My morning alarm began to ring through my room but I was already up and dressed. I'd been up for hours in fact. I turned off the alarm and climbed over my bed and into my window sill. It was one of my favourite places to sit. I could feel a cool breeze from the crack of my window and watched the fast paced world below. It was raining outside and the sky was nothing but grey. I wondered where my umbrella was. My door opened then and in walked my aunty, Helen. She was an incredible business woman, but a terrible aunt. She couldn't take care of me, in fact she was rarely even home. She was always away at a fancy event of some sort.
"Lucy, I'm off to work." She said from the door way.
"Yeah, okay." I said, not taking my eyes away from the window.
"I won't be back tonight." She said.
"Fine."
"I might even be gone tomorrow, too." She added quickly.
"Wait, what?" I turned around to catch her before she left. She had my umbrella in her hand.
"Well, I have a very important two day event with my company. But you'll be okay." She smiled.
"Have you left me food?" I asked.
"No, but there's money on the side." She said.
"Great. I'll just go grocery shopping after my acting class and then cook dinner before my home work and then clean the house before bed." I said in a huff.
"Okay, hun. I'll see you when I'm back." She sang as she hurried down the stairs. She hadn't even listened to me. I wasn't surprised though. I rolled my eyes and went down stairs to find a stash of money on the kitchen counter. That is what Helen did. If ever I was upset, she didn't comfort me. She'd just give me money. Most people wouldn't complain, I mean I was one of the richest kids at school. But I didn't want that. Money didn't matter to me. I just wanted to have a family again. There was nothing in the house for breakfast so I didn't see the point in hanging around any longer. I grabbed my school bag and headed outside. I had forgotten it was raining.
"Oh well." I sighed and marched down the road. Cars were zooming past on they're way to work or school, splashing me as the drove by. Once you're wet you're wet though, right? It's not like a car splashing me was going to make me any wetter than the heavy rain already had. The walk to school was a long one, especially when you're alone. I decided to pull out my headphones and listen to some music. My headphones and music were my one escape from this world. When I was younger and my dad was yelling, I'd put my headphones in. When my aunty threw parties at our house for her colleagues, I'd put my head phones in. There was just something about listening to music through my head phones that relaxed me. It made the walk to school shorter since I found myself walking to the beat of the music.
When I got to school it was about eight thirty and the bell wouldn't ring until nine so I headed to the school toilets. I was soaking wet and dripping water everywhere I went. I dropped my bag to the floor and stared in the mirror.
"What a mess." I said. I stuck my head under the hand dryer in an attempt to dry my hair. It sort of did the trick, although now my hair was knotted and frizzy. I grabbed my backpack and headed out the toilet and to my class room. I didn't want to go in yet so I sat on the floor outside. No one was around. No students, no teachers- it was weird. I put my headphones back in and leant my had against the wall.
The morning went pretty quickly. I met my best friend Levy for lunch. Levy was great but she was also popular. She had a lot more friends than I did so it was hard to get her alone. I was lucky to have her to myself today.
"Hey, so, my aunty is gone until Sunday. Do you want to move in for a couple of days?" I asked as I bit into a sandwich.
"Oh, Lu, I'd love to but I have plans with my boy friend." She said with a sad face.
"Oh, right. Your boy friend." I said with a roll of my eyes.
"Don't be like that, Lu."
"I just don't get why you're with that guy. He's like twenty." I said.
"Lucy, he's only two years older than us." She said.
"Still, he's weird." I said through a mouthful of food.
"You're weird." Levy poked her tongue out at me.
"What ever."
"So, where's Helen off to this time?" Levy knew how much of a flake my aunty was. When I was younger I had to spend a lot of time staying at Levy's because of Helen's busy social calendar.
"Who knows? She just said she had an import two day event with her company."
"I bet she's got a boyfriend." Levy said.
"Probably. But you wanna' know the worst part?"
"What?"
"She took my umbrella!" I cried.
"Not your umbrella!" Levy reacted. I nodded sadly before shooting Levy a smile.
"You're so stupid." She laughed.
After school we headed to our acting class. It was a school club Levy had convinced me to join so she wouldn't be lonely. She just said that to get me to join though, Levy had friends everywhere. The acting class was full of the most popular girls at school. They all wanted to be famous actresses when they were older, but I was just there for fun. The teacher went by the name Evergreen. She was kinda eccentric and was pretty in love with herself. All the girls in the class looked up to her. She sat us all in a circle on the floor and slowly walked around us. She ran her hands through the hair of each student as she strode past them.
"Now, class, it's time for you to pair up." She said. Every one immediately began to turn to their friend when Evergreen interrupted. "I want you to look at the person directly opposite you. This person will be your partner." She said. I looked up. Sat opposite me was a boy from the year above. He had dark hair which was hanging in his face as he looked back at me. He stood up and walked towards me. I gulped as he silently held out a hand.
"Guess we're partners." He said as I placed my hand in his.
"Yeah, I guess." I said as he pulled me to my feet.
"This person will be your partner for the rest of the school year." Evergreen said.
"Wait, what?" One of the girls asked. She had been paired up with a another girl who she clearly didn't like.
"That's the way it is in the real world, hun. You may not always like who you have to work with, but you have to get on with it." Evergreen said with a smile. The girl huffed and crossed her arms. Did I really have to work with this guy for the rest of the year? Oh, god. "You'll spend the rest of today's class getting to know your partner. Next class, we'll start preparing performances." Evergreen clapped for us to begin. I turned to my partner awkwardly. He looked like the last guy you'd see in acting class.
"I'm Gray." He said.
"Lucy."
"So, why did you join this class?" He asked.
"My friend made me." I gestured to Levy who was busy chatting away to her partner. "You?"
"I lost a bet with my brother." He said. I laughed. "No, really."
"Oh, you're serious?"
"Yeah." Gray rubbed his head and smiled awkwardly.
"What was the bet?" I asked.
"He bet me he would last longer in an ice bath I could." Gray said.
"And you lost?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"He won by default, our mum pulled me out first." Gray said.
"But you still joined the class?" I asked.
"Hey, a bets a bet." He shrugged. I smiled. This guy seemed just as uninterested in acting as I was. Maybe we were meant to be partners, not that I believed in fate or anything. We spent the rest of the class joking around about how lame we thought the class was.
"Can't wait to see you next time!" He cheered sarcastically as we left the school.
"Right back at ya'" I said and saluted him good bye. I walked to the grocery store, laughing to myself as I went.
I grabbed a cart and began pushing it down the isles of the store. I was so used to doing my own grocery shopping by now. I reached for a tin of apricots on one of the top shelves but I just couldn't quite reach. My finger tips brushed the top of the tin as I grabbed for it, accidentally knocking it over. My eyes widened as they focused on the can of food about to roll off the shelf and on to my face.
"Careful." Someone said beside me. I turned round in shock to find a boy in the same school uniform as me holding the can of apricots in his hand.
"Thank you." I breathed a sigh of relief.
"No problem. Next time, just use one of those." He smirked and gestured to a foot stool that had been set out for customers.
"Right." I nodded and took the can from him.
"You go to Fiore High, too?" He asked.
"Yep, I'm a second year."
"I'm a third year. Natsu." He said with a smile.
"Lucy." I said.
See ya' around, Lucy." He said. I watched as he disappeared in to the croud of other shoppers. I chucked the apricots in my cart and finished my shopping. Since Helen had left me a giant wad of cash I decided to treat myself to a few of my favourite things. I bought a mountain of chocolate and pints of flavoured milk.
"Thank you, Aunt Helen." I said as I chucked a couple Pizzas in the cart too. That night I had a feast.
Saturday Night
I was sat in my window sill on my laptop when I noticed Levy and her boyfriend walking down the road. I couldn't help but smile and ran down stairs to open the door.
"Lulu!" Levy called out as she began to run down the road.
"Levy, what are you doing here?" I asked as she threw her arms around me.
"I thought you might be lonely with Helen gone so we're here to keep you company." She smiled as her boyfriend finally caught up to her. He was huge. Like, Literally twice the size of Levy. I've seen him pick her up with one hand, no joke.
"Gajeel." I nodded.
"Lucy." He said back with a small smile.
"Is that pizza I smell?" Levy asked.
"Indeed it is." I moved aside and welcomed Gajeel and Levy into my house. We ate pizza and watched a movie together. Gajeel wasn't that bad. He was just a little moody sometimes, but then again so was I. He made levy happy so I guess that's all that matters. They were a good couple but the best part was, they never made me feel uncomfortable. They never kissed in front of me or acted all lovey dovey. It just felt like three friends hanging out.
"I'm just popping to the loo." I said as I hopped off the sofa.
"Do you want us to pause it?" Levy asked.
"Nah, I've seen it a hundred times." I said as I ran upstairs. Whilst I was in the bathroom I heard someone ringing the door bell.
"I'll get it, Lu!" Levy called up to me.
"Okay!" I finished up on the loo and washed my hands. Levy and I had always felt so at home at each others houses. We answered each others doors, cooked each others food. All that kind of stuff. When I opened the bath room door I heard a lot more voices than just Levy's and Gajeel's. I thought it could have been the movie but deep down I knew it wasn't. I peered round the door to see Levy running up the stairs.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Oh, Lu. I'm so sorry!" Levy cried. I was starting to worry what was going on down stairs.
"Lev, you're freaking me out." I said.
"I mentioned to some of the girls how lucky you were to have the house to yourself this weekend and-"
"You told all the popular girls that I had a free house? Levy, have you never seen a movie before tonight? Everyone knows free house is code for party." I groaned and hit my forehead against the door frame.
"I know, I know. I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me." She clutched her hands together and looked at me with tears in her eyes. I sighed.
"I don't hate you."
"I didn't think for a second they'd turn up like this." She said.
"Well, how many people are there?" I asked.
"Come look." Levy said nervously. My aunty and I had a big house, a somewhat huge house, and tonight it was full to the brim. It was like every kid from our year was crammed in to the down stairs of my house.
"Oh. My. God." I said as I stood at the top of the stairs. People we're still coming in, bringing crates of beer with them as they did.
"Woohoo, Lucy's throwing a rager!" Some guy yelled as I made my down the stairs. Levy followed me, grabbing hold of my shirt as I moved through the crowd. Someone had found Helen's stereo and was blasting music through our giant speakers. People had already moved my furniture aside to make more room for dancing and drinking. My heart was thumping louder than the base drum to the track playing through the speakers.
"Levy, what the hell am I gonna do?" I yelled above the noise.
"I don't know. Why don't you just enjoy it?" She asked.
"Are you serious? They're trashing my house!"
"Look around, Lu. Everyone is having a great time, because of you." She was already opening herself a bottle of beer. I shook my head, but she was right. Everyone around me was having a great time, so why couldn't I?
"Levy, I found you." Gajeel was suddenly beside us. He grabbed Levy by the waist and lifted her on to my kitchen side.
"Yep, you found me." Levy laughed. Was she already tipsy from just a few sips of beer?
"Are you drinking?" He asked.
"Yes, Gajeel. Here, have one." Levy grabbed another beer and thrust it Gajeel. "You too, Lu." She said and handed me a bottle as well. I took the beer and cracked it open. Maybe I could have fun. Maybe this was the night I become one of the cool kids. I was taking a swig of beer when someone crashed into me from behind. My bottle smacked against my lip and I yelped a little.
"Yo. Sorry, dude." Some random guy said before running out of the kitchen. I raised a hand to my lip and saw blood dripping from my finger tip.
"Oh god." I moaned. A horrible feeling began to overwhelm me. My heart raced and my chest grew tight, I felt like I couldn't breath. I looked around helplessly at the crowd of people consuming me. It was no good. Levy was distracted with Gajeel and I didn't have any other real friends here. I could see more people pouring in through the front and back door. There was no way out. I couldn't escape this feeling. I began to push my through the groups of people, it was like I had no control over my own movements. People were making out on my stairs but I just ran straight past them. Finally, I made it to my room. I fell through the door to find a couple making out on my bed.
"Get out." I mumbled. They looked embarrassed and ran past me, probably to find another room to make out in. I stumbled on to my bed and sat in my window sill. I grabbed my knees tight to my chest and tried to breath steadily but it seemed impossible. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and I was sobbing uncontrollably.
"What is happening?" I cried to myself. My door began to open at that moment. "Get out!" I cried.
"It's Natsu, bad time?" He said cheerfully. I stared at him, tears falling down my face, struggling to breath. His smile dropped. "Whoa, Lucy. What happened?" He rushed across the room and stood beside me whilst gently wiping the blood from my lip with the corner of his T-Shirt.
"I- Don't- Know." I sobbed in-between short breaths. "I- Can't- Breath."
"It's okay." He said calmly. "I'm gonna' go get you some water, okay? I'll be right back."
I nodded and waited for him to return. When he did he had a glass of icy water in his hands. As soon as he opened the door the music from downstairs flooded my room which made my heart race even faster. But he soon shut it behind him again.
"Here, drink this slowly." He said. I took the glass in both hands and began to gulp down the water. It was helping a little. I gasped as I finished the last drop then rested my head against the window in exhaustion. I still couldn't breath properly and my chest was hurting from how fast my heart was beating.
"What's- wrong- with- me?" I asked as Natsu took the glass from me and set it down on the floor.
"You're having a panic attack." He said.
"A- Panic- Attack?" I asked.
"Yeah, I've had one before. Just try to stay calm, okay?" He put a hand on my head and gently stroked my hair. It felt nice. I was beginning to calm down when I heard an almighty crash from down stairs. I winced at the noise and began to cry hard again. I felt stupid for acting like this in front of him but I just couldn't help it.
"What do you usually do to relax?" Natsu asked quickly.
"Headphones." I whispered breathlessly.
"Headphones, right." Natsu looked around my room in a rush until he finally found my phone and headphones. "You need to lie down." He said as he lifted me from the window. I shakily laid down on my bed and buried my head into my pillow. Natsu stood over me and softly put my headphones in my ears. "Just close your eyes." He said. So I did. Soft music began to play through my ears. Keeping my eyes shut I reached out my hand for Natsu to take. As I laid there reaching out, I felt his hand warmly wrapped around mine.