Chapter Three

"My broken heart,

I clutch in my hands.

Who will bring me the happiness

Of falling in love again?"

Natsu sleepily ate his burnt piece of toast as Wendy sang the beginning of Jenny's – a famous female singer from Blue Pegasus Entertainment – new song, Sick of a Love Where. He chewed slowly as the petite blue-haired girl stood up, grabbed the spoon she had been using to eat oatmeal, and began to dance in a random jig as she sang the next verse.

"Who will be the next to don the wings

That will take him from me

The moment I fall in love

Seriously?"

Before she could continue on much further, the salmon-haired teen raised his hands, and broke into sarcastic applause.

"Woohoo," he said in a flat tone. "Everyone, the new music idol…Wendy Dragneel!"

She slammed her spoon down on the table, splashing oatmeal remnants everywhere, and gave her older brother a steely glare. "Seriously, Natsu-nii, you've got no interest in music, do you?"

"Sure I do…"

"Like what?"

"Any song that you aren't currently singing."

"Natsu, I-!"

"Now, now, you two…no fighting at the table," Grandine chided gently as she scraped the last bits of what had been a waffle from her plate and into her mouth. She nudged her husband's arm. "Right, dear?"

"Yes, yes…"

"Besides that, I want the two of you to come home early, today, okay?"

"Sure," Natsu responded almost instantly. He had nothing to do, and even if Gray were to invite him somewhere, it'd probably be some blind group date he had mischievously planned. The salmon-haired teen had explained to his friends at least a dozen times that he really didn't want a new girlfriend – not yet, anyways. But he suspected every time that he explained, Gray would purposely let his mind wander so that he wouldn't have to hear any of it.

"Okay, Mama, but why?" Wendy asked, seating herself in her chair, and downing the last bit of orange juice at the bottom of her glass. It was mostly pulp, but the blunette claimed it didn't bother her much at all drinking it. In fact, the only things that seemed to be able to bother the polite and cheery Wendy Dragneel were sour plums and her older step-brother.

"I've invited the Strauss family over to celebrate your father's new job. Lisanna is bringing a friend – Natsu! Close your mouth! Milk is spilling out of it!"

Natsu did as his mother told him to do, and checked to see if his uniform was soiled by his clumsy action. When not a speck of milk was found on his cardigan, he looked up. "You -"

But before he could say much more, Igneel spoke up in an abnormally high-pitched voice, "Oh my! Lisanna's FRIEND?! Is it a boy or a girl? Natsuuuu…you better watch out, or your girlfriend's going to get stolen from -"

"PAPA!" Wendy's shrill voice rang out, and silenced her redheaded father. He looked out from behind his newspaper and stared at his daughter in confusion. "I, uh…wouldn't you like more toast? I mean, you look rather fami-!"

"Lisanna and I broke up," Natsu said curtly. "Her 'friend' is her new boyfriend – Laxus."

A moment of silence ensued before Grandine's squeaky, "Oh dear!" and Igneel's "Oh, crappity crap!" sounded.

Natsu stood up as his mother reached over to comfort him. He'd rather not have a Sorry-Your-First-Ever-Relationship-Failed convention right now. "I'm going to go, now. Wendy, you ready?"

"Yeah!"

The siblings hurried towards the front door as their parents stared after their son in worry.

"Natsu, you don't have to be there if you don't-!"

"I'll be there. It's Dad's celebration, right? That's why…" he turned to get one last look at his parents before he left for school, "…I'll definitely be there."


"So that's how it is," Lucy, who had woken up too late to accompany Natsu to school, said thoughtfully as she tapped her grammar workbook against her chin. The bell hadn't signaled the start of the school day yet, and Gray and Erza had yet to arrive. Natsu sat in the seat in front of the blonde, propping his feet carelessly on the desk. His unbuttoned cardigan was sloppy as his un-tucked button down shirt underneath, and his hair was in wild spikes.

"Yep…" he answered back, eating the chocolate bar Luce had given when he had walked in. "And I want to be there for my dad…it's been some time since he got a job…but I think it's going to be hard for me to ignore Lisanna and Laxus's couple-ness."

"Couple-ness?" the blonde asked testily. The salmon-haired boy ignored her annoyance at his made-up word. "Well…do you want me to come and comfort you as you sit alone in a dark corner, wallowing in your own despair?"

"First of all," he said, gulping down the last bit of his candy, "harsh. Second of all, Natsu Dragneel does NOT publicize his 'wallowing in despair'."

"I'm pretty sure you can handle this on your own, Natsu…unless you do want me to come?" she mumbled the last part in a hurry. When the pink-haired teen turned his gaze on her, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly at the bright red of her cheeks.

"Nah…my dad's…he's kinda weird. He'll get…ideas into his head…" he replied, crumpling of the candy wrapper awkwardly.

"Oh…I…uh…it was just an idea I threw out there…so, uh, don't worry about it."

"Yeah."

"Good morning, Natsu."

The salmon-haired teen looked up at who was talking to him. It was Erza, and she smiled at him brightly, and then nodded to Lucy. The redhead beckoned to her friend. "May I talk with you for a moment, Natsu?"

"Sure?" he replied uncertainly, and gave the blonde a curt wave. "See ya, Luce."

"Um, y-yeah, see you…"

Natsu smiled. No matter how many times he utilized her nickname, she never quite got used to it.

He followed his red-haired friend out in the hallway, and practically screamed when she nailed him to the wall.

"What – the – hell – Natsu?" Erza asked him through clenched teeth. She jabbed her finger into his chest every time she uttered a word.

"What? What did I do wrong?" he asked her, squirming under her tight grasp.

"When are you going to get it into your BIG, FAT, STUPID head to tell me things right away when they happen?!"

"And what did I fail to tell the oh-so-wonderful Erza?" he asked sarcastically, and immediately regretted it when he received a punch in the stomach.

"I just heard from Wendy that Lucy Heartfilia confessed to you?!" she said in a harsh whisper.

"How does WENDY know that?" Natsu pondered, indirectly confirming his friend's statement. He felt all the air leave his lungs as Erza pressed onto him even further. The salmon-haired boy was being pinned to the flat wall so extremely, that he could feel the flat surface digging into his back.

"First of all…Lucy and Wendy are friends…of course the blonde wouldn't fail to tell one of her close friends something important like CONFESSING TO THE ONE SHE LIKES…though the same can't be told of you…" Erza said in a controlled tone. Her voice was strained as she continued, "And I heard that you rejected her? If you did that, why are you hanging out with her?! You do know anything you say to her could crush her like a rock squishing a helpless ant!?"

"Well, hear me out, Erza…Lucy Heartfilia is anything BUT an ant…and she seems to like hanging out with me…"

"Oh…" the redhead said in a despairing tone. "Why do all boys have to be such…you seem to have forgotten that she STILL likes you…do you know how honest she is to admit that to you, yourself? Trust me…I've talked to her a couple times…the very picture of honesty…Natsu…if you hurt an honest person like Lucy Heartfilia…you're going to regret it for a long time."

"I know that already," he snapped, surprised at his temper spiking. "I already know she's an honest person, and I know that if I hurt her…I'm going to mull over it for the longest time afterwards…but right now, she wants to be my friend, and I want to be hers. Just because she's confessed to me…doesn't mean I have to completely ignore her, right? If I destroy any relationship between us…I'm going to regret that, too, Erza."

His female friend finally let go of him as she recoiled and analyzed his answer. Finally, she sighed as Natsu dusted his uniform off.

"Fine, Natsu. But don't mess this up."

"Uh, yeah," he replied, "Oh and before you hear it from someone else, Lisanna's coming to my place tonight with Laxus."

"What?!" the redhead asked, suddenly alarmed.

"We're celebrating my dad's new job…the whole Strauss family is going to be there…so it's fine."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to come and beat Laxus to a bloody pulp…maybe bring one of those authentic swords I bought a while ago-?"

"Erza…I'll be fine…and I really don't want you to get arrested."

"Yes, yes…I suppose so…"


Natsu was watching Kimi ni Todoke with Wendy – the bluenette was obsessed over the show, and wouldn't have it when her older brother pleaded to watched something like Naruto or Bleach instead – when the doorbell rang.

"They're here!" Grandine said ecstatically, dressed in a simple, yet spectacular dress the color of a dark blue night sky.

"Mmmhmm," Igneel said, dressed in a simple tee-shirt, and pleated khaki pants. He was sitting in a comfy armchair, reading a novel that he had suspiciously found interesting the moment the doorbell had rung. The man hated greeting people. He'd rather just start a normal conversation without saying, "Hey, how have you been doing lately?"

"Get up, DEAR," his wife said dangerously, "Or I'll tie you up, and drag you to the door."

"Okay, okay," Igneel grunted, and got up to invite their guests in.

"Natsu, couldn't you have changed into something more…formal?" Grandine lamented as she surveyed the white tee shirt and gray sweatpants her son adorned. Wendy was dressed in a green dress they had bought the other day, but she didn't seem too happy about it. She kept on muttering complaints about how the dress was itchy.

"Formal is just a nice word to describe clothes that are stiff and uncomfortable," he replied automatically. "So, no, I will not change into something like that."

"Suit yourself," his mother answered in disdain, and followed her husband to the front door.

A flood of voices were suddenly heard as the Strauss family entered the Dragneel home.

It wasn't long before Natsu felt a familiar pair of arms snake around his neck.

"Natsu, it's been so long! I've missed you so much! You're so handsome now! And good-looking! Hot! You would definitely be a top model if you bothered to become one!"

The salmon-haired boy smiled, and groaned mockingly. "Mira…same as always, huh?"

The long-haired girl came into view. Mirajane Strauss, the oldest Strauss child, was beautiful. She had long, wavy, white hair, and a gorgeous smile, and her personality was charming (except she was very frightening when she was angry). Her eyes were blue and pretty, and her dark eyelashes were long, even when she wasn't wearing mascara. In fact, Mira didn't wear make-up. Her looks were natural, just like Lucy's. She was already in college, and was a minor model in a company, and was even good friends with the singer Jenny.

Mirajane smiled kindly, and hugged the boy again as he stood up and wrapped his own arms around her. She pulled away, and patted his cheek affectionately. "I'm not kidding when I say you've become quite a looker, Natsu. You're the most popular boy in school now, I've heard?"

"Well…"

Suddenly, the girl's face became sad, and she hugged him with much more force this time.

"Mira…" he gasped, "You're going to kill me."

"I'm so sorry about Lisanna, Natsu, I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"It's okay, Mirajane, really."

"Mirajane!" she wailed, and called her younger brother, Elfman, over. "Elfman, did you just hear! He's called me Mirajane! He's so serious! So mature! Natsu's so grown up now!"

"Indeed!" Elfman cried, wiping his tears. "He's a man, now! I remember when he was only a boy, making mud-pies, and-!"

"Elfman…may I remind you that you're just a year older than me? And plus, you made those mud-pies WITH me."

"So? A year is still a LOT! And mud-pies are a MAN!"

"Does that even me any sense?"

"Hi, Mira-nee!" Wendy chirped, before this could turn into an argument that utilized loud voices, and exaggerated hand movements. "Hi, Elf-nii!"

"Wendy!" the beautiful older girl immediately gushed. "Still adorable as ever, I see!"

Natsu scratched the back of his head awkwardly as the Struass parents, and his own parents entered (he also sweatdropped as Mira hugged Wendy like a chubby, fluffy teddy bear). Even more awkward was when Lisanna entered with Laxus by her side. She gave him a slight nod, and Laxus waved at him weakly.

He answered their greetings with a wave (which consisted of raising a lazily outstretched hand, and then letting it fall to his side), but didn't say anything.

"Time for dinner," Grandine announced. "I made roast beef…"

"I brought a pie, is that okay?" Kaori, Mira's mom, asked politely. Her husband, Ren, was busy ruffling Natsu's hair, and crying over how grown-up he had become ("Natsu! You're almost as hot-looking as I was back then! Ah! High school! The climax of our youth, eh, Natsu?!"). (Anyone could see where Mira's demeanor came from – though she became very much like her mother when she got mad. And it is apparent why Igneel and Ren are friends, since their loud, proud personalities are almost exactly the same.)

Everyone gathered at the dining table, and sat, where they gave their thanks for the meal and began to eat. As forks and knives clinked on white, shining china plates, small talk bubbled in random places. Sometimes starting up and turning into a joke, and sometimes rolling out as a serious tiny conversation/lecture.

"So, Wendy, you're in high school, now, aren't you?" Kaori asked the bluenette, who dabbed at her mouth with a napkin (Natsu snickered at that, earning a punch from his little sister) before replying.

"Yes...and I've been having fun! I've made a couple new friends."

"That's good, and how about you, Natsu?"

He choked on the piece of beef he was eating. Laxus sniggered, and mocked him. He was sitting far to the left, so no one could see him. Natsu shot a glare his way before he answered, "Pretty good. I've kept all my old friends" – bad choice of words…Lisanna and Laxus flinched – "and I've…made a new one."

"A new ONE?" Kaori asked, suddenly interested. "Is it a…G-I-R-L?!"

"Boy's a player," Igneel said in a tone which should have been disapproving, but wasn't.

His input was rightfully ignored.

Mirajane dropped her spoon on the table, and leaned forward eagerly. She always considered herself a matchmaker. "Is it?! How does she look like? Is she a beauty? Oh, Natsu…do you have a picture of her!?"

Like mother, like daughter.

"I, um, uh…" he spluttered. Maybe bringing up Lucy was a bad idea, after all. If he admitted, that, yes, she was very pretty – which was true – then there would be an uproar. And it seemed a little awkward to bring something like that up when his ex-girlfriend (although she didn't harbor any feelings for him anymore) and her boyfriend – who was his best friend – were in the room.

"Natsu-nii has a lot of female friends, and they're all really pretty. So why's everyone making a fuss about it now?" Wendy asked casually.

"Oh," Mira and Kaori said in disappointment and slouched for a second, before they realized this was not proper etiquette.

"So, he's NOT a player?" Igneel asked in a tone which should have been relief, but sounded much more like disappointment. His comment was again ignored.

Natsu shot Wendy a grateful glance, which she accepted with a tiny smile.

"So…when did you guys start going out?" Igneel suddenly asked. His gaze was directed at Lisanna and Laxus.

Suddenly, the redheaded man blanched. From the looks of it, Grandine had probably kicked from under the table. In addition, Kaori, Mira, Wendy, and Grandine were all shooting him poisonous glances.

"Uh…never mind," he muttered, picking at his food.

"Wait a minute. I want to know myself," Ren piped up, and HE blanched as he received a kick from HIS wife.

"Are you a man enough to be my little sister's boyfriend?!" Elfman inquired, and he whined, "Nee-san! Why did you kick me!?" soon after.

"Ahahahaha! That was YOUR leg, Elfy? I thought that was a BUG that really needed to SHUT UP," the older girl replied, smiling innocently, but everyone could see how her patience was quickly running out. Everyone marveled at how the air around her seemed to shimmer with a menacing aura.

"Right, right…bug," Elfman replied quietly and continued to eat his food in silence.

Lisanna and the blonde-haired boy next to her now seemed super anxious and nervous.

Natsu felt the same way, and he smiled as Wendy let him have the last bit of meat to make him feel better. He ruffled her hair affectionately, and she giggled as she pretended to swat his hand away.

When everyone was finished their meals, Grandine and Kaori cleared up the dishes (with the help of a reluctant Natsu and Igneel – the redheaded man had whined, "But I wasn't the ONLY one who ate, was I?!"), and they gathered in the living room for a movie.

"What're we watching?" Igneel asked, popping open a beer can.

"A drama called Boys Over Flowers," Grandine replied, "And you are NOT going through it drunk."

The blue-haired woman ripped the can out of her husband's hand and dumped the contents in a sink before she recycled the can. Igneel stifled a groan as he sank into an armchair and looked at Natsu's comfortable clothing enviously. "Can't we just watch a super cool, awesome action movie instead? Like…what about something with Jackie Chan in it? Or Chuck Norris? Any movie with hand-to-hand combat…maybe a few weapons – guns, swords – is fine."

"NO."

The boys and men's good moods from an above-and-beyond satisfying dinner immediately dropped.

Igneel hissed in protest when Natsu declared he was going to the bathroom by the time Grandine started to play the fourth episode. The girls were all gushing over how good everyone's acting was, while the males quietly sank into boredom. A couple of times, Igneel felt like standing up, and making a run for it…but he knew that his wife was an incredibly fast runner. Natsu smiled cheekily at his father before he disappeared into the sweet haven of the restroom – which mostly blocked out the sounds of the television.

The boy stayed in the restroom for a good five minutes to avoid as much of the show as possible, and when he emerged, he was feeling reenergized.

But not for long. Laxus was right before him, scratching his head awkwardly.

Natsu blinked, considered rushing back into the bathroom ("Oops! Silly me! Forgot to go pee while I was in there!"), but abandoned the thought when it became apparent the blonde was going to say something.

"Look…Natsu…thanks for…letting me come over."

The salmon-haired boy shrugged, and walked past his best friend indifferently. "My dad's party…I shouldn't have any say over who comes and who doesn't."

"But still…thanks."

"No biggie."

That would have been fine if that was the end of the conversation, but it wasn't.

Just as Natsu was turning around, Laxus added, "And thanks for giving me Lisanna without getting angry."

He froze. What did that blonde bastard just say?

Natsu whirled around, and faced a confused Laxus Dreyar.

"GIVING you Lisanna?" he asked incredulously, approaching his EX-best friend. With every step he took, his temper rose.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that I GAVE you Lisanna?"

"Well-"

"What – the – hell…" Natsu said through clenched teeth. "Look here, you bastard…just like a person doesn't give their precious diamonds to a thief…I didn't give Lisanna to you!"

They were now only centimeters apart in the narrow hallway. The salmon-haired teen's fists itched to give Laxus just one punch in the face, right on the nose, but he controlled his temper. Just count to ten, Natsu…just count to ten. How would Laxus's mom and dad react if their son came home from a dinner at his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend's house with a broken, bloody nose? Not very good, Natsu suspected.

"So what does the thief resort to?" Natsu inquired in a low, sugarcoated voice. "Stealing."

He whipped around, and prepared to leave, but the blonde's low, smooth voice said, "I think Lisanna would rather be with someone who has the guts to steal her away rather than a wuss who LETS her get stolen."

Natsu turned around, fists flailing, and shouted, "WHAT THE F***?!"

His right fist landed on the other boy's left cheek, and Laxus fell to the ground.

"What's going on here!?" Grandine's voice filled the hall, accompanied by the tones of the others. "Natsu…what did you do?!"

"LET her?! LET her!? I didn't LET her get stolen. You two bastards did a roundabout way of telling me! It's so f***ing obvious you two already planned everything out! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STOP SOMETHING THAT WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY HOURS AGO!? Was I supposed to run after you and give her lame excuses I know she wouldn't accept!?"

"You could have at least tried," Laxus muttered. "If you were going to release your anger on me now, why couldn't you just fight me earlier?!"

Natsu sneered, "It's just f***ing like you to put the blame all on me!"

"Natsu, stop!" Lisanna cried, rushing to the fallen blonde's side. The white-haired girl looked contemptuously up at her childhood friend. "What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me? I don't know. Oh, yeah, MY BEST FRIEND JUST STOLE THE ONLY GIRL I'VE LIKED THESE PAST SIXTEEN YEARS!"

After the words exploded out of his mouth, he turned, ignored his mother's cries of, "Natsu!" and left his house, closing the front door with a slam. He kept running, even as he heard his father bellow, "Natsu! Get back here!"

Soon, he arrived at the one place where he could find comfort. The playground he had gone to when Lisanna had broken up with him. Or a better way to describe it, the place where he had first talked to…Luce. He sank into a swing, and let his head fall into his hands. For a long time, he just sat like that, thinking of nothing else, but about what had just happened.

After a while, he heard footsteps approaching him. He didn't even look up. It was probably his mom or dad, here to scold him about what he had just said and done. But the voice that came to his ears was a much more different one than the ones he had known for sixteen years.

"Natsu? You okay?"

He yelped and almost fell off the swing as the familiar tone registered in his mind. "Luce?!"

"Y-yeah…it's me. Sorry…were you sleeping?"

"No…sleeping? I mean…I didn't know it was you. I thought you were one of my parents or something…why are you here?"

"Wendy…" Lucy said hesitantly, and held up her phone. The screen was bright, and Natsu couldn't see what it displayed at the moment. "…texted me about what happened."

"Oh."

After that, all was silent. Finally, the blonde sighed, and took a seat in the swing beside him. She started to make use of the equipment and began to swing back and forth, back and forth.

"So…you came here again, huh?"

"How'd you know I'd be here?"

"Just a feeling."

"Mmm."

Another round of silence.

Natsu was just about to try some lame small talk ("How's the weather lately?"), when she started to hum. Her voice was pleasant; it was just the right pitch, smooth, and clear.

"I know that song," Natsu said absentmindedly.

"Really? Oh, I LOVE Sick of a Love Where! It's my new favorite song by Jenny!"

"Mmmhmm, Wendy does too."

Lucy jumped off the swing as it swung forward, and clasped her hands together.

"What are you-?"

"My broken heart,

I clutch in my hands.

Who will bring me the happiness

Of falling in love again?

"Who will be next to don the wings

That will take him from me

The moment I fall in love

Seriously?

Or her. Take her from me.

"I'm so sick of a love where

Hope only exists in dreams

So sick of a love where~

Every effort is torn at the seams

I'm so sick of a love where

The only adjective given is 'one-sided'

So sick of a love where

Feelings go unrequited…"

I could hear Lucy stop abruptly as I let my head collapse into my hands, and I said, "Stop, Luce, it's enough."

"What?"

"Don't be my friend anymore."

"W-what?"

"Even though I'll regret breaking our friendship, I can't do it."

"You can't do what?" Lucy said, her voice strained.

"I can't hang out with someone who I know likes me."

"B-but, Natsu-!"

"I still love her. I still love Lisanna…even after meeting you…I still love her."

A moment of silence.

"Don't be an idiot and think everything will change for you just because she's broken up with me," Natsu said, his voice a whisper.

"I understand, Natsu."

"I can't hurt you, Luce. I really can't. I can't hurt someone honest like-"

"I understand already, Natsu, so just…just stop, okay?" Lucy said, and Natsu looked up as he heard her voice crack. She had lowered her head, but he could still see the tears dripping off her cheek.

They stayed like that for some time, before he eventually said, "I'll take you home."

They walked side by side together, until they reached the Heartfilia home.

Natsu said his good-byes, and he turned around to walk away.

Without even looking back, he could tell that she was standing at her gate, watching him leave.

He didn't look back.


What'd you think of this chapter? Ahaha! Did you like the song? Wrote it myself. Or should I just stick to writing fanfictions...ahaha!

Thanks so much reviewers and readers!

Please review!

Until next chapter! Bye!