Chapter 4
They stared at each other for a full minute, what felt like ages for Lucy, before he grinned, sending heat right to her cheeks. She had half a mind to just bolt out the door, but she was really hungry, the food smelled delicious, and it was the only food place that she'd seen open.
"Hey, Lucy!" He shouted and waved at her.
Her eyes darted down to the food again, and with a tug from Plue, she stepped towards the counter.
"What brings you here? I've never seen you come in before." He asked as he leaned his arms on the counter, his onyx eyes boring into her.
"O-oh, umm." Her brain scrambled to come up with a reason. Why did he make her feel so weird? "I-I uh. I was visiting a friend." It wasn't a lie, at least.
"Oh yeah? Who's your friend?"
He didn't look disbelieving, he just looked genuinely curious. "A girl from Cait Shelter."
His eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! I always hope more people will learn about that place. Actually, the only reason I work here is because they give a percentage of their profits to them."
"Oh. Are you from there?"
"Nah." He grinned again. "My little brother is, though."
"I see." She murmured, and a small smile started to tug on her lips.
"Whats your dog's name?" he asked as he leaned over the counter more, right as Plue lifted himself up to put his front paws on the counter.
"Plue."
"Hey there, Plue!" He started laughing as he ruffled the dog's fur. Plue barked and and wagged his tail, clearly liking the attention.
Seeing as Plue was making friends with Natsu, Lucy looked at the menu, right as her stomach growled.
The noise made Natsu turn his attention back to her. "Oh, sorry. What can I get for ya?"
"Umm." She hummed as she scanned the menu. "I'll have two italian melts, and a strawberry yogurt." She looked at Plue, then back at Natsu. "Make that three Italian melts, oh, and some water." Plue barked in agreement.
"Alright." He grinned, and then straightened up. "Come with me to the register, m'lady."
She blushed at his remark, and slowly walked over to the register. She watched as he pushed a few buttons on the screen.
"That'll be, twelve, fifty."
She reached into her bag, and she grimaced as she realized what bill she would have to give him. She averted her eyes, and held out the fifty dollar bill to him.
He raised an eyebrow as he took it from her. He marked it with a pen, and gave her the change. "Thirty-seven, fifty is your change, m'lady. Feel free to sit down, I'll bring your food to you when it's done, okay?" She nodded, and he grinned before he disappeared behind some swinging doors.
Lucy put her money in her bag, and walked with Plue over to a small, two-seater table. She sighed as she sat down, she was still really sore, her ribs felt like they were on fire, and she was exhausted. Plue curled up next to her feet, and she absentmindedly scratched his head as she stared out of the window. Her eyelids started drooping as she sat there. She had half a mind to just put her head on the table and take a nap, but before she could even try, a beautiful smell perked her up instantly, followed by a mouthwatering tray being placed on her table.
"Your feast awaits, m'lady!" Natsu grinned as he put the tray down.
She just stared at the food in awe, mouth agape, for a few moments. Then, she greedily grabbed a sandwich, practically stuffing the whole thing in her mouth.
Natsu raised an eyebrow at her and chuckled. "Well, someone's hungry." She didn't reply, she practically ignored his presence in favor of the sandwich. He took a moment, and studied her. A frown pulled at his lips as he took in her appearance. His eyes drifted to her dog as he whined and put a paw on her leg.
"Mfooh! Forry, Mlue!" She shouted with her cheeks full, and grabbed one of the sandwiches, dropping it on the floor, before returning her attention back on her own food. Plue wagged his tail and barked, immediately setting in on the food.
Natsu slowly sat down on the seat opposite her, and leaned his arms on the table as he watched her closely. She had bags under her eyes, her lip and nose didn't look much better today, her bruise was a dark purple,her hair was a mess, and…" Why are you wearing the school uniform? It's Saturday." Not to mention her uniform was rather dirty.
She choked on the water she was drinking, she had completely forgot he was there. Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment, and she stared at him with wide eyes once her coughing subsided. "Huh? O-oh." She looked down and subconsciously wiped her skirt. "I...forgot to change." It was a lame excuse, but she couldn't think of anything better. She really did forget to change anyways.
"Did you stay out all night?" He tilted his head.
She nodded and blushed, realizing she still didn't know how to get home. "U-um...could you tell me how to get to the school from here?" If she went in that direction, she would be able to get back home easily.
He raised his eyebrows. "You don't know where we are?"
She looked down and shook her head.
"Why don't you wait for about an hour, then I'll walk you home." He grinned
She quickly shook her head. "No, thank you. If you just point me the right way, I'll be able to find it fine."
He leaned over to stare intently in her eyes
"Let me walk you home."
She puffed out her cheeks. "Why?" She didn't want him to walk her home, hell, she didn't want anyone seeing her house. God forbid anyone walked inside.
His eyes turned serious, and softly answered her. "I get the feeling that you're in some kind of trouble. I want to make sure that you get home okay."
Her eyes hardened, and she replied with a bland voice that startled him. "Why do you care?"
His eyes flashed with hurt for a moment, before they saddened. "Why wouldn't I care? Taking one look at you would make anyone worried."
She rolled her eyes at that. "So far you seem to be the only one."
He hummed. "I highly doubt that."
"I don't." She clipped, before she stood up. "Thank you for the food."
He scrambled to get up and gently grabbed her wrist. Her eyes widened, and Plue growled at him. He looked at the dog, confused, and he let go of her wrist. "I wasn't gonna hurt her, buddy." His growls died down, but he was still watching him intently. At that moment, the door chimed, signalling someone had come in the café. He frowned, looking at Lucy. He desperately wanted to walk her home, but he was still working. "Why don't you wait for just little while? I'll be off soon."
She shook her head. "I need to get home. Thank you for the food."
"Wait!" He shouted, but she had already run out the door. "You still don't know how to get back…" He watched her through the door until she was out of sight. He sighed and turned to go help the customer.
By the time Lucy had found a part of the city that she recognized, her feet were aching and she just wanted to collapse from exhaustion. She felt so stupid, once she realized where she was. The orphanage really wasn't that far from her house, but with her roaming around all over the place, it was safe to say that she took the long way. Stopping in her tracks, she sighed and looked down at a tired Plue. "I really don't want to go home."
Plue's ears and tail deflated, and he whined, nudging her leg slightly with his nose. She sighed and looked up at the sky. "Maybe I should try something..." She whispered, before she looked back at the street in front of her and started walking again.
It wasn't long until she found herself in front of a grocery store. She crouched down and tucked the end of the leash into Plue's collar. "Sorry, Plue. They don't allow pets in here." His ears sagged, but they perked up again when she kissed the top of his head. "Will you be alright out here for a few minutes?" He barked and she smiled, ruffling his fur before she stood up. "I'll be quick, I promise." With that, she went inside.
She got some food that she could easily heat up and was quick to make. She didn't want to make a full out dinner, just enough to hopefully be satisfying. When she walked out of the store, bags in hand, she instantly looked for Plue. Her eyes widened when she found him.
What was with her luck today? Well, she didn't have luck to begin with, so she couldn't really say that, but still. She recognised them, Gajeel, Levy, Juvia, and Gray were all surrounding her dog. Well, it looked more like Levy and Juvia were cooing over her dog, while Gray and Gajeel just stood there with their arms crossed. She took a deep breath, not overly fond of having to talk to them, and made her way over.
Gajeel noticed her out of the corner of his eye, and his eyebrows rose as she approached them. "The hell happened to you?"
The rest of them looked up to see who he was addressing, and they looked at her in shock, well except for Levy who just got excited. "Lucy!" She shouted. "It's great to see you! We missed you at KK last night! You really should stop by sometime!"
It took Lucy a moment to remember what KK meant, but when she did, her lips lifted slightly. "Sorry, something came up." She then looked at Plue. "Ready to go home?"
Plue barked and nudged her leg as she grab the leash from his collar.
"That's your dog?" Levy asked excitedly. "He's such a cutie!"
"Yes, and thank you." She replied.
"We can walk you home, if you want." Gray stated as he looked her up and down.
She shook her head. "It's not far." What was with these people?
Gajeel glared at her. "You should learn to accept help when it's offered to you, Blondie."
Lucy blinked at him. "I don't need help to walk home." She knew that wasn't exactly what he meant, but she really didn't know how to react to that. She didn't know why he seemed to always look out for her, it wasn't like they were friends.
"Juvia thinks it would be best if we walked Lucy home." Juvia said as shr clasped her hands in front of herself.
Lucy didn't understand why this girl talked in third person, but she found it rather endearing, and slightly adorable. "Thanks for the offer, but I've got Plue with me. I'll see you at school I guess." She quickly walked away from them before they could say anything else. She could tell they were watching her as she walked away, and she barely heard their murmurs of goodbye as she sighed in relief. She hadn't had as much social interaction as she had today in years, and it was honestly exhausting.
When she stopped in front of her house, she let out a sigh. "Get to my room as fast as you can, okay Plue?" The dog went eerily silent, and his tail tucked between his legs as he made himself be as close to her as possible. She frowned at him, then took a deep breath before she started walking to the front door.
She opened it slowly, her senses on high alert as she peeked inside. All the lights were off, which was a good sign, so she opened the door wider and stepped inside. She nudged Plue with her foot, and he quietly walked to her room. She closed the door, and looked around the house, hearing a faint noise coming from the living room. She nearly tripped on an empty beer bottle, giving herself a mini-heart attack in the process. She finally located the noise, to find her father passed out on the couch, snoring. She let out a breath, and retreated to the kitchen. If he was passed out drunk, then he wouldn't wake up or a while.
She emptied the bags of food, and started heating them up. It didn't take long, and when it was done, she set it on the table. She quickly found a pen and piece of paper, writing a note of 'I love you, dad.' She figured she should try, it never really changed anything, but you never know. Sticking the note on the table, she walked to her room. She closed her door, and took off her uniform. She tentatively touched her bruised ribs, and hissed at the searing pain she felt. She put on an overly large T-shirt, and made her way to her bed. Plue was curled up on it with his ears down. "Everything's okay, Plue." She whispered as she curled up next to him, wrapping her arms around him. He seemed to relax in her embrace, and he licked her face before he closed his eyes. She sighed, she was beyond exhausted and completely sore. She kissed the top of Plue's head and closed her eyes. It barely took a minute for her mind to slip into unconsciousness.
