I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, I only own this story.

Chapter 3

As Natsu left the bathroom, he took another glance at his phone the check the time, Luce should be getting' off soon…

When the door slammed shut behind him, he looked up and saw a familiar face staring at him with a pleading look in those big brown eyes of hers.

That's when Natsu realized what was happening, there was the asshole Sting, caging Lucy against the wall between his arms. He never did like that guy.

"Sting."

The blond glanced over his shoulder to look at Natsu, "'Sup."

"Get the fuck away from her. It's obvious she's not interested."

Luckily, that made him step away and lower his arms to his sides. Sting walked closer to Natsu until he was able to whisper to his ear, "It's obvious she is playing hard to get, Natsu."

Natsu clenched his fists but stayed quiet.

Sting chuckled lightly, "Don't tell me you aren't thinking about doing the same perverted things to her as every other guy in this place."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" A growl escaped his throat, that seemed to even make Sting take a step back.

After adjusting his jacket to act cool, Sting smirked at Natsu, then turned to Lucy who was still standing frozen with her back against the wall. "See you around, Lucy," then he walked out of the hallway and back into the bar.

Natsu took one look at Lucy and knew she had been absolutely terrified, "Fuck, Luce! I'm sorry!" He stood in front of her and held her hands with his, "Let's get outta here, 'kay? Do ya have everythin'?"

She nodded at him as she blinked back the tears in her eyes.

Seeing her like that broke his heart.

Natsu decided to take the back door that was at the end of the hallway and led Lucy out to his truck in the parking lot. He drove a classic 1951 Chevrolet 3100, he'd restored it himself and repainted it his favorite shade of red.

He opened the passenger side door and helped Lucy step up inside. Instead of closing the door, Natsu leaned against it, "Are you alright?"

She stared at her hands in her lap with a frown.

"Fuck, of course not… Shit, Luce! I was just in the bathroom for a second. I went in there when ya were clockin' out, I didn't know he was followin' ya. I'm real sorry Luce, I'm sorry!"

She bit her lip and looked at him with tears still in her eyes.

"I know I fucked up, I didn't do the one thing you asked me to…but… Fuck, will you please say something?"

xXx

Lucy shook her head, "What'd I ask you to do?"

He seemed frustrated by her question, "To keep the guys away from ya."

"I didn't ask you to do that, did I?" She asked herself aloud, then remembered she had said it sarcastically when she told him they could be friends.

'Sure, we can be friends. And if you can keep the guys around here away from me that would be great.' He took that seriously? I guess he did seem excited afterwards, but I thought that was because I said we could be friends…

"Natsu… I wasn't really serious about that you know. I don't expect you to do something like that for me…" He looked really upset, so she continued "…but thank you for saying something to Sting. That was…very uncomfortable for me…"

More than uncomfortable. It reminded her of her father. Sting even had blond hair like her father.

"Luce."

The sound of his nickname for her made Lucy's eyes go to Natsu's.

"Let me do this for ya, as a friend."

She closed her eyes and sighed, "Do what?"

When she opened her eyes, Natsu was smiling at her, it took her breath away. "Let me be there for ya, Luce. That's all I ask," his smile never wavered, his eyes never stopped shining under the moonlight.

Lucy couldn't help it. She cried. She felt her lip begin to quiver and her tears fall from her eyes onto her cheeks.

When was the last time I cried? Fuck, it's been years… Not since I moved out.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Lucy covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head, "I can't—I don't—I'm not—I—" Her voice was breaking as she sobbed out her words, trying to complete a sentence, but finding herself unable to.

"Shhh, Luce, hey…"

She could feel his hand against her cheek, she never had felt such a tender and gentle touch there before. Lucy only remembered being slapped there.

"It's okay, just breathe. You don't need to explain just…" He let out a deep breath and gazed into her eyes, "If you gotta cry, I'm here, take my shoulder. If you need to talk, I'll listen, 'kay?"

The face she was making, was definitely not attractive—all scrunched up in a pout before she finally broke—Lucy nodded her head then found herself wrapping her arms around Natsu's neck. She began to sob into his shoulder, feeling comforted by his words and presence.

Father never let me cry. When I cried in front of him, he would punish me. I had to wait until I was alone. I told myself I wouldn't ever cry again once I was out of that fucking house! Why do I want to cry so bad right now?

XxX

Natsu slid in beside her on the bench seat of his truck. He wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and used his right hand to pat her back in an attempt to comfort her.

If he's being honest, he fucking hated this. This was single-handedly the worst moment of his life.

He never wanted to see her cry like this.

Never had he even thought about such a thing. But now he was witnessing it with his very own eyes. Listening to every single sob that shook her body against his.

There was one thing he wanted to do and that was make it stop. And the only thing he was any good at was singing, so he sang to her.

(This song is "Cry Like A Rainstorm" sung by Linda Ronstadt, imagine a deep male voice)

Life isn't easy
Love never lasts
You just carry on
And keep moving fast
I pulled off the highway
And rolled into town
I'm just fancy free babe
And I travel 'round
Sometimes I'm up
Sometimes down
Where can I run to
How have I sinned
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind
And my thoughts are filled with memories
They won't let me be
But if all the stars are shining bright
Well they would not let me see
It's so cold and the rain keeps blowing
It's tearing through the town
But I'm still fancy free darling
And I travel 'round
Sometimes I'm up
Sometimes down
Oh where can I run to
How have I sinned
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind
Sometimes I'm up
Most times down
Oh where can I run to
Tell me how have I sinned
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind
Who can I turn to
Tell me where to begin
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind
When you cry like a rainstorm
And you howl like the wind

By the time he was finished, Lucy had stopped crying. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck, but Natsu realized he must've pulled her closer. She was now sitting on his lap, his left arm around her shoulders and his right hand on her hip.

He felt himself blush, but she didn't seem upset, "You feelin' better, Luce?"

She nodded her head and nuzzled her face against his white scarf around his neck, "Yeah… Thanks, Natsu."

"Anytime, but I really don't like seein' ya cry."

Sniffling, "Sorry…"

"Don't—" Natsu sighed, "Don't apologize. It's okay to have feelin's. Fuck. When was the last time you cried?"

"Uhh... It's been awhile…"

Natsu didn't like the frown on her face, the way she pulled her eyebrows together, or the clouded look in her eyes, but it was real.

She wasn't hiding from him, this was how she really felt. There was no mask anymore, this was just… Lucy.

And it was better than the fake-as-shit smile she showed the customers at the bar.

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh? What?"

He smirked at her confused expression, "Wanna grab a bite to eat? My treat."

She fluttered her long eyelashes, probably without realizing how gorgeous she looked while doing so, "Uhh, yeah, okay."

"M'kay," he pulled her over his body and switched sides with her on the bench. He buckled his seatbelt then turned to Lucy with a grin, "Buckle up, Luce. We're gonna have some fun and make ya forget all about bein' sad."

AN: Hey everyone! Here is chapter 3, once again, sorry about the cliffhanger sort-of ending. I realize the chapters haven't been super long, mostly cause I tend to feel like that is just the right place to end it, so sorry if it bugs anyone.

Anyyywayy, please leave a review and let me know what you think.

xoxoLadyLiberal