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Dull, gray clouds blocked the warm rays of the sun and instead, emitted a misty sparkle all around. Rhythmic tapping fell down onto the large framed windows that covered the large, white mansion. 'Drip, drip, drop', it fell down and with each passing 'tick' that the clock gave, the drops would increase.
Inside the library, curled up on a rocking chair with a book on her lap, a young, small maiden could be spotted. Her large brown eyes raced through the pages of the books. It would only be a matter of minutes before she would move on to another book after she had finished with the previous one. Her soft curls bounced around as she vigorously ran across her library to stock up on some more books.
"My mistress, would you not be better off studying and preparing for your upcoming classes instead of reading?" One of the butlers asked the girl, who nodded her head without ever looking up from her book.
"Probably, but I'd rather read. Anyways, this is a form of studying too." She muttered.
Another butler interjected. "You don't want to go out?"
The girl's eyes continued to roam around the book, "No, it's raining. The rain can bring bad luck, I'd rather stay in than risk something bad happening." She shivered as memories flooded around her mind.
"I see. One final question; did you know that Lucy Heartfilia is also going to the same college as you?"
This time, she shut her book and looked up. "I'm aware. I checked the enrolled list. Whether I see her there won't make a difference." The little sparkle that she had in her eyes while she was reading, instantly left. Replacing them, was a glare.
"I'd like to be alone for now. I need to get ready to hang out with a friend." Levy hopped off of her soft chair and headed for her room.
"This is ... no," She shook her head, it's not sad, "It just brings back memories."
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Levy's POV
"Hey, did you hear?"
"No, what?"
"I heard: that Heartfilia girl caused her friend to die."
"The senior? The one in our art class?"
"Yeah, her."
Stupid freshmen, they don't know anything. Lucy isn't responsible for this.
That's what I had said ... but even then I started doubting. If I had known that back then that it was just the beginning of all the rumors, I might have done something differently.
No one could be blamed for Erza's death, even I knew that.
The day her funeral was held, it was sunny. It was so out of place, I didn't get it. I had expected for a storm or heavy rain, but nothing ever came. The flowers were glowing with life and were placed all around her casket. I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't believe it was really happening. Lucy never showed up. Looking back, I imagine that she had locked herself up in her room and cried all alone. It wasn't a matter of pride, she must have been hurting the most. But I didn't know that, I assumed she was being selfish.
"Hey, Levy," Lucy asked me one day. It was a cloudy day and the sky was reaching its peak, close to raining. Everyone had left campus and Lucy had finished her tennis practice.
"What is it?" I wasn't scared of Lucy like everyone else was. I had known her for a long time, but something in the back of my mind had been telling me otherwise.
"You're not scared of me right?"
"Wh--,"
"It's just that ..." She looked up and tried reaching the sky with her hand, "I've heard rumors about me. I don't know why everyone thinks that everything up until now is my fault. I even believed in them for a while, but quit after realizing that Erza wouldn't have wanted me to. If she had been here, she would have probably yelled at me for being so stupid." A silent tear ran down her cheek as she blinked, "D-do you believe them?"
I stared at her, stunned. "OF COURSE NOT! They don't know anything about you Lucy! Don't let it get to you." By then, it might have been too far to do anything. She had already started to break.
She tried her best smiling, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She nodded her head and walked away under the rain.
Things continued on like that. Boys who had once crowded and liked her, stopped. They no longer talked to her, asked her out, flirted, or even talked much with her. Girls who were in the grades below us, who had once admired Lucy, stopped. Lucy's own coach didn't even invite Lucy to the parties that the tennis team held after games. Lucy knew about them, but decided to not go, because she didn't want to hurt anyone and didn't want to bring a gloomy atmosphere with her.
She knew everyone was avoiding her. Only those who didn't know about her would talk to her, but rumors and lies would go around fast and they'd instantly stop associating with her.
Another time, she got surrounded by our classmates during lunch. Everyone feared her, and fear lead to hatred and denial.
"I had absolutely nothing to do with it!" She yelled, determined to change everyone's view on her.
Everyone began whispering and even yelling in her face that she should leave because she only brought bad luck.
"If you continue hanging out with Levy, something bad might happen to her."
"Caring about your friends is not a crime!" She cried, "I'm not doing anything wrong."
Truthfully, those rumors were strengthened by Lucy's past. A girl with a dead family? That obviously meant she was haunted. It seemed that death took hold of her family and friends. Nobody would willingly want to be around someone like that.
Our friendship remained intact, but it wasn't strong enough to push us forward together.
I never noticed that I was gradually blending in with the vicious crowd, the one that made all those rumors. Only until that incident happened, was when I abandoned Lucy.
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End of Flashback
"Miss Levy, your friend is waiting for you outside, do you--," The maid stopped in tracks as she spotted a tear on Levy's eye. "Are you alright? Do you not feel well?" She quickly rushed to her side to take a closer look and feel her temperature.
Levy shook her head and quickly wiped it away with her sleeves, "I-I'm fine. My allergies are coming back, that's all."
The maid didn't believe it but didn't press any further.
And with that, Levy walked outside, underneath the now clear sky.
"I see that our paths are bound to cross again, Lucy Heartfilia."
"Even if I can't see you... Even if we are separated far from each other... I'll always be watching you. I'll definitely watch over you forever."
"ERZA?" Levy frantically turned around and searched for the source of the voice.
There was nothing, except for the gloomy dark walls and the carpet that ran around the floors.
'Ah, it was just my imagination.'
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