Chapter 1: Natsu, how could you?
Lucy got stronger in the last few weeks since Lisanna came back, being able to summon 4 celestial spirits for a strenuous amount of time; all because when Lisanna came almost everybody seemed to ignore her, even the most nakama-honoring Team Natsu. The only people who talked to her now were Wendy, Mirajane, Cana, Elfman, Master Makarov, Happy, Gajeel, Juvia (surprisingly), Carla, her celestial spirits, and Pantherlily! After ordering a strawberry smoothie from Mira, Lucy decided to go on another mission by herself.
She went to the mission board, pondering softly at the various choices. Though before she could choose a mission, a cute voice pleaded, "Lucy onee-chan, please stop going on missions by yourself, you going to get hurt again!"
Lucy turned to see Wendy with tears in her eyes, the blonde's eyes widened and she hugged Wendy. Wiping Wendy's tears away, she reassured the smaller girl," It's ok, Wendy! I'm going to be fine! If I get hurt, you could heal me. I can always count on you, right?" Wendy looked at Lucy's genuine smile and she nodded, her tears ceasing. Lucy turned back to the mission board and read some of them under her breath. She chose one, her voice taking an interested tone, "
Help Me!
We need a new woman model for this photo shoot, our last one quit on us at the last moment. Meet us in Clover town where the Blue Pegasus Guild (I don't know where they live so, I put them in Clover town) lives. You'll find us in a mansion on top of a hill near it. Requirements: experience (with modeling), a curvy/fit body, and some sort of charm/sex appeal. A woman is also required, No men! I'll pay you plenty, and if you impress me during the job I'll give you bonuses.
5,000,000 J
Her eyes widened at the amount,' This is like fighting monsters kind of pay! I should go for it! I already have all the requirements down too.' With a quick fix to her somber posture, she decided to do the job request; Lucy sat on a bar seat next to a certain white-haired ex-model and chirped," Mira, I would like to do this job request!" Mirajane glanced at the paper and warned," Okay, Lucy, but be careful. This guy is a pervert!"
With a puzzled expression, Lucy asked,"Have you worked with this guy before?"
Mira didn't answer, a smile on her face as she stamped the paper. She waved good bye as Lucy went home to pack.
After gathering the essentials, Lucy changed into a white tank top and pink shorts and sat at her desk. She wrote a quick note to her mom, the contents being the same as the previous ones in the past few weeks before climbing into bed. With the lights off, Lucy squirmed around for a comfortable position, gradually letting her mind carry her to dreams of her and her oblivious guildmembers being together again.
The next morning, Lucy woke up, feeling the cool air touch her skin. She looked around but saw no flash of familiar pink hair and she thought bitterly,' Oh, I forgot that most of the Guild started to ignore me.' She let a few tears slip, almost forgetting her mission, and then quickly wiped them away. Hoping to wash her pessimism away, she jumped into the shower and got dressed in a casual lacy black crop top and skinny jeans. Feeling in a better mood, she grabbed her celestial keys and her whip, fastening them on her belt.
The blonde let her feet take her to the guild, balancing herself on the edge on the river bank. As usual, the guys on a boat in the river warned her," Lucy-chan, watch out, you might fall in", and as usual, she reassured," It's okay, guys, I'll be very careful!"
The river guys laughed and replied with," Okay, if you say so then!" After a few more minutes of walking, Lucy arrived at the guild doors. She kicked the door open with one leg and yelled," Good morning, minna!" As expected, no one answered her or even looked at her direction. 'Why do I keep bothering', she asked herself, noticing that they were all crowded in a circle, covering what's inside of it.
With curiosity stabbing at her side, she grabbed her whip and threw the whip's end, and the length wrapped around a wooden beam above the circle. In hopes of getting their attention for once, she started to climb the whip, getting a good view of below. No words formed, they were stuck in her throat as her eyes were glued to the two people inside the crowd. Lisanna and Natsu were almost devouring each other's faces, lip and tongue-locked; it looked as if they were starving.
That was the final crack in Lucy, she just couldn't take it anymore. Big, wet tears leaked down her porcelain cheeks and the essence of her misery fell on Natsu's face. The pink-haired male pulled away from Lisanna's lips in annoyance, feeling the liquid on his cheek with his fingers. Everyone in the circle looked at Natsu then to the liquid on his face. With a quick sniff, he recognized it very quickly. The bittersweetness of it, and the scent suddenly wafting into his nose from above, his eyes widened and more tears fell on him. He looked up, surprised to see Lucy there hanging on her whip.
Feeling the heat of stares on her, she opened her tear-filled eyes. With a quick pull on her trusty whip, she did a backflip, landing gracefully on the floor. The tears seem to have stopped but the look twisting her beautiful face caused Natsu's heart to wrench. At the feel of weakness, Natsu scoffed," What do you want, Lucy Lucky Heartfilia?" Lucy's eyes widened at the use of her full name, finally realizing the loss of their friendship, all because of another girl. Her whip seemed to come alive and with a snap of leather, Lucy cried out," Natsu, how could you? I stayed by your side, even through your stupidest moments and your horrible insults."
Her voice ended up cracking more than she wanted it to and Natsu sneered again," Of course not! I played you, don't you know? I'm not stupid enough to fall for you. I love Lisanna." To prove the obvious fact, he pulled Lisanna back onto his lap and kissed her cheek. Lucy's eyes narrowed at Lisanna's shrill laughter and she spat," I hate you, Dragneel."
Lisanna laughed fakely, and as if she were talking to a puppy, mocked," Aww, are you sad that I have Natsu? Hm? Come on! Spit it out, you weaklin-!"
Her sentence was cut off by a loud smack. Mirajane had slapped Lisanna, and Mira, who was crying, said," I thought you were my sister!"
Elfman, stepping up to Lisanna, yelled," Lisanna, that was not manly!" With a sharp nod, Mira continued," Lucy is not weak. I can't even believe I called you my sister! Lucy didn't deserve any of this!" Though the support went left in the air. When Mirajane slapped Lisanna, Lucy had already ran away, crying. Brushing off the slap, Lisanna's grin wavered as she just taunted," Ha. Yeah right, she's just a weak mage who uses her body to get what she wants!"
Master Makarov, hearing all of the commotion, slammed the door open, everyone looked up at him. The boom in his step caused a bit of anxiety as the silence overcame them all. Clearing his throat, Master Makarov yelled," Lisanna! What was that I heard you saying about our Lucy?"
"N-nothing!" The quiver in her voice was evident as Makarov stroked his beard.
"That's strange, I thought I heard your voice saying false statements about our beloved celestial mage⦠Right, minna", his question was left unanswered as he continued," Well, I heard it. And I do believe you're wrong, Lucy's not weak!"
With a grim tone, he lowered his voice and asked," Mira! How many job requests had Lucy completed alone?"
Giving the guildmaster a small lift of the corner of her lip, Mira walked behind the bar and grabbed a folder with Lucy's name on it. Time seemed to have slowed down as she took out all of the job offers Lucy did and everyone's eyes widened, including Lisanna. Flipping through the papers, she cleared her throat and spoke with confidence," She did 49 solo missions, as of two months ago when Lisanna first came back, and she is going on another one today."
The room was filled with approving hums and chatter, everyone was really proud of their new member's accomplishments. He grabbed the attention of the guild members by asking," And how many job requests has Lisanna completed alone?" Mira grabbed another folder with Lisanna's name on it and opened it. With a disappointed tone, she whispered," Two solo missions, Master. In the past two months as well." Everyone looked from Mira's slumped form to Lisanna's shaking one. She squirmed and blushed in embarrassment, gaining the attention she didn't want.
Before she could explain herself, Natsu interrupted," Well, Lucy is still a weak mage and-" A loud slap rang throughout the guild once again, Natsu held his reddening cheek as Wendy cried, her hand stinging. Looking at the seemingly changed pink-haired mage, she cried," Natsu-nii, how can you even say that? After all we've been through? Lucy-onee is not weak!"
Everyone, except Team Natsu, couldn't help but stare at Natsu, anger and regret slowly boiling into them. He looked around him, feeling alone for the first time in a while. His shocked expression turned to one of rage, and he snarled," What do you want?!" Almost everyone shunned him and with a final turn, he walked to his home. Happy didn't follow though, tears were streaming down his cheeks as he kept on repeating," I'm sorry, Lushi! I'm sorry, Lushi! I'm sorry, Lushi!"
Lucy ran away crying after Lisanna called Natsu hers, missing everyone's sudden change of heart and support. She circled the town, lost, before her feet unconsciously carried her back home. The tears came back as she spotted the magical black lighter with an elemental red dragon on it. She bought for Natsu before Lisanna came back and never had the chance to give it to him on the day of their one year friendship anniversary. She knew he lost the right to deserve it long ago and, finally, tossed it in the trash with a sigh. Quickly summoning the small, shaking Nikora, she let him latch onto her as she went out on another walk, the opposite way to the guild, hoping to get her mind off of the sight of the two kissing.
