I don't own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.

Chapter 21

Spring Break

Lucy was leaving her father's office early and was heading back to the mansion. It was spring break and she was back home. She was currently helping Jude with some company business. She gave her father a hug and walked into the car with Capricorn.

The next morning she joined her father at breakfast, "Good morning papa." She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down to eat.

Jude was mixing his coffee, "Good morning Lucy." Virgo brought him the morning newspaper and he started reading it. Upon reading the headlines, he began choking on his coffee.

"What's wrong papa?" she intrigued to know what made her father lose his composure. Jude gave her the newspaper and began dialing a number on his phone.

Lucy paled upon reading the headline, CEO Jude Heartfilia romancing a mysterious woman? It was a picture of Lucy hugging her father. Her face was not visible, just the back of her head. Jude started putting his coat on. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Jude sighed, "I need to go deal with this scandal. It won't be good for the company."

"Why? You haven't done anything wrong?" she was curious.

"The company shareholders expects me to avoid any scandals. Even though I haven't done anything wrong, the press will focus on this 'mysterious woman' for a while, which will bring the wrong attention to the company."

"Oh, I'm sorry father. Is there anything I can do?" she wanted to help.

"I'm not sure Lucy, I have to go meet with the lawyers now." He gave her a peck on her head and left the dining room.

Lucy spent the whole day worried about her father. She decided to call Loke.

"Hello princess. How are you?" her cousin smoothly answered.

"Loke, you've seen the newspapers." She then proceeded to tell him what her father told her.

Loke sighed, "Lucy I'm not going to sugar coat it. Several people who work with me think that the 'woman' in the picture is an escort. There are many rumors and theories flying around in the office."

Lucy's eyes widened, "This would paint my father in a negative light, wouldn't it?" she didn't want that to happen. "Is there anything that could be done."

Loke thought about it, "Well you could… nevermind it's not possible."

"What? Do you have an idea?" she was curious as to what Loke thought.

"Maybe, this would be the perfect time to introduce Lucy Heartfilia to the public. You are almost done with University and you were planning on joining the company anyways right?" he asked.

"Oh okay, I will think about." She hesitantly answered. To be completely honest, she enjoyed being Lucy Ashley because she was treated normally. However, she knew that from the beginning that Lucy Ashley was only temporary life.

She made up her mind and waited for her father to arrive home.

Jude came home late that night, he just wanted to drink some vodka and sleep. However, as soon as he opened the door, Lucy was waiting for him.

"How did it go?" she asked.

He sighed, "Not well, some of the stocks have dropped. The lawyers and I are still trying to find a solution."

Lucy bit her lip, "Father, what if we tell the public the truth? Tell them that I'm your daughter. You were planning on introducing me to the company eventually, we can just do it earlier?" she suggested.

Jude was astounded, "Lucy, I can't ask you do that."

"No, I want to. I don't want the company to suffer." She was determined, her mother and father put their time and soul into the company.

Jude replied, "Alright, if you are completely sure." Lucy nodded. "Okay, I will arrange a press conference in the morning."

Next Morning

Lucy stood in front of the doors, looking over her appearance once again. She was a wearing a black blazer with a maroon dress underneath. She was extremely nervous and remembered the conversation she had with Natsu the night before.

She called to let him know that she was doing a press conference. Lucy warned Natsu about the sudden media attention that would be focused on her. She also asked him to tell their friends that she was sorry about hiding her real identity, since he was in Magnolia.

Jude came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "You know it's not too late to back out if you want to."

Lucy shook her head and said with a determined face, "No, I am ready to do this."

Her father squeezed her hand and entered the room first. She could hear him from the outside. "Hello, I'm Jude Heartfilia. I understand that you all have questions about the mystery woman. However I will not be answering them; instead she is here to explain herself."

The doors opened and she saw a little platform with her father standing on it. The audience was filled with cameras and reporters. She walked up gracefully and joined her father on stage.

Lucy took a deep breath and took the microphone in her hands. "Hello everyone, my name is Lucy Ashley Heartfilia." She heard a huge murmur around the room and cameras were flashing rapidly. "I'm the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia. I'm currently a student at Magnolia University, under the name Lucy Ashley. I did not mean to deceive anyone, I just simply wanted to experience a normal college lifestyle. I hope you all can understand my actions. I would be happy to answer any questions."

Jude and Lucy spent the next hour answer questions from the reporters, before the ending the press conference. Capricorn led the two of them into the car and they headed home. "You did good Lucy, I'm proud of the way you handled the reporters." Lucy just smiled at him.

When they got back home, Lucy went right away to take a warm bath. She needed to wash away the stress which had accumulated.

After her shower, she checked her phone and got bunch of messages from her friends.

Levy: I watched the press conference, I understand why you needed to keep your identity a secret. However, I wish that you could have trusted me to keep your secret.

Loke: Princess, you did a wonderful job handling yourself.

Gray: Hey saw your interview, if you need anything I am there for you.

Gajeel: Wow bunny girl who'd thought you were rich, you complain about your rent every month.

Erza: Tell me if you need any protection, I will hunt down anyone who slanders your name.

Sting: So you were interning for your own company? That's badass!

Cana: Hey girl, I know how it's like having fathers who are way too busy in their work. If you want to talk, I'm here for you.

Yukino: Hello Lucy, Sting and I are still dating thanks to you. The internship was really fun with you, let me know if you need anything.

Juvia: Juvia will help Lucy if she needs it!

Lucy smiled, it looks like her friends weren't mad at her. She spent the rest of the night chatting and replying to their texts.

The next few days, Lucy remained in the center of the public eye. First they thought Lucy was lying about her parentage, but then a picture of Layla popped up and the uncanny resemblance shut that rumor up immediately. Then people were speculating that she was born out of wedlock so that's why she was kept hidden. However her birth certificate proved that she born after her parent's marriage.

The public seemed to be divided over Lucy, some thought she was a rich brat and some were able to see her good qualities.

What really helped her reputation was a lot were pictures from her university life. Pictures from her volunteer time at Fairy Tail started appearing. The Magnolia Police released a picture saying that she was a key part in taking down the Phantom Lord gang. There was a video of her at the ice skating rink with Gray. Her coworkers at the restaurant said she was a hard worker. Her relationship with Natsu was also exposed as well. Her classmates and friends spoke positively about her. Not surprisingly the company stocks went back up.

While she was glad that the whole thing died down, she unfortunately could not return to the University alone. Her father had to send Taurus along with her as a bodyguard. One thing that made her happy was that she could graduate as Lucy Heartfilia.

When she returned back to her classes she begged Taurus to watch over her from afar. After all, she had Natsu with her most of the time anyway. Some of the students would point and stare at her, but they knew better than to approach her.

Over the weekend she hung out with Levy, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, and Natsu. Lucy explained her whole situation in detail and hoped that they would understand. To her relief they were not mad at her. The six of them were getting some pizza and sitting at a park bench.

Suddenly she heard two girls who were chattering from another park bench. "You see that blonde girl? She is Lucy Heartfilia." One of the girls said.

Her friend responded, "Wow that's Lucy Heartfilia? She is so pretty."

The first girl who was obviously jealous replied, "You think that's natural? She probably got plastic surgery done, I mean look at the size of her boobs, they are obviously fake."

Natsu, who heard this, got up and roared, "I felt her boobs before and trust me they are one hundred percent real!"

"Natsu!" Lucy slapped him in the arm and covered her breasts by crossing her arms. Gajeel and Gray were dying of laughter. Natsu, who realized the implication of what he said, became red and hid his face behind his scarf. Even Levy and Juvia giggled quietly.

Few Weeks Later

Lucy finished her finals and was hanging out with Natsu at the park. Graduation was in two days. Natsu was talking to her about one of his fights with Gray and she was only partly listening.

"Hey what's up?" he asked. He could tell that she was distracted and that something was bothering her.

Lucy was pulled away from her thoughts, "Hmm, nothing."

"C'mon Luce, you can tell me."

Lucy sighed and decided to tell him what was on her mind. "I'm just worried. It feels like everything is going by so quickly. Soon I will need to leave Magnolia to go back home and I will really miss it. I would have to say bye to so many friends and I will miss the city. Worst thing is I don't know what will happen to us. I mean I love you, but I have to go back to the company and you found a job here. What will happen to us?" she whispered out.

Natsu took her hand in his, "We were lucky to spend four years together. Our relationship is so strong, that I don't think distance will break it. I know it will suck at first, but even I don't know what the future holds for us. All I do know is that I'm willing to fight for us. Are you?" he gently asked.

She looked into his eyes and saw his determination, "Yes."

Graduation Day

Lucy stood in her room staring at the mirror. She was wearing a light pink dress, which was hidden by the long black graduation robes. Today was the day that she will receive her diploma and graduate.

Her thoughts were broken by a knock on the door. When she opened it she saw Jude. "Papa!" she gave him a huge hug. "I didn't know you were coming."

Jude looked at her proudly, "I wouldn't miss my daughter graduating for anything in the world."

She simply just beamed at him.

Lucy was standing behind a huge line of other students waiting for her name to be called.

"Lucy Heartfilia." Her legs carried her on the stage and she accepted her diploma. When she looked at the front, she saw her father sitting with Loke and Capricorn. Looking to her left she saw her friends and Natsu standing in line.

She smiled, all her worries left her and she knew that she was ready to face anything.

End

AN: Wow, I can't believe I finished this story. Since the story was about her time in University, I had to end it when she graduated. This is my first completed story! I never knew that I would be able to write fan fiction, but I'm glad I took the leap and did it. I'm not sure if I will write an epilogue, because to be honest I don't know what to write. Also thank you to everyone who read and reviewed.