A/N: Yes. Yes. Another late update. Forgive me? T.T I still feel awful with this chapter, I don't like it that much since I can't really handle third person POV that well -.- I'm still learning so I tried it out and all waahh! But...! I'm still hoping you'll like it somehow. *crosses fingers* It was kinda tough for me please understand :(
This was supposed to be uploaded earlier but then my mom kept on reminding me that it's way past midnight and then after that I got too engrossed in reading Catching Fire all over again that I forgot what to put in here next. hehehe...Now enough of that...
Due to my tardiness in updating, my replies to your ever so heart-warming reviews got delayed as well. I'm sorry :'( As usual, you guys never fail to make me smile and teary at the same time! Thank you so so much! No chapter would have existed without them :')
Hinagiku Zeelmart thank you! that means a lot to me :') I'm glad you liked it :)
Le' CarolinnaXannej421 you sure know how to make my day with a single review ;) Oh I just can't thank you enough Rin-chan! Thank you for such kind words, thank you for the encouragement. I'll try to get better for you and all other readers out there. If only you knew how happy I am everytime I see your reviews :') Thank you! I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter, not that confident about it ;( Thank you, ne? :)
Oblivion-chan hehe, I leave the answer to that to your imagination ;) but thank you so much for your review! :')
Otaku'25 really? haha you're free to guess ;) still, I thank you for reviewing and for reading this story! Thank you so so much! :')
ichigolover oh of course, I'd love to do that ;) future chapters would have a lot :DD hope you'd still read this 'til that time comes :') thank you for the review :')
alexa haha kaw talaga! nagreview ka pa :') thank you! andami mo nang spoilers na alam haa shh ln ;) thank you so so much!
IloveCelestialIce waah! T.T thank youu for the review! made me smile, completely made my day! ahehe I'm so glad you're still keeping up with this story! Your review got me teary again. I don't really know why :') Thank you for being so kind, can't thank you enough. Thank youu T.T I hope this chappy suits your interests and I promise to answer those questions as much as possible with the upcoming chapters. I hope you'll still read it 'til then XI Once again, I thank you very very much! :'D
Lucy-Heartfilia-chan ahaha thank you for the review! yours made me laugh :D oh and yeah, the notice is a GraLu oneshot I did before, well, it was actually an output for school so it's pretty short. I'd appreciate that! thank you :')
Smiley Peys thank you for such a kind review! :') hehe it means a lot to me thank you so much!
Blue-Phoenix311 haha it is? hehe thank you for the review! I'm sorry for the late update and I sure do wish I don't disappoint you xI thank you once more :')
Azure Tsubasa I remember tearing up the moment I read your review :'( Thank you! I'm not that great, in fact, I admire you a lot and for me you're waay better, much deserving of the title "senpai", ne? :) hehe I'm so glad you like the story and I hope I don't disappoint any of you with the story, thank you so so much! Can't thank you enough! Thank youu! :')
Special thanks to iamalexa16, though you always tell me how hard it is for you to use fanfiction, you still reviewed the chapter for me :') Me? Happy? Of course I am, very much! waah! love you lexa! :'( ahahah thank you for always being there for me and for reading my rough drafts beforehand! thank you so so much! :* wala muna akong ibibigay na spoilers ha? advanced ka na masyado ehh xD oh ayan, twice mentioned s A/N ko ha love lots :**
I actually planned to make this longer unfortunately, my brain is still drained of mental energy that I can't even think straight, can't really think of a chapter title as well. Wah! Gomen! T.T Any suggestions for the chap title? Oh well, enough talk from me, here goes chapter 8 :)
Chapter 8: Too Much To Handle
With hands spread out to her sides, the girl balanced herself on the pavement by the river, long, snowy hair swaying along with the breeze as she hummed and hopped happily.
The blonde man walking beside her, though not on the same elevated spot as the girl, curved his lips upwards. He enjoyed the sight of this certain female smiling more than anything else, her company more than anybody else. He couldn't ask for more. Just being with her was enough and for sure, the long-haired beauty felt exactly the same. Words need not to be spoken.
"Careful." He huffed, concerned yet calm and giggling in response was the princess he treasured ever so dearly.
"I know." She replied, still humming with her soft, sweet voice. The smile never left her face, even when her enjoyable balancing was over. She jumped off the high path of bricks and gracefully spun herself around, stopping when she reached the young boy's side. It was late in the afternoon and the sky brought about the beautiful colors of twilight. Glints of red and orange shone upon the face of the maiden as she stared at the now setting sun with pleased eyes. "It's beautiful, don't you think?" She voiced out, facing the man who stood beside her with a smile.
"You always are." He replied quickly. Though it was not really what the girl expected him to say for she was referring to the sunset before them.
All she could do was beam helplessly. She turned her gaze back to the horizon where day gave way to night. "Such a sweet talker aren't you?" she said in a teasing manner to which her companion gladly took as a compliment.
Comfortable silence came after. In the midst of watching how the stars appear from the night sky one after the other, the man took the opportunity to wrap his arms around the girl's slender waist as he buried his head into her soft hair.
There was nothing else she could ask for; being with this guy was heaven itself that sometimes she just wished for time to stop whenever they're together. Her hand travelled over his and they stood there for a couple of minutes without uttering a word. "Hey?" The beauty called out, gaining the attention of the undoubtedly attractive young man. "I thought you hated being with girls so much? Aren't they too clingy for you? So, how come you don't mind being with me?"
The smirk on his face grew wider, as if the answer to the question was too obvious that there was no need to ask. He turned her around towards his direction, gently placing a hand behind her head. And carefully pulled her towards him, 'til they were only inches apart, his forehead touching hers. "You're not just some girl. You're special, very much special… to this life of mine and to my entire existence."
A stray blush crept through her cheeks, her heart seemingly to have increased its phase dramatically with the bold response from the teen. Without second thought, she pulled his hand to her cheeks and whispered a soft reciprocation of his feelings. "You are to me too."
'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'
His eyes fluttered open, revealing his dark, shady room. He reached out for his noisy alarm clock and even fought the urge of smashing it into a thousand pieces with the thought it was a gift from his sister and it was him that set it on the wrong time. His eyes landed on none other than the picture frame on his bed-side table as he ran a hand through his blonde hair irritably. "That's not something you should still be dreaming about, Laxus. Those days are long over." He reminded himself in a soft tone, eyes still on the picture, and turned it down, covering whatever past it brought back to him. "Clearly my choice, after all."
White sheets tossed aside to one side of his bed, Laxus made his way to his door and halted when he took notice of his clothes. He was still in his school uniform. No wonder he stinks – or at least that's how he wanted to describe it. He glanced at his wall clock as he put up fresh clothes. It was just 9 in the evening, too early for what he calls bedtime. With one quick look at his room, he finally noticed a cup of tea and some cookies atop his study table. He sighed and smiled soon after, a decision finally in mind. "Might as well visit Lucy."
As he was about to twist the knob, the door opened on its own. "Yo!" ,the person behind the door greeted. "Do you have a minute?"
The very sight of the mortal before him was enough for the blonde to give a serious nod of understanding. He squatted himself comfortably on the carpeted floor and signalled his guest to sit on his unoccupied bed, making them face each other. "Speak." He demanded.
"Bath's ready, nii-san." Gray notified as he rubbed his still wet hair with a soft, fluffy towel. He paused… and gave his brother a keen eye when he got no response from the silver-haired boy.
Slouching on the sofa by the living room was Lyon to which Gray concluded to be far off in outer space with that spaced-out expression he has on. His eyes were glued on the chandelier that he didn't even notice his dark-haired sibling grab the phone he ever held so tightly in his hands.
Gray hummed a teasing tone and successfully caught Lyon's attention with it. He shoved the phone back to Lyon, specifically right into his face. "So…" he started off. "How are things between you two?"
Lyon took his phone back despite the confusion he had as to why it was suddenly in Gray's possession and he basically gave the youngest Fullbuster an astounded look, blinking several more times before speaking. "Why do you ask?" He was quite surprised to hear such a question from his brother who rarely talked to him for a week so it took him quite a while to register the question in his mind.
'Why do you ask?' Gray repeated to himself. Now that got him thinking. Why would he meddle himself with his brother's 'love life' when it's clearly the reason why Lucy has been crying to him these past few days? "Don't know", he started with a shrug. "Just curious, I guess? Seems like you've been calling that Juvia-girl for quite some time now. Did you have a fight or something?"
"Nah, don't remember having one. I think…"
Brows almost meeting, Gray gave his brother a are-you-actually-being-serious look. "Hah?"
"Well, she's not picking up… and she's been avoiding me recently. It's almost as if she's hiding something from me… not really sure." Lyon uttered out. His blank expression then turned into a frown, a soft grunt escaping his lips.
"What? Got your girlfriend jealous already?" Gray spoke out in a teasing tone of voice. He obviously didn't mean it so he was surprised to get a scowl instead of a retort. He stopped ruffling his wet hair with a towel and stared at his brother for a long while. "Did I… just hit the bull's eye?"
'Jealousy isn't something you'll be able to understand.'
The silver-haired boy sighed glumly at the thought of a previous conversation he had with Juvia Lockser. "I don't really know anymore. They're just so hard to understand. By the way, how's Lucy-chii? Soccer practice has been quite a bother so I don't really see her that much."
At that moment, Gray, with all he thought was the maximum of capabilities, suppressed the irritation that swirled somewhere inside him for reasons unknown. He didn't expect Lyon to suddenly bring up the topic since he was practically occupied by Juvia a few seconds before. 'Now why is someone who has a girlfriend asking me that?' Though that was pretty much what he had in mind, he kept it to himself. He didn't really want to answer since he might just prove that Lyon still cared about Lucy but he spoke nevertheless. "She's doing fine."
A pat on the head wasn't what he expected to get with such a cold response. "That's good. Just… take care of her okay? She's the princess of the Heartfilias after all."
"I know. No need to tell me." The raven-haired boy replied with a smirk. He took pride in this since it was him whom Lucy leaned on for support everytime she's weak. "Now, hurry up and take a bath. You stink." He joked but there was really no reason to tell for Lyon was already on his way to the bathroom. He stared at his brother's retreating figure and found himself uttering words he once claimed to be a no-no topic. "About Lucy… Well, um… Do you still err— you know… lik…"
"I don't really get what you're trying to say but you really shouldn't be fond of roaming around the house with only a towel." Lyon cut off, laughing. "Get some clothes for Pete's sake. You'll catch a cold if you'd just stand there without anything on."
With that, he left, leaving Gray dumbfounded. The said guy settled down on the floor, a pissed expression on. He was used to the cold so he didn't really mind his brother's advice that much. "Geez, thanks." He sarcastically whined out. A loud sneeze came after, echoing around the house, a little too loudly that Ultear eventually threw a bunch of clothes at him to put on.
After throwing herself unto her queen-sized bed, Lucy tucked her head under a pillow, her hands pressing hard against her ears. "S-stop…" she cried out softly, tears now staining her cheeks. She pressed her hands harder but she could still hear the vibration of her phone. "Why?" She muttered between her sobs to no one in particular.
Unable to take any more of the dreadful sounds her cell phone was making, she slowly sat up and approached her study table where the mobile innocently sat at. Minutes passed to which Lucy just stood there, staring at the flashing of the screen every now and then. She picked it up after a while and what she saw caused her to slump down on the floor.
A chain of messages, all from the same unknown sender, all containing the exact harsh words she received at school earlier, if not, worse.
Lucy settled in on the carpet and her arms reached out for her plushie, Plue. "Hey, Plue? It has to be some sort of mistake right? Maybe… that person just got the wrong number…" She let out a small smile as she thought of things to lighten herself up. One being the time when she witnessed how Ur threw Happy at Gray's face just to wake him up. She paused her reminiscing of thoughts at the sudden mention of her best friend's name in her head. 'Thump!' Now her heart didn't just skip a beat, did it? She felt warm and cozy all at once. It was as if her worries were brushed of just like that.
Eyes now half-closed as she sees a smiling Gray in his head, she hugged her plushie tightly and took one last glance at her phone, only to notice that the messages have stopped. "When something like this happens again, think he'll lend an ear?" she asked the inanimate Plue with a kind smile and later shook her head slightly. "No, I'm sure he would, definitely. He's Gray after all, ever so kind and caring…" Along with her brief pause in words, realization hit her and she slapped her cheeks hastily, eyes slightly wide for a while. "No! No! No! Lucy! What are you doing fantasizing about your best friend just now? Moreover, he's Lyon's brother Lucy! And Lyon is the one you like Lucy!" she screamed and sweat-dropped at her repetitive call for her own name, obviously scolding herself for reasons she did not know of as well. Panic just came to her when she took note of how the youngest Fullbuster invades her mind at times.
"Oh, no. What is happening to you, Lucy?" The blonde asked herself softly, a hand over her pounding chest, cheeks slightly flushed. Just as when she thought she had calmed down, her nightmare comes again, her phone beeping another round of those messages. She frowned, a little less affected now, but still hurting. "This is just…"
Laxus narrowed his twitching eyes at the man who was currently sipping the tea originally made for him by his sister and spoke. "What crap are you suddenly talking about, mister? What happened to that 'golden chance' you've been spitting about on and on before?"
Settling the tea cup gently on the table, his companion replied casually and calmly. "Just don't, okay? Por favor?" He flickered his eyes, trying to act all cute but it didn't take effect.
"What 'Don't tell her just yet' nonsense is that? Shit, I don't get you." The muscular man responded, scowling, a hand messing up his hair in frustration. "Well, not that I mind… my old man was against the idea anyway. It's just Lucy being too concerned for the company and my father's welfare. No reason for it though."
"Especially since you've let go of Mi—"
Laxus halted the guy's statement by raising up a hand in the air submissively. "Okay, I get it! My personal issues aside. Suit yourself. Just remember I'm still siding with Lucy here. Her choice, my choice. Not even you could change my mind. Friendship also set aside. I don't want my sister to experience the same regrets I did back then with… you know who." He closed his eyes and sprawled down on the floor lazily. "Lucy is such a sweetheart." He commented suddenly.
"I know." The man smiled weakly as he tilted his blue-tainted glasses with his index finger. "That's why it's better not to bring it up just yet. She'll most probably hate me for not telling her but thank me soon enough when she realizes how freedom means so much. But, if it's for her… I'll wait. I won't force this upon her. If she doesn't want it I'll just… wait."
"Loke." Laxus uttered out. "Stop with the cheesy talk, it's gross. I'm getting Goosebumps!" As Loke was about to retort, he continued his words with a wide grin on. "Although I have to admit… that's a bit cool."
Loke managed to give a hearty laugh and smiled at his friend widely after that. "What? You actually like me for Lucy?" He mocked and that just initiated a flame.
"Don't you dare flirt with her, you womanizer." He shot him a glare.
'Mood swings.' Loke thought and sighed helplessly. 'And that sister complex adds.' He can't help but laugh at the thought and was soon interrupted by the soft, deep voice of his friend, Laxus.
"Be serious and you might just stand a chance with me."
And then he smiled wider, flinging an arm around the blonde happily. "Oh you bet I will be!"
Laxus grunted in discomfort and shoved Loke away from him, back to his bed as he headed off for the door. "I'm gonna check on Lucy. You stay here and don't follow." He said strictly and Loke nodded obediently as he started to munch on the cookies that came with the tea.
Taking a deep breath, the Heartfilia heir entered Lucy's room and found himself running to her side, wiping off the tears on her porcelain cheeks. "Hey? Lucy, what's wrong?" he asked in a soothing tone. He followed Lucy's gaze and things happened all too fast for the girl to process completely. He saw the phone, the messages and he just sent it flying to the wall, leaving it to crash to a thousand pieces, much like he wanted to do with his alarm clock a little while ago. "I'll get you a new one." He said on his defence when Lucy began tearing up in his embrace but she just shook her head to tell him it's alright. "Bastard will die even before you get another one of those messages." He states firmly.
"I truly wanted to believe it was some sort of mistake, a prank maybe, but it went too far I just couldn't take it. Thank you, Onii-chan…" After some sniffles, Lucy was finally able to flash her brother a grin. "I'm glad you're my brother."
-End-
A/N: Sure do hope that answered some of your questions and that you get the hints that came with this though it is not much of a chapter, I know. I'll try to update sooner this time and I'll definitely do my best to meet your expectations! :') Thank you for the kind words, for reading this story and sorry for not being good enough.
I'd really appreciate a review, they keep me going and I just feel so down at times that my inspiration just flies off somewhere so please do review *puppy dog eyes*. Criticisms are very much accepted though please go easy on me... xI
Feel free to PM me for questions or anything you'd like to talk about ;)
Signing off for now,,, MartiaLae