The next morning, Lucy awoke to soft sunshine filtering in through her blinds, and the sweet smell of freedom.
Sitting up in bed slowly and rubbing her eyes, Lucy remembered the events of last night. "Natsu..." she murmured.
After quickly showering and getting dressed, Lucy grabbed her song binder and guitar and headed off to find a coffee shop.
"Good morning!" she greeted her land lady as she exited the building. The land lady just grumbled under her breath.
"You again."
Lucy just smiled. Nothing could ruin her good mood
Absolutely nothing.
Due to a lifelong habit of hers, Lucy began a list of good things that had happened to her in her head.
This habit had started soon after her mother died, and when Lucy needed all the happy things she could get. Even though she currently felt as if she couldn't be happier, she created the list anyway.
"Number one," Lucy counted as she walked down the edge of the man-made canal outside her apartment with her arms outstretched. "Jude probably doesn't even know I'm gone." And he most likely didn't. "Number two. I'm gone. I'm on my own now."
I'm on my own now. Those words of doubt echoed through Lucy's mind. Sure, she had freedom, but what if something bad happened and there was no one there to help her? "Number three. Strangers who climb my balcony." That was when Lucy realized that she wasn't truly alone. She would make friends at Fairy Tail, Musical Academy, no, just Fairy Tail, and she had already made one friend. In fact, she was going to meet two more people later that day.
"Right. Gray and... Erza? Number four, I guess." Though strangers, Lucy had a feeling they would be friendly. Maybe a little too friendly though, if they were anything like Natsu.
"Number five... coffee shops!" Right in front of Lucy was the most cheerful little shop she had seen. It was small and cozy, and the outside of the building had been painted a sunny yellow. Clear glass windows sparkled in the sunlight, showing off the dark wood tables and cherry red seats inside. A counter in the back of the shop was being cleaned off my a teenager with shining silver hair, and customers mingled everywhere. Lucy entered and breathed in deep. The air smelled of fresh coffee grounds and delicious baked goods.
Lucy sat down and was soon greeted by a girl about her age, with short, boyish, silver hair and bright blue eyes. "Hi! I'm Lisanna! What can I get for you?"
"Oh, hi!" Lucy greeted back. "Can I have... one grande pumpkin spice latte and a strawberry scone?"
"Of course!" Lisanna jotted the order down on her notepad and bustled back to the counter, where the other teenager with long silver hair was now quickly preparing orders.
In just a few minutes, the shop began to clear out and Lisanna came back with Lucy's order. "Here 'ya go!" she smiled.
"Thanks!" Lucy exclaimed appreciatively. She breathed in the spicy scent of her latte. "It smells delicious!"
"Compliments to the chef!" Lisanna shouted to the girl who had made the coffee and most likely the scone as well.
"Thanks, sweetie!" she shouted back, waving at Lucy and Lisanna.
"That's my sister, Mirajane," Lisanna explained. "She, my brother Elfman and I run this shop."
"All alone?" queried Lucy. Lisanna's bright face saddened slightly.
"Our parents passed away a while back," she explained. Before Lucy could respond with her regrets, Lisanna said, "But it's ok. We get by." Gesturing towards the seat, she asked, "May I sit down?"
"Sure!" Lucy agreed, surprised by how friendly everyone she had met was.
"You look about my age. Do you go to Fairy Tail?" Lisanna asked. "Nice guitar, by the way."
"Yeah. Well, at least I'm going to. I'll be going in as Junior, because I only just applied and got in recently. I moved into my apartment last night, actually."
Lisanna whistled. "You must be pretty talented then. Barely anyone gets into Fairy Tail without starting as in ninth grade." Then, with realization, her face brightened. "Oh! I'm going into my Junior year too!"
"Great! Not even my first day and I already know two people!" Lucy was ecstatic at this information, because it took of a lot of pressure to make friends immediately on he first day.
"Who else do you know?"
"Natsu?" Lucy phrased it as a question, because she wasn't sure if him climbing onto her balcony in the middle of the night counted as 'knowing' a person.
"Natsu?! How on earth do you know Natsu? He's never left Magnolia!" As a side note, Lisanna whispered behind her hand. "Major motion sickness."
"Ooh. Yikes. And I actually only just met him last night..." Lucy went on to explain how she made the pink haired boy, and had Lisanna belly laughing within seconds.
"He climbed onto your balcony? And started to sing with you?" Lisanna's mouth was open, and she was shaking with laughter, but she seemed to believe Lucy.
"Yep! I'm supposed to go over to this address later, he wanted to record my song with other instruments. I think..." Lucy trailed off as she showed Lisanna the address.
"So that's why!" she shouted. "He texted me earlier, and told me to be at his place at noon with my keyboard." Grinning, she grabbed Lucy's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, mysterious new girl whom I'll officially meet later." Lucy giggled, realizing that she liked Lisanna.
"Likewise. I'm Ashley, by the way." They both collapsed into giggles, and then Lucy asked what had been on her mind. "How do you know Natsu?"
"Oh, I've known him since kindergarten. And if you were wondering, his hair color's natural."
"Seriously! I thought it was just a trick of light at first!"
The pair giggled some more, and got to talking about some of their favorite bands and songs. Lisanna told Lucy all about the Junior year teachers, who was strict, who was nice, and who's class you could virtually get away with eating ice cream with a knife for a spoon. After almost forty five minutes of bonding, the two girls were broken apart by Mirajane, as more people began to pour into the shop.
"See you soon, Ashley!" Lisanna waved at Lucy as she excited the coffee shop, grinning like a madwomen but not caring in the slightest. It was ten thirty, and Lucy had another hour until she had to try to find the address Natsu had given her. Wandering around town, Lucy found a music shop. There, she beholded in the sight of shiny new instruments, testing each and every one. All too soon, it was time for Lucy to find the address.
It took Lucy a bit longer than expected to find the place, due to the fact that it wasn't really in a neighborhood. It was settled in the very outskirts of a neighborhood pretty close to where Lucy lived on Strawberry Street, about twenty walking minutes away.
"Ahh! Finally!" Lucy's arms ached from carrying her guitar. And, in addition to the guitar, Lucy had also lugged her binder full of self composed songs around with her all morning. Since she had been writing nonstop since around age eleven, the binder was heavy. Heavy, and also overflowing.
Natsu's house had a welcoming feeling to it. Made of varying shades of worn red brick, the house was surrounded by untamed wildflowers and adorned with crisp white shutters.
"Here I go," Lucy declared resolutely. "Time to be Ashley."
Before Lucy-Ashley could even knock on the door, it opened to reveal a tall, buff man with reddish, almost pinkish, hair. "Natsu!" he bellowed. "Your new lady friend's here!" He winked at Lucy and held out his hand. "Igneel Dragneel. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"I'm Ashly Davis. It's nice to meet you too!" Lucy smiled nervously at Natsu's father, again blown away by how friendly he was. Nothing at all like her father. With one grin, Igneel had proven himself to contain the warmth Lucy had so desired after her mom died.
"I didn't believe Natsu when he said he had a girlfriend, but you're definitely proof enough!" Before Lucy could protest, Natsu popped out from behind a door.
"She's not my girlfriend, dad!" he retorted in retribution. "Come on, Ash!" Natsu said gleefully as he grabbed her hand and dragged Lucy down a set of stairs, and brought her into a huge basement.
"Woah," Lucy gushed in amazement. "This is epic."
The room truly was epic. The whole basement was a room that encompassed the entire house, except there were no walls, just one huge expanse. Greenscreens lined three out of four walls, and sheet music, hastily written lyrics, and a plethora of musical instruments laid everywhere. It was a mess, but an awesome one.
Running over to a keyboard strewn on the floor on top of a whole bunch of paper, Lucy quickly played a few chords and sighed in pleasure. "I haven't played the piano in a whole day."
"You've really suffered, haven't you?" Natsu joked. "So when did 'ya move in?"
"Last night, actually. I had literally just dropped my bags on the floor and went outside to try my new song when you came." Natsu rubbed his neck sheepishly.
"Sorry if I startled you at all. It was just a really good song, and I wanted to meet the person who wrote it!" Wow, Natsu seemed to be enthusiastic about everything.
Lucy blushed slightly at the comment. "Thanks. I wrote it on the train on the way here." With that said, the pink haired boy doubled over, clutching his stomach with one hand and his mouth with the other. His face began to take on a greenish tinge.
"Don't... ever mention transportation around me. Ever" he declared, face slowly turning green. Right. Natsu had motion sickness.
"Right... Lisanna told me about that." As soon as the motion sickness on Natsu's face faded, confusion replaced it.
"How do you know Lisanna?" The blonde said nothing.
"That's for us to know and for you to never find out!" The white haired girl herself strutted down the basement stairs, smirking as if she had a secret. Which she did.
"Not fair..." Natsu groaned. "I want in on the secret. Did you guys meet when Lis was "traveling abroad"?"
The two accused shared a grin. "We don't know," they said in union. Suddenly, a fearsome looking girl with long, scarlet hair and a pair of drumsticks in her back pocket entered the basement and immediately slapped Natsu in the back of the head.
"You idiot!" she roared. "You don't climb onto strangers' balconies in the middle of the night! What have I taught you about manners, and public decency?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"If anything, you should have learned not to do what you did last night. Understood?" The ferocious teen drilled, while the terrified Natsu nodded his head as quickly as humanly possible.
"Sorry Erza. Sorry Ash." Lucy smiled at her nickname, and then realized that Erza was the drummer.
In short, Lucy was terrified.
"I apologize for my friend's behavior," Erza began, speaking to Lucy. "I am Erza, and it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Oh! I'm Ashley, nice to meet you too!" Lucy stuck out her hand, but Erza ignored it and brought her into a hug instead. Yet again, Lucy was amazed by how welcoming and accepting these people from Fairy Tail were.
Once Erza let go of Lucy, Lisanna spoke up with a very important question. "So Ashley, when can we see the song you wrote?" Lucy ruffled through her binder, and retrieved several slightly crumpled pieces of paper.
"This has the lyrics and the acoustic guitar part. The electric guitar would be different, drums are needed, and bass and piano parts would be nice, but I haven't written anything for those yet. I only just wrote the song yesterday on the train here."
As Lucy was beginning to explain the parts, a strange boy with dark hair and hands in his pockets stalked in. "I can't believe you started without me, flame-brain." Then he smirked. "Well, it is you." Noticing, Lucy, he held up a hand at hear and said, "I'm Gray. On bass." He acted nonchalant as he made his way over to examine Lucy's writing.
"I'm Ashley. Nice to meet you." Though Gray wasn't as touch feely as Natsu, Lisanna, and even Erza were, he still seemed nice enough. Lucy continued to explain the song, and soon they were hooking up wires and adjusting everyone's sound. The five teens worked well together, and with the exception of Natsu and Gray's strange obsession with fighting constantly, Lucy found that this group was growing on her. Erza with her stern discipline but kind manner, Lisanna's cheerfulness and positivity, Gray's nonchalant way of acting brotherly, and of course, Natsu's sporadic childish manner.
Soon enough, Lucy stood with a mic in her hand, in front of a green screen. Lisanna and Gray flanked her right, while Natsu and Erza flanked her left. Igneel had just joined them, so start the cameras staged at multiple angles. Igneel pressed the button to roll the cameras, and gave them a thumbs up while flashing grin. Gray strummed his bass, and Natsu joined, creating chords that reverberated throughout the room. Lisanna started to play her keyboard, and finally, Lucy opened her mouth nervously and began to sing.
My eyes are open wide
And by the way,
I made it through the day
Erza joined in as Gray Lisanna and her tried to contain their amazement at how fantastic of a voice Lucy possessed.
I watched the world outside
By the way,
I'm leaving out today
I just saw Halley's comet
Shooting
Said, "Why you always running in place?"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere
The song's intensity increased as they reached the first chorus.
Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance
Please don't cry one tear for me
Natsu joined in with unplanned background vocals.
I'm not afraid
Of what I have to say
This is my one and only voice
So listen close,
It's only for today
I just saw Halley's comet
Shooting
Said, "Why you always running in place?"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere
Lucy belted as she sang from her heart.
Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance
Here is my chance
This is my chance
For a moment, just Erza's drums remained.
Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realize
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance
Lucy sang the last line alone, ending the song with her voice filled with passion and hopefulness.
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance.
Igneel shut off the camera's as the teens stood in place, amazed at themselves and their first accomplishment. "You've got some real talent there, Ashley," he commented to the panting girl. "Good luck!" he shouted over his shoulder as Igneel proceeded upstairs.
"You know what," Natsu finally said. "We should make a band."
(A/N) I don't own Fairy Tail (though if I did Natsu and Zeref would totally hug it out and then defeat Acnologia using nakama/bro power)
Hey! I'm doing the Author's note at the end of the chapter this time, just because I didn't see why not.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY FOLLOWERS, FAVORITERS, AND REVIEWERS. YOU ARE ALL AMAZINGLY FANTASTERRIFIC PEOPLE AND I COULDN'T BE MORE GRATEFUL!
This is basically my first real multi-chapter fic (the first one I enjoy writing and have ideas for) and I'm amazed that I'm already halfway to my goal of 20 followers and 13 favorites! Reviews are just the icing on the cake, and very much appreciated!
One note on this chapter: Team Natsu unites yet again! And Lisanna, 'cause I love her character and needed a pianist. Just so you know, Lisanna will not be an antagonist in this fic. I know a lot of the time people do that because it does make a good story line, but I just love her too much to make her a villain and go down that path.
Though I'm not saying I don't enjoy fics with Lisanna as a villain. I've read quite a few XDXDXD
I had so many things I wanted to include in the chapter, but didn't want to go over 3000 words, which I would have it I had included the rest of the afternoon. However, expect another chapter very soon. Ideas and inspiration are fresh on my mind, and only growing :D
Also, on a side note, I will probably be updating sporadically later on. Right now, I have lots of inspiration and have updated every two days, I believe. Later on though, I'm scared that my ideas will dwindle and I'll end up updating a heck of a lot slower. But that won't happen for another five chapters ;D
Thanks so much for reading!
~Cierra