I wasn't going to update early again, but ahh I'm so happy right now because I found out I have enough credits to graduate early! Meaning this semester! Sddsas I'm in utter shock and so in celebration, I decided to give you guys another early chapter!


~I Promise~

"So you're telling me that the asshole who trashed your house came back to clean up?" uttered Gray, finally processing what had occurred.

"Well er yeah," said Lucy, her smile was tight and her palms started to sweat so she swiftly tied them behind her back.

"But that makes absolutely no sense!" Gray said, hands flying up.

"I mean if you have a better explanation, I'd be more than happy to hear it," she said, trying to ignore Natsu's cackling in the background ("H-He looks so stupid if he believes you!" wheezed Natsu, doubling over).

Gray was speechless, his mouth kept opening and closing and then opening again. At last, he asked, "Are you okay with staying here by yourself?"

That shut Natsu up. "Eh?"

"What? Y-you want to stay the night?" Lucy tried to sound lighthearted, but her voice squeaked, making her lose her cool.

"N-no I mean—not me! Like one of the girls—Erza—she will scare anyone away—don't tell her I said that. And I mean if you want me to—I guess I could—?"

She started to sweat under her arms. The room felt hotter and without helping it, she glanced over at Natsu and he looked tense, staring at Gray with unusually serious face. But what is he tense about?

"Don't worry! I'm fine!"

"If you say so…" said Gray. "Well guess I'll be seeing ya. Bye, Lucy."

He gave one last uneasy glance through the apartment before stalking out the door.

Lucy sighed, slumping against her kitchen counter. "I appreciate you cleaning up, but couldn't you have waited for Gray to leave?"

"And miss out on his stupid expression?" exclaimed Natsu. "No way!" Lucy shot him a disapproving look as she sat down on her kitchen chair. A pain shot up from her injured leg. She winced.

Natsu's dark eyes darted down to her bandaged leg. He furrowed. "Is your leg okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed. "Doctor Gray said it was a close call, but it looks like I'm gonna make it."

"Damn, that's unfortunate," gloomed Natsu. "I was really looking forward to having you by my ghostly side forever."

Lucy's felt her cheeks flame up as she crossed her arms over her chest and turned hotly away. "As if I would stay by your side if I was dead! I would move on to be with my mom."

"Aww that's mean," Natsu puckered before suddenly crouching beside her bandaged leg.

"W-What are you doing?" she stuttered.

Natsu ignored her as his faded hand lightly caressed her injured leg. Although he wasn't really touching her, Lucy could feel this a fiery sensation coursing through her leg. It made the sting in the wound slowly disappear.

He stood back up and sheepishly rubbed his neck. "Sorry about the picture frame by the way."

"It's fine," brushed off Lucy, hopping out of her seat. Her stomach was coiling so much and her heart felt strange. "I can replace the frame easily." She walked over to her living room, wanting to inspect the frame, her hand unconsciously tugged on her keys just as the lights in the room began to flicker. "Natsuuu, quit it!"

"It's not me."

Lucy rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips in an authoritative manner, "You're the only spiritual being here!"

"No I'm not."

Her face paled and she tried to speak, she really did, but no words came out.

"What?" blinked Natsu, which made Lucy curious about whether ghosts needed to blink. "You didn't think I was the only spirit around here, did you?"

"I-I—"

"They're everywhere," Natsu whispered ghoulishly against her ear before Lucy even realized he was no longer in front of her in her kitchen.

She let out a fleeting cry as she bolted out the door. "GRAY! GRAYYY!"

XOXOX

Gray was able to contact Erza and ask if Lucy could spend the night after she had dragged him back to her apartment, clutching his arm with a bruising pressure. She made him stand guard while she packed up a night bag. Her first official sleepover and it was all because of her haunting infestation.

Natsu told her she was overreacting and that there will be spirits wherever she goes, but Lucy ignored him, stuffing her shirts messily into the bag while her zodiac keys clinked against each other since they were attached to her shorts by the belt loop.

"Do you really need to pack that much?" inquired Gray as he stood idly with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets.

"Of course!" she chided, remembering she also needed to pack bras and underwear. She heard the floor creek. She whirled around and in a thundering voice, she yelled, "Gray! Where do you think you're going?!"

"T-to the bathroom!" he stammered, freezing stiff in place.

"Y-you can't!"

"Fine! Jeez, what happened when I left? It's like you saw a ghost or somethin'." Then he mumbled something about Lucy being a second Erza while Natsu groaned, "Just let him go. I ain't gonna attack you!"

Lucy refused to acknowledge Natsu as she continued to silently pack.

"Lucyyyy, are you really gonna keep ignoring me?" whined Natsu. "I'm sorry for scaring you—well I'm not really sorry 'cuz there's just something fun about messin' with you!"

Lucy scowled. "Was Natsu always so annoying?"

"HEY!"

"Yep," Gray answered without hesitancy. "I don't think there is—was anyone more annoying than that bastard or stupid for that matter."

Natsu glowered.

"Hmm maybe he was dropped on his head," said Lucy, smirking at the ghost boy. Natsu's jutted out his bottom lip as he crossed his arms over his slim chest, reminding Lucy of a reprimanded puppy.

"Funny you say that. When he was a baby, his house caught on fire and I think the smoke musta did somethin' to that damn brain of his—made him a pyro too."

"Pyro?"

"Pyromaniac," said Gray. "He's obsessed with fire."

"Am not," grumbled Natsu, who was now sitting pretzel style next to Lucy on the floor. The room began to heat up with his growing annoyance.

"Like I can't even tell you how many times that idiot had set our high school on fire—and don't even get me started on our house. He was into fire performances—like fire breathing and if you look closely you can see scorch marks on our walls."

Lucy giggled and Gray wiped his sweaty forehead, his dark bangs started to stick. "Damn it's so hot in here. Is there something wrong with your air conditioning?"

"Probably," muttered Lucy, starting to perspire as well. She thought back to earlier how the room heated up—so it was caused by Natsu. "I didn't know he could do fire tricks." Although she was talking to Gray, her eyes were locked on Natsu, who wore a proud smile on his scarred face.

"Yeah and he was just starting to get good too."

And Gray's comment wiped Natsu's smile right off his face. "Starting to get good? Excuse me? I was friggin amazing!"

"And if Natsu were here right now, he'd probably argue how amazing he was," mused Gray, chuckling sadly.

"Yes have no idea," marveled Lucy incredulously. Was Gray able to channel Natsu without knowing? Or did Gray just know the ghost boy that well?

"I even have this video on my phone," Gray murmured, pulling out a slim black phone, "of Natsu setting his shirt on fire. It's hysterical!"

He pulled the video up and Natsu raged in the background. "What the hell?! I told him to delete that damn video! Why is he so annoying?!" And as his temper began to increase, the lights began to surge and the video wouldn't load, hell, Gray couldn't even close out of the app. And then the phone went blank.

"What the…?" said Gray, trying to turn his phone back on. "My phone was on full battery! How the hell is it dead? And what's wrong with your lights?" he growled, glaring up at her flickering ceiling. "Oww—did something just pull my hair?" He rubbed his head with Natsu smirking behind him.

With only a disdainful glance at Lucy, Natsu vanished from the room and the lights instantly stopped flickering and the room cooled down considerably.

"Guess I'll have to show you another day. Ready to go to Erza's?"

"Yep!" She walked with him to the door and that was when she realized something missing. "Uh, Gray…where're your pants?"

"SHIT!"

XOXOX

The sleepover at Erza's flat was certainly an interesting experience. She had a remarkable collection of sharp swords on display all throughout the hallways and her fridge seemed to only be stocked with strawberry shortcake and Lucy was about to puke if she had another slice of it.

Her apartment was also sad. There were photos everywhere of her, Natsu, and Gray. Most of the photos involved Erza holding the boys in headlocks, forcing them to smile and be civil—but they were cute nonetheless.

"Are you sure you don't want any more cake?" inquired Erza as she slammed her knife down to cut another slice.

"I-I'm sure," Lucy said, holding her hands up defensively with thin smile.

"Your loss," she said. "Sorry about your place by the way. Having it broken into and Gray told me your air conditioning broke and your lights keep flickering. I can try to help you get a discount on your rent. I can be pretty persuasive," she said, running her finger along her the blade of her cake knife as she started to clean up.

"No, no! I'm sure it was just a fluke!" Lucy squeaked.

Erza then beckoned Lucy to follow her into what she presumed was the bedroom, walking past several display cases of shimmery armor and weapons. Her room looked unlived in. It was so neat and pristine, Lucy was almost scared to set foot in there.

The girls changed into their sleepwear and Lucy's eyes fell, again, on another photo of the trio, Natsu, Gray, and Erza. This time they were older, could have been taken this month for all Lucy knew. It was Natsu giving Gray bunny ears with Erza looking ready to punch him.

"The last photo I took with Natsu," said Erza quietly, taking a seat on her scarlet bed, across from Lucy. "If I knew it was going to be the last I would have smiled…" Her well-manicured fingers curled up.

Lucy's eyes softened. "He looks really happy."

"He was always happy," she said, hugging herself. "Or that's what I hoped." Erza's brown eyes grew dark. "He was loud and annoying and always laughing, but Natsu...he never opened himself up to anyone. No one knows much about him besides the basics since we all grew up together in the orphanage." She looked bleak.

"Orphanage?"

"Yeah," Erza said, "that's how we all became friends. All of us were in the same orphanage and went to the same school together and now university too."

"O-oh."

"I always wondered if Natsu was lonely," Erza looked dazed as she mindlessly smoothed out her night shirt.

Lucy smiled sincerely. "He had all of you guys. How could he have possibly been lonely?"

"Maybe. But there was this girl he would talk about a few weeks before he—" Erza broke off, her eyes slowly closed then opened.

"A girl?" Lucy tilted her head.

"Yeah, he said he wanted to be her friend. And kept saying how lonely she looked because she was always by herself. I just thought he was self-projecting…But now I wonder…" Erza's narrowing eyes flashed over to Lucy and Lucy had to fight the urge to flinch, "if you're the girl Natsu was talking about."

"EHHH?"

"Well it makes perfect sense," continued Erza, her nose pointed in the air. "You show up claiming to be a friend of Natsu and Natsu never introduced you to anyone—typical Natsu never learning proper etiquettes."

"Or personal space," teased Lucy, trying to throw the attention off herself. Erza seemed sharp and it wouldn't take her long to figure out Lucy never met Natsu.

Erza chuckled, nodding her head in agreement and then asked, "So you like reading, right?" She stretched over to her nightstand and dug her hand into a drawer. "I have a few books that I truly consider to be one of the greatest works ever written that you might like to borrow—"

She handed Lucy three thick books that were so heavy Lucy almost dropped them. She placed them down next to them, silently noting how the bed sunk at their weight. Smiling tightly, she flipped through the smallest one mindlessly. She gasped, her jaw fell open, and her cheeks warmed considerably—just as a voice screamed in her ear, "HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

And Lucy screeched so loud that it hurt her throat. She dropped the book as she stared over her shoulder. And there sat a paler-than-usual Natsu, who looked disturbed by what he had just read. When did he get here? Was he here the whole time?

"What's wrong?!" exclaimed Erza, pulling a knife out from under her golden pillow, ready to attack.

"N-nothing!" Lucy said hurriedly. She ruffled her hair. "I-I just wasn't expecting that…Er why do you have a knife under your pillow?"

"What? It's not that graphic." She said, sliding her knife back under her pillow. Then she reached down to pick the book back up, her brown eyes darting back and forth as she reread what Lucy had just read.

"Yes it was and I love how you ignored my question about the knife…" Lucy murmured, sweating. Glancing over at Natsu, who now seated pretzel-style right next to her. Close enough so that his ghostly knee just brushed her bare thigh. He really didn't have a clue about personal space…

Erza shrugged, placing the book back down on her nightstand and just as she did that, she paused, gazing at the photograph again. She picked it up. "So how was Gray? He seemed a bit out of it when he called me…"

"He's alright—"

"It's strange to think that this was also the last time I broke up one of Gray's and Natsu's fights…Those two were always going at each other."

"Erza—" Natsu's mouth fell as he reached over the bed to touch her. His hand didn't go through Erza and Erza actually started itching the spot Natsu was touching. She slammed the photo back down and it toppled over. Abruptly stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in her night attire. "I'm gonna go shower. Make yourself at home."

And she left.

"When did you get here," Lucy hissed to Natsu, praying that Erza couldn't hear her once the water started run from across the hall.

"I was here the whole time," he said. How did she not notice? Well she should have since she wasn't cold like she normally was… "I wanted to make sure Erza was holding out alright, but I dunno what I was expecting." He sighed, his head hanging.

"What do you mean?"

"Can't you hear it?"

With trepidation, Lucy asked, "Hear what?"

"She's crying in the shower." He righted the fallen photograph, avidly avoiding eye contact.

"Natsu—" she called, but he was gone and didn't come back for the rest of the night.

XOXOX

Returning home from Erza's the following day, Lucy was greeted by a dreary Natsu lying on her couch, gazing at an unlit lavender candle. He looked like a dog waiting for his owner to return. "Lucy!" He disappeared for a moment just to appear right in front of her. "How was the sleepover after I left?" he asked, beaming like a hyper golden retriever.

"It was fine…She offered me more cake before I left…" She shuddered at the thought of ever having cake again…Thinking back to Gray's conversation, she asked, "Is what Gray said true? Are you really a pyromaniac?"

"Gray lies," scoffed Natsu, resting his arms behind his head. "I ain't a pyromaniac, I'm a fire master!"

"Sure, sure," Lucy giggled.

"It's true! Go look at my Facebook—or Instagram!"

"Sounds like all that smoke from your childhood fire really did poison your brain," she said, pitying him.

"Maybe…That fire killed my parents," said Natsu, his voice sounded unusually empty. "So my adoptive father, Igneel, told me I gotta control the thing I fear the most."

"Oh," was all Lucy could say as the guilt bubbled her stomach. "I-I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being insensitive. I had no idea and I'm sorry about your parents—wait you're dead."

"Your point?" He raised a pink brow.

"You can go see your parents, can't you?" she asked, eagerness rising. This was her chance. She could find out everything she ever wanted to know about the afterlife. It was something she used to think long and hard about back when her mother had first passed. What was it like? Was it peaceful? Was her mom happy?

"That," said Natsu with a gleaming look, "is classified information."

"Classified?!" squawked Lucy. "What do you mean classified?"

"It means I ain't tellin' you anything," teased Natsu. "Go see a psychic if you're so curious."

"But—"

"Lucy—"

"—can't you tell me if you see my mom?" she begged with puppy dog eyes. Natsu looked uncomfortable, lips drawing into a frown.

"Lucy," he looked like he was in pain, "I can't."

"Yes you can!" Lucy yelled, her hands curled up anxiously as her keys on her hips jingled.

"No I really can't—"

"You can't or you won't?" Fire coursed through her veins. She was absolutely livid. How could he not tell her about her own mother? He was being selfish and cruel and—

"Lucy, you're not being fair," he said.

"Not being fair?" she reiterated with a humorless laugh. "I'll tell you what's not fair. Being stuck with a ghost who means nothing to me!"

Natsu flinched as if her words had caused him physical damage and that just added fuel to the fire. How dare he look hurt when he was the one hurting her? "Get out," she barked. "Get out! I don't want you here!" But Natsu didn't leave. He just sat there staring blankly at her, completely taken aback by her outburst so Lucy decided to leave instead.

She ran into her bedroom and slammed the door shut. And despite doors being futile to ghosts, it felt really good to slam it. She barely had time to grab her keyring before she hurtled herself onto her soft bed and let the loud, painful sobs wreak havoc on her body, cradling her keys to her chest.

She wanted her mom so badly. She would do anything just to hear her warm soothing voice or to see her magnificent beauty that Lucy knew she would never live up to. She needed to stop talking to Natsu and regain a sense of normalcy—

She felt a light, tingly pressure on the top of her head. It was comforting and gentle and lessoned the ache inside her chest. Could it be—could it be her mother? She lifted her tear-stained face off her pillow and abruptly sat up on her knees. She looked next to her and saw Natsu offering her a small smile with his airy hand on her head.

"I know I mean nothing to you, but for what it's worth, you mean a lot to me," said Natsu quietly.

"Natsu…" she sniffled.

Swiftly, he leaned in close, resting his forehead against hers. Lucy's heart stuttered. She swore she could feel him—like physically feel his forehead against hers as if he were a regular living human being. Surely it was just her imagination.

"S-so…close…" she said breathily, her cheeks darkened.

"'cuz all my friends mean a lot to me," he continued to say. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about your mom and I'm sorry I can't tell you much of anything. But I swear I'll tell you anything else. I'll tell you about my adoptive father, I'll tell you all about my fights with Gray and that time I set my arm on fire or almost burned down my school or how I adopted Happy. Lucy, I'll tell you anything you wanna know about me, this I promise you."

His eyes were unblinking, so intense and sincere, Lucy felt like he was looking at more than her bloodshot-teary eyes. He was looking into her soul.

She swallowed thickly and with her croaky, hoarse voice, she said, "Okay."

XOXOX


Lol as you can see, this fic really is a NaLu fic :'D lots of you were starting to question me :3c

And poor Erza missing Natsu as well :/

I think the fic will take a lighter turn the next few chapters !

Thank you all for reading! Hope ya liked it ^^