A/N: Honestly speaking, I'm extremely hesitant on uploading this... but then I gathered up courage and.. oh well! *prays silently*
I got too busy these past few weeks, didn't think that school would be such a bother. It's hell week for a first week, seriously! So with that said, I didn't have enough time for this chapter. I barely had time for sleep too. It obviously affected my writing. I had a hard time on what to put in for this chapter with my inspiration flying off somewhere again and my stressed out brain. I'm sorry, can't express myself well... T.T Forgive me please for this crappy chapter :'( The only thing i liked is the middle part x3
But anyways, for all those who reviewed this story, I thank you from the very bottom of my heart! T.T Sorry it took so long to give you my replies of appreciation
GoldenRoseLuceTanya thank you for the review! :') I considered adding some NaLu here since you mentioned it and my friend seemed to like the idea of it too... hope it suits your interest *crosses fingers* xI
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Hachibukai Waaahh! thank you! thank you! you really help me get back up when I'm down thank you! T.T (everybody does ^^)
oshirajinda thank youuuuuuuuu! I'm so so glad you liked it! T.T
jdcocoagirl was it? ahehehe, I'm starting to go with the original plot since I've been setting it aside for the first three chapters, the one with Lisanna is what I mean. :') I just hope I can do it well :')
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IloveCelestialIce uh-huh, I think I still need tissue right now xD thank you so much! you could never imagine how your reviews made me happy! I'm not that great of an author but I'll definitely do my best to improve myself ^^ I'm glad you liked Celestine too! hehe! and about the GraLu scene, I'm so happy you liked it T.T for the questions, I'll try my very best to answer them well in the upcoming chapters! thank you so much again! T.T
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.-.-.I never expected to get this much reviews already since I'm losing trust and confidence in myself so I thank you all a lot! (Unli? No, just plain grateful! ^^).-.-
Chapter 6: For That Smile
Lyon's POV
"Did I sleep long?"
"Not really." Her eyes were focused on anything but me and were somewhat giving an expression of something I couldn't really make out.
"Was I… alone when you came?"
I sensed her freezing for a while but it was gone right away. Did I just say something wrong? "Y-yeah."
I gave her a keen eye. She's not herself today. She's awfully quiet for some reason. "Hey, Juvia-chan? You can tell me whatever problems you have in mind right now."
"Juvia doesn't have any prolems." She immediately brushed off, now walking at a faster pace. She bent her head down and placed a hand over her mouth.
I grabbed her by the wrist, making her face me. Shocked I was to see tears on her deep blue orbs. "W-what's wrong? Don't tell me, your parents called you and are mad for still being in school this late? Sorry, you didn't have to wait for me to wake up… I—"
Juvia cut me off with a faint laugh. "It's not that Lyon-kun… not that…"
"Then, why do you look so troubled?" I cut off, wiping her tear-streaked face with my hands. "You can tell me anything, okay?" I reassured her, giving out my best smile.
Juvia gave out a smile but her eyes gave the opposite, they were pained and teary once more. She sighed and wiped her tears on her own, averting her eyes away from me as a stray blush made its way on her cheeks. "Jealousy is something you wouldn't understand…" she mumbled softly. I barely heard it well. She grabbed her wrist back and turned her back on me. "I'm sorry… I guess my parents really do want me home…"
I stared at her retreating figure absent-mindedly and slumped myself on the floor after a while, running a hand through my hair. "Why are you girls so hard to understand? So I was alone when I Juvia came… something like Lucy-chii coming to see me is too good to be true…Or was it?" I placed a hand over my swollen cheek. It's not that puffy anymore… Lucy-chii… I'm so sorry. You're suffering because of me, right? Wait… Could that…could that possibly be the reason why… her tears… jealousy? But I thought… "Juvia-chan…"
"Onii-chan? You waited for me?"
Laxus gave his usual haughty smirk as he ruffled his sister's hair, much to the latter's objection. "I'm sorry about… you know…"
"Rooftop thingy?" Lucy cut off, smiling in amusement. Now an apologizing Laxus isn't something she sees everyday. She can't help but laugh mentally to finally notice something almost impossible to happen. Well, not like he can't apologize, he values his pride a lot so he rarely does it.
The blonde lad scratched the back of his head sheepishly, sticking his sight on the ground from awkwardness. "And you know… Lyon…" he mumbled but his words didn't go unheard by Lucy.
"Oh? Am I really the one you're supposed to be apologizing to? It was really swollen too!" Lucy said in a teasing manner, gesturing a lump on her cheek.
"Alright! I give! I'll apologize to him tomorrow! Happy?" Laxus exclaimed in defeat, earning a bright smile from Lucy. "Geez, you're so weird!"
"I can't help it, right? He's special… very much special…" For a moment, sadness was reflected in her brown eyes to which she immediately ridded off to give Laxus a smile, signalling him to follow as she took the lead in heading for home.
"Special? More than me?" Laxus interrogated with a tone of disappointment, receiving a raised eyebrow in response from Lucy. His frowning face turned into a serious one as he locked eyes with the girl walking before him. "More than Natsu, or Levy or Erza or even Ultear?" he said in a deep tone of voice. "More than Gray? More than… dad?"
Lucy froze on her tracks at the mention of her father, her brows furrowing and eyes hesitantly staring at her brother's. "I won't take it back, what I promised dad that is. It's the least thing I can do for him. I'd do anything for him, definitely…"
Laxus looked at her from the corner of his eyes and felt stings of guilt and sympathy deep within. "With you and Lyon like this… that would mean…"
"I'm fine with it." Lucy beamed him a smile, clasping her hands behind her back. "I have no reason left to reconsider…"
"Just promise me you won't regret your decisions." Laxus cut off, heaving a deep sigh as he gave his sister a pat on the head. "Don't force yourself okay?"
Her chocolate-brown orbs softened as her smile grew wider. "Thank you, Onii-chan!"
Laxus smirked in response and was about to say something more until a certain ear-breaking scream interrupted him, making him twitch.
"LUUUUUUUUUUUUUCYYYYY! FOUND 'YA!" exclaimed Natsu, waving a hand high up in the air excitedly. Trails of smoke was pretty much evident behind him, indicating how he just ran to catch up with the siblings.
"Tsk, Dragneel?"
"Woah! Laxus in the flesh! You're here! Seriously?" Natsu continuously babbled out, circling around Laxus and even pointing an accusing finger at him as he eyed the blonde from head to toe.
This caused veins to pop out of Laxus in irritation. He gave Natsu a deathly glare to shut him up, which seemed to take great effect. "I transferred here with Loke, don't you know? That aside, over with it already. What do YOU want from MY sister?"
"Have you heard of sister complex?" Natsu innocently replied. No real meaning behind it, it just came out of him automatically. Too bad he received a whack on the head in response to his question. "That hurt! Wait, did I just hear the name Loke?"
Laxus rolled his eyes and gave Lucy a do-something-about-this-idiot look. He's been getting that line a lot.
"Natsu, he's in our class, don't you remember?" Lucy spoke out, bearing a kind smile, the total opposite of Laxus's deathly glare.
"That womanizer is?" Furrowing his brows and frowning a bit, Natsu got a simple nod from Lucy in response. For a moment he stared at her smiling face with awe, not tearing his eyes off for even a second. "Lu—"
"Get to the point already!" Laxus yelled out, tapping his foot impatiently. "What do you want?"
"Huh? Oh yeah…" he rummaged his backpack immediately and brought out what seemed to look like a miniature snowman stuffed toy. "Remember this?" he grinned, shoving the plushie in Lucy's face.
Lucy stepped back a bit and tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at the plushie. "P-plue?" she uttered hesitantly.
Natsu happily nodded and gently placed the so-called Plue on Lucy's hands. "Take it. You've always loved this weird looking dog that doesn't bark when we were kids, right? You tend to cry a lot when you miss the show on TV." He gave out a laugh, thinking back to the time when Lucy would whine out on how she just missed the show about Plue. "Take it and smile more often okay?"
Lucy brought the plushie into a tight hug as she tried so hard not to cry from joy but failed in the end. "Plue's not weird looking… it's the cutest thing I've ever seen…" she said between her soft sobs. "And this looks exactly like Plue… thank you… Natsu."
Natsu scratched his reddish cheeks and smiled. "Don't mention it… not like I stayed up all night just to give you that—" he slapped his hands over his mouth and cursed mentally for saying that aloud. "Err— I mean…"
Lucy gave out a chuckle while Natsu still thought of things to cover up what he just said. On the other hand, Laxus intensely stared at the innocent plushie in Lucy's arms. "What?" Lucy asked, raising a delicate brow.
"That's actually a dog? What's up with that weird smile it has on?"
"I know right!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed.
"Too weird for a dog." They said in unison.
Lucy squeezed Plue's cheeks after giving the boys a glare. "Don't worry Plue. They just don't know the meaning of cute!"
She creased her brows and scowled at the sight. 'Why her… of all people…?' she mentally complained, biting her bottom lips. She took slow steps backwards before heading off to leave and the sight of a happy Lucy Heartfilia retained in her memories. She clenched her hands into a ball, putting up a determined face. "It's not gonna be long... you won't be smiling for long..."
Gray's POV
I had my eyes glued outside, blankly staring at nothingness as little droplets of water fell from the dark sky.
"Tell me, what's a cake without books? Mere imaginations! No cookbooks, no cakes!" Levy countered back at Erza. They were having a childish fight about some certain issues and it's still so early in the morning. How their argument ended up, I didn't care to know.
I shook my head in disbelief and sighed while my eyes did their usual routine of looking for Lucy. Geez, I wanted to slap myself for doing so. She's here beside me, duh. Gray just insulted Gray that's just… Ugh…
"Hm? What?" Lucy beamed a one-of-a-kind smile, something only an angel could do in my opinion that is. She's smiling more often now… was it because of the plushie Natsu gave her that she kept on bragging about on the phone? Or is it because something happened between her and… Lyon…?
I shrugged the idea off for it was too painful by just thinking about it dragged her at the back of the room, giving her a side smile. We sat on the floor, just the two of us, away from the others. Still no teacher anyways. "What's school without teachers?"
"Huh?" Lucy asked in confusion. "Uhmm…"
"Perfect." I simply replied. Lucy smiled a bit and gave me a look. "What?"
"That way, you won't be able to learn. School is for learning and teachers are essential for that."
I shrugged my shoulders and leaned my head on the wall as my eyes stared at the ceiling. "Yes. Yes. Then, what's Lucy without Gray?" I don't know…what am I doing? Lyon… and Lucy… what if… they already fixed things between them? Did my brother break up with his girlfriend or…
"I don't know… but she'll definitely be crying a lot…" her beautiful voice interrupted my train of thoughts and I just felt the urge to smile.
"Exactly. Lucy without Gray is a crybaby." I said in soft tone of voice but I guess she heard it for she gave me a light punch on the shoulder.
"Meanie!"
I gave out a laugh and sat myself properly, leaning sideward to face Lucy. I just love times like this… conversations that only we could hear. Simple but it's the thing I treasure the most, this friendship lets keeps me this close with you Luce. I can't risk it now, can I?
"Then, tell me. What's Gray without Lucy?"
My body froze on its spot. The smile I had on turned into a slightly opened mouth, trying to make words come out of it. She gave me a smile, waiting patiently for my response. I closed my eyes and sighed as I smiled in return. "Nothing."
Her cheeks took in the color of crimson red, being taken aback by my response. And my inner self just scolded me for being so stupid. Like I care, it slipped out. "H-huh? Gray… what do you—"
"Nothing would happen to me. I'll still be great and awesome." I lied obviously and she actually fell for it, even rolling her eyes and pouting in irritation. 'I'd be nothing without you.' Like I can say that out loud!
"Be it Gray." She said in a childish manner. "I gave you such a nice answer and you're just too mean!" she gave me a glare but instead of taking it back, I laughed and messed up her hair, poking her on the forehead after that.
"Being mean doesn't suit you, Luce!"
Her eyes widened and her face heated up, giving it light taints of red, much to my confusion. "You… always do that…" she mumbled with her head down.
"Do I?" I asked, raising a brow. I don't really know. Does she hate it? "Okay, I won't do it anymore!" I gave her a grin, hoping she won't give me a glare for teasing her all the time.
"It's fine. I sort of… like it somehow…" she kept the last words in a soft tone of voice, waaaaay too soft I barely heard it.
"Hey, Luce? Fell for me already?" I teased earning a slight frown from her.
She flipped her hair to her back and pulled a tongue at me. "Geez, Gray, that is so not gonna happen. This thing here says my feelings for Lyon won't change." She proudly stated, gesturing a hand on her left chest where her heart is supposed to be.
It hurts… way more than hell… my eyes feel warm and my vision's getting blurry so I forced up a smile. "How are things between you two? Did you guys…"
Lucy brightly smiled, throwing in stings of pain within my chest. If she can smile… if she can smile with the mention of his name… then I don't really want to hear her answer. "They're still together Gray. Geez, what are you thinking?"
I blinked once, then twice then a several more times. "I'm glad... you're happy?" I monotonously said. Don't get me wrong, I mean it. I'm just confused. Why? I don't get it…
A laugh escaped her smiling lips. "There's no point in dwelling over the past, right? Happiness is a choice and I chose to be happy." I felt relief for some reason, maybe it's because she moved on or at least that's what I thought. Never knew the next words to come out of her mouth were torturous. "But sometimes I wanna tell him… can I… still love you from afar?"
Back at you, Luce. You sure know what I wanted to say. Great, should I be happy or be hurt? Happy 'cause you're happy? Or hurt 'cause he's the only one you'll ever like? Happiness is a choice, I know. But this time, how can I even think of happiness without you by my side? Just when would I get to hear those three special words from you? Just when? Geez, I don't really care, anymore. Your smile is enough for me, Luce. How can I be so selfish to ask for anything more? I'm happy when you are Lucy. I'd bear the pain for that smile of yours. I'd do anything Lucy… anything… anything to not loose you… anything to keep that precious smile of yours, my angel.
-End-
A/N: More on NaLu here, deshou? I thought of giving Natsu-chii some spotlight xD
Ehem! Ahehehe Gray is soooo... bitter? xD Sorry, I'm out of my mind these past few days. That just proved how powerful stress can be xD
I almost gave up but your reviews kept me going. Thank you! And I'm very much sorry if I disappointed you with this one. I'll try to make up for it, really! I just need the inspiration :') Thank you so much for the support! Gambarimasu! ^w^
Please do review and state your opinion. I don't mind being corrected 'cause I'm very much aware that I still have a lot to learn. Just please go easy on me! ^^" Aheheh, pretty much have an idea of the ending, wanna guess? :D
Special thanks to: all those who reviewed "Eyes of Ice: Ever so Mesmerizing" title might change though, if ever I get the inspiration to continue it, but that's less likely as of now, I guess? That's all, I talked too much xD