Just High School Life
Chapter Nine
Elfman Strauss wakes up mechanically at the crack of dawn. He swears it's not his intention to be an early bird, it's just something he inherited from his mama. Elfman shifted slightly from his makeshift bed on Natsu's floor, and reached out to shake Natsu's dangling arm.
"Natsu," Elfman whispered.
"I'm awake," Natsu replied without breaking a beat, his voice showing no trace of sleepiness.
"We have to sneak into the guest room before the girls notice we slept in your room."
Natsu rolled onto his side to face Elfman. "Okay …"
Elfman squinted at his friend. "Did you get any sleep last night?"
Natsu rubbed his tired eyes. He was exhausted. "I think I blacked out at one point … maybe … I don't know."
Elfman sighed, he knew eavesdropping was a bad idea. Sure, it was an experience he secretly wanted to do, but he felt weird listening to his sisters gossip with their friends. It felt so wrong yet so right. "You should skip school and sleep in."
Natsu frowned. "I can't do that. Auditions are today. I need that extra credit. Plus, I can't bail on Lisanna, she'd kill me. And I need to be there for …" Elfman saw Natsu's face flush, he was positively pink. "… Lucy."
Elfman sighed again. "Then I suggest you take a cold shower and have some coffee."
Natsu breathed out a sigh of his own in response.
"Get up." Elfman ordered Natsu. "Let's go to the guest room before anyone finds out."
Natsu nodded his head and followed Elfman out of his room. He moved like a ninja, leaving no physical trace that he had invaded the girl's privacy. The only evidence he'd listened to them were the words circling around his head, "If it's anyone who's a perfect fit for Natsu, it's Lucy."
Lucy Heartfilia did not understand why she was feeling so nervous.
As Wakaba-sensei explained their next English assignment on the board, Lucy felt herself slipping into despair. Lucy glanced at Levy, scribbling down the assignment work, before glancing at Lisanna, on her phone, probably texting Natsu. How could Lisanna act so chill? Lucy secretly envied her friend. Here she was fidgeting in her seat, nervous about the audition that's hours away.
Lucy felt fine moments ago – great even. The blonde managed to perform all her morning routines; brush her teeth, take a quick shower, get dressed, comb her hair.
Mirajane even let the girls sleep in. Lucy remembered waking up at the sight of Mirajane bouncing out the door with Elfman behind – both Strauss siblings leaving before 7am so they could make it to cheerleading and football practice in time.
Lucy also had time to eat breakfast at the Dragneel-Marvell house since Wendy claimed Grandine was making chocolate chip pancakes (she did and it was delicious, especially topped up with homemade whipped-cream and cherries).
In addition to the morning starting off well, Grandine had also offered to send everyone to school in the Dragneel-Marvel family minivan since it could house seven people and was more suitable than the truck they had to transport equipment to and from the animal shelter. Grandine didn't want the kids landing themselves in any road accidents – plus, the pink haired woman knew how important the day was. Natsu ended up sitting shot-gun, passing out while the girls sat in the back and chatted excitedly.
Everything was going so smoothly – so why was she such a wreck now?
It's not like this was her first time singing in front of an audience. She'd done it dozens of times with Aries and Virgo back at Celestial Institute. The big crowd and bright lights didn't affect her … but then again, she'd had at least twenty other people with her. She'd never sung alone …
Her stomach churned ominously.
Maybe auditioning was a bad idea. And that strange dream with Natsu only left her more confused. Had she made a mistake?
Only time would tell …
The last thing any student would wish for is to be stuck with PE first period. The thought of having to run laps so early in the morning would send any reasonable teen moaning with the dread of exercise. Unfortunately, there will always be some cruel staff member who schedules PE for first period, and so there will always be students who get stuck with PE for first period. On this particular morning, it was some poor seniors.
"Hey Bicks, did you bring gym clothes?" Freed Justine asked, rummaging through his locker for a clean set, swearing he'd packed one last week.
Not even looking up from his phone, Bickslow spoke, irritated by the distracting conversation. "Why on earth would I bring Jim clothes? Do we even know a Jim?"
"Dear God, why do you even come to school if you can't carry a decent conversation?" Freed felt like facepalming. "Stop playing Pokémon Go and answer my question, I think I forgot to pack sweatpants."
"I'm trying to catch a Haunter, fuck off."
"Rude! I need those pants, I'm not running in jeans." Freed declared. "Also, that Pokémon scares the living daylights out of me. Why are you even trying to catch it; it's so creepy?"
"Gotta catch them all," Bickslow sang the Pokémon theme song at his friend.
"… Lord help you,"
At that very moment, Laxus Dreyar walked in, already dressed for PE class. The blonde had probably just finished chatting with his grandfather, Principal Makarov.
"Laxus!" Freed cried, hopeful the blonde boy could help him solve his dilemma.
"Yo Laxus, Freed wants to know if you brought extra pants for gym." Bickslow said, still not looking up from his phone.
"Who the hell is Jim?" Laxus raised a brow.
Bickslow laughed. "That's what I said. Oh hey – I fucking caught it! Suck it, bitches!"
Freed made a face then gave his best friend a look that said he questioned his life. "How are you even here? How are you not still stuck repeating a grade? Why are we friends?"
"Do you want the pants or not?" Laxus asked.
"Do you even have them?" Freed questioned back.
Laxus lifted a shoulder. "I don't know, look in my locker."
"Your locker is a mess. I'm not touching your stuff."
"Shut up or you're running pantless." Laxus threatened. The blonde then sat on a bench and started double knotting his shoe laces.
"I'd rather run in jeans than touch your stuff." Freed said, frowning.
"You can always ask Mest," Bickslow pointed out. "Yo Mest!"
Mest Gryder who had been invisible to the Thunder Tribe for a while now, stopped changing. Mest took out an earbud and said, "What?"
Freed sighed. "You guys are hopeless."
"I think I heard something about gym pants?" Mest offered, trying not to be hopeless.
"Yeah, do you have an extra pair?" Freed asked.
"Sure," Mest grabbed the article of clothing and chucked it at Freed.
Freed beamed. "Thanks man, you're a lifesaver."
Mest shrugged like it was nothing while Laxus and Bickslow started a conversation about girls – specifically, the Strauss sisters.
"What are you listening to?" Freed asked, already changing into the pants.
"Just some random songs, I have an audition today for Drama Club, kinda nervous." Mest clarified.
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Freed said, sweeping his long hair into a messy bun. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Mest laughed, scratching his chin.
"You and Erza auditioning?" Freed continued.
Mest hummed in reply which meant Duh! "Erza-san would kill me if I didn't, I can't back down now. She might be busy with student body president stuff but she still has time to pursue these things."
"I don't know how she does it. We're both having enough trouble with the student committee," Freed said to Mest.
Mest laughed in agreement. "Senior year is hectic."
"Mine's not as hectic as yours, you're vice-president." Freed pointed out. "How does Erza even suck you into these things? Helping her manage a school full of wannabee teens, being in student committee, and trying to land a role in the play?"
"Well I've known her since middle school, Erza-san's a good friend. She set me straight, you know, with the whole Doranbolt phase?"
Freed nodded.
"I remember it like it was yesterday. Erza-san was really bad at facing crowds and making big speeches, she was a muttering mess. So when she saw me back then, all gangster-ish with a gives-no-shit attitude, she forced me to accompany her to Drama Club." Mess said, almost laughing at the memory. "But it was a good decision, even if it was forced. It built confidence and it was the one place that actually listened to me. I could sing my heart out and people just understood."
"Sounds deep," Freed joked.
"I would like to think it is." Mest joked back. "But anyway, so far Erza-san's decisions haven't been wrong so I just follow what she tells me to do."
"Man, you have a crush on her or something?" Freed questioned, dropping the bomb, making Laxus and Bickslow eavesdrop on the conversation.
"And have my ass beaten? No thank you, Mister Crazy!" Mest said truthfully. "Erza-san and I are just friends, nothing more. She's too busy with her studies to even bother with dating and love drama. She's been having problems with her grades lately."
"Erza? Having problem with her grades? You're the crazy one," Freed accused his fellow committee member.
"No, I swear. Erza-san's been trying to beat this guy's score since junior year. He's always a few points ahead of her."
"Must be some smartass from that prestigious Saber Tooth school or that fancy rich Celestial Institute."
Mest shook his head at the gossip. "No, you'll never guess where he's from."
"Surprise me," Freed replied.
Mest didn't even bother to pause for effect and replied, "Saint Crime S. School."
Bickslow gasped, Laxus's eyebrows shot up and Freed stared at Mest, shocked. "For the Troubled?"
Mest nodded. "The one and only,"
"How does Erza even know that?" Laxus asked, butting in the conversation.
"Erza-san looked through some files on the school computer. We have access, being in charge and all."
"Holy shit," Bickslow cursed. The conversation went from zero to a hundred real quick. "Do you know his name?"
"No, the system doesn't let us know." Mest shook his head. "But we know his student identification number; JF133"
"I guess that's good enough," Freed said.
Bickslow let out a low whistle. "Erza needs all the luck she can get to beat that guy."
Laxus nodded. "I'm glad I'm not in her shoes."
Just as the Thunder Tribe were about to ask Mest more questions, Joey Fullborn, the PE teacher, entered the locker room and blew his coach whistle to catch the attention of the teenage boys. "Okay ladies, stop your chit-chat and head over to the gym. It's time for some laps!"
Several groans escaped from the boys in the locker room, including Bickslow who thought laps were a death penalty, while the rest shrugged like it was no big deal.
"Good luck," Freed said again to Mest and patted the dark haired boy on the back before striding to catch up to the Thunder Tribe.
Mest wasn't sure if the good luck was for the audition or his hectic student life or the hellish laps but whatever the encouragement was, Mest felt like he needed it.
As soon as the final bell rang, Gray Fullbuster and his best friend, Loke, found themselves sitting in FRANKS.
One might imagine the two boys chilling at the diner, throwing jokes around while eating pie and sipping warm coffee as they made plans for the weekend.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. The reason; someone snitched on Gray.
Gray hates the fact that Loke has a fanclub. Hates it. Not only were the girls annoying as hell, they also acted as Loke's extra pair (by a hundred or so) of eyes and ears. So as soon as Loke found out (via one of his babes) that Gray's math grades were slipping and had gotten himself stuck in Drama Club, the orange haired boy insisted he started tutoring Gray.
And that was how Gray found himself sitting at FRANKS, wishing he was dead as Loke force-fed Gray's brain with endless math.
Loke pointed at an equation in his math textbook with a pencil. "And if you integrate x to the power of two, you get –"
Why did Gray have to get stuck with a playboy honour-role best friend?
Gray frowned, not even paying attention. It wasn't that he didn't get it (okay, he didn't get it), Gray's inability to pay attention came from one major issue; he was tired as hell. He wasn't able to get any sleep from his nap on Thursday and he wasn't able to get a decent seven hours of sleep when he hit the sack today … at five in the morning.
However, in Gray's opinion, it wasn't his fault (okay, it was his fault). When family dinner was declared over, both he and Lyon had helped wash the dishes and Ur had let them off to do whatever they wanted, Gray spent the rest of his night Facebook messaging Juvia. They messaged each other nonstop until Juvia claimed her step-brother, Gajeel, had angrily burst into her room because she was giggling too much. By then, Gray realized the sun was rising and it was five AM.
Miraculously Gray had managed to perform his day just fine. And that was really saying something considering Gray had only managed two hours of sleep and drank three cups of coffee before Ur let Lyon drag his ass to school. Lyon even had the guts to tell Gray to stop drooling in his car, well, soh-reeh, couldn't Lyon see Gray wanted nothing more but to sleep … or message Juvia some more?
Speaking of messaging Juvia, Gray would have been messaging her right now if not for the fact that Loke had confiscated his Lacrima phone. God, how Gray wished his best friend wasn't such a cockblock.
"Gray!" Loke smacked Gray's shoulder with the fat textbook, making the dark haired boy flinch.
"Shit!" Gray cursed then tried hitting Loke back.
"Stop that!" Loke commanded, deflecting Gray's revenge attack.
Rubbing his shoulder, Gray said, "That hurt, you dick!"
"That was my goal," Loke replied then readjusted his glasses. "You've been a space head for days now. I thought if I took your phone away it'd fix the problem but you're still hopeless."
"Am not."
"Then solve this problem," Loke pushed a piece of paper with some written math equations in Gray's direction.
Gray squinted at the words. Fuck it. "I don't know shit."
"You're being such a little bitch right now." Loke accused.
"Ugh," Gray groaned in response. "Math can go suck my dick,"
"Look here you piece of shit, can you just appreciate how I'm being an awesome best friend to you? I'm teaching you this mind fuck subject and spending time with you instead of one of my babes." Guy talk translation: I care about you and don't want you to fail.
Gray only raised an eyebrow. "Can we take a break?"
"It hasn't even been ten minutes!"
"Feels like forever,"
"Bitch, don't you start." Loke warned, pointing a threatening pencil at Gray. Loke could legit stab Gray in the eye if he wanted to. Gray's lack of appreciation was pissing Loke off. "Do you want to pass or not?"
Gray clicked his tongue. "Yes I do, your Celestialness."
"I could leave you right now. I swear to god. Not only will your grades continue to fall, but you'll also have no ride home." Loke warned.
"My dad's picking me up today, remember?"
"Fuck," Loke swore under his breath. He forgot about that. And right when he thought he had the upper hand.
"I'm hungry," Gray said then his dark eyes immediately darted to the board near the cashier (although he already knew what he wanted to order).
Loke frowned, feeling like he could tear his hair out at any given moment. "Are you serious right now?"
"We haven't eaten anything since we got here. All we're doing now is drinking coffee."
"Gray," Loke said warningly.
"Can't I just enjoy my Friday evening, Loke? School's over. TGIF."
Despite the school day ending, Gray couldn't help but feel he forgot something. Gray was sure it wasn't homework or assignments, he could do that on the weekend. It was something else. Not anything important to him but something he had to do … Meh, it probably was nothing.
Without any warning, Kinana appeared at the table, placing one Caramade Franks on Gray's side, and one banana cream pie on Loke's side, halting their bickering.
"I thought you boys deserve some brain food," Kinana said.
Gray smiled, glad someone was siding with him. "Thanks, Kinana."
"Is it on the house?" Loke asked, an eyebrow raised.
Kinana answered with a laugh, "LOL, no. I knew you were about to order. Just pay before you leave."
"But we come here all the time. We're regulars." Loke tried smooth-talking his way into free food while Gray started digging into his Caramade Franks.
Kinana shrugged. "I already gave Gray a free pass on Tuesday."
"You ate here without me?" Loke turned to face Gray then accused him, "Gray, you douchebagel!"
"You were with that girl who hated FRANKS." Gray replied.
"I would have ditched her anyday if I knew we were getting free food."
"That's cold, Loke. Even for you."
Kinana rolled her eyes in response to the two arguing before she remembered something. She looked at the clock at the diner than back at Gray.
"Gray, aren't you supposed to be at the theatre? I overheard Lisanna and Lucy talking about auditions today."
As Kinana's words sunk in, Gray's eyes widened at the sudden reminder and Loke gaped at the fact that it had slipped Gray's mind.
"You had extra credit work and you forgot about it?" Loke accused and Kinana took that as a sign to go back to work. So long, bitches. Kinana out!
"I ... Yeah ..."
"Gray!"
"I forgot!"
Loke did a quick calculation of the distance between the diner and the location Gray had to be. "If you run now you could probably slip in the theatre before anyone noticed you were missing." Loke took out Gray's phone which he held hostage and shoved it into Gray's hand, it was a sign for Gray to go and run like hell.
Gray looked almost sheepish when he said his next lines, "I'm not going. I can't."
"What? Why not?" Loke asked. What possible reason could be more important than his grades? Loke would not allow Gray to fail.
"I already made plans." Gray admitted.
"Cancel them," Loke hissed.
"I can't," Gray repeated. "I promised to meet someone here."
Loke squinted his eyes. "Someone? Is this why you didn't want me tagging along to the diner? Who?"
"A friend."
"Friend? What friend? I'm the only friend you have."
Gray opened his mouth to retort but a jingle of the bell and a familiar voice calling his name stopped him. "Gray-sama!"
Gray turned to see Juvia had walked into the diner. Loke whipped his entire body to face the mystery person.
With a raised hand, Gray signalled Juvia to the booth, but once Juvia was close enough, both teens realized they had no idea how to greet each other. They settled on an awkward high-five after a few seconds of 'uhhs', 'umms', and weird fumbling.
"Why don't you go order something? I'll pay for it when Kinana hands us our bill." Gray offered to Juvia.
Juvia smiled at Gray's words, hardly noticing Loke's penetrating stare. "Gray-sama doesn't have to pay for Juvia."
"I want to," Gray said smoothly, recovering from the awkward high-five.
At that, Juvia's smile stretched wider and she made her way to the cashier to order.
"Who's that?" Loke asked immediately in a low whisper so Juvia wouldn't hear him talking about her.
"Juvia Lockser." Gray answered, her name rolling off his tongue like honey.
Loke frowned, suspicious. "I don't recognise her. She doesn't go to our school, does she?"
"Nope," Gray said, popping the P then hoped Loke wouldn't pry for an exact answer. The last thing Gray wanted was to tell Loke she goes to Phantom Lord High.
"If she's not from Fairy Tail Academy, then how did you meet her? You're not exactly the social type."
"I officially met her last Friday at the mall, but I only got to know her this Tuesday at FRANKS,"
"FRIDAY?" Loke echoed, his eyebrows furrowed. "First you don't tell me your grades are slipping, then the free food, and now you don't tell me you're on a date?"
"I'm not on a date. I just asked Juvia if she wanted to hang out."
"I may be visually impaired." Loke gestured to his glasses. "But I'm not blind. You told her to meet you one on one at a nice place like FRANKS and you offered to pay for her meal. That's a date."
Gray rolled his eyes.
Loke sighed into his seat dramatically. "I'm starting to wonder if I'm losing my privilege as your best friend."
"You're not." Gray answered, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Then why didn't you tell me? I tell you when I'm going on a date. All the time,"
"You're making this a big deal. Besides, I hardly remember the names of the girls you go out with, much less the activities you do on your dates."
"That's not the point, Gray."
"Loke, please. Juvia works on the weekends and Tuesdays through Thursdays. This is the only free time I have with her."
Loke squinted at Gray before switching the topic. "What about auditions?"
Gray sighed. "It's auditions. I'm not looking for a role. It doesn't matter. Plus, even if I go, I'll be late anyway. I'll probably walk in while someone's singing and be kicked out or something."
Loke squinted harder.
"If you keep making that face then it'll be stuck that way and all your girlfriends will run away from you."
Loke emitted an angry hum but stopped making faces, shoving the banana cream pie into his mouth.
"Juvia has ordered," Juvia announced, breaking the conversation as she slid into the booth. When her eyes landed on Loke, she smiled and waved. "Hello. You must be Loke. Gray-sama has told Juvia so much about you."
Loke stared at Juvia, his lips pressed together.
"Don't worry, they're all good things." Gray said, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Will Loke-san be joining us?" Juvia asked and Gray wasn't sure if the question was directed at him or Loke.
"No," Loke replied, finishing up his banana cream pie. "I was just about to leave. I don't want to third-wheel on your date." Loke started gathering his math textbook and pencil case.
"This is a date?" Juvia squeaked, staring at Gray, her face immediately turning red.
Gray could do nothing but stare back, not knowing what to say. "No! Uh … I mean, if you want it to be?"
Juvia bit her lip. "Juvia …"
"Anyway," Loke broke their staring contest then added, "Gray, I'll be coming over to your house tomorrow to study for math." Then he leaned in and whispered into Gray's ear. "Don't think I'll just let this slide. I expect full details."
Gray glared hard at Loke for making his hang out with Juvia awkward.
Loke only smirked and made a final remark as he pulled open the doors to exit the diner. "Thanks for taking care of the bill, Gray-sama!"
Lucy Heartfilia sat in the theatre with Natsu Dragneel sitting on her right and Lisanna Strauss sitting on her left. Lucy usually lets Lisanna sit in the middle but today she wanted to feel secure. Her two friends sitting by her side made Lucy feel like they were her bodyguards, human-shields protecting her from the bad feeling in her stomach.
The members of the club slowly filled the room, some came chattering happily while some walked in without a word. The aura was all messed up. It seems like some of the members didn't even care. This only made Lucy confused, stuck between giving it her all and casually winging it.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… Lucy thought in her head.
Ten minutes passed and finally everyone had hushed up and taken their respective seats.
"My stars!" Wan Chanzi-sensei greeted everyone in the room. He stood at the center of the stage, a single spotlight shining on him. "I'm sure all of you are aware today is audition day!"
The response he got was some excited hollering and wild clapping.
A smile stretched on Wan-sensei's face. "I expect all of you to sing from the bottom of your hearts! Remember; there are no small parts, only small actors!" Wan-sensei quoted the famous words.
Everyone seemed to nod and agree.
"Now," Wan-sensei spoke. "The rules are simple. I call on you at random, full name and the title of your song, then you take your spot on the stage. You take in deep breaths, relax yourself. And when you're ready, cue the technical team and sing, sing, sing!"
Another loud eruption of clapping was aimed towards the Drama teacher, to which Wan-sensei bowed.
"Thank you and may the stars be with you! Good luck!" Wan-sensei added, before making his way towards his seat in the front row. Wan-sensei sat down, his atmosphere channelling the saying 'I am your judge, jury, and executioner'.
Lucy swallowed a lump in her throat. The auditions had begun.
Sweat beaded down her neck, Lucy eyed Wan-sensei as he flipped through the list of names then glanced up to look at one of the technical crew. Giving the last signal that everything was going to go smoothly, Wan-sensei opened his mouth and called the first person to sing.
"Mest Gryder, Hailey Knox's Awkward."
Lucy's clammy hands unclenched and she let out a breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She wasn't going first. Thank God!
Every set of eyes turned to the senior boy, staring at him with expectancy.
Mest Gryder sat in his seat with a stunned look on his face, his jaw practically fell to the floor and his eyes seem to bulge in shock.
"That's you, Mest!" Erza Scarlet said, pounding a bone breaking slap on Mest's back to bring him back to reality.
"R-Right!" Mest spluttered and stood up quickly. Shit, of all the people in this room. Why me? He gloomily thought and ascended up the stage.
Lucy nervously bit her lower lip as she watched Mest. If a senior was a nervous wreck then Lucy was sure she would be too or possibly worse! Maybe she'd be so nervous that she'd start crying and lose her voice.
The blonde shivered at that thought and shook her head. All these negative thoughts were getting to her.
Lucy continued to observe Mest. She watched him fiddle with the microphone as he took in a few deep breaths and stared out into the audience.
"Go, Mest!" Erza cheered with a big grin on her face and almost instantly, Lucy could see Mest's shocked expression melt away. It was like Erza had flicked a switch within him, making his body relax. The simple cheer brought a smile to Mest's face. It couldn't be helped.
Mest gave the redhead a thumbs-up and mouthed out 'Thank you'. As Wan-sensei instructed, Mest breathed in and out, building up confidence, then nodded at the technical guy in charge of the music.
And just like that, Mest was swaying to the tune. It all seemed like a big show, Mest smiled like he knew he could nail the audition. He opened his mouth and sang, and soon, everyone is awestruck. Not only does Mest's voice enchant the people in the room, it fueled them too. Faces light up like Christmas trees; big grins and sparkling eyes.
Deep down, through the wonder of Mest's singing, Lucy couldn't help but feel she has a lot of competition.
Audition after audition after audition.
Lucy could hardly remember the faces of the singers let alone the songs they sang or from where the songs came from.
She did recognize some though. Lisanna's hours of musical info-dumping somehow stuck in her brain. Lucy was able to distinguish between songs from All I Ask and Phantom of the Opera, and I dreamed a dream from Les Misérables.
But everything else is a blank and she's growing more and more nervous. Why on earth did Wan-sensei have to randomize the call? Didn't he know how scary it was? It was like trying to expect the unexpected. Being poorly prepared would not be in Lucy's favor!
Rounds of applause break Lucy's thoughts. Lucy blinked her brown eyes back to reality and waited for Wan-sensei to call the next student. Please not me. Please. Please!
"Erza Scarlet, Hamilton's Helpless,"
After hearing her sensei speak those words, Lucy's heart sunk, she started cursing herself a thousand times over.
"I – I can't." Lucy croaked to herself.
When Natsu had passed on Lisanna's words,'The classics are timeless', a couple of days ago, Lucy couldn't have agreed more. Lucy knew what Lisanna meant; a lot of people would be performing songs from the same musicals or sound track. Lucy expected that. What Lucy did not expect was Erza Scarlet to perform a song sung by the same character in the same musical that Lucy was.
It wasn't necessarily a clash. They were two different songs. Very different. But the same character from the same musical invited comparisons.
Why did Erza choose to portray Elizabeth? Lucy couldn't help but ponder. The blonde continued worrying in silence as Erza positioned herself under the spotlight.
Everyone watched as Erza nods her head and cues the tech guys. Erza doesn't even let out a shaky breathe like most of the people who have auditioned. Erza Scarlet dives in like a woman on a mission. She's a person who knows what she wants and won't stop until it's hers.
Then realization hits Lucy like a ton of bricks, she panicked as everything came together. We're auditioning for the same role!
The moment Erza sang, Lucy immediately felt threatened. This was bad. Really, really bad.
Helpless. That was just how Lucy felt. Helpless, hopeless, despondent.
Lucy's body shook, the raw power and emotion in Erza's performance honestly scared Lucy. There was no way she could compete with that!
Lucy couldn't understand it. The feeling …
It was like when you raise your hand in class to answer a question. You're in the moment and you know you're right. But then, misfortune occurs, someone shouts the answer you had. You curse and puts down your hand. You think 'nevermind, I'll answer the next question.' Then you think it's over, but it's not. The teacher decides to call on you for an answer. The problem is, you only remembered one example and you feel so fucked. Everyone's staring expecting something from you. What can you do other than meekly back down from the challenge?
A full hour passes. More than half the members had sung. Everyone's putting their full attention towards the singers.
Lucy can hardly remember anything.
A couple finished their duet; Tangled's I see the light, and as expected, everyone claps.
It isn't until Wan-sensei says, "Lisanna Strauss, Wicked's Defying Gravity", that Lucy's poker face cracks. She can't hold it together anymore, her breakdown going unnoticed by all but one person.
Lisanna Strauss is the definition of excited. Her blue eyes gleaming. Lisanna doesn't notice the waves of negative emotion emanating from Lucy. Lisanna gives Natsu a hard slap on the arm due to her inability to keep her excitement to herself and practically bounces to her destination.
"Hey," Natsu whispered, rubbing his arm and eyeing Lucy with soft green eyes. "You okay?"
Lucy's brown eyes flickered to his. "Not really …"
"Nervous?" He asked, his voice barely audible so he doesn't disturb Lisanna's singing – it was his best friend's moment to shine after all.
"Yeah," Lucy nodded, her throat feeling dry. Goddamn it, if she couldn't even talk to Natsu, how on earth was she supposed to sing in front of an audience?
"Don't be," Natsu said and Lucy thinks it wasn't that easy.
Lucy's knee is bouncing madly like a jackhammer. "I ... I don't think I can sing for all these people, Natsu."
"You don't have to." Natsu replied, making Lucy look at him curiously. "You don't have to sing for them."
"Then who do I sing for?" It was an audition for goodness sakes. Of course she had to sing to please the people.
Without missing a beat, Natsu said, "If it makes you more comfortable, I've heard you sing dozens of times. And I'm not exactly competition anymore since I have Esmeralda's role. So you can sing for me."
Sing for me … The words echoed through Lucy's skull. It rang in her head like a mantra. Natsu's words mirroring the dream she had this morning.
Lucy stared at him in wonder before Natsu did something unpredictable; he reached over and held onto Lucy's hand, rubbing small, soothing circles with his thumb.
Natsu didn't know what drove him to perform such a bold move. It might have been instinct, being used to comforting Wendy and the Strauss sisters, or maybe it was the exhaustion making him not think straight, or maybe it was the fact that he knew there was a chance for him to be with Lucy Heartfilia. Or possibly all three?
Whatever it was, there was no turning back now.
He gives her a light squeeze. "You'll do great."
Lucy glanced down, then back up to Natsu's face, and then down again at their intertwined hands. Her gaze locked at the sudden contact. His large hand enclosing her small one, it felt like a perfect fit – the right size to protect her from any danger. And it was warm too, it spread from his body to hers, the feeling of sipping tea on a rainy evening, or sitting by a bonfire as she laughed with friends.
"But ... you've heard me sing it a hundred times. You've heard it, it's not actually a positive song. It's full of sadness and anger, it's about betrayal."
"Are you telling me you've never had a time where you've had those feelings?" he asked.
"I ..."
Her father's face appeared in her mind.
"I have," Lucy admitted, but then shook her head. "But, Natsu, I don't want to unload such a song on you."
"You don't have to feel like you're unloading anything, Luce. The song is a conversation between Elizabeth and the audience. She's trying to tell her story. And right now, I'm your audience. We've had countless conversations, so you shouldn't be nervous." Natsu explained. "Just sing to me the same way we talk to each other."
In response, her eyes closed in concentration.
They've talked dozens of times. Their conversations seemed to flow easier and easier as they got to know each other. She could do that, right? She could sing to Natsu just fine.
Letting out a breath, Lucy smiled back at him, showing off her string of perfect white teeth. She squeezed his hand back. "Thank you, Natsu."
"Anytime, Luce." He replied, the strange feeling from Wednesday coming back – that weird thump-thump in his chest and flip-flop of his gut.
They didn't let go until it was time to clap for Lisanna's performance.
"Lucy Heartfilia," Wan-sensei calls. "Hamilton's Burn."
Several eyebrows shoot up, recognizing the song and some people whisper in glee.
Lucy takes center stage; her heart doesn't hammer violently against her chest, her breath doesn't hitch, and she doesn't feel dizzy anymore. Her steps are filled with reassurance and a confident smile is slapped on her face.
She breathes in, grabbing the microphone. The lights reflect on the painted stars on her nails. She's a star! The blonde looks at the crowd, Wan-sensei seems to have put on a serious look, some faces blur uncertainly but Lisanna and Erza are smiling at her.
However, Lucy only feels safe when she spots Natsu grinning at her, wide and proud. There's a glint in his eyes that tell her he has her back no matter what.
The music plays and Lucy sings. Everything goes still. Lucy is sucked into a universe where there's only her and Natsu. No one else is there to rain on their parade. No one else is there to distract them. There's only them. There's only a conversation.
Time seems to go by fast. Lucy belts out the final melody. Lucy slips back to the universe where she's on stage at Fairy Tail Academy. Where people are watching and the lights are shining and the music syncs with her. The moment is over but Lucy's still grinning. Not even a second passes and the crowd is already erupting. She's done exceptionally well for her first solo audition. The reaction Lucy receives tells her she's achieved exactly what she aimed for. If not, better.
And the best part? Natsu Dragneel claps the loudest.
– SPECIAL THANKS to my BETA, Checkmate-13 –
– Very special thanks to the people who gave song suggestions! –
Thank you; percyjacksongreece, Nekokittygirl and SingingAngel327.
The song suggestions was originally for Erza! I aimed to let Mest sing Popular from Wicked since Lisanna had mentioned people tend to repeat classics. So I knew I wanted some songs to come from the same sound-track/musical but then changed it.
Big thank you, Firebolt-100 for suggesting Hamilton even though I already planed Lucy to sing a song from Hamilton. This suggestion sealed the deal on Erza's song selection and Lucy's fear of the audition.
I originally wanted to give Erza something bold and hero-y but then thought "Erza's a scary person, she scares the boys easily so why not let Erza scare Lucy."
Notes
I never want to write a chapter like this ever again. I don't even know how auditioning is. I turned down my chance to audition in high school so this is just based on my experience from presentations.
– 9 October 2016