A Shadow's Light

Once something is gone, it's gone forever.

.. Gone. How long has it been? Two years? What happened to forever?

Rogue.. where are you?

Sting kept his hands locked tightly together, his mind began to hurt, he was definitely thinking way too much. He'll return for sure, right? He made a promise. 

.. A promise. Is that the only reason he ever stayed by my side?

" Get ahold of yourself, Sting. There was surely another reason for it. " He laughed out loud to himself, placing his hand on the back of his head as he tried to keep it under control. Lector gave him a stare, knowing he was in fact, acting suspicious.

 As Sting looked up, he saw a group of what looked to be friends together. A young stud who seemed quite immature for his age, with spiky pink hair and onyx black eyes. He was challenging a boy next to him, a bit taller with no shirt, navy blue hair with dark blue eyes.

He watched as they rambled on, insulting each other. They looked familiar, but he couldn't quite remember how. Or who. Behind them were two girls, one who looked like a princess with blonde hair tied to the side and brown eyes. Another with long red hair with dark pink colored eyes, but were hard to make out.

They stopped moving, the two boys still not giving up their fight and the girls on standby watching them. A short gasp escaped Sting's mouth when he saw a blue flying cat behind the one with pink hair. He then felt a new aura that wasn't awoken until now. Dragon Slayers.

Giggling, the blonde haired girl moved her arm to his direction, showing the mark on her hand. They may be at a long distance, but you couldn't mistake that mark for anything else. The mark of the most famous guild of Magnolia. Fairy Tail. Lucy, Erza, Natsu and Gray.

This was a lot to take in, for Sting. He sat there, shocked. The fairies have now arrived. But then again..

Sting looked to his side, still having the empty feeling of his friend that he once loved. Treasured. Cherished. More than anyone. Noticing this, Lector moved closer and put his hand on Sting's leg. As he wasn't the only one to lose a close friend.

With a smile, Sting gave his friend an awarding pat on the head, before returning his attention to the Fairies. Sting finally realized that he was staring, quite rudely but as he turned to look away, Lucy caught him in a glance and began to walk towards him.

" Hey, Lucy! Becareful, please! " Erza shouted, quickly following after her in a fast moving walk instead of a run. She was then trailed closely by Gray and Natsu, who were still at each other's throats, not paying much attention to Sting's existence.

Lucy stopped in front of him and glanced down with an understanding look in her eyes. It's almost like she knew what was missing.

" Where is he? " She whispered, yet still loud enough since Gray and Natsu stopped fighting. Erza seemed puzzled by the look on her face. Lucy bent down and placed her hand on Sting's knee, turning her gaze into his eyes.

" I don't know what you're talking about. " Sting lied, he could feel his heart rapidly picking up speed as it began to beat a million miles an hour. Lucy seemed a bit frustrated by his quick reply. 

" I can't help you if you lie to me, you know. " She gave a fake smile, it was full of hurt and sorrow but it still gave a bright expression on her face. " You are always with him, the one you stood by forever. "

Those words again, they began to ring in Sting's head. Causing pain and discomfort, all over again. Sting isn't one to cry, and he definitely isn't going to fall at the hands of a fairy. His body was firm and full of absolute confidence. But on the inside, he was shaking like a little lost kitten.

Forever..

The words rang in his head overlapping each other in the process. It's not fair..

Lucy continued to look into his eyes, not noticing he was off thinking about something else. Sting snapped out of it, looking up to her. He won't return. Not anymore. 

" He's gone. " Sting finally replied, only to recieve a loud 'WHAT?!' from the group of friends. He stared into her eyes, trying to hide the pain that was causing him all the grief and pressure around him.

" He's gone. Once something is gone, you can't take it back..

.. He's gone forever. "