"Hey, Levy, how did you...you know, end up in Fairy Tail? I mean, if it's okay I ask," Lucy asked quietly while she joined the blue-haired woman scoping the racks in the shiny, very expensive store. They were in the girl section, of course, and Natsu had dragged Gray over to the other side of the shop, where the clothes were. Levy changed from her mechanic uniform and into more casual, girly clothes; a frilly, black skirt and a orange crop top with pastel pink designs. Lucy herself was wearing one of Mira's sweaters and skinny jeans.

Lucy felt a bit out of place with Levy in the extravagant clothing store, but this really wasn't a new environment for her. No, Lucy remembers how her dad would give her credit cards and have someone drop her off at shops like these, but it was lonely and boring - Lucy remembers buying barely anything, just to get her father to look at her and ask why she didn't purchase anything.

Levy twirled a finger around one of the long strands of her bangs, looking at a pair of jeans with interest. "No, it's okay to ask, Lulu-chan," Levy smiled before returning the jeans to the rack. "Don't worry about asking. You're part of the gang now, so there's no secrets between us, you know?"

Levy picked out a cute, blue-and-white tunic top. Holding it out to press it against Lucy's breasts, nodding with approval. "Anyway, you're wondering how I got in? Heard that Jellal spilled the beans for Erza on the train," she smiled, putting the top in Lucy's hands. "It's about time you learned more about everyone little by little, right?"

"Well," Lucy blushed, looking at the top given to her by Levy, "I would have never expected either Erza and Jellal to come from that. I mean, I know that Mirajane and her siblings were used as financial fraud, but..."

Levy waved her hand, chuckling. "It's not a big deal, Lulu-chan. I'm okay with telling you my story," Levy cooed sweetly before seeing shoes on display. The mechanic's eyes sparkled as she scurried over to them with Lucy being dragged behind. "So, I went to plenty of colleges and stuff like that, right? I was the daughter of a really rich family, much like you. My dad is this really important politician advisor and a college professor for literature and crap. My mom stayed home, taking care of stuff with me and housekeeping, after she married my dad - she's how I'm related to Juju-chan, you know?

"So, anyway, in my second year of college, my roommate was in this drug business that I had no idea about," Levy rolled her eyes before picking up a shoe. "She took off when the cops got involved, and stashed her goods in my things, so everyone thought it was me. Not only did I get arrested, but my dad's reputation got kicked in the ass to the politician branches and fired him. My dad disowned me and kicked me off his financial plan, leaving me in major debt and in addition to my criminal fines and serving time was a bonus.

"They never caught my roommate, since she booked out of the country with a new name and all, but by my third day in prison, Makarov showed up with the knowledge of my story," Levy grinned, putting the shoe back and facing Lucy, who's eyes were wide. "He came to my cell and told me about Fairy Tail, and how he looked at my file and knew that I was innocent - since I was taking so many classes at the time, there was no way I could've organized drug deals and all that. I was taking lots of shop classes, and mechanics and languages, so he offered me to join."

"Wow," Lucy exhaled with amazement, and this made Levy grin bigger.

"Yep! It's nice, too, since Jet and Droy were also from my school and needed jobs, I hooked them up with Makarov and they work for me," Levy smiled.

"I just...never thought you'd come from a family that had money like I did. I'm sorry if that sounded rude!" Lucy peeped, realizing what she had just said, but Levy simply laughed and waved it off.

"Please. My dad was somewhat controlling of my mom," Levy rolled her eyes. "He didn't like my aunt or anyone on my mom's side of the family, so he told her that she wasn't allowed to talk to them, but she always snuck out with me to meet my aunt and Juju-chan."

"How did Juvia get into the whole gang business? Why isn't she with us, if she's your cousin?" Lucy asked next.

Levy shrugged at that. "I don't know, actually. Something happened when we were kids, and I haven't heard anything from my aunt or Juju-chan until I joined Fairy Tail. I never really had the chance to ask her what happened either, since it's practically against the rules."

"Rules?"

Levy held one finger up, poking Lucy's nose with it. "First rule of Fairy Tail's book of rules: Don't kill anyone, unless they try to kill you first, or pose as a threat. A little hint from the law enforcement of self-defense, and we take it to our jobs," the blue-haired woman winked before holding two fingers up.

"Second, and this one applies to all gangs, so this can count as number one in other places," Levy went on, going to the next rack. "Ya keep business with your business. You don't go telling people from other gangs what's going on behind closed doors. If you do, then your boss has the right to take you out - as in killing you. No one likes a gossiping gang members. Secrecy and personal information is very important to everyone, like a lifeline. So, with me and Juju-chan, even though we're blood-related, I have no right to ask her how she got to Phantom Lord, nor what she's doing for jobs. I can ask her how she's doing, or little things; like what she ate for dinner last night, if she's busy or whatever.

"Third," Levy held up three fingers to Lucy, "if a gang did something to piss yours off, you have the right to even out the damage until satisfied. But, it has to be passed by the boss, or you can get into major trouble."

"I didn't think gangs had rules like that," Lucy swallowed nervously before giving her friend an uneasy smile. "Sounds like recess rules, if you think about it."

"Every gang has different rules, though, so these may not apply to everyone," Levy pointed out. "Some gangs do more than racing and drug deals. There's gangs who run brothels and prostitutes, hit-and-runs, murdering, kidnapping and all those stuff." Seeing how the blonde went pale, Levy giggled lightly. "Don't worry, Lulu-chan. Fairy Tail doesn't run like that. We work for the FBI and cops, remember? Makarov learned his lesson years ago and refuses to apply that to his current work."

"Oh, thank goodness -!"

"Luuuce! How does this look on me? Do I look like the real-deal now?" Natsu's cheery voice stopped her from being in relief, as she turned her head to see her driver dressed with the shop's attire. He reminded Lucy of one of those flashy guys in the rap music videos; black leather vest with baggy jeans and studded shoes, even a hat on top of his head.

Lucy went bright red in the face, slowly shaking her head to contain her laughter. Levy, however, was more verbal about her opinion, which was the same as Lucy's, thankfully.

"You look like an idiot, Natsu," Levy nearly shouted, catching the attention of the other customers and employees. Hands on her hips, Levy hurried over to the pink haired man, grabbed him by the ear and hauled him over to one of the racks on the men's selection. Gray, who was leaning against the outside of the changing stall Natsu was in, rolled his eyes at the sight when Levy scored through the lines of clothes, tossing Natsu many articles of clothing.

"First of all, don't you ever wear leather vests in public, unless you look like Gajeel-kun - all buff and scary-looking, you hear?" Levy ordered as she checked one of the pants tags before tossing them up, having Natsu catch them. "And, I told you this before, Natsu, stick to the colors that go with your scarf! Nothing shiny! No leather, no silk, no metal."

"Okay, okay!" Natsu nodded with wide eyes as Levy found a deep purple with white lining vest. The young woman plopped it to the pile of clothes and pushed him back to the changing stall, where Gray stood and took a step away from the approaching two. "W-wait, Levy. This is a lot of clothes!"

"Pick one outfit you like, then!" Levy ordered with a twitch of her brow, yanking the curtain shut and turning around. Lucy slowly followed at the distance and arrived to one of the couches by the changing rooms. Sitting down on one, Lucy bit back her snicker at the small curses Levy slip from her lips. "Honestly. If Cana was here, she'd beat your head in with your lack of knowledge for colors and fabric, Natsu."

Sitting down with a sigh, Levy crossed her legs before looking to Lucy. "I'm not sure how you can handle him, Lulu-chan. Driving with him is one thing, but living under the same roof?"

"He's not that bad, Levy-chan," Lucy giggled softly, seeing how her blue-haired friend portrayed herself being exhausted.

"Thank you, Luce!" Natsu called out from inside the changing room, directing more attention to them in the store.

"Be quiet, flamebrain," Gray bit out. "You're gonna get us kicked out, you moron."

Levy elbowed Lucy on the arm, catching the blonde's attention. "Go and try to stuff on, Lulu-chan! I want you to try out the clothes I picked for you. Cana isn't the only one with good taste in clothes, you know." Looking up to Gray, who was bored out of his mind, Levy smiled evilly. "Gray, why don't you tell Lulu-chan how you got into Fairy Tail?"

"Is that what you two were chatting about?" Gray raised a brow, taking a peek at Lucy, who stood up and tip-toed to the open changing room. "Why would Lucy care to know anyway?"

"Because it's nice to get to know your friends, isn't it?" Levy sniffed back once Lucy closed the curtain. "Cana told Lucy how her family used to live on the streets and Makarov found them, and even Erza was trying to tell Lucy her and her husband's backstory!"

"Erza can't even keep a straight face with telling her story without crying her eyes out," Gray rolled his eyes and pulled out his cellphone, looking at the screen. "My story is my business. You just wanna know because you don't know it, Levy."

"Party pooper!" Levy sniffed.

Lucy tried on the tops and pants Levy had stacked for her, finding them perfectly comfortable and to her own taste. Checking herself out in the mirror inside the stall, Lucy approved them first before calling Levy to stick her head in to peek, making the mechanic wolf whistle.

"Lookin' good, Lulu-chan! Told you I was good," Levy snickered with delight.

"I think I'll buy these two outfits," Lucy said softly, gesturing to the one hanging on the hook and the other she was stripping off to change back. "And you got these all from the clearance rack, too? You're really good at this, Levy-chan. I wouldn't even be spending six-hundred here!"

"Oi, can I see?" Natsu asked somewhere behind Levy, who kicked at his shins to keep him from peeking. He squawked in pain, and Lucy could hear Gray sighing in annoyance. "Damn it! I just wanted to see the outfit!"

"Go buy your shit and wait in the car," Levy snapped behind her. "Lucy's stuff is going to be a surprise, so go pay with Gray."

The sound of Natsu whining faded out and Lucy guessed that Levy waited until they were gone to turn back, a large smile on her face. Lucy was confused by the whole ordeal, yet didn't question her friend as she put her own clothes back on.

"Hey, Levy-chan," Lucy spoke after gathering her purchases into her arms.

"Mm?"

Lucy slowly smirked, eyeing Levy with a mischievous look in her brown eyes. "So you like it when Gajeel wears leather, huh?"

After buying her new clothes and escaping Levy's wrath of her embarrassment, Lucy slipped into the Mitsubishi Lancer next to Natsu, who was chatting with Gray through the radio about how he's gonna wear his new outfit to the next race. Lucy rolled her eyes when Natsu gave his goofy grin to her and asked about her clothes, telling him in response that it's a surprise, like Levy said.

Driving behind Gray's Subaru Impreza, Natsu kept the station connected to the cars so Lucy and Levy could decide where else to go. One the idea of going to a cafe or a smoothie stand, Levy's voice went abrupt at the red light of a sudden gasp. Lucy's head tilted and Natsu blinked and looked to the radio with confusion before looking at each other.

It was Gray who spoke. "It's Trinity Raven, Natsu."

Lucy's eyebrows creased in worry as she looked to Natsu, who's mouth went to a firm line of distaste and moved forward to see ahead of him right behind Gray's ride. Lucy didn't move an inch from her seat when the light turned green and Gray's car hit the pedal to turn sharply into a small parking lot, where a Plymouth Road Runner blocked the way of a familiar Nissan 370Z and a Silvia in their spots. Natsu followed cooly, but Lucy could see his shoulders tense under his black t-shirt.