{Lucy POV}
"Sting!"
"What're you doing out here?"
He gave me a hug and led me inside.
"Huh, I thought Natsu was coming..." I said, not hearing any more footsteps. Sting sighed.
"That dude is getting kind of suspicious." Sting said, setting his bag down. "I've invited him over countless times, yet he says he always has an appointment with someone else."
"Every single time?" I asked.
"Every. Single. Time."
"Well, I mean...he IS the second son of Win Fashion. Maybe he's just...meeting with someone important."
"I don't know." He said. Eagle excitedly ran up to Sting. I heard his paws jump onto Sting's thighs, throwing him down.
"Woah, bud!" Sting laughed.
I smiled and felt for the couch nearby. Sting must've noticed, because he stood up and grabbed my hand, helping me sit.
"Thanks." I said.
"Mhm." I pushed my new glasses up, adjusting them. "Well, it's winter break now! What do you wanna do?"
"I don't know." I said, petting Eagle, who had sat in between us. "I was going to hang out with the group, but..."
"That's a good idea!" Sting said. "But...?"
"But you told me that Natsu was always with someone, or had an appointment with someone." I said, feeling a bit sad. "I don't want to leave him out."
A moment of silence. I felt his face. He was frowning.
"Why're you frowning?"
"I just...I don't know, I just have an uneasy feeling about him." Sting said. "Don't worry about it."
"If you get an uneasy feeling about it, I think you should tell me."
Sting stayed silent because he knew I was right.
See, whenever he was suspicious of someone, he would sometimes tell me about it. I would guess what's happening, and I would always be right.
It was tact, no doubt. But to me, it was more of a woman's intuition.
"Tell me."
"Well...I've noticed that he's been hanging out a lot with Mira's little sister."
"Mira-San? Isn't her little sister in Australia?"
"She's apparently here." Sting said. "And I've seen them talk together once or twice...but I don't know."
The answer was obvious. Too obvious.
"Come on, Sting. You cannot be this dumb and call yourself my twin brother."
"Huh?"
"It's so obvious he's hanging out with HER."
"How is that obvious?"
"Hey, if it's obvious to me, there is a %99.9 chance that it's true."
"That %0.1 left is not reassuring."
"Well, it's just my guess. But I'm sure of it."
"That just sucks then...he used to ask about you all the time."
I smiled sadly. "It's not like we can control who his friends are..."
(Time skip)
"The kids who hurt her were expelled, and there was even an assembly for it. I think it would be okay for her to go back to school..." Sting said.
"Yeah, Dad. It ain't that bad anymore." Laxus said.
Papa and Mama sighed. "Alright. But you have to promise us that you'll be careful."
I beamed. "I promise!"
After dinner, Sting ran me upstairs and hugged me tightly.
"Yes! You can go back to school again!"
I hugged him back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
We laughed, and started talking about going back to school.
(Time skip)
"Cmon, lets go!"
"Eagle is a bit cold, hold on, I'll be right there!"
I put his little sweater on his big body, and smiled, patting his fluffy head. "Sorry if it's backward, Eagle."
I walked out the door and Sting locked it.
"Let's go!"
It was the first day of the second semester. Sting was really excited.
"Our friends are going to be so glad when they hear this." Sting said, walking beside me. "What about you?"
"A bit nervous, actually." I said. "Meeting everyone again, going back to the classroom, the other students..."
"Don't worry about them. They won't hurt you." Sting said. "I'll make sure of it this time."
We turned a corner and crossed a street. It smelled familiar.
"Here we are."
{Sting POV}
The others were at the front, waiting for me like always. They were talking amongst themselves.
"You guys!"
I waved, and they turned towards us. Their eyebrows raised when they saw Lucy, and all of them ran up to us.
"Lucy!"
"Hey!"
As everyone greeted her and hugged her, I noticed...
Natsu was not in sight.
