Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Rejection

Lucy Heartfilia arrived at the Fairy Tail guild with a smile of happiness on her face, feeling quite delighted about how she would get to go on another job with her friends, and this was also the day where Lucy planned to tell something special to Natsu Dragneel. The fire dragon slayer was always ready to save her on missions, having no problem with beating up the bandits who would kidnap her, and Lucy blushed a light shade of pink as she thought about how Natsu was always very nice to her. He would even buy her food when she told him about her fridge nearly being empty, and he was a pretty good friend.

Lucy was also happy that she'd get to have an adventure with Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster, as they were people who could fight really well, and Lucy could never forget the day where Erza managed to slice a giant monster in half with one of her strongest swords. She also thought about how Gray's Ice-Make Magic was strong enough to freeze enemies, and Gray's attacks were also quite powerful. They had been able to fight very well on every mission, even blocking attacks that would come Lucy's way, and she liked the fact that Team Natsu was such a great group.

She looked straight ahead to see that her friends were sitting down at a table, watching Erza sternly glare at Natsu and Gray to make them not argue with each other right now, and Lucy simply giggled softly as she walked over to them. Her cocoa brown eyes were directed at Natsu while she felt slightly nervous about admitting her feelings for him, really wanting to let him know that she liked how they had such a good friendship, and Lucy's heart began to softly beat while she proceeded to sit down in a chair that was near the table.

Her presence was immediately noticed by Natsu, who just looked at her with his usual goofy grin, and Lucy smiled back at him while slightly blushing. Erza and Gray also took notice of the Celestial Spirit Wizard, even though they chose to not say anything, and the sudden silence among the four mages was enough of a reason for Lucy to open her mouth. She was getting ready to tell Natsu that she wanted to become his girlfriend, having the desire to be in a relationship with him, and Lucy placed her hands by her heart for a moment while feeling like he would accept the offer to be her boyfriend.

The fire dragon slayer took notice of Lucy's cheeks blushing in a brighter shade of pink, merely thinking that she was blushing for some weird reason, and Natsu soon got up from his chair to look at jobs on the nearby request board. He had a puzzled look on his face while wondering about why Lucy was happily looking at him, as today's mission would be like any other mission that the team would do, and Lucy already paid her apartment's rent for the month. Natsu couldn't understand why Lucy was happy and excited, but she had her own reasons for acting like that on this calm morning.

Lucy blurted out while clenching her fists, having some nervousness in her voice, "Natsu, I.. I love you! I really love that we spend time together!"

Natsu turned and replied in a calm manner while smiling, misinterpreting Lucy's words, "I love you, too. You're a good friend, Lucy. In fact, you can probably give me good advice for asking out a girl that I like."

From hearing that last sentence, the smile on Lucy's face slowly changed into a frown. She expressed her love for Natsu, only to have him tell her that he was in love with someone else, and they would only remain friends. Erza turned around to give Lucy a sorry look, before explaining that the fire dragon slayer had confided in her that he secretly loved Lisanna Strauss, and Erza felt bad about the fact that she didn't tell Lucy about it sooner. Natsu enjoyed being around Lisanna for the past seven months, as their friendship grew when they'd spend time eating lunch together or going to the beach, and Lucy never even asked Natsu out on a date.

The heartbreak of rejection was quite harsh for the blonde-haired mage, feeling like the past seven months were a total waste of time, and Lucy felt like her heart was going to break into many pieces. Natsu had always loved being around her, giving her high-fives after every mission was complete, and hearing that he was liking someone else had caused Lucy to feel like she'd never find love. Rejection happened to many people in life, but Lucy never saw it coming. She could've asked the fire dragon slayer earlier about if he liked someone else, but she chose not to.

That was Lucy's mistake, as she did not consider the possibility of another girl being able to steal the heart of Natsu, and she would probably have to watch Natsu share his first kiss with Lisanna while the group was on a mission. That would certainly bring pain to her heart, making Lucy feel like she totally failed at trying to get Natsu's love, and she decided to get up from the chair without saying a single word. She looked down at her white shirt and blue skirt for a moment, looking saddened at how the color blue could represent sadness, and Lucy raised her head up while she was still frowning.

As she began to walk towards the guild's entrance doors, though, Gray asked her in a concerned tone about where she was going. Lucy's blonde hair was over her cocoa brown eyes to keep Gray and Erza from seeing their sadness, as the Celestial Spirit Wizard felt like she was about to cry, and Lucy simply informed Gray that she'd be going home. Lucy proceeded to run out of the guild while not wanting her friends to see that she was really upset about getting rejected, as that would just create tension and dysfunction for the team, and she certainly didn't want to hear what Natsu was going to say when he slightly opened his mouth.

Lucy ran down the left side of the guild's stairs while crying softly, not even noticing that Lisanna was walking up the stairs on the other side, and she was just really disappointed right now. She planned to tell Natsu about how she felt, really hoping that he would return her desire for love, but Lucy was sadly left with the bitter feeling of rejection. She didn't know where the situation would go from here, as Natsu was the type of person who could be unpredictable, but Lucy wanted to just go home for the sake of having a hot shower to calm herself down.

How was Chapter 1? This is my first fanfiction story, so please feel free to share your thoughts on it.