A/N: Here is Chapter TWO OF NALU FEELS! Actually, I wrote this during finals week. So nalu really did overcome finals 3 of course. k, enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail of any of its characters. Hiro Mashima does.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree... An apple would taste really good right about now, Lucy Heartfilia mused as she lugged a fat, cumbersome trash bag AND her suitcase along the road, on her way to the dump. Mind you, she was only doing as the employee said because Lucy hated littering, actually. She didn't want to leave the heavy bag there. There was a possibility that the wind could blow the trash bag open and all its contents would fly away, making the world a dirtier place. Since it's filthy already, I can't make it worse, can I? Lucy thought.
Anyway, Lucy waved away the thought of her hunger and focused on the quote she had just thought of a few seconds ago. 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' Why had she suddenly thought of this quote? Perhaps, she was missing her late mother. Her mother, Layla Heartfilia, had passed away when Lucy was young, unfortunately.
When Jude used to still care for Lucy when she was a child, he told her that Layla never liked to litter and always had a sense of justice and compassion for others. Maybe he kicked Lucy out from his presence because he couldn't bear the fact that Lucy and Layla were totally alike in their appearance, actions, and attributes. The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, in my case, Lucy thought bitterly, Just because I'm similar to Mom doesn't mean I have to become an estranged homeless person. I'm a nobody with no friends or family or-
Lucy stopped dead in her tracks when she felt a warm hand grab her the arm she was using to drag the trash bag around. She slowly turned around and her fearful eyes hesitantly set upon whoever had seized her in the middle of the dark night.
A little while ago, Natsu Dragneel stood up from the bar, slightly dizzy from all the beer, and asked Mira, "Hey Mira, is there anything I can help with? Any garbage that needs to be taken out?" He was used to these trivial jobs because he liked helping out with anything, even if it was unimportant. Mirajane pondered as she poked her chin with her finger thoughtfully, saying, "Hmm, no, I think I got it taken care of by an employee. She was so whiny about it though, saying that she wanted to party."
Natsu shook away his unsteadiness and offered, "I'll go help her. I'm a bit restless anyway." The snow-haired young lady watched Natsu leave the bar hurriedly and thought, Wait, didn't I already send someone to help that girl? Mirajane shrugged, going back to serving other rambunctious employees.
The sudden onslaught of wind blinded Natsu for a split-second, but he quickly gathered his senses and made his way to the dumpsters. His steps stopped abruptly when he came upon the golden-haired spa co-owner, Loke, and a young woman with bright blonde hair at the front of the dumpsters. Loke was grasping the lady's arm and she looked startled. The two's eyes slowly met with Natsu's, and a brief silence occurred before Natsu said, "Loke, what's up? Who is she?"
Loke removed his hand from Lucy's arm and took ahold of the bulging trash bag that she was holding. "I just came to throw away the trash, but the employee entrusted with the task said she just tossed it to some passerby because she was too lazy! I made sure she was fired, of course; that kind of lazy behavior isn't allowed in Fairy Tail." Natsu thought that was a bit extreme, but when he noticed the the young lady's pale face and trembling fingers from the cold winds of the night, he felt bad for her. Loke continued kindly, "So, I rushed to help whoever was given this big old trash bag and I found this lady! She told me her name is Lucy, right?" Lucy nodded, and said, "Yes, I'm Lucy." It came out as a whimper, however, and it looked like she was in pain from being outside in the freezing cold so long.
Loke threw the trash bag into the dumpster and said heroically, "Looks like the job is done! Natsu, let's go back and have a drink." "Wait," Natsu said, "Lucy looks like she is going to freeze to death!" Finally noticing this, Loke asked the shivering blonde lady, "Ma'am, where is your house? We can take you there."
Lucy blinked and looked up at the two men sadly, like a kitten. Loke and Natsu were taken aback. Natsu suddenly understood her situation. Perhaps, Natsu thought, she doesn't have a place to go. I know how that feels. Natsu grabbed her chilled hand and said, "You can come with us to Fairy Tail." Loke agreed, "Yes, you should!" Lucy was jolted to her senses when she felt Natsu's warm hand grab hers. Suddenly she felt hot inside, which greatly contrasted the previous cold feeling she had. Then Lucy, remembering the flyer she had found which read 'Fairy Tail: Workers Needed', replied, "Alright!" Then, the two men helped the young lady walk back to Fairy Tail, the place of Lucy's hopes and dreams.
The three finally arrived at Fairy Tail and this time, Lucy was welcomed into the building. Having never stepped in the place before, Lucy was shocked by the immensely decorated facility. In one word, it was beautiful. The blonde-haired lady was in awe at everything that her eyes took in. It was heaven to all of her deprived senses.
Before Lucy's jaw completely hit the floor, Natsu and Loke dragged her toward Fairy Hills, a section of Fairy Tail, and committed her to some of the girls there, as it was exclusive to only females. As the men left, Lucy snapped out of her fantasies, and completely forgot to thank her helpers. Instead, she glanced up at the new people she was put with. A woman with long, flowing scarlet hair had a hand to her hip, and Lucy couldn't help but feel intimidated. She looked friendly, though. On her left was a petite, tiny girl with messy, cerulean hair tied with an orange headband, who also looked nice enough.
Lucy in a bit of a daze, asked, "Where am I?" The scary woman with crimson hair answered, "Fairy Hills, the living accommodations for the female employees in Fairy Tail. You're only here for a little while, because you were found in such a state outside. We're welcome to visitors, though. It's not like we're that busy, having a party and all." As Lucy nodded, the petite girl with blue hair chirped, "She's Erza Scarlet, and I'm Levy McGarden!" Lucy would have replied something like 'Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy Heartfilia' in a polite manner, but her knees were wobbly and her vision was a bit blurry. Not to mention, from the sudden change in temperature, her body was feeling weird effects.
Before she knew it, Lucy nearly fell backwards and blacked out. She would have hit her head hard on the floor and gotten a concussion, but Erza swiftly caught her and promptly transported her to a room in Fairy Hills with Levy following behind, concerned and worried.
Lucy's dream consisted of warmness, and a fire. It wasn't the destructive, scary fire, however. It was pleasant and toasty. Even when she touched it, she wasn't burned or charred. A surreal dream indeed. Eventually, morning came and the charming sounds of birds chirping woke up Lucy from her comfy slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she took in the new surroundings in which she woke up.
The room was fairly large and painted with pretty pastel colors. The bed she was in was queen-sized and chock-full of soft blankets and downy pillows, and the colors matched the room. The bed was in the right corner of the room and a broad window next to it overlooked Magnolia in all of its morning flory.
Beside the bed was a circular, small white table with some flowers in a vase adorning the top. A few feet in front of Lucy, who was comfortably lounging in bed, was a table made of glossy, light brown wood. it had notebooks, picture frames of Fairy Tail's beautiful landscapes and employees, and a large cup-like pencil holder holding cute, various pencils, pens, markers, erasers and just about every writing utensil.
A pink swivel chair stood in front of this fully decorated table and Lucy bounded out of bed to sit and spin around in it childishly. It was more comfortable than it looked. She felt like a weightless cloud floating in the sky as she spun aimlessly in the chair; all her dizziness from the previous night was gone. She looked around the room some more and noticed pretty, colorful pictures and paintings on the walls with equally colorful frames.
On the right of the other side of the room was the tall, white oak door. Left of this door was a bookshelf with a few books, and next to that was a small TV. It looked expensive despite its small size, as it had a high-quality screen. In front of this TV was a gigantic, purple, squishy bean bag.
For the first time in a while, Lucy felt content. Not because there were particularly cute-looking and amazing things in this room, although that was part of it, but because in here, she felt like she was at home again, and that this was where she truly belonged.
Three raps on the door jostled Lucy out from her daydreams. She announced, "Coming!" as she got up from her pink sqivel chair and ansewred the door. Upon opening the door, Lucy met Levy McGarden, the petite blue-haired bookworm she met the night before. She couldn't remember the details about her personality, however, so Lucy hoped she was nice.
Her hopes were confirmed for the most part when Levy exclaimed cheerfully, "Hi, it's me Levy! You met me last night right before you conked out. I hope you're feeling better now!" Lucy nodded and said, "Thanks, I am fine now. It's just that the wind got to me, I suppose." Her stomach growled loudly, startling them both. "And the lack of food, too." Lucy chuckled a little but Levy looked concerned.
She asked, "You haven't eaten? For how long?" Lucy thought with embarrassment, I haven't eaten for a while; she's gonna think I'm some hobo! Still, Lucy answered truthfully, "Three days..." Levy gasped, "You poor thing! Let's go get some breakfast! Quick!" She pulled the protesting blonde out of the nice bedroom and down the stairs to the dining hall, where wisps of delectable smells became airborne and floated to the dorm rooms.
Nearly tumbling down the stairs, due to Levy's excitement and hurrying, the two burst into Fairy Tail's loud, rambunctious dining hall. There were food fights occurring already, so early in the morning, of course, but the dining hall was considerably big so most likely none of the food disturbed the others, miraculously. Lucy gawked once more at the vastness of the room and will probably gawk even more when she sees the other parts of Fairy Tail, but that you will see later. For now, all Lucy could think of was the delicious food finally entering in her body and giving her energy, while letting her tongue and mouth enter food heaven.
Levy guided the drooling blonde to a nearby table and dashed off towards the buffet to get her something to eat. Lucy reached out her hand to stop Levy from leaving, since she kind of wanted to pick out her OWN food, but it was a lost cause as she completely disappeared in 2 seconds. Lucy, sighing, relaxed in the chair and looked about her surroundings. Everything was new to her senses so far, the smell of scrumptious foods, of course, the scene of Fairy Tail employees messing around and having fun, and hearing the delightful chatter made her feel better about life.
Just as fast as the bluenette had been gone, she was back with three platefuls of magnificent meals, nearly overflowing from the plates. She handled them expertly and placed them on the table. Lucy's mouth salivated as Levy pushes two plates towards the hungry blonde and pulled one plate towards herself. "You need way more food than I do," Levy said, as Lucy, despite her drooling mouth, looked up with a questioning look, "Just don't eat too quickly or else you may get indigestion!"
Right as Levy gave her warning, the food-deprived woman dug into her food like, well, a food-deprived woman. As Lucy filled her mouth with the food, she was surprised. Mmm, Levy knew exactly what I like! I feel like we're gonna be really good friends. Oh, wow, this is so good. Among Lucy's favorite breakfast dishes were savory fried bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, toasted bagels with cream cheese, and refreshing iced tea.
Lucy groaned as she bit into the yummy bacon which crackled underneath her teeth and an arsenal of flavor assaulted her tongue all at once. She groaned so passionately that it must have been very enjoyable to her. She didn't even have time to feel sheepish, she was too busy eating as much as she could. Levy, watching Lucy stuff herself greedily, giggled inside as she daintily spooned some cereal into her mouth.
Maybe Lucy really shouldn't have eaten so quickly all at once, and maybe she should have heeded Levy's warning... This was along the lines of Lucy's thoughts as she lay on her bed in the bedroom again, her full belly close to popping her shorts' buttons. It was worth it, Lucy thought, but her stomach didn't feel like it was worth it. Oh well, I'll just let it digest a bit and I'll join Levy up later for some more exploring this place! And maybe I can get a job since I managed to get in.
Sure enough, Lucy's resilient stomach calmed down and she was able to get out of her room and go to Levy, her newfound friend. It was a holiday so Fairy Tail was closed for the day, which probably meant an excursion for all the employees. At least that was what Lucy heard from the blue-haired librarian. All the employees were gathered in the lobby and Makarov, the owner, stood on a chair, looking like he was about to announce something.
Lucy ran to Levy and asked, "What's going on?" Levy turned to her excitedly, "He's going to explain what we're gonna do today. Usually we have some cool event to do when there's a holiday. He always plans the craziest things." Sheesh, these people are really energetic, Lucy thought, feeling tired just from running over to Levy.
Somewhere in the throng of people was Natsu. Although he didn't work here, as I've said before, he was basically welcomed as family and even had the featured Fairy Tail pin that only employees wore pinned on his shirt. Loke pushed through the crowd and threw his hand around Natsu's shoulder amiably and said, "Natsu! How's it going?" Grinning widely, he replied, "Waiting for Master's announcements! I'm getting fired up!" Loke chuckled and suddenly a look of realization passed over his face. He removed his arm from Natsu's shoulders and asked in a serious tone, "Hey, remember that girl from last night? Linda? Lora? Hm, she told me herself, but I can't recall." "Lucy," Natsu said, remembering clearly the events of last night. "Right! Isn't she just the prettiest? I thought she was really cute."
Natsu nodded absently, "Sure." Soon, Gray joined them and Loke rambled about the new girl. Gray shook his head, "You're such a player, Loke. I thought you had a thing for Aries?" At the bashful employee's name, Loke turned crimson red and said, "Shut up!"
A booming voice caused everyone who was chattering to look up at Master Makarov. "Alright ya little brats! We're gonna have a great day! To the field!" Levy turned to Lucy, her eyes glittering, "Oh, so it's an outside activity! So excited!" Lucy's tentative smile turned into a wide grin as Levy and she ran with the other employees towards the door, full of excitement.
The light shone through and suddenly Lucy had a burst of hope in her heart. Weirdly, it felt as if something was tugging her eyes to turn to the left. Not thinking much of the strange feeling, she nonchalantly looked to her left as they ran for the door. Natsu had felt the same sensation, instead it urged him to look right. Their eyes met. They were both confused. The door opened; the light flooded their vision. And everything changed.
A/N: I know, also not many NALU feels sorry. ;~; I like eventual nalu because it's more realistic, y'know! So hold on, there'll probably be more nalu in the next ch.