Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
"I had been living in the past all these years. I thought nothing would have changed. I was only foolish, thinking a stupid promise as children would actually come true."
At their high school graduation, you would have expected everyone to be happy. It was the last time they would be together before they moved on to their separate ways so there was a sense of sadness, but because of that they all had fun to the fullest, making some last minute memories. However, there was one who couldn't have fun no matter how hard she tried. Lisanna walked around blindly through the crowd of her drunk classmates and sat at the deserted corner near the food cart. If anything, she was scared. Immense fear that she would lose touch with the people she learned to adore over the past few years, and graduate without confessing to her childhood love...
She scanned the dance floor to find Natsu laughing around with Gray and Erza. It was a rare night where they actually got along because they knew that it was the last time they would feel this freedom. Lisanna coughed as she caught herself staring at him. It was weird; how she was attracted to that goofy smile of his. Maybe it was because his smile was the one thing that never changed from the past, because everything else did.
They've been friends since kindergarten; her, Natsu, Gray, and Erza, along with Cana. Their class grew over the years but they were the original bunch. To see them all grow up now was still unbelievable; how time has passed. It was like it was just yesterday where they spent their recess time in the sandbox, Gray bickering with Erza about building the biggest castle, Cana nonchalantly sitting in her corner, while Natsu sat next to Lisanna, making a house with her. They spent most of their time together, if he wasn't busy arguing with Gray and Erza. Back then, she didn't understand why he was called a troublemaker. When he was with her, he was still his talkative self, though there was one time that Lisanna would never forget, where his usual flamboyant self felt helpless, over such a small thing.
It was a rainy day when she found Natsu at the school playground hovering over the sand castle. It was Gray's birthday party if she recalled correctly. The were in the middle of playing hide and seek when Lisanna noticed he was gone. She went outside in the sad weather and spotted him. She asked what he was doing in the rain without an umbrella and she found him crying over their sand house that they built the other day. She grabbed his arm and brought him underneath the playground where it was nice and dry.
"It's alright Natsu, we can make another one when it stops raining," she remembered comforting him. He wouldn't stop sobbing for the longest time which really amused Lisanna. That was the first time she seen this side to him and she couldn't help but feel protective. After he dried his tears, she commented on how he and her older sister were alike, totally care-free on the outside but in reality very timid. She then mentioned to him about becoming his bride in the future, seeing how she always played the mom whenever they played house with their sand house, and he was always the dad. He was flustered but managed to mumble a maybe. She spent the rest of the day cheering and bothering him, that he promised but then suddenly he went all serious.
"Lisanna, please...just don't leave me," he whimpered. Although she was young, Lisanna was aware of the fact that Natsu's foster dad had left him and he had a hard time trusting people. She agreed she would stay, though back then, it seemed like anything could happen. In third grade Lisanna left the school to go with her dad and study abroad, breaking her promise. She returned in grade 10 to see the same grown people but with additional faces. The entire time she was out of the country she foolishly thought nothing had changed between her and her friends. When she returned, she expected everyone to be the same, and although that was true, Natsu had...
"Lisanna!" she heard her voice being called. Looking up, she saw Lucy motioning her to come over. Lisanna couldn't help but smile and stare at her stunning friend. Lucy was one of the new kids they befriended while she was away and she ended up becoming good friends with her, though it was hard not to befriend someone as bubbly and gorgeous as her. She stood up but her smile faded as she saw Natsu approach her from behind. He poked at Lucy's waist which caused her to jump and she shrieked, playfully punching him as they both laughed out loud. Natsu waved at Lisanna and told her to come over and she stupidly walked over to them with another one of her fake smiles.
"What were you doing in the corner?" Natsu yelled in her ear over the music. She shrugged in reply and stumbled when Lucy put her arm around her.
"Let's dance!" she exclaimed.
Lisanna couldn't help but say, "Lucy, please, you know you can't dance." Natsu high-fived her and laughed some more. She didn't know when she started liking him but she accepted it while she was overseas. She had planned on confessing to him when she got back but unfortunately, it seemed like he found someone else. He grinned at her but there was something about it that felt different to what it was when they were kids.
"That's not nice! I so can dance!" yelled Lucy in embarrassment. Natsu chuckled and Lisanna noticed how familiar that smile was, however, it wasn't directed to her.
"If only your eyes looked at me the way I looked at you."