Chapter 8: Found

Lucy POV

I've been searching forever! I'm so tired. How long has it been.? I pulled out a lacrima from my pouch, and added a bit of magic energy to power it. Two minutes?! No way! I've been searching longer than that. . .right? Whatever, but I still can't find him. And this island is huge. How am I supposed to find him in a couple of hours? Wahh why are so hard to find, Zeref? I've been looking for you for two pathetic minutes. Sigh.

Normal POV Time Skip

The blonde searched dwelled into the wood, never ceasing. The hot sun beaming on her porcelain skin. "It's so hot put here!" She exclaimed, exhausted. She one hand she held both of her combat boots while she walked around groggily. 'If I knew it was going to be this hot, I would have got some water bottles. Hmph! At least I put sunscreen and deodorant on.' She thought to herself, thing to look at the pros of such a pathetic situation. She felt parched, but still she insisted herself to continue the misery. 'I'm so tired! Maybe I should sit in some shade for a bit.' She spotted a fair place to lie down for a bit, and leaned her back at the base of a tree to enjoy the given shade. 'How long has it been? 40 minutes.'

She sat their for awhile, drowning herself in her own thoughts. Some included the reactions of her friends, but Zeref occupied most of her process. She eventually decided to go back to searching. She went deeper into the forest, and pushed through the occasional bush that happened to be in her way. The trees gathered closer the deeper she entered, giving her shade but engulfing the forest in darkness. Little light passed through the thick leaves, but she could see good enough through. She walked farther, deeper into the wood of Tenroujima. Through she wasn't lost as she knew her way back this time. Searching aimlessly, she saw something that caught her eye. A figure. A figure so noticeable in the sea of green trees. A figure wearing a black cloak accompanied by a pure, white sash, and black, silky hair. His back turned to her, preventing her from seeing his face.

'I found him!' Lucy thought as she mentally squealed. She was relieved. She had a smiled laced on her lips as she ran towards the dark mage. She ran to him like her life depended on it, all her previous thoughts now meaningless to her. She felt the adrenaline run through her system that was fueled by his image, by the desire to be friends with him forever.

"Zeref!" She called as she waved to him, a gracious expression welcoming him. Her eyes were smiling, but she could register the moment of him turning towards her direction. 'Lucy?' He thought to himself, surprised. His dark orbs were wide in shock, his mouth just barely open. "I found you!" She exclaimed as she finally made it to him, and giggled in absolute happiness.

"L-Lucy?" He asked, his expression the same. He had to admit, he did miss her, but he could have hurt her. Did he not hurt her? Why was she here?! What was she doing, running to him with a smile on her face?

He was dangerous. He cared too much.

"W-why are you here?" He asked, chocking as he held back tears. Tears for what he had caused her. He remembered the expression that graced her angelic face when they had last seen each other. She was terrified, not of him, but for his safety. And when he told her to leave, he could tell she hesitated. He knew she didn't want to, but she had to. He didn't want to hurt her.

"I came to see you, and talk! You see, I'm leaving Tenrou Island in a few hours, and I just had to see you. I had to. You're my friend, after all. You are important to me."

She explained to him the entire ordeal, and then later that she wanted to keep in touch with him. And for some reason, he couldn't help but feel. . .heartbroken. Of course he didn't expect her to live on the island, let alone stay for that long, but it still tore through him. He wanted her to stay just a bit longer. He only knew her for a few days, but something about her triggered something inside him. He wasn't sure what it was, but something inside him changed. Something so complex that he couldn't understand. It was like nothing he has ever felt before. "You're leaving. . .? And only in a few hours?" He said in a broken tone.

"Yeah. . .but that's why I came to find you. I wanted to know if you knew a way we could keep in touch! Seeing as it would take awhile to come her on boat." She said kindly, mentally looking at her list of possible ways. She stilled had the same smile as before, and it put him in a bit of ease that she was happy.

The were both sitting on the light grass beneath them, legs crossed, and across from each other by a few inches. He was staring deep into her brown orbs and her in his dark ones. He also thought, and not long after a idea popper into his head. He now smiled, and said, "I may know a way."

"Really?" She asked cheerfully, the smile lacing her lips becoming brighter than before. Her eyes also seemed to glow in joy. His smile also grew. He loved it how she would get animated over every small thing, and how adorably she would express it. He found it cute. "Yeah. I can pass some of my magic to you. I have the power to teleport anywhere I wish. I could give some of that power so you can visit me or I can visit you." He explained softly. At that point, she was more radiant than the sun itself.

"Anything to see you! Thank you so much, Zeref! You're the best!" She agreed immediately, joyous. He in return blushed lightly at her words and said, "Of course, Lucy." Even he could tell that she was eager, and she looked like she had enough happiness to power a city. She even did a mini cheer as she sat. He laid his hand out flat as a black orb surrounded in black mist formed in his open palm. He gestured her to grab it, which she did, and it swirled around her before disappearing entirely. "Woah!" She said, astonished. He just smiled at how cute the blonde was when amazed. "Thanks so much Zeref! I promise to see you tomorrow!" She said as she stood up. He stood up as well, before he felt something embrace him. He looked down and was shocked by the blonde who hugging him. Her arms wrapped gently around his torso, as the side of her face was pressing against it. "I promise." She somewhat repeated silently. He could feel his clothing start to soak, and he faintly registered a sob.

"Lucy." He said gently. He grabbed her by the shoulders, breaking the hug. Her tears were like crystal as they fell to the earth below them. She had tears flowing down her cheeks like rivers. She looked at him silently, his eyes covered by his bangs. "Lucy." He repeated. The sound of his voice saying her name calmed her. His eyes were also covered by a shadow and his dark bangs. Suddenly, he pulled her quickly back into the embrace, holding onto her like if he let go she would disappear from him. And he didn't want that. "Thank you." He whispered into her ear. She wrapped her arms around him again, crying happily. They both enjoyed their moment together, both of them wishing it would last for eternity.

They said their goodbyes and Lucy left back the way she came. It was just a bit dark, and she hoped that no one realized her absence. But the dark mage overlapped those thoughts, and she was happy that he was her friend.

~With Zeref~

He was worried. Extremely. The spells that he had casted on her on their first encounter were about to wear off. Once she had gone back to normal and remembered him as the darkest wizard in history, would she leave him? Would she forget all their precious memories in a second and turn her back on him? Would she? The thoughts scared him beyond compare. What if she did? Or she wouldn't? I really did scare the said to be cruelest mage in the history of Fiore. He ran his fingers through his silky hair in frustration. The spells would wear off in a couple hours. . .plus how is he supposed to explain to her that he used magic on her without her consent? He has never seem the blonde angry, nor did he want to. He could only imagine her wraith. He say great potential in her, and while she seemed weak, she was actually stronger than most realized. I mean the soul purpose of the spells was to protect her, but still! He didn't lie to her through since she never asked about him using a spell on her.

But Lucy was nice. She would give the most rotten person in the world more chances than they deserve. She was understanding, and she always looked at the other side of the story before making a judgement. That was just how Lucy was. 'Well I'll apologize. Through I'm scared, I have to deal with it. But that has to wait until tomorrow, or whenever she comes by.' He thought mentally to himself. He stretched, and laid on the soft forest grass. Usually it poked him and he really hated it, but today it felt comfortable. He let his eyes flutter shut to sleep for awhile. He was too worried these days. Man, did he need to sleep.

~With Lucy, after seeing Zeref, Lucy's POV~

Thankfully no one noticed me when I returned to camp. Through I'm pretty sure they noticed my disappearance. How I'm I going to explain to them that I met someone, and went to go see them? Maybe I just shouldn't tell them, but I need to come up with an elaborate lie. I'm such a bad liar, through. Ahh crap I hear someone coming towards me! I should run back into the tent! Wahh the tent is demolished! Where do I hide now?! Crap, they're behind me! Behind that bush! I quickly ran behind a random bush, trying to hide from the person. Wait a sec, weren't they behind me?! Oh my Fiore they were! They watched me squabble behind this bush like some maniac! I'm ruined! Wait, why am I hiding again? I don't know...oh Fiore now I'm just embarrassing myself. I'm such a dork.

"Lucy. What are you doing running behind a bush like that?" I heard Cana say. "Wait, don't tell me that you have to potty? Or was your skirt about to fall off?" She asked between hiccups. A bottle of wine was in her hand, but she seemed stable. "Wahhh! No! I was just. . .looking for a bug?" I said, not thinking. It's like my mind just stopped working. Wait what? Did I just say a bug. What type of excuse is that Heartfilia! "And why are you looking for a bug?" She asked, confused. "So I can shave it. . .?" WHAT IN THE WORLD BRAIN! TO SHAVE IT? TO SHAVE IT! This is extremely embarrassing. "Are you okay? I think this island is making you crazy. But oh well. At least I have a good story to tell on the way back home. Have fun shaving bugs, you lunatic!" She hollered as she left, clearly amused. Man I'm being weird. Whatever? At least I'll be able to see Zeref tomorrow with some of the magic he let me borrow. Maybe I should get him some food while I'm at it. What does Zeref like to eat? That's a good question maybe. I'll just bring a lot of food from each category. That's going to be hard to make. Oh well! As long as I get to see him, it's okay with me.