Title: The Day after the School Festival
A/N: This is a sequel to the entry I did for the Carnival bonus prompt.
Summary: After Lucy kissed Natsu after the school festival, things got a little awkward between them. That is until Natsu talks to her about it and tells her that they can forget about it if she wants to.
The thing about kisses is that once they are given, you can't take them back anymore. She knew that. But it seemed that she momentarily forgot about it when she kissed him during the school festival. It was just a kiss on the cheek. Sure, it may be interpreted as a friendly kiss, some kind of a reward. She was happy that he asked her to dance with her. It was an impulsive move influenced by the festive mood around them. She really wanted to tell him that she enjoyed the day as much as he did.
That night in her room, these thoughts kept her awake. She couldn't sleep at all, her mind buzzing with thoughts of her pink-haired classmate.
"Ahh, why did I do that?!" she asked herself out loud. She was restless on her bed, her sheets crumpled beneath her. "How will I face him tomorrow?" She buried her face on her pillow and sighed. She reached out to touch the stuffed bunny sitting on her bed. It was the prize Natsu got from winning in balloon darts.
"Tell me, Usa-chan, what will happen tomorrow?" she asked the toy, stroking its faux fur. Thankfully, the bunny kept quiet until finally, Lucy fell asleep.
She walked sluggishly to the shoe lockers. Moving on autopilot, she changed into her indoor shoes. She closed her locker and sighed. "I can't face him." She said, thumping her head on the metal door.
"Face who?" asked a familiar voice from behind.
She turned around to see Levy, her blue hair pushed back with an orange headband. She shook her head and answered, "Nothing. Good morning, Levy-chan."
" Good mor – whoa, what happened?" Her friend gasped. "What's with the panda eyes?"
Lucy chuckled softly at her friend. It was an exaggeration, but she did have little bags under her eyes today. She had a restless sleep last night after all. "I had trouble sleeping last night."
They walked together to their classroom while they talked.
"Is it related to this person you just said you can't face?" Levy inquired.
Lucy sighed again and nodded. "Yeah. I did something yesterday."
Levy nodded enthusiastically, urging her to continue talking. "Uh-huh."
Lucy hesitated for a few seconds, unsure of how to tell her best friend about her current dilemma. "After the dance last night, I ki –
Her words got caught up in her throat when she saw the subject of her problems standing by the classroom door. He was talking to Gray, both of them not fighting for once.
"Lu-chan?" Levy asked her.
She was unable to speak as she felt her cheeks get warmer. She quickly looked down on the floor, hiding behind her bangs in vain.
Levy was confused at her actions. She looked at where Lucy was facing before she stopped talking and saw Natsu and Gray as well.
"Hey, Natsu, Gray! Good morning!" she greeted them.
Today was one of the rare days that the two men aren't fighting each other. " G'morning, Levy, Lucy!" Gray greeted back.
"Ossu." Natsu greeted softly, looking away at them. He absently scratched his cheek. "Hi Levy, Lucy." a slight blush crept on the pink-haired teen's cheeks.
Lucy looked up in surprise, not expecting to hear him greet her. "Go-good morning, you guys." She greeted awkwardly. "Le-let's get inside, Levy-chan." She walked in small quick steps, tugging Levy's arm along. She passed Natsu by the door, looking down. She could feel her blush reaching her ears as she walked to her seat.
She slumped on her desk and buried her face in her arms. "That was so awkward!" She was screaming inside her head. "Why did I act like that?!"
"You have some explaining to do, Lu-chan." She looked up from her arms to see Levy standing beside her. Her friend had her arms crossed and one foot tapping on the floor board. She clearly wanted answers. "What just happened?" the blue haired teen asked.
Fortunately for Lucy, the school bell rung, saving her from explaining. Levy quickly returned to her seat, but not before mouthing "later" at her. Their other classmates started to return to their designated seats also, including her seatmate, Natsu.
Natsu was uncharacteristically quiet as he took his seat beside her. She watched him from the crack between her arms as he tried to look away from her, looking down and sideways, definitely struggling.
She sighed and sat properly, sitting tall on her seat and looked straight ahead. The urge to turn her head to her side to look at him was so strong, creating a storm inside her. In the end, she gave in and finally looked sideways to see him.
In that exact moment, Natsu decided to turn her way too. Their eyes met briefly before turning the other way again, both of them blushing profusely. She squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable in the awkward silence between herself and her crush.
Moments later, their teacher entered the room.
"Good morning!" Hibiki-sensei greeted back. "Congratulations on winning the Best Sales yesterday! Your food tasted great!"
The class cheered, shouting happily and congratulating each other.
"Anyway, let's start the class. Who are the class monitors for the day?" Hibiki-sensei asked them. He was their adviser as well as their Chemistry teacher. "I need you to help me get the laboratory manuals in my office. Distribute them to your classmates. I've finished checking your reports from the last experiment." He looked at Erza and asked, "Erza, who are the monitors today?"
Erza sat up in attention. "It's Natsu and Lucy for today, sir." She answered.
"What? Why today of all days?" She inwardly groaned.
She felt Natsu turn to her and heard him sigh. "Come on Lucy, let's get those manuals." He was no longer blushing as he pushed back his chair and stood up.
"O-okay." Lucy stuttered. She pushed back her chair too, following Natsu as he walk towards the Faculty Room.
They walked the corridors in silence. Natsu walked ahead of her so she had a clear view of his back. "He has broad shoulders." she thought. A strange urge to hug him from behind started to swell inside her.
Natsu knocked on the door first before coming in. She followed inside and saw the stacked lab manuals on Hibiki-sensei's desk. They both got one stack each and quickly left the room. They walked back to their classroom together, still not talking. After the manuals were distributed, their teacher thanked them for their hard work. Still keeping silent, they returned to their seats.
Lucy tried her best to listen to the lesson, but her mind keeps on flying back to Natsu and her awkwardness around him. This continued on for two more subjects until lunch time came. After their last teacher got out, Natsu tapped on her desk.
"Lucy, can we talk outside? Please?" His eyes looked troubled.
She nodded wordlessly and followed him outside.
"Look, if it makes you uncomfortable, let's just forget about yesterday." Natsu said, breaking the silence.
She turned to him, surprised at his words. "That's not it." She shook her head. "And I don't want to forget that."
Natsu sighed again. "It made things awkward between us this morning. I don't like it."
Lucy looked down, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her blouse. "I don't like it too." She said softly.
"Anyway, it was just a friendly kiss, right?" Natsu asked her. "It doesn't mean anything right?"
She wanted to say, yes, it was just a friendly kiss. That is meant nothing to her. But that's not the case. She inhaled, bracing herself from her next words. "It's not just a friendly kiss, Natsu." She said in one breath.
She looked at Natsu who had a very stunned expression right now. If their conversation didn't involve her feelings for this troublemaker, she might have laughed at him. "So please, don't forget about it. It really meant that I like you." She continued, keeping her voice soft. There, she said it. No turning back now.
She was surprised to see Natsu drop on the floor, one hand to his forehead. "You meant that, right?" He said breathlessly. He let out a broken laugh and looked up to her. "Oh man. You like me?"
Not sure how to take his reaction, she slowly nodded at him. "Yes."
"Oh man, man, I can't believe this." He looked down and mumbled. "I can't."
"Natsu?" she asked worriedly. He was acting strangely.
Natsu looked up at her again. "I can't believe you like me too, Lucy." He said breathlessly. He started to stand up again, holding on the wall for support. He met her eyes and said, "I didn't think you would ."
"Too?" Lucy asked. She's not hearing things, is she?
Natsu nodded again. "Yes, I like you too. What happened yesterday really made me happy." He stepped forward towards her. "Lucy, can I hug you?"
She nodded, smiling at him. She stepped forward as well. "Yes."
She felt his arms wrap around her as she buried her face on his chest. He smelled like cinnamon and wood smoke and he felt incredibly warm. Never in her life did she feel this happy. It felt like a dream, being embraced by him, feeling his body close to her. She could stay in that moment forever.
The sound of hands clapping loudly surprised both of them, her hand pushing him away on instinct.
"Finally!" Someone shouted from the background.
"Congrats you guys!" Gray hollered.
"Way to go, Lu-chan!" She heard her friend Levy say.
The rest of their friends laughed loudly at them both, amused at their matching blushing faces. Soon enough, they started laughing too. Natsu found her hand and laced his fingers with hers. He tugged on her arm and whispered, "Let's go home together, okay?"
"Sure." She happily answered.
A/N: And that's it for NaLu Week 2014! I can't believe I managed to write all 9 stories in just one month. Ahh, the things we do for our OTP, right? NaLu deserves this.
Thank you very much to all the people who reviewed and to those who put this story on their Favorites list. I hope you all enjoyed reading everything. feel free to tell me which of the stories is your favorite. Again, thank you, thank you!
