One

"Gray Fullbuster?"

The name might as well have been skipped during the daily attendance to save time but perhaps all the teachers were clinging on some foolish hope that someday the boy, who scored the highest on the school entrance exam, would show up. It wasn't only the teachers too—Gray Fullbuster was always the biggest gossip amongst the student body, girls whispering how they wished to see the hottest guy of Fairy Tail High once more, boys groaning for a better sports member on their team, assuming the phantom student was a great sportsman from his public display of abs. Lucy Heartphilia, however, didn't really care of all the chatter and rumors that went and flew about the overly crowded hallways.

And part of that was due to her absence on the first day of school, the only school day Gray bothered to make an appearance.

"If anyone's seen Gray Fullbuster, please tell him to come to school," the teacher finally moved on, passing out a thick worksheet packet that was their daily homework, "and please tell him to come see me."

It struck to Lucy that Gray must be so handsome and charismatic that even teachers were smitten by him. She had the misfortune of being in every class with him, dealing with all sorts of reactions each teacher had. They all consisted, however, of a sigh and a faraway, dreamy glance after the teacher gave their futile speech to the class.

Maybe it was because Lucy had never seen Gray or was sick of people glorifying him but she found it atrocious for teachers to hint intimate feelings for a student.

"Ne, ne, Lu-chan," a blue haired girl who sat in front of her in class, Levy McGarden, held out the packets, "don't you find sensei acting way overboard today?"

Lucy cracked a slight grin as she took a packet for herself and handed the rest to the person behind. Levy was a companion Lucy was happy to have befriended. She was less materialistic and sassy enough to suit Lucy's tastes. But it wasn't just about fulfilling standards, Lucy cherished the times she spent with Levy, especially the times when they spoke about books, their favorite source of pastime.

"By the way, did you read the latest book?"

Lucy's chocolate eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes! It was so good! I hope she ends up with her crush."

The story they were talking about was a tale of a young girl who moved to the quaint countryside to teach at the local school house. The young girl developed a crush on a man who saved her from drowning while she lived in the care of an eccentric hikikomori.

"Really? I hope she ends up with the hikikomori."

"Why?"

"Well…" Levy placed a finger over her lips, head facing upwards in search of an explanation, "…because she seems to be more herself with the hikikomori…and well…the hikikomori seems to bring out the best of her and she brings out the best of him…I think they complement each other well."

Lucy opened her mouth to refute her best friend's opinion but a ruler hitting her desk with a loud thud switched the girls' attention from their conversation to their workbooks.

—

If she had a way, she'd avoid the cafeteria at all costs. It was always boisterous, a common attribute of a public food court for teenagers. But what made it so dislikeable was that it was a battle ground for cliques. Instead of a place to eat, it became, rather, a survival of the fittest of some sorts. The punk would pick on the artsy and the jocks would oversee that no other clique would cross their 'territory.' And it was cleverly cloaked by the nerds who advocated for students' rights to self govern.

Even if Lucy found it absolutely disgusting, she had to admit; she had never heard of a finer display of teamwork than this.

Waiting in line for about a half hour, she picked a bento to her liking, heading to the exit afterwards. She never stayed in the cafeteria for long since for one, she didn't belong in any cliques. She was a bookworm, she had fashion sense. She liked to be alone; she liked to be around people. Lucy considered herself to be bipolar in a way and well, there wasn't a bipolar clique, was there?

"Hey!" There was a kick followed by a sharp yelp of pain. Lucy glanced behind, seeing a muscled boy kicking a smaller boy to a corner. The boy on the ground had his clothes all disheveled, his blonde hair dirtied. Lucy frowned and looked in the direction where the jocks were; they were completely oblivious to this violation.

Cliques were, of no circumstances, allowed to inflict physical harm.

"It's none of your business," Lucy muttered to herself, her pulse beating rapidly, "just let it go. The jocks don't care so why should you?"

Her walking pace slowed and she found it harder to make the final step out the door. A person bumped into her shoulder and Lucy was about to snarl when she noticed it was a friend of the bullied nerd.

"Hey, your friend is getting beaten," she said, jutting a thumb towards the scene of the crime, "you're going to help him right?"

His friend made a quick glance before shrugging. "He's not one of us. It's his fault anyways."

Unbelievable. Lucy hated herself at the moment but she couldn't help it. A strong will of justice just washed over her, taking control of her actions as she strode over to intervene.

"Hey, maybe you should pick a person your own size," Lucy sneered, fist inching closer and closer to the bully's face, "since it's not cool to beat a person up like that."

She didn't give the bully a chance to respond as she finished her punch, wiping her hand away. "I hope that taught you something."

"What the hell!" The bully quickly retaliated and Lucy readied her lungs to scream since, judging his massive body size, she would be pummeled if he picked on her. "Why the hell are you stopping me? I'm just getting revenge."

"Huh?"

"This dude," the 'bully' gestured the boy, "stole my girlfriend."

Lucy looked in confusion at the boy but as she studied his sun kissed hair, baby face eyes, recognition dawned on her.

He was Eve Tearm, one of the infamous playboys of the school.

—

She didn't know why she sat cross legged on the wet grassy floor, her bento set out ready to be eaten. Lucy doesn't like outdoors that much, a stroll along the park was the most she could tolerate. But perhaps the three bishounen guys she was with currently helped with that matter.

"Lu-chan~" Eve Tearm, the boy who she rescued earlier, had quickly comforted himself around her arm. She didn't mind so much since, well, he was cute. "may I have a shrimp?"

"Uhm…" Seafood was her favorite but Lucy guessed it didn't hurt to spare one. "Sure. Here."

"What about me Lucy?" Her ears immediately fell captive in the mouth of womanizer number two, Loke Stellar. "I want one too~"

"Here," Lucy grumpily tossed it into his mouth after elbowing him away in the stomach. She turned to the third, and last, womanizer of the group. "You want one too?"

He shook his brown, spiky hair, his eyes trained on the screen of the laptop in his lap. Lucy smiled a bit, relieved that at least one civilized boy existed in the group. But then he shut his laptop, looked up into her eyes, and flashed a charismatic smile.

"May I have one now, Lu-cy?"

"Gah! Just devour it all, won't you?" Lucy finally surrendered her tray of food, watching in amazement at the speed it took for the boys to devour the contents to its entirety. "Wow. For womanizers, you guys sure eat sloppily."

Eve looked up, smiling timidly, "Well, it's probably because Lu-chan doesn't think of us as men, right?"

Lucy blinked at his frank, yet true, rhetorical question. "Well...I suppose so…"

He grinned and went back to finishing the remains. Lucy stared into space, daydreaming before remembering she had something more important to do. Grabbing out her workbooks, she turned to the boys, "I'm welcome to study right?"

Three heads nodded. "We can help you if you need any help, Lucy," Hibiki offered.

Lucy shook her head. "Nah, it's okay. It's mainly workbooks for prep classes. I'm not a genius, I'm afraid."

"But that's so diligent of you!" Eve exclaimed, and Lucy could've sworn she saw him tearing up a bit. "Gambatte Lu-chan!"

"Yeah, gambatte!" Loke smiled while Hibiki just nodded.

The blonde blinked, unsure how to react. She kind of expected something snarky, being what she was doing was dorky and all. She was also kind of hesitant, fearing that she might get rejected, shunned, and forced to head to the library alone where she usually did her studies. Wait. Did she just indirectly implied that she liked being in their presence?

She looked up from her book to stare at the three boys who seemed so close to each other, who were kind enough to let her in their circle. They might be womanizers but from how they acted around her, she could tell they weren't being impure at all.

Perhaps she could let go of her pet peeve of being around a lot of people.

"Ne, by the way," Lucy asked after she had gotten a sufficient amount of work done, "do you guys usually hang around in a group like this outside of school or…?"

"Why is that Lu-chan?" Eve inquired, causing red to streak across Lucy's face. She took a couple of gulps before asking, "W-well…cause…if it's no big deal, a-and it's only because I have no place else to study b-but…I was wondering if I can sit with you guys tomorrow…?"

The boys stared at her as if she was something to be speculated before bursting into laughter.

"Of course you can," Loke said between pants, "anything for you love."

"Gr-great!" Lucy ignored the 'love' part. "Thanks!"

"But the answer to your question," Hibiki opened his laptop once more. "There's one more person in our group. You can say he's the…leader."

"Oh?" Lucy tilted her head. "Who's that?"

"Gray Fullbuster."

—

The room was subzero, cold. But Gray braved on, snuggling deeper into the hideous bright green couch with a light pink blanket draped over his body.

"Gray, how long are you going to stay in the house?"

From where he sat, he couldn't see her expression but it was probably agitated, her lips pursed into a cute pout. He heard the shower on just before she stepped into the living room. She must still be in a towel right now. Warm liquid started to trickle from his nose and Gray laughed coarsely, grabbing a tissue all the while trying to suppress his wild imaginations. It was futile.

"I dunno…maybe…forever?"

"Forever?!" This time, her voice dragged at the last syllable, in an all too exasperated 'I kind of don't expect anything less from you now' kind of tone. It furthered Gray's happiness, his heart thudding rapidly and legs wildly kicking in the air.

"Your voice," he gasped, "is so hilarious."

He was robbed of his blanket, the coldness licking his skin as if he was a frozen treat. "What the hell, Ultear?! I could catch a cold you know!"

"Great then!" He could fully see her now, her face just as cross as he envisioned it to be, her body scantily covered by a towel just as he hoped it to be. "You'll have an actual excuse to stay at home then!"

Gray resisted laughing, instead, sat upright and rested his chin on a propped elbow. "Aws, won't you be missing me then?"

"Pft, who are you kidding Gray?"

It was said far too sarcastically to Gray's liking. He frowned, taking the time to actually stare at her face, attempt to figure her out just as he always did. But like every attempts, she always added one more comment which tipped the world's logic off balance.

"How am I ever going to marry with you being like this?"

His face darkened and Gray snatched back his blanket, covering his entire body with it, mimicking snoring sounds. She was sighing again and oh how he loved that sound. He wished he could listen to it forever, he wished he could listen to her voice forever. But when it came to a topic about her leaving him, he hated it.

"Why would you even marry? You have me…and Lyon."

"I was kidding of course but there will be a day when you two will leave me for your futures."

He got up, catching glimpses of relief on her face before it was replaced with artificial sadness. "…are you sad when we leave or…are you…"

His last word was unspoken but both knew what he was trying to get across. Ultear knew it all too well; it showed on her face. She was about to respond when the door of the house was thrust opened and incoming were Gray's friends accompanied by a slightly older, silver haired boy.

"Yo," the silver haired boy exclaimed upon the sight of Gray and the two boys fist bumped. "Staying in the house is not cool, you know."

"Pft, neither is cutting," Gray retorted and Lyon grinned, "I don't need to care as much since I'm a senior, remember?"

"What do you mean?" Ultear interjected their brotherly conversation sharply, "as long as I'm still your guardian, you'll have to stay at school as I expect you to."

"Can it, old hag," Lyon sneered, "I got into the damn university you expected me to get into. How much more do you want from me?"

"When you appreciate all the expenses I spent on you and your brother, then I'll ask no more from you."

"What's there to appreciate? You didn't do much for me."

"That's because you're not in the house enough!" She seemed to have suddenly aged a bit, Gray noted. A lot more riled up than she was with him. Gray made a mental note to ask for advice from Lyon later on. He wanted to be cared as much as Lyon was being cared by Ultear. "And stop getting into so much gang fights—"

"—I'm not in as much anymore," Lyon turned his back on his two siblings. "Bye Gray, I'll see you later."

"See you!"

"Come back, Lyon! I haven't finished talking to you yet!" Ultear hurried after Lyon but went back to change when reminded by Gray. Five quick minutes later, she left in her wake a messed up rug from being stepped on too hard. Before she disappeared completely out the house door, she added, "Loke, Eve, Hibiki, please don't make a mess of the house like last time."

The three addressed boys chorused, "Of course not," but flopped themselves sloppily on unoccupied loveseats as soon Ultear was completely gone.

"So how is everything going on with Ultear?" Loke, an orange haired boy, asked casually.

"No progress right?" Hibiki added.

Gray rolled his eyes, half pissed for his troubles being voiced aloud. "Yeah…still no progress. How's everything at school?"

"We met a girl," Eve, normally the quieter one of the group, energetically piped up. "Her name's Lucy Heartphilia!"

"A girl?" His eyebrows quirked up, watching his friend's face blush up. He had known his friends ever since kindergarten, where they met under the circumstances of being the most handsome of their age group. They had formed a kind of playboy group since then, flirting with girls whenever they got a chance at school. Their activities had been low key recently due to his absence but that still shouldn't cause Eve Tearm blushing like one of those ridiculous heroines in shoujos girls foolishly like to read. "Is she the new target?"

"N-no, Lu-chan is really nice," Eve stuttered, "she-"

"-saved Eve from being beaten up," Loke finished.

Gray frowned, "Eve was beaten up? Why?"

"He was flirting with someone's girlfriend," Hibiki nonchalantly said despite Eve's protests not to and while playing with a computer he pulled out. "We were advising him not to but I think he wanted to make you proud or something."

The black haired boy turned to the baby faced member of their group, stroking his wounded cheek. "…putting your health over a chick is not cool, okay?" Eve whimpered under his tender touch but nodded slowly, bringing a smile on Gray's face.

"You're too lenient with him boss," Loke commented, "which is why he's always in those situation."

Gray punched Loke's shoulder playfully, shutting his patronizing mouth momentarily. "What's Hibiki doing?"

The computer whiz of the boys looked up, turning round his laptop for the boys to see. "Searching up info on Lucy."

"What's she like?" Eve perked up, too eagerly. He shrank when his friends stared at him oddly. "I-I mean…so I can give thanks to her tomorrow…"

"You guys are meeting up with her tomorrow?" Gray asked in surprise.

Loke nodded. "She said she had no place else to study."

"She's a study dork?" He crinkled his nose, imagining Lucy as a petite, black haired girl with oversized bangs, spectacles, and face plagued with pimples. If that was the case, then no wonder she'd stick with the boys regardless of their reputation.

"Don't say it like that," Eve scolded, "Lu-chan is very studious. You should learn from her."

He was becoming increasingly annoyed at his best friend's advice to learn from a girl who he never even met before. And if Gray really cared to notice, which he didn't since he didn't really care much about anything, all Eve had been talking about was of this Lucy. Heck, even Hibiki was researching this Lucy Heartphilia.

"Okay, I'm meeting her tomorrow," Gray declared, shocking his friends. "I'll stop by lunch so bring her outside to eat, 'kay?"

"…you sure about that?" Loke asked, "I mean…it may be no big deal for you but for her-"

"-it may get really uncomfortable," Eve finished.

"Pft, a girl being uncomfortable around me?" Gray laughed at his friends' worries, "like that'll ever happen. Relax. I think you guys are underestimating me here."

—

"Lucy, what is this?"

She dared not to raise her head any higher than the height of the mahogany desk in front. Her back was kept leveled at a ninety degree angle.

"A seventy-five, father," she answered stoically. She flinched a little when a ruler narrowly missed her shoulder, banging noisily instead on the desk.

"I thought you studied," her father spoke, "you should score higher than what you're showing me."

"People mess up, okay dad?!" Lucy felt like screaming. But she said, instead, "I apologize for disappointing you, father. I will not allow this to happen again."

"I expect it not, Lucy."

"May I leave for now, father? I need to start on my schoolwork." She knew it was the only excuse that would spare her an hour long lecture.

"Leave. I hope not to see you for the rest of the night."

"Yes father. Good night."

As she exited her father's room, she received not her father's notice of her departure.

"It's fine," Lucy told herself as she walked the long hallways to her room, "father's always like that…" she half expected her mother to comfort her in the warmth of her embrace but remembered the very reason for her father's coldness was her mother's death. And the reason for his declining business was because of his sudden coldness. Charisma was everything in the business world whether it was genuine or not, after all.

"Got to make father proud…" Lucy tried telling herself again, finally reaching her room. Despite having as much money prior her birth and mother's death, Lucy's father endorsed much of their current fortune into extra classes for Lucy, in order for her to outdo most students of her age. Scoring a seventy five on one of her extra classes was a definite hit on her father's expectations.

"I must score higher…" Lucy collapsed on her desk upon flinging the door to her bedroom open. She wished she didn't have to take so many classes on top of keeping up with the courses at school. It was strenuous and she hardly had any time to talk to Levy about books anymore since they had different lunch periods and classes besides that one class. She wanted to be like any other teenage girl; have a boyfriend, hang out with friends, and just have fun. Was it too much to hope for?

"Shut up, Lucy," the blonde murmured, pinching her cheeks, "Lunchtime should be alright from now on at least…right?"

"There's one more person in our group. You can say he's the…leader."

"Gah!" Lucy banged her head on her table, rubbing her forehead in circles. Why did he have to be part of their group? They seemed sensible, albeit a bit narcissist. But Gray was the narcissist of all narcissists with his absence hailing such dishevel at school. It was sickening and she was not looking forward to meeting him.

"But then again, he hasn't been coming to school lately so why would he come tomorrow?" She pondered, and with that thought, she worked happily through her school work well into the late night and early morning.

Author's Note

Before I say anything else, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Okay so yeah. I'm well aware that despite my long, long, long unannounced hiatus, I'm still very inexperienced at keeping characters in character. Bear with me, ne?

Also, for my old readers, this is a spin-off and a replacement for 'Just a Miscellaneous Mess'. I deleted that story, after contemplating for a long time, due to my lack of interest to continue it. Seriously, I hit a dead end chapters way, way back. I apologize thoroughly for my inconsideration of the reviews and alerts you guys invested into that story and promise I won't abandon this story the way I did for that.

I hoped you guys enjoyed this first chapter since I guarantee there's a legit story line for this.

(I haven't gotten about proofreading this so excuse any grammatical mistakes, ne?)