.

.

"Just like a star across my sky,

Just like an angel off the page,

You have appeared to my life,

Feel like I'll never be the same"

-Like A Star, Corrine Bailey Rae


(:)(A)(:)

To the Flame

Chapter #2: Sogni D'Oro

(Golden Dreams)

(:)(A)(:)


The next night she is surprised to find him already waiting for her. His arms are crossed over his chest and his left knee is bouncing wildly as he frowns up at the sky. She wonders if he is having a disagreement with some of the stars.

She watches silently as he pulls some sort of device from his coat pocket. The bright screen illuminates his face and she can see a crease of concern developing between his brows. He mumbles something incoherently under his breath. In the cold, she can see the words curl from his lips in a fine mist but is unable to read them. She sort of wishes she could.

"You're here."

She doesn't know what else to say, what to feel. For the second night in a row there is a pink haired stranger sitting on her bench. Only - no ... that isn't quite right. He isn't stranger. He has name. He told it to her. Natsu? Yes, that's right. The boy of sun and summer smiles.

He visibly jumps, his head snapping towards the sound of her voice. "Lucy?" His eyes are squinting and she realizes that she is still hidden in the shadows. To him she is invisible, a floating voice. She steps forward and lets the light overhead wash over her skin.

His expression melts into one of relief and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I was starting to think I got stood up."

She doesn't understand - she is standing - but she supposes he must mean that he thought she might not come. She wonders if he is stupid. Just in case, she repeats her words from the previous night. "This is my bench."

His hand tugs at his scarf in what seems to be habit, his smile barely faltering. "Right, uh ..." He scoots over to give her room to sit. "Here. I kept it warm for ya!"

She stares at the spot he has left her before her eyes travel over his bright smile. "It is the wrong side."

He blinks, his face falling in confusion as he looks from her, to the bench, and back. "Oh." He shifts over to the other side. "Uh, sorry?"

She nods, accepting his apology, and takes her place on the left hand side of the bench. She eyes his hair curiously and he stares back at her with an eyebrow raised. If he was a stranger passing by she would have written a story about that hair. She would have explored the shade and given it a name - 'Salmon' she thinks. But sitting next to him she realizes that for once she has the opportunity to hear a story instead of telling one. The observation makes her feel strangely giddy.

"Why is your hair pink?" she asks, her eyes never leaving the bright strands.

He looks embarrassed. "Oh, that?" He rubs the back of his neck, just above his scarf where the pink hairs are short, his grin turning sheepish. "I kinda lost a bet with one of my friends. I have to keep it like this for a whole year." He gives her a shy smile. "It doesn't look too terrible does it?"

It doesn't. In fact, she can't imagine him any different so she shakes her head. "No, it is a good story."

He seems pleased by her answer even if he doesn't seem to completely understand it. His eyes brighten and he runs a hand through his stubborn pink locks with a soft smile. "Thanks."

She reaches up and gently takes a lock of his hair between her fingers, ignoring the way he suddenly sputters her name and leans away from her. The strands are softer than she expects. "What is it called?" she asks.

"W-what?!"

Her eyes lower to his face. His eyes are wide and his face is beginning to rival the color of his hair. She wonders if he is sick - she thinks she remembers that fevers cause flushing - but he seemed fine just a moment ago so she decides not to concern herself with it. "The color," she clarifies, giving the pink lock a little tug. "Does it have a name?"

For a moment his mouth gapes wordlessly and then he releases a loud breath that sounds like a cross between a sigh and a laugh. The color slowly fades from his cheeks. "Uh, probably? I don't remember. I kinda just grabbed it off the shelf, you know?"

She frowns, disappointed, and removes her hand and settles it on her lap. "What was the bet?" She is curious. She wants to know the story - maybe she can even immortalize it in her pages.

"Ah..." He eyes her thoughtfully for a moment. "You know, it's kinda an embarrassing. But," he taps the journal still sitting snuggly on her lap with a grin, "If you you read me one of your stories, I'll tell you. How does that sound?"

She mulls it over before nodding. "That is fair."

Her eyes scan the park, looking for inspiration, when he coughs awkwardly in his hand. "You, uh, gonna open it?" He gestures to her notebook.

She frowns at him. "I already told those stories. I have to tell a new one." She tells a new one every night, the items she has collected in her notebook have already been given pasts, she must do the same for something else now. It is her purpose.

"Oh, ok." She can tell by the confused crease in his forehead that he doesn't understand, but she appreciates that he is silent anyway.

Finally, her russet colored eyes land on something suitable. She points towards the monkey bars. "Do you see that bandaid?" she asks.

Following her finger, he squints and then slowly nods. "Uh, yeah. I see it."

"It came off a little girls knee," she says, eyes glazing. Invisible threads are dancing in front of her. She plucks and twists the strands, weaves them into something tangible. "Her name is Margret and she is six years old. Her hair is dark brown and thick, like her father's, but her eyes are wide and hazel like her mother's. They live in a big mansion on a few acres with lots and lots of tall willow trees that she likes to climb. She likes to pretend the branches are the crows nest of a pirate ship."

Words are stringing together faster than she can say them, piling up and pushing from her lips with fervor. "A few days ago she slipped and skinned her knee on the rough bark but she kept playing anyways because pirates don't cry over scratches. When her father saw the blood he was angry and forbade her from playing in the trees anymore because it wasn't lady like and she was too old for those kinds of games..."

Her eyes darken, her brows pulling in thought as she stares at the bloody bandaid laying in the playground bark. "She cried because the trees were her friends and she didn't want to leave them, so to make her feel better her mother brought her here, to the park. She never noticed when the bandaid came off."

Satisfied, she turns to her companion. He is staring at her as if he has never seen her before - his eyes wide and his mouth slightly parted. For a moment she stares back at him but she quickly grows impatient. "It's your turn now," she prods.

He shakes himself, as if coming out of some kind of daze. "No, wait! What happened next?"

She frowns, confused. "Next?"

"Yeah. What happened when they got to the park?" His eyes are wide, bright, and full of innocent curiosity. For a moment, he looks more like a boy than a man, and she feels something like regret settle on her shoulders.

"I don't know." She only paints pasts, not futures.

He looks at her strangely, as if he feels lost, and then his mouth curls into a stubborn grin. "You know what I think?" he asks, but continues before she can guess. "I think she was still really upset when she got here. In fact, she was so upset that she didn't even want to play!"

He leans towards her, his eyes bright and burning with the reflection of the light above them. "But then a little boy her age came along. He took her hand and invited her to play with him on the swings. They made each other smile."

She is intrigued, and decides to wrap herself in the web he's weaving instead of reminding him about the other story he owes her. "What is his name?" she asks. She is ensnared in the future he has woven, cocooned in the soft silk fibers.

Stumped, he pauses. "Uh, I don't know. George?" Her nose crinkles and he hastily tries again. "How about Sam?"

The corners of her mouth tug into a wistful smile as she stares out at the park. "Sam is a good name." Visions of children playing dance like ghosts in front of her eyes. She sees Margaret laughing and smiling as a faceless boy pushes her on the swing. "What does he look like?"

He pauses for a moment, humming in thought. "Blonde hair and blue eyes, I think."

She nods, finding the description appropriate. But no matter how long she stares at the little boy pushing Margaret his hair stays pink, his eyes remain a bottomless green, and his wide smile is warm like summer. Margaret's hair begins to bleed gold until, suddenly, she is replaced by a little blonde girl with doe brown eyes that she is afraid to recognize.

For the first time in a long, long time, she too finds herself wondering what comes next.

"Tell me more," she whispers.

There is a desperation stirring in her chest. She wants him to keep telling her the future and let it unfold in phantom images in front of her eyes. Above them the humming of the street lamp, a noise as constant as herself, seems louder.

He humors her, spins stories about youthful adventure and everlasting friendship. When the horizon begins to lighten, and she has to leave, he ends it with, "They lived happily ever after."

As she walks away, the sunrise on her heels, she hopes that she will see him again.


AN: Um, yeah - so the title and summary changed. I kinda got so excited with the first chapter I posted sooner than I should have - sorry! For those of you that saw the previous summary ... congrats. You got a sneak peek into the future of this fic. For those of you just joining us, uh, sorry?

I'm playing with idea of making this into a 'M' rating for future chapters ... the whole vampire and sex thing just kinda goes hand in hand you know? Or maybe that's just the NaLu Love Fest on Tumblr infecting my brain (ten more days you guys!). Maybe I'll put it to a vote ...

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(P.S. For those of you also following Ignite, you're probably looking at an update towards the end of the month. I'll be devoting the next two weeks to my contribution to NaLu Love Fest starting October 19 – hopefully that will satisfy your NaLu cravings in the meantime! *wink*)

Update 10/16: I lied. The summary changed back to the original because damn it I'm indecisive like that. I'm done though. I won't change it again.

... probably.