Having sensed a lie, the cube turned the walls of its prison red, with them pulsating with electricity. Before that, Lucy could feel herself feel like her heart would jump off her chest.
"Oh no..." she said.
It was then that the all the six sides started to move inwards, moving a bit and then stopping.
"What?!" Cana asked. "Hey, I didn't lie, you stupid cube!"
The others went to say the same thing.
"Well, someone did... She tried to trick me, but no one can do that. ANd if she doesn't rectify her answer with the truth... then you all shall be crushed by that lie! I for one would want to do it slowly... It is always fun to watch people arguing about who is lying... But for talking back at me... I think I will try to get to the truth more quickly."
Having said that, the walls started to move continuously, starting to reduce their space in a quick space. Reacting to that, all the girls started to try to slow down the walls.
"Come on..." Erza said, as she used all her strength. "Whoever lied... Please, tell the truth!"
"Evergreen, are you sure that..." Lisanna started.
"I already told you your brother was not my first kiss!" Evergreen shouted. "Maybe you are the one that lied."
"No... Edolas Natsu was my first kiss."
"I still think Levy and Gajeel..." Cana started.
"I was nt lying about nothing happening between us!" Levy exclaimed.
"Erza... are you sure you and Jellal..." Mirajane started.
"No, we never kissed!" Erza said.
It was then that an immense argument started between the girls, all of them trying to figure out who lied, all while trying to slow down the movement of the walls. Meanwhile, Lucy remained silenced, as she tried (besides holding the walls) to control her anxiety which was only increasing, as the cube kept on trying to pressure her to tell the truth with that last punishment. She could feel herself suffocating... and not because of the space that was getting smaller and smaller, but because she was running out of time and the chances of her to keep her secret hidden were turning to dust.
When the girls were all starting to be crushed against one another, Lucy, unable to handle it anymore, shouted:
"It was Laxus, okay! Laxus was my first kiss!"
That revelation caused every girl to enter in an immense silence, as the cube said, while turning green:
"Truth!"
The walls around them disappeared, making Erza's room to appear again and causing the girls to fall to the floor, once they were freed.
"Now this was a truth that no one ever expected" the cube said. "It is always the quiet ones, am I right? Nevertheless, I congratulate you all! Even if you lied in every question, you all survived the punishments... and gave me a lot of entertainment. But now, I must leave, as the Truth or Punishment has ended. Although I feel you still have a lot of drama to deal with."
And all the lines on the cube went in and it fell on the floor, remaining quiet. Making a nervous laugh, Laki said:
"So... this was quite a game, right..."
Erza responded to that with a pierce look that made Laki tremble and then she summoned a sword that pierce the cube.
Meanwhile, Lucy sat up and went to hug her legs, as her friends turned to her, still shocked by the revelation she gave.
"Lucy... Laxus was... your first kiss?" Levy asked.
"Wow, girl, and you never told to any of us?" Cana asked.
"Why did you lie, Lucy?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah, we could have been crushed because of it" Juvia said.
But Lucy was too much caught up by the turmoil of feelings that came from reliving that memory to even be able to answer to any of them.
Erza was able to notice that and then advanced and told the others:
"Girls, please, give Lucy some space."
Hearing that, they obeyed and moved away a little from Lucy. Moving towards her, Erza sit down before her and told her:
"Lucy, you don't have to feel guilty for lying earlier. If there's one thing this game has taught me is that lying is part of human nature. There are many reasons for us to lie. Some of us lie because we can't face or accept the truth."
That part made Evergreen remember her lie on the first question.
"We can also lie to protect one's feelings or relationships" Erza continued, making the others remember their collective lie on the second question. "But there's also the ones that lie... in order to protect themselves from the truth. And something tells me that's the reason you lied, right?"
Lucy was still in turmoil, but Erza's words helped her to focus and she nodded to her. Approaching her, Mirajane said:
"You don't have to tell us, but know that we are here for you, if you want to talk about it."
Seeing the support that both Erza and Mirajane were giving her, along with the encouraging looks from the other girls, Lucy started to feel much more comfortable and a smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you, girls. I really appreciate it. And... maybe I really need to talk about it. Honestly, I thought I had already moved on from it... But apparently I have not... I just... don't know where to start."
"Well, I don't want to sound too cliché, but I believe the best way to start is from the beginning" Carla suggested.
"Yeah... tell us when did that kiss happened" Cana told.
"It was... quite some time ago... even before Tenrou Island" Lucy told. "Although... to me it is still not that far long... It happened... back when we were at Akane Beach, after Loke was accepted back at the Celestial Spirit World and I got his key."
"But that... was before the events at the Tower of Heaven" Erza said. "Back when..."
"When Laxus was still the big jerk he is used to be, yeah..." Lucy said.
"That is strange... I don't remember him being there" Erza told. "And if either Natsu or Gray had seen him..."
"I didn't want to cause any trouble" Lucy told. "I encountered him when I went to get ice cream... while you dealt with Natsu and Gray. It was by chance, but... Laxus didn't waste any time to make me... feel so uncomfortable. He was so... indecent... and provocative..."
"Wait, he was like that?" Wendy asked. "But... that doesn't sound like the Laxus I know."
"Well, let's just say you met him before he got a real dose of humility" Cana told Wendy. "Lucky you... What would I give to ever forget Laxus' very long rebellious phase."
"Honestly, if there's one thing I don't miss from the old Laxus was his treatment on women" Evergreen said. "I warned him many times to be respectful, but..."
Erza then gave a harsh look on Cana and Evergreen to make her get silenced, so Lucy could continue.
"I managed to evade him then, but... I didn't get that much luck when night fell. When I went to call you to come to the casino, Erza, I encountered him again when he was checking out of the hotel. He was able to corner me... and then took advantage of a moment when I trip to caught me and then... he kissed me."
That revelation caused some shock among the girls.
"He stole your first kiss?!" Lisanna asked. "Oh no, he didn't!"
"I can't say I am surprised, to tell you the truth..." Evergreen said.
"No wonder you didn't want to talk about it..." Levy told.
However, Erza was able to detect there was something else about the kiss, besides the kiss by itself.
"Lucy... what did you feel when he kissed you?" she asked.
Lucy took a few moments, before answering:
"To tell you the truth... I don't really know... On one side, I wanted him to stop. But on the other..."
"You didn't want the kiss to end" Mirajane ended, sparing her friend from doing it.
"I got so confused, so overwhelmed..." Lucy told, with some tears appearing on her eyes. "I had so many conflicting thoughts... I don't even know how I managed to get rid of him and run away..."
"I had no idea you went through something like that, Lucy" Erza said. "I apologize for that."
"Well... we ended up going through quite a lot afterwards" Lucy said.
"I still can't believe Laxus would do something like that" Mirajane said. "I mean, knowing who he used to be, I believe it, but even so..."
"No woman should experience something like that... even if that one is my love rival!" Juvia exclaimed.
"Yeah, not that much of a love rival" Lucy replied, with a small smile.
"When I get to see Laxus again, I will give him an earful!" Lisanna said.
"Please, allow me, Lisanna" Evergreen said. "I have already in mind what to tell him."
The other girls seemed to also want to give Laxus a piece of their mind. Just that made Lucy feel much better and chuckle. But then she said:
"Girls, please, don't get mad at Laxus."
"But, Lucy..."
"I know what he did was... indecent" she said. "But... that happened so long ago... And he is now a much better person. I don't want this to haunt him. Not to mention... what I used to feel for him back then... has changed."
That caused the girls to trade a look and Mirajane asked:
"Changed how?"
"Well..." Lucy started. "Not in the way you think... Back then, I couldn't stand him. He was always bragging and thrash talking all of my friends... And then there's how he didn't help against Phantom Lord... and the way he acted with me... But then... after he was expelled from the guild, he became a better person... He helped me in Amaryll... He helped us against Hades... against Agnalogia... His all attitude changed... He became kinder and more respectful... All that, made me forgive him for what he did. Whenever I think back on that kiss... I can't hate him now, even if I know what he did was wrong. So... I just want to move on from that. After all... in the end, it was just a kiss."
The girls traded looks, but then they smiled at Lucy, with Mirajane saying:
"We understand, Lucy. Don't worry."
"Actually, that is a very mature decision" Carla commented. "That is quite impressive."
"However... I think we should just give Laxus a little bit of a cold shoulder" Cana told. "You know... as punishment."
That joke from Cana made the other girls share a laugh, as they prepared to continue their slumber party. Lucy prepared to follow them, but Erza called her:
"Lucy? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Erza" she replied.
"What do you really feel about Laxus?" Erza asked.
"What... Whatever do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"I understand that you no longer hold him accountable for the way he treated you and you want to move on" Erza said. "However, I can't help but notice there are something more you are not telling."
Lucy tried to counter that statement from Erza, but she simply couldn't.
"If that kiss didn't affect you, then you wouldn't go that far to keep it a secret during the game until the last moment" Erza said. "Obviously, there's more into it than you told us."
"I... honestly, don't know exactly what I feel" Lucy said. "It's all so... confusing."
"Maybe you should talk with him..." Erza suggested. "You know... to clear the air. Talk about the kiss and how you feel."
"I... don't know, Erza..." Lucy said.
"I understand it must be a very intimidating task, but I promise you it will make you feel much lighter" Erza said, making her kind smile. "Trust me on that."
She placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder to both comfort her and motivate her and then went to join the others. Lucy thought for a moment on Erza's words and then, after taking a deep breath, went to join the party as well.
At the next day, it was clear that the girls decided to follow Cana's suggestion and gave a little of cold shoulder to Laxus. Even Evergreen was a bit colder to him, something that took the attention from the rest of the Thunder Legion.
"What's up the girls today?" Fried asked. "They are acting so strange around Laxus."
"Why do you think that?" Bickslow questioned. "I mean, they also acted strange around us."
"They did that because we were with Laxus" Fried said. "But individually, you can see their behavior is because of him. Even Ever is acting strange."
"Maybe it's that time of the month" Bickslow joked.
"Time of the month! Time of the month!" his dolls said at the same time.
Laxus had also noticed that, but he acted indifferently to that. However, he couldn't help but wonder why. Even Lucy was acting strange. Whenever the two of them crossed looks, she would quickly dodge it, embarrassed.
Sighing, he rose up and said to Fried and Bickslow:
"I'm going to take a walk."
He headed towards the exit of the guildhall, but he could feel the stares of the girls following him. As he got out, he headed towards South Gate Park. Getting there, he sat on one of the benches and just looked up, as he tried to clear his mind.
It was then that he sensed someone familiar approaching and Erza's voice said:
"So... you decided to get some fresh air?"
Turning to her, he saw her standing with a soft smile.
"And you decided to talk to me, hein?" Laxus asked. "I thought you would follow the other girls' example and give me the cold shoulder."
"Personally, I am not much into that type of childish behavior" Erza said, while sitting beside Laxus. "But you don't need to worry. This will only last... one more day... or two..."
"Well, it's not like I am not used to something like that..." Laxus said. "But I bet you won't tell me what that is all about."
Erza's silence and smile was enough for Laxus.
"Yeah, I figured it..." he said.
"It's just a girl thing, don't worry" Erza told. "However... I do want to ask you something."
"Coming from you... it can't be good" Laxus said, as he supported his head with his hand on his thigh.
"What are your feelings towards Lucy?" Erza asked.
When she made that question, Laxus was so caught by surprise that he let his head slip out of his hand, causing him to lose his composure for a few moments.
"What?!" he asked, a little awkwardly. "Where did that come from?!"
"Come on, Laxus... you may be able to hide it, but there are few moments where it's obvious that Lucy is more than just a simple guildmate to you..." Erza said. "I still remember that day in Onibus... you know, when Lucy faced those bandits..."
"I already told that..." Laxus started.
"I know what you said..." Erza replied. "But I also know what I saw back then. The way you looked at Lucy... Something tells me there is more between you two than meets the eye."
Laxus was hearing Erza with his arms crossed and an annoyed look. He then said:
"You know, I already have the old man teasing me with that. I don't need someone else... and especially you... to be added to frame."
"I see... so the master also noticed it..." Erza said. "Of course... his perception is as great as ever..."
"You give the old man too much credit..." Laxus replied. "You got it before he did..."
But Laxus just noticed what he had just said when it was too late.
"So there is something... at least from you..." Erza said.
Laxus grunted and said:
"Can you please stop with that?! I don't want... You know..."
"That people know that the great Laxus is actually a normal guy behind all the powerful lightning?" Erza asked.
There was a pause and then Laxus said:
"I don't want anyone to know... because I still don't know how I feel."
"I see..." Erza said. "I understand that. I went through the same thing with Jellal. I mean... I know what feel about him... and that he feels the same. However, for a long time, I felt conflicted... and the circumstances also didn't help. But... Laxus, if you allow me to give you some advice... I think you should talk with Lucy."
"Talk with..." Laxus started. "Is that best advice you can give?"
"You don't have to tell her how you feel... especially if you still have doubts about that" Erza said. "But if you spend time with her... maybe those doubts might get clear."
Having said that, Erza got up and said:
"Of course... it's up to you to choose what to do... However, I have faith that you will do whatever is best."
With that, she moved away, leaving Laxus to immerge himself in his thoughts...