AN: FINALLY! The first chapter of the karaoke arc! Took me long enough, I know. It's a little different from my usual writing style and maybe a little too slapstick-y, but whatever. I like how it turned out in the end. Especially AT THE END. You'll see.

I'll say it again, don't get your hopes up for GrayxJuvia in this story, even though this chapter may lean towards it a little. I don't plan on going there. What I am planning for though, is to find someone for Mirajane. I'm still at a loss though. Any suggestions?

And yeah, this chapter will be very OOC and very shoujou-ish. Bear with me. You have been warned.

DISCLAIMER: I wouldn't be writing fanfiction if I were Hiro Mashima.

Honey, Honey

Chapter 10: Karaoke Extravaganza

There were four facts that Lucy was painfully aware of.

Fact number one: No one had said anything for about fifteen minutes.

Fact number two: Somewhere along Natsu had fallen asleep and was now making sounds that sounded more like a broken machine than snoring. Sometimes he mumbled something about roast beef... Something like "No, don't fry that. I'll eat it raw." In his world, this was probably what he deemed a nightmare.

Fact number three: Lucy was at a loss of what to do because Juvia was again crying.

Fact number four: That bastard of a stray cow, meaning Gray Fullbuster, did not show up.

Lucy would murder that assrat. No, that was still too nicely put. She would pluck out each of his hairs slowly while she kicked him repeatedly in the crotch, so that he'd never be able to produce a coward like him.

Was he serious? First, he somehow - and she wasn't even sure how it happened, neither did she want to know - called everyone up for a karaoke party, and after a long preach from her, said yes to meeting up with her, Juvia and Natsu an hour before everyone else came, and now he had the nerve to stand Juvia, and most importantly, herself up?!

And now Natsu was drooling over her shoulder.

"Are you kidding me?!" she snapped thunderously and violently pushed him off of her so he toppled onto the couch.

Lucy gawked wordlessly as her stupid boyfriend tucked his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, grinning in his sleep. That's right, he was still asleep. She actually feared she might really kill him this time.

Her minor act of violence seemed to have shaken Juvia out of her quiet crying. She clasped her hands over her face, wailing loudly, "Juvia can't believe Gray-sama stood her up!"

"M-maybe he got stuck in traffic or something," Lucy offered nervously, a shaky smile on her face. "You know how hellish it can get out there on Saturdays and Magnolia's subway isn't exactly reliable..."

Juvia only cried harder and Lucy felt the urge to pluck her ears with the chips on the table. They were in the Karaoke Parlor for what again? Oh yes. Because of Gray. And to sing. Both things - yes, Gray counted as a thing; a human had a backbone at least, and a male had balls - were absent. This was just sad and painful.

Don't even let her get started on Juvia's situation. Lucy wasn't sure what she was more pissed about: That she was stuck here with a crying chick that she didn't even know and her sleeping boyfriend, or the fact that Gray had turned out to be an asshole towards a really sweet girl that was crazy about him and had so looked forward to this. And without even having the courtesy to cancel! The nerve of him!

Juvia was meanwhile wailing uncontrollably. Meaning, Lucy had her whining in one ear, and Natsu's blatant snoring in her other. Meaning, she was getting a headache like somebody hammered against her brain with an iron club.

Kill me, please, she thought as she massaged her temples.

"All right, that's it," Lucy hissed under her breath, raised her fist and boxed Natsu's stomach as hard as she could.

The idiot woke up with a loud cough and jolted upright, clutching the throbbing spot. "Sh-shit! That pork! Kicking me... All I wanted was that delicious..." Blinking when he realized where he was, he started rubbing his head. "Where's the pork?"

"Look in the mirror!" Lucy snapped, whacking him over the head. "Are you serious, falling asleep like that?! Go sing something!"

Natsu furrowed his brows. "What the... I gotta pee, though..."

The next moment, Lucy's face was directly in front of his, but not for a good-morning-kiss as he hoped, but for a glare so vicious it clearly meant you-did-something-that-I-will-kill-you-for.

"Be quick. Or I'll castrate you."

"A-aye, ma'am!"

Sheesh, she could be as scary as Erza sometimes. And when she said stuff like that, Natsu strongly leaned towards believing that she meant what she said. As he stood up, he shot a quick, confused glance towards the Juvia girl who was crying loudly and miserably, and then looked back over Lucy while pointing his thumb at the bluette.

"What's gotten up her ass?"

Lucy's glare couldn't have been more menacing and Natsu practically ran out the door.

.a.a.a.

Natsu gave a sigh of relief as he stood in front of the toilet and poured his pent-up... well, stuff out. He momentarily even forgot about his seething girlfriend, and that was saying something, since a pissed Lucy was an unpredictable Lucy. And an unpredictable Lucy was undeniably very bad news.

He was so sucked up in the feeling of relief that he only vaguely noticed the creaking of one of the stall doors being slowly opened.

"Yo."

"GYAAAAH!"

Natsu was so shocked at the sound that he half-turned while still doing his business and quickly put his man-stuff back where it belonged - into his pants - as he faced a pale-looking Gray, kneeling on the floor. Well, or rather leaning weirdly against the toilet.

"Shit! Don't scare me like that, popsicle!" Natsu got some papers to dry his mess up. "Nasty, dude..."

The next moment, when everything was cleaned up, it suddenly dawned on him. What the heck was Gray doing in the toilet? Wait, he remembered now. The asshole didn't even show up! Had he been here this whole time? Certainly looked like it. His face was blue or green or something. He definitely looked even more ugly than usual.

Natsu grimaced at him. "You look like shit."

That was when he saw the cold sweat on Gray's face. The black-haired teen kind of looked like a psycho when he seethed the next words, "I'm pissing blood."

"...What?!"

"And I puked a little, too."

"What the fu... Dude, I don't need to hear about that!" Natsu's face was distorted in thorough disgust. "Is that what that smell in here is? Is that you, man?!"

"Hell if I know! I've been here for an hour!"

The pictures that statement brought to Natsu's mind made him feel like throwing up himself. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Gray's face came back to life at this - if only the color of his cheeks. "I-I think I might be sick. Leave me alone. Go die. And let me die in peace."

That took Natsu off-guard. "...Wait, you're sick? And you still came?"

"What's it to you. It's-" The black-haired teen cut stopped abruptly, eyes wide as he clasped a hand over his gagging mouth. "D-damn it- Graaah...!" Next moment, to both his and particularly Natsu's dismay, Gray's head was hanging over the toilet and he was, surely enough, puking his insides out.

"If that's what you call a little, I really don't wanna know what's real puking to you..." Natsu uttered, gawking. It was like a morbid crime scene. He couldn't look away, no matter how much he wanted to.

Gray lifted his head between gasps only so much that he could speak. "She was looking foward to this so much," he mumbled, wiping his mouth. "I wouldn't be a man if I disappointed her-Graaah!" And then he continued barfing with the most hideous sounds Natsu had ever heard in his entire life.

"Dude, you're an idiot."

"Grraaaah..."

"You must really be in love with that girl."

Silence. Gray had actually stopped barfing. "I'm just doing what any gentleman would do."

Natsu quirked an eyebrow. In disgust. "By throwing up on her?" he dead-panned.

"If that's what I gotta do to show her I'm not interested," Gray rasped out. "Then yeah, that's what I'll do!"

"Do you think that sounds heroic?!" Natsu snapped, kicking the black-haired teen in the butt so his face landed right in what he just... well, you know. "Gentleman, my ass! And an ass is what you are!"

Gray started barfing all over the place. "How could you! That's just... Graaahh!"

"DON'T BARF THIS WAY!"

.a.a.a.

"Welcome back," Lucy said to Natsu the moment he stepped through the door. To anyone but him, her expression would have looked like the perfect mask of lovely. But he knew her better than that. Especially when her face darkened as she said the next part, "Darling."

She never called me that. Not good, said his inner voice. Natsu was dumb enough to ignore it.

He just grinned. "Hey, cutie pie."

The next moment, Lucy had him by his collar. "Listen, I went through hell while you were gone. You think I'm kidding? Well, imagine your step-mom feeding you vegetables, dying Happy's fur back to a normal color and the world spontaneously combusting into ashes. That kind of hell!" she hissed as dangerously as he's ever heard her. "If you don't have a solution to this, I swear to God I will bury your scarf in a place where you'll never find it!"

Natsu gulped. Then slowly, very slowly took his girlfriend's hand in his own. "Relax, I found him."

He actually thought that would manage to soothe her wrath. Well, it only added more fuel to the fire.

"HE'S HERE?!"

Like on cue, a miserable shadow of what once was a human crawled into the karaoke room. Lucy actually screamed in terror and hid behind Natsu who was watching the figure in pure disgust. What, had she not had enough of ghosts for one lifetime? First that time in her house a few months ago, and now this. Life just wasn't fair anymore. She started sputtering to her boyfriend about that holy baseball bat and where it was when it was really needed when Juvia suddenly squealed in shock.

"GRAY-SAMA CAME!"

Lucy gawked blankly as Juvia ran over to the thing on the floor and hugged it tightly until the thing made awful gagging sounds and seemingly passed out.

"Don't worry, Gray-sama! Juvia forgives you!"

"That's GRAY?!" the blonde screeched so loudly that it had Natsu's ears ringing, "What the hell is wrong with him? And what's that god awful smell?!"

Natsu gave an irritated sigh. "That smell would be him."

"What has he been doing?!"

"Nothing much, except throwing up all over himself." His face darkened. "And me."

Lucy took a good sniff at her boyfriend, only to push him away from her so violently that he actually toppled over. "YOU STINK!"

.a.a.a.

"He's useless like this," Lucy mumbled. "You should've just killed him."

"Y'know, sometimes you scare me more than movie villains," Natsu whispered under his breath, only to get pinched by his girlfriend. Hard. He actually squeaked. Like a mouse. "The girl seems pretty content, though."

"That's because she's insane."

The couple watched in absolute horror how Juvia comfortably leaned against Gray, who was looking like, for a lack of a better word, shit. Lucy doubted he was even conscious at the moment. The way he hung over the end of the couch just seemed too suspicious. But Juvia didn't even seem to notice as she rubbed her head against his chest like a cat.

This had to be one of the most disturbing sights she had ever witnessed.

Lucy almost felt like throwing up herself. "Remember that one date at the aquarium when we got thrown out because you suddenly felt competitive because the dolphin was picking a fight or whatever?"

"Oh yeah, that was fun!" Natsu started laughing. "You said it was the worst date ever, though."

"I take that back. I didn't know true terror then."

Natsu snickered again, slinging an arm around the blonde. "Aw, c'mon. Let's make the best of the situation, okay? With the bastard out cold and the chick pre-occupied, why don't we get a little cozy our own..." he murmured as he brushed his lips against hers.

"N-Natsu! The others could come any minute now..." Lucy stammered, blushing fiercely. And then she felt his hand on her thigh, really, really high up on her thigh. "Eek! What're you doing!"

Natsu glared at her indignantly as she pushed him away. "Is it wrong that I want to touch my girlfriend?" he practically snarled. "Seriously... I'm a guy. It's hard to hold back."

Lucy blushed crimson at what she thought those words insinuated. He... he can't mean... PRACTICE?!

The next moment, Natsu had her fist colliding painfully with his face.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

With Natsu now almost as unconscious as Gray, Lucy was left with the only other option, which was looking up at Juvia. Who had a very unsettling smirk on her face. And unsettling in this context meant plain crazy.

"So you're challenging Juvia," she said to Lucy, and the blonde almost laughed because she thought it was a joke. Boy, was she wrong. "Juvia will not lose to you when it comes to physical contact with a man. Gray-sama won't get jealous, no matter what you try!"

Lucy felt cold sweat forming on her head as she raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "That wasn't- I mean, didn't we sort that out already? I'm telling you, Gray's not my type and I'm with Natsu, so-"

"GRAY-SAMA, LET'S SHOW THEM!"

"GRAAAAH!"

And that's the story of how Gray threw up on a karaoke machine.

.a.a.a.

"Hey, guys!" Levy chirped when she opened the door to the karaoke room. Gajeel behind her looked like he was about to face his greatest nightmare.

It got worsed when he was immediately gripped by his collar by a very fierce looking Natsu.

"The hell-"

Levy puffed her cheeks, angrily. "Natsu, you promised to be civil!"

That was when Natsu looked up, and honestly he looked like 50 shades of horror. Levy finally took a look at her very scary-looking best friend... and Gajeel's friend who was trying to molest a very... Oh hell, was that Gray?!

Natsu looked like he was on the brink of tears. "I'm so happy you're here."

Gajeel's eye started twitching uncontrollably. "THE FUCK-"

"This is the land where time stands still," Natsu told him in all seriousness. "You have to get me outta here! We're buddies now, aren't we?"

Since when the hell?!, Gajeel thought in pure horror. Damn that strange talk he had with the Salamander on the rooftop. The guy was like an adolescent school girl, thinking they were now all close and shit.

"You! You'll pay for this, woman!" he yelled at Levy, vainly trying to get Natsu to let go of him. He realized only then that his girlfriend was completely ignoring his existence and sitting down next to bunny girl with a sorrowful expression.

"What's wrong, Lu-chan? Are you okay?"

"Is my pain invisible to you?!" Gajeel snapped, Natsu was still oddly clinging at his jacket, lamenting about the unfairness of it all.

Lucy suddenly looked up, more menacing than ever. "What the hell took you so long?!"

Levy paled a little. "U-uhm, it's 7 o'clock, s-so we're right on time, you know-"

The blonde threw herself into Levy's arms, crying her eyes out. "I WAS IN HELL!"

"What do you think where I am right now?!" Gajeel yelled desperately, still trying to get rid of Natsu.

"Gajeel-kun. Hello," Juvia said calmly, slowly letting go of a very sick looking Gray. "And hello to you too, Gajeel-kun's girlfriend."

Gajeel almost lunged at her. "Don't say hello so nonchalantly, you god damn freak of nature!"

.a.a.a.

"So Gray's sick, huh," Levy said. "Why didn't he just stay at home?"

Natsu shrugged as he stuffed his mouth full with the chips on the table. "He said he didn't want to disappoint that girl."

"Oh, Gray-sama, such a gentleman!"

"GRAAAH!"

"Can we even use that thing anymore?" Gajeel dead-panned. "He's thrown up all over it. And he's not done yet."

Levy elbowed him teasingly, a mischievous smirk on her lips. "Why, were you gonna sing a love song for me, huuuh?"

"LIKE HELL!"

"This is the worst party ever," Lucy mumbled, shooting a side-glance at Natsu. When he caught her stare, he quickly looked away. The blonde scowled, and looked in the other direction.

Levy bend over to whisper in her ear, "Did you have a fight with Natsu or something...?"

Lucy blushed at the memory. "Something like that," she murmured, frowning.

She had told him to stay away from her. Well, he did just that. Ever since her outburst, he hadn't touched her once and always made sure to keep at least an arm-length of space between them. Lucy felt kind of bad. It had been a stupid reflex to push him away, but why did he have to get so close in a place like this anyway? He was an idiot. He had no common sense at all. Why was he so angry about something so small?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and a vision of scarlet shone down on them.

"Good evening. Are we late?" Erza said, polite as always. Behind her, a blue-haired boy with a tattoo on his face poked his head inside, bowing to them like... well, like Erza would. Lucy couldn't help but think that he was a much better match for her than Siegrain.

"Hello."

Natsu once again just couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Oh, you're the guy from that time when I beat up Gajeel!"

"Like hell you did!" Gajeel roared, throwing a bag fullof chips at the pink-haired delinquent.

Erza showed her most vicious glare. "He's not."

"A-aye, sorry!"

Natsu sounds like Happy, Lucy thought in amazement.

Jeral gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Yes, that might be confusing. I'm Siegrain's twin brother, my name is Jeral." Then, he showed the most perfect smile any of the girls had ever seen. "Please take care of me."

"I'll take care of you," Lucy cooed, dreamy-eyed.

"Me too, me too!" Levy echoed, hearts practically surrounding her.

"HEY!" Gajeel and Natsu snapped simultaneouslyonly to glare at each other and, again, yell at the same time, "Don't copy me!" And just like that, they were at each other's necks.

"Gray-sama belongs only to Juvia," Juvia told Jeral, somewhat competitive.

"Th-that's nice..." Jeral said, taken aback.

Erza sighed at the absurdity of the moment. "Sorry. I tried to warn you, Jeral."

Jeral smiled at her, taking her hand in his. "It's fine," he said. "Your friends seem really lively. I like it."

"STOP FIGHTING!"

"But he started it, Lucy!"

"I swear you'll pay for making me come here, woman!"

"Just knock it off already!"

"GRAY-SAMA!"

"Graaaaah!"

Jeral's smile began to falter. "... Really lively."

Erza's eye would not stop twitching for a long, long time.

.a.a.a.

Natsu had not stopped staring at Jeral for minutes. And he was glaring. And it was positively horrifying how menacing he looked. Lucy gulped at the intensity of it all. It shouldn't be surprising, since he, Gray and Erza were childhood friends, so of course he would get protective. But still, she was feeling just a tad bit anxious that he would ruin this for Erza somehow. And Jeral seemed to be clearly intimidated.

"So you're Siegrain's twin brother," Natsu finally said after a while.

Jeral twitched in discomfort. "Y-yes!"

Natsu arched a brow. Lucy sometimes forgot that she was dating a delinquent. It was times like this that she was reminded. "That seems oddly convenient, huh? Your brother dumps her, and you pick up his leftovers. Is that what this is?"

"N-no, that's not it!"

"Natsu, stop it," Erza snapped. Oddly enough, this time he didn't listen.

"Oh yeah? Then what exactly are you planning, huh?" he snarled. "'Cause Erza's like my sister, you know. If you hurt her in any way..."

"I WON'T!"

The whole room became quiet all of a sudden. Jeral was suddenly very aware of his outburts, his ears growing redder and redder by the second. His fists on his knees clenched and he looked down until his bangs were covering his eyes. Lucy couldn't help but be reminded of the time Natsu had first confessed to her. Guys in love were all the same, huh?

Jeral gulped, hard. "I've liked Erza for as long as I can remember. I'm blessed she agreed to date me."

Erza gaped, her fierce as red-hot as anyone could. "Jeral..."

"I... I plan to cherish her."

Everyone was silent for a few moments - well, except for Gray who was still gagging and sounding pititful. After a while of shock, slowly a huge grin crept onto Natsu's face. And before long, he was laughing out loud, proudly, patting Jeral's back maybe a little too painful.

"Is that so? Well, seems like I was worried over nothing!" Natsu grinned. "Take good care of her. She's the best right after my Lucy."

Lucy blushed fiercely. What did he just say?

"I-I will!" Jeral said, blushing himself and taking Erza's hand who looked about as red as her new boyfriend.

"Don't worry, pal. He gave me the exact same talk when I started dating the shrimp," Gajeel said to him, a grin on his face as well.

"What? Natsu talked to you about me? You never told me that!"

"None of your business, shrimp."

While Natsu was laughing with their friend, Lucy just watched him in awe. He really cherished his friends. He really cherished her. He loved her, she knew it now more than ever. And he really did hold back, all this time. Through all the oppurtunities, he always thought about if she was comfortable and if she was feeling good, and it had never gotten anywhere. Just because he thought she was the most important thing. But had she ever thought about his feelings?

Maybe she should show her emotions a tad more openly. To show him that he was equally important to her as she was to him. To show him she loved him more than anything.

Lucy inched a bit closer to him, her face heating up. This time she would do it. She would initiate the contact. She would show him, just how important he was, and the time they spent. How much she cherished him.

She moved her hand closer to his, almost gripping it...

When the door opened again.

"Hiya, everyone!"

Mirajane came barging in like a hurricane, a very infectious smile on her face. She was closely followed by her brother who shouted out "MAN" the very moment he came in, and behind them there was a slender and petite girl with short white hair, a beautiful face and a huge smile that outmatched her sister's in so many way.

"I've brought a surprise with me, guys," Mirajane said, winking. "You won't believe who's back from the states!"

Lucy vaguely noticed how Gray raised his head, and everyone's voices, laughter and everything else in the room just died down completely when that person entered the room. The only confused ones were herself and Juvia. Everyone else just stared at the silhouette, blankly, confused, and totally baffled.

But Lucy wasn't even looking at the stranger. Her eyes were glued onto Natsu's face. So hurt and full of doubt, like he was looking at a ghost, someone who had just raisen out of their grave, and her heart just couldn't calm down. Her stomach felt... Painful. She felt a weird weight on her shoulders, taking her breath.

And she knew it, even before he said.

"...Lisanna."