A Night In the Country Chapter 7: Drink to That All Night, a fairy tail fanfic

Chapter 7

"So the main project we're focusing on right now is the Fantasia festival. It's a special event where all the performers signed with Fairy Tail gather to do a few acts for the public."

I bit my bottom lip as I watched the slide show. I was seated in a small conference room, accompanied with Makarov, MiraJane and Lisanna - Makarov's assistants - and the girl who won the contest. At first I felt a little jealous toward her, considering she was only the minimum age of sixteen, and she had taken Fairy Tail by storm. After getting to know her a little more, though, I found that she was as sweet as honey, and it was almost impossible not to like her.

The girl and I sat on one end of the table, while the other three sat to the side. We were all focused on the slide show. It was important for the two of us to learn about the biggest event held by Fairy Tail, especially since they want us to perform our own songs for our break out performances. The festival was only a couple months away still, so we did have plenty of time to prepare for it, but it was still nerve-wracking, knowing I'd be able to count the days until I go public.

I glanced down at the girl beside me, staring at the slides of previous events with wide eyes. We were both nervous about this thing, but for different reasons.

"Wendy, as the winner of the contest, you will be able to perform an original song with any Fairy Tail singer of your choice. You and your partner will work day and night writing a new song, and practicing it together. Three months may seem like a long time from now, but you will see that time fly by in an instant."

The little girl next to me squeaked. She recovered from the minor stage fright, and bowed her head to Makarov. "I will work extra hard to make sure this year's event is one of the best." She lifted her head and held her fisted hands up. "You can count on me!"

Makraov chuckled slighlty before turning to me. "Lucy, we decided the best way to reintroduce the Heartfilia legacy to Fairy Tail was to debut you and your music at Fantasia. What we want you to do is either use an original song written by your father, or something else that you worked on."

I nodded, many ideas running through my head.

"And, we had a special request from one of our singers," Mira said, sharing a look with Makarov. I blinked at her. "Natsu wants to do a duet with you, if you like."

"What?"

That wasn't from me, though I was definitely thinking it. We all turned to the younger sister of Mira, Lisanna. She blushed and looked down, clearing her throat.

"Th-that's news to me," she said quietly.

I tilted my head at her, but wasn't given the luxury to think on it.

"Yes," Makarov said. "As a matter of fact, Lucy, you're going to go meet with him as soon as we're done here. It's good to get to know your partner as soon as possible, and get started with your project."

I bit my lip as I glanced at Lisanna again. She didn't seem too happy about that news. Obviously I began thinking that maybe she and Natsu had a relationship together. She shouldn't be worried, though, I wasn't planning on having a relationship with anyone. As far as I knew, I only had a couple years left before my infection took hold of my brain and rendered me completely useless, and, in the end, die. It was best not to have some that special to me if I knew my time was short. I wanted my doctor with me in the end, and that was all I needed.

I quickly grabbed my pen in front of me and started writing on the notepad in front of me, an idea for a song suddenly popping into the front of my mind. It wasn't a duet, but it was definitely something I wanted to get out to the world. I didn't know what to sing with Natsu, and, if he wanted me to come up with something, I had a whole stack of songs my father wrote for him and my mother that I'm sure Natsu would appreciate, but, for now, this is what I wanted to sing at Fantasia.

After the first verse and chorus was written, I sighed and leaned back in my chair. The meeting had continued, the attention on Wendy as they discussed who she wanted to partner with. From what I gathered, her choices were narrowed down to Levy, Erza, and a few other people I hadn't heard of before. The meeting soon ended, and I was told to follow Mira to another room where I was to meet with Natsu.

As we were walking down the hallway, the words from my song running through my head, we began to hear a commotion. I picked my head up to hear better, Juvia and Gray staying close behind me. I couldn't hear what was being said, but I could hear distinct differences in the voices - one female and the other was male. Juvia giggled next to me.

"Sounds like a lover's quarrel," she said, latching her arms around Gray's waist. "They need lessons from us, right, Gray-sama?"

I glanced back at them to watch Gray awkwardly push Juvia off him. "I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled.

I smiled at them, and turned back to my front. The hall in front of us was empty, so I wondered if they were in a room, or around the corner at the end of the hall.

"Oh my, they're at it again," Mira sighed, placing a hand to her cheek. I blinked at her as she turned to me and smiled. "Please don't mind them. This actually happens quite often."

"Who is it? What's wrong?"

Just as we were passing another conference room, the door opened and a girl ran out, a hand over her face as she darted out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I hadn't realized we were so near, at least not until she actually ran into me, knocking me back. Gray caught me, and Juvia sort of caught the girl, but the girl fell right through Juvia's arms. The girl gasped and stood up straight, staring at Mira and me with wide, tear filled eyes.

"Levy, good morning," Mira said softly, bowing to the girl.

Levy? I blushed as I looked at her. Don't do it, Lucy. She probably gets fangirls all the time, she doesn't need another one, especially with how she looks right now.

Levy sniffed, and wiped her nose with her sleeve. "G-good morning, Mira." She looked at me, and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for bumping into you."

I felt myself blush harder. Levy McGarden is apologizing to me? If anything, I should be the one to apologize to her! Sure, she was the one who ran into me and wasn't looking, but I was kind of standing in her way.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry for not moving sooner." I bowed back to her, and Mira giggled at us.

"Lucy should not be apologizing," I heard Juvia grumble. "You didn't have time to move."

I glanced at her and silently told her to not talk. She shrugged and resumed her place next to Gray.

"Levy, I want to introduce you to Lucy Heartfilia," Mira said, holding a hand towards me. The two of us stood up straight. "Master has hired her just recently."

"Oh!" Levy smiled and held her hand to me, which I greatly accepted. "Nice to meet you, Lucy. I hope you enjoy working here."

I bit my bottom lip to keep in my excitement. "Please take care of me," I managed to squeak. From the corner of my eye I could see Gray slowly moving towards me, his hands slowly making their way to my throat. Oh, if only Gray knew that I was just nervous instead of in actual pain…

I shivered as the chill ran through my body.

Mira nodded. "She'll be working with Natsu for the Fantasia event."

Levy blinked at me. "Were you the winner of the contest?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head.

"But I thought the winner was performing with Natsu." She looked back at Mira, who shrugged.

"Wendy gets to pick who she works with, that's what the Master decided."

Levy nodded, unfazed. Apparently Makarov changing rules was actually something that happened a lot. I had better get used to it.

"Well, I better get going," she mumbled, glancing at the door behind her. "It was nice to meet you, Lucy." She waved as she started walking down the hall.

"You, too, Levy!" I called after her. I watched her walk away, wondering what could have happened that she was so distraught over. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned back to Mira, who wiggled her finger, motioning for me to continue to follow her.

"Please, don't mind, Levy," she said.

I blinked. "How could I just not mind her?" I asked. "That was Levy McGarden! I love her!"

The older woman giggled. "So you follow her music?"

"Just her music." I looked away dejectedly. "My aunt never really allowed me to learn anything about the outside world, especially in the entertainment business. I only know about a few people because of my doctor."

"Well, if you've heard her music, then you might know more about her than you think. Levy is a sweet girl, very trusting, but her and her boyfriend haven't been getting along lately."

I glanced behind me. I blinked as the door Levy had just came out of opened. A tall man walked out, his long wavy black hair held out of his face with a bandana. He wore a long sleeved shirt and long pants - odd for this weather - but I could tell he was muscular. I didn't see his face, as he immediately turned away and stomped down the hall in the opposite direction. I looked back at Mira, not really able to understand. If Levy was in that room, arguing with that man - whom I now assume is her boyfriend - it just didn't seem to click. They didn't look like a matching pair. She was sweet and he was scary.

"He used to be a bit of a playboy in his earlier career in a boy band, and it seems like his habits haven't gone away just because they're now together."

I sighed. "Poor Levy."

I watched Mira nod from my peripheral view. "I do hope they settle things soon, though. They're negativity is evident in their music, and I don't think it's healthy for them."

"I hope they work things out."

"Me, too." Mira stopped and turned to me, a wide smile on her face. "We're here," she said, knocking on the door we stopped at. "Natsu is just finishing up a song, but you can watch him, if you like."

I blinked. Why would I want to watch him? The door opened slightly, only enough so a man's head could fit through. I could hear music coming from the inside of the room. The man looked at the both of us, his eyes glancing back and forth.

"Lucy has an appointment with Natsu," Mira whispered. The man nodded and opened the door, only a little more so I could fit through. Mira patted my shoulder as I squeezed through the opening. "Good lucky," she whispered, before closing the door behind me.

The man walked to a chair that was situated in front of some sort of control console. There were so many levers, knobs, buttons, and lights, I couldn't fathom that he knew what each one was for. Behind the station was a large window, the room beyond illuminated brightly. Natsu stood in the middle of the room, large headphones on his head, and a microphone that hung from the ceiling in front of him. His eyes were closed and his head bounced along with the beat of the music.

As soon as Natsu opened his mouth to sing, the man muttered something and reached over the console to push a button.

Pullin' up now, and the parking lot's full
Gonna ride that cow with a Dallas bull
Everybody in the ATL is coming
DJs got those speakers thumping

Got a black Ford not a white Mercedes
Walking in the front door checking out the ladies
My buddy says hey boys I'm buying
The hottest girl in here's giving me the eye and

As I watched him, I stood behind the man, my hands fiddling with the front of my skirt. He was talented, there was no doubt. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and flinched slightly, turning to see Gray motioning for me to sit on the couch that was against the wall a few feet behind where I stood.

Everybody knows, it's gonna be one of those
I can drink to that all night
That's the stuff I like
That's the kind of party makes you throw your hands up high
Bout to tie one on talking gone gone gone
Turning all the wrongs into right
I can drink to that all night

I sat down between Juvia and Gray. As soon as Natsu stopped singing, he opened his eyes as the man muttered something else into a microphone in front of him. Nodding, Natsu closed his eyes again as he resumed singing.

Working on the sweet thing sitting on a bar stool
Doing shots of Jack girl gonna take it old school
Singing hell yeah to every song they're playing
Do ya wanna dance? Baby I'm just saying

I could feel myself blush slightly. Was he like this in real life? A ladies man who likes to go to bars just to pick up women? Something like that was a little out of my league. For someone who was only really around four people most of her life, that was a big change. Well, now I have Gray and Juvia to add to my list of people, but that list was still small. I can only imagine how much my life was going to change from today, and I was both nervous and excited for it.

"This is a big difference to the music we heard him singing last night," Juvia whispered in my ear. I could only nod in agreement, not wanting to get in trouble for talking. But his genres took such a huge jump, I wonder what happened to make him change.

Take your cup fill it up
You can't raise it high enough
Take your cup fill it up
You can't raise it high enough
Everybody knows, it's gonna be one of those
I can drink to that all night
That's the stuff I like
That's the kind of party makes you throw your hands up
I can drink to that all night
That's the stuff I like
That's the kind of party makes you throw your hands up high
Bout to tie one on talking gone gone gone
Turning all the wrongs into right
I can drink to that all night
[Drink to that All Night - Jerrod Niemann]

I sat patiently, my head nodding slightly to the music. I found myself singing along a few times. I wasn't going to lie, the song was catchy. It was good for me to see him singing one of his songs, that way I could see his personality. Seeing how he acted while singing would help me determine what type of song we could sing together.

I also had the idea that maybe he'd want to sing an unpublished work of my parents. They were known, in the end, for their duets, so my father had a whole collection. Natsu was such a fan of my father's that I was sure he would be okay with it.

As soon as the song ended, Juvia clapped excitedly next to me. I jumped, not wanting to bother Natsu and the man in the room with us. I grabbed her hands.

"Juvia, quiet!" I whispered at her.

Juvia blinked at me. "But they can't hear me," she said. I blinked and looked at the man, who was blinking at me. I blushed, completely forgetting for a moment that what she said was actually true. I placed my hands in my lap and bit my bottom lip.

The man swivelled in his chair, pushed a button, and spoke into the microphone in front of him.

"Natsu, you got a visitor."

Natsu, who was flipping through pages from a book in front of him, paused and looked up, his eyes settling on me. The moment he saw me, his face broke into a wide grin. He tore the headphones off and bounded towards the door that connected this room to the recording room.

"You accepted?!" he shouted, making his way to me. He plopped onto the couch next to me, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Laxus, look! She accepted!" Gray grumbled as he appeared on the opposite of Juvia. I gasped slightly realizing Natsu must have sat on him.

The man named Laxus grunted and nodded. "I see that. Who is she and what did she accept?" His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

"This is Lucy, and she accepted to be my new partner."

I cleared my throat as a blush brushed my cheeks, especially under the man's hard gaze. His head tilted slightly as he narrowed his eyes at Natsu.

"I didn't know you were looking for a new partner."

I quickly waved my hands in front of me, interrupting Natsu from saying anything more. "I'm only working with him for Fantasia. We're just going to do one song, at least that's what Makarov told me."

"But I don't want to do only one song." I giggled slightly when he pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away. I hadn't been expecting the offending sound coming from my mouth, I quickly covered my mouth and looked the opposite direction.

"Well, aren't you two so adorable that it's absolutely disgusting."

I blushed, and whipped my head to the man sitting in front of us. He had turned back around and was messing with some knobs. There were tv's set up towards the roof, and whatever he was doing was controlling what happened on those tv's. Natsu's face appeared, and he was singing just like he had been a few moments ago.

I felt a soft jab in my side, and I turned to see the person in question smiling at me. I blinked back at him.

"What?" I looked away, unable to hold his gaze as he just sat there, smiling at me. I was starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, but with a little excitement. I couldn't believe I was sitting here, with someone who performed music for a living, and I was about to do the same. I bit my lip and couldn't contain a smile.

"I knew you were excited for our pairing as I was," I heard him say. In my peripheral I watched as he laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back. I glanced up at him and saw that he was watching the tv's. Did he really think I was only happy to be here with him? How conceited could someone possibly be?

I heard Gray snort from my opposite side. "Not bloody likely, pal," he muttered. I looked at my two friends and shrugged slightly. "What an egotistical asshole," he said again, shaking his head.

Juvia giggled. "He's just happy to have you here," she told me, patting my shoulder. "I feel a romance budding!" She swooned, her palms attaching themselves to her cheeks as she sighed and started floating. I blushed and whipped my head back to Natsu, not wanting to pay any more attention to the embarrassing acts of Juvia.

Besides, Natsu only took interest in me because of my father. Hell, my parents are the only reason why I'm here in the first place. Not that I'm not grateful to be here at all, it still stung a little that I got here riding on my parent's legacy. I looked down at my hands in lap. I started playing with the hem of my skirt again, my mood falling a little.

"Are you okay?" Natsu placed his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward to look at my face.

I nodded at him, coughing slightly. "I just, uh, need to use the restroom." I blushed even harder, admitting to that. It wasn't true, but my throat was starting to become dry. I didn't want to have another attack while in the company of people. There was a slight itch that was becoming more noticeable. I cleared my throat, but that just made it worse. I bit my lip to keep from showing any emotion.

He nodded and stood. "I'll show you where it is." He held out his hand to me.

I shook my head, accepting his offered hand - it would have been rude not to - and slowly backed towards the door.

"You don't need to. Just tell me where it is and I can find it on my own." I started to panic as my voice started to become scratchy. I glanced down at Gray, and his eyes widened slightly.

"I'll go find it," he said, standing up and making his way passed me towards the door. "If that idiot won't help you, I can." With that, he disappeared through the door.

Juvia sighed as she floated back down next to me.

"It's just down the hall, third door on your left," Natsu said, his eyebrows furrowing.

I nodded. "Thank you. I'll be right back." With that, I spun around and left the room. As soon as I closed the door, I started to quickly walk to where he told me, Juvia following closely behind. Why did it have to come now? Weren't my antibiotics supposed to stop this from happening? It's why my doctor upped my dose.

I crashed into the bathroom as my throat started burning, tears forming in my eyes. I ran to the sinks and immediately turned on the cold water. Gray wasn't there. Juvia left the room, saying something about finding him. I couldn't pay attention, the pain in my neck growing by the second. I pooled the cold water into my palm, quickly shoving the water into my mouth. The cold liquid helped soothe the burn only slightly.

I choked back a sob as breathing started to become a harder task. I gulped down another handful of water, but froze as I brought my hand back down to the sink. The clear liquid was turning pink as blood dripped from my mouth into the pure white sink. Had I always bled when this happened? Yes, I remember now.

Shaking my head, I forced more water down my throat, tears streaming down my cheeks now. I reached into my purse, and produced a small blue tin. Opening it, I grabbed one of the little white pills, and shoved it in my mouth, swallowing it with three more handfuls of water.

I gagged as the pill try to make its way passed my inflammation, but forced it down. I continued to shove water in my mouth, closing my eyes tightly so I couldn't see the blood that dripped from my lips into the sink. It had started to splatter, staining the surrounding areas that weren't wet. My throat twitched as I swallowing, and I started coughing. My breathing had started to become wheezing and I felt my legs give out. I grabbed onto the counter as I dropped to the floor.

Where were Gray and Juvia? I needed someone here with me, even if it was just so I wasn't alone. I didn't care that Gray could heal my inflammation, I just didn't want to be alone. Please be here. I began to chant as I gently lay myself on the floor, my body starting to ache from the coughing.

And then it was over. I felt the burning slowly ebb away as the realization of Gray's hands on my neck came to me. The cold emitting from his hands worked its way through my body, causing me to shiver slightly, but I was just grateful that he had finally come. I reached up and gently placed my hand on his, showing him my appreciation.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy," he whispered. "I went the other direction."

"Are you okay, now?" Juvia asked as my breathing quieted and became easier. I looked up at her, my vision blurry due to the tears. She was grabbing paper towels and started wiping the counter. "I locked the door to make sure no one walked in here," she said quietly as she cleaned my mess.

I started to feel a little ashamed. Here I was, lying on the floor, blood pouring from my mouth, and yet I did nothing. Gray sat with his magic hands on my neck, Juvia was cleaning my filthy mess, and here I lay, crying, feeling sorry for myself.

I grabbed Gray's fingers and pulled him off me, finally feeling back to normal. Well, my throat didn't hurt anymore. I sat up as he replaced his hands to my back, supporting me. I was wiping my mouth with my hands. Juvia handed me a towel, and I pressed it against my face.

Why did I have to go through this? It wasn't fair. By the way things were going for me, could I really expect to survive two more years? That last cold I had really put me out of commission, and it left a parting gift. It was my fault that I had that cold in the first place; I should have been more careful and not played in the rain that day. But it hadn't rained in so long that I couldn't help myself.

"Let's get you cleaned up and back to that pink haired idiot," Gray said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me up. I nodded and let them wipe my face clean of the blood. Juvia gently dabbed my eyes to clean the tears.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, but I was alone. I couldn't see Juvia or Gray in the reflection. I looked like a mess - my hair was unruly, my eyes were red and puffy, there were faint red lines leading from my mouth, which were slowly fading due to Gray wiping at them.

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses

I closed my eyes as the words from the song that I had been working on in the conference room had made their way to the front of my mind. I left my notes in the room with Natsu, but the words were so fresh in my mind that I knew exactly what I had written down.

Sink me in a river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song
[If I Die Young - The Band Perry]

My voice broke as I felt myself wanting to cry again, in sadness this time. I wrapped my arms around Juvia and held onto her. She had froze slightly, probably not expecting me to embrace her. She and Gray were my first non-familial friends, and I was more than grateful that they were with me, for whatever reason they were there. I felt Juvia gently wrap her arms around me, and I felt Gray's hands rub circles on my upper back.

How the hell was I supposed to survive this?

AN: I don't really have anything to say for this chapter. :/ I have decided to write another band fic...well, sort of band fic. Either, way, that's in the works now, also. Jeeze, the things I come up with while at work. n_n;; Anyway, you know what to do! Every little bit helps. :D I'll see you guys next chapter!