"Ain't it fun living in the real world? Ain't it good being all alone?"
―Paramore, "Ain't It Fun"

ＣｈａｐｔｅｒＴｗｏ
/moving in/

When Sting Eucliffe had given his number to her, she felt ecstatic as relief washed over her entire being. She actually remembered what relaxed breathing felt like. Before he exited the airport, he had snatched a piece of paper from his pocket and took a random pen that was sticking out of someone's humongous travelling bag, and then started writing his number. He handed the paper to her and flashed a wide grin before dashing out of the place, a white-haired girl welcoming him outside.

Lucy doesn't pay his leave any mind anymore as she clutched the paper to her chest. She read the unfamiliar contact number. She smiled and neatly folded the paper into the deepest part of her pocket—just to be safe. She didn't want anything to get lost.

Sting's number is an emergency that could actually help her life.

After a moment of registering her surroundings, she was off to the particular exit where several people are hailing cabs and the vehicles are waiting for passengers to get in. She pulls her luggage as it rolls behind her.

Once Lucy stepped outside, the lukewarm air of September swells against her. Then a chilly wind hits her and everybody else. She closes her eyes for a moment and takes a whiff of the atmosphere. She sniffs dramatically—

—and smoke suddenly enters her nostrils.

Her whole face contorted into discomfort.

Lucy started to cough and covered her mouth. Okay, maybe being dramatic is a bad idea. She thinks to herself as she takes a handkerchief from her bag and wipes her face.

Well, she wanted to give it a try. Besides, it's her first time being in another country and her first time actually travelling, so she had to have the chance.

But it seems she's still not lucky. She sighs lastly.

She stares at the jetlagged people around her—bags and dark circles under their eyes and oily faces—and saw their hands were up as they hailed sleek black cabs. All of them looked stressed and frazzled; it made her want to laugh.

It may seem funny but she doesn't have the right to laugh. Who knows, she may look uglier than the rest of them. Lucy winced at the thought.

She notices the sleek, shiny, black cabs speeding and stopping, and how they're made in right-hand drive.

Just like in London... Lucy ponders. She raises her hand and tries to hail one, but then a cab speeds right past her. Her hair and clothes swept to the left, her face frozen and stunned from the force of the wind.

"Hey, watch it!" She cries out, as if the cab could hear her.

What a turd.

She rolls her eyes. You'd get used to it in London, anyway. All cabs are like that.

Then she hears a loud whistle coming from behind her. Lucy turns her head to see who it was and sees a security guard. He was slightly aging and wrinkles were forming on his face. He gives her an apologetic smile, his eyes crinkling and smiling as well. Lucy blinks at him awkwardly.

"I am so sorry about that, madam. That naturally happens here in the airport if the cabs are just passing by to take a U-Turn." He explains calmly, placing his gloved hand on her shoulder.

Lucy nods her head in understanding and grips her bag. She narrows her eyes back at the asphalt road.

Right.

Or the drivers are just complete bastards.

She scoffs at the thought. The cabs are basically hungry for passengers. And in this kind of season, fares get more unbelievable and outrageous, she'd prefer walking instead. It's not the passengers' fault that they don't want to ride cabs that much anymore.

The security guard starts to hum.

"Hmm, let me call you a cab." He beams kindly and hails one. And to her amusement, the black vehicle swerves and stops in front of her. Lucy chuckles.

"Why, thank you, kind sir." She faces the older man and gives him a slight bow and the security guard laughs. He bows back with his hat in hand, and he helps her carry the bags to the trunk of the cab.

Afterwards, he opens the door for her and she slips inside and closes the door gently, not before giving him a grateful smile.

Lucy relaxes herself on the cheap leather of the car and exhales. Yeah, the cabs are expensive and cheap. She sees the driver look at her on the rearview mirror before lazily saying, "Where to?"

She purses her lips together and started to say, "Uh... Fairy Tail Academy... please." Lucy grins crookedly and then the driver shrugs and steps on the engine, and they were off. She's not even sure if the cabs know what that place is but she reminds herself that it's one of the most prestigious schools in the country.

Lucy sighs and scoots to the window. The cab moves faster and within moments, they were out of the airport and on the highway. Her eyes light up in awe as tall buildings and bridges and bulletin boards whoosh past through them.

Many palm trees were planted near the road accordingly and it almost reminded her of the pictures she sees online every time she searches for Los Angeles and other famous cities worldwide. It was thrilling to her—seeing everything in real life with her very own eyes. It brings odd tingles to her heart; it almost made her giggle from the ticklish feeling. There were so many skyscrapers and public works. She can't wait to go to the tourist spots.

And she almost wished she never gave away her DSLR camera to her roommate.

She closes her eyes and leans her head on the cool glass. She thinks through all of the events that had occurred to her within the 24 hours.

Yesterday, she was out with her friends for the last time, she had a great movie marathon with her weird roommate, they went out for dinner together for the first time, she received a call of a boy from school's confession on midnight, she fell asleep on the devil's hour, she woke up finding she's running out of time before her flight, she almost missed her flight, she was seated by the window with a blonde guy and an old lady beside her, she acquainted with the blonde and his name was Sting, they laughed and told stories to each other, he gave her his number, and then that was when reality hit her.

It was eventful. She'd never forget about this experience. It's worth remembering. Maybe she should buy a journal... Lucy opens her eyes and her range of vision meets skyscrapers and different kinds of shops. That's when she realizes that she must be in Downtown, Magnolia. Crowds filled the sidewalks, in and out of the shops.

When her cab goes to a full stop in a red light, she observes and studies the city. It was so much like London except there is less population and there are more cafés here. At least with that, she could find a place to stay in whenever she's bored or in her free time.

Café's. Yes, perfect.

She watches a sea of people pass by the pedestrian lane and she sees them on trench coats, scarves, fluffy boots and beanies. It was autumn after all. She checks her clothes and she's wearing a simple dark cardigan, a thick grey shirt, denim jeans, and a pair of white Adidas. It was inappropriate for this kind of weather but she's used to a slight chill.

Besides, a frosty wind won't hurt her. Maybe, but whatever. It's too late to change outfits anyhow.

After a few more minutes, the cab began moving again. Lucy leans forward on her seat to ask the driver, "How many more minutes 'til we get there?" She doesn't forget to steal a glance to the small screen that shows her fare.

62.12 Jewels.

Oh. So they use 'Jewels' as their currency instead of the regular Pound (£). She makes a self-reminder to go to the nearest money transfer machine.

"Say about five more." The man replies gruffly as he circles the steering wheel to go through a right turn. Lucy nods her head and leans back against the cheap leather.

She starts to wonder what lies ahead once she steps out of this car.

[ (=^･ω･^=) ]

Greenwich Mean Time 3:52 PM
Main Building, Fairy Tail Academy
Magnolia City, Fiore

The moment her foot touched the solid ground of the academy, her heart was beating erratically and uncontrollably. Her face was flushed and her eyes were wide from anxiety. The driver took her luggage out of the trunk and took off, leaving her standing stupidly in front of the large gate with her mouth wide agape like a fish. Her eyebrow starts to twitch and her breath hitches. The overwhelming feeling washes over her and she clutches her backpack like a vice; as if she's going to fall if she lets it go.

After a few moments, though, of standing in the center of the main entrance of the school, she shakes herself out of her reverie and makes a few steps forward gradually, until she starts to walk in a moderate pace. It was quiet around her, there was not a single person standing.

It was a vast space of nothing but greens and the large main building of the school stands in the center of the lot. And on each side of the main building are smaller buildings with lesser floors attached to it that leads to the back. And on each side of the smaller buildings are roofs that have poles that hold them up as they shelter long mahogany benches—most probably a waiting shed for students. On the area where Lucy stands is a cobblestone walkway that leads to the front double doors of the main building, and on the vicinity of the walkway are lines of bushes of roses, hydrangea, oleander and other kinds of bushes. A space cuts of both lines of the bushes in the middle of it that leads to a free space of green grass and on each side has a willow tree that stands in the center of its empty space.

She notices the leaves of the shrubs and trees were falling off and some of them turning orange and red. She smiles and reminds herself that it's fall; the perfect season to buy a relaxing warm coffee and stay outside for a period of time without freezing yourself to death or burning your skin.

Lucy breathes the air in and sighs in satisfaction. The autumn wind breezes the place and all you could hear are the rustling leaves, chirping birds and the wheels of her luggage rolling and bumping against the cobblestone.

It was all too quiet. But Lucy didn't mind. There was never a time she experienced complete silence where she could peacefully think about her life and find a solution for her problems. Unluckily for her, she is cursed with loud and obnoxious friends and yet she still loves them.

Right now, it was silent. It wasn't uncomfortable nor was it awkward. It was blissful peace. She beams to herself and climbs up the staircase that leads to the double doors. She savored every quiet step she takes; humming a tune in her mind.

But she didn't know how worse her day would be, she didn't how much it would ruin everything she's enjoying right now until the doors swing open and someone bursts out of it.

Everything happened so fast, all she saw was a pink and white blur.

She felt and vaguely saw the random stranger collide with her body, but the force hasn't registered to her yet. She gasps. She squints her eyes and waited for the impact of the ground against her back, but all she felt were two large, warm arms enveloping around her and a lot of spinning.

What in the world? A loud groan reaches her ears and then a small thud. Her face was pressed against a soft yet rock-hard surface and she could still feel arms wrapped around her waist and shoulder. She opens her eyes and blinks in confusion.

The first thing she see is an exposed neck and a chin pointing towards her. And the skin has a good tan too. She looks down and sees that the 'soft yet rock-hard surface' she felt was a muscled chest covered by a white tank top.

Lucy tries to pull away from the tight grip on her body, but she just ends up squirming and whimpering underneath the boy's hold. She starts to pant heavily after four tries of escaping. She really needs to go to the gym to improve her stamina.

But first, she has to get out of here.

The only choice she has is to talk to the stranger. She opens her mouth to say, "Excuse me, can you please get your hands off of me?" but she ended up closing it; because an annoyed, male voice and lots of footsteps resounded behind her.

"Damn, Natsu. It's not even the first day of school and you're already grabbing innocent girls?" The male voice says jokingly. Then she feels a deep rumble against her own chest. A sweet, warm laugh reaches her ears, then.

"Ha! You're just jealous!" Lucy keeps quiet and bites her lip, unconsciously burying her face against the tank top. "Besides, it's your fault why!" The boy—Natsu?—snarls in annoyance, his hold around her loosening. Lucy notices this and stays still for a moment.

"What did you say? You're the one who stole my stuff and ran off!"

Natsu started to laugh out loud. "I didn't steal it. I just borrowed it so I could announce it to the entire school that you have a toy," Natsu sneered and quickly added, "A sex toy, to say the least."

And with that statement, everything happened all at the same time. Lucy's face flushed as red as a tomato, her ears burning, the gawking sound behind her, several gasps and snickers from boys and girls alike, and then the loud, comical laugh of the Natsu guy.

"G-Gray!" An uneasy female voice yelps. Lucy takes that as the chance to get out of the loose hold; she jumps away and stands up quickly. When she gets back on her feet, her cheeks are still burning.

The Natsu guy sits up and scratches the back of his head; he stares up at Lucy and he grins toothily. "Sorry about that! It's all Gray's fault you got hurt." His finger points accusingly at the raven-haired man in front of them but he keeps his gaze at her.

Lucy's face burns furiously then. She gulps. It's embarrassing enough that she was 'rescued' by this jockish stranger from a fall that could cause her a concussion, and he's still apologizing to her.

"It's okay! I'm not hurt..." She waves her hands in front of her frantically, a nervous smile on her face. She could feel all eyes on her. "...not at all." After a few seconds, her face returns to its color.

Her eyes quickly searches around and spots her luggage fallen on the cobblestone. She runs to it and picks it up, patting it along the way. What a turn of events to start her first day in Fiore. It was still awkwardly silent, until another unfamiliar voice speaks up.

"You're moving in here?"

Yes, apparently. It would be weird if she'd go visit a school with a big baggage.

She wanted to say those exact words but all that went out was a shy "Yes," and a meek nod. Way to go, Lucy.

Natsu did an impressive Chinese get-up and leaned his body forward before he shoved his face close to hers, their noses almost touching. A wide grin was spread across his face. "Really?!" Lucy stepped back a bit and her blush went back shooting to her face. "You're gonna live here?" His face lights up in wonder.

Many of his friends face-palmed and groaned. While she was red from the neck up to her ears, speechless. "Natsu. Leave the poor girl alone," a soothing, motherly voice scolds. Lucy looks at the owner of the voice and sees a girl—maybe a few years older than her—with white silvery hair and feminine cerulean eyes.

Natsu's face transforms into a face of a child pouting, and leaned back, stretching widely. "Eh, you always ruin my fun, Mira-ne-san*." He complains, but the latter just smiles back at him warmly.

"Just go back inside your room, Natsu," The white-haired girl shakes her head and gestures the pink-haired boy back to the building. "You too, everybody." She shoos them all away with her hand and they all obey with grunts.

Lucy watches the scene unfold with awe. It amazes her to see how a single person could dominate an entire group of ten people. Well, she used to see her father order everyone in the company around but seeing regular people like them makes her giddy on the inside. Is she the leader of everyone here or something? It can't be possible if she's the same level as her year when she can do something like that.

Okay, maybe Lucy is overreacting but she'd always wanted to do that. You know... boss around someone. But that's kind of rude but it won't hurt to try, anyway.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she hears the older girl's voice; "Sorry about that," she chuckles heartily, making a smile spread across Lucy's face like melted butter, "They're naturally like that, so you have to get used to it when you go to this school." She shrugs.

Lucy laughs and shakes her head, "No, it's alright," The older girl smiles humorously and Lucy adds, "I've had friends like that from London."

"You're from London?"

When she nods, her blonde hair jumps along. "Yeah, I wanted to leave that place so bad, you know?"

"Hmm," the senior hums, "No matter how interested I am in knowing the reason why, it's extremely rude for me to push you further. Anyway, hi, I'm Mirajane Strauss! A senior of this high school and I'm the one who manages the students who stay on the dormitory." She says cheerfully and offers her hand to Lucy. The way she brightly introduces herself makes Lucy feel as gleeful. She appreciates her respect to not ask too many questions about her life.

She shakes her hand back with the same enthusiasm. "Ah, I'm Lucy," she squeezes the older girl's soft hand gently, "Lucy Heartfilia."

Mirajane's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Lucy notices this and waits for the expected answer.

The older girl was quiet for a moment, frozen on her spot and her eyes slightly wide. Lucy waits for the reaction, but nothing came. She blinks in confusion.

Mirajane simply smiles and nods her head in understanding. This time, it's Lucy who raises her eyebrows next. "Is that so?" She says, and Lucy nods her head slowly, "Okay. Let's head inside then."

"A—yeah, sure." Lucy stutters and starts pulling her luggage again, with Mirajane in front of her as she follows her behind.

She enters through the double doors and when her foot touches the marble ground, a gasp comes out of her lips. She hears Mirajane giggle. "Welcome to the school lobby, Lucy." The room is dimly lit with a golden hue.

It was one of the most beautiful interior decoration she has ever seen her entire life. The golden chandelier hangs on the center of the high ceiling with diamonds scattered around it. The ceiling is designed with delicate and detailed intricate patterns, and smooth, white pillars stand proudly around the room; its shaft pure white. The floor is made out of rich marble and is polished so diligently, you could see your reflection. In the center of the lobby lies a red carpet with similar design as the ceiling's, and a circle of red and gold sofas. And in the middle of the circle stands a rosewood round table, with a large vase of different types of flowers—the arrangement is amazing. At each end of the lobby is a wide flight of stairs made out of most probably oak, and a long, thin carpet lies on the foot of the staircase. The walls are painted with a simple pale color, which goes well with the brown, red and golden furniture. Plants in pots and palm trees that almost reach the ceiling are decorated in all the right places. Near the right staircase are the information counter and a large bulletin board (the standing type) with several papers and notices pinned on it. At the other staircase, another double door is located beside it, with two words above it.

Principal's Office, it reads.

There is also a hallway that leads to the back, but she can't see any further because it goes on a left and a right turn.

Lucy takes in her surroundings and inhales, just like the way she did in the airport. Except this time, it doesn't smell smoky or itchy to the nose; it doesn't smell like fresh air. It smells like rose, citrus, sweet and musky all at the same time; it relaxed her mind. And was that chocolate she smells? She sniffed again and she could catch the scent of Maltesers and Hershey chocolates. And yes, she could distinguish the scent of chocolate. Weird, but also quite helpful.

"The principal isn't present right now, so why don't I give you a tour around the school until he arrives back?" Mirajane faces Lucy with a beam. Lucy's face brightens and she nods her head like a kid would when he hears his parents got new toys for him.

The senior girl laughs wholeheartedly and gestures her to follow her. "So, let's start with the main building, block one." She says calmly, but Lucy's face turns to a look of horror.

"How many blocks are there in each building?"

"Three blocks, and there are five buildings in school, one gymnasium, outdoor pool, football field, baseball field and we have two buildings for the dormitory." On each word mentioned, Lucy's eyes go wider and wider until her skin is about to tear open.

It's going to be a long day.

"You shouldn't have to make anybody like you, Georgie. You should want to be with somebody who can't help but like you."
―Rainbow Rowell, "Landline"

Author's Note:

That has been a while since I last updated! Good thing I didn't promise any deadline or else I'll be in trouble with my readers! Haha. Yeah, so here you go, guys! Chapter two of Flux. I've been very busy ever since 2015 started, and I'm also spending my free time sketching and watching anime, so I'm sorry if I can't find enough time to update. But there will always be one! I'm also sort of busy reading new books and reading fanfictions, y'know? So I have a lot in my mind and hands. And the school projects, homework and requirements! There are so much to do and I have to spend an entire day to sort out my schedule until the end of my school year! I mean, it actually depends if some situations change, but yeah.

I have nothing else to say... but here is the update! I hope you guys liked it! I go home early and miss my after-school tutoring so I could type and finish the update! But I happen to manage my grades, at least. Haha. Okay, bye! Love you all!

Leave some feedback and tell me what you think! Pardon any typos or grammatical errors―English isn't my native language. Yeah, typical excuse but it's very true. So yes, PM me if there any problems and constructive criticisms are allowed. xoxo

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