he didn't even have the decency to apologize!"

"Who exactly is not taking her own advice right now? Don't worry too much, remember?"

"You're right... Ugh, he just snapped me out of it, but I'm not going to let that man stop me from eating a nice meal."

"That's just what I wanted to hear..." we both sat down at the table, "Speaking of which, Levy, even though one subject has nothing to do with the other... Where do you work anyway?"

"Hmm? Where did that question come from now?"

"You left the other day and didn't even answer me... So, where is it?"

"Nowhere special, really... It's just a little job I got while I'm figuring out what to do in the future."

"You never got around to telling me what course you took in college."

"Law... Although I don't think that's what I want to do in my life after all."

That suddenly reminded me of Sting... How could someone who was working around the law and with all kinds of people have done that to me? I shook my head to put him out of my mind once and for all and continued the conversation.

"So... What job did you get?"

"It's just a library." I raised an eyebrow, "I got a little part-time at the Public Library nearby... It's pretty big, has all the books you can imagine. I help with the storage and some of the book organization stuff... I know it's not a big job, but I've been getting my bearings so far." I kept looking at her with a confused look, "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just... I couldn't imagine you working in a place like that. I mean... I didn't even know you had an interest in books."

"What made you think otherwise?" she smiled, "The bar partier was enough to convince you that I'm not exactly a nerdy girl, huh? Well, appearances can be deceiving... My dream is to pursue literature. I like to read a lot, I know it doesn't seem like it... but it's one of the things that calms me down the most and makes me occupy my time."

"Levy, are you serious?" I made the biggest smile, "And I thought we had nothing in common!" she gave me an angry look, "I'm kidding! I love to read too, it's one of the best things to pass the time. Which reminds me, I never told you about one of my dreams... I always wanted to write my own book one day. I'd like to tell a story of my own and one that would entertain people."

"Really? Now you definitely have to show me!"

"I don't have anything written yet... I've just had some ideas and drafts, but nothing too much..." I sighed, "Who knows, someday..."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be the most popular writer ever and I'll be the first to read your book! I'm going to be your number one fan!" she stood up suddenly, "Which reminds me... Wait here a minute!"

As I waited for her to come back from her room, I looked at my phone to check if my mom had called me and came across something I didn't want. Several messages from Sting... I didn't even open them, I just ignored and deleted them. I wasn't going to torture myself with that situation anymore, I wasn't going to let myself be manipulated by him again. I wasn't going to... delude myself with anyone else again. As soon as Levy came back, I was blown away to see the junk of books she was carrying in her arms.

"Levy, what is all this?"

"Just some books that I love." she set them down on the table with some difficulty, "Which I'm now going to lend you to read!"

"I don't know if I'll have enough time to read them all..."

"Don't worry, take all the time you need. I'm sure you'll love them. After all, they are my favorites and you know my taste is not to be doubted!" she smiled and I did the same, "Still, your story will be much better than any of them."

I smiled. Levy always knew just what to say to cheer me up. There was no way I could stay in a bad mood around her. I looked at all the books there and almost got a headache from trying to figure out how I was going to read all that stuff in my almost non-existent free time.

"So... Which one should I read first?"

She looked at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen and sat back down at the table. She picked up the first book and spent the rest of the evening explaining the story of each one to me with the greatest enthusiasm ever.