The Muse•{Sting x Reader high school AU}

16

The 'ballroom' was loud, filled with the chatter of the 'rich' and the 'famous,' at least, the people who thought they owned the business world. Your father, Jude Heartfilia, was a bit of distance away from where you and your art were set up. He was talking to other business men and tycoons, probably talking very highly of you.

You wore a fake smile, afraid of what would happen if it would fall. Events like this usually would be fine if Lucy or Lisanna came to join you, but your father was particularly strict when it came to image and business. That's why you became the heir and the face of the new generation of Heartfilia's, not Lucy. She was in the limelight for a while, until dad decided to put you in it.

An older couple approached your set up, looking at your paintings. They whispered back and forth, and then gave you a smile before walking off. You smiled back, and then let it fall when they walked away. You let out a sigh, and decided to try and find where the refreshment table was.

You grabbed a small cup of water, and looked around the room before tugging down on the small black dress you were wearing. You hated events like these, because you had to wear what felt like fake skin. Everything about it was fake. It didn't feel like you, but your dad didn't want to advertise the real you, he wanted to advertise the heir.

The maids had picked outfits for you on events like this, because your dad claimed you didn't know how to dress. He also left it up to them to style your hair, and put on some makeup. Enough to bring out natural beauty, but not too much to make it look like it was caked on. As for shoes, you had to wear heels, it was non-negotiable. It was to make yourself look taller.

You felt exposed, but you usually always did at these events, in more ways than one. If it wasn't the clothes, it was the art pieces your father selected to be featured. And unfortunately, for the past three years, the pieces he seemed to pick most often were influenced by your feelings. Specifically, your feelings for Sting.

You sighed thinking about it, taking a sip from the cup. You swallowed your feelings for the night, and took a few deep breaths before attempting to walk back to your art work. Unfortunately, your dad caught you, and introduced you to what seemed like a thousand of his tycoon friends.

After a while, he finally let you go. You smiled, said your goodbyes to the group. As you started to walk back towards your set up, you caught a glimpse of a group walking through the door. You knew this group immediately, and the second they walked through that door, all eyes were on you. Orga, Rufus, Rogue, Yukino, and worst of all, Sting. You stood there completely frozen. You wanted to tear off your second skin, this facade that you had to play.

"Well, you clean up nice." Orga laughed a bit. It felt like an arrow to the stomach.

"Y/n, you look great." Sting smiled, and took a step towards you, but that's when you stepped off, trying your best to hurry away from them and find some sort of shelter. "Wait, Y/n!"

You heard Sting's footsteps close behind you, but you couldn't let him catch up to you and say anything more. You were already so uncomfortable with what you were wearing and how you were presenting yourself, and now he saw you like this? It was your worst nightmare.

"Y/n, hang on!" You felt his cold fingertips graze against your wrist as he tried to grab you, and he would have been successful if someone didn't intervene. You looked behind you to see who had intercepted, and it was none other than the body guard your father appointed you; and by bodyguard, it was a childhood friend. Specifically, one of Lucy's friends who by default became yours. Loke.

"This guy bothering you?" Loke asked, glaring at Sting as he gripped onto his wrist. Sting was glaring at him right back, and eventually snatched his wrist away.