I has the done it! I have updated!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!
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Prologue Chapter 11: Tenth Grade Part 2
[LevyAwesomerThanAnythingMcGarden: Free 4 a hang out after tennis prac?]
[LucyHeart: I'll c.]
I sighed as I pocketed my cell phone and made my way to tennis practice. The day was hot, and a lot of people were heading towards home. I wanted to go home myself.
I just wanted to hang out with Levy and Erza, and have a nice, normal conversation that wasn't about Natsu, or love, or boyfriends. I twisted up my golden hair into a ponytail, and shouldered my tennis bag. A lot of people stared at me as I walked past, pointing out my bag, and whispering about how I had won the last tournament easily. It hadn't been easy at all. Sometimes, appearances are deceiving.
Just like how romance deceives everyone. Looks easy? Hahaha, could you ever be more wrong?
Recently, my mood had been darkening as Natsu continued dating Lisanna, and the topic of me finding another love became more common in my conversations with Levy. Sarcastic comments in my head, and nasty comments had become more susceptible to come about lately. I hated this me. I wanted to vercome this angry person who was me right now. But somehow, I couldn't. Something was sitting on my chest, and I couldn't get rid of it.
Suddenly, I shrieked as someone ran into me, and sent me sprawling onto the ground. I rubbed my forehead sourly, and repressed the urge to let a stream of swear words fall from my mouth.
"Luce!"
I looked up, and scolded myself for the heart squeeze I got from gazing at Natsu's face. He was looking down at me, an annoyed expression plastered across his face. His uniform was messy; the cardigan was rumpled, the tie crooked, and his hair was disheveled. He held his cell phone in his right hand lazily, and his school bag hung from his left shoulder casually. Girls passing by fawned over the carelessness of his appearance, and rushed away, giggling over his "hotness factor".
His onyx eyes were trained on me, and he extended his hand absentmindedly.
"Don't you have baseball practice today?" I asked him from the floor.
His eye twitched. "Don't you know how to stand up?"
I allowed myself to be picked up off the ground by him, and waited for an answer to my question.
"Baseball club's practice is cancelled today. Coaches have this baseball convention or whatever," he replied in a flat tone, and glanced at his phone as he received a text. He typed in an answer, and glanced at me.
"Uh, look, Luce, I'm in a hurry, all right?"
"Where are you going?"
"Date with Lisanna…we're going to this café, or something. See you sometime later, 'kay?"
No, not okay.
"All right."
He turned away from me, and ran. I watched him leave with envy piercing my heart. He would never be in such a hurry to meet up with me somewhere. And we would NOT see each other sometime later…we hardly even hung out anymore. Natsu Dragneel had a girlfriend. That Natsu Dragneel couldn't waste his free time by spending it with his childhood friend since daycare. Not when he could spend it holding hands with his white-haired, gorgeous soccer club manager girlfriend.
"Heartfilia…practice is starting soon!" a passing girl told me, also from the tennis club.
"Uh, right…!"
I followed closely behind her, gritting my teeth in frustration.
Natsu is an idiot. He is dense. He is stupid. And he's MY childhood friend. He's MY Natsu Dragneel.
Tennis practice was as strenuous as usual, and I had tried my hardest to concentrate. Although, some people would dare to differ. For instance...
"Heartfilia!"
It was a senpai. Her dark, chocolate hair cascaded won her back in a glossy ponytail, and her delicate hand waved to me furiously. She was one of the nicer upperclassmen - one of the ones who didn't make the first years run laps around the courts just because they were older and had the authority to do so. A look of worry was drawn over her lovely face.
I approached her slowly, a feeling of dread lingeirng the pit of my stomach.
"Yes…senpai?"
"I noticed that you were a little distracted today. Is anything wrong?"
Yes. Indeed there is, my good friend. I am so glad you asked.
My childhood friend is being a total prick, and I want to punch him in the face for it. Also, this guy that I do not like in THAT way is back, and I don't really know how I feel towards him.
I gazed downwards, and shook my head. "No, senpai."
"Are you sure?"
No, I am very, absolutely not sure.
"I'm sure."
"All right, then. But if there's anything bothering you, please share, okay? It won't do any good if you let your personal problems ruin the athletic aspect of your life, would it?"
"No…senpai."
"All right, you can go."
I nodded my thanks, and wandered over to my bag. I sighed heavily, twisted my hair up into a golden ponytail, and shouldered my belongings. Exhaustedly, I pulled out my music player, and inserted the earphones into my ears – obviously. I needed some music to soothe my soul...or something like that. I pressed the power button with a certain grace that made me feel just little bit better. To get happy over turning something on...was stupid.
I looked down at the screen, and arched an eyebrow at the song choice. The song displayed was sung by Vocaloid's GUMI, something called Childhood Blues. The time shown told me that I had listened to it earlier on, but had stopped in the middle of it. Shrugging carelessly, I played it from where it had stopped - I didn't want to leave something started uncompleted. The lilting melody filled my ears, and I carefully paid attention to the lyrics.
"There is something I found out after falling in love
I fell for you even more
I became serious about him, he was always on my mind
I'm not crying, I told you!
I gathered small fragments of courage
For fifty one days
I hope my feelings reach that sky
He has a sour look on his face
He looks uninterested
Anyway
If he hates it so much, wouldn't it be better
If he didn't hang out with me everyday? Jeez!
"It's getting dark and it's dangerous"
You're still treating me like a kid!?
"You won't keep it up for long, anyway"
Yeah, yeah, just watch me!
I wonder if I can be so relaxed because it's you
I hide my love and wish for it to come true
I wish my feelings reach him
Who consoled me every time I had my heart broken
Our puberty hit
And we drifted apart
We got taller and so did our line of sight
A lot of things started changing
It's so hard that we're childhood friends, I feel so uncomfortable
It's so embarrassing, ah…."
I immediately ripped the earphones from my ears, suddenly very aware that the song was describing my life. Now I didn't want to listen to music so much anymore. And that particular song had sounded so nice...
Stupid Natsu. Ruining songs that I like.
I tucked the music player back into my bag, and resolved to walk home in complete silence. I did not want to be reminded of the Great Salmon Head through beautiful songs, and the like. Especially when my relationship with him is less-than-beautiful.
Speaking of the Great Salmon Head, isn't that him crossing the street right now?
Or is the desperation in my love life making me hallucinate?
No.
It's definitely him.
He has headphones clamped over his ears, and his eyes are half closed. A thoughtful expression is engraved onto his facial features, and I can see his lips silently singing along with the song that he is listening to. The sun, not quite setting, but not quite up, either, shone on his pink hair, lighting it up like a rosy fire.
Natsu looked up, and spotted me examining him. A smile spread across his face.
He pulled down his headphones, and said, "Luce!"
What's up jerkity-jerk-jerk?
"Natsu."
"You're finished with practice?"
No. I'm just heading towards the direction to home because my senpais demanded me to run home, and rest before I came back.
"Yeah."
"How was it?"
I was scolded for being distracted because of you.
"Good…how was your date?"
Stupid, stupid me. Was I suddenly becoming masochistic?
Why couldn't I just be honest when I was with Natsu?
"Ah…um…" he murmured. He blushed, and looked away.
I felt unsettled. Why wasn't he answering me?
A horrible idea hit me.
"O-oh! I get it! You guys kissed!"
Say no. Please say no.
Instead of uttering a reply, the boy's face got even redder.
No.
F***ing.
Way.
No!
Inside, I'm having a gargantuan meltdown.
"So what?"
"Huh?"
Natsu looked directly at my face; he was back to looking extremely annoyed.
"It doesn't have anything to do with you if she and I DID kiss, does it?"
I felt hurt. His comment had cut me open like a sharp knife. Basically, Natsu was saying that he didn't need me meddling in his day-to-day events anymore, which could be translated to, "I don't need you."
"Yeah, okay then, Natsu." The statement sounded more bitter than I had intended it to be.
I turned to leave.
"Wait! Luce…"
I wanted very badly to just ignore him, and sprint home. To just run away to a park or something and practice my concentration for tennis or something. Instead, I willed myself to face the salmon-haired boy once more.
"What?"
This time, I kept my voice more level and reasonable. I debated on whether to throw a smile into the mix somewhere, but decided it would be too random.
"Look...I didn't mean it that way, all right? I just…don't want to talk about it, okay?"
Something inside of me snapped. Screw being level! Screw being reasonable! I had taken too much already! I was sick and tired of being so whiny and annoying over Natsu! It was time Lucy Heartfilia showed some of her kickass spirit again!
"Look Natsu," I said harshly. "I don't want to talk about it either, okay!? Do you think I even give a f*** about your love life? Because I don't! Frankly, you're just a dense bastard who can only care about himself, and what he gets! You don't pay attention to anything else, and that makes you f***ing stupid! You whine like a bitch, and you make fun of Taiga, and…and…you don't even talk to me like before anymore! Didn't we make a promise, Natsu!?"
He blinked, surprised my outburst. For a second, I thought he was going to apologize, but... "What promise?"
Oh…he did not just-!
"F*** you," I said, and sprinted the other way, away from home.
Where was I even going?
Red hair.
A smirk.
Mango flavor.
I was going to Sabertooth. And maybe Taiga wasn't even there anymore. Whatever. I could just cry myself to death in front of the school, and hope someone would find my body, and-
Hold it, Lucy Heartfilia! You are NOT dying over something moronic, stupid, doesn't- even-understand-love-until-the-last-minute Natsu Dragneel did to you. You are way better than that. Aren't you?
Of course you are.
You're Lucy Heartfilia, the one who punched Natsu in the face years ago, and-
"Ow!"
I had ran into a wall. Great.
The only bright side was that it was the corner you had to go around to get to Sabertooth. I put one foot forward, and-
Stopped.
I could hear HIS voice. It was slightly soft, but kind of loud. Which meant he was close, but not too close. He was just coming out of the school. This late? What was he doing? That guy, really...
That Taiga Matsumura.
And then, just as I was about to jump out, and rant about the never ending idiocies of Natsu Dragneel, and how I had oh so showed him up, I heard another voice pipe up.
"Thanks for helping me clean up the soccer clubroom, Taiga," a girl's tone said.
I peered around the wall in front of me. Taiga and a girl with short, silvery hair were positioned right in front of a crosswalk. The flame-haired boy was brushing his hair out of his face as he waved off the female's thanks.
"No prob. The smell was getting to me, anyways."
"But still," the girl said, and cocked her head, "thanks. I never expected to see you again after meeting you in fourth grade."
Wait. Fourth grade?
My mind was taken back to that rainy day. Talking to that redhead. Something about…moving on from Mayuka and getting the girl of his dreams?
There's this girl in Mayuka's school that's pretty hot.
She's nice, gentle, kind, and a bit of a nerd…but she's very, very pretty. I've known her since the fourth grade.
My heart felt like it was compressing like a sponge. It was also pounding loudly in my chest as I listened to Taiga bidding the girl good-bye. For a second, I felt like running away. I felt embarrassed to have expected ANYTHING from Taiga.
Hold on. What was I expecting from him anyways? Matsumura didn't even have a special place in my heart or anything. He was a friend who helped me when the going on tough. Nothing more. Nothing less. Right? So why was I doubting that so much right now?
I stepped out from my hiding place.
"Holy crap!" Taiga said, stumbling back. That ALSO reminded me of the rainy day back in middle school. "Lucy? What are you doing here?"
He arched an eyebrow. "Come to pick me up? Don't girlfriends only do that?"
I crossed my arms, and gazed sourly in the distance. "Still leading on girls?"
"Huh?"
"That girl…you're leading her on…"
"You mean Yukino? I wasn't leading her on! I just helped her clean up the soccer club's room, is all."
"Isn't that one of the various ways Taiga Matsumura leads females on?"
He rolled his eyes, and smirked. "So now you're an expert on my behavior?"
"Is that the girl you said was hot?"
"What?"
"Is that the girl you said was in Mayuka's middle school, and was hot, and nerdy, and very pretty, and you knew her since the fourth grade?"
Taiga blinked, and realization flickered across his face. "You still remember that?"
"Yeah. Why? I can't, or what?"
He stared at me for a few more moments, before an arrogant smile spread across his face. "Lucy…does that mean you're jeal-?"
"Shut up, Taiga!" I snapped. I glared at him, and he looked at me in surprise.
"All men are so stupid!" I shouted. "I hate you!"
Angrily, I stormed off.
How could Taiga have the nerve to even SUGGEST that I was jealous of him and that Yukino figure? He was as dense as Natsu was! To think I had even considered him to be of this planet – unlike that JERK OF A PERSON NATSU DRAGNEEL WHO IS FROM ANOTHER GALAXY ENTIRELY! Taiga was the same. Talking to me one moment, and turning around to flirt with another girl the next mo-
I rammed my knee into my house's front gate.
"F***!" I cried out, and slid down to the ground.
I dug my knuckles into the concrete as I realized tears were falling out of my eyes.
Why was I so pissed anyways?
I had acted like a total bitch towards Taiga. My hands grabbed onto locks of my hair, and pulled. How could I do that to him? He had done nothing but console a wretched, annoying me who was hung over a boy who didn't even like me romantically.
Why had I acted like that?
"Taiga Matsumura is MINE," I whispered. "He's MY love advice person. He's MY redhead. HE's MY flame-haired, arrogant bastard."
I am a jerk.
How could I be so possessive of Taiga and Natsu at the same time?
The next day at tennis practice, my focus had not improved. Once again, I was scolded by the upperclassman, and sent home on a sad note. Life was not working out for Lucy Heartfilia. I resolved to practice my tennis skills once I got home. Dad wasn't such a bad player, after all, and he did know some mean serving tricks that could be useful. Mom and I could even team up against Dad and Igneel. Some quality family time would make things a good deal more pleasant.
Eagerly, I made my way towards the school gate, rubbing my face in exhaustion. A bunch of girls were whispering, giggling, and gossiping at the front entrance, but I ignored them as I gracefully turned towards my neighborhood. Once I passed, the dispersed, still laughing at something unknown. The phrase "hot" and "cool" and "guy" was caught by me, but that only made the topic of their conversation more confusing and curious. At least, unti I had passed the threshold of the school.
Because out there was a very familiar person who was the epitome of hotness and coolness.
"Taiga!?" I said in total disbelief, taking in the undeniable appearance of the famous red-haired boy. He looked up at me, and he was…for the first time in his life, Taiga Matsumura was FLUSTERED. He stood up from the low wall he had been causally sitting on, and gave me a smirk – just for the heck of it, I suspect. The arrogant expression of his face fell, though, as he apparently realized what he was doing – whatever he was doing.
"Luce—I mean, uh, Lucy…" he said, scratching the back of his head. "Uh…hey?"
"What are you doing here?"
He looked around. "Uh...standing?"
I resisted the urge to facepalm myself. "No…sh*t, I meant…what are you doing here at my school waiting for me?"
Taiga smirked. "Aren't you jumping to conclusions thinking that I'm here for you?"
"I swear, Taiga…"
"Okay, look…I'm not here to tease you or anything like that," he said, "About yesterday…"
"Forget about yesterday," I mumbled. "It was nothing."
"Nothing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You said you hated me. That's not "nothing", Lucy."
"Well, I was kidding all right? Just a joke."
I started to walk away, but Taiga grabbed onto my wrist. "Then it's not funny."
"Taiga, let go."
"About yesterday, I'm sorry that I even suggested you were jealous about Yukino and me."
"All right then. Now let go."
"Because I know you'll never get jealous over anything I do with another girl."
I froze.
"What?"
"Okay, Lucy? You'll never be jealous of a love story between Taiga Matsumura and another girl."
I wrenched my hand free of his, and confronted him sourly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He sighed, and ruffled his hair with his hands. It was apparent that he was having a hard time saying what he wanted to say. "After Mayuka dumped me, I thought I would never find someone that I could love again."
I crossed my arms. "Not this again…"
"I was wrong, all right? The truth is…agh…you're not the one who's jealous…I am, okay? I've been jealous of you liking Natsu for a long time, now, okay? You get what I mean"
I blinked. "You mean...you like Natsu?"
He glared at me, and I raised my hands defensively.
"Hey, just shouting out ideas here."
He clenched his jaw, and continued reluctantly.
"I'm only going to announce this once, got it? So you better be listening, Blondie."
Taiga took a deep breath, and said, "I love you, Lucy Heartfilia."
The statement processed through my mind.
Taiga Matsumura, arrogant, smirking, redheaded Matsumura Taiga…LOVED ME!?
My mouth dropped open, and I dropped my bag.
The boy smirked. "Guess you heard me?"
And then I saw him.
My gaze was directed to something behind Taiga.
The flame-haired boy noticed and peered behind him as well.
Natsu Dragneel, the boy with the How-To-Be-A-Jerk expertise, was standing at the front gate. His face was slackened into a look pf pure shock and his cell phone was dangling from his right hand. Suddenly, as he finally noticed us staring at him, his eyebrows scrunched up, and his mouth turned down.
He was angry. His clenched fists, and scowling mouth said so.
With a direct gaze, and a loud voice, he screamed, "WHAT THE HELL, MATSUMURA!?"
There it is...the dreaded cliffhanger! Dun...dun...duuuun!
Anyways...VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: I have set up a poll on my profile concerning the relationship this story will end up with. (Example: TaigaXLucy, NatsuXLucy, etc.) So if you want your favorite couple to win! VOTE!
This was originally supposed to be a NaLu story, but a lot of you have started to like TaigaXLucy, but there are still a handful of you guys who want NAtsuXLucy in this story...so... I leave it up to you guys!
NOTE: If the poll is not yet posted when you visit my profile, then check back later! Because I really need help deciding what couple this story will end up with...