(A/N): Hey again! How's everybody doing? I'm currently watching this weird movie where I canNOT figure out if this lady onscreen is Tina Fey or some lady who looks like her but with skinnier eyebrows and a slightly larger nose. Please enjoy the read! Feel free to read, review, follow! For every review, I will do five push ups! :D

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail characters belong to Hiro Mashima, and all other names, places or events that are included are unintentional and completely coincidental.

CHAPTER TEN

~BUS GIRL~

"No. Yes. Yes. Of course I'm home now! Jeez Cana, you'd think you were Mom by all your nagging, seriously!"

I almost trip over my stupidity of what has just left my mouth, and Cana's line goes silent for a moment, leaving me only with the chirps of the crickets and my loud steps along the stairs. Before I can apologize, she sighs and laughs softly.

"Ya know, if Mom were here, you'd probably get a beating for telling me that, but I'd probably be fed something pretty amazing by the time I'd get off work." I giggle, and she goes silent once more. "Well, I'm on my way home. I left dinner in the fridge, just reheat it in the microwave and remember to take your pills before eating. See you in a bit."

I hang up.

"Dammit…"

"Having some trouble finding your keys, dollface?"

My body flies into the air, and I quickly turn around, pepperspray ready at the person's eyes.

Little did I know that that person's eyes? Were a little below the average height of an adult. Much less for the average teenager.

Levy laughs. "Calm down, Lu. Just me. I forgot you let me see them and I just came to give them back to you. Lucky me that you gave them to me, and not some random creep." She shivers, and adds, "Like Loke or something."

I ignore her comment and my hand flies to my stomach. I squat as I try to breathe evenly and rein in my temper.

She walks around me to the door and walks in without permission, seemingly at ease with invading someone else's home. Seems like all the people I interact with lately are like that, I grimly think. I walk in soon after when I hear dishes clinking from within, and remember the day Cana nearly ripped both our heads off when she cracked Cana's favorite beer mug. I shudder, and call out to her. "Lev, you doin' okay? The stepping stool' is inside the closet to your left, next to the fridge."

Levy just laughs and I smile at how much we've learned about each other during the time we've become friends.

I remember the day I walked into the bakery she walked into, and as if on cue, my stomach grumbles loudly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

Levy squeals as my hand hits her rump loudly, and I pass her to grab the bread and pull out the Nutella.

"Oooh, I smell something good. Forget lasagna. Gimme that!"

But her intrusion on my privacy has to pay a price. "This," I say as I hold the can above my head, "is punishment for scaring me. And no. You can't have any right now."

She pouts, and then her eyes flicker with worry.

"Lucy Rosemary Heartfilia, did you remember to take your pills before consuming anything?"

I gasp, and then choke on the glob of Nutella currently residing in the back of my throat. She slaps me on the back, and pushes me toward the cabinets holding said pills, but I pull away as my throat clears in time for me to say, "No! Those taste nasty. I took them this morning, swear."

But Levy only groans. "You know you're supposed to take them twice a day. Just ta-"

"We are not having this conversation, Levy."

But her glare is heavy enough to make me surrender.

I sigh.

She smiles.

"Alrighty then! Two green, one pink, coming right up!"

I groan louder. "You make it sound like it's delicious. It tastes terrible."

But she doesn't let that deter her, as she sticks her tongue out in concentration to take out the necessary pills and hands them to me.

"Lucy...I need you safe. We are not going through this all over again. Not again," she says quietly, wringing her hands in dismay, lost in her memories at the last catastrophe she had to witness.

My heart lurches, and I grab her hands and force her to look at me. "Levy McGarden, I will never put you through that again. I will be here. Today, tomorrow, five years, twenty years, hell, seventy years from now. We're gonna be together. It's gonna be okay. I have time."

Her wobbly smile makes me feel terrible, and I pull her into a hug so she won't have to see me smile for her benefit.

"...You promise?" She whispers, and I nearly break.

"Yes. I promise. Pinky."

She pulls away and we do our "secret pinky promise" shake, and she brightens once more.

Our stomachs grumble as if on cue, and our watery laughs mingle together. Nutella in hand, I prepare both our sandwiches when we hear the front door slam close.

"Lucy?" Cana calls out.

"Kitchen!"

Her sigh of relief makes me want to roll my eyes, but granted, she's always been a worrier. So I refrain myself and add, "Levy too! Be nice!"

Levy pales, and I snicker.

But before she can explain her reason for being nervous Cana walks into the kitchen and lightly ruffles my hair. But without warning, the hair ruffling turns into a bear hug and I squeal. "Cana! Nutella! Don't waste the Nutella!" She shushes me teasingly, and pulls me tighter to her chest. "I missed you at work today. It was too long. Was it okay? Should we go back to online? Did anyone follow you home?"

"Mrfphhn."

"What?"

I push her chest away, and suck in a mouthful of air. "Jeesh, Beer Mug. Calm down! I was only saying that I was fine. Everything went fine."

Cana points her finger at me in warning. "It was one time. I'm not Beer Mug anymore. Never again!" She shook her finger at me harder, and Levy intervenes. "Hey guys. Where do you want me to put this for the lasagna?" And gestures to the pan she's trying to keep above waist level. Cana walks over to her, sighing as she takes it from Levy and places it into the oven.

Soon enough, the kitchen starts to warm up and we move from there to the living room, where Cana kicks off her shoes and lets down her hair. I plop next to her and wait for the lasagna to warm up, and then the questions start.

What time did the bus come.

Later than expected.

Who goes to your school that went on the same bus as you.

Levy. Some kid named Loke. Some of his friends.

What time did you get to school.

30 minutes before class started.

Did you have lunch.

Yes.

"Did you-"

"Cana! Chill, please! School was fine. I had fun. I like public school. Can we please just watch some zombies attack people now?"

She stares at me for a moment longer than necessary, but she agrees and we watch until the timer in the kitchen dings us back.

As we eat the lasagna, Levy tells Cana how our first day as seniors went, and it seems to calm her more than my words had. I sneak in some cookies that were placed on the table while they chat up a storm.

Before long, Levy's getting up to leave, and I'm itching to walk her to her car, but knowing Cana…

"Lucy, stay here. I'll walk you to your car, Levy!"

"Ok! Bye, Lucy!" she calls back, waving.

I wave back, and feel a twinge of irritation at how everyone's always trying to protect me.

Broken glass?

Watch out Lucy, you could really hurt yourself.

Your head hurts again, Lucy?

Let me call the neurologist at St. Poppy Hospital.

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy…

My head starts to hurt and I give up on a life without someone watching me. With a sigh, I waddle my way to the bathroom to prepare a shower. My phone bings! and I see a notification.

The anonymous icon pops up, and I smile at the message, aware that I look like a fool. But nonetheless, it brightened my day.

HIYA! HOPE UV BEEN DOING GR8! GO TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK OF HOW HAPPY UNICORN POOP IS. THAT'S HOW HAPPY YOU SHOULD BE! \(^-^)/

The message is strange, but all in all, it makes me smile.

Well, up until I smack my head into the door.

And then...

The girl's hands shake, and she cries out. "Dad! Where are you?!"

But another person's groans brings the girl to turn around. A body lies near, bloody and limp.

"Heeeeelp me….pleeeease help meeee...I-"

She gasps, and turns around to look for her father, when a blast off to the left pushes her down.

Then, there is no more left or right. Only darkness.

And pain.

So.

Much.

Pain.

I gasp and then look around to see if there's anyone who witnessed another episode. My hands are shaking far too hard for me to hide this from Cana, and I crawl to the bathroom and look for the proper medication to stop the tremors.

"Luuuucy!"

Too close, too close, hurry, hurry! I urge myself, and pop in another colorful pill and toss the bucket on the sink before she can walk around the corner, and say, "Hey, I'm heading into the shower. Be out in a few!"

"Okay. No more than 15 though! I'm coming in after 15! If you need help, just call me!"

I roll my eyes, but thinking back to the episode, think better of her concern.

The sweat accumulated from the episode makes me shiver, and I've never wanted a shower more than this moment.

My shower leaves me more than relaxed, and even more so when I realize that Cana fell asleep before me once again. Her snores bring a smile to my face. It's been awhile since I've heard it. She really must've been really nervous about my first day, I guess.

I log in to Tumblr to see if I've had any activity since the last time I logged on, and surprisingly enough, someone tagged me in a meme.

92 Truths, yuck.

From height to favorite books, it's one of my least favorite.

All appeal lost, I set myself to do the last thing I'd ever see myself doing in real life: preparing for friends to come over this weekend.

And I can't help but smile a bit at the thought.

(A/N): So that's where I'm at right now! I kinda know where I want this to go now, but I need all the help I can get! Thank you so much, you recent peeps, for following and favoriting my story! It really gave me a boost to keep updating this fic.

Oooh, Lucy's got some battle scars, doesn't she? Fufufufu...I hope I'm developing this well. Feel free to make any suggestions or comments when you leave a review! :D :)