How to save a life

~ 1 ~

I still remember that cold rainy day, when I met you.
I never thought I was destined to talk to you, but as time goes on, I'm sure I was.
I still remember how I was the happiest girl.
I still remember how you loved the scarf i gave you.
I still remember all the good memories, but I want to forget the bad ones.
Turns out, nobody's perfect. So, neither are you.

Lucy Heartfilia—The girl with the broken smile.

A 5 year old girl, left wandering in the streets of an unfamiliar town. "I'll be back." Her father had said. Where was he? How long has it been? She was left alone.

Walking around the cobblestone streets of Magnolia, the blonde had lost all her hope of finding her father. He never liked her, and she knew that. No matter how much the girl had tried to gain her father's warmth and love, she was never successful. And whenever she tried to talk to him, trouble ensued. "Shut up! I told you not to bother me when I'm working!" He would say, and she would leave the room, only to go cry on her bed, and cuddle her doll.

Oh how she missed her mother... The beautiful blonde woman was the only person who could talk to her father without being yelled at. But, she had died when Lucy was only four years old. Layla Heartfilia had died in a horrible car crash outside of town. The plush doll that Lucy named "Michelle" was the only memory she had of her mother. Since she was so young, she didn't remember her mother that much. But, she remembered the day when she got the doll from her mom. It was a happy day. Something she hadn't experienced in a year now.

He father was always a cold, dark person, but his personality worsened after his wife had died. He became... merciless. He never forgave anyone, no matter the weight of the mistake they had made. Lucy knew that all too well.

She was always trying to cheer up her father, and laugh with him. She wanted to experience going fishing with him, hearing him tell her a bedtime story, playing hide and seek with her, or maybe even cook together, and then laugh when they would burn the cookies they wanted to make.

She wanted happiness, love.

But, being left alone on the streets was not something she had ever expected. He would never do a thing like that to his own little child. Of course, he never liked her, or respected her, but that never meant that he would do something like this. No, this was something the little girl never thought could happen to her. What could the little girl do? The only thing she had with herself, was her doll, and a little bag her aunt had bought her when she was four. She was wearing a short blue dress, and a scaly white scarf. The scarf had also been a gift from her mother. Lucy almost never wore it, because she thought she would get it dirty. She wandered the streets of this town, trying to find a place to sit down, and rest. She walked into a dark alleyway, and sat down on a cardboard box she found.

Opening the small red bag, she rummaged through it, only to find three things: a box of half-eaten cookies, an apple and some coins. Lucy's eyes watered for the hundredth time that day, as she was in a hopeless situation once more. Where will she sleep? It was getting dark, and it wasn't safe for kids to stay out anymore.

She let out soft whimpers, as she was desperately trying to look on the positive side. But... there was no positive side. The blonde was shifting around in the space, trying to turn the cardboard box around, so she could sleep in it. Once the box was placed to her liking, she climbed in, and crawled up in a ball, to keep herself warm. Hugging her legs with her small arms, she tried to stop crying.

Then, she heard the pitter patter of someone's footsteps hitting the cobblestone pathway in the alley. She quieted down, not wanting the person to find her. This wasn't helping her at all. The girl was trying to blend in, and yet, someone chose to walk into the same alley. The sound of the person's footsteps got louder, bouncing off the walls of the surrounding buildings, as he or she was getting closer to the girl. Lucy's eyes stayed shut tight, as if to block the person from touching her. She was desperately trying to stay out of sight, but the box was sitting in the middle of the alleyway, highly visible.

She opened her eyes, to see a pair of small hands reach in the box and touch her leg. She shrieked, as she sprang up from her lying position, only to jump out of the box. She stopped yelling when she saw that the person in front of her was close to her age. He was a pink-haired boy, wearing a red t-shirt, and orange shorts. What really stood out, was that he didn't have any shoes on, and had a bruise on his left cheek. The boy looked just as surprised as she was. They stood there, just looking at one another for a couple of minutes, before he broke the silence.

"Hello, sorry for scaring you." He apologized, looking down at his bare feet. "It's okay. Hi, I'm Lucy." She said, whipping her tears, as she stepped back in the box. "What are you doing here, Lucy?" He asked, as she cuddled up in a ball again, looking at him. "My daddy left. I don't have anywhere else to go." The tears she had in her eyes were threatening to spill any second now, as the boy thought of what to say.

"Are you going to sleep in this box?" He asked her, as she slowly nodded her little head. "Can I sleep here, too?" She looked up. "Sleep here? Why don't you go home?" Lucy asked, as he climbed inside. "My dad always hits me, and I wanted to run away." His hand reached for his bruised cheek.

"What's your name?" She asked. "I'm Natsu Dragneel." He replied, as he stuffed himself in the small space, the girl cuddling up to him. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She said her surname, as the pink-haired boy shook his head. "Since your dad left you, you aren't Lucy Heartfilia anymore. You need a new surname. Want to be Lucy Dragneel?"

Her lips curved into a smile, as she found truth in his words. "Yes."

"That's good. You're Lucy Dragneel, now." Natsu said, as he hugged the blonde to keep her warm. "Want to be friends Lucy?" He asked her, as they both stared at the night sky's shining stars. "Yes, Natsu, let's be friends."

This was just a short first chapter of how they met, next chapters will be longer.

And yes, I know I have 2 other unfinished stories, but I had this idea, and wanted to make it. :)

Thanks for reading.

~With keys, through flames. Aye!~