Welcome to the Mafia Family

Chapter 38 - Sneaking Past Laxus

'Oh my gosh I'm so nervous' I thought with shaky hands as I paced my bedroom back and forth. My date with Natsu was in an hour. The girls were so ecstatic that they took me shopping earlier for a new red dress. I remembered Natsu saying in the interview that his favourite colour is red. I hope he likes the dress I picked out.

Currently, I was still dressed in my normal clothes with my dress, heels, makeup and clutch in a bag. Levy and I came up with a plan to sneak past Laxus without getting him suspicious. Hopefully this works. I took a deep breath as I threw my bag over my shoulder and then walked out of my room casually. 'I'm going over to Levy's. I'll be home by ten' I repeated my excuse to Laxus in my head. I mean I'm not technically lying. I am going over to Levy's but just to get ready for my date and then I'm going to Natsu's apartment for our date.

I quietly passed the kitchen and noticed Laxus watching TV on the lounge with his back to me. Hoping to sneak past him before he notices, I quickened up my steps slightly, trying not to make any noise. "Going somewhere?" he asked with his back still to me and then turned his head to look at me. "Um, I'm going over to Levy's" I told him, trying to look as innocent as I possibly can. "Oh really?" he replied as he stood up and walked around the lounge to stand in front of me with his arms crossed. He leaned in close to my face and stared straight into my eyes to see if I was lying, which technically I'm not.

After almost a minute, he leaned back and nodded. "Alright, what time are you coming home?" he asked. I inwardly cheered 'yes!' but didn't show it on my face. "I'll be home by ten" I told him. "Call me if you need anything" he said, shooing me off. "I will. See you later Laxus" I replied before opening the door and leaving the apartment. Once the door was shut, I let out the breath I was holding. I'm SO glad that Laxus bought my excuse. Now off to Levy's.

When I got to Levy's apartment, I knocked on the door. After one knock, she immediately opened the door which made me jump. I was about to greet her, but she suddenly grasped my wrist and pulled me inside. Levy's apartment was covered head to toe with books. She even had piles of books on the floor. It looked more like a library than an apartment. Her book collection makes my love of books look tiny compared to hers. "We don't have much time. Did you bring everything?" she asked. I opened the bag and showed her the contents inside. "Great, let's get started on your makeup and hair" she said.

After she helped me apply my makeup and style my hair, I got dressed into my red dress and red heels with my red clutch over my shoulder. I stepped in front of Levy's full-length mirror and checked over my outfit. "You look gorgeous Lucy. Natsu's going to drool when he sees you" Levy complimented, proud at her handy work. I twirled around to get a full view of my outfit in the mirror. "Do you think I'm overdressed for this dinner? I mean, what if this isn't a date and just a casual dinner?" I asked, starting to have some doubts. "Trust me, this is a date" she said with no doubt.

Suddenly Levy's phone rang, and she walked over to pick it up. "Hello?" she answered. I couldn't hear who was on the other side of the phone. "Oh hey Laxus..." Levy replied and then looked at me. I could tell from her eyes he's calling about me. "Yeah, she's right here. She's helping me with some research. Do you want to speak with her?" she asked. I could tell she had a plan in her head.

A few seconds later she passed the phone over to me. "Hey Laxus. Did you need something?" I answered. "Ah...no, I was just wondering...do we have any leftovers in the fridge?" he asked, sounding sketchy. "Why didn't you look in the fridge? There should be some of last night's leftovers in there" I replied playing along with his obvious lie. "Oh ok, thanks Lucy. Ah, text me when you're coming home" he said. "Ok I will. Bye" I replied trying to end the conversation as soon as I could. "Bye" he replied and then I hung up. Phew, glad he called me while I was still here or that could've ruined the whole plan.

"Lucky you were still here. I'm one hundred percent sure he called to check you did come here and not secretly go on a date with a guy" she said. "Like the one I'm going to at seven?" I said sarcastically with my arms crossed. "Exactly" she replied and then we both burst into laughter.

Suddenly the phone rang and I assumed it was Laxus calling back for something, so I picked up the phone. "What is it Laxus?" I asked. "It's not Laxus, Bunny Girl" I heard Gajeel's amused voice on the other side. "Oops hi Gajeel" I said and then smirked. "Now, why are you ringing Levy so late at night hm?" I teased with a suggestive tone and Levy blushed. "I could ask the same about your date with Salamander gihi" he replied and this time it was my turn to blush. I could tell he was smirking on the other side of the phone.

"How did you find out about that?" I asked. I doubted Natsu told any of the boys about it. "Erza spilled the beans during a meeting" he replied which explained how he found out. "Anyways, I'll hand you over to Levy" I said and handed the phone to Levy. She snatched it out of my hand and lightly glared at me before putting the phone up to her ear. "Hey Gajeel, give me a moment" she said and then pushed me out of her apartment. "Have fun on your date and I want to hear all the details afterwards. Bye" she said quickly before shutting the door in my face. I giggled at how she acted and then walked down the hallway towards the elevators. 'They would make a cute couple' I thought as I pressed the button for Natsu's floor.