Kitty: Y'all, I'm so sorry for not updating earlier. When school is happening, I don't have a lot of time and ideas. Plus, I have new ideas for stories. Expect a Gruvia story coming very soon.
Juvia: Are you saying…? Did you just…? Oh my gosh!
Kitty: Juvia? Juvia! Wake up!
(Fairy Tail is not owned by Kitty. Or really anything, including Wikipedia and Tumblr. She doesn't have money. Also, go check out LeeandLie's Glassy Sky cover from Tokyo Ghoul. And Paper moon. Just check out her entire channel because it's bomb.)
I sat watching Natsu as he cooked. He wouldn't let me help at all, something about a prideful chef. I don't really know; I don't cook. It could be like how I don't like it when someone uses my camera. There's just something about how people mess up your work or use your stuff that can bug a person.
"You look like you really know what you're doing there," I said as he continued to do this thing called 'sauteing the onions.' He glanced up a bit before smiling. "I learned from watching the Food Network. Turns out, it's really easy to do what they're doing. You just follow exactly what they do and figure out the exact time for everything. Simple, really."
I stared at him. He thinks that shit is easy? I nearly burned down the whole fucking house because of a stupid pancake! That's why Mom cooks and I don't.
Natsu looked up at me curiously. "What?" He asked. In this light, his eyes looked a little golden. Strange. Shaking my head, I smiled. Some of my hair got into my eyes, and I swiped it away. "Nothing," I said. "I just don't understand how you can figure that out. For me, whenever I try to something like that or even a simple dish, I nearly burn the house down. My mom banned me from the oven and stove." Some weird noise comes out of his nose, and he covers it up with a cough. "She… she banned you from the oven and stove? Are you really that bad at cooking? Damn, Luce!"
I rolled my eyes. "It's not easy! I'm more adept with a camera than a pan." It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever, weirdo."
Natsu was an exceptional cook. He somehow turned some simple ingredients (stuff I normally burn) into something magnificent. I hummed as I felt the warm food melt on my tongue. That is, before the spiciness hit. I shut my eyes tight, the spiciness making me want to open my mouth and breathe fire like a dragon, but the side of me not wanting to make a complete fool out of myself winning. Natsu laughed and said, "Is it too hot?" I nodded. He laughed again, and the sound of the refrigerator opening sounded throughout the room. I opened an eye to see him pouring a glass of milk. "Here," he said, handing me it. "Milk is actually more effective against spicy food than any other drink." Quickly, I took the drink and downed it fast.
"How is your mouth not on fire," I asked as he shoves a spoonful of curry into his mouth. He grinned. "I've grown up with it. My dad, when he was younger, lived in India for about fifteen years. He used to make Indian food for us all until I learned how to cook." I leaned on my hand. The way he talks about his family-his dad especially-is amazing. His eyes always twinkled with pride and joy. Amazing. I wish I could do that.
"Natsu, honey! We're home! And we've brought groceri- oh, hello, Lucy!" His mom said as she walked into the kitchen door. Her smile was radiating. "How are you today?"
I smiled. "I'm doing well. And how are you, Mrs. Dragneel?" She blushed and waved her hand, the bags of groceries already on the counter. Her hair was up in a ponytail with a few pieces falling down onto her face. "Oh, please," she said. "Just call me Izumi! Mrs. Dragneel just makes me feel old!" Please no! Not this again!
At this time, Mr. Dragneel walked in, carrying bags on both arms and a 24-pack of bottled water. He grinned at me with the same lopsided grin as Natsu's. "Hey there, Lucy-goose! How are ya?" I grinned back at the silly nickname. The only one I've gotten besides Luce and Lulu was Bunny-girl, and that was by Gajeel. Mr. Dragneel's nickname for me has to be one of my favorites. "I'm doing well, Mr. Dragneel! How about you?"
"I'm good. And call me Igneel! You're Natsu's girlfriend now; there's no need for familiarities! The first time Mavis called us by our first names, she nearly passed out! Her poor face! Ah, do you remember that, darling?" His eyes looked over towards Izumi, whom was putting away cans and other nonperishables. She turned around, her hair whipping in the process. "Yep! Emiko recorded the entire thing!" Her eyes widened. "That reminds me! Emi is coming home this Friday for her spring break. Make sure that you're ready for the beast."
'The beast?' I mouthed. His eyes widened and he looked away. 'You don't wanna know.'
"Lucy-goose?" Igneel called. I looked over to him. "Are you staying over for a bit or shall we be seeing you off?" Wiping my mouth with my napkin, I shook my head. "No, sir. I have to get going. Gajeel's family is expecting me over, and I wouldn't want to overstep my boundaries. Thank you for your offer, though."
"I'll help you out," Natsu said. We went up to Emiko's room, grabbed the clothes, and came back down in at least five, maybe six, minutes. With a quick call 'goodbye', we're out the door. He places the bags in my trunk before turning towards me. "See ya at school I guess." I nodded. "Yeah," my voice was kinda shaky. "I'll see ya there."
Before anything else was said, Izumi yelled out to him to help out with the groceries. He grinned and gave a small wave before running off. I laughed. There's just something about his boyish nature that makes me happy. The smile never leaving my face, I get in my car and drove off.
It wasn't a particularly long drive to Gajeel's house, but the anticipation of talking to his mom made it seem longer. She's such a nice lady. One time, for a bake sale we had when we were raising money for our school, she cooked these amazing snickerdoodles. Everybody kept coming to our booth and buying them because they were so good. Gajeel, Rogue, Wendy, and I all kept stealing them and hiding underneath the bleachers. When she found us, she was mad but quickly forgave us. We were sick by the end of the thing.
"Lucy!" Grandeeney cried as she ran out, her white hair flowing behind her. Her arms were stretched out wide. "Oh, you're here! You're finally here. I can't wait to hear all about what's going on with your life and who you like and how is photography. I'm so glad that you came!" She led me into the house all the while talking about aimless things and telling Gajeel and Metalicana to get my things. She guided me to the couch. "Did you eat yet?" Her green eyes sparkled with curiousity. I nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I ate curry at the Dragneel's."
From the entryway, Gajeel snorted. He was leaning on the doorframe casually. "That's it? Just that?" His smirk stretched across his face. I scrunched my eyebrows up. "What do you mean?" I asked, though I knew full-well what he means. Smirking deeper (if possible) he said, "I thought for sure that you two would be full-on maki-"
"Gajeel!" I yelled as I jumped up. "Why don't you show me my room? I mean, I need to know where I'm staying for the time being!" My hand was covering his mouth the entire time we walked up the stairs. "Thank you for having me, Deeney!"
He laughed as soon as the door closed. His eyebrows- two piercings on either side- wiggled. "What did you two do at the illustrious Dragneel's house?" He joked. Looking down, my cheeks flushed. "N-nothing." Great. Now he's definitely going to think that something happened there, when we only had dinner! Not convince, Gajeel just leaned on the wall. "Spill."
I opened the door and began pushing him out of it. His red eyes pierced into mine, making me look away. "He just cooked for me! There. Happy? Good. Have sweet dreams about Levy!" And then I slammed the door, locking it so he wouldn't come in. When I was sure that he wouldn't barge in, I unlocked it then went to the bed. It was decorated in gray bedding. Nice touch, Deeney. Sighing, I pulled out my phone.
There's nothing more powerful in the world than love.
What in the fucking world was I thinking when I made that as my screensaver? Even past me knew that some serious shit in my love-life was about to go down. I rolled over and shoved my face into the pillow. "Natsu Dragneel," I whispered, "what are you doing to me?"
Ah, Friday. The day where I have no homework (mostly), no worries, and absolutely no plans. I can just go home and curl up in some fuzzy pajamas and watch movies with my best friend and his cousin. Maybe Wendy will be there. I know Deeney would love to watch a movie, and maybe Metalicana would too. Just as I started to text Rogue about the idea I had for tonight, somebody had grabbed me and dragged me off to somewhere in the school. "Don't worry, Lulu," Levy said as I started to struggle. "It's just me. Mira told me to come and get you. She needs to talk to the both of us."
I stupidly followed my friend down to auditorium. Mira, on top of being in the choir, was also in theater, being both an actress and a stage manager. Therefore, she has complete access to this area. And the minute I saw her and Erza, I knew that I was going to regret it.
"Lucy!" She nearly screamed. She waved her arms around. "Come, come! There's someone here that wants to meet you!" It was then that I noticed the other girl leaning on the stage. Her hair was bright red, curled to perfection, with purple ends that blended perfectly. She was wearing a dark green with a leather jacket and military boots. I feel like I've seen her somewhere, but I can't really put my finger on it. Levy didn't know either as she shook her head when I asked. With one look at her eyes-the same hazel eyes as Natsu-it clicked.
Emiko.
"Hey there," she grinned. It was a bit like her mother's. "You must be the illustrious Lucy I've heard about." She looked over to Levy. "And the short stack must be Levy. It's nice to meet you both! I'm Emiko." If there was only one word I could use to describe her, it would be confidence. She oozed it by the way she stood and her manner of speaking.
Shyly, Levy smiled. "H-hi." Aww, she squeaked! Levy's so cute! Maybe the idea of her being a real-life doll wasn't wrong.
Emiko jumped off the stage and walked towards us. When she finally got close enough, she grinned again. "Let me just you, Momma has been talking nonstop about you, Miss Lucy. Zeref and Mavis, too. They must've been really impressed with you at Kyouka's celebration dinner. Though, I heard that you fell asleep during the play." She leaned in a bit. Her eyes were more brown than they were green, and she had a mole next to her right eye. "Don't worry, I do too. Every single one."
Mira and Erza had walked up to us by now and leaned on the auditorium seats. "So, Lucy…" Erza had begun while tapping on her arm like she wasn't up to something. "What happened the other day at his house?" Her face was painted pink.
All four girls leaned in to hear my story. Sighing, I sat down on one of the fold out seats and told them, "Nothing really. We just went to his house, took a few of Emiko's clothes-" I glanced up to her before continuing. She just waved her hands before telling me that she knew because I was obviously wearing her over-sized t-shirt with the words 'ISSUES' in bold. I continued. "Then we went downstairs and had dinner that he cooked for us. His parents came home not too long after that."
Emiko, Mira, and Erza all gasped. Mira, who was the closest to me and had wide blue eyes, said, "He… He cooked for you?!" She had to sit down in her seat to keep from fainting. With confusion obviously on my face, I replied with, "Yeah. Why is it such a big deal. He probably cooks like all the time."
"Lucy, you don't understand," the redhead said. She was shaking her head. "Natsu had never-and I mean never- cooked for anyone of us before besides Emiko. Not even Lisanna, his best friend. It's like an honor for him to let you try something he made, let alone cook for you." Emiko nodded at this. "Yeah. I remember that he would refuse to cook for Mavis when she and Zeref started dating. Even my friends never got to try some fresh curry instead of leftovers. Of course, he never knew about it." She looked so smug when she said that.
Levy leaned over my chair, her blue hair falling out of the bun she had tied. "So you're saying that you have to be really lucky for him to do to that?" All three girls nodded. Emiko had even put extra emphasis on hers. My friend whistled before looking down at me. "Damn, Lucy. He must actually like you. You might have yourself a boyfriend soon."
Me? A boyfriend? There's no way. I mean, yeah Natsu an attractive male. And sure we kissed a few times. So what he cooked for when he wouldn't cook for anyone else? That doesn't mean he actually likes me right?
Right?
On Saturday, Mira had demanded that Levy and I turned up early to get ready for the party. We would do our hair and our makeup and get dressed up in pretty party dresses that were like 'totes the bomb.' As you could clearly see, slang is not my second language. It's like my fifth or sixth language, numbers two through four/five ranging anywhere from 'garble garble, I'm a turkey' to 'OH MY GOSH I'M TOTES FANGIRLING RIGHT NOW OVER SO-AND-SO'S ABS!' Yeah… Not my best moments.
Levy pulled up right after me, and we waked up to the door together. It was swung open as soon as we set foot on the first step. "Good. You two are here," Erza said. She ushered us in. "Mira's having an anxiety attack again. It's not as bad as her other ones, but we don't have Laxus here to calm her down. Lis is downstairs trying to do it. Currently, it's not working. Do either of you know how to calm down anxiety?" She looked at both of us expectantly.
"I have an anxiety disorder."
Her voice was so tiny that we barely heard it. Levy shrunk down and blushed. It wasn't a normal blush; it kinda looked like she too embarrassed to even talk about, which she probably is. Her eyes started to water. "I don't really like to talk about. People just say that it's like a minor thing. Kinda like depression. It's all in my head. I guess that's why Juvia and I don't talk about our situations."
We just kind of stare at her. I've known about people have mental disorders all the time, and I also knew that there are people at my school with a mental disorder, but I never knew that it was someone that I personally know. To think that she was living with it all alone, nobody else to talk about it with.
A hum comes from Erza, and she turned back towards the door. "Very well. You are in charge of helping Mira calm down. Be warned; she's worse than me when she gets like this." Then she opened the door and practically shoved us in there. From below, Mira was practically screaming. "It's her way of trying to calm down."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP!" Mirajane screeched, and the sound of something hitting a wall and breaking followed shortly. With one look, we all ran down as fast as we could. I barely had time to dodge a flying plate. My eyes were trained on the shattered pieces of glass.
"Mira, calm down! You're going to hurt somebody if you keep throwing the plates!" Lisanna yelled before ducking another of Mira's flying plates. Leaning towards Erza, I whispered, "This is an anxiety attack? I thought it was more of immobilizing."
She grabbed my arm and pulled me away, telling Levy to try and help calm her down. "Mira has OCD-not as serious as Laxus's-and she has anxiety attacks if things don't go the exact way everything is planned. Her way of coping is well," she moved to dodge a flying plate aimed for her head, "throwing things before even coming up with a solution. Normally, we'd have Laxus come and help her out since he himself has attacks, but he won't be back until the party. Lisanna or Elfman could calm her down considering that they are her siblings. Unfortunately, they don't really know how to do it."
From across the room, Levy had begun to calm her down. Her voice was soothing, kind of like how a mother would try to soothe her crying child. Eventually, the older girl's shouts and screams had turned into a slight hyperventilation, then she ended up whimpering. After a few minutes, she had relaxed enough to be able to talk. "Are you okay?" Levy asked. Her voice shaked a bit as she spoke, but she obviously tried to keep it under control. "I know that it's hard to come down; I have trouble myself. But how are you?"
Mira laughed. Like really laughed. A laugh that made all of us look at each other and think 'Is she fucking crazy?' Her hair fell into her face as she crouched down from laughter. When her laughter died out, she said, "Thanks, Levy. I just never thought that I'd be brought down by someone other than Laxus. And your face was so cute that it just made me laugh! Whoo!" She straightened herself out and fixed her hair. "Now that I've almost completely chilled out, it's time to do what I had you guys come here for."
Erza grabbed my arm while Mira grabbed Levy's. They practically dragged us up the stairs towards Mira's gigantic room. Being rich sure has it's perks.
"Here," a black shirt was tossed out towards me followed by a frilly white skirt. I ducked when a pair of rhinestoned flats were tossed towards my head. Obviously, she's still a little worked up. "These are for Lucy. Levy, you'll have to make do with one of my old dresses. Erza will help with makeup while I do your hair. Lisanna will have to do whatever a Lisanna does." Levy and I share a nervous look before we began to change. I really wish that I wore something more than a plain white bra. Nothing matches.
It took two hours. Two hours for them to pamper us with makeup that is 'natural' and hair that is 'sexy'. My hair was curled and Levy's was straightened. I had pinkish eye shadow and she had a color that I had yet to identify. Basically, we were all done up. Mira clapped her hands.
"Party time."
"Hey, Lucy," Lisanna said as she leaned on the counter. Her right hand had a drink in her hand and her cheeks were a little pink. She wasn't looking at me. "Can we talk?" It wasn't a question; it was more of a demand. I followed her outside to the deck questionably. Talk? Talk about what?
Only a couple people were outside but were too far to even hear what she was going to say. She led me to a swing before sitting down. "It's pretty comfy," her words were slurred a bit. "Come, come, I wanna talk. It's about Natsu." Fuck.
I was quiet while she talked. "He's fragile, you know? Kinda like a teddy bear but also the vase that your mom never wants you to touch. Or china. Ya gotta treat him gently. Also treat him like a man. Natsu doesn't really like to open up to people, so you gotta be real lucky to have him tell you anything. It took him almost four years to actually speak to me about his feelings and how he felt about school and who he liked and what's going on in his mind. Four years. I'm his best friend! I should've known his secrets like in two years. Where am I going with this?" She looked down her hands before looking at me with wide eyes. "Oh, right! Natsu! Anyways, be careful with the little piece of… I forgot the word."
I sighed. "Is there a point?" I didn't want to be mean, but I wanted to be alone right now. There are too much people here. She brightens up before taking a drink.
"Right. What I'm trying to say is that you need to be good to Natsu. I see the way he looks at you, and I also see the way you look at him. Of course, high school love isn't supposed to last, but you two just seem kind of… Perfect. Not really, but still. I think it's about damn time that you both actually get together!" At my confused face, she stands up and points at me. The swing rocked back and forth. "Lucy what's-your-middle-name Heartfilia, you need to ask him the fuck out! It's the twenty first century and time to grow some balls!" She began to sway. "Now, if you could excuse me, I need to go lie down. Near the toilet."
I hope that she made it to the door.
With Lisanna gone, I got to think about what she went on about in her drunken state. Ask Natsu out, huh? Should I just go up to him and be like 'Hey, sweet thang! You looking good tonight! Wanna come over to my place and rent a movie?' Or maybe the sweet and innocent 'I like you. Do you like me?' No, that's too Wendy. And the other one is too Cana (my Godfather's recently discovered daughter. I've only met her about five times in my life, and she goes to another school in another state. We don't talk much except at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and at Easter. She's also an underaged drinker.) Sighing, I put my head in my hands and groan. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"
"Maybe have a drink? Because, you know, you are at a party after all."
My head shot up so fast that I felt a little dizzy. There standing just a few feet ahead of me was the root of my problems. He was holding out an iced bottle of water, and I warily took it. "Don't worry, it hasn't been opened yet." He gestures to the other side of the swing. "Mind if I sit." I shook my head. There was a slight creak as he sat down, and I sunk towards him a little. His body heat rolled off of him in waves and felt like I was in the Sahara Desert. I read somewhere (again, probably on Tumblr) that it literally means 'Desert Desert', but when I looked it up, Wikipedia said 'The Greatest Desert'. I don't know who to trust. What am I doing again? Oh, right. I'm just sitting dangerously close to Natsu Dragneel, hottest soccer player and the guy whom I've had a crush on and replaced Rogue's place in my heart for the love interest. And we can't forget how I want to kiss him and take off his clothes and fuck him and… Woah. Too pornographic here.
I shook my head slightly. The quiet is making me think really weird thoughts, and I'm starting to have a fantasy about him being a demon and taking me away to his castle to- okay, somebody needs to say something. Should I be the one? I mean, it's totally acceptable at this day and age for the girl to say something right? Yeah! Feminism! And other things!
"So-"
We both cut off before laughing. His little crooked smile stretched across his face a bit as he scratched his neck nervously. "Y-you first."
I shook my head before saying, "No, I want to hear what you have to say first. I kinda don't want to embarrass myself by saying something that I really shouldn't have said." I leaned forward just a couple centimeters and waited. He looked away and blushed a little bit more. Man, this spring air is really doing some justice to this mood. "Well, uh, I just wanted to say, uh… Shit… How the fuck do I say this without sound like a total idiot…?" Just as I was about to say something, he turned his entire body towards me as much as he could and stared at me. Perfect hazel eyes with more green in them than anything other color stared at me. Too much? It doesn't matter. I stared back at him and waited to hear what he was going to say.
"Lucy, I just wanted to say…" Again, much to my chagrin, he trailed off. Damn it! Fucking speak your fucking mind before I-
He kissed me. Like actually kissed me. Like kissed me because he wanted to and there was no one here expecting him to and because he likes me. My eyes closed as I leaned into his lips. You know that magic feeling every book describes? Those first real kisses? The butterflies in your stomach? The world slipping away? I never really understood it, but this is kinda what it's like. I do have butterflies, and I can feel some sort of spark, and most of the noise from inside drowns out until it's a piano sound in the back of my mind. And it felt good because I had Natsu Dragneel kiss me. My fingers (which were brushing his before) intertwined with his in response.
Butterflies. I love those butterflies. I don't love the feeling my chest is having, because it feels like my heart is about to burst out and shout to the world that I could be falling in love with Natsu and I barely know him. But at this moment, none of that mattered. It didn't matter that when he pulled away, my heart was betraying me. It didn't matter that Mira and Erza and Levy and Rogue were probably all watching us. It didn't matter that I was scared of what could come out of this relationship. Because the moment he pulled away, he asked me the question that I didn't knew I wanted to hear.
"Luce, will you be my girlfriend?"
And I responded. "Yes."
Kitty: IT TOOK ME THREE FUCKING MONTHS TO GET THIS CHAPTER FINISHED! I AM SO SORRY EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS! I'M SORRY IF THIS IS A TRIGGER CHAPTER OR IF IT TOUCHED ON ANYTHING EMOTIONAL OR ANYTHING! YOU MAY COMPLAIN IF IT DID OR IF I GOT ANYTHING WRONG! I PROMISE I WILL TRY TO GET ANOTHER CHAPTER WRITTEN BY THE END OF THE BREAK!
