"Hey Natsu," Mirajane welcomed him to the bar. He gave her a head nod before heading to the stage to set up his equipment.
The bar was empty except for Mirajane who was cleaning glasses for tonight. He thought of the people who would soon be filling this place. They had all heard him preform before, but there was something different about this one.
He hasn't been here for a while. Mirajane walked up to him and offered him a water bottle.
"How have you been?" She crossed her arms and looked very carefully at him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, you know," he offered a weak smile.
She put a hand on his arm and gave a light squeeze. "If it's any consolation, I'm loving the beard." She got a chuckle out of him.
He ran a hand over his jaw. "Woke up one day and I realized I had a beard," he laughed at himself. It was a rough few months. No one was sure if he would be able to pull himself together. But he did and it was time he rejoined his friends.
"Have you seen her?" Mirajane asked in a quiet voice.
He threw his hands behind his head and his white t-shirt raised a little to reveal toned muscles underneath. "Yeah, I saw her." The memory he had been trying to keep down started to creep into his mind.
He knew it was her even from behind. No one else in this town had that beautiful blonde hair, no matter how hard they try to copy it. His fist clenched at the sight of another man's arm around her waist, leaning in close to whisper into her ear, and making her laugh at his comment. His heart did something when he heard that sound. There was nothing quite as pure and light as her laugh.
Mirajane was watching him closely and could see the emotions that ran across his face.
His gut flipped when he realized who the man was. It took all of his will power not to go and tackle the man to the ground and beat the shit out of him. No one wanted to tell him what was going on. He understood now why his friends had been so sketchy and flimsy around him.
He sighed, took a deep breath, and pulled it together. He had a show to do no matter the circumstances in his life he was still a professional musician.
"Do you have any new material for us tonight?" Mirajane asked as she headed back behind the bar.
"Actually, I do. A few new pieces I have been working on thought that I would see how the crowd responded to them." He picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords and hummed.
He did a quick run through of the set for tonight in his mind. Of course, he had to plan for requests. These were his friends after all.
The show began at 10 and Fairy Tail opened at 9.
He heard Mirajane welcome everyone to the show tonight. His hands were shaking from the nerves. Only those who stopped by his house to check on him had seen him these past few months.
"Let's give a round of applause for our special guest. You all know him and love him. Give it up for Natsu!"
The crowd erupted with applause and shouts of his name.
In that instance, his heart stopped racing, his hands stopped shaking, and his breathing became easy as he stepped on the stage.
"Hey everyone," he heard the gasp. They all must be shocked at his appearance. He gave a slight chuckle.
"Come on, y'all don't like it?" He laughed as he rubbed his hand over his jaw. There were shouts of approval and him looking "hot as fuck".
"Well, how about I play y'all some music?" He adjusted his capo on his guitar and began to strum.
The crowd was eager for his music, and he was a man that didn't like to leave people hanging.
After a few songs, the crowd was wanting more and more from him. He leaned down to get his water bottle, when he heard the door open. He easily recognized the voice; it was the one that had been haunting him these past months.
This was bound to happen. He couldn't avoid her forever.
"Hey Lucy, the usual?" Mirajane welcomed her friend, reaching down behind the bar to start making her usual drink.
"Yeah that would be perfect." Lucy sat down at the open bar stool, slid off her coat, and tried to show that she wasn't scared to death to come here.
Mirajane could see the nerves rolling off of her.
"I am glad you came tonight." She offered to the young woman.
"Thanks, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I should come." She took a sip out of the drink that Mirajane had placed in front of her.
"This is as much your home as it is his." Mirajane looked closely at Lucy trying to figure out how she was doing. A breakup was never easy, especially when they had such a close-knit group of friends.
The man on stage coughed slightly gaining their attention.
"So, this is my last song for the night. It's a new song that I just recently wrote, and it's a little different from my normal style, but I know y'all will like it."
He pointed to the DJ man who slid in a CD and began playing music.
A piano played a few chords, which was followed by what sounded like the wind was being sucked out of the song, but then a bass and drums picked up where the piano left off.
Natsu was standing at the mic holding it close as he spoke and sang the lyrics, "I knew I'd see her around, I'd be at some party, she'd show up and I'd be walking out, Or across some parking lot hiding behind her sister."
Lucy's heart stopped. Her hand froze on her drink.
"I'd look up, she'd be at the red light beside me, In that white Maxima with the sticker on the back," Natsu continued to sing his song that was inspired by her.He was clutching the mic so tight, his knuckles were white. It was like the mic stand was the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground.
"I'd act like I didn't see her, We'd pay at the same pumps, Flip through the same stations, And slow down for the same curves, Run around with the same crowds," Natsu looked up at the crowd. He couldn't see her from the stage, but he knew she could see him.
"We just needed some time, She could get on with her life and I'd get on with mine, Thought I would be fine, heh, but maybe not," he laughed at his lyrics.
"I knew she'd find a way to get over me, But I'd never thought that..." the drums picked up the beat and rising, the music stopped as he sang, "She would get down with somebody I know," The music crashed into his words.
Chills ran up Lucy's arms and tears formed in her eyes as she felt Natsu's eyes pierce through her soul.
"I guess that's just how it goes, When you break up in a small town, I see our friends and they put on a show, Like they don't want me to know, So they give me the go-around,"
She shook her head and looked over at Mirajane who was watching Natsu's performance.
"He knows," she mumbled to herself. Her thoughts were running wild. She wanted to run, to leave this place, but she couldn't move.
"But there's only so many streets, so many lights, I swear it's like I can't even leave my house," Natsu picked up the mic from the stand and was dripping sweat from his forehead as he walked to one side of the stage.
"Should've known all along, You gotta move or move on, When you break up in a small town."
Everyone in the bar knew whom the song was about. They knew everything about the breakup, how it started, how it ended, and who walked away. But Natsu conveyed his emotions so pure and hot. The lyrics could easily be applied to any of them who lived in this town with their ex-lovers. That's why it is so powerful. Every person in the bar had chills from his song.
Natsu was singing once again after the musical break in the song, "Her mailbox is seven minutes from mine, And I drive into town sometimes I see her sittin' there with him,"
There was so much pain and anger in his singing, "And I wanna jump out, I wanna fight, I wanna say, "... that guy!" but I can't, It's my fault, I let her go, I never thought that..."
The music slowed down as Natsu put the mic back in its stand and held it closely as he sang the last chorus,
"...she would get down with somebody I know
I guess that's just how it goes
When you break up in a small town
I see our friends and they put on a show
Like they don't want me to know
So they give me the go-around
But there's only so many streets, so many lights
I swear it's like I can't even leave my house
I should've known all along
You gotta move or move on
When you break up in a small town."
When he finished, the crowd burst into applause. The cheers were endless. He saw a blonde walking towards the exit and he knew who it was, but he didn't run off the stage, he didn't chase after her, not this time.