Previously:
"I decided... that I'm going to tell Natsu the truth."
Levy paused mid-bite, and immediately choked when she tried to swallow the chicken. Lucy panicked and gave her a glass of water, rubbing her friend's back. Levy grabbed the glass of water and quickly downed its contents.
"Are you, alright?", Lucy worriedly asked as Levy coughed a bit.
"Sorry, I thought I heard you say, that you're going to tell Natsu the truth, crazy right?"
"Uhm... I did say that."
"Oh... WHAT THE HELL, LUCY?"
Chapter 12 (Carousel)
Lucy fidgeted on her seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable because of her friend's reaction.
"Uhh... do you think it's a bad idea?"
"It is.", Levy replied easily, but the truth was, she was shaken by the sudden declaration from her friend. She was scared that somehow, she felt like she was already expecting that she would hear those words from her someday. That at the moment Lucy tries to reason out with her, she wasn't even going to object with the idea.
Even if it could lead to her friend getting hurt, even if it could lead to Lucy's heart getting broken again.
And it was driving her insane, because for Levy, telling Natsu the truth wasn't just admitting that they lied.
For her, it meant that she was willing to let Natsu enter their lives again. That she would disregard the pain that Lucy had been through after he suddenly left. That she was betraying the Lucy that was left at the altar two and a half years ago. The one who continued to believe that he would return, only to cry herself to sleep after realizing that he wouldn't.
That was why she couldn't easily accept it. No matter what her heart says now.
The wound that was left was too deep, and the scar is still there. Reminding them of the ghost of pain like it just happened yesterday. It was an ugly sight that doesn't want to be ignored.
"Levy..."
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I'm tired, let's talk about this tomorrow.", she said, trying to keep her voice even as she felt like she was on the verge of crying. She knew that she doesn't really have a say in this. Lucy could do what she wanted. She was already an adult and she could freely make her own decisions.
Just like how she, herself, had decided on her situation with Gajeel.
"Levy-"
"Tomorrow okay? We'll talk about it tomorrow.", she stood up and made her way to leave. She didn't dare to look back as her eyes got blurry with unshed tears.
"Levy-chan..."
"Lucy, just drop it for now, okay?!", she said more forcefully. Feeling a little irritated at how slow her friend was picking up that she didn't want to talk.
"But Levy-chan, that's the way to the basement. What are you going to do there? Our rooms are to your left upstairs."
Levy's cheeks brightened up in embarassment and she quickly wiped her excess tears away before taking a turn and making a beeline upstairs to her room.
Stupid Lucy! Ruining the mood! Mou, that was so embarassing!
"Don't forget to brush you teeth!", she heard her shout downstairs.
"I know!", she exclaimed and made her way to her bathroom with a small smile lingering on her lips.
"I saw Lucy, today."
"I saw Lucy, today."
"I saw Lucy, today... and I talked to her."
Natsu couldn't remember how many times he had said it. Nor did he realize how much time he had spent staring at the single glow-in-the-dark star on his ceiling.
It was a peaceful night for Natsu. Albeit a bit lonely because he was alone; his friends were busy chasing their own dreams.
Four months back, they decided not to live together anymore. He wouldn't admit it outloud, but he missed their company. A month ago he went back to Magnolia, and visited his grandpa-figure, Makarov. Makarov is currently running an agency, or more popularly called 'Guild', called Fairy Tail who accepts different kinds of job.
He decided to work there for the mean time as he still wasn't sure what his next step should be. Working took his mind off of things and he did enjoy meeting various people.
On nights, he would take a stroll. Just enjoying the beauty of Magnolia under the moonlight and the soft glow of the stars. One night, he was passing by the South Gate Park when he saw stars glowing softly inside a plastic bag, they were actually just glow-in-the-dark star-shaped plastic. He bought them for 50 jewels, and spent his night peeling off the double-sided tape on the back of each stars and standing on a chair to paste it on his ceiling.
Every night after that, was spent by looking at the stars, until all but one, completely faded into darkness. For some reason, he felt like the stars were like his hope. At first it shone brightly, not wanting to be swallowed by darkened night, but as time passed by, it slowly lost it's light.
He lifted his hand and tried to reached out for the single star left. And for the fifth time that night, his mind was recalling his earlier encounter with Lucy.
"Please... don't lose your light, 'cause I don't want to give up... not yet."
He clenched his fist and slowly his eyes closed as he slowly drifted to sleep, wishing for a dream of a happy future.
"Not yet."
Juvia was crying again. She didn't know why, but tears were falling from her eyes.
It was just... sad.
The just woke up from her sleep and her memories were a bit hazy. She opened her eyes and her senses were able to register that she was inside a car, and outside there was a heavy rain. She could hear the howls of the wind and see the droplets of water racing their way to the bottom of the car's glass window.
It was sad.
She was sad.
And she felt that they were sad too.
"Juvia."
She closed her eyes once again, as her heart warmed at the sound of his voice. It was the voice of the man who showed her the bluest sky. Just his voice, was enough to stop her tears from falling.
"Juvia."
She heard it again, and for a moment she wondered why it felt so real. Maybe it was because she was always imagining hearing his voice, that it became more and more realistic to her ears.
She heard shuffling noises beside her and she cracked one eye open the moment she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.
Juvia closed her eye once again then opened both, she was surprised to meet his dark blue eyes once again. She blinked twice to see if it'd he'd suddenly disappear, her hand quickly shooting up to hold his cheeks; as if to assure herself that he was real. His cheeks were warm against her palm and her eyes widened for a fraction at her realization.
"Gray-sama?", she questioned, her hands curling a little and her lips opening in shock.
"Juvia? Are you awake now?", he asked worriedly, and that was when it all came in flashes, memories of what happened earlier.
How she was suddenly dragged into a double date with Lyon, where apparently, the other pair was Chelia and Gray.
She was so upset that during their dinner she accidentally drank too much wine.
She didn't expect that she would end up in this situation with Gray though.
A chill went up her spine and blush coated her cheeks as her mind processed just how close she was to Gray. Her heart pounded fast in her chest as she thought of different scenarios on how it would play out.
They would reconcile.
Gray would confess his love for her.
They would get married or...
The of them, alone in the car together so maybe... maybe...
"Juvia? Are you alright? Are you cold?", she heard Gray asked, and the moment he took off his jacket, her mind swirled and she swears that she could feel steam coming out of her ears at how hot she was feeling!
She watched as Gray pushed the button to remove her seatbelt, and gently placed his jacket on her shoulders.
He placed his hand on her forehead and Juvia could vaguely hear him panic at her temperature as she slowly drifted to dreamland.
Ah, this situation is nice too.
"Thank you... Gray...-sama."
"Juvia, I..."
...a dream.
Juvia opened her eyes and quickly closed them again when all she saw was a white ceiling. She let out a groan and bit on the navy blue blanket as she recalled her dream.
"Juvia just have to wake up before the kiss! Why can't she wake up after the kiss!", she comically sobbed as she gripped her blanket closer to her chest. She felt frustrated at suddenly waking up from a wonderful dream of her grand wedding with Gray.
She let out a heavy sigh and released the wrinkled blanket from her tight grip.
"Or it could just be real instead of a dream.", she murmured, her hands moving to cover face of her face in defeat. She let out a sigh and as she scanned her surrounding her heart started beating faster at the realization that she was not in her room.
She shot up and quickly looked if she still had clothes on. She really didn't want to make a mistake of sleeping with somebody she didn't know.
"Phew. Juvia's only for Gray-sama.", she murmured to herself. She took a deep breath and decided to get out of bed to know whose house she was in and-...
(She placed a hand in front of her mouth and exhaled, cringing at how badly it smelled)
...ask if she could take a bath.
Unlike in all TV dramas that she watched, she was still in the same clothes she was wearing the night before. Don't they change the clothes so she would feel more comfortable or something? Then tell her that they changed it with eyes closed as if it is possible?
Not that she wanted some stranger to change her clothes! (Juvia's only for Gray-sama!) She was already on edge after waking up in another person's house... and judging by the masculine smell and exquisite glass figures decorating the room...
Was it Lyon?
She remembered going on a date with him last night. She already made it clear for Lyon that they're only friends but last night he asked her to accompany him and she couldn't really refuse. So she went on a double date and didn't expect to see Gray going with Chelia.
She remembered drinking a lot of wine to express her displeasure and she really couldn't remember what happened after that.
"Mou, Juvia's so stupid.", she groaned.
Teary-eyed and now sporting a pout on her lips, she placed a hand on the knob and slowly turned it to open the door. She peeked a little and found a person standing by the window, he looked like he was washing the dishes or something.
Juvia squinted at the bright light coming from the windows and took a step forward to where he was. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the bright light and called out to the person, who she assumed, took her home.
"Lyon...-sama?"
The man froze, and Juvia watched as he wiped his hands to a nearby towel. Her eyes widened when he stepped out of the light and faced her.
"Do I really look like my brother that much? We're just adopted siblings though."
"G-Gray-sama!?"
Somebody call the ambulance because Juvia thinks her heart had stopped.
.
.
.
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go,
Will I catch up to love? I could never tell, I know,
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I,
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel~
When Lucy woke up, Levy wasn't there. All she found was a prepared meal and a pink sticky note on the fridge.
Though she was really thankful for the meal that the bluenette whipped up before she went out, but she was hoping that she could talk to Levy that day.
She shrugged and her mouth watered at the sight of bacon and egg. Lots of calories? Yes. It was delicious though.
As quick as lightning, she inhaled her food and got ready for the day, remembering that they have a meeting by 11am.
She grabbed her purse and looked at herself in the mirror once more.
"Yosh! Do your best, Lucy!"
.
.
.
The meeting at Sorcerer Weekly tackled the topic of beauty. With Mirajane and Jenny on the cover and as the main feature for the week, Jason wanted the theme of the issue to be about the meaning of beauty.
It wasn't necessarily about physical beauty, he went on about a list of things that are beautiful, like childhood, friendship, family, our everyday heroes, sceneries, and encourage all the photographers to show him a picture of something beautiful.
Through the whole meeting, everyone were throwing out ideas and some mini-debates were even held as some people suggested that they should focus more on cosmetics since the issue was about two beautiful models.
Lucy remained quiet at the meaning, pondering on what kind of picture she should submit, she felt a little lost at how vast the topic of beauty was. She also couldn't help but steal little glances at Levy who was sitting on the other side of the table.
She pouted as she could feel it in her bones that Levy was avoiding her.
"Now, now, everyone. Weekly Sorcerer is a magazine people's lives. We aren't a beauty magazine, we inspire people! So stop whining and starting working!"
The crowd murmured and soon answered 'Yes.' in unison.
"Cool!", Jasons said with a laugh, "Alright, you know the plan! Lucy, I entrust the last page to you."
"Eh?! But that's the conclusion! Didn't you say that we need a scheduled appointment with the models for that?!"
"I already have one.", Jason said proudly. "Mira said that we can just go to Fairy Tail, she's working there right now. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Jenny since her sched is too busy but anyway, good luck Lucy!", he gave her thumbs up and a wink before moving to talk with the other staff.
"Wait! Jason-senpai!"
"Haha. Give it up, Lucy! Jason-senpai's mind won't change. Lucky you, though! That the Mirajane you know.", her previous writing senpai said.
She knew she was lucky though she couldn't help but feel anxious, what if she screwed up?
"I guess..."
"Don't look too nervous! Just do what you always do. I'm sure it'll turn out great!"
"Thank you very much senpai!", she replied with a smile.
She straightened her thoughts at his words, she wasn't a newbie, she was already a professional photographer! Heck, she was even able to run her own shop, Celestial Script, speaking of... where's Levy?!
"No prob, Lucy."
"Uh, senpai. Did you see where Levy-chan went off to?"
"Sorry, I didn't notice."
"Uh, it's okay."
"Oi! Lucy! We're going to buy some ink for the print, come with us and we'll drop you to Fairy Tail!", one of the staff called out.
"Yeah! Thank you!"
She scanned her surrounding one more time and a pout formed on her face when she didn't see Levy. Sure, Levy was small but blue hair was an unusual color, it was bound to stand out!
She scanned one more time before leaving the room with a heavy sigh.
"Jii-chan! Don't you have any decent jobs?", Natsu whined to Makarov, his grandpa-figure and Master of Fairy Tail Guild.
A guild is an organization that accepts different kinds of jobs and request. Members of guilds can choose what kind of job they would accept but in return, they must also meet the qualifications for it.
He was really bored but he didn't like the jobs posted on the board that day. None of them were thrilling. He picked the bodyguard job last time because he wanted to fight bad guys but all he ended up doing was assisting a bratty supermodel.
He wasn't in need of money, Igneel made sure of that, but he couldn't bear to just sit all day and do nothing. He has too much energy!
"Jii-chan! I'm bored! Get me an exciting job!", he complained like a child wanting a new toy. He pouted when he was deliberately ignored.
Maybe he should just sleep for today?
Ah, no way!
"You brat, do I have to be the one to chose a job for you? There are a lot of jobs posted on the board. Go pick one yourself!"
"But Jii-chan! Those are all boring jobs!"
"My, my, why don't you help me handle the bar then, Natsu? Kinana said she can't come because Cobra-san is sick.", Mirajane suggested excitedly.
"Eh? That's a boring job, Mira!", Natsu whined. All of a sudden, a chill went up his spine as Mira let out a dark.
"Oh my, is that a complain I hear?"
"No ma'am!", he quickly replied and entered the staff room to change his clothes. Geez! Why did he have to meet another Erza? More than one was enough!
Meanwhile, Makarov froze on his seat as he realized that letting Natsu handle a bar with fragile glasses only meant that he would have new bills for repair coming his way.
It was a quick ride, and before Lucy knew it, she was already standing infront of a magnificent building.
"Wow! So this is how it looks like.", Lucy let out a smile and her eyes sparkled at the sight of Fairy Tail.
"Just call us when you're done, we'll come here to pick you up.", she heard her co-worker said.
"I will. Thanks!"
"We'll go now. Good luck, Lucy!"
She smiled, and wave at them until the car was out of her sight. She turned around, took a deep breath, and adjusted the straps of her brown shoulder bag before entering the building.
She blinked and was surprised at the sight of a bar. She didn't expect that a bar inside would look strangely perfect. There was also a stage at the center and a board full of requests and jobs. The guild was large, yet, it felt quite homey.
The smell of wood and paper attacked her nostrils and she wondered if it was okay to stay here sometimes and read some book since it seemed so peaceful. (Somewhere in the room, Makarov was crying over how much trouble his brats caused him in a span of one week. Why can't his brats be a little more peaceful?!)
She scanned her surroundings in search of a certain white-haired woman. She smiled when she saw her at the bar, wiping some of the glasses. She took a step forward and let out a yelp when there was a sudden loud noise near her.
She let out a squeal when a muscular man crashed near her feet. Okay, so maybe Fairy Tail wasn't really that peaceful.
"Gihi."
Her eyes quickly trained to the voice of the familiar laugh and she was surprised to see Gajeel standing where the muscular man came from.
It made her wonder if Gajeel was the one who punched a man as big that.
"Man! Be a man and fight!"
Man? Wait a minute, she looked closer at the muscular man who had white hair and that was when it all clicked. It was Elfman?! What was he doing here?
She didn't notice that Elfman had already stood up, and was now running towards Gajeel's direction.
"Hey! Please stop it!", she shouted, worried that someone might get hurt.
"What's a beautiful lady like you doing here?", a smooth voice said near her ear. She raised a brow at the familiar voice and turned to face the man.
"Loke, I see that you're still as flirty as ever."
"L-Lucy?! Ah! Long time no see! Would you like to have a wonderful date night so we can catch up?"
She took her phone out of her pocket and clicked on the emergency call where Erza's name was registered. She faced her phone where Loke could see it and hovered a finger over the green button.
"I'm counting to three, one... two...", she stopped counting as soon as Loke scrambled off, leaving a trail of dust in its wake.
"I'm so sorry my love! But it looks like fate is getting in between us! I'll be back!"
"Seriously, that man...", Lucy said with a huff. She crossed her arms over her chest although a smile broke out of her face as she felt a bit nostalgic all of a sudden. She turned around, and was about to shout at Gajeel and Elfman again to stop fighting when she saw a glimpse of someone familiar.
"Oh! Lucy!", she turned her head at the source of the voice and found Cana running towards her direction with a bottle of beer in her hands.
"Lucccyyy! It is you! I missed your boobs! Come on let's drink!", Cana enthusiastically said before grabbing Lucy's bag and flinging it into the air.
"C-Cana! My camera's in there!", she said in panic as the pretty brunette started skipping away from her all of a sudden. Blush coated her cheeks as a few heads turned their way because of Cana's loud words but she tried to focus on getting her expensive camera back.
"Gajeel! You're late! You, bastard!"
She froze at the familiar voice and she was about to turn around to see the source when somebody suddenly crashed into her.
She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable fall, but in a quick move, she felt warm arms encircling her torso and all of a sudden, she was falling on top of someone instead.
She grabbed the person's shoulders, and felt her breath get knocked out of her as the two of them fell together.
"Lucy!", she heard Cana shout in surprise but she paid it no mind as she tried to comprehend what happened.
She tried to sit up, and didn't notice that she was practically sitting on the person below her, for when she opened her eyes and met his surprised onyx ones... she knew that it was fate.
.
.
.
And it's all fun and games,
'Til somebody falls in love,
But you've already bought a ticket,
And there's no turning back now~
Ah! I failed you guys! No matter how much I think about it, I can't really estimate exactly how many more chapter is left. Maybe you guys will just know it ended once you read a 'THE END' at the bottom of the chapter. Lol.
Rewatching Fairy Tail is giving me the feels. The end of Grand Magic Games arc with the NaLu backhug is giving me a fuzzy feeling 😁
Carousel - Melanie Martinez, suggested by Kasai
I tried to resist the urge to put those lyrics after the scene with Juvia and Gray, since it might cause some confusion since the lyrics are usually at the end, but it was just so perfect that I can't...
Oh well, thanks for the support everyone! Don't forget to leave a review!
Next Chapter: Maybe This Time
