Bonus Prompt: Shine
The shine of tears and the shimmer of stars along with a glimpse of a shiny future.
The sky shone with millions of stars, each one a tiny pinprick of light and hope, but to the boy, they were like tears framed against a black hole of infinite misery and regret.
A/N: This is not the happiest Nalu oneshot... What am I doing writing sad-ish stories during Nalu Week? I don't know! For some reason it never comes out the exact way I imagine it. Also, Natsu is OOC in this one - sorry... *sighs*
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. I do not own anything.
"Hey, Natsu! Natsu!" Said pink haired boy kept walking, ignoring the quiet snickers from others around him. "Oi! Natsu!" A hand latched onto his sleeve and he stopped abruptly.
Pausing as a frozen sort of silence spread through the hallway like the ripple effect, he brushed off her hand.
Not even looking up to meet her hopeful eyes, he walked away.
Just like that, conversations started up again and students began to move, heading to their advisory as the five-minute warning bell tolled.
The girl stood in the center of the hallway, others jostling past, most of them purposefully bumping into her.
Her hand was still outstretched, reaching for him, but he was long gone.
"I'll see you later then, Natsu," she said to the empty corridor, casting her pained smile at the dusty floor, hand dropping limply to her side. "Maybe then, we can talk..."
The late bell rang.
"Oi, Dragneel! Over here!" sitting at a moderately crowded table, a boy with an unruly mane of black hair smirked and waved at the rosy-haired boy.
"I got it, Redfox," the pink haired boy smirked back, walking over with his tray of cafeteria slop and sitting at an empty seat.
"You must have ashy taste buds or something, being able to eat stuff like that," a raven-haired boy said, peering at his rival's tray and wrinkling his brow in disgust as the strange, multicolored, supposed-to-be-dessert thing jiggled.
"I dunno. I'm just really starving," Natsu exclaimed, digging into his lunch.
"Dude, did you pay any attention when your jello moved?" a harsh pat on the back later and Natsu choked, spitting out his food.
"Hey! What the hell was that fo-" he yelled, turning around.
Gray and Gajeel paled as murderous vibes emanated from the scarlet haired girl.
"Are you cursing, by any chance, Mr. Dragneel?" she asked, a sinister smile on her face as she casually pulled out a metal crowbar from her school uniform top.
"N-no Erza," Natsu shrunk, attempting to seem smaller.
"That's Erza-san to you, punk-"
"Erza! There you are!" a girl exclaimed, cutting the fearsome president's lecture off.
"Oh! I am so sorry, Lucy. I just had to apprehend some trouble makers," Erza said, sticking the crowbar back into her uniform and glaring at the sulking pink-haired boy.
"Hey, Lucy!" Gray smiled at the girl.
"Yo, Bunny Girl," Gajeel nodded coolly at the blonde, his eyes trailing to the table at the opposite corner of the lunchroom where a petite girl reading an encyclopedia sat.
"Hey Gray, Gajeel, and Natsu," she smiled at then, her eyes lingering on an unresponsive pink haired boy.
"The Shrimp is still reading that thing? Has she eaten anything yet?" the long-black-haired guitarist asked.
"Um, I think so-" Lucy paused, blinking when Gajeel stood up and wandered over to the other table. "Well, okay..."
"Juvia has come to deliver Juvia's Sweet Pea's lunch!" the blue-haired girl announced, popping out of nowhere and dropping a bento box in front of an embarrassed Gray.
"W-wait, Juvia. Not now," he muttered, blushing but otherwise not complaining as she kissed his cheek.
The crowbar whizzed through the air, halting in front of Gray's throat, the raven-haired boy nervously gulping.
"Hold up! You two are d-d-dating?" Erza squeaked, blushing furiously as she asked the question, thus starting up an awkward conversation with Gray and Juvia.
Lucy sighed, sliding into a seat next to Natsu.
She was glad that the rest of her friends were occupied with other lunch matters so that they would not interrupt her and Natsu's talk.
"Hey Natsu," she got no response from him except for a turn of the head so she couldn't see his face; the simple little action made her already hurting heart twinge.
"Natsu, I don't know why you don't want to talk me. I really need to tell you something, so it'd be nice if at least… at least you look at me," she said, but he didn't turn nor even twitched a bit. "We're childhood friends, Natsu! Come on – at least tell me what's wrong."
He suddenly spun around and sat up, glaring at her eye to eye.
"You know what's wrong?" he snarled, his face right up in front of hers, and she flinched, never having seen him so angry – towards her. "Everything is wrong!"
Unnoticed by the two of them, their friends had stopped talking, and the entire cafeteria had fallen silent.
"My father is gone – heck, he disappeared ten years ago and never came back! I don't even know if he's dead or alive, if he really loved me, if he ever thinks about me. But you," he panted, his chest heaving with the enormous anger behind the words he said.
"Your dad is still alive, safe in your house. Hell – he's practically locked up, safe in sound, in his office at home all day and he's there when you go home every single f-ing day. Yet you still complain about him. You don't deserve a father! You don't deserve to have been born-"
"Natsu!" Erza shouted, her glare directed at the boy. "That's enough!"
"NO!" he lunged for Lucy, but Gray and Gajeel each grabbed an arm, restraining him. "LET ME GO!" he snarled.
Her eyes wide and shining with tears, the blonde scooted backwards, all but falling into Levy and Juvia's arms as she stared at her best friend.
He was practically foaming at the mouth – his pupils dilating and his eyes somehow alternating between two colors – and thrashing in the other two boys' arms as Erza sprinted to get Mr. Clive, the buff physics teacher and a close father figure to Natsu.
"It's okay, Lu-chan. Natsu didn't mean it – he's just out of it right now. Everything will be alright," Levy whispered, embracing the silently crying girl.
Juvia shook her head sadly, empathetic, and hugged her with Levy.
"No, it won't," Lucy whispered. She could only bite her lip and tremble as tears slid down her cheeks.
The next day, Natsu was back to normal, but Lucy wasn't at school.
Everyone was worried for their usually cheerful friend, but they all understood that she probably needed some time to… think.
"See you guys!" Natsu shouted as he parted ways with his friends. He was heading back to the dorm early because he needed time to… think about his apology to his best friend.
"What's this?" he asked, picking up a letter that had probably been slipped underneath his door.
The envelope was of a crisp white color with only one word, or name, on it: Natsu.
He shivered; the handwriting seemed eerily familiar.
A wax seal with an imprint of a key on it sealed the envelope, and he shut the door behind him before going to his desk and grabbing a letter opener.
The letter paper was a creamy peach hue and the top of the paper was dated today's date.
It was the second sentence that caught his attention: "I'm moving away", and it was the signature at the bottom of the letter that pushed him into action.
Dear Natsu,
It's too late now, so please don't try to chase after me.
I'm moving away.
It's not your fault; so don't beat yourself up because of it either. I want you to know I still consider you as my best friend even if you don't.
I'm sorry I was so selfish – I didn't mean to plague you with my problems and make you feel bad about your father. I am a horrible daughter… I could be so much better to him. Thank you for allowing me to realize that.
Please take care of everybody else the best you can!
So long, Natsu.
Yours forever,
Lucy Heartfilia
"Lucy!" he yelled, sprinting out of the dorm and down the road to her house. "Lucy Heartfilia!" Breathless and gasping, he skidded to a stop in front of her dark, unlit mansion.
"No…" There was a sign hanging from a wooden stake at the front of her house on her lawn.
It read: Sold.
This could not be happening. Because of one little mistake, she was gone and believed the wrong thing.
He didn't hate her - how could he?
She was his best friend; His cuddle buddy; His cat babysitter; His cook; His Luce; His everything.
Wiping away a stray raindrop from the corner of his eye, he sniffed, suddenly feeling very cold and numb.
"What the hell?" he said, voice hoarse as more stray raindrops slid down his cheek. He wiped them away, but still more followed.
"Dammit," he collapsed on the sidewalk, punching the concrete with his bare fists, wishing that she'd come back to him. "I'm not crying. I'm definitely not crying."
The sky shone with millions of stars, each one a tiny pinprick of light and hope, but to the boy, they were like tears framed against a black hole of infinite misery and regret.
How he wished to turn back time and wipe away the shine of tears in her eyes.
How he wished he had hugged her instead of moping.
Then, maybe their future would've looked brighter. It was always better when they were together.
"I promise I'll see you again in this life, Luce. And when we meet again, I won't let you go."