The start of something bitter
~7~
My memories are getting to me,
I can't seem to break free,
I can feel my heart beat faster,
Stop doing this to me!
I can't take it anymore,
I hold my breath,
As I run through the door.
And you don't come after me,
Or help me overcome my fears,
You don't want to tell me 'it's okay',
Or wipe away my tears.
He had just turned 17, when he first started noticing something. He missed the outside world! He wanted to go to school like any normal kid, or go to clubs or something normal people did at his age. But, he was confined in this building which restricted him from everything. He couldn't do what other people did, and he wanted to try it. How was it to live with parents, or live alone? Is it the same as living in an orphanage? Of course not. He somewhat remembered what it was like living with his father and mother, but it was foggy, since a lot of years had passed.
The workers at the orphanage kept telling him that he lives in a 'big and happy family' with them, but he wasn't convinced. Everyone would like to have a real family, and not live in a building for kids who can't get adopted. True, a lot of families who couldn't have kids came, but they never wanted to take Natsu. Erza had been taken in, and even Levy. A woman had wanted to take care of Lucy too, but Natsu had not allowed it, and the woman had no choice but to back off. He was never chosen.
The last two years, Lucy had been extremely lonely, since Erza had been adopted the moment they had retuned from the field trip back when she was just eleven years old. Levy had been adopted a year later, and now Lucy had no girls to talk to. But despite that, she had grown into quite the fine young lady, and was now looking for a job to be able to support herself without the help of others. Gray had been accepted into school, since he had studied at the orphanage for the past couple of years. Natsu disliked that, so he never tried to study.
Now, Gray lived into his own apartment, alone. He worked as a guard at some hotel, and was studying to become a police man, just like he wanted to. He often visited though, along with Erza, Cana and Levy, but it was still lonely. Lucy and Natsu were the only ones left. And Lucy was planning to leave soon, too. But Natsu had never thought about leaving this place, since living here was not bad at all. But he was already 17, so it was time to move on, and grow up. He didn't like that one bit.
Walking into his shared room with Lucy, he watched the blonde as she circled some job applications in the newspaper. Sitting down next to her on the bed, he sighed, as the 16 year old girl was trying a lot harder than he was. He just ate, slept, and passed the day by visiting Gray, or drawing in his notebooks. "You still haven't given up on the whole, 'finding a job' thing?" He asked Lucy, as the girl sighed loudly.
"No Natsu, and I don't plan to. We're not kids anymore! Erza, levy and Cana were adopted a long time ago, and Gray has his own apartment, and pays for school with his own money! I want to be independent too, and leave this place. I mean, yeah, we've got it easy here, but I can't stay here forever you know. I need to get out and see the world. And money is needed for that. So, here I am, trying to find something I can do that doesn't require any education."
He rolled his eyes at her long and boring speech, irked by the sounds of children playing downstairs.
"You hear that?" She continued, "There are a lot more kids here now, and they're all little. We're the only ones here who are not in need of a pacifier every minute! We practically grew up here, and I don't plan on wasting any more of my time in a place I don't fit in. I want to go to work, and be able to pay my own bills, and buy my own food. You should be looking for a job too, since—" she stopped for a moment, her gaze landing on a peculiar job add. "LOOKING FOR A FEMALE WAITRESS. Has to be at least 16 of age. No education required. Payment: 10,000 jewel a week."
Her eyes sparkled, as Natsu was wondering why she looked so happy. "Wow! This is great! I'm 16, I don't have any education, and the salary is amazing! I can apply today! And it's not even very far from the apartment complex I wanted to live in! This is perfect!" She exclaimed happily, jumping on the bed. "I'll go right away!"
Natsu eyed the article, rubbing his head. So she was going to work? …How was this going to reflect on him? He didn't want to work, so he'll probably stay here a while longer, and do his daily routine.
"Natsu, I'm going to go apply for the job, and meet the manager. Here's the address in case you need something, and I'll be back when I'm finished okay?" She asked him, receiving a nod. "Oh wow! I can't wait! I hope this turns out as good as I want it to!" Natsu just rolled his eyes in a bored manor, before lying down on his bed to take a nap for the time being.
Stretching his tensed muscles, and scratching his neck, Natsu wondered where Lucy was. She had left the orphanage in such a hurry, and it's been three hours since that. Where was she? Wasn't it about time she came back? He was getting worried, but he didn't have any time to sit there and ponder about it. He had to go find her. What if she got lost? Or if someone kidnapped her, or worse—
But Natsu didn't want to think about the worst, so he just put on his jacket, and left the room, running toward the address she had pointed out in the newspaper earlier. He needed to get her back, and he had to do it fast.
Standing before the glass doors of the place, Natsu was semi-afraid to enter the place. He had no idea if she was still here, and he seldom wanted to go back, because he didn't want to freak out if she wasn't there. He took in a deep breath, before carefully opening the door to enter.
Wow.
She was here, and damn was she looking good.
Natsu had known Lucy his whole life, but he had never thought about how she would look like wearing a maid's uniform. She was adorable in that black and white dress, and he felt a little odd.
He knew that the blonde girl was special. In fact, he had known that for quite some time now, but he had always chosen to ignore it. She was his dearest friend, and he would never trade her with someone else. She had always been there for him, right from the start. But now, they were a lot older than the first time he had seen her. She wasn't that scared crying girl anymore, she was strong-willed, kind-hearted, and self-confident. No matter the circumstances, she would always try to stay positive, and he loved that about her. He loved everything about her.
He had known about those feelings for a few years now, but he didn't let them shine through, and he buried them inside himself. He treated her just like he treated everyone, because he knew that she was just a friend. And even if he did try to step out of that position, he still wanted them to remain as friends. He didn't want them to hook up and break up. So, in order to keep that balance, he decided to keep his feelings shut inside himself, and eventually forget them. He wanted them to stay friends. And he would keep that bond forever.
"Natsu?" the sudden call of his name made him snap out of his daze, as he watched the girl he had just been thinking about walk up to him, with a tray in her hands. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh hey," He replied, watching her eye him in confusion, "Well, you were gone for a while now, so I decided to come see what happened."
"Oh, well, turns out the manager of the shop was in need of a worker fast, so when I came to apply, he just gave me this uniform and told me to start right away. Order taking was a piece of cake, but I almost slipped a bunch of times when I had to deliver the food." She giggled, and he wiped the sweat away from his forehead.
"Want a cup of coffee? Workers and friends get one free." Lucy smiled at him, and he nodded, sitting on one of the chairs. The café looked pretty normal, and nothing out of the ordinary. The tables were clean, and the customers seemed nice. Lucy was happy to be working, and he was happy to finally be able to sit down.
He looked around, interested in what she saw in this place. Why did she want to work here? Was it because she wanted to have her own money, or to leave the orphanage? Wait a minute… he was in the orphanage. Did she just really want to leave because he was there? Well, of course, he never gave her any space at all, and always followed her everywhere. They lived in the same room for crying out loud! He was hardly ever apart from her, and now that he thought about it, he was surely annoying!
"What would you like sir?" Natsu turned around, only to come face to face with an orange haired girl with green eyes. The girl looked pretty, and she had her hair tied in twin tails, as she proudly wore the uniform of the café.
"Uh, I already ordered." He said bluntly, watching the girl giggle.
"Oh, I that so? Okay then." But, instead of her leaving, she just kept standing next to Natsu and watching him.
"Um, is there something wrong?" he asked, the girl giggling once more.
"Huh? Oh no~!" she smiled, "You're just too adorable!"
Natsu's cheeks reddened, as he took another look at the girl. She looked like she was the same age as him.
"What's your name?" She asked, and Natsu replied by introducing himself. "Oh, Natsu, huh? What a cute name! I'm Kaori. Nice to meet you!"
"Yeah." He watched her giggle for the hundredth time, before she finally walked away from him.
What a strange girl…
"Is your shift finally done?" Natsu asked Lucy, as she sat down next to him on the chair.
"Uhm Natsu, I've been done for five minutes now, but no matter how much I tried to talk to you, you just stared at your coffee, without saying a thing. Is there something on your mind?"
"Huh? O-oh, no no! It's nothing." He shook his head, getting up. "Let's go."
"…uh huh…" She followed suit, still not convinced by his weak reply. What was bothering him?
"So, how did you like your first day at work?" Natsu tried striking up a conversation, watching as she beamed with happiness, the worry for her best friend's actions long forgotten.
"Oh, it was amazing! The customers were really nice, and the manager too! I met all of the staff, and they were very welcoming! Aside from me, there's the cook Sean, and the two waitresses, Mari and Kaori-chan."
"Kaori?" Natsu asked unconsciously, and Lucy looked at him weirdly.
"Uhm, yeah, Kaori-chan. She's the girl with the orange hair. She's really nice! She helped me learn how to use the cash register!" Lucy explained, secretly observing Natsu.
"What's she like?" He asked, scratching his head.
"Um… she's nice and cheerful. She gave me a free croissant the moment I said I was their new worker." The blonde said, as Natsu nodded. "Why are you interested in her?"
"Huh? No I'm not! I-I was j-just asking!"
'He stuttered', she thought, 'and he looks like he knows her'.
"So, can I come visit you sometime?" He asked, changing the topic, as Lucy's suspicion was cleared in an instant.
"Yeah, that would be great!"
"Yeah… great…"
(notes): NATSU YOU IDIOT! - says the girl who made him an idiot -_-
*cough* yaaay i updated this story! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but I didn't have any inspiration whatsoever for this fanfic, and now that I finally have it... well... here it is!
Also, please be sure to vote on the poll on my profile to let me know which story to write first! Thanks!
Thank you for reading, leave a review if you can!
~With Keys, through flames! Aye!~
