TO MY READERS: I truly apologize for not having uploaded a chapter last week. I've been going through a pretty rough time recently but I promise to keep writing for all of you. And, to make up for missing last Monday, there will be a chapter uploaded tonight and another on Wednesday. I hope you guys enjoy this weeks installments and after this week, I will go back to uploading between Monday nights and Tuesday mornings. Thank you for sticking around; it means so, so, so much to me!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN any of the characters or places mentioned in this story. It all belongs to the original creator, Hiro Mashima.

XI - A Heart Blooms

"Natsu…" Lucy said in a warning tone.

"Just gimme a second, Layla," he replied, focusing all his attention on the metal balls he had hovering underneath Lucy's feet. But it wasn't the metal spheres lifting her off the ground that was making Lucy nervous; in fact, she had come to enjoy floating in the air since she and Natsu started working on their new routine two days before. It was the hot spheres he had lit under her feet which were protected by layers of the fire-proof sleeves awkwardly pulled up and folded around her feet and ankles. Though she had put on four of them prior to their rehearsal, the heat from the charcoal balls glued to the now fire retardant metal spheres was causing Lucy to feel uncomfortable.

"Natsu, please," she continued.

"Layla." Natsu had become very competitive since Gray challenged him to make an act exactly like his and Juvia's. It had already been two days since they made the bet and Lucy and Natsu had only just begun the trials with fire. Lucy had been nervous enough already since the only way they could make it appear like she was "on fire" was by creating a fire-proof layer over the metal spheres and pasting the charcoal on them.

Day one of fire and Lucy knew if they kept at this she would end up getting burned.

When the fire from the charcoal licked dangerously close to Lucy's left shin, she let out a shriek and raised her arms upward, kicking her leg to get it away from the flame. Following the sudden movement, Lucy saw the metal spheres were struggling under Natsu's command to keep her from falling on the floor. Finding it hard to regain her balance, her body slowly began to lean backwards, arms flailing. Bracing herself for the fall, she closed her eyes but to her surprise she didn't feel the hard impact of the wood floor on her back. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found Natsu had caught her at the last minute in his arms, her body clenched inward.

"Natsu…" she said, looking up into his eyes. But he wasn't paying any attention to her; he was staring in shock as the metal spheres dropped to the floor, the charcoal catching the stage on fire.

"Shit!" he shouted, gently placing Lucy on her feet and running to the right of the stage behind them to grab the fire extinguisher. Lucy jumped back a few feet as the fire sought out the wood and began to grow. Natsu quickly yanked the pin and pointed the nozzle at the flame, pulling the trigger to release the white foam.

Lucy brought up her arms in front of her face to prevent the splattering white foam from getting on her face or in her eyes and when she lowered them to see the damage, her eyes widened in disbelief. A nice circle of burned and blackened wood now resided in the middle of the stage, its edges seemingly razor sharp from the fire's outstretched fingers. She glanced at Natsu a few inches in front of her who pulled his fingers through his long hair, breathing out in an exasperated sigh.

"Damn," he said, walking towards the steaming spot and staring down at the damage. He gently pressed his boot down on it and lifted it up immediately when the wood creaked and cracked in protest. The stage was now ruined.

"I'm sorry, Natsu," Lucy said, looking down at her hands which were folded in front of her. She slowly lifted her eyes to him as he stared at the mark.

"No, it's not your fault. I should've stopped when you told me to. I was too caught up in the bet and I forgot your safety comes first when we do this," he said.

"Still," Lucy continued. "I should have a little more faith in you." Natsu chuckled and turned around to replace the extinguisher over in its red box.

"It's alright," he said, coming to stand next to her. "Happy had a hard time getting used to it, too."

"What about Happy?" Natsu and Lucy turned to the voice and spotted Happy walking towards them, rubbing his eyes. His short blue hair was a mess from sleep and it almost appeared as if he had cat ears as he made his way towards the two.

"Ah, morning, Happy," Natsu said with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest as his sleepy friend reached them. It was already ten o'clock in the morning but Happy had decided to sleep in while Natsu and Lucy worked together on their new routine. He was now only just waking up, groggy and clearly wanting to crawl back in his couch.

"I was just telling Layla how hard it was for you to get used to using real fire in our shows," Natsu explained.

"Oh, yeah," Happy replied.

"So it was difficult?" Lucy asked, the reassurance helping her to feel less angry at herself for not doing well right off the bat.

"Definitely. It took me a while to get used to it but now I'm great!" he said, standing taller and placing fists on his hips as he looked up. Natsu laughed.

"You'll still need a little more work to be as good as your teacher," he said heartily. They both looked like they were about to start a war of words so Lucy interjected before things could escalate.

"Anyways!" she said loudly, looking at Happy. "What are doing up so early? I thought you were going to sleep in for a while."

"I did, but I woke up a few minutes ago from your screaming and decided I would go visit Wendy and Carla," he said.

"Don't you mean just to see Carla?" Natsu said in a taunting tone with a smirk on his lips. Happy glared at his friend but didn't give in.

"I came out here to see if you maybe wanted to go see them with me," he said to Lucy.

"I would love to," she replied, glancing at Natsu who shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine with me. I think we should take a break anyways, but come back after lunch," he said. "Hopefully there'll be some way we can fix this mess." Natsu, Happy, and Lucy all glanced at the floor with its awful looking black mark smack dab in its middle. It would take a while before it would be fixed again—Lucy knew that for sure—but where would Natsu perform his regular performances until then?

Happy came beside Lucy with a smile and motioned for her to follow him outside the tent. The two jogged down from the stage and headed towards the exit. Lucy allowed herself to glance at Natsu who was already heading to the back of the stage, most likely to take a nap after having risen so early in the morning.

Having retracted the curtain and upon stepping outside, Happy broke into a run, practically leaving Lucy in the dust before she caught on and kicked herself into high gear. Suddenly she was running only a foot behind the blue-haired boy, zipping behind, between, and in front of the alleyway of tents. A few times, Lucy had to come to heart-stopping skids to prevent a collision with other people who were moving around with crates and props for the performers. At one point she had to make such a hard left, her right foot slipped out from underneath her and she almost fell on the sandy ground. Luckily, she was able to ride the skid long enough to pick herself back up again and continue on with the run, laughing so hard it nearly made it impossible to catch her breath.

Lucy had never felt so alive and carefree. It felt like something was blooming inside her chest: something good and new she didn't know still existed within her. Like a sakura tree blooming in the springtime.

Though she had lost him for a moment after her near fall, Lucy came to find Happy had stopped in front of a sparkling pink tent with a sign that read The Sky Sisters in swirling dark blue against a light pink backdrop. Lucy allowed herself to slow down to a jog as she came closer to the structure, marveling at how the late morning sun made the whole thing shimmer like a gem. It was absolutely stunning; quite possibly the most beautiful tent she'd seen.

"We're here," Happy said with a smile, facing the opening of the tent and flipping the fabric back to allow them admission. Lucy followed and stepped inside, taking immediate notice the tent was very different from the other tents she had been in before. Instead of the seats for the audience facing the stage straight on, they were arranged around a wooden circular fence encasing a large arena with a net set in the middle. As she took everything in she also saw there were two trapeze bars hanging from the ceiling, swinging gently as if they had just recently been used. Though on the outside the tent did not look that much bigger than the others, its size seemed to increase in the interior.

"Wendy! Carla!" Happy called, walking down the middle of the foremost seats towards the wooden fence. Lucy came up beside him and saw a black curtain hanging at the far end of the arena where the backstage was most likely located. Stopping in front of the fence, Lucy saw it came up to only her waist, an easy obstacle for anyone to simply climb over; including Happy. He lifted himself over the fence by his arms, sat down on the edge, and jumped down onto the other side. Though Lucy opened her mouth to protest, Happy gestured for her to follow.

"C'mon, it's alright," he said. "I do this all the time." Lucy smiled curiously at the young boy and raised her leg to swing it over the fence and join her friend. They walked to the middle of the enclosed area where the large net was situated and Happy continued to yell for his companions.

"Wendy! Carla! I brought Layla with me! She wants to see what you guys do! Come on out!" he shouted, a bit more loudly.

"Layla's here?!" asked an excited voice from above. Lucy and Happy snapped their heads up to the ceiling where they saw both Wendy and Carla sitting on a metal ramp, their legs swinging off the edge and their arms resting on one of the railings. Lucy was surprised she hadn't noticed the two when she spotted the trapeze bars.

"Hello," Lucy said, waving to the girls.

"We'll be right down," replied the same voice. One of them immediately stood up and ran to the end of the ramp on the right side where one of the bars hung. In better lighting Lucy recognized the girl as Wendy, the dark blue-haired girl she had met during breakfast on her first day at the circus. She appeared to Lucy to be the youngest of the troupe.

"C'mon, Carla," Wendy said. "It would be rude to ignore our guests."

"Well, I'd say it was quite rude for them to enter without being invited," replied a snotty sounding voice. Lucy turned her head back to where Wendy had just sat up from and saw the second girl still seated comfortably on the ramp.

"You haven't met Layla yet, though," Wendy pointed out. The second figure sighed and finally stood, going in the opposite direction as Wendy to her respective bar. When the two girls reached their rods, they grabbed on tight and began to swing forward. Following their movements, the metal chains started to lower them down. But the two girls decided not to waste the opportunity to show off.

Swinging their legs harder and faster, the bars stopped descending about halfway in the air and hovered their occupants over the net as they began their performance. Wendy was the first to go, bringing her legs up behind her in a graceful movement and lowering her abdomen over the slim bar. Finding her balance she slowly released her arms from the rod and brought them behind her in a graceful sweep, allowing herself to swing back and forth on the trapeze like a bird in flight with legs raised up, straight and tight together. After a few minutes, Wendy brought her arms in front of her and grabbed the bar again, waiting until the trapeze stopped swinging. Once it slowed down enough she lifted herself up into a handstand on the bar, relying completely on her arm strength to keep from falling onto the net below. Upon witnessing the spectacle, Lucy couldn't help but applaud.

Wendy wasn't yet finished, however. Bending her elbows and dipping her body forward, she let go of the bar and Lucy let out a frightened yelp, anticipating the girl's demise. To her surprise though Wendy was still in the air, holding onto the bar by her knees. Lucy clapped again and Happy joined in excitedly.

Using her upper body, Wendy began swinging the trapeze once again towards Carla who had somehow come to stand on her bar like it was a swing. Still gripping the chains on either side of her, Carla brought her toes behind her to the edge of the thin bar and allowed herself to fall down the back of the trapeze. Releasing the chains quickly her hands soon took hold of the bar again before she could fall too far below the contraption. Making use of the trapeze's motion, Carla began to swing her body forward until she gained enough momentum to flip herself over the trapeze in a circle. Going faster and faster and waiting until the trapeze pulled backwards on its swing, Carla suddenly released the bar and flew face forward at Wendy who held out her arms in anticipation of her friend's arrival.

As Carla flew through the air, she arched her body in the same form as Wendy when she was balanced on the trapeze, as graceful and stable as if she weren't hovering over her deathbed. Right when Wendy swung herself forward, Carla brought her arms from behind her for Wendy to grab. Clenching the bar as tightly as she could under her knees, Wendy took hold of her friend and they began to swing on the same trapeze together. Lucy and Happy both clapped fervently, preparing themselves for the next part of the routine.

As Wendy moved the trapeze to and fro, Carla began to gain her own speed by swinging her legs faster than her partner's bar. Right as the two reached the middle point of where the trapeze swung forward, Carla capitulated herself up into the air while Wendy lifted her up as far as she could in her position. Rising into the air, Carla straightened herself to practically a point until gravity began to take effect on her, pushing her back towards the ground. Bending at her waist, Carla started her descent while Wendy swung backwards and forced a large push to send her flying forward in order to save her friend. Arms outstretched, Carla awaited for Wendy to take her hands and they both came together again but only for another brief moment.

Swinging backwards, Wendy suddenly lifted her left leg and placed both her and Carla's weight onto the right side of the trapeze. Lucy brought her hands up to her chest, worried the trapeze would tilt too far and cause them both to slid right off the bar. But to her surprise, the trapeze moved to the left so the two girls faced Happy and Lucy as they swung back and forth. Once the contraption situated itself, Wendy threw Carla back into the air and swung herself over the bar to follow her friend. The two flew through the air like birds with their arms stretched like wings and their legs poised perfectly behind them, pausing in the air until the ground came close enough that they could crunch their upper bodies towards their knees with their legs straight to perform their front flips. Sensing the ground was getting closer, the girls pulled out at the exact same time and landed on bent knees, arms extended outward, with large smiles on their faces.

"Bravo!" Lucy bellowed, clapping as loudly as she could. Happy applauded enthusiastically as well but, when Wendy went to straighten up, she lost her footing and fell to the side, collapsing in the sand.

"Wendy!" Carla shouted, rushing to her friend's side.

"I'm alright," she said reassuringly as Lucy and Happy came to stand beside her. Coming closer to the girl, Lucy noticed her cheeks had became extremely red from receiving so much attention.

"Just give her some room," Lucy advised, pulling on Happy's shoulder to get him to back up.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt, Wendy?" Carla asked. Glancing at the second half of the two person act, Lucy noticed the young girl was stunningly beautiful: she had snow-white hair that came down just below her shoulders and large light brown eyes outlined by thick eyelashes. Though both girls wore the same outfit—black leotards with white tights—Carla had pulled her side bangs back with a small black pin shaped in the head of a cat with penetrating yellow eyes. Both Wendy and Carla were incredibly beautiful girls, made to perform and create spectacles to amaze the public.

"I'm sure," Wendy said, slowly beginning to lift herself off the ground. "I just lost my footing, that's all." Both Carla and Lucy approached either side of Wendy and gently helped to get her out of the sand. Standing once again, Lucy smiled and gushed at the Sky Sisters.

"That was incredible!" she said. "The way you two practically made gravity work for you instead of against you was absolutely mind blowing! How long did that routine take?"

"It's simply just a matter of balance and finding your center," Carla explained. "This particular act only took us about a month to get down and we began showcasing it just this summer. It was very difficult at first but we were able to get the hang of it."

"Carla is a great partner and coach," Wendy piped in. The girls both turned to each other and smiled widely.

"I can't believe I haven't gotten the chance to see your acts," Lucy continued. "I would love to see it live."

"You should come one night!" Wendy said excitedly. "We'll make sure to save you a good seat."

"That would be amazing," Lucy said in earnest. "But Happy came here to say hello and invited me to tag along." The three girls turned towards the boy who looked up at them with a large smile.

"Actually, Natsu asked me earlier this morning to come here and request something of you girls," he said. Lucy stared at Happy in confusion as he went on. "He wants to know if you both would have the time to teach Layla some basic acrobatics. Ya' know, the back and front flips, maybe teach them both how to do side aerials and stuff. He knows your busy with your own performances but he wanted professionals to teach Layla instead of himself."

"We'd love to!" Wendy gushed. "We don't really have anything new we wanted to work on while we were here so we could most definitely give you both some lessons," she said to Lucy.

"That would be wonderful," Lucy replied.

"But gymnastics is not easy," Carla said warningly. "It's going to take some time and you most definitely will not come away unscathed. If you're ready to really commit to learning something as difficult as gymnastics—with no background, I presume—Wendy and I would be more than happy to offer our time."

"Thank you!" Lucy said.

"Alright, great," Happy replied. "I'll let Natsu know." Lucy and Wendy glanced at each other, laughing with eagerness.

"Sure, it seems like all fun and games now," Carla said with a small smile. After a while though, she became serious and stepped between the two girls with arms crossed.

"We'll want you and Natsu to be here tomorrow morning at nine sharp," she said sternly. "We'll begin with some simple warmups to get your body ready and then the real work begins."

"Don't scare her, Carla," Wendy said with a knowing smile. "Gymnastics might be hard work but its also enjoyable." Carla let out a short laugh.

"I wonder if Natsu feels the same," she countered. "I think that boy might've hit his head one too many times in our lessons."

"I promise we'll be here on time," Lucy said. "I look forward to learning from you both." Wendy smiled and Carla allowed for a small smile to stretch over her lips.

"I'm sure you do. For now," she said. "But I look forward to teaching you. This'll be fun. Make sure to get a good night's sleep. The real work starts tomorrow morning."

From Carla's teacher-like tone and brief warnings, Lucy knew she was in for a whole new world of hurt when her training began tomorrow morning.

A/N: Please don't forget to leave a review! I sincerely enjoy hearing from you guys and it gives me that much more inspiration to continue on with my writing. I appreciate every single review I get and I love to know what you all are thinking after reading every chapter. 3