AN: Hello everyone! :D Who's ready to check out Lucy's apartment? :D Not as much nalu maybe but it's there if you squint haha! I'm developing Lucy's relationship with the whole group while also trying to add in things about reincarnation/immortality and sprinkle in some nalu haha! :D Btw, if any of you have any questions about how reincarnation/immortality work in this story, feel free to ask! I will answer as long as it isn't something i'm saving to reveal later on in the story! I don't want any of it to be confusing though! :)
Chapter 7
Lucy's Apartment
"I can't wait for all of us to hang out at your apartment today, Lu-chan!" Levy said the moment the blonde sat beside her.
"I still think this is a bad idea," Lucy replied, nodding her head towards Jellal as greeting. It wasn't that she minded people coming over, but there really wasn't anything to do at her place. She didn't own any board games, or even a deck of cards. And it wasn't like her apartment was conveniently located near a beach or anywhere else fun. "You guys are just going to be disappointed."
Levy shrugged. There was some truth to the girl's words. She had only been to her friend's apartment once, and never bothered going there again. As much as the blonde loved reading, she only owned like four books! So, they stuck to hanging out at the library or the smoothie shop, where they would at least have some form of entertainment or good food.
"I, for one, am eager to see your apartment," Jellal chimed in. He was never one to talk much, but he did want to become closer to Lucy. He could tell that she was going to become a viable member of their group with how Levy and Natsu adored her. He needed to make an effort as well.
Lucy sighed. "Maybe I should've bought a game or two on the way home last night. Or at least enough ingredients to cook for you guys."
"You don't need all that!" Levy assured. "We can play games that don't involve spending money!"
"That's true," Jellal said. "And since we are just barging into your apartment, we should be the ones to supply the games and food."
Lucy nodded, but still felt nervous about hosting. She was just finally starting to get Levy's friends to warm up to her, she didn't want to lose that by hosting some lame kickback.
Once class ended, Lucy got up with Levy and Jellal and headed for the door.
"We'll wait for you outside of your class!" Levy said. She didn't have another class for the day, so she didn't have anywhere she needed to be.
"Do you have a class after this, Jellal?" Lucy questioned, raising a brow towards the quiet boy.
He shook his head. "Levy and I usually go straight to Fairy Tail after class. That, or I go by myself while she hangs out with you."
"Oh. Well I guess you guys can wait if you want."
The two walked Lucy to her class, which honestly put a little smile on her face. She hadn't had multiple friends in a long time, and even though it was a little too soon to regard Jellal as such, it felt good to have them walk her to her class. It made her feel like she was a normal girl, one that hadn't been avoiding building relationships with others in fear that her big secret would be discovered. With them, she was just Lucy. She wasn't someone that reincarnated or had to hide. She was normal.
Or at least felt like it.
Sure, they didn't know the truth, but they didn't need to.
Stopping outside of her classroom, Lucy gave them a bubbly grin. She hadn't felt so cheerful in years.
"I'll see you guys after class!" she exclaimed, starting to feel excited for their hangout session later.
"Okay! Bye, Lu-chan! Good luck with math!" Levy replied while Jellal gave a simple wave.
Heading inside, Lucy glanced towards the back of the classroom, surprised to find that Natsu and Gray were already sitting there. Natsu's face lit up the moment he saw her, giving her a wide grin and waving at her.
"Oi, Lucy! Hurry up!" he said.
Everyone in the class turned to look at her, causing her to blush from the attention. It felt good being recognized as someone with friends rather than the loner that she had been for lifetimes. It also felt good going to the back of the class again, instead of sitting in the front of the classroom like she had on Monday, when she thought that the two hated her.
"Hi, Natsu, Gray!" Lucy greeted, a skip in her step as she approached them.
"Hey, Lucy," Gray replied with a smile.
Taking her seat by Natsu, Lucy recognized the insane body heat that rolled off of the boy. Seriously, he had some insane body heat it was like he was a heater.
"Ready to show us your apartment later, Luce?" Natsu asked, leaning into her personal space.
Lucy flushed. It was like the boy lacked boundaries, but she found that she didn't mind it so much. "I guess. Just don't get your hopes up! My apartment isn't anything special."
"I bet you she has a bunch of stuffed animals," Natsu said, glancing towards Gray.
The other boy nodded. "That, or a shit ton of posters of her idol."
Lucy rolled her eyes. Okay, in her first lifetime, she may have had an abundance of stuffed animals. But could you blame her? They were cute and comforting, there was nothing wrong with that!
"I don't have either of those, thank you very much," the blonde replied. "Like I said, there's nothing special about my apartment."
Natsu didn't believe her. Even though they didn't have a place of their own, the immortals did share bedrooms and chose to decorate their sides as they wanted. Levy's side of her bedroom that she shared with Erza was filled with bookshelves. Erza's side was filled with medieval armor and antiques that she managed to hide from the public. Surely if someone found her stash, they would question where she found them or try to put them in a museum.
Natsu shared a bedroom with Gray. He chose to decorate his side with a couple of posters of his favorite bands, some pictures, and random mementos he saved over the years. Gray's side was a bit more laidback, only having a few pictures of him and Juvia and also his family.
Point is, everyone decorated their room in some way. And he was excited to learn how Lucy chose to decorate hers. He believed it would be something reminiscent of a teenage girl with a love of all things cute. Stuffed animals, a princess bed, pink walls, he believed she had it all.
"You better hope your kitchen is stocked," Gray said, leaning back in his chair so that he could see past Natsu and meet Lucy's gaze. "This idiot eats enough for a whole family of starving orphans."
Lucy paled. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, it's pretty disgusting."
"Shut up, Ice Prick!" Natsu shouted, glaring at his friend. Turning back to Lucy, he nodded. "But he is right. You have to have food."
"Or you could just feed yourself!" Lucy replied, glaring at him. "Why would I have so much food when I live alone!?"
"Hey! You knew I was coming over!"
"Need I remind you that you invited yourself last night? And besides, we just met! How am I supposed to know you eat a lot!?"
Gray watched the two bicker, amused. Their crushes towards each other were so obvious, he was surprised that they couldn't see it themselves. It was the first time that he had seen Natsu have feelings towards a girl, and he had known him a very long time.
"Get a room," Gray teased.
Both Lucy and Natsu blushed, glaring at him.
"Shut up!" they replied in unison. "It's not like that!"
"Whatever you say," he said, rolling his eyes.
Lucy stared at her desk, fiddling with her fingers. She could feel warmth pooled in her cheeks. Having naturally fair skin, she could safely assume that her blush made her look like a fire hydrant.
Before either of the boys could tease her again, Aquarius walked into the classroom. The woman carried such an air of authority, everyone shut their mouths at the mere sight of her, lest they suffer from having chalk thrown at them.
Natsu stifled a groan as lecture began. Glancing towards Lucy, he was bummed to find that she was actually taking notes for once instead of writing her story. Now what was he going to do to pass the time? It wasn't like he was just going to write a story of his own.
Grabbing his pen, Natsu scribbled into the corner of his notebook, sliding it towards Lucy. The girl arched a brow, reading what he had wrote. With a roll of her eyes, she wrote back.
"I'm not writing my story because I know that you're going to read it and I want Levy-chan to be my first reader!" she replied.
Natsu narrowed his eyes at her, writing back, "I'm already your first reader! She can be your second reader!"
"No! Now leave me alone before we get caught!"
"Get caught?" Natsu wrote with an amused grin. "What is this? Kindergarten? Who cares if we get caught! This is college! We're paying thousands of dollars to be here, we can do whatever we want!"
"That's not how it works, idiot."
"Well it should be."
"Well it isn't!"
Lucy pushed the journal back to Natsu, facing the front of the class and deeming the conversation to be over. Natsu pouted, his source of entertainment ignoring him. He tried to pay attention to the lecture, but it was impossible! It was so boring, and he had already learned this stuff before.
Despite what others believed, Natsu was pretty smart when it came to math and science. Sure, he could be a bit denser when it came to social cues, but his book smarts weren't so bad. He didn't need to pay attention to the lecture.
And seeing as how Lucy was finishing the example problems on the board in seconds, it seemed she didn't need to either.
A grin spread over Natsu's face as an interesting thought came to mind.
"Would you rather freeze to death or be burned alive?" Natsu wrote, sliding the journal back to Lucy. His grin grew as he watched Lucy quirk a brow in interest. He could tell he reeled her in with that.
"That's a hard one," she wrote back, making sure that Aquarius wasn't paying attention. "I think I'd rather freeze to death."
"Would you rather eat a cockroach or dog shit?"
Lucy suppressed the urge to gag. Both options were terrible. "I hate this game. But I'd rather eat a cockroach."
Natsu quietly chuckled to himself. "Me too."
Time flew by as they both asked each other questions. They learned some interesting stuff about the other person. It wasn't exactly information they could use in a day-to-day sense, but it was still interesting enough to pass time until class ended.
"Levy-chan and Jellal should be waiting outside for us," Lucy said, grabbing her bag.
"Yosh! Time to see your apartment!" Natsu replied, slinging an arm around the girl's shoulders.
Lucy blushed from head to toe, her thoughts becoming a jumbled mess at the touch. It was a friendly touch but made her heart thump wildly in her chest nonetheless.
Just as they had promised, Levy and the rest of the gang were waiting outside of the classroom. To Lucy's surprise, Gajeel was there too. His arms were crossed and he was giving her a hard stare.
Not wanting to look at the boy who hated her any longer than she had to, Lucy moved her gaze onto Levy, only to find that the petite girl was studying her shoulder. Following the other girl's gaze, the blonde remembered that Natsu's arm was still wrapped around her shoulder. With blazing cheeks, she shrugged his arm off of her, not wanting to give any of them the wrong idea.
"A-Anyways, let's go now!" Lucy stammered, leading the way.
"Let's go to the grocery store closest to your apartment and pick up some snacks on the way there," Erza suggested.
Lucy nodded, hoping that they would chip in or at least only get a few items. Even though her father was loaded with money, it didn't mean she was. Her monthly allowance was fine for just her, but she couldn't risk having to speak to her father again just to ask for money. She preferred not to speak to him at all, actually.
The walk to the grocery store took about fifteen minutes and was only five minutes away from Lucy's apartment. Once they were inside, they split up into smaller groups to pick out what they wanted. Gajeel stuck close to Levy, but after she gave him the cold shoulder, he went to go with Natsu, Erza, and Jellal instead, cursing under his breath as he walked. That left Lucy and Levy alone while Gray and Juvia went as a pair.
Lucy bit back a frown, watching as Gajeel stomped away from them. Even though the dude was a major ass, she didn't want Levy to be mad at him forever. She liked their relationship, even if he didn't like her.
"When are you going to forgive Gajeel?" the blonde asked, eyeing a bag of potato chips.
Levy rolled her eyes. "Never at this rate. He's just such a stubborn idiot! And a jerk!"
"Don't you think that it's been long enough with the silent treatment? It's been four days now."
"It wouldn't be this long if he would just apologize already. He can't be a jerk to my best friend and get away with it!"
"At least it looks like he's making an effort! I mean, he did end up coming with us, after all."
Levy crossed her arms with a huff. In truth, the only reason he showed up was because he wanted to spy on Lucy and snoop through her stuff. And as a good friend, Levy wasn't going to let him do that. At least it wasn't like Lucy had much stuff to snoop through anyways.
"I'm not forgiving him until he apologizes. To both of us!"
Lucy nodded, understanding Levy's decision.
Once everyone was done paying for their snacks- Lucy was glad they all paid separately- they resumed their journey to her apartment. It didn't take long to reach the complex, and soon enough, they were outside of Lucy's door. With a gulp, the blonde unlocked the door and led the way.
Everyone eagerly stepped inside, excited to see Lucy's apartment. All of their excitement drained away, however, when they saw how barren it was. There were barely any signs of human life. The bed was perfectly made, the table was clear, and the walls were bare. There were no pictures or posters, or even a magnet on the fridge. The only signs of someone living in the spacious apartment were the three books stacked on the nightstand.
"You really weren't kidding when you said there's nothing special about your apartment," Gray mused.
Lucy played with the ends of her hair. "I-I have books!"
"No, Levy has books."
Levy glanced towards Gajeel and Erza. Their faces were hard as they studied the room. Honestly, having such a blank slate of a room didn't help Lucy's case of not looking suspicious.
"Why don't we play some games now?" Levy suggested with an awkward chuckle.
"I don't own any," Lucy reminded her, frowning. She never really had friends over before.
"I told you we don't need any board games, remember? Let's play never have I ever!"
"Oho, it's a good thing I bought these then," Erza chimed in, shaking her grocery bag. Inside was a bottle of vodka and a package of red plastic cups.
Sweat dripped down Lucy's face. "Alcohol? I'm only twenty."
"So? It's fine!" Natsu said, grinning at the girl. His grin faltered as he continued, "Unless you don't want to. We aren't gonna pressure you or anything."
Lucy shook her head, her cheeks turning pink. "No, it's okay. I'll join."
Everyone sat around in the living room in a circle, some on the couch, some on the dining room chairs that they dragged over, and the rest on the floor. Lucy was squished between Natsu and Levy on the couch. She had offered to sit on the floor, but Erza insisted that she sat on the couch while she pushed Gray and Gajeel to sit on the floor.
"Alright, you take a sip after someone calls out something you've done. And if you call something out that nobody has done, you have to take a sip instead," Erza instructed. "I'll go first. Never have I ever cut class."
Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, and Juvia begrudgingly took sips from their cups. Lucy frowned, gazing into her own cup, the foul stench of the vodka filling her nostrils. She wasn't a fan of this game. She didn't know if she should only count what she had done in this lifetime or if she should consider all of her lifetimes. There wasn't exactly a rulebook for her kind.
Figuring she'll go with all of her lifetimes, Lucy took a sip of her cup. She had skipped once during her first lifetime to go out on a date with her crush at the time.
"Never have I ever thrown up in a car," Jellal said with an amused grin.
"Oi! This isn't fair!" Natsu said, taking another sip. Gajeel took one as well.
"It's not his fault that your lame motion sickness is an easy target," Gray jibed.
Before a battle could begin, Juvia spoke.
"Never has Juvia ever been to a sports game," she said.
This time, only Gray took a sip. Giving his girlfriend a smirk, he said, "Really? Just going for me?" He and his father had gone to see hockey games when he was a child.
Juvia gasped. "Juvia is sorry! She never meant to betray her lovely Gray-sama!"
Gray nudged her and laughed. "I'm just joking, Juvia."
Gajeel glared at Lucy, wondering what he should say. This game was perfect for getting to know people, he could use that to his advantage. But what was he going to ask?
"Never have I ever done any research on anyone here," he said, waiting for Lucy to take a sip. To his chagrin, she didn't. But that didn't mean that she wasn't lying.
Levy crossed her arms, glaring at the boyfriend. He was even trying to turn an innocent game into a snooping session!
"That didn't apply to anyone, so you have to take a sip," Erza said.
Gajeel glared at the redhead, taking a sip.
"My turn!" Natsu said with a mischievous grin. "Never have I ever sat down to pee!"
All of the girls in the group rolled their eyes.
"That's a cheap shot," Lucy remarked.
"Instead of complaining, you should be taking another sip!" Natsu replied.
The blonde obliged, her face scrunching in disgust after drinking some vodka. She was sure rat poisoning tasted better.
"I guess I'm next," Levy said, cupping her chin in thought. "Never have I ever stolen before!"
Gajeel muttered beneath his breath, throwing his head back and taking another gulp. So far, he was losing. But that didn't matter. What he really wanted was to find out more about the mortal his girlfriend was insistent on remaining friends with.
Lucy fidgeted in her seat as everyone's focus was solely on her. Oh right, it was her turn to say something. Not having been a stranger to the game, she said something that used to always win her a round.
"Never have I ever had sex," Lucy said confidently. Well, somewhat confidently. She was a bit embarrassed that in her four lifetimes, she managed to always avoid sex. She watched as everyone blushed and took a sip from their cup.
Everyone but Natsu.
Lucy's eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly. So he was a virgin too? She never would've guessed.
Unlike her, Natsu didn't seem to mind his virgin status. Instead, he showed off his pearly whites in a wide grin as he watched everyone else drink.
"Lucy got you guys good!" he exclaimed, smiling at the blonde.
"But I didn't get you apparently," Lucy replied, still shocked. She didn't know why she was so surprised. If she was a virgin still, why was it a shocker that someone else in the group was as well? She supposed it was because most people had sex during their teen years. That, and how unbelievably gorgeous Natsu was.
Natsu laughed. "Nah. Not me."
"Because no girl would ever want to sleep with you," Gray chimed in with a face of disgust.
"Oi! Yes they would!"
"Name one!"
"You know who I'm talking about!"
Everyone in the group suddenly gave sad smiles, ones that confused Lucy. What were they talking about? Was it an inside joke? If so, she wasn't going to question it. That would only make her feel even more out of place and it'd ruin the joke.
Erza cleared her throat, paving way for everyone to start playing again. They played a few more rounds of never have I ever before they started to run out of things to say.
"Let's play a different game," Erza suggested.
"What game?" Levy asked.
"Truth or dare."
Lucy stifled the urge to sigh. She didn't really like that game. Most dares were too much for her to handle and the group didn't know her enough to ask her any interesting questions.
"Bunny Girl," Gajeel called out, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Lucy pointed to herself. "Me?"
"Duh. Who else would I be callin' that?"
Lucy awkwardly chuckled. She didn't understand the new nickname, which was apparently supposed to be obvious. "Did you need something?"
"Bathroom."
"Oh. It's down that hall. Second door on the left."
Gajeel walked away without a word of thanks.
Levy watched as the boy left the group. Unlike her trusting best friend, Levy knew what he was up to. He was getting away so that he could go snoop! At least he wouldn't find anything in Lucy's bathroom, unless basic bathroom necessities were what he was after.
Gajeel locked the bathroom door behind him and began digging through Lucy's cabinets. He didn't really know what he was expecting to find in the girl's bathroom of all places, but there was nowhere else he could search. She had a studio apartment, so it was impossible to snoop around the rest of the place without being seen.
Pads, tampons, and hair products were the majority of what he found. Still, he searched every nook and cranny for anything he could use against her. There had to be something. Something he could use to show that she wasn't to be trusted. And once he proved he was right all along, Levy would stop being so angry at him.
Opening the bottom drawer, the last place for him to search, Gajeel sighed to himself. There were a couple of stray hair ties, bobby pins, and an old necklace that clearly hadn't been worn in years as it was covered in dirt and some of it was chipped. There was nothing substantial in her bathroom.
Feeling hopeless, he headed back to the others, finding they were all waiting for him.
"Took you long enough," Natsu said. "Takin' a dump?"
"'Course not, idiot!" Gajeel barked.
"Well now that you're back," Jellal began, "it's time to start our next game. Truth or dare. I'll go first. Levy, truth or dare?" He would've chosen Erza, but her wrath sometimes extended into the bedroom if he dared test her.
Levy wasn't too worried about Jellal, as he was one of the nicer members of their group. Still, she wanted to play it safe. "Truth."
"What is one of your kinks?"
Levy sputtered, her face turning bright as a tomato. So much for Jellal being the nice one! He was evil, he just hid it better than most!
Gajeel gave a smug grin. He knew plenty.
"Umm, I uhh, I guess it would have to be… bondage," Levy squeaked, steam practically blowing out of her ears. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.
Lucy gawked at her best friend. She never would've expected the sweet, innocent little Levy to have any kinks. "I guess it's the innocent looking ones that are the kinkiest."
Levy, wanting to deter the attention she was receiving onto somebody else, chose the person sitting straight across from her.
"Juvia! Truth or dare!"
"Juvia chooses truth!" The only person she would want to dare her was Gray.
The petite girl wiggled her eyebrows, a smirk spreading across her face. There was a question she'd been dying to ask her fellow blue-headed friend. "If you werne't dating Gray, which of the guys would you prefer to date?"
Juvia paled, clutching her heart in mock pain. Or maybe it was real pain. She was a bit on the dramatic side.
"Juvia could never answer!"
"You have to!"
"Juvia would choose to find Gray-sama and make him hers again!"
"Stop avoiding the question!"
"It's alright, Juvia," Gray said, nudging his girlfriend and giving her an assuring grin. It was just a silly question, it didn't mean anything. He knew she loved him, and he trusted her.
The girl fidgeted in her seat, reluctantly answering with a frown, "Juvia supposes she would choose Jellal."
Lucy whipped her head between Erza and Juvia. To her surprise, the redhead didn't seem upset at all that her husband was her friend's choice. If anything, she seemed proud. Was she not jealous at all?
"I guess that's what a healthy relationship is like," Lucy thought with a smile. Even if Juvia had chosen Erza's husband, the group trusted each other. Nothing would ever happen between Juvia and Jellal, it was just a game.
"I'm surprised you didn't choose Gajeel," Levy said, raising her brows. "You two are really close!"
"Gajeel-kun is Juvia's closest friend! We work best that way!"
"Damn straight," the bulky boy replied with a grin.
"In fact, Gajeel-kun! Truth or dare?"
"Dare! I ain't no wimp like the rest of you!"
"Juvia dares you to… Hmm…" Gray leaned towards his girlfriend and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes lit up from the suggestion. "Juvia dares Gajeel-kun to hold hands with Natsu until we leave Lucy's apartment!"
The two boys shared looks of mortification and disgust. The thought of touching each other in any way that wasn't fighting was absolutely revolting. And they had to do it the entire time?
Gajeel gulped, his hand shaking as he reached towards Natsu's. Stifling the urge to throw up, he snatched the boy's hand, but he refused to lace their fingers together. There was no way in hell he was going that far, not even for a dare.
Everyone laughed at the two's misery, taking out their phones and snapping pictures.
Gajeel turned towards his victim. Lucy shut her mouth from laughing. She should've known he would want to dare her in some humiliating or disgusting way.
"Truth or dare?" he gritted out.
"Truth," she answered. She didn't want to look afraid, but she also didn't want to give Gajeel any satisfaction. Going with truth was the safest thing to do.
"What is the worst thing you've ever done? Something that you regret to this day. Something that you can't get out of your head because of how horrible it was."
"Gajeel," Natsu ground out with a threatening growl. He didn't like the look Gajeel was giving Lucy, or the question for that matter.
"What? It's just a game, right?"
Lucy looked down at her lap, clutching the hem of her shirt. She knew off the top of her head what the right answer was. It made her sick to her stomach as her mind began to replay images of that fateful night. It made her breath thin and tears prick her eyes. It haunted her dreams, serving as a reminder of her lowest point in all of her lives.
But she couldn't speak of it. Not without revealing her reincarnation.
So, she went with the next best answer.
"There was a time in my life in which I felt like I didn't belong," Lucy began, her fingers fiddling with her shirt. "I was alienating everyone in my life, including my parents. I refused to speak to them or even look them in the eye. I never even explained why I felt this way. Imagine getting pregnant and being so excited to raise that child and give it all your love, just for them to completely ignore your existence. I did that to my own parents for years despite their best efforts, enough to make my mother so heartbroken she became sick."
Natsu's eyes were wide and his mouth was hung wide open as he stared at the girl beside him. He could tell it was eating her up with how she refused to meet anyone's gaze or the way she kept playing with her shirt. Looking past the blonde, he saw that Levy was just as shocked as the rest of them. Even she hadn't known.
"Why did you feel that way?" Juvia suddenly asked. She then gasped and covered her mouth. "Sorry! Juvia didn't mean to ask that! You don't have to answer!"
Lucy gave a weak chuckle and stared up at her ceiling. It happened during her second lifetime. It was her first time being reincarnated. She was scared, confused, angry. She had new parents unknowingly trying to take the place of her first parents, who she had loved dearly. It felt wrong being close to them. It felt wrong being their daughter. So she iced them out of her life, just as she had with everyone else.
"I'm not sure," Lucy answered, unable to speak the truth. "I had no real reason to be that way. They were nothing but kind and supportive of me, even though I was a horrible person to them." Feigning a cheery smile, she stared at Erza. She needed to change the subject.
"Truth or dare?"
About an hour passed until they ran out of dares to give. It was getting late, and it was a school night, so everyone started helping Lucy clean up. Erza made sure everyone helped get the place sparkling clean before they were to leave.
"Thank you for having us over," Jellal said, smiling at Lucy.
The blonde mirrored the expression. "It was fun! We should do this again!"
"I agree," Erza chimed in. "I say we have a sleepover this weekend. Just us girls."
Lucy gawked at the redhead. She didn't understand how she was so comfortable inviting herself over to her apartment, but it was amusing. And it wasn't like she had any plans.
"Sounds good to me!" Lucy replied, much to the other girls' delight.
Everyone started saying their goodbyes and filing out of the girl's apartment. Levy stopped in the doorway, quirking a brow as Natsu stayed beside Lucy.
"Are you coming, Natsu?" she asked.
"I'll meet ya guys later," the boy answered, shoving his hands in his pocket.
Levy glanced towards Lucy, who shrugged. "Okay. See you guys later." With that, she closed the door on the way out.
Lucy turned towards Natsu, who was still facing the door, his face serious. If it weren't for his unusual behavior, she would be inwardly gushing over the fact that she was alone with her crush just feet away from her bed. Instead, she stared at the boy, waiting for him to move or say something.
Meanwhile, Natsu was lost in thought. He couldn't stop thinking about Lucy's story from earlier. It was something he somewhat related to in terms of not feeling like he belonged. But he was surprised that the nice girl would act coldly to her parents, even admitting that they had done nothing wrong to her. Something must've happened for her to act that way.
He wasn't going to push her to find out what. He wasn't even going to bring it up, not wanting to bring up painful memories. But he was going to try to make her open up more so that she never had to feel that way ever again.
Natsu faced Lucy with upmost sincerity. "Next time I come over, we're going to decorate this place."
"Huh?" the blonde asked. That wasn't what she was expecting him to say.
"We're gonna take lots of pictures and hang them up and decorate this place with things you like."
Lucy stared back at the boy, her body feeling light as a feather. Her heart was beating fast, threatening to break free out of her chest. She was sure that her face was red, but she ignored it.
Lucy smiled at the boy and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Natsu. I should be getting ready for bed now."
"Yeah," Natsu replied, giving her a fanged grin. "Well, I'll see ya tomorrow, Luce!"
"Tomorrow?"
"Aren't you coming to Fairy Tail tomorrow?"
Lucy hadn't made plans for it, but she didn't see why not. She was feeling much more comfortable with Levy's friends now, and if they could invite themselves into her apartment, she could invite herself to their hangout sessions.
"Yeah, I'll be there," she said. "Goodnight, Natsu."
"Night, Lucy."
Lucy closed the door behind Natsu, leaning against it with a sigh. As fun as it was hanging out with them, it was a bit relieving to be alone now. She wasn't used to all this socializing. It was a bit overwhelming.
Heading to the bathroom, the girl searched for a hair tie to put her hair up so she could brush her teeth. Opening the bottom drawer, she went to grab a hair tie when a familiar necklace caught her attention. Picking up the golden necklace, a nostalgic smile graced her face.
The gold was duller now and there were pieces of dirt stuck in some of the small chains. The heart locket was chipped and didn't hold its shine over the years.
This necklace was the only thing that Lucy had managed to keep during her all of her lifetimes.
It was a pain in the ass getting it back, and she actually had to dig through her own grave to find it- which was an experience she never wanted to think of again. Since then, she's been burying the locket once she turned twenty-one, in places that she would remember. It was a gruesome task, but it was worth it.
Opening the locket, she stared at a picture of herself standing between her first parents. She was roughly the same age and looked the exact same. Pulling out the picture, she read the date printed in the bottom corner. It was taken nearly sixty years ago. If someone found this picture, there was no way she could lie her way out of it.
Lucy released a shaky breath, tears creeping in her eyes at she stared at the image of her parents. They were so happy. She was so happy.
Carefully folding the edges back so that the picture could fit in the locket again, Lucy closed the necklace once more and put it back in the drawer for safe keeping. She only had a bit more time with it before she had to bury it again for her next life.
"Maybe I can start a capsule. I can put my favorite item from each lifetime in it and get them all back when I reincarnate."
Lucy smiled at the thought of it. What would she put in the capsule for this lifetime?
Natsu's words replayed in her head.
"We're gonna take lots of pictures and hang them up and decorate this place with things you like."
A picture with her friends sounded like the perfect thing to put in the capsule. It was sad knowing that there would come a time when all of her friends would die and she would continue living, but at least now she would have a picture to commemorate their time together.
Lucy crawled into bed, eager to see her new friends again. Even if they wouldn't live forever, she hoped their friendship would.
AN: Getting some more info on Lucy's past! What do you think Lucy's biggest regret is? The only info I'll give you about it was that it also happened during her second life! And you might be wanting to know more about Natsu's past, but just have to be a little careful! I foreshadowed some of it, but for the most part things are still in the dark!
Also, a few of you were wondering if I own a switch since I wrote about one last ch., and I actually don't have one! I played with my sisters when I visited and it was really cool! :D Anyways, please leave a review and I'll see you next time! :D
Huge thank you as always to the reviewers: vaneanime, Lunar13, Mary Chou, Rein Serenity, Kauia, Talia D'ville, itsxoi, shootingstarrsel, Guest, Alexa60765, KJacket, Guest, Firefly9917, stranger1999, MasterGildarts, valerioux, OneLivesAgain, Mannyegb, Cher, rmadhumita378, ThaDesperado64, KarinStalker24, Terra of Life, Bakers28, WhatAnimeHasTaughtMe, KaytyTheBtch, randommess1, blargolp, Animeflower107, Soul Eater Maka, KatanaNoNeko, biscoiju, Ikityan, Guest(x4), Nalulove, Guest, NightWalker475, Yumeko.
