Celestial Heart (A Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Chapter 28: A Certain Selfish Jackass

I'm not sure anyone could quite figure out why it was that both Lucy and I were in such disastrously foul moods. Pissed off was the understatement of the century. I was seething, grinding my nails into the splintery wooden counter of our temporary outdoor bar. No amount of humorous bickering from Gray and Natsu could alleviate the dark emotions pressing condemning hands into my shoulders. Anger slithered through my veins like a flaming serpent.

He didn't trust me. After all this time, after all the damn promises we'd made to each other, he couldn't trust me with the burden of whatever secret he carried. Some friend he claimed to be, stringing me along even now, when I only wanted to help.

I should sic Aquarius on his ass for revenge...

Anyway, why Luce was so peeved, I wasn't sure. I had a hunch it had to do with Loke and all his unflappable charm with the ladies, but I hadn't had the heart to pry much. She was respecting my inner turmoil; I should do the same for her.

Happy, on the other hand, had no such courtesy.

He was lounging atop my head, his tail absently curling around my neck, paws slapping at my temples at random intervals. He'd been under the assumption that I was mad at one of three people: Natsu, Gray, or him. Erza was excluded because of my previous episode in which fangirling was heavily involved. Lucy was out of the question because...

Actually, Lucy should have been his first choice. Our similarly melancholic moods really should have been some sort of indicator that we'd had a fight or something. Now, that wasn't actually the case, but considering how little we actually got mad at one another...

Sorry. Offtrack again.

Happy had, for the past ten minutes, been badgering me for answers, asking why I seemed so utterly and intolerably gloomy and if a fish would help lift my spirits. I politely declined (and in no way threatened to skin his tail) and yet he refused to give up. I wouldn't have pegged him as persistent (unless the escapade had a big, fishy payoff), but his behavior earned him a sprig of admiration from me. Too bad it was so drowned in a sea of irritation.

Growing tired of playing nice, I reached to curl my fingers into his fur and return his blue butt to Natsu's face when Lucy suddenly straightened from her slumped stupor, eyeing something over the top of my head (aka, Happy). I abandoned the cat in favor of following her gaze, and my brows rose.

Poor Mira...

Said mage was currently surrounded by a mob of women, all jockeying for attention, demanding to know where a certain playboy had hidden himself.

I leaned back in my seat, elbow propped up on the counter, chin against my knuckles. "Loke's done something to get himself in a shit-load of trouble..."

"Wait," Lucy groaned, "you're telling me those are all his girlfriends?"

"Pretty much," I replied. "At least, these are all the girls who have chased my ass around Magnolia. By the way, Mina, that one with the poofy pink hair, can throw a heel with some serious accuracy, so I don't recommend pissing her off."

Lucy had every right to sweat drop at that statement; I would have, too, if I weren't speaking from experience. I still had the scar on my hip from where she'd nailed me a few months ago. And Lucy wondered why I was so against wearing heels; they were deadly as hell.

We watched for a moment while Mira attempted to dodge question after question regarding Loke's whereabouts (of which she obviously knew absolutely nothing). Then the topic turned to something a bit more volatile:

"Did he get a new girlfriend?"

"She's someone from the guild, isn't she?"

"She's got huge breasts, I just know it! That was always Loke's type...!"