"Today, we will learn about various methods to refine metals," Macao told his class as he began writing,'Metallurgy' on the blackboard.
Lucy however couldn't concentrate on whatever Macao was telling as she was sitting in her chemistry class, extremely bored.
It had been more than a week and Lucy hadn't heard a word from Natsu. Not a call or a single text. It was as if Natsu had completely disappeared. Lucy slapped her forehead a little, trying to calm her down. Grandine was ill and Natsu was taking care of her. He must be tired at the end of the day so couldn't call her.
She wasn't jealous of her friends when they saw them together. Jellal and Erza had finally accepted their differences and started working on their relationship, Juvia and Gray were doing the same. Gajeel and Levy were taking slow steps to strengthen their relationship too. But what about her and Natsu? Would he still stick with her? His lack of reply was just making her head spin with different possibilities and she didn't know what to do. Couldn't he just send her a single text in the whole week saying he was okay?
What troubled her most was Wendy. Wendy was still smiling and talking to other people freely. Lucy wasn't sure whether Wendy was just smiling to make everyone less anxious about her or whether the little girl didn't actually care.
Wendy was a sweet girl and helped everyone as much as she could. No way in hell would she not be concerned about her own mother. And that left her more confused than ever. She noticed how Yukino was looking at her worriedly, and she quickly smiled at her, making the white haired girl less anxious.
Lucy had apologized to Sting for even doubting him about his intentions and Sting, though he was a little hurt, forgave her, understanding her situation. It wasn't anyone's fault that Raven Tail chose to mess with them.
Lucy stared at the last scribble on the bench. They were unable to find each other during the festival but Lucy hadn't given up hope. She knew she would find him. She wondered if Natsu would be jealous after knowing her and this mystery person's exchanges or would he just brush it off.
Lucy cleaned all the past scribbling and wrote down,"Well, we weren't able to track each other :("
Her mind went back to Natsu. Was he eating properly? Was he taking adequate amount of rest? Was he taking proper baths?
She sighed as she laid her head against the desk, her fingers slowly tapping the desk with her nails. She didn't fail to send him a text every morning and night, even though he didn't reply any of them.
Her mind was going crazy and she began taking deep breathes, recalling his last words before leaving. He loved her. He told her he did. There was no reason to be anxious. He could be slow and dense, did things on impulse, destroyed things but he was loyal and true to his word, someone who kept his promises.
She smiled a little on thinking about it, feeling instantly better. He would always love and protect her. All she had to do was wait for him to return.
Erza sighed as she sat down on an empty chair, rubbing her temples. Mirajane took a seat beside her, looking at her with concern.
"What's the matter, Erza?" The white haired girl asked while cleaning the papers on the table. Erza stopped her as she started cleaning herself,"Don't do my chores Mira. And nothing is the matter."
Mira chuckled a little and kept helping Erza despite the protests. Erza finally gave up as she spoke,"Being the President of Students council is tiring, Mira."
Mira chuckled a little as she cleaned the room which was used to hold meetings at school, saying,"Is it because the Masquerade party got cancelled? Everyone was super excited about it too."
Erza stopped cleaning as a sad smile graced her lips. Mira smiled too, knowing how excited the redhead was for the party. Erza sighed a little, thinking to say something but only ended up saying,"I hope Makarov Sir gets well soon."
Mira nodded her head absentmindedly as she watched all the Christmas preparation everyone had made since school reopened. Makarov had suddenly caught high fever and none of the students wanted to celebrate without their guardian. Mostly because no parent would allow their children to go to school on Christmas Eve on absence of the Principal. Magnolia High was not the quietest school in Fiore, everyone knew that.
Mira knew how hard Erza had worked to sort everything out. Purchasing masks, putting banners all over school as well as decorating the main auditorium. Suddenly, she clasped Erza's hands as she giggled, catching the redhead's attention.
"Mira, wh-"
"Just keep everything safe!" Mira answered, jumping up and down in excitement, and Erza could see her genuine smile,"We will have a masquerade party on Valentine's Day!"
Erza replied, a little taken back,"But thats far away!"
Mira nodded her head, still grinning,"I'm sure Makarov Sir is sad because the party got cancelled because of him. Moreover, having a masquerade party on Valentine's day! Won't it be wonderful?"
Erza could not help but agree that the plan was good. Why waste all the hardwork. She had to just keep the masks locked away for two months. And it would surely make the upcoming event a better one.
"I hope Master will be okay by then," the redhead sighed in her palms.
Mira put an assuring hand on her shoulder, saying,"Well, lets just decorate the school with everyone's help. Even when Master can't see it, I'm sure he would atleast want it to look good. No night parties however."
"Right."
Juvia was helping Gray to put Merry Christmas banner the entrance of the school, laughing at a joke he had cracked.
"And then I had to throw Lyon out of the house otherwise Ultear would've killed me!"
As Gray narrated that he watched how Juvia had one hand on her stomach and other one on her mouth as she laughed. He laughed along with her too.
Once the laughter died down, Juvia heard the bell and looked over to see Gray buttoning up his shirt which he had lost during the work. Juvia smiled warmly,"Lets go and have lunch, Gray-sama."
Gray looked over his shoulder and said,"We need to talk first. Lets go to the terrace."
Juvia could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Gray had taken her out on a date a week before and Juvia couldn't help but agree that it was the best one in her whole life. But Gray never said that he loved her, just gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek.
She didn't knew where that relationship stood. Were they just friends? Or something more? He hadn't asked her to be his girlfriend either.
"Are you coming?" Gray asked, shaking Juvia out of her thoughts. Juvia jogged up to him and began walking by his side, remembering Erza's words,"He is an idiot who doesn't talk to express how he feels. You can say if he likes you or not by the small things he does like small kisses or the light touches. It will take some time before he actually confesses."
Gray noticed how lost Juvia looked and sighed. Even on their date, he wanted to say how much he loved her but couldn't. That day at the bar, he had openly declared his love for her, then why was saying it to her personally so tough?
Juvia stopped walking as they reached the terrace and Gray motioned her to sit beside him. She followed his lead and sat on a long bench, beside Gray as the place overlooked the whole school.
There was a minute of silence and Juvia finally broke it,"You needed to talk to Juvia?"
Gray looked away, flustered,"Yeah."
"Juvia is listening."
Gray scratched the back of his neck as he noticed how Juvia was looking at him expectingly. He cleared his throat as he started,"You know how Ur died when I was young, right?" Juvia nodded and Gray continued,"She taught me when I was in kindergarten. Lyon and I were under her care since she found us alone and terrified after our family had been killed by the man named Deliora."
"Gray-sama," Juvia softly spoke as she held his shaking hands, running her fingers over his knuckles.
"Ultear wasn't happy at all. She hated us both and Ur wasn't able to do anything about it," Gray narrated and Juvia pulled his head into her lap, stroking his hair gently to calm him down.
"Things turned more ugly when Ur died due to a car accident. Ultear still blamed us back then, treating us as ill luck."
"But she seems so nice now," Juvia asked.
Gray sighed, turning a little as he draped his eyes with his left hand,"Yes. Because she found Ur's diary or something. She never told me what she had read but it was enough for her to stop hating us."
"Is that why you don't like to share your feelings much? Because you were hurt when you were a kid?" Juvia softly asked and her breath hitched when Gray smiled a little, nodding.
"Maybe. I just couldn't open up and be true to my feelings. But I wasn't oblivious. You know, I had a crush on Erza for a long time," he chuckled, but stopped soon when he felt Juvia stiffen, her hands frozen in his hair.
He quickly added,"But its over now!"
"Oh."
Gray's heart stopped when he heard that simple word. Juvia was hurt.
"Gray-sama?"
"Yeah?"
"If you are going to tell Juvia that you still have feelings for Erza-san, stop. Juvia can't..."
Though she stopped mid sentence, it didn't take an expert to know what was coming next. He slowly cupped her cheek and chuckled,"You're one crazy woman. I thought I made my feelings clear at Fairy Tail Bar."
Juvia bit her lip, her eyes turning glossy,"Juvia isn't sure. Her previous boyfriend also told her that he loved her but left. Juvia just doesn't know."
"He must be stupid then."
"What?"
"Leaving a girl like you. I mean look at you, you're beautiful and loyal. You stayed by my side even when I didn't reciprocate your feelings. Accepting rejection and still having the same, strong feeling for the person isn't easy."
"Gray-sama..."
Gray slowly wiped away her tears as he pressed a small kiss on her forehead,"We both are messed up. Won't you fix me Juvia? Won't you allow me to fix you?"
Juvia stared at Gray for a second and flung her arms around him, sobbing softly as she repeated yes over and over.
Gray wrapped his arms around her petite body as he whispered,"Just give me time, 'kay? I'm not that good with relationships."
"Yes. Take your time."
Staring at her phone for hundredth time that day, Lucy sighed when she didn't receive any text from Natsu. This actions were not unnoticed by Levy, who excused herself from Gajeel and without any word, pulled Lucy by her arm, taking her to a empty classroom.
Lucy was dumbly following her short friend, only asking what had gotten her so fired up.
Levy glared at her, making the blonde flinch,"Okay Lu-chan, talk."
The blond stared at her for a while before crooking her head sideways, asking,"What?"
"What's gotten into you? You are never this distracted. You keep staring at your phone, sighing to yourself and don't even get me started on how tired you look nowadays!"
Hearing those words, Lucy could not help but think that how perceptive Levy was. Rubbing her note as a sign of embarrassment, Lucy squeaked,"I... just..."
Levy sighed, rubbing her forehead,"Don't tell me it has something to do with Natsu."
Head rose up in Lucy's cheeks as she waved her hands defensively,"W-what! What gave you that idea?"
Levy slapped her forehead as a horrifying look appeared on her face,"It's true? Right?"
Lucy bit her lip. And simply nodded.
"What do you even know about him!" Levy yelled when Lucy nodded. The blonde just couldn't make out why Levy looked so...terrified.
"Lu-chan! Its not my territory to tell you about him, but just stay away. I don't want you to be hurt," Levy said as she enveloped the confused girl in a hug.
"What? Is Natsu dangerous? But he is our friend, right?"
"He is our friend. And it's not Natsu you should be afraid of. Its related to his past," Levy spoke.
Lucy's mind was already confused before but now she was totally blank. Her Natsu was bad news? No way! Yeah he landed in trouble for his stupid pranks but that didn't mean he was a bad omen.
"Levy, just tell me," Lucy asked her mind still revolving around Levy's words,"Will Natsu hurt me?"
"Not willingly. He is overprotective of all his friends," she answered. Lucy sighed in relief as she smiled at Levy and answered,"Then I'm not cutting my ties with Natsu. Everyone has a broken past. And knowing Natsu, he will laugh it off if I say I've nothing to do with him and end up in my apartment again. And call me weird too. If it has something to do with his past, I don't care. He hasn't told me much about himself but so have I. I can't judge him on that."
Levy nodded, thinking,'I hope things don't turn ugly. You really love him to never let him go.'
Levy's words caught up to her when Lucy reached home. Natsu was hiding something about his past. And Lucy knew it was horribly since Levy warned her to stay away from him or get emotionally attached to him.
But, wasn't she doing the same? She hadn't told him that her parents were The Heartfilia's, whose railway coaches he hated with passion. She hadn't told him that her family was in the top ten richest family list. She didn't tell him that after the death of her parents, it was Capricorn and his team who was taking care of the business whose 10% got credited in her account while some of it when to company finance, some to charity and other part to pay wages of workers.
But she wasn't hiding, right? She was just making sure Natsu or any of her friends were not using her for money. Now that she was sure of it, she could freely tell everyone who she was.
But if what Levy said was right, then Natsu sure was hiding something which could damage her.
He isn't some psychopath, right?
A sudden idea occurred to Lucy to clear all her doubts.
She fished out her phone from her school bag and tapped on the screen, unlocking it.
I'll prove that Natsu can be trusted, just watch and have faith, Levy.
She dialled the number she was looking for and took a deep breath. Her heart beat increased with each ring and her teeth unconsciously began biting her lower lip.
He will never lie to me. He told me that he loves me. He will never lie.
Her heart dropped when the phone went unanswered. Slapping her cheeks to make up her mind to call that person again, she picked up her phone and gave a sudden yelp when she found the person she was trying to call had called her back.
"Heya! Did you call Lucy?" The person from the other end said and Lucy breathed out, replying,"Yup."
"You need something?"
"How is Grandine, Wendy?"
Silence.
When Lucy didn't hear an answer for a long four seconds, she thought that the network had betrayed her.
"Hey, Wendy?"
"What is this? Are you joking? Please tell me you're!"
Lucy couldn't understand what Wendy was saying. The blunette's voice had dropped and she sounded broken and offended. Not knowing what was going on, she asked again,"Wendy?"
The girl on the other end choked on a sob as she answered,"Grandine died a few years back. Its Porlyusica, Grandine's twin who is taking care of me."
With every word Wendy said, Lucy could feel her heart dropping into bottomless abyss of darkness. Natsu lied? She was sure he wrote Grandine!
"Is she sick?" Lucy said and crossed her fingers, hoping for Natsu to jynx up the names.
"No," Wendy sounded a little confused now,"She is fine and currently at Alvarez for a seminar. She is a doctor you know."
"Oh. I'll talk to you later."
"Lucy, wait!"
Lucy disconnected her phone and slumped on the ground. She couldn't believe what Wendy said. Natsu lied? Why lie to her? Why lie when he knew she would never question him anything!
She didn't knew for how long she had been crying. An hour? She wiped away her tears as she got up and quickly unlocked her phone, tapping her password and logging into Google.
He is our friend. And it's not Natsu you should be afraid of. Its related to his past.
Levy's words rang in her ears as she quickly typed up 'Dragneel' in the search button.
And the results were not at all sweet to look at.
She couldn't believe what she had read. It was as if she had been slapped in the face. By Natsu. And hard. Natsu was hiding this? She knew this information wouldn't have caused her to break friendship with him but him hiding it? Didn't he trust her? Why did he always take the path with left her devastated? Losing him was her greatest nightmare now and she tried to do her best to keep trusting him but now! A lone tear escaped her eyes as she stared at the phone in her hand, not knowing what to think anymore.
She stayed motionless for a while and stirred out of her thoughts when she got a text message from Gray in their group message chat.
It read,
"Natsu will be there at school tomorrow. I can finally beat his ass!"
For the first time since she had befriended Natsu, she was not looking forward to meeting him.
But she knew she had too. She didn't care about the news and still hoped that he must have a good reason for hiding everything. All she wanted was to talk and hear how weird she was for not trusting him.
However, she just couldn't understand why Natsu chose Gray and told him he would be back soon instead of her. All she could do now was cling to that flickering ray of hope.
Ahh! That was hard. Way too hard!
Well thanks everyone for the reviews! I really really appreciate every single review and would've replied but I'm ill. I wasn't going to upload today but somehow managed to proofread and get this up. Now my eyes are burning now!
Well, read, review and follow!
Thanks for the love!
Oh, and if you want, please take a look at my another Nalu story, Bonds!
~darkestlightofhope
