Thank you everyone for the reviews! And Im really sorry it took me so long to update! I ended up with writers block because another story idea popped into my head and it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote some of it out :( Ill probably post it once I figure out a title for it. Anyway! Im really happy you guys like this so much :) thanks bundles!
And Now! On with chapter ten!
Chapter Ten: Of Heated Discussions & A Sign Of Impending Doom.
It came as no surprise to him that he was surrounded by Erza and the rest when he woke up. Everyone was there, either fussing or crying over how glad they were that he was okay but as much as he loved them for it and was happy that they cared, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that the only one he 'did' want to see was no where in sight.
Over the past couple of weeks that he played along with her notion of him being her imaginary friend, he had grown so much more fonder of the sweet, shy girl that she kept hidden from everyone else and he found himself even more anxious to see her every day.
But then it began to eat away at his conscience that he was only learning things about her because she thought he wasn't real and the guilt that he was deceiving her began to nag at him every time she'd reveal to him a bit of her past.
Especially when she told him stories of what she'd do every year on her birthday..
He needed to confess and tell her the truth about everything but he was scared. He was afraid of loosing what little progress he had made with her.
"Natsu are you listening to me?!"
"Uh I'm sorry Lisanna.." He said with a sheepish grin. "What'd you say?"
Huffing indignantly Lisanna glanced away from him and crossed her arms.
"Is it true?" She asked softly. "Is that girl really your... the one that you-"
"It is."
She clenched her fists as tears began forming in her eyes.
"Don't expect me to accept this!" She cried out stubbornly. "I'll never accept her as one of us!"
Natsu sighed and massaged his temples. "I don't expect you to." He replied. "But you 'are' going to leave her alone. That goes for all of you. Lucy wont say anything unless she's provoked so keep your mouths shut. I wont tolerate anyone bad mouthing her anymore."
Gajeel mumbled something under his breath, Gray sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, Erza and Wendy smiled, but Lisanna was fuming.
Natsu knew she would take it the hardest so he'd let her say her fill just this once.
"Of all the people... why did it have to be her?! You deserve better! Not some spoilt brat that lives off of daddys credit cards!"
"Im sorry, 'sanna. just give her a chance? I know you'll grow to love her just as much as I do."
Everyones eyes widened at the declaration and Lisanna ran from the room bawling her eyes out.
"What?" Natsu asked genuinely confused. "What'd I say?"
Wendy giggled and gave her brother a suffocating hug.
"Its nothing!" She chirped. "But I have class so I'll see you later. Ill bring some food too!"
"Thanks Wens, you're the best but I should be okay. I need to move around."
Wendy beamed and after kissing his cheek she bid the others farewell and took off.
"How did she take it?" Natsu asked turning to Erza. "I've blocked out her voice so I can't hear what she's thinking.."
"Crazy woman wouldn't stop laughing." Gajeel grunted out as he crossed his arms. "And then she thanked everyone for their time and left. It was actually pretty funny.."
Natsu chuckled and shook his head. He could picture her doing that too.
"I'm surprised she believed it."
"As am I." Erza agreed. "I thought she'd at least be doubtful but she seemed to accept it pretty well. Anyway Natsu, why have you blocked her out? Its a bit too late for that now isn't it?"
"It's because she knows that I'm keeping her out.. I don't wanna invade her privacy anymore.."
Gray rolled his eyes. "That's some pretty messed up logic you got there Natsu. Like Erza said, isn't it a bit too late to be considerate of her privacy?"
Natsu ignored him and stared past Gajeel with wide eyes.
"H...hi.."
Everyone turned to the door to see the very person they were just talking about.
"Hi Lucy.." Erza greeted somewhat shocked.
Lucy shifted her eyes from Erza to the two dark haired boys then locked eyes with Natsu for a brief second before looking away and clearing her throat.
One of her nervous habits.
"I uh... Sorry to interrupt, I'll just-"
"We should go!" Gray practically screamed cutting her off and making everyone jump. "Right guys?"
Erza arched a brow and stared at him as though he was insane.
"What-"
"Lisanna took off so suddenly!" He cut in making Erza's eye twitch. "We should go find her and make sure she's okay!"
Gajeel scoffed and headed out. "Way to be obvious, dumbass."
Gray laughed awkwardly and grabbed Erza's wrist to drag her out.
"See you later Natsu!"
Lucy watched as Erza bore down on Gray with her fists of fury once they were out in the hall and snickered at his pitiful cries for mercy.
Natsu laughed too which snapped Lucys attention back on him. He inwardly cringed at how blank her eyes seemed.
"Hey...Lucy...hows it goin?" He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Are you...having a good day?"
His questions hung in the air which turned thick with tension. He was by no means a coward but he couldn't help the sudden urge he felt to flee and hide.
Lucy continued to stare at him silently for a good five minutes before speaking.
"Are you feeling better?"
Her tone was serious and lacked emotion but Natsu didn't mind. His smile lost the nervous edge to it and he nodded his head.
"Much better... thanks to you."
Her lips thinned and Natsu mentally smacked himself on the face. Obviously that hadn't been the best thing to say. Even if it was true.
"I'd like to confirm something with you."
"S...sure thing.."
"All this time. It was really you I was speaking with.. right?"
Natsu hung his head in shame and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the betrayed look on her face he was sure was there.
"I'm sorry..."
Lucy looked away from him and clenched her fists. "That stuff I told you... did you...tell anyone?"
"No way! I'd never do that to you Lucy! You gotta trust and believe me, I haven't told anyone anything... I swear.."
She inclined her head slightly then cleared her throat again. "When will you be out of that bed?"
"I should be good to go.. I was just waiting for everyone to leave before I go take a shower."
"Right. Then meet me in the old auditorium in two hours after you've eaten."
Natsu didn't get a chance to ask why because she had slammed the door shut as soon as she finished speaking.
His dumbstruck expression vanished almost instantly as her command rung in his ears and he was suddenly hit with excitement at the thought of seeing her again.
A wide grin stretched out across his face and he jumped from the bed with a new found burst of energy only to fall flat on his face.
Groaning to himself he rolled over and stretched out his muscles before getting up again, this time more carefully and slowly.
Erza watched with keen interest as Natsu continued to swiftly dodge all of Lucy's attacks.
She had been summoned by the blonde and had been asked to watch over their little match just in case she 'really' tried killing him.
"Keep still you bastard." Lucy hissed as she struck at him again with her whip which Natsu easily sidestepped.
"But it'd hurt!" He whined. "I don't want to!"
"What are you five!?" Lucy yelled. "Stand still and accept your punishment like a man!"
Natsu gulped and shook his head fervently. Lucy was really starting to scare him. This had not been what he expected when he arrived. She had attacked him the second he entered the building and he's been avoiding everything she threw at him ever since.
She reminded him too much of an enraged red head he knew.
"But I didn't do anything!"
"Like hell you didn't!" Lucy seethed as she discarded her weapon and charged at him. "You tricked me! You've been listening to things you had no right to be hearing! I should kill you!"
Erza frowned from her perch as she watched. She could see that Lucy not landing a hit was making her even more angrier and she could also see the small quirk of Natsus lips and the glint in his eyes. Two tell-tale signs that he was enjoying himself much more then he was letting on and way more then he was supposed to.
"Well, this certainly wont do." She mumbled to herself as she she casually slipped off her shoe and waited for an opening.
It came a few minutes later when Lucy's body tilted to the left slightly as she swung her leg and Natsu raised his arm to block.
Erza smirked and kicked her shoe up to catch it then swiftly threw it as hard as she could.
Natsu noticed the small object sailing towards him a second too late and that brief momentary lapse of concentration ended up with him having a shoe smacking him square on the face and Lucys foot connecting with the side of his head at the same time.
Lucy, not caring to stop and question the sudden appearance of the shoe, kicked it out of the way and ignoring his howls of pain, placed her hands on his shoulders and kneed him as hard as she could in the stomach effectively knocking the wind out of him.
He fell to his knees with his arms wrapped around his mid section and bent forward until his head was resting against the smooth floor.
Lucy was standing over him glaring and panting with her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
"Im sorry... I didn't-"
"Shut up." She spat. "I don't... want to hear it."
Natsu kept his eyes on the floor and stayed in the same position not daring to look up at her.
"I don't know... I'm not..." she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "I need to..." spinning around she opened her eyes again and stared down at her hands. "I've no idea what you expect from me.."
Flexing her hands she blew her bangs out of her face and took another deep breath to try and calm her racing heart.
"Actually no.. that's a lie.. I do know what you want from me.. and you already know my answer." She softened her tone and fiddled with the charms on her bracelet. "I already told you that I can't afford any distractions.. not when I'm so close to.." She shook her head and thought about what she was going to say.
This whole time she'd thought about the pros and cons of entering a relationship with the boy currently hunched down behind her, and after considering each one carefully she came to a decision.
"But I'm not going to leave you hanging.. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knowingly walked away and left someone to suffer.."
Natsu's head snapped up and stared wide eyed, shock written all over his face. Even Erza had her mouth open in shock.
She turned to face him again and discreetly pinched herself to keep her fluttering nerves at bay.
"I'm not saying I want us to jump into a... romantic relationship... and I'm not promising anything solid. I'm not ready for that.." She said shaking her head slightly "But I'm willing to start from the beginning and go from there... If that's... okay with you.."
Natsu slowly raised himself up, the pain long gone and held out his hand with a smile on his face.
"Hi there. I'm Natsu, Natsu Dragneel. And you are?"
Lucy stared at his hand for a few seconds before raising her own timidly and taking it.
"Lucy.. Lucy Heartfilia.. its uh... a pleasure to meet you.. Natsu."
Natsu raised her hand to his face and placed a soft kiss on her fingertips. "The pleasures all mine. Lucy." He replied sincerely, not once taking his eyes of her and slowly lowered their hands, he then gave hers a light squeeze before letting go.
Lucy nodded stiffly and cleared her throat.
"Right. Well then... I gotta go.." she rushed past him to grab her bags and walked hurriedly to the exit, her face an unbelievable shade of red.
Natsu grinned and waited until she was at the door before calling out to her.
"Hey Lucy! I'll see you at dinner!"
She didn't respond and kicked the door shut which only made his grin widen.
"It's almost sickening how happy you look right now." Erza teased as she moved forward to grab her shoe. "But I'm pleased for you Natsu. You've been given a golden opportunity. Don't mess up."
Natsu was too busy reeling from the small taste of her skin she had allowed him to get away with to really hear what Erza was saying.
This was definitely not what he had expected coming here, and he was beyond thrilled that he did.
"Hey Erza."
Said girl looked over at him curiously.
"Lets go get some cake. I've this sudden craving for something sweet."
Erza chuckled softly and followed after him. "I bet you do." She mused.
Natsu simply grinned.
Lucy raced through the Academy halls, berating herself the whole time.
"Stupid Lucy! Stupid stupid stupid!"
She couldn't believe how flustered she had gotten back there. She felt so embarrassed and awkward that for the first time in a long while she wanted to just crawl into a hole and die.
"Stupid hormones!"
Why oh why did this have to happen? She didn't know the first thing about having a boy as a friend and she was incredibly confused. Why did she blush so much? Why did her knees go weak when he stared at her so intensely while he kissed her fingers?
Why was she fretting about it?
She growled at everyone that looked at her and almost screamed In frustration when she rounded a corner and locked eyes with fierce blue eyes.
"I'd like to have a word."
"I'm busy."
Lisanna motioned to the nearest classroom. "This won't take long."
Lucy ran a hand over her face and sighed. "Fine." She huffed storming past her. "Five minutes."
As soon as the door closed Lisanna spun around and glared.
"I don't like you." She said bitterly.
"The feelings mutual."
"Natsu was fine before you showed up. He's only into you because he thinks he has to be, and Erza only hangs around you because she pities you so do us all a favour and leave. We'll help him and find a way to free him from his curse. We don't need you."
Lucy scoffed. "Are you seriously trying to intimidate me? Because you're doing a piss poor job at it."
"Take it however you want!" The other girl snapped back. "But if you don't leave ill make the rest of your year here a living nightmare."
"Would this be before or after your visits to Professor Dreyers personal rooms?" Lucy asked curiously. "This whole, making my year hell plan of yours I mean?"
All the bravado Lisanna felt dissipated as she watched Lucy flick lint off of her shirt and glance at her with a bored look on her face.
"Or do you plan on forgetting about him so you'll have more time to act out all of your wicked schemes?"
"I hate you."
"Good for you."
"Natsu deserves better!"
"The fates seem to disagree with you."
"I wish you'd just die!"
Lucy rolled her eyes and stepped around her.
"You know what? I really couldn't care lees." She replied. "And unless you want your so called 'secret meetings' to remain a secret, I highly recommend you mind your own business and stay the hell out of my face. And one more thing. Until that idiot tells me himself, I'm not going anywhere. Deal with it."
Lisanna covered her face with her hands and sobbed. This wasn't supposed to happen... She and Natsu were made for each other.. she knew they were..
"I can help you..."
Lisanna jumped and her eyes darted frantically around the empty classroom.
"Who's there!" She screamed. "Show yourself!"
A deep, sinister laugh echoed around the room causing Lisanna to stumble backwards and grip the strap of her bag tightly as fear built up inside her.
"I can help you.." It whispered again. "All you have to do is trust me...and do as I say..."
"No!" She screamed, burying her fists in her hair and squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Go away! Leave me alone!"
"Just do as I say.. And I promise you... I will make sure that Lucy Heartfilia will no longer stand between you and the one you love..."
"Go away." She pleaded. "I told you before to stop bothering me!"
"He will never be yours..." The voice mocked. "As long as that girl remains close to him... he will never look at you the way he does her.."
Tears leaked from her eyes and she grit her teeth.
"Help me.. Lisanna.. and I will make your dream become a reality .."
Who here thinks that caramel shouldn't exist? Or is it really just me? o.o