"Hey Luce!" Natsu Dragneel called out happily as he enter through the bedroom window of Lucy Heartfilia.
"Oh, hey Natsu. What's up?" Lucy asked, not facing the boy as she sat on her bed, putting in her earrings.
"What's up? It's movie night. Don't tell me you forgot again." Natsu whined, plunking down next to her on the bed, making her bounce slightly.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry Natsu! I completely forgot, but I'm supposed to be going out with Dan tonight!" Lucy groaned, face palming herself while Natsu sighed.
"Really Luce? This is the fourth movie night in a row that you forgot about." He whined, only just now noticing what she was wearing.
She wore a knee length, sparkling dark blue dress with a tight top and a loose and flowing skirt, with thin dark blue straps and a black belt at her waist line. She wore a pair of black pumps to top the outfit off. Her hair had been put up into a tight bun, leaving two strands to frame each side of her face. Her earrings were dark blue and shaped like Hearts, with a matching necklace hung around her neck, both of which Natsu had gotten her for her birthday last year.
"I promise I'll make it up to you Natsu!" Lucy beamed happily at him. Natsu forced a smile onto his face, but inside, he knew it wasn't true. She had said it every time she forgot, the past four Friday nights in a row.
"How do I look?" She asked, standing from the bed and doing a slight twirl. Natsu grinned and gave her a thumbs up in response, yet didn't say what he was thinking. Sure, she looked great all dressed up and all, but there were two things wrong. The first one being that she looked more like Lucy when she wore her loose clothing and her typical hair styles. And the second being… That she was dressing up for someone other than him.
Natsu knew he should just drop it by now. She had been dating Dan for two months now, yet he still hasn't gotten over the slightly bigger than tiny crush that he has on his childhood friend. The worst part of all, is that the longer she is with Dan Straight, the more she hangs out with him, and the more she hangs out with him, the more she chooses him over Natsu, and pushes Natsu away.
Natsu knew that he and Dan were never going to get along. Natsu hated that Dan stole what was meant to be his, and Dan knew about Natsu's crush… no… Natsu's love for Lucy, and he see's him as a threat, which in reality, he is.
"Hello? Earth to Natsu?" Lucy asked, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Huh? What?" Natsu jumped, looking around. Lucy frowned at him worriedly.
"Are you okay? You were spacing out…" She mumbled, looking at him in concern.
"Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Um… Just thinking about something is all…" Natsu muttered, looking away from her gorgeous dark brown eyes. Lucy was about to ask more when there was a knock on her bedroom door, it opening to reveal Dan Straight.
"Oh! Hi Dan!" Lucy smiled as she quickly stood up again and went to hug her boyfriend, Natsu crossing his arms and looking away as he stood as well. When Dan walked in, he had seen how close the Dragneel boy was to HIS girlfriend, and he didn't like it one bit.
"What are you doing here." Dan said, crossing his arms and glaring at Natsu, making the boy snap his eyes back to him.
"Sorry. I didn't know hanging out with my childhood friend of ten years, was annoying you." Natsu growled back at him, Lucy glancing worriedly between the two as they glared heatedly at the other.
"It does when she is MY girlfriend." Dan scoffed back. "Especially with a fellow like you. You're just trying to steal her away from me." He growled back.
"Okay, Okay. I think that's enough." Lucy laughed awkwardly as she stepped in between them. "Look Dan, Natsu and I are just friends. Thats all we ever have been and all we ever will be." Lucy tried to reassure her boyfriend, sending an arrow straight through her best friend's heart, as his shoulders slumped, only visible if you were looking for it, which Dan was, sending Natsu a victory smirk.
"I don't care LuLu. I just don't trust this guy." Dan said, glancing at Lucy and giving her a pout.
"Trust me, the feeling is mutual." Natsu growled in response.
"Look, I know you two have never been on the best of terms, but couldn't you at least try to be friends, for me? Just for tonight?" She begged them.
"LuLu. I think it's time you make a choice. Me, your boyfriend, or him. It's one or the other, you clearly can't have both of us in your life." Dan said, standing up straight and looking at Lucy in determination. Her eyes widened at the thought of having to choose between them.
"What?! I can't choose between you!" Lucy tried to insist, but it fell upon deaf ears.
"Fine by me. Contact me when you've made your choice Lucy." Natsu said in a low voice before turning and walking out the door.
"Same here Lucy. We're on hold until you make your choice. You have until This time next week." Dan muttered, following the pink haired boy out.
Lucy stood in the middle of her room, shocked about what just happened. Both of them had ditched their nicknames for her, meaning they meant business, but no matter that she was dating Dan, it stung so much more when she heard Natsu call her just Lucy.
He had probably called her that three times, in the past ten years, ever since he discovered that nickname for her on the day they met. Sure, Dan had started calling her nicknames on the day they met as well, but he changed his nicknames often, but Natsu never did.
Not only that, but the pink haired boy had left through the door. Never once had he done that. Ever. And the way he said her name. Such venom and almost hatred. No, the hatred was probably toward Dan and his idea, but still, to hear her name like that from the boy she had been friends with fr ten years… it hurt,
Thinking about it all and replaying the conversation in her head, Lucy finally broke down. Falling to her knee's as she sobbed into her hands. How was she supposed to make that choice?! Her and Natsu had been together since they were seven, and been best friends ever since, and Dan was her first ever boyfriend. She knew that if she chose she would loose one oof them forever, and if she didn't choose, she would probably loose both… What was she going to do.
Natsu sat on her window sill, just outside where she was, his eyes shadowed by his bands as he listened to the girl he loved whimpering and sobbing, yet he could do nothing about it. In fact, he was half the cause of it. Man, he hated seeing he like this. He quickly jumped down from the window sill before running off into the night, trying to get the sounds of her pain, out of his head.
~The following Wednesday~
The time had come. Natsu and Dan would both be there in less than an hour, and Lucy still hadn't fully decided on who she wanted to choose. She hadn't left the house in the past week, not once aside from school. Neither of them had come to visit her, and every time she saw Natsu at school, he stared at her for a second before turning and walking away.
Lucy stepped out of the shower and went into her bedroom, grabbing her played out clothes. No matter what happened, she knew tonight would be a happy one like she had hoped it would just over a week ago. She decided on wearing a light purple top with a pair of grey short shorts, tying her hair into two high pigtails, leaving the middle part down (AN: Here is the exact look . /3db672033e7c9c43818b5922c56d5024/tumblr_nljmuu8don1se541to4_ ).
After she was finished getting dressed, Lucy sat on her bed and waited. She decided that when the time came… She would know who to choose, even if she didn't yet.
There was a knock on her bedroom door, and when she opened it, both Dan and Natsu were standing there, waiting for her. She let them into the room and sat down on the bed, Natsu sitting next to her, but with more distance than usual, and Dan continuing to stand.
"Lucy. Have you chosen which one of us you want to stay in your life yet?" Dan asked her with a straight face.
"No. I haven't chosen yet…" Lucy mumbled, looking down as she clasped her hands together.
"Tch. What a surprise. The fact that you would even consider choosing him, means that you clearly don't really like me. Doesn't it." Dan said coldly. Lucy was on the verge of tears.
"I can't choose between you!" She suddenly yelled. "Natsu is my best friend, and it has been that way for ten years now. And Dan, you are my very first boyfriend, and you're important to me!" Lucy broke down into tears, sobbing into her hands.
Lucy slowly felt two arms wrap her in a tight embrace, not letting her go when she tried to look at who it was. But she didn't need to look to know who the person comforting her was. It was the person who she would choose. The person who was always there for her. The person who she fell in love with as soon as she met…
"Natsu…" Lucy cried, gripping onto his shirt tightly as she cried into his chest.
"It's okay Luce… You don't have to chose if you don't want to." He soothed her quietly.
"Yes. She does need to choose. I can't go on thinking that she might like you more than me." Dan scoffed in response, acting like that was obvious. Lucy realised that he was right. She wiped her tears and let go of Natsu. He gave her a worried look, to which she sent back a determined one.
"You're right Dan. I don't want you to think for even a second that he is slightly better than you…" Lucy mumbled. Natsu looked down in response while Dan smirked. "He is way better than you will ever be. No matter what." She finished. Natsu's head shot up, eyes wide as he looked at her in shock, Dan doing the same.
"What?! But I'm your boyfriend!" Dan insisted, trying to persuade her.
"Yes, and you are also the one who forced me to choose between you. And the one who ignored me in my time of need." She said strongly. "I just broke down, into tears, right in front of you, and you did nothing. Natsu on the other hand, he was there to comfort me, like he always is." Lucy smiled, turning back to Natsu. He sent her a large grin in response, probably the first one ever since she started dating Dan.
"Fine then! I don't need you!" Dan spat before stomping out of the room.
Natsu got up from the bed and hugged Lucy, pulling him against his chest as she hugged him back.
"Hey Luce…" He mumbled catching her attention. She looked up at him curiously. "This isn't exactly the way I wanted things to go… Well, not at all really, but… Happy… Anniversary?" He mumbled, looking away blushing as he held out a small dark blue, velvet box to her.
"You remembered?" She gasped, smiling happily as she took the box.
"Course. It was today ten years ago that my life changed forever." He grinned down at her. She opened the box and inside was a dark blue ring, and a matching bracelet, both matching her necklace and earrings.
"Thank you Natsu! I love it!" She squealed, hugging him tightly. She slowly took out the bracelet and put it on, then swept her hair away from her ears to reveal the earrings, and pulled the necklace out of her shirt. She was about to grab the ring, but Natsu's hand stopped her. He took the ring out of the box before looking at Lucy, grabbing her hand in his.
"Luce…. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked, blushing again as he slipped the ring on her finger. Lucy squealed before throwing herself at him.
"Of course I will Natsu. I love you! And I think I always have!" She smiled brightly up at him, tears in her eyes. Natsu wrapped her in a tight hug once again.
"Thanks for choosing me Luce…" He mumbled, looking at her shining face.
"I always knew deep down that it was you." Lucy smiled at him, before grabbing his cheek and leaning up, planting a chaste kiss on his lips. He widened his eyes in shock as she pulled away. She just giggled at him in response. She turned to move away, but her grabbed her waist and held her in place, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers in a long, passionate, kiss.
