Thunderstorm

Chapter 1

"Natsu, could you please stop eating all of the leftovers? Just because the power it out doesn't mean you're allowed to empty the entire fridge!"

The young man in question looked up from his plate, a puzzled look in his eyes and a smear of steak sauce on his cheek. "But I'm helping! Otherwise you'd just have to throw it out, right?" Once the words were out of his mouth, another forkful of food was shovelled in.

"Just stop once you're done that serving, alright? I'll go find some candles or a flashlight." After shooting him one last glare, I turned away from the mess and headed towards the closet across the room. I could feel my brow twitching slightly.

Mouth still stuffed with food, Natsu yelled from the kitchen, "Why do we need candles? I can make as much fire as you want." Although I couldn't see him from where I was standing, I could hear him scraping the last bits of food from his plate.

"No, Natsu! Are you crazy? Knowing you, the whole building would be gone in a matter of seconds!" My fingers stumbled around in the darkness for a couple of minutes before finally landing on what felt like the box I was looking for.

"Found them!" I exclaimed, not bothering to listen to the whiny groans of Natsu from the other side of the apartment. From what I could tell, there seemed to only be four or five of the small wax candles left. It was better than nothing. Carefully maneuvering around the furniture I slowly made my way back to Natsu, who was now sitting on the couch.

Taking out the candles and setting them in a single line on the small coffee table, I rummaged around in the box and managed to grasp the small matchbox that was inside. After several attempts to light the tiny, old matches, Natsu snickered and grabbed the box from me. "Idiot. Why didn't you just ask me to do it?"

"Didn't you hear me earlier? I don't want you burning the whole place to the ground!"

"Oh come on, I can control myself. Just watch." He smugly sat up straight and moved closer to the candles. His hand reached forward and grabbed one, bringing it up to his face. I could hear him slowly exhale before quietly snapping his fingers together. A tiny flame suddenly erupted from the tip of his pointer finger. His features lit up in front of me, his hair seeming almost ablaze in the dim lighting.

The fire was bright orange, the faintest traces of blue dancing around the bottom. One by one he lit all of the candles, carefully placing it down and picking the next up in order. The entire time, the small flame never once flickered. I was impressed that he was able to control his power to this degree. He had certainly come a long way from that hot-headed boy I met so long ago. Before I had time to notice, he had matured a lot. His face was more defined, he was taller, his hands bigger, and his body was covered with numerous scars. No doubt his power was even greater as well.

Without realizing it, Natsu had already finished and was staring intently at me. "Hey, are you alright? You're kind of spacing out."

"What? Oh! Uh, sorry! I was just thinking about something." I snapped out of my thoughts and stood up. "It's getting late. Shouldn't you be going home now?"

He hesitantly stood up and stretched his arms over his head. Large shadows leaped around the room, the faint glow from the candles were barely enough able to illuminate his whole face. A small trail of smoke slowly rose towards the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Happy already left, didn't he?"

I nodded. I wasn't about to let it slip that he actually went out to find Charle, but maybe it isn't lying if I just don't say the whole truth? "I'll see you tomorrow then, I guess."

"Yeah, see you." Before I had the chance to scold him about leaving out the window, he was already gone.

My heart slowed down a little bit, knowing that he wasn't here. It was getting harder and harder to be with him and not feel nervous. Just seeing his gaze lock with mine would make my heart race. I knew it was stupid. He was my best friend. It was wrong for me to want something more when it was so obvious that he was happy with our innocent, uncomplicated friendship.

I made my way to the window and shut the curtains. The power had been out all day, but since I had been out running errands all day, I hadn't noticed until the sun went down. My hands felt sweaty as I began to consider the possibility of a thunderstorm. Last night had just been some heavy rain and wind. Surely there wouldn't be anything worse than that, right?

Glancing back at the candles across the room, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. The flickering light across the walls cast dark shadows in all corners of the apartment. I hadn't noticed it when Natsu was here, but now the whole place felt...scary.

I tried not to let my imagination wander too much as I got changed into a simple nightgown and climbed into bed. My mind began to wander as I sunk further and further into the mattress. Part of me wished that Natsu hadn't left, that he was still here to make the room feel even a little bit safer. I couldn't even keep track of all the times he had saved me anymore.

My mind subconsciously began to replay all of the occasions Natsu had come to save me. When had I ever come close to repaying the favour? Compared to him, my power seemed...useless After all, he was one of the strongest mages I've ever met. Sure, I had some skills that he didn't, but who was it that always came out of the fight grinning from ear to ear? Who was it that always gave us hope when it felt like we had none? It was always Natsu.

A strange twisting sensation began to grow in my stomach. Warmth spread to my cheeks as I recalled his smiling face. There wasn't anyone Natsu couldn't beat, right? He was always so strong and brave. I mean, certainly he was an idiot. But he was an idiot that stood up for his family, his friends, and what he believed in. It made my heart race to think about the kind of person he had grown up to be. He took care of those who mattered to him. A smile began to form on my lips when I realized that I was one of those people. Someone that mattered to him.

I quickly relaxed my features and let the smile slowly transform into a frown. No, Lucy. Stop being so selfish! He was too kind to ever favour one person more than someone else. It wasn't fair for me to think he would choose me over everyone else. It wasn't fair to want him all to myself...

After what felt like an eternity of battling back and forth with my thoughts, I heard something outside. I could have sworn it was a large group of travellers coming through the cobblestone streets, but after a few seconds it abruptly stopped. Who would be out at this hour? I held my breath, waiting for something to happen.

BOOM

I unintentionally let out an ear-piercing shriek, The thunder boomed through Magnolia, almost shaking the entire building. My heart skipped a couple beats and the hair on my neck stood straight up. A couple seconds of silence passed before the rain kicked in. I rushed to the window and yanked the curtains back. Everything outside appeared to be instantly soaked. My eyes wandered to the sky, where a dense shadow of black rainclouds had formed with no intention of leaving any time soon. I could feel the goosebumps on my skin rapidly multiplying. I involuntarily shuddered and slammed the window shut, yanking the curtains closed behind me.

Just as I was about to climb back into bed, a bright flash of light filled the room. Another clap of thunder followed moments later. I screamed again, diving under the covers with my hands over my ears. My whole body was trembling and there were tears beginning to drip down my cheeks. A huge gust of wind slammed against the building, shattering the window and nearly ripping the sheets off of me. I didn't even hear myself scream over the sound of more thunder.

With shaking legs I slowly peeked from under the blankets and gazed around the room, wide-eyed. The candles had been extinguished and knocked to the floor. A couple of my books and magazines were scattered across the room, hundreds of loose pieces of paper slowly floating to the ground. By this point I was hyperventilating. This wasn't normal weather. There must be someone behind it. Someone was coming after me. I needed to get away.

With all logical thought gone from my head, I tried to run to the window. My legs crumpled underneath me, and I stumbled to the floor. My hands dug into the broken glass as I attempted to brace my fall. I cried out in pain as the rest of my body made contact with the shattered pieces. My breaths came out in short gasps, and my vision was blurry at best.

"Somebody...Anybody help..." I quietly whimpered between gasps.

Hey guys! I hope you're liking the story so far! It's been an idea that I've had in my head for a while and so I tried to write it out. I used to really be into reading and writing a lot, but the past few years I've really fallen off the wagon or whatever. So hopefully the writing is still decent! Hahaha, reviews are always welcome. :)

I'm not planning on making this story TOO long, but there should be at least 3 or so more chapters to come.