A Good Friend
AU. NaLu. One-sided NaLi. Friendship!LuLi

What does it mean to be a good friend?

Disclaimer: The owner of Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima. I am Charlotte. That means, I am not Hiro Mashima and that I don't own FT.

Lisanna's heart raced like a wild horse when she caught his dark, onyx-eyed gaze. The way his pink locks were spiked up and how his cheerful grin seemed to brighten every time was strangely...alluring to her. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that she was crushing on that boy she was too nervous to talk to.

Natsu Dragneel.

He had transferred to Fairy Academy a week ago and already he had squeezed himself right in, befriending nearly everyone. It was hard not to like him - he was just so friendly and outgoing, plus his heartwarming smile was extremely contagious. Natsu was so easy-going and was titled as the class clown as he could have everyone in the form in peals of laughter with his childish antics.

Lisanna felt a sharp nudge in her ribs and she tore her gaze away to see the questioning look in her best friend's chocolate-coloured eyes.

"What are you staring at, Lis?" Lucy Heartfilia, the beautiful, blonde sweetheart of Fairy Academy was Lisanna's best friend. The two had grown up together and had a very close bond, a bond that could be considered sister-like. Both strived to ensure each other's happiness and you would never see one without the other. Lisanna felt the heat rise to her cheeks and she cast her eyes down at her lap as she tried to hide her face, knowing from first-hand knowledge that her blushes were very noticeable due to her fair complexion which she inherited from her mother.

"O-oh nothing." Lisanna lied, with an uncomfortable feeling in her gut. The silverette hated lying to Lucy but she knew the blonde wouldn't approve if she told her the truth - Lucy hadn't warmed up to the new addition of the academy straight away like everyone else and often commented on his 'reckless' and 'ridiculous' behaviour. The volume of the dining room increased as a fight broke out, people shouting and cheering. In the middle of the crowd, there were flashes of pink and black as Natsu and Gray Fullbuster got into the tenth fist-fight of the day. Lisanna heard Lucy sigh beside her as she closed her lunch box and shoved it into her school bag.

"They're so stupid. Each time they always forget the consequences don't they?" Just as Lucy had said that the doors slammed upon and a heavy silence settled over the hall as the Student Council President marched in, Erza Scarlet, her demonic and fiery aura created a straight path towards the two boys that had only just realised the pitying glances they were receiving.

The only sound that was heard was their screams.

As days went on, Lisanna's crush kept on developing and the feelings she had for Natsu became the only secret that she kept from her best friend, which she still felt quite guilty about. Also, luck seemed to be on Lisanna's side as Natsu never seemed to really show interest in the opposite sex. She knew that she wasn't the only one whose heart started beating quicker for the eccentric pinkette but at least Natsu seemed to brush away their advances, completely innocent of their intentions. There were rumours that he might've been gay for not dating anyone but Lisanna knew that he was simply naïve about these type of things. However, all of this changed on that one particular day.

Natsu had been messing around again and Mr Macao Conbolt was at his wit's end.

"THAT'S IT! Natsu, stand up and swap with..." the teacher's gaze swept across the classroom before landing on a particular person, "Lisanna and sit next to Lucy." Lisanna, being the good girl she was, immediately stood from her seat, sending an apologetic glance at Lucy who looked absolutely appalled by the new seating plan. As the lesson continued, Lisanna couldn't help but occasionally watch how Natsu and Lucy interacted. Natsu looked like he was trying to strike up a conversation by cracking a joke. She watched as Lucy tried to look uninterested but she caught the slight quirk of her lips which Natsu also noticed as he smiled at the blonde in response.

A few months later, the duo seemed to grow closer together much to Lisanna's distress.

However, upon her observations, having Natsu around seemed to be doing good for her best friend. Lucy had always been a quiet person around people that she didn't know because of some family issues that crumbled the blonde's confidence. It had always been Lucy and Lisanna, but now it was Lucy, Natsu and Lisanna (who shyly kept her distance from the pinkette, not sure if her heart could take it if she got too close). With Natsu's help, the blonde came out of her shell and made many new friends. She could freely be her bubbly, talkative self which was usually a side of Lucy that only Lisanna got to see.

Lisanna also noticed how different those two acted around each other. Whenever one's name was mentioned, the other would perk up in excessive interest. Whenever they started a conversation, their eyes would light up as if talking to each other was the best thing in the world. It was also the little actions that Lisanna picked up on, the ones that no one else seemed to notice. Natsu always liked to edge slightly closer to Lucy, perhaps with the usual 'accidental' hand brush. Whenever he told a new joke, his eyes always seemed to shift in Lucy's direction, to see if she was laughing too as if he was deliberately vying for her attention. Lucy would sometimes twirl a lock of her golden hair around her finger, always seemed to have a slight blush dusted on her cheeks in close proximity with him and Lucy liked to ruffle Natsu's hair along with touching his arm when engaged in a discussion.

It was like they were in their own awkward dance of flirting.

Flirting.

It came crashing into Lisanna like a freight train. It was now painfully obvious to Lisanna about what was going on.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she picked up Lucy's notepad from her desk which she had left behind. Lisanna went to put it in her bag to give it to her friend tomorrow when a slip of paper fell out and when she picked it up, the silverette's eyes were glued to the page - the sinking feeling getting worse and worse.

Lucy Dragneel was what was wrote in Lucy's neat, cursive handwriting.

Lisanna couldn't help but bitterly think that Lisanna Dragneel sounded better.

Of course, like any girl in love, you'd feel absolutely elated when your crush asked to speak to you in private. Lisanna's blue eyes widened in surprise but she obediently followed the pinkette outside. I'm trembling, she noticed as the butterflies in her stomach flitted around. Natsu finally turned to face her, scratching the back of his neck nervously. If anyone could give him an answer, it'd be Lisanna. He cleared his throat and the smaller girl looked up at him, expectantly.

"Uhm...Lisanna, I was wondering if you could help me," he paused, trying to think of what to say, "You're best friends with Lucy right?" All hope that Lisanna had broke into fragments like shattered glass. Still, she put on a brave smile and nodded.

"Yep, we've known each other since childhood." There was a flash of relief on Natsu's face as he lost the tenseness in his shoulders. He grinned that grin that made her heart pound.

"Oh good, I wondering if you knew if Luce might be interested in...going to the Prom with me?" Oh right. Year 11 Prom was right around the corner, how could Lisanna forget? She swallowed, feeling the tears prick her eyes as she felt her heart break. Natsu noticed this and tilted his head in confusion.

"Are you okay?" Lisanna nodded, her whole body feeling numb. She knew now that she had to make a choice. Lucy's happiness. Or her own.

"Yeah, it's just my hay fever playing up," she lied once again before taking a breath, knowing that what she would say would be a good choice, the right choice. "Well, I don't know...you'll have to ask Lucy for yourself."

When Natsu left, Lisanna allowed herself to cry, but she knew that she'd have to live with that decision for the rest of her life.

Even years later, when Lucy came gliding down the aisle looking like an angel that descended from heaven to meet her beloved, Lisanna still never regretted her choice. Lucy turned to face her soon-to-be husband, her face aglow with pure joy, a reflection of the love that she felt for the man standing in front of her.

"Natsu Dragneel, do you take Lucy Heartfilia to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Asked the vicar. The pink-haired man that still had his boyish charm had a cheeky smirk on his lips, those dark eyes sparkling.

"Yup, sure do Gramps." The guests chuckled at that. Natsu had never been one for formalities.

An angry tick mark appeared on Makarov Dreyar's forehead but he sucked a breath to continue before losing his temper. He turned to Lucy.

"And do you, Lucy Heartfilia, take Natsu Dragneel as your lawfully wedded husband?" Lucy beamed.

"I do!"

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!" Cheers and catcalls exploded through the church as Natsu dived right in, with Lucy happily looping her arms around his neck as they were caught a sweet and loving kiss. Afterwards, Natsu scooped Lucy into his arms, carrying her bridal style which allowed the celebration to begin.

"ALRIGHT BRATS! LET'S GO PARTY!" commanded Vicar Makarov.

"YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!"

Lisanna decided to chill out for a moment on a bench outside, looking up at the stars when she heard footsteps behind her. The silverette turned to come face to face with the new Mrs Dragneel.

"Lucy!" Lisanna jumped up, hugging her best friend tight with a squeal, "I'm so happy for you!" Lucy giggled as she returned the hug, before pulling them both down onto the bench. They sat in comfortable silence, just how they were like in their childhood days. The blonde watched her friend as the blue-eyed girl's smile wavered with a touch of melancholy.

"Lucy...I don't want to ruin today, but I have no other time to tell you..." Lisanna spoke softly, staring down at her hands, "I'm travelling to America tomorrow. I've decided to explore the world...it's just I'm not sure when I'm coming back." A few tears escaped and she felt herself being pulled into another warm hug which she readily leant into.

"It's okay Lis, I support your decision. Just know that I'll always be waiting here for you because that's what best friends are for. You've always been such a good friend to me."

Nothing was said after that, they just hugged in their peaceful silence.

Lisanna was reminded once again, that her choice that day was definitely the right decision as nothing meant more to her than Lucy's happiness, even if that meant sacrificing her own.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot of mine. I kind of wanted to explore the friendship between Lucy and Lisanna, and of course, I'd add some of the lovely NaLu-ness that everyone loves. This is also points out that Lisanna is a nice person and shouldn't be bashed upon just become she's a 'threat' to our OTP (*cough* #NALU5EVA *cough*) Honestly, it just gets a bit old where Lisanna is the bad guy - she's a genuinely sweet person and the whole 'villain' act doesn't really suit her imo.

So yeah, I think Lisanna deserves a bit more love :'3

Mata aimasho!
'Lottie-Blue

24/7/16 - Minor punctuation edits