Notes: Hello everyone! I finally decided on the scheduled updates for this story, which will be weekly starting today (for the most part). So I hope my readers are content with this method of progressing my story as it's going to be a fairly long story (based on the plot I have planned out or so I think).
Also, this story will have an eventual romance, so please be patient for it to blossom ;)
By the way: I am so thankful for those who have favorited and followed this story as it shows that my story is actually enjoyed by others, which motivates me further! Also, thank you Melody233 for being my first reviewer, it means so much to me! I hope more people will give me feedback and constructive criticism on my story as it progresses to make it better.
Enough talking from me, let's get on with the next chapter!
Chapter 2: That's Not How It's Supposed to Be
"W-what are you doing here?" Lucy was flabbergasted. Why did she have to meet Natsu of all people when all she wanted to do was get into the hotel, grab the application, fill it out, and hand it back? He would probably cause the whole process to become more complicated than it already was.
"You're the one who saw me and had to make a big deal out of it," the pink haired janitor argued innocently. "I happen to work here, you know."
It pissed her off that she had to end up encountering him the instant she entered through the golden gates of Fairy Tail resort, but the janitor was right, if she had ignored him and had minded her own business, this little event wouldn't have transpired. Well, since she was already here, she might as well ask Natsu how to get a job at the luxury hotel.
"Do you know if Fairy Tail is hiring by any chance?" the blonde ventured cautiously. To Lucy, the whole situation couldn't get any worse. She was asking the freaking janitor if the five-star hotel resort was hiring. Why couldn't she have met with some attractive and professional customer representative instead?
"Why are you asking me?" Natsu twirled the polished mop with impressive coordination before slamming it down on the blindingly shiny surface of the marble tiles below them. "I'm just the janitor, you should be asking her."
Lucy's eyes followed his extended finger towards a rather poised-looking woman who sat behind a large circular desk. She was everything Lucy had imagined of someone who was employed at Fairy Tail. The woman's brownish-blonde locks were perfectly straightened and glistened with elegance even though it was tied up in a bun. Her glasses only enhanced her flawless complexion which seemed to glow alongside her magenta-red lips. Not to mention her voluptuous figure was tightly fitted with a blue blouse and the only thing that Lucy could stare at were the woman's breasts which were somewhat visible beneath her unbuttoned undershirt. The blonde waitress glanced down at her own body, a pang of admiration and jealousy shot through her because she did not look like that.
"Hey, Fiore to Ms. Commoner."
"W-wha?" Lucy landed back onto reality, which wasn't always a good thing for her when she recognized Natsu's face in front of her.
"You were staring at Ever for a long time," he mused. "Are you a lesbian?"
"No!" Lucy raged. "It's just that…she's really beautiful."
"You're not going to get the job if you're just gawking at everyone you see here," the janitor swiped the ground with his expensive-looking mop. "She's one of the representatives. She'll give you the info about applying here. Also, her name's Evergreen, don't forget it."
"Got it, thanks," Lucy gulped. She hasn't been this nervous ever since her last attempt at auditioning for the part of a film, which she was immediately rejected from. Of course, that was after she was rejected a million times before which became an odd routine for the young woman. Something about the way this "Evergreen" was filing the stacks of papers bothered her. It almost seemed magical. Taking a deep breath, Lucy began to venture towards the secretary when she was immediately stopped by his voice again. She turned around to see Natsu smiling.
"Yeah well, good luck," he scratched the back of his head as if he wasn't sure whether he said the right thing or not, but didn't wait for her answer as he quickly stalked off the other way, albeit almost tripping over his mop at the same time.
What's his problem? She thought. Oh well, she shrugged it off and slowly approached the woman, this time, without interference. She slung off her bag and placed it on the large gray counter before mustering up her courage to speak. "I'm here to apply for a job!"
"What position are you applying for?" Evergreen did not look up from her stack of paper.
"Um, modeling?"
The hairs on Lucy's neck rose as the secretary's eyes swiftly lifted off the files and flashed onto the blonde's body with observance. Evergreen seemed to rip apart at every inch of Lucy's figure, eyes shifting back and forth, with an occasional "hmm" here and there, and readjustment of her glasses as if to get a better view. Lucy wasn't given much of a chance to relax when the secretary asked her that question.
"Are you confident in your acting skills?" Evergreen's eyes drilled into Lucy's.
"Well…I've auditioned for some companies, so I can say I've had experience in acting."
"And?" the secretary's question bore into the blonde's mind. "Have you played any notable roles in any films, commercials, etc.? If so, would you care to provide some examples?"
This was what Lucy had feared the most. She knew that if she wanted to land a role in any video production, she needed to provide samples of her works. The problem was, she didn't have any! She was never granted entry into any of the companies she has auditioned for, they all told her off and that she wasn't meant to be an actress or a model or a talk show host or a freaking mascot for a stupid food channel. Lucy Heartfilia, age 20, current waitress at Magnolia Café, would not and could not become an actress!
Lucy shakily sighed, "Actually, I don't have any experience working in the film industry. I've been rejected by every single place I've been to. I understand if this will bring down my chance at modeling here, so please tell me your decision." It pained Lucy so much to be rejected again, but she had to come to terms with her abilities as someone who wanted to be an actress and possessed no talent to become one.
"I see," Evergreen pondered with a hint of pity in her voice. "I am afraid we will have to turn down your application as we have specific requirements before hiring any models or actors for our commercials. I apologize for any inconveniences."
That was it. Lucy was done with her dreams. There was no other way to get into show biz for her at all. A young woman couldn't become an actress if she didn't possess any talent, the idea finally made sense to her. It was like trying to get someone to fall in love with you, but the person you love is the one who hated you. Now Lucy understood how preposterous her dreams have been. Her father was right, she was an idiot for attempting such an unrealistic goal, and she should have just studied in school to become a doctor or ran a business like him.
"Thank you very much. I'm sorry for wasting your time," Lucy's voice cracked as she tried to smile, her teeth grinding each other. She slung her bag over her shoulder and took off towards the doors. Before she could reach for the handle, a firm grip held her shoulder which stopped her from moving forward. Lucy turned around to meet Natsu's eyes, which drooped with concern. Ha! Now the janitor pities her! How worse can this day get, he even stopped her from leaving to rub it in her face.
"What do you want? Let me go," Lucy's head was down to avoid looking at the janitor's face. It disgusted her to think that he would show any sympathy towards her when they were pretty much the same.
"I overheard what Ever said to you," he reminded her. "Are you just going to give up now?"
"Acting's not my thing," she mumbled, it was starting to get harder for her speak. "So, just let me go."
Lucy wanted more than anything to just get away from here. To leave her job as a waitress, to escape the hardships of living alone, and to leave Magnolia altogether. She wanted more than anything to go back to her mansion where the only people who cared for her were the servants.
They were the people who raised her while her father neglected her in favor of making money with his business. It was a big mistake running away from home. She just wanted to drop to her knees and cry. Cry like how she did when her mother would cradle the young girl in her arms and everything would feel better.
Lucy's still a kid.
What she did not realize was that she was actually crying right now, but the tears drowned out everything she could see through her eyes. The only thing that comforted her was the darkness and…her mother.
She could feel the strong arms of her mother as they wrapped around her frail body and all she could do was cry into her breast. Lucy knew that the person she was embraced by was not her mother, but she didn't care. The young girl only wanted someone to hug her and let herself cry into their shoulder.
After for what seemed like several hours, Lucy felt much better. Crying her heart out was something she didn't often because there was no time to cry when she was busy with work, paying bills, and doing grown-up work in a grown-up world. Everything would bottle up inside her and when she did cry, everything would erupt with her emotions and she wouldn't be able to control herself.
Even after she was finished composing herself, she didn't want to open her eyes. She didn't want this moment to end, she didn't want her mother to leave her again, like she did many years ago. But she couldn't waste any more time, the person was probably surprised by her sudden burst and had no choice but to just stand there. She was going to apologize.
"I'm…sorry. I didn't realize I would get so emotional right now…" Lucy's puffy eyes made them difficult to open up, but she could barely make out a clump of pink spikes that loomed above her. "W-wha, what?"
Lucy pushed away from the janitor as soon as she saw realized who she had been in an embrace with, almost falling on the floor while stumbling back. The other was surprised as well, when there was a quick yelp from Natsu as he was suddenly pushed backward without knowing what impression he had left on the blonde commoner. All he did was comfort someone who was in pain, and this was the thanks he gets?
"You. You. YOU LOW-LIFE JANITOR PERVERT!" Lucy thundered. Her voice was so loud that it echoed all around the entire lobby area, causing a few employees and Evergreen to look up at the sudden outrage.
Natsu scratched his head, "What are you talking about? You're the one who grabbed me first!" He too was confused and angry at how the blonde treated him. What did he do to deserve being accused of being a pervert?
"You clearly took advantage of me while I was in my vulnerable state," she accused him. Her face was rose-red and she was fuming from her ears. "I was just trying to leave, when you had toappear and do all this lovey-dovey shit! I bet you planned this all along!"
"Fine, fine. I planned all of this. Happy now?" Natsu lied. He didn't want to admit to something he had no intentions for, but this girl was seriously getting on his nerves and the only way out of the problem would be to play the bad guy.
This seemed to relax Lucy, but only a little bit. She wasn't exactly mad at the janitor for doing what he did because she knew he didn't have any lustful intentions, but she also didn't want anybody to get so personal with her when she was in such a state. Admittedly, she was mad at herself for causing this whole predicament and she was actually grateful that Natsu comforted her.
"So…can I leave now?" Lucy queried. "I really should get going."
"Are you sure you're just going to give up without trying?" the pink head questioned. "I mean, there's are other jobs besides modeling here."
"Nah, it's fine," Lucy shook her head. "I came here just for that position. I'm not interested in anything else."
Just as she said this, Evergreen approached them, her heels clacking along the tiles and a white packet of papers in her hands. The secretary appeared to be annoyed with the whole commotion going on in the lobby when all she wanted to do was finish filing the papers for the day and get the hell out of there.
"I didn't realize how much you wanted the job," she said as she handed the form to Lucy. "That's why I decided to give you this."
Lucy examined the stapled packet which had "Fairy Tail Hotel" written in cursive at the top, followed by words and blank boxes that were probably in need of filing out. She could not believe her eyes, they were just handing over the job to her right then and now? Was this a scam or some kind of prank pulled by Natsu?
"W-wait a minute," Lucy struggled to find the words due to excitement. "Are you saying I can model for the hotel's commercial agency?"
Evergreen looked at her in amazement, "Of course not! We already established that you are not cut out to be a model, but we have a special position for you. Just in case you're interested."
Natsu eyed the secretary in suspicion. She wouldn't just hand out the position for a scene like this, but maybe she had a change of heart?
"What sort of position do you have in mind?" asked the ever curious Lucy.
"In order to successfully reach the top, one must start from the bottom," answered Evergreen. "You can't simply think you will get somewhere without hard work, do you?"
"I guess not…" Lucy pondered over the remark.
"This doesn't mean you're going to get the modeling job," Evergreen continued. "I'm just offering you ways to go about different paths than just one way that has been closed off. You don't have to apply, just think about it." With that, the secretary stalked off while mumbling to herself about "commoners".
This situation wasn't what Lucy had in mind, but maybe she could give it a shot? What other goals has she had besides becoming an actress? Perhaps it was time for her to grow up from fantasy land and actually take things seriously and this application would be the gateway to a new destiny for her. She did not realize that Natsu had been silent this whole time being ignored until she noticed his arms folded across his chest and the weird "look" he had while facing away from her.
"Sorry for causing you trouble," she apologized. "You were probably busy with work and I made things more complicated."
She hadn't thought about his feelings this whole time and was worried that maybe he was angry with her for impeding on his workplace, but she was surprised when the pink head just shrugged and laughed.
"Whatever, just don't bother me when I'm working," he inquired. He then turned and eyeballed the packet of paper in her hands. "So, are you thinking of applying still? Your silly dream job was rejected."
"I know that! Mavis, you're just doing this to annoy me, huh?" she retorted. "Anyways, it's not what I had in mind from the start, but since this place is so famous, I might get a chance to be exposed to the celebrity spotlight."
Natsu didn't look too happy with her comment, "I guess that's cool, but there's something you should remember before you jump into things without thinking."
"Hmm, what is it?" she asked curiously.
"Well, think of it this way," he gestured with his hands. "If a peasant fell in love with a princess, would that be alright with the kingdom?" His analogy seemed to be too cheesy, but it was as close as he could think of for what he was about to say.
Lucy scrambled through her brain to come up with an answer, "I would guess not. Especially since the princess's father would rather have her be wed to a prince instead."
"Same here," Natsu nodded. "Someone like me can't be seen around when the big stars come walking in, it just doesn't seem right, you know?"
"That's definitely true," the blonde agreed. "But what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, figure it out for yourself," the pink head yawned. "Anyways, I better get going." Natsu gave her a sort of salute before picking up his mop and walked away. Just as he was about to turn the corner, Lucy called out to him.
"Thanks for the 'you know'," she smiled. "I hope that we can be friends. Actually, wait a sec." Lucy jogged up to a surprised Natsu who was growing tired of her wasting his time, but for some reason, he was happy that she came up to him. The blonde extended her hand out and gave him a big grin that almost seemed fake, but the twinkle in her eyes suggested it was not.
"What is this for?" he asked cautiously as if she had a trap ready for him.
"Just shake it."
Natsu was suspicious at first, so he awkwardly moved his mop to his left hand so that he could shake hers with his right hand, then he too extended with his fingers outstretched until it was close to hers. He had no idea why, but he was starting to sweat and he was uncomfortable underneath the heat of the baggy janitor suit. Then, she grasped his and shook it.
"There," Lucy exclaimed. "We both got off on the wrong foot, but this officially marks our friendship. Got it?"
"Y-yeah," he stumbled. Something felt weird and it was coming from his chest, not too noticeable, but he knew something was there.
"Well, hopefully we'll work together if I do get the job," the blonde waved one final farewell before she floated away through the doors and to the outside, which seemed to shine from a golden blonde sunlight. "Bye, Natsu!"
Natsu.
That was the first time she said his name, right? Natsu shook his head. Why did it matter that it was the first time she said his name? He tried to ignore the thoughts that came into his head from the embrace to how she called him by his first name. Nobody had called him by his first name in a long time. The last person who called him by his first name had been, who? It was…it was…
…It was his girlfriend.
