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- intro of darkness, then redness then whiteness -

(You're still awesome if you know where that intro comes from! :D )

Thank you to: Indh13, FireFistAce111, Kurieita , Hachibukai , Emil C and IloveCelestialIce for reviewing my first chappy. : D

Chapter 2.

Waking Nightmares

"Lucy, look at the cows."

My head lazily turned from the book in my lap to the car window. I let my eyes flicker across the animals before turning my attention back to the pages.

"Yeah," I responded absentminded. "Dad, can't you go a little faster?"

"We're going the speed limit Luce, no need for rushing," he told me, turning a corner. I closed my book and leaned forward so my arms rested on the back of his chair.

"But you promised that we would be back in time for the show," I whined.

"Lucy, get back in your seat," My mother scolded me from the other seat. I gave her a childish glance, but did as she told me. I crossed my arms in anger, looking at her like she had just ruined my life, as only a spoiled 10-year-old can.

My father sighed. "Lucy, I'm sure we'll make-"

...

I don't remember anything after that, just a weird feeling in my stomach and then everything went black.

I had lost track of time when my eyes fluttered open. I had been unconscious, but for how long? I could hear commotion and someone screamed. I felt someone grabbing my arm and I was lifted onto something. At first I couldn't feel anything and just lay. I turned my head to the side, my brain was still too fuzzy to register, so I just stared for a while, trying to comprehend what I saw.

The car on the side of the road, crushed. What was going on?

Then I saw someone… firefighter, I think… pulling someone out of the car.

My eyes widened in shock, and I had to force myself to roll onto the side and puked-

I opened my eyes with a loud gasp. I touched my face out of instinct and already felt the tears running down my cheeks rapidly and my hair soaked in sweat. I hurried to sit up, wrapping my arms around my knees.

I was hyperventilating. I definitely was.

I let out a loud rasping sob and rested my head on my knees for a few breaths.

Then I looked around, but I was all alone in my apartment. Sometimes Natsu and Gray would sneak themselves into my apartment – since they figured out where I hid my extra key, but today it was just I.

My hair stuck to the sides of my head and with shaking hands I managed to remove them, and dried my tears in the sheets.

I looked at the clock. It was 4:37 in the morning. I had slept longer than normally, but not nearly enough. I let out a stuttering breath. For a while I had actually thought my nightmares would catch me a break, but lately they had started appearing again.

I couldn't stay here.

I stood up on shaky legs, feeling restless and ... well, sad. Sad and empty. Needing to walk off my miserable mood, I put on a (dry) sweater, pajama pants and slippers and left my room for the bathroom. I splashed cool water on my face and stared in the mirror. The reflection looking back at me had tangled hair and bloodshot eyes. I looked sleep-deprived, but I didn't want to go back to bed. I didn't want to risk falling asleep quite yet. I needed something to wake me up and shake away what I'd seen.

I left the bathroom and turned toward the door. I tiptoed out of my apartment. I didn't know why, but going out of your room in the night was like walking in an empty library. You know that people aren't there to hear you talking, but you just feel like you should be quiet.

Cold wind blasted me in the face, when I found the exit, but it was exactly what I needed. Focusing on my freezing body was better than recalling the massacre of my past.

It seemed like I could never shake the past. All this because of a hole in the fence, a hole in the fence that had urged a cow to cross the street. Just as we drove by. And my father had talking to me, and lost focus.

All these little things.

They happened 7 years ago, but it seems like it would linger in the back of my head forever, which just felt horrible.

"Sleepwalking again?" a voice suddenly sounded.

I made an ungraceful jump and turned around, looking into curious and amused dark eyes. Gray stood behind me, his hair messily tangled from running and his forehead showing signs of sweat-pearls.

"Sorry, did I scare you," he asked with a smile.

I smiled back awkwardly and tried not to wonder how bad my bed-head was at the moment. "No," I lied. "Are you out running."

"Yup, trying to make it a habit," he mumbled, gesturing down to his jogging clothes. Gray was probably the only one I knew who could bear running around in short sleeves, in freezing cold weather, without blinking. He noticed my glance and shrugged. "I have said that I wanted to start running for almost a week now, so I thought I would actually get started- hey, are you alright," he cut himself off, furrowing his eyebrows when he suddenly noticed my current appearance.

"Yeah, m'fine, just felt like taking a walk," I mumbled, that wasn't a complete lie anyway, but Gray didn't seem satisfied with my answer.

"At 5 in the morning?" he questioned.

"Actually it's almost 6," I corrected him, turning to leave.

"Luce," Gray's hand caught my arm, and despite all the wind and chill and slush, a flash of electricity shot through me. He released me with a startled movement, as though I had burned him. "What are you really doing out here?"

He was using the 'stop fooling around' voice, so I gave him as truthful an answer as I could. "I had a bad dream. I wanted some air."

"So, you…" he began slowly and looked up and down me. "You walked outside in the coldest morning of the year, without your jacket and in … slippers," he added with a slight smirk.

"Yes," I mumbled, in a need for an argument.

"What did you dream?" he asked and ruffled his hair back in place – I secretly wished that my hair would work like that. He looked at me patiently, awaiting a response. I swallowed a little and shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it," I admitted with a shrug.

He nodded silently, and I mentally thanked the higher powers that he didn't push the subject. Instead he sighed deeply, and his dark eyes trailed back on my slippers, chuckling. "Well, you're probably freezing to death, I'll follow you back to your apartment." He offered.

"I'm fine," I lied, choosing not to mention that I couldn't feel my feet. But I didn't want to go home just yet.

"Right, because your lips are naturally blue," he sighed, swinging an arm around my shoulder and leading me around. "Watch out, or I'll tell Natsu."

"You stink!" I spat.

"I'm just being the reasonable one here, Luce."

"No, I mean you stink," I told him, gesturing to his arm around my shoulder. "You should go home and take a shower."

"Shut up," he said, but his lips had cracked in an amused smirk. "I never stink."

"I strongly disagree," I told him, clenching two fingers around my nose, just to prove my point. He stopped walking, taking a step in front of me and crossing his arms.

"Oh, really!" he said with a raised eyebrow. I knew that look and immediately stopped walking too. I stood completely still for a moment, and we just stared at each. Then his lips twisted in a smirk and I spun around with a sudden snigger, making a run for it, but before I got a chance he had swung both arms around me. Eloping me in his sweatyness.

"Gray!" I protested loudly, trying to get out of his arms, but he stubbornly held me in place. He snickered by my attempt. "Gra- ARGH!" I exclaimed when I lost balance and we both tumbled to the ground.

I squealed loudly, feeling Gray shift our weight around. This resulted in both our bodies turning around and we both scooted across the ground, rolling like a barrel down hill. We both broke out in laughter, and I held tightly around Gray's body until we came to our final roll.

I lay on top of Gray, laughing my heart out, and feeling his stomach jump in chuckles underneath me as well.

"You're crazy," I told him and hit him weakly.

"And you're heavy, so, get off me," he joked, and smiled up at me. My smile disappeared, when I realized it too. I swallowed and felt my cheeks heat up. Oh, that was just perfect.

"Sorry," I hurried to say and stumbled back on my feet. Gray sat up and stared at me with amused eyes.

"I was kidding, you weren't actually heavy, no need to get mad," he misunderstood, but I just smiled back. I looked down and sighed at myself. I was soaked in mud and I had somehow managed to lose a slipper.

Gray caught my glance. "Oh, shoot," he mumbled, grabbing my hand with a concerned look. I realized that my nails had turned a blue color too. "Let me get you home," he said, standing up from the ground.

"No, it's fine," I hurried to say, lifting my hands. "It's not far."

"I'll just walk with you, it's no big-"

"Gray, I would rather walk alone," I cut him off.

We both looked surprised by my tone, but once again Gray just nodded. "Alright, just promise me to get warm, or you'll catch a cold – and I don't want Natsu to hold that against me."

"Okay," I promised quietly, letting him help me off the ground, and was about to walk back, but stopped halfway and looked back at Gray. He was dusting himself off. "Hey Gray," I said, catching his attention again. "How's things with your girl?"

His eyes softened, but his mouth turned into a frown. "I don't know. I have tried talking to her a few times lately, but it seems that she doesn't really trust me yet."

I nodded slowly. "I hope it works out." I told him, smiling.

"Yeah, me too," he whispered.

Natsu yawned loudly, looking at the clock on his wrist. It was almost 7:30, but the weather was so gloomy that it felt like nighttime.

He adjusted the rearview mirror sleepily, before pulling out of the driveway. He had been sleeping badly lately, thinking- no worrying, about Lucy. She had been spacing out a lot lately, and the past few days she hadn't truly smiled at all.

He drove down the street, turning almost immediately. He knew these roads like the back of his hand and soon parked beside a familiar white house. He lazily honked the horn twice, letting his hand linger on the second one. The neighbors most hate him by now, since this was a daily routine.

After a few minuets he saw his black-haired friend coming out of he house, his hair damp from a shower and his bag hanging casually over his shoulder.

Gray opened the door and jumped in next to Natsu with a lazy movement. "Hey," he uttered and dropped his bag on the backseat before closing the door.

"Hey," Natsu responded tiredly, and yawned.

"Dude, would you stop driving in your sleep?" Gray complained. "You're going to fall asleep and kill us both one day. Why don't you let me drive?"

"If you have a problem, get your own car. You know I get horribly car-sick if I'm not the one driving," Natsu countered grumpily, starting the car with a roaring growl. Gray lifted his hands, sighing.

"Just saying." he mumbled.

"Stop saying so much," Natsu countered. Gray was about to snap him off, but suddenly Natsu's phone chimed lightly, interrupting his thought. Natsu had placed it in the small space between the seats and Gray sneaked a peek on the ID.

"Lucy's texting," he announced. Natsu yawned again, slowly backing away from Gray's house.

"What's she saying?" he demanded to know. Gray took that as approval to grab his phone and opened the text.

"She says 'no thank you'," he read, looking at Natsu for an explanation. The other teen sighed, and grabbed his phone, putting it back in the space between the seats.

"I offered to drive her to school," he said simply.

"Yeah, why don't we ever take Lucy with us to school? Does she have another ride?" Gray asked, searching his brain for who it could be. He leaning toward the window and rested his head on his fist. Natsu only shrugged.

"I don't know. I have offered her many times, but she insists on walking," Natsu explained as he drove out on the main road.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Natsu said again. "She refuses to tell me."

I whined, my feet barely able to lift from the ground.

Somehow my bag felt much heavier that day and I almost swayed my way down the road. I hadn't gotten a single minute of proper sleep last night. Even though I had tried to sleep again when I got home from my walk, but somehow Gray's words had gotten stuck in my head, and in the end I had just given up and taken a cold shower.

I watched jealously as all normal teenagers drove past me in their warm cars, while I just dragged my feet across the cold street, like a sleepwalking loser with blood-shot eyes. But then again, I had chosen that myself, I hadn't gotten in a car at all in a very long time. 7 years to be exact.

"Good morning," I heard a shy voice said, and I spun around instantly.

Behind me stood a blue-haired girl with a shy expression. I smiled weakly and let her fall into my pace. "Hey Juvia. How are you?"

She sends me a small smile. "I'm good." Juvia was one of those people that I really didn't mind being around, but her timing was really bad, because Juvia was also one of those people that needed others to start the conversation – and at the moment, I wasn't that person.

So, we walked in silence. I really didn't mind. I silently tried to force myself more awake, but failed. I mentally sneered at myself and my bothersome nightmares.

I hadn't expected Juvia to talk first. "Lucy, can I ask you something?"

I nodded lazily. "Of course."

"I know this is very sudden, and we don't talk that much," she began, wrapping her hands together in nervousness. "But I was just wondering, because you were so much around Natsu and Gray… if…" she paused.

My head turned to look at her, and slowly my curiosity awoke. "If what?"

"If… if Gray is… dating someone at the moment."

That woke me up.

That was chapter 2. Hope you guys like, and please review. :D