I'm not entirely sure if this is an M fic or not...so I went with T...
Hellooo my fellow NaLu fans! ...but I'm also a GraLu fan (Me has a fanfic for them! Check it out if you're interested :3), but then I'm also a Gruvia fan...It's oh so complicated with me...But anyways, I'd like to say something before you start reading this story: I am not caught up with the anime or manga. I am on like, episode 90. But since I have a problem with spoiling myself, I know who dies and who comes back...and a couple other things. I'll catch up. I promise. Oh, and one more thing, I got the idea for this story from something I read off the interweb. I will explain more after you finish reading. I hope you enjoy this story! :3
"Next week, Fairy Tail Land will be opened up!" announced Makarov as he stood on top of the bar counter.
Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy, and Lucy looked at him with a confused expression. They just arrived from a long mission. They looked around as everyone cheered excitedly.
"Fairy Tail Land?" questioned Erza out loud.
"Oh, you guys have returned!" said Makarov as he jumped down and walked towards them with his hands behind his back. Everyone else went back to their business. "While you guys were gone, we have been constructing an amusement park for everyone in Magnolia to enjoy!" He turned to Natsu and Gray and glared. "You two better not mess it up." The two boys gulped and the old man continued. "Everyone here will help make the first day a success. The four of you will be put in costumes, and you must never break the role of that character while you're in that costume!"
"What about me?" asked Happy with a pout when he realized he said four instead of five.
"You can help out with the other attractions," said Makarov. Happy pouted more.
"If you don't mind me asking," started Erza, "but what's the real reason for this…amusement park?"
The guild master chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Well, with this park set up, we'd be able to make a lot of money. But anyways, I'm sure you guys need your rest since you just barely got here."
"Well then, I'll be heading home now," announced Lucy as she turned around with a wave.
"Wait, Lucy!" said Natsu, stopping the blonde from taking another step.
She turned around. "Yeah?"
"Me and Happy will come with you!"
"Again? Natsu, I need to rest!"
"Oh come on! You can't be that tired!"
"Drop it, Natsu," said Gray who somehow managed to remove his clothing once again.
"Gray-sama! You've returned!" cried Juvia happily as she skipped over to him. "Juvia has missed you! But Juvia is also angry that you didn't tell her that you were leaving!"
"Oh, hey Juvia."
Without notice, Lucy left. She wanted to get home as quickly as she could before her aching body gave in.
She hasn't been showing off as much skin as she used to. Lucy wore long sleeved shirts a lot, due to the fact that she was too embarrassed to flash her self-harmed scars at people. Yes, she has been self-harming herself. All the stress, anger, and sadness were finally too much for her to handle. Don't get her wrong; she loves her friends, Fairy Tail, and her life, but there was this evil voice in the back of her mind telling her to do it. It wouldn't let her sleep well, or eat, or smile as much. Her friends were beginning to be suspicious, but they haven't said anything yet.
"You're weak," said the voice. "You're the only one in your team who is this tired and sore. You don't deserve to fight by their side. You're always getting captured, and you're a burden to everyone."
"Please," whispered Lucy as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Please stop talking…my friends took me in for who I am-"
"Oh? Is that so? Is that what you think?"
"Stop!"
"What's wrong, Lucy-san?" asked a man on his boat, rowing down the canal.
"N-Nothing!" said Lucy as she began to run. She fumbled with her keys before bursting through the door, slamming it behind her. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed. "Why won't you get out of my head?" she murmured into her comforter.
Lucy finally managed to go to sleep as the sun started to set. What she didn't know was that she left the door unlocked.
"Natsu!" whined Happy. "Let's leave Lucy alone! She really did look tired and bummed out!"
"Why would she be bummed out?" question the salamander whose arms were behind his head.
"I don't know," said Happy sarcastically, "maybe it's because a certain someone won't let her rest!"
"Lucy's fine! She's strong. She can handle it."
Happy sighed in defeat. They approached the door of Lucy's. Natsu was about to pound on it when Happy quickly stopped him.
"What if she's sleeping?"
Natsu gave the doorknob a little jiggle when he discovered it was unlocked.
"Well, that's probably a first," said Natsu as he pushed the door open. "If it's unlocked then I guess she wanted us to come and visit or something."
"Natsu!" whined Happy as he looked around nervously.
"Come on, Happy! It will be fine!"
They made their way into the dark, cool room. On the bed laid Lucy in the fetus position. Natsu looked at her worriedly. He could he the tear stains on her face.
"Ne…Natsu…why was Lucy crying?" asked Happy quietly.
The wizard got closer to the bed where he moved a strand of hair out of the young blonde's face and frowned.
"She's been acting funny lately. Have you noticed, Happy?"
"Yeah…I'm sure everyone has…but Lucy put up a lot of effort to try and hide it, so that's why no one said anything…"
After a few moments of silence Natsu said, "let's go, Happy."
"Aye, sir…"
The left Lucy's residence quietly.
"Good-morning!" exclaimed Lucy as she made her way into the Fairy Tail guild. She had a huge smile plastered on her face.
"Good-morning!" exclaimed most of the guild members who raised their mugs of beer.
The mage made her way to the table where her friends were sitting at, including Juvia, who looked as though she was sitting on Gray's lap. The ice user didn't seem to take notice.
"Hey guys!" she said as she sat down next to Erza.
Her teammates greeted her as she sat down.
"How are you feeling?" asked Natsu with a concerned expression. Happy gave him a look.
"I'm doing great! Why do you ask? Do I look sick?" Lucy put her hand on her forehead.
"No…it's just…" Natsu looked over at Happy and then back at Lucy. "Nothing."
Before Lucy could reply, Makarov came over and greeted them. After everyone in the team greeted him back he said, "I'm afraid you'll all have to buy your own costumes."
Gray scoffed. "Figures," he said underneath his breath. Ignoring the guild master's glare he said, "what are we supposed to be, anyways?"
"I have two hats here," said the old man as he pulled two black top hats out of nowhere. One is for the girls and the other is for the guys. I don't want you to tell anyone who you're going to be, but that's just to make things a little more entertaining." He set the hats down on the table then said, "go ahead and pick your poison."
Erza stretched her hand into the top hat and pulled out a folded card, read it, and then her eyes went blank.
"Erza?" questioned Lucy as she waved her hand in front of the red head's face. No response. She was done for.
The boys impatiently grabbed a card. Natsu kicked Gray out of the way. Gray punched him. After finally settling down, they read their cards. Gray looked at his with distain while Natsu looked at his card with stars forming in his eyes.
"Yes!" he cried in delight.
"What did you get?" asked Happy who was about to fly over to his side.
"Oh no you don't," said Makarov with a stoic mien as his arm stretched out and knocked Happy away.
"Happy!" cried Natsu.
"I'm fine…" said the cat that was stuck to the wall. "Don't mind me…"
"Juvia will pick now!" said the water user as she stuck her hand into the boy's hat. Gray took her arm and put it in the other hat. Juvia blushed.
"Well?" asked the old man querulously.
Juvia pulled out a card and read it. Her eyebrow rose. "Are you kidding?" she said as she looked at the guild master.
"Lucy, pick a card already," said Gray as he folded his arms.
The blonde picked up a card, hoping what she got wouldn't be bad or anything.
'Princess'
Lucy sighed happily. Princess. She could deal with that. After all, she has been wearing pretty dresses for most of her life. She looked over at Erza who was still sitting there with a blank expression, just staring at her card. Lucy felt sorry for her.
"And remember," said Maracov as he took the hats, "you have to stay in character when you're in that costume. Now, carry on."
Lucy already spent all her Jewels on the rent for the apartment and new boots. Now she needed a bit more if she wanted to buy the fanciest dress she could find in Magnolia.
"I'll be off now," she said at the end of the day. She leapt off the bar stool.
"Where are you going, Lucy?" questioned Natsu as he stood in front of her.
"I'm going to find a job that I can take in the next couple days. I need the money to buy my dr-I mean…to buy my costume."
"Oh, cool. I'll come with you then."
"Natsu, I want to do this alone. Besides, it's going to be some easy job like waiting tables or sweeping floors."
"It's okay, because we're a team, right?"
"Natsu…"
They went to the job board and looked for an tranquil job. It seemed like almost everyone has gotten the easy jobs and left the hard ones, which aggravated Lucy.
"Here's one!" said Happy who came out of nowhere. He pulled a small piece of paper off the board and showed it to Natsu who read it.
"Here," he said as he passed over to the mage.
Wanted:
A couple wizards who will tend to my garden while I am gone for a few days. Job starts on Wednesday
Reward:
40,000 Jewels each
"Seems legit. The job starts tomorrow," said the salamander as he turned to Lucy.
"Legit? Why would someone need two wizards to tend a garden?" questioned the blonde.
"No idea. But a job's a job, right?"
"Yeah…you're right." She kept staring at the paper until she handed it back to Natsu and said, "Alright. Go ahead and take it back to the guild master to get the information and such."
After Natsu and Happy left, Lucy sat down at one of the tables and rested her hand against her cheek.
"Kill yourself."
Lucy bit her lip, forcing herself to push the bad thoughts out of her mind.
"Kill yourself."
The hand resting on her cheek covered her eyes as she squeezed them tightly.
"Kill yourself."
"Will you stop it already!" she cried.
"Lucy?"
Lucy jumped out of her seat and turned around to face Natsu. The people who were still in the guild looked over at her with a concerned expression. Happy was holding a little piece of paper with the information they needed on it.
The blonde's brown eyes looked at Natsu's black ones. They were full of worry.
"I…I'm so sorry…" she said quietly. "I'll be leaving now…I'll see you here tomorrow, okay?"
"Alright…"
Happy and Natsu watched Lucy as she grew farther and farther away.
When Lucy got home, she bolted the door. The voice in her head were driving her mad; telling her to do more bad things to herself. She brought out a razor, rolled her sleeve up, and held it against her upturned wrist as she cried, hoping the voices would stop if she did it one more time. But before she slid the razor against her smooth skin, arms wrapped around her.
"Lucy," whispered Loke, "don't do it. I could feel your pain all the way in the Spirit World. You are better than this, Lucy."
It didn't make her feel any better though.
"But I need to make the voice go away…before it makes me do something even more terrible…"
"What voices, Lucy?"
"The ones in my head!"
And just like that, she slid the cool metal against her wrist. Lucy dropped it and hissed from the pain. Another scar added to her addition.
"Dammit," murmured Loke as he stood up to grab a towel or whatever he could find that would cease the bleeding. He came back with a clean rag, knelt down, took Lucy's arm, and put pressure on the wound.
"I'm sorry, Loke," said Lucy sadly.
"Dammit, Lucy! Don't do this to yourself! Don't do this to your friends! Do they even know?"
The blonde looked down.
"So they don't?" continued Loke. "They're going to find out sooner or later, and when they do, they will be very disappointed."
"Shut up and go back to the Spirit World."
Loke looked at her in shock. She has never talked to him that way before. This wasn't the Lucy he knew and loved. Something was gravely wrong with her.
"Why are you acting like this?" asked Loke as he tried to hold back the tear that wanted to make itself known.
"The voices…"
"Lucy, tell me about the voices. What are they saying?"
"They say…they say…I need to kill myself because I have no purpose in life…"
Loke hugged her tightly. "They are wrong. You have purpose. Everyone at Fairy Tail loves you, Lucy…"
There must be something more to the voices that I don't understand… though Loke as he held the blonde close. I could probably find out more about it in the Spirit World…but I'm afraid of leaving her…Maybe I could tell Natsu…No. Natsu will make a really big fuss out of this. Come to think of it, everybody will…But maybe I could tell Makarov and tell Natsu that he should keep watch over Lucy and to make sure to not leave her out of his sight…
"Lucy, I'm going to leave now. I don't want to, but I'm going to find out more about these voices. They are not normal; especially when it's happening to you."
Lucy nodded slowly.
Loke cleaned her wound before leaving her. He was afraid that the next time he would see her, she would be on the floor. Lifeless.
His eyes watered at the thought.
"Makarov," said the spirit as he approached the guild master. They were thankfully alone.
"Loke? What are you doing here?"
"I…have something important to tell you…about Lucy…"
He told him about the voices in her head that made her harm herself. Makarov looked at him with shock.
"What are these voices?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to go back to the Spirit World to find out. I'll inform Natsu that he should watch over her at all times until I get the information. I won't tell him why, though, because…well…he makes such a big fuss about everything."
Makarov nodded. "You're a good guy, Loke. Alright. I'll also keep a close eye on her while she's here in the guild. Natsu is taking a job with her tomorrow, so I think it should be fine."
"Thank you."
Loke left to go hunt down the salamander, which wouldn't be that hard. The guild master said that he was out in town taking a walk to clear his head.
Not so long later, he found him sitting on the park bench with Happy by his side.
"Yo, Natsu!" said the spirit as he came towards the wizard with his hands in his pockets.
"Loke? Where's Lucy?" Natsu looked around.
"She's…back at her place. Listen, I'm sure you've noticed something very off about Lucy…so I need you to do me a favor. Please watch over her as much as you can. She's…not feeling well. I need to go back to my world to find out what's going on. Can you do that for me?"
"Yeah…but why's Lucy sick?"
Loke disappeared, avoiding the question.
"Damn lion," murmured the salamander.
Lucy was still in the same position she was when Loke left her. Feeling a little better, she got up and walked over to her bed. The voices have stopped, and she slept peacefully.
The next day, she hurried and got dressed into a cropped long sleeved blue shirt, white mini skirt, and grey boots. She made her way towards the guild where Natsu was waiting for her.
"Are you feeling better, Luce?" asked the concerned salamander.
"Yeah, thanks. Well, are we all set to go? Where's Happy?"
"We found out that the woman who put the job up is allergic to cats, so…he's with Erza and Gray on their mission."
"I see…Well, we better head off now so that we're not late."
The two followed the address on the small piece of paper until they came across a house that looked more like a fairy tale cottage. They looked at it curiously before Lucy hesitantly knocked on the door.
"Remember," started Lucy as she gave Natsu a sideways glance, "do not wreck anything. This is someone's home. Got that?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm not that reckless."
The blonde rolled her eyes before she heard the doorknob jiggle. A small elderly woman answered the door with a large, welcoming grin. "Are you two the youngsters who came to tend to my precious garden?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'm Lucy, and this is Natsu."
"Come in, come in! Are you two thirsty?"
The two walked in as the old woman shut the wooden door behind them.
"It's alright," replied Lucy as she looked around the room. Plenty of knick-knacks aligned the walls and bore holes into the mage's head. She gulped, worried the old woman would eat her or something.
"Alrighty then," said the woman as she walked past them. "My name is Beth. I will show you to my garden now." The Fairy Tail wizards followed her. "I'll be leaving in a few minutes. Make sure to water each one thoroughly every day, since they drink lots of water. I have plenty of steak stocked in the freezer in the shed when you really need it."
"Oh boy!" exclaimed Natsu as his mouth watered at the thought of food.
"Not for you!" snapped Beth.
"Then who…" started Lucy, but stopped when Beth opened the door to the garden. The plants were overgrown…and very much alive. They had wide mouths with pointy teeth sticking out in every direction, and a snake-like tongue that flicked towards the three humans.
"Oh! My precious little babies! I'm going to miss you too!" cried Beth as she hugged the large head of a plant that was red with white and purple dots. "Be good! These two are going to take care of you while I'm gone, so don't eat them, okay?"
It didn't seem like they were listening. They hissed at the two wizards who stood there, white as a clean sheet of paper.
"Good luck, you two," said the old woman as she went inside, leaving Natsu and Lucy to take care of the monster plants.
When they heard the front door close Lucy asked, "Ne, Natsu…what have we gotten ourselves into…?"
"This…this should have been an S class mission…"
They stared at the plants wiggling around. If the plants had legs, they'd be dead by now.
"I'm…going to get the hose…" said Lucy as she slowly walked away, never once breaking eye contact with the plants who hissed loudly.
"I think I'm going to go get the steak!" called Natsu as he slowly made his way towards the shed. Unfortunately, there was a plant blocking it. It opened its wide mouth and closed it in a chomping motion towards Natsu who gulped loudly. "Okay," he said to himself, "I am not going to be beaten by a plant…but I can't destroy it or that old lady will kill me…" He scratched his head in frustration.
"Natsu!" called Lucy. "What's taking you so long?"
Lucy! he thought as a grin formed on his face. Lucy can summon Virgo so she could drill a hole for me!
"Hey, Luce!" called Natsu, "summon Virgo for me, will yah?"
"Eh? Why?"
"Just do it!"
After Virgo appeared, Natsu asked her to drill the hole, which the pink haired maid agreed to do. About a few second after she went underground, she came back up and apologized. "I'm sorry," she started, "but there are too many roots in the way. I can't get past it. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Natsu sighed heavily. "No, but thanks anyways." After Virgo disappeared he thought, I guess my only option here is to run past it…
"Natsu!" whined Lucy as she stood there by herself holding the hose.
The salamander charged towards the plant and then jumped. He was just above it when the plant surprised him by stretching. It tried to bite Natsu, but missed by about an inch. The fire user landed right by the door to the shed which he barged through in order to avoid those sharp teeth. He opened the freezer and peered inside. Steaks galore. He took out an arm full, used his fire power to heat one up, and then threw it at the plant that was in front of the shed. While it was distracted with the steak, Natsu sneaked past it.
"Sorry," said the salamander once he reached Lucy, "but if you didn't notice, there was a man eating plant right outside the shed!"
"All right, all right! Calm down, Natsu! Just-heat up the steaks already and turn on the water for me, will you?"
Natsu sighed. He set the pile of meat down and heated them all up at the same time, and then he walked to the side of the house where he turned the water on for Lucy.
"All right, plants," started the blonde as she narrowed her brown eyes. "Time to get watered."
The plants hissed and snapped at her.
Lucy aimed the hose at one. It gurgled as its head bobbed back from the pressure of the water. After her fun, the mage aimed the hose at the soil. When she finished with all the plants she could reach at a safe distance, Lucy ordered Natsu to distract the plants with the meat while she watered the rest.
Natsu tossed the steaks to the plants by Lucy as she walked forwards and watered the others.
After they finished, they laid back to back on the back porch breathing heavily.
"I'm done…" panted Lucy. She looked over at the plants who were still hissing at them. "I'll go home now, Natsu."
"I'll come with you!"
"Natsu…I'd like a shower. I smell like soil and sweat."
"How about we get some lunch first?"
"What's gotten into you?" Lucy stood up and patted the dirt off her skirt. Natsu followed her when she walked inside.
"Kill yourself"
Not again! Thought Lucy as she bit her lip. Please, not now! Not with Natsu right next to me!
"Come on!" said Natsu with a grin as he swung his arm around Lucy's shoulders. "I'll just sit on your bed and wait for you, okay? I won't do anything!"
The blonde blushed at the close contact then said, "F-Fine! As long as you sit on my bed and do nothing, got it?"
The fire user nodded happily.
Lucy locked the door with the key Beth gave her. She led Natsu to her place. "So what kind of job is Erza and Gray on?"
"I'm not sure but…I think it has something to do with killing a giant or something."
"Sounds a lot better than feeding giant man eating plants."
Lucy unlocked her door and went inside with Natsu on her tail. He shut the door behind him.
"Alright. Sit on my bed and don't do anything," reminded Lucy as she searched for a different shirt.
The salamander replied by hopping on her bed with a smile. He watched as Lucy disappeared in the bathroom. When he heard the shower turn on, the laid down and closed his eyes.
Lucy had her back to the warm water as she rubbed her arms. The voices were coming back, and they kept saying bad things about her. The one that hit her the most was when the voices said that her parents never loved her. She covered her mouth to keep from sobbing since Natsu had good hearing. The blonde sat down and wrapped her arms around her legs as she cried silently, begging the voices to stop.
After a while, she finished up and turned the water off.
Natsu sat up when he heard Lucy come out of the bathroom. She was wearing the same clothes, but with a different shirt.
"What took you so long?" asked Natsu.
"I wasn't in there that long, was I?" Lucy looked around the room. "You didn't touch anything, did you?"
"I was on your bed the whole time. Want to go to the guild to get something to eat?"
"Fine. Just let me comb my hair first."
Natsu watched as the blonde sat on the bed and combed her hair. After a while he asked, "Can I try?"
Lucy's face burst into heat. "Wh-what?"
The salamander took the comb from her and started pulling on her hair roughly. When Lucy hissed at the pain, Natsu went through her locks more gently.
They were silent for a long time. Natsu was concentrating hard while Lucy blushed. When the fire user finished, he smiled and asked, "Ne, how did I do? I did pretty well, didn't I?"
"Y-Yeah! Thanks, Natsu!"
"We can finally go to the guild now!" he grabbed her arm and sprinted out.
The following days went by quickly. Natsu would somehow make his way into Lucy's home and wake her up to go to Beth's. There, they fed and watered the plants like they did the first time, and then eat lunch at the guild. A couple days before Fairy Tail Land would open, Beth finally came home after Natsu and Lucy finished their job.
"You weren't too rough on my babies, were you?" she asked in a low voice as she glared at the two.
"N-No!" responded Lucy, "we were very gentle with them!"
Beth gave them their reward money and then ran outside to greet her plants.
"What a crazy old lady…" mumbled Natsu as he folded his arms. He looked at his companion and said, "we better get out of here."
Lucy put the house key on top of the kitchen table and walked out of the house with Natsu. "I'm going to go buy my costume now," she said with a smile.
"I'll come with you!"
Lucy slapped the back of his head and said, "No! I can't let you know what my costume is going to be! Go buy your costume or something!"
"…Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself, Luce?" asked the salamander worriedly.
"Of course I will! Why have you been so…apprehensive about me lately?"
"Because you're my nakama."
Lucy sighed. "I'll be fine, Natsu. I'll see you tomorrow at the guild or something." Then she left. The blonde searched for the perfect dress for hours with an empty stomach, but found nothing. After eating dinner at a café, Lucy was about to give up when she found a small store that sold dresses. She went inside. It was cold and quiet; the only sound was coming from the muffled voices outside.
"Hello?" she called. It was very dim. "H-Hello?"
"Who is there?" called a familiar voice. Beth came into view.
"B-Beth? What are you doing here?"
"Lucy! How lovely to see you again! I run this place, you see, but I don't get many costumers since my dresses are expensive. Did you come to buy a dress?"
"Yes, actually. Fairy Tail Land will be opened in a couple days, and I was assigned to be a princess. And of course, I have to buy my own costume, so that's why I took your job."
"I see…I think I have the perfect dress for you…Follow me!"
The old woman led Lucy to the back where only employees were allowed, but it seemed that the only employee was just Beth.
"I keep this dress hidden because I believe that there is only one person who is worthy enough of it," said Beth as she opened a door. On a female mannequin was a beautiful fuchsia colored dress with many ruffled layers. Luckily for Lucy, it was long sleeved.
"Sold!" exclaimed Lucy with a gleam as she felt the soft fabric.
After paying the old woman asked, "Shall I send it to your home? I can send it there right now with my magic."
"You're a wizard too?"
"Unfortunately my powers don't go beyond sending things places. I can't even send people."
"Were you ever in a guild?"
"No. I never thought I would like it. So, would you like me to send the dress or not?"
"Yes please!"
Lucy gave her address and watched as her dress disappeared. She silently hoped that Natsu wasn't there waiting for her or something. "Thank you, Beth. I really appreciate it."
"Tell your friends about my store!" called Beth once Lucy was out the door.
Halfway to her home, the blonde bumped into Natsu and Happy. "There you are!" he said, out of breath. "I looked all over Magnolia for you!"
"Hey, Lucy!" said Happy.
"How was the mission, Happy?" asked Lucy, ignoring Natsu.
"It was really fun! Erza is really amazing! Anyways, Natsu said you were going to buy your costume!"
"Yeah, I bought it already. It's back at my place." Lucy turned to Natsu who was pouting. "Why were you looking for me?" She could have sworn she saw his cheeks warm up a bit.
"Well…I just wanted to make sure you were okay and stuff…"
"Jeez, Natsu! I can handle myself!"
With a roll of his tongue Happy said, "He liiikes you!"
"H-Happy!" exclaimed Lucy with a blush.
"We'll take you home!" said Natsu with a smile.
Shaking her head, the blonde agreed and followed Natsu and Happy back to her place. When they reached the front door Lucy said, "Natsu, I can't have you go in since my dr-costume is in there and I haven't put it away yet. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Alright, Luce…" said the salamander tentatively. He watched as Lucy disappeared inside.
"You liiike her," exclaimed Happy. When Natsu didn't say anything the cat asked, "Do you seriously like her?"
"Of course! She's my nakama!"
"I mean…do you love her!"
Natsu blushed scarlet.
Lucy's dress was sitting perfectly on her bed. Afraid that Natsu might show up at random once again, she put it in her closet, changed into her night clothes, and then bolted the windows.
The voices started again, and this time, they didn't hold back. There were so many different voices that she felt like her head was about to explode. They were all telling her the same thing. "Kill yourself"
Lucy cried out in pain. She cut her wrist, but the voices didn't stop like the times before. She sat on the floor with a rag on her cut, crying her heart out.
"What's wrong with me?" she cried, "why must I think of all these bad things?"
It was a long night for her. Early in the morning, the voices started to die down, so Lucy slowly, and literally, crawled into bed and sobbed.
She couldn't even get up that morning. All her limbs felt heavy, as did her eyelids.
"Natsu…" she whispered before falling back to sleep.
"Lucy sure is taking her sweet time," said Happy as he stared at the entrance of the guild with Natsu.
"Yeah…we should probably check up on her…"
"This is for yesterday!" came a cry form Gray before he kicked Natsu to the floor. The ice user smirked when the salamander didn't get up and attack right away. "What's wrong?" asked Gray, "Too tired to fight me?"
"Gray…" whispered Happy who looked at the two rivals back and forth worriedly.
"Don't fuck with me today," growled Natsu who pounded his fist into the wooden floor and got up.
Gray was taken aback. "What's the matter?" he asked sincerely.
"Nothing. I've got to go." Then the fire user ran out as Happy stayed behind with Gray who looked confused.
"Lucy! Open up, will ya?" yelled Natsu as he pounded on Lucy's front door. He went over to her window and tried to look inside, but the curtains blocked his view. "Dammit, Luce! I know you're in there!" He tried opening the window, but it was locked. He didn't want to break it open since Lucy was probably sleeping right by it. With a grunt, Natsu went back to the door and was about to kick it open when he was pushed out of the way.
"Leave this to me, Natsu," said Makarov.
"What are you doing here?"
"Go back to the guild," said the old man strictly.
"Not before you tell me what's going on with Lucy! Loke told me she was sick!"
"Natsu," said the guild master with a sigh, "please go back to the guild. It's not in my position to tell you. You'll be of more help if you leave now."
They both stayed silent as they stared at each other; neither one moving an inch.
Finally, Natsu wordlessly left.
Makarov had a key to Lucy's apartment which he acquired from the land lord who was a close friend of his. After entering Lucy's home, he walked up to the bed where she laid. "Lucy," he said. When she did nothing, the old man started shaking her softly.
The blonde's eyes slowly opened. It took her a while to realize who she was staring at. When she finally processed that the Fairy Tail guild master was standing in her bedroom, staring at her, her eyes widened. "M-M-M-Makarov? Why are you in my room?"
"I obtained a key from your land owner. Why are you still in bed, Lucy?"
Said mage looked down at her comforter. She didn't know what to say to him.
"It's alright," started the old man as he sat down on the bed, "Loke told me what happened. But don't worry; I'm the only one he has told, which was a wise choice."
Lucy nodded. "I'm glad that Loke told you…Makarov…I don't know what's going on! On a normal day I wouldn't even think about harming myself! I never dwell in the past! But…something is very wrong with me…and the only way I can shut the voices off is by doing the things I have been doing…and if I don't…Well, if I don't, I feel like my brain will explode at any given moment. The voices get louder each time…"
"It will be over soon, Lucy. Loke is investigating as we speak. In the meantime, I'll send you to stay at my friend's place until Loke figures out what's wrong. You already know her. Beth, the woman whom you took a job for."
Lucy nodded her head. "I understand. I'll get ready to leave right away."
"You can also forget about the opening of Fairy Tail Land tomorrow. You're in no condition to attend that."
"But I want to go to that!" whined Lucy like a child. "I want to dress up as a princess and make people happy! I also want to ride on the rides!"
Makarov held back a laugh. "Alright, Luce. Whatever makes you happy."
"So how is Luce?" asked Natsu once the guild master returned
"What's wrong with Lucy?" questioned Erza. She, along with Mira and Levy came over.
"Is she sick?" asked Levy worriedly.
"Lucy will be fine," said the old man. "She's going to stay at my friend's home for a while until she gets better, but you'll see her tomorrow."
"That's a relief," said Mirajane with a smile.
"Is everything alright?" questioned Gray as he came over with Happy.
"Apparently, Lucy has been sick," said Erza.
The day went on normally in the guild, except for the part where Natsu kept sulking. His friends would try to cheer him up, but they only managed a fake smile from him.
"She'll get better, Natsu," said Cana as she set her barrel next to him at the bar. "She's only sick, right? Cheer up! Have a drink with me!"
"I know she's sick but…I can't help but feel something else it wrong…"
"Natsu," said Cana with a wiggle of her eyebrow, "are you…in looove with Lucy? Hm? Hm?
The salamander turned bright red. Cana, drunk, gasped in joy. "Do my eyes deceive me? Or is Natsu actually not as dense as they come?"
"Shut up," growled Natsu who turned away in embarrassment.
At Beth's, the two women were in the kitchen making dinner. Steak.
"I would have chosen something else," said the old woman, "but since I've come back, I've been too busy to buy any other food, so we just have to deal with this."
As Lucy was preparing the vegetables she asked, "So how to you know Makarov?" The young blonde could have sworn she saw a blush appear on Beth's face.
"Well…we…dated a bit when we were young. He was…he was so handsome…He actually saved my life when we first met. I was kidnapped by a crazy man…but before he could kill me…Makarov came…But that was a long time ago. Things have changed, and I am completely over him."
Lucy smiled widely. "I never knew that!"
"Hey now, don't forget to stir!"
After dinner, Lucy took a long hot bath. Before she finished, the lights suddenly turned off.
"B…Beth? Is that you?"
She noticed a dark figure cross the room and then disappear. The last thing she heard was the figure saying, "Kill yourself."
Lucy's eyes went blank as she laid in the tub full of water, drowning herself. Her body felt heavy. Her throat tightened up and panicked, but couldn't do anything. She felt frozen.
The lights turned on and Beth ran towards the tub. She grabbed Lucy and brought her up. The mage gasped for air and then coughed.
"Lucy! What happened? Who was in here?"
When Lucy got her breath back she replied, "I…I don't know…"
Beth looked around the room once more before assisting Lucy out of the water. When the blonde was dressed for bed, Beth brought out a miniature version of her man eating plants outside, but in a small pot. "It will scream when an intruder is around," Beth explained as she set the plant on top of the dresser. "Do you need anything else?"
"I'm good, thank you."
After many uncomfortable hours, Lucy was finally able to sleep.
"Wake up, Lucy. You need to get dressed for that damn park today," said Beth as she shook the girl awake. When her eyes finally opened the old woman asked, "are you feeling any better?"
Lucy nodded.
"So I'm guessing you'll be changing over there?"
"Yeah. Do I take my dress in a bag?"
"I could just send it there."
"But what about everyone there? Won't they think that it's a bit strange that a dress just popped in from nowhere? Sure, they'll see me in it eventually, but still!"
"Don't worry. I can guarantee that no one will see it."
After getting changed, Lucy said goodbye to Beth and headed out. It was still early in the morning, and it would be a couple hours until the amusement park opened. The blonde found Gray, Happy and Erza at the entrance.
"Lucy!" called the cat as he waved a paw towards her.
"Where's Natsu?" she asked as she looked around.
"The fire brain forgot to buy his costume, so he's doing it now," said Gray as he crossed his arms. "We were waiting for you."
"Thanks for waiting for me, guys. I'm feeling a lot better than I did yesterday. We should probably head in now and get ready."
Erza and Lucy separated from Gray and Happy to get dressed. In the dressing room, Mirajane and Cana were already there, talking.
"Well, if it isn't Titania and Lucy," said the drunk woman.
"Cana, you're drunk already? You can't let kids see you like that!" cried Lucy.
"But they won't! I'll just be here, keeping a watch on…on the dressing room!"
The blonde looked around the room, trying to find her dress. She looked all over the place, earning a questioning look from the three women. Finally, she opened up a closet door to reveal her dress hanging there. There was also a tiara on a shelf. Lucy smiled and took the two items and showed it to her friends.
"Wooow, Luce!" exclaimed Cana. "Where did you find such a pretty dress?"
"My friend Beth owns a store by the fancy café. It's not very known since her stuff is really expensive. You guys should check it out!"
"So are you a princess?" asked Erza.
"Yeah. That reminds me…Erza, what are you?"
Titania blushed. She reequipped into a cat costume. A really sexy cat costume. "I-It's so revealing…Makarov said that I have to stand in front of the park to attract more customers…and meow and stuff…"
"I think it looks hot!" cried Cana. Mira nodded her head in agreement.
The girls helped Lucy get dressed.
After a long hour of girl talk and makeup, Cana leaned into Lucy's ear and whispered, "I can't wait to see Natsu blush when he sees you in this."
"C-Cana? He wouldn't!"
"Are you sure about that?" questioned Mirajane with a wide smile.
"Natsu has been acting differently around you recently," said Erza as she played with her red cat ears.
Before Lucy could respond, the rest of the girls who were getting dressed piled in. They talked and gossiped about the boys, and the celestial mage made sure that they avoided the Natsu topic. Finally, they were all set to go. Juvia was dressed up as a cute panda for the merry-go-round, and Levy was dressed up as vampires for the haunted house. Lucy was assigned to stand in front of the fairy tale castle.
The blonde was loving her job. Kids would stand in line to take pictures with her, and sometimes even the adults would too.
"I want to grow up to be a princess too!" exclaimed a little girl as she gave Lucy a bright smile. "I want to marry a prince and everything!"
"But you're already a princess!" replied Lucy as she placed a small tiara on the girl. "And your prince will come soon. Just wait for him."
"Have you found your prince yet?"
Lucy hesitated. She blushed when the first thing that came to mind was Natsu. "I…I'm still waiting."
"But you're so pretty! How do you not have a prince yet?"
"I-I don't know."
The young girl was called by her mother. She hugged Lucy and then skipped off.
Hours passed. Finally, a woman in a dress less extravagant than Lucy's came up towards the blonde. "It's my shift now. Go and have some fun, Luce, you deserve it."
The celestial mage went back to the dressing room where a passed out Cana was at. After changing, she left to go find the others. She didn't want to bother Erza since she probably had the busiest, and most embarrassing, job.
She bumped into someone dressed up like a fire dragon.
"N-Natsu?" questioned Lucy.
Gray took off the head of his costume and said, "Nope. It's just little old me, in this stupid costume."
Lucy couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey! Shut up!"
"Well, at least Natsu isn't here to see this. He would tease you about this until you two grew old!"
Gray looked around and then put the dragon head back on. "Don't tell anyone about this, okay? My reputation would be ruined!"
"Yeah, yeah. By the way, do you know where Natsu is?"
"Nope. If I did, I would be opposite from where he'd be at."
Lucy kept walking, trying to find her friends. She stopped when she saw Happy operating a water ride. "Happy! How are you?"
"I'm good…but I would have preferred to dress up. Do you want a ride, Luce? It's fun!"
Lucy looked at the ride that looked more like a roller coaster, except everyone got wet. "I don't know…looks a little scary…"
"You'll be fine! It won't hurt to try it!"
After a few moments of thought, Lucy finally agreed to go on the ride. She screamed in terror, but the water would blast into her mouth, causing her to gurgle instead. People sitting by her gave her questioning looks. Lucy's mascara ran down her face.
"….Luce…Your face…" said Happy once Lucy approached him.
"Try the ride, he said. It will be fun, he said."
Happy laughed. "Sorry, Luce! I didn't know it would turn out like this!" The cat handed the blonde something to wipe her face with. "Have you seen Natsu?"
"I haven't. Do you know what costume he's in though?"
"He came in very late, so no one had a chance to see him."
Lucy sighed heavily. "Alright. I'll just go and find something to eat, I guess."
"See you, Lucy! My shift ends in an hour!"
It was getting really hot, and Lucy found no sign of food or water anywhere. She started sweating, so she rolled up her sleeves, hoping no one would notice her wrists. Where she was at, there was no one around, but there was someone in a Wonder Woof costume.
Wonder Woof: a blue dog in a green cape who would go around saving people in distress. Lucy read picture books of him when she was a kid, and used to adore him.
Lucy smiled widely and her eyes lit up like a child's. "Wonder Woof!" she cried as she ran over to the dog, waving at him. When she reached him she said, "You're my hero!"
The dog took Lucy's arm and turned it so that her scars were visible. After a few moments of silence he said in a high voice, "You must have battle many evil-doers to obtain these scars! No, you're my hero!" He embraced Lucy, stunning her. In a whisper and in his normal voice he said, "You're beautiful. Please stop. I don't know what I'd do if I lose you, Lucy. You're more than just my nakama. We'll work it out together, so please stop…"
"N…Natsu…?" Lucy started crying as she hugged onto Natsu tighter. "I didn't want to tell you before since I thought you would make a big fuss about this…but it isn't me! I would never do something like this intentionally, since I have Fairy Tale! I have you!"
"Then why?"
Before Lucy could respond, Loke appeared saying, "I know what's wrong!"
Lucy and Natsu pulled away. "What do you mean?" asked the salamander.
Loke gave raised an eyebrow in his direction, and then looked at Lucy. "There is a wizard stalking you, and has been since your last mission. His power make people go crazy and kill themselves eventually. I wouldn't be surprised if he's here right now. We have to put an end to this, Lucy."
Natsu, angry underneath all the blue fur, growled then said, "Where is he? I will make his pay for doing all the things he did to Lucy!" Natsu took off the dog head and sniffed the air, trying to find someone with a mysterious scent. After a moment, he tore out of his costume and said, "I found him. Lucy, stay here. Loke and I will take care of it."
The celestial mage grabbed his arm. "Like hell you will. I'm the one he's been torturing for so long, so I have a right to go."
Natsu gave her a grin.
Loke and Lucy followed Natsu for a while until they came across the far end of the amusement park. There was a figure standing in the shade with a hooded coat. "So you came," said the deep voice as he removed his hood. He had a tall, slender body, white hair, and bright blue eyes. He grinned evilly towards Lucy and asked, "How are those scars you gave yourself? I'm actually quite impressed. You're the only one of my victims that has held on this long."
"Why Lucy?" cried Natsu as he surrounded his balled fists with flame.
"Because she's the weakest link of Fairy Tail. I was actually doing you a favor."
"Lucy is not the weakest link!" screamed Natsu. Loke growled and glared at the enemy as Lucy stood rooted on the spot with a stoic expression. "Lucy is probably one of the strongest links in the guild! She makes every day happy, and she's strong!"
"I can see why she didn't give up on life so easily," said the mysterious man. "She has you and you overoptimistic personality to thank. But no matter; I must finish what I started. And you will remember the name: Cyan."
"And you will remember the name Natsu, salamander of Fairy Tail!"
Natsu and Cyan proceeded into hand-to-hand combat. Loke joined in a moment later and Lucy stayed still.
"I will never forgive you for what you did to Lucy!" yelled Natsu as he attempted to punch Cyan in the face, which he easily dodged. Cyan smirked.
Lucy brought out her whip. "Natsu, Loke, this is my battle. I will fight on my own."
The three men stopped fighting to look at the blonde. Natsu stared at her wide-eyed. "Lucy…but we-"
"Not another word, Natsu. Just step aside. You too, Loke."
"Are you two just afraid for her since she's the weakest link?" questioned Cyan.
The salamander ignored him. "Are you sure about this, Luce?"
The celestial mage nodded.
"We'll come to your rescue whenever you need it…okay?"
"Alright, Natsu. Thank you."
Natsu and Loke hesitantly stepped out of the way. Lucy snapped her whip as Cyan laughed. "Oooh, I'm so scared!
"Good. You should be." Lucy snapped her whip towards her enemy who dodged it effortlessly. They repeated the same thing over and over again. Whip, dodge, repeat.
But then finally, Cyan had enough. "I'm done with this child's play."
Lucy dropped to the ground and clutched her head as the voices were much too overwhelming for her. They were screaming at her, demanding for her to kill herself.
"Lucy!" cried Natsu worriedly. Loke grabbed onto his arm and shook his head which earned him a growl in return.
Lucy, to Cyan's surprise, slowly got up. A snarl was on her face. "Think you can get to me that easily?" In a blink of an eye, Lucy's whip was around Cyan's neck. The celestial mage pulled him down as he struggled to breath. The voices stopped.
"Alright, alright!" the wizard choked out. "You win! I'll stop following you!"
Lucy looked over at Natsu. The salamander walked up to the fallen enemy and said in a deep, threatening voice, "Do anything to Lucy or my friends again, and I swear, you won't get by with all of your bones intact."
"Alright…alright! I can't breathe!"
Lucy took her whip back and placed in back on her hip. "Leave," she growled. Cyan stumbled up and ran away, putting his hood up in the process.
Natsu went up to Lucy and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll be leaving now, Lucy," said Loke as he vanished.
"How are you feeling?" asked the salamander.
"A lot better. The voices are gone, but what am I going to do about…" she looked at the scars on her wrist. "I'm sorry I did this…"
"Luce…you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry for not doing something about this earlier. I knew something was wrong but…I didn't want to accept it…"
Lucy turned around so that their eyes met. Brown to black. The blonde blushed when she realized what was happening, and then took a couple steps away from Natsu. "I-I'm sorry!" she cried.
Natsu responded by kissing her. It was a very light kiss, but it sent shivers up Lucy's spine. After pulling away, the salamander looked down in embarrassment.
"Sorry," he mumbled, "I'm new to all of this…"
"Natsu…look at me…"
When he did, Lucy locked her lips with his and they wrapped their arms around each other.
"Oh my…"
"When did they…"
"…He really isn't as dense as they come…"
"They looove each other!"
Natsu and Lucy quickly pulled away to see Juvia, Gray, Erza, and Happy staring right at them. The couple blushed and scratched the back of their heads while giving them a nervous laugh.
Lucy explained to them what happened from the beginning when she started hearing the voices. They were all shocked at first, and then enraged when they learned that someone was behind all this.
"It's alright now," said the blonde as she held Natsu's hand. "He won't come back."
A few weeks later, Lucy went home early to work on her novel. Natsu sat at the bar, thinking.
"Why are you looking gloomy, Natsu?" questioned a sober Cana. "You should be happy since you and Luce are finally together."
"I know, but…there are plenty of things that I don't know about this…romance stuff. I don't want her to get bored of me if I only treat her like everyone else. I don't know what to do!" he sighed heavily.
A mischievous smile appeared on Cana's face. She started whispering in Natsu's ear. His face heated up.
Lucy was writing away. She had plenty of ideas in mind. A knock on the door broke her trance, making her grunt in frustration. "I was just getting to an exciting part," she said underneath her breath as she got up. When she opened the door, there stood Natsu with a bouquet of roses in front of him, and his face matching the color of the red flowers.
"Th-these are for you!" he stammered as he handed the bouquet to Lucy.
She took it with a large grin. "Thank you, Natsu! And you actually knocked on the door gently for once! Want to come in?"
"Y-yeah."
"What's wrong?"
Lucy stepped aside to give Natsu entry. After closing the door, Lucy sat on her bed as the salamander stood in the center of the room, looking around nervously. "Natsu?"
"Damn that Cana," he mumbled.
"Cana?"
In a blink of an eye, Natsu was on top of Lucy. The blonde looked at him in surprise. "Ne…Natsu…what are you-"
He silenced her with his lips. It was passionate this time. Lucy took a while to recover, but eventually got in the mood and responded to him. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
After a long moment of kissing, Natsu hesitantly proceeded to removing Lucy's shirt. He stopped suddenly so that he could look at Lucy for permission.
Lucy laughed. "I never would have thought that you knew how to do this kind of stuff, Natsu."
The fire user blushed deeply. "Cana gave me some advice…But Luce…are you sure you want this? With…with me? I don't want you to regret this later…"
"Natsu…I want this as badly as you do…I won't regret it. I promise."
Natsu smiled and then continued where he left off.
The next morning, Natsu turned over on the bed so he could face the still sleeping Lucy. He moved a strand of hair away from her face and then looked over at her scarred wrist. He gently touched it, and hoped that it would soon fade away to nothing.
Lucy's brown eyes fluttered open, and she looked at Natsu's fingers that were gently brushing her wrist.
"I'll never forgive him," he said. He looked into Lucy's eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Natsu. I feel…amazing."
"I love you, Luce."
The blonde silently gasped. She wanted to hear those words from a guy all her life; Natsu was the prince that she's been waiting for.
"I love you too, Natsu."
Fin
Aaww yyeaah. I just had to end it with some sexy time. I couldn't help myself. Anyways, what I read off the interweb was about this girl who went to Disneyland to see Peter Pan, but he saw her self harmed scars and told her she was beautiful and such. I cried when I read it. It was a lot more detailed than what I just typed but you get the point.
I entered a fanfic contest on a website called Figment. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to do this but...I didn't want to post what I wrote here on fanfiction (I did a NaLu thing) because all entries have to be 750 words or less. I don't know about you, but I can't put up a story on this site that is that short. I just can't. If you could take a little time out of your lives to find it (Title: warming you up), I would be super happy if you would read and heart it (You know...only if you thought it was heart worthy).
(I tried to read the guidelines to see if what I just did was really wrong, but I pretty much just skimmed over it...so if you know for sure this is wrong, please tell me right away and I'll gladly take this part down.)
Anywho, I hope you liked this story. I felt a little uncomfortable writing about Lucy slitting her wrist (since... well...It's Lucy!), but it works since it wasn't really her...Please review! Like other writers, I get excited and happy when I get a review! Plus, it makes me pumped to make another fanfic!. :D Thanks for reading!