Anger was what she felt. For fear that her rage would go out of control; she sucked in deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "You get it now, don't you?" She said through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowed into slits as she glared at Kei, "They killed them for a pointless reason and you say that I am greedy? Ha! They teamed up just to kill two people."

"B-But why? Is the item that important?" He asked, his vision blurring as his head started throbbing.

Lucy scoffed and she looked away, her eyes distant, "As if I know, for all I care, it's nothing more than a gift from my beloved parents; it's not something they should just take away."

Kei went silent and he stared at the floor. After a few moments, a pained chuckle escaped his lips."Ahh... you're right...."Lucy raised a brow."They are greedy."

Jellal walked in the vacant streets, his shoulder bag swung over his shoulder. He stared straight ahead, vague eyes staring blankly at nothing. All he could think about was Lucy. He didn't know whether he could trust her anymore. He knew he couldn't bring himself to hurt her for he loved her. A gangster or not, Jellal would accept her as a whole and he would not betray her.He was her friend.Jellal's eyes casted downwards, but did Lucy consider him as her friend?His heart ached in pain and he continued walking, the road seemingly endless and instead continuous.

The silence ate him away and his feet soon felt numb from walking, the faint sound of people talking ringing in his ears.His feet came into a halt and his eyes darted over to his right. He stared at the dark alley, he knew there were voices coming from that eerie lane and he heard it well.Not overthinking for a second, he walked in the alley and was careful not to make any noises. As he walked deeper into the murky alley, the voices grew clearer and he stopped when he knew he could hear them very well.

"...I can't do it. I can't take her."

Jellal's eyes widened, "That was Lucy's voice!"

"Why can't you?" someone yelled, her voice in a tone of shock, "You waited years for this! You can't just say that you can't take her back!"

Nothing came from Lucy and the bluenette who was eavesdropping felt sweat drip down his forehead. After a few minutes, the woman talking to her gasped, "Don't tell me it's because of... him?"

"I... I don't know."

"Bullshit!"

Jellal jumped, startled. He didn't expect the woman to suddenly curse.

"Lucy, you were trained to kill Reina! Not only her, you're also supposed to kill your friends and that president at your school. Wasn't that your mission after you've enrolled there?"

Jellal's eyes widened at the name.What?

"I KNOW!" He heard Lucy yell, "I know but... give me more time..."

The woman scoffed, "That's such a lie, Heartfilia. Your parents didn't die for you to just go against their wishes. Just kill the damn child, Lucy, and them, too."

A shaky breath was heard, "R-Right... I-I'll kill her the next time I see her-"

"You won't be seeing her."

Lucy's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. Time seemed to stop as Jellal stepped out of the darkness, eyes clouded in a look of hurt and betrayal. She swallowed a lump in her throat and she looked away from Jellal's painful gaze.How could she?The woman looked at Lucy and she eyed her in warning. The blonde only nodded and she faced Jellal, her head raised high.

"What?" She asked, her lips in a snarl, "What do you want?"

Jellal glared at her, "How could you..."Thump."How could you lie to us?"Lucy winced and she tried her hardest best to not look away. This was now or never. Her ears perked and she mentally cursed in her head, hearing the woman's footsteps walking away.She was leaving her, again.

The blonde released shaky breaths, "I... I did. I was supposed to kill your sister and you, along with your friends." She held a gaze of coldness, "It was a mission that I tried to forget."

"Liar."

Lucy's eyes widened as Jellal glared at her, his feet slowly stepping backwards, "You didn't try to forget about it. Now I remember..."

The blonde opened her mouth to speak but she was interrupted by the bluenette."Now I remember who you are! You are the exact replica of Layla," Jellal hissed, his teeth gritted and his jaw clenched, "You're the daughter of the woman who branded me and my sister!"

Lucy looked at him painfully, eyes pleading, "Jellal... please... listen to me-"

"NO!"

The gangster pressed her lips together, tears threatening to fall. She watched excruciatingly as Jellal continued to step backwards, his glare fixated on her, "I won't listen to you."

"B-But...!" Lucy tried to reason, her lips quivering.Jellal glared at her, "You're a fraud," And he ran.

Lucy's eyes widened and she yelled his name, droplets of water sliding down her cheek. She gritted her teeth and she ran after the bluenette, her heart aching agonizingly in her chest, the feeling of being a betrayer finally sinking in. As she ran, she saw Jellal getting into a cab. She diverted her eyes from the vehicle and she set her sights on a motorcycle parked by the street. Not caring if she would get imprisoned for stealing it or not, she swung her leg over the seat and she sat on it.

After picking the keyhole with her hairpin, the engine roared and she drove off.Her hair slapped against her face as the wind blew her hair back. She sped up, trying to catch up with the cab that suddenly increased in speed. Her tears clouded her vision and she yelled, insulting herself. The cab turned around a corner and Lucy followed after, the motorcycle creating a small drift.

"Faster..." She whispered, "Please, I have to talk to him, Kami-sama..."

The engine's loud roar thundered in her ears and after many turns, the cab finally came into a stop in front of Jellal's house. She saw the bluenette step out. He ran into the house and the motorcycle quickly came into a halt. She swung her leg over the motorcycle and she hopped off. After catching a quick breath, she ran into the house as well.

"Jellal!" She yelled, her teeth bared, "Please, just listen to me!"

"NO!"

Lucy's jaw tightened, "Damn it! Why won't you just listen to me?"

"You betrayed us, that's why!"

Lucy ran up the stairs and just before she could get in Jellal's room, the door was slammed close. Lucy panted and she placed her forehead on the door, her hand banging against the wood loudly, "Open the goddamn door, Jellal."

"..."

"Okay, I know you're angry that I was planning on killing your sister! But I abandoned that thought!" Lucy explained, trying to calm down, "I didn't want to kill her."

"From the very beginning, I planned to poison you all by giving you homemade bentos made by me but as the days passed by, I realized that I couldn't do it anymore. I grew too attached to the people around me and I knew that I had to think first before doing anything else," The blonde said and she stepped backwards.

"How do you..." She ran forward and kicked the door but nothing happened.

Lucy leaned back on the door while Jellal dropped his head on the other side of it, tears threatening to pour out. Lucy let out a sigh and she chuckled softly, "How do you feel now that you know of the truth?"

There was silence and Lucy's heart ached in pain. It wasn't supposed to be this way; she was supposed to feel NOTHING, no emotions, nothing at all. Yet, why did it hurt so much?

"It's hard to believe... but it's true..." Lucy murmured sadly and lowered her head to look at the floor with a hurt look on her face. She never thought that she would ever get in a situation like this. She wasn't the type to run after someone.

"I'm never free..." Lucy whispered once again and her voice cracked. Tears dropped on the floor as soon as Jellal slid his hand down the door; as if he was trying to reach for her.

"I did all that I had to do, this is what I get. I'm so sorry that I went even lower than what you expected," Lucy whispered and she grabbed her head,

"I'm sorry I still haven't changed,"

Silent sobs escaped her lips and she covered her mouth, taking in deep breaths.

"I'm sorry that I lied."

She stared up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling weird after apologizing. It was as if this was the first time she had ever asked for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry that I betrayed everyone."

Jellal closed his eyes shut as he summoned all the power he had not to cry.

"I'm sorry that I was a failure."

"I'm sorry if I became a bad role model."

"I'm sorry if I'm tainted."

Lucy sniffed and slid down to the floor. She let out a laugh and a cry at the same time. She heard Jellal's footsteps getting farther and farther away and her heart began hurt even more, it was so hard to endure.
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"I'm sorry that I love you."

And the door burst open.