Lessons in Love » NaLu A.U.

chapter » eight

Lucy's eyes watched the sidewalk beneath her feet move past her like a screen as they walked. Erza seemed much more calm now--though she always had the collected aura about her--and finally removed her hand from Lucy's wrist.

"What was that back there?" Lucy said after a moment of pointless walking. Lucy noticed the street sign at the corner. They had walked three blocks already.

Erza's regal face was dead set into a blank expression, her gaze settled somewhere in front of them. "Just an old grudge. Nothing to worry about it."

If Lucy had the guts, she would have scoffed right in Erza's face. "It seemed pretty serious."

The redhead looked at Lucy, her eyes filled with a bored stare as if to tell her 'gee, I hadn't noticed.' Sighing, Erza smoothed her hair back and shrugged. "It's pointless. How do you know Loke anyway?"

Loke. "He's in one of my lectures." She said simply.

Erza stopped walking when they reached the curb, standing before a stop sign as if wondering if she wanted to keep walking away or if she had enough. "Are you friends?"

"Well, I don't really know--" Lucy began.

"Then what is you're relationship exactly? Just kids who stare at each other in class?" Erza cut her off to add her own snarky question.

He would stare at her, but not the other way around. "I hadn't really talked to him before. I dropped my things in class, and Loke offered..."

Lucy trailed off, her chocolate colored eyes falling down to stare at her hand. He offered to help. Her hand didn't hurt where she touched him, hadn't felt any awful tingling up her arm. She hadn't even noticed.

It was either the work of Natsu or the work of Loke. It didn't matter; the hairs on the back of her neck stood up uncomfortably. Suddenly she wished Erza would walk with her for another three blocks.

Erza noticed Lucy's silence and took it as reason to speak up. "We don't really get along with Loke."

Finally, Lucy tore her gaze from her hand and towards the red head. "We?"

Looking at Lucy without turning her head, Erza nodded. "Me. Natsu." She said simply. "Gray."

"Even Gray?" Lucy asked quietly. Why that was a surprise, she wasn't sure. He didn't seem to like people in general.

"Look, it's really not my story to tell." Erza sighed heavily, and as the street light turned red she started walking through the cross walk. Lucy quickly jogged behind. "I was just along for the ride."

Erza's head was still held resiliently high as they kept walking. She was effortless in most the things she did, and clearly she was smart. Why would someone so captivating just be a kid on the sidelines?

That was when Lucy realized that no matter how close you were to some, there would always be something to keep you apart.

∞

It was safe to say that Lucy spent the next day hidden in the library during class breaks. She had learned that things seemed to go more smoothly when she wasn't around to mess anything up.