omg, hi guys! I feel like I haven't talked to you guys in forever, how are you all? Having a good December so far? I seriously cannot believe Christmas is next week...
Okay, so I have a lot to say in this A/N, so get ready! Here goes.
First off, I would just like to thank you so so much for 400 follows! I was so excited to see that this story was growing over the past few weeks, I'm really happy!
And if 400 follows wasn't enough, my older fic, Secret Lovers, hit 1k favorites! I worked so so hard on that story, I was so proud to see it hit 1k. :') Thank you guys for that as well!
Going on to my current fics, I actually forgot to announce that I published a new Nalu/Zervis one-shot named His & Hers. Which leads me to to my most recent one-shot, Perfect Target! It's a fantasy one-shot (I've never written anything fantasy ever omg) and it was really cool to write in a new style! It'd really mean a lot to me if some of you read it and told me what you thought about it!
So, with this chapter, I started writing it in a huge Nalu fever mood so I was like, "Let's just write some Nalu fluff." And you know what? I did. And I had fun. Lots of fun. It's sort of embarrassing how fuzzy Nalu makes me :') I would just like to warn you guys that there is some overdue drama coming your way these next few chapters, so watch out!
Okay, and now to announce what I have been holding in since about January 2nd of this year. I have waited 12 months and 15 days for this moment, and I'm proud to be able to announce it on this fic~
I will be posting a second part to my angst fic, The One Who Got Away on January 1st, 2016. If you like angst, this is the one-shot for you. ;-) I've been planning for months on this one-shot and I'm so so pumped to publish it, you have no idea. So please, look forward to that and I hope some of you read it!
Welp, this A/N is longer than I wanted it to be, oops. I just can't stop talking to you all ;u;
Please, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review so we can talk to each other! I want to know how you are all doing!
Happy holidays! See you around! ~
"How much yogurt are you going to eat?"
"I can never have too much yogurt!" I proclaim stubbornly, flipping my spoon upside down in my mouth.
"You're going to get a stomachache if you keep eating more, you know."
"Yeah, right," I roll my eyes in response. "Not once have I ever gotten a stomachache because of eating too much yogurt!"
"I don't believe that in the slightest."
"If you've never had a stomachache from eating too many popsicles, then I'll never get one from eating too much yogurt," I state firmly. To prove my point even further, I quickly finish up the cup of yogurt and continue to the next cup. Before I'm able to open it, a pair of hands snatch it away from me.
"Let's swing for now."
The sunset rays feel fresh on my skin. Swinging until I can feel the metal poles of the swing set shake in the ground, laughter echoes in the air. Soon enough, another laugh that's much deeper than mine joins me. Their smooth laugh causes a smile to spread across my face—is it possible to feel as happy as I do now? As we swing together, nostalgia blossoms inside my chest. This moment is far too familiar. I abruptly stop swinging, the swing beside me coming to a stop, as well. A gentle, comforting hand lands on my shoulder.
"What's the matter?"
I stare at the pale hand on me; it isn't until now that I realize I haven't looked at the person speaking yet. Hesitantly, I tear my eyes away from our hands and lock gazes with the boy.
Is that—
"Morning," a voice tells me softly.
I slowly tilt my head up at the voice. It takes a few blinks for me to remember where I am. Connecting eyes with Natsu's warm hazel ones, I poke his cheek several times to confirm that I'm awake now. His arms around me tighten slightly. Although I'm hardly awake, a subtle sense of butterflies surfaces inside my stomach.
"Good morning," I eventually reply.
"What are you doing?" he chuckles at my pokes. His laughter is deeper and rougher than usual, telling me that he hasn't been awake for long. I begin to bring my hand back when I've had enough, but he takes it and loosely holds on to it, brushing his lips across my knuckles.
"I had a weird dream," I reveal with furrowed brows, ignoring the burning sensation at the back of my neck. "I can't remember what it was, though."
"It was something happy, I think," Natsu answers.
"You can still feel what I'm feeling in my sleep?" I question incredulously.
"Looks like it," he sends me a sheepish look. "I had a happy dream, too."
"What was it about?" I pull back a little so we can both comfortably look at one another. Again, Natsu's arms squeeze me just a bit tighter than before as though he's afraid to let me go. I'm forced to suppress my smile as he tells me his dream with bright eyes.
"There were three really big elephants in the sky and I was riding all of them at the same time. Happy was there, and you were, too. You two weren't riding anything, though. After that, we went to an arcade and played until we got all the tickets and couldn't play anymore."
"What kind of dream is that?" I giggle at the images playing in my head. "Isn't that more confusing than happy?"
"I don't have a lot of dreams, so any dream makes me happy," he responds.
"Am I in your dreams?" I blurt out.
"Every single one of them," he replies. It's way too early for my face to feel this warm, but here I am. Natsu smirks at my expression.
"Well, I'm going to go—"
"Not yet," he interrupts me while leaning forward and setting his chin on top of my head. "Five more minutes."
"I didn't think you'd ever want to stay in bed longer than you had to," I laugh lightly. I don't bother to hold back. Without a second thought, I snuggle closer to his neck.
"Today's special," he says.
The smile I've been holding back spreads across my lips before I'm able to stop it. After listening to our matching breaths for a couple of moments, my eyes flutter close again.
If I was told that Natsu and I were going to be like in each other's arms like this someday, I would have never believed it.
I know that the five minutes have passed already, but I don't feel like moving just yet and neither does Natsu. We stay silent until four paws begin to step on us.
"I guess Happy wants us to get up now," I observe Happy watching us with his dark eyes.
"Alright," Natsu mutters unhappily. The second he removes his arms from my waist, I instantly start to miss the feeling; I keep my thoughts to myself.
Hopping out of bed, I stretch to my muscles' content. "So, we can either explore Acalypha for a few hours or—"
"You don't even need to finish that sentence, Luce," he scoffs.
"Okay, then," I start to make my way to the bathroom. "Be ready in twenty."
"Bet I can get ready faster than you!"
I glance at him over my shoulder with a challenging glint in my eyes. "Oh, you're on."
"When will you ever learn?" Natsu teases me as I return to our table in the hotel's café with our breakfast. Of course, he ordered all the food the buffet had to offer.
"Be quiet," I mumble while putting his two plates in front of him. "It's not my fault that I don't have super robot powers or anything to help me get dressed!"
"Yep, that's definitely your fault," he sends me a grin.
"Eat your breakfast already," I command with an eye roll.
I can't tell if the pancakes taste more delicious than usual due to the fact that it's entirely free or because they're genuinely good. With each bite I take, the less and less I worry about it.
After Natsu has finished scarfing down his piles of food, we start our adventure around Acalypha. We soon realize that finding souvenirs for our friends is a lot harder than we initially thought. Especially when Natsu suggests presents that make me wonder if he even knows who our friends are.
"I think Gray will like this dragon more than a snow globe," he states.
"You would like that more," I dismiss him with a shake of my head. "Gray doesn't like dragons, anyway."
"Who doesn't like dragons?" he asks with disbelief. He reluctantly returns the stuffed dragon back to its home.
"It's time for us to start heading back," I caste a look at the mid-afternoon sky. "Are you ready?"
"I'm already feeling sick," he sighs heavily, trailing behind me to the train station.
I hold back a smile, reaching for his hand to tug him along with me. I know that if I take my eyes away from him for half a second, he'll wander off to the other side of town. Having to bribe him with head massage offers so he'll get onto the train, we're soon sitting in our seats on our way back to Magnolia.
We don't talk as much as we did coming here, but I don't mind. Both of us are satisfied enough by leaning against each other with our eyes closed. Meanwhile, Happy is peering out the window with his face so close to the glass, I'm sure his breathing fogs up his view.
"This was fun, Luce," Natsu tells me before I start to doze off. "I'm glad we came."
"I'm glad, too," I reply.
"Let's do this again another day, okay? We can bring everyone else with us, too."
"Okay."
And with that, our circus trip comes to an end with an unspoken promise that means more to me than it should.
It doesn't take long for reality to hit me square in the face the next day. The moment I'm woken up by my alarm for school, a groan leaves my lips. Natsu and I should have never even thought about playing his video game after returning from Acalypha.
"Tired?" Natsu assumes once I've finally gained enough strength to get up and go to the kitchen to make breakfast.
"Extremely," I respond with a yawn.
"We can always skip school, if you want," he suggests smoothly, his eyes pleading me to say yes.
"Not happening," I reject his proposal immediately. "Erza just texted me that we have a semester test coming up and we need to be there today."
"What's a semester test?" he asks.
I'm about to let Natsu know that he needs to prepare for the endless amount of stress and studying he's going to go through, but I pause.
Has Natsu ever been stressed before?
"It's just like any other test. You'll see!" I end up saying instead.
"I guess so," he replies with a shrug.
After we've eaten our breakfast, we lazily make our way to school. I've lost count on how many times I've yawned on our walk; Natsu pokes my side each time I do. As I shuffle through the noisy hallways, the circus trip already feels like a distant memory.
"Lucy, you're here! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!" Lisanna exclaims when I enter the classroom.
"It feels like it's been months!" I agree as we share a quick hug.
"How was your honeymoon?" Levy grins, joining the conversation.
"It wasn't anything like that," I wave my hand to dismiss her. "I did get you guys some presents, though."
"Presents?" Erza is the first one to perk up. "Is it cake?"
"Cake scented," I state proudly while taking out their gifts out of my schoolbag. "Here you go!"
"I didn't think you'd get us something," Jellal remarks as he studies his new pen with sparkling stars scattered across it.
"It was my idea," Natsu brags, only receiving unconvinced looks in response.
"Juvia and Gray have matching snow globes!" Juvia declares gleefully.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Gray accuses me with a scowl, ignoring his overly energetic girlfriend.
"It was Natsu's idea," I answer with a grin.
The joyful moment of getting gifts doesn't last as long as we would like due to the disheartening chime of the bell. Everyone returns to their seats; it's not hard to tell that the news of the semester test will be arriving soon. And once it does, there are several thuds of students' heads on the desk.
"Next Friday will be the semester test," our teacher announces. "Make sure to study with the notes we've written over the past few months."
Study is the last word all of us want to hear. Not one person in the class—let alone the entire school—knows how to properly study, and it's painfully obvious.
"How about we have a study session or something?" Levy proposes once we've survived long enough to make it to lunch. "I read somewhere it's better to study with a group sometimes!"
"That's a good idea," Erza nods in agreement. "Where should we hold it?"
"We can have it at my house," Gray offers.
"Good idea!" Juvia responds.
"Will there be food?" Natsu asks with no hesitation.
"We need food or I'm not going," Gajeel says, his arms crossed to show his demeanor.
"I'll bring some snacks," I volunteer.
"I can probably bring some, too," Jellal adds.
"Me too!" Levy chimes in. "Lisanna, can you bring anything?"
"W-Well," Lisanna stammers uneasily. "There's this huge online sale happening tonight, and I don't I can—"
"Come on, Lisanna!" I pout, knowing that she has a soft spot for it. "Do you know how many other sales there'll be in the future? Missing one won't hurt! You can't afford to fail this test, either."
"But—"
"Lisanna," I cut her off sternly.
"Fine, I'll go," she groans in defeat. "I can't miss the next one, though!"
"Deal!" I smile with content.
"If only someone was there to tell you that, too, Lu," Levy knocks my elbow with hers. I stick my tongue out at her in response.
"Alright, my house after school then," Gray concludes.
And with our approving nods, we resume eating our lunch, not trying to think about how this study session will either be a success or a complete disaster.
Eventually, the last bell of the day dismisses us and we begin to head to Gray's house. It doesn't take long for everyone to blurt out their first impressions.
"I'm surprised you don't live in an igloo or something, Ice Princess!" Natsu proclaims.
"You're lucky to have a two story house," Jellal commends.
"It must be a pain to clean," Lisanna comments.
"Your house is huge, Gray!" Levy gasps, head tilted back to look at the ceilings.
"It's just a house," Gray shrugs half-heartedly with a hint of a smirk playing across his lips.
"Why can't your apartment look like this, Luce?" Natsu jokes, receiving an elbow jab in the ribs by me.
"Let's not waste any more time. Start studying," Erza commands the instant we've all been seated in Gray's spacious living room. We don't even have enough time to ask someone else for a pencil.
It's dead silent as we take out the papers we need to study. It feels awkward at first, not sure if we'll be yelled at by Erza if we do as much as cough, but it's a comfortable silence after a while. I've done a good amount of reviewing when I steal a glimpse towards Natsu and notice his eyes aren't on his notes.
"What are you doing?" I scribble on the corner of one of my papers and slide it closer to him.
"I'm finished studying all my notes," he writes back messily.
I lift a skeptical brow in his direction; he returns it. Before I'm able to write how that's even possible, he adds another note.
"Robot brain, remember?"
"That's considered cheating!" I write frantically. "Can you try to study like a normal person?"
"I can't help it. This is how I am," he responds. I'm able to clearly hear his sheepish tone. It's enough for me to bite my lip. I'm about to write an apology, but someone begins to clear their throat.
"Where are the snacks?" Gajeel demands.
"It's not snack time yet, Gajeel," Erza answers calmly, not taking her eyes away from her notes.
"Well, it's snack time for me," he retorts.
"It's snack time for me, too," Natsu joins in.
"Hate to say it's snack time for me, also," Gray yawns out.
Erza looks up at the boys sharply, challenging them with her eyes. It isn't until Jellal places a hand on her shoulder when her expression softens.
"I brought cake," he tells her softly.
"Looks like it's snack time, then," Erza states immediately. "We'll take a thirty minute break."
"Finally!" Lisanna sighs out, slouching and leaning back on the couch.
"My eyes are starting to hurt," Levy rubs them restlessly.
"All Juvia wants to do is sleep," she whimpers.
"Someone get the snacks already," Gajeel orders bluntly.
"Let me go get them," I stand up, instant relief spreading across my numb legs.
"I'll help you," Gray picks himself up as well. With his beckoning nod, I follow him into the kitchen, the voices in the living room becoming faint.
"I can already tell I'm not ready for the test," Gray admits as we start to pour different types of chips into a few bowls.
"We still have almost two weeks left to study," I remind him with a giggle. "You'll do great, I'm sure!"
"Easy for you to say," he mutters, watching me open the fridge to take out Erza's cake. However, instead of my eyes landing on the container, they fall onto a couple of familiar yogurt cups.
"My favorite yogurt!" I exclaim. I look at Gray over my shoulder. "Why do you have these yogurts here?"
"Juvia likes it a lot," he responds.
"She has good taste," I compliment, taking out the cake and placing it onto the counter. "I hate that they don't sell it anywhere by my apartment."
"You used to love those back when we were younger. You used to eat them non-stop," he remarks.
"I still would if I could," I smile while slicing the cake. "I miss being able to eat them and not worry if I was going to get a stomachache or not."
"Which you did," he mentions. "Every time."
"I know," I reply with a bashful expression. Once there's a piece of cake for everyone, I start to head back to the living room. But before I'm able to take a step, Gray lightly grabs a hold of my elbow to stop me.
"Do you remember what happened with us back then?" he asks.
I'm silent for a second too long.
"Not really," I answer with a quick glance towards his direction. My heart leaps into my throat after noticing his curious eyes. Without another word, I turn back around and return to the living room. My back tingles, feeling his gaze on me.
Does he really not remember?
"Thanks, Luce," Natsu grins after I've passed out the slices of cake and gone back to my spot beside him. I send him a small smile in return.
Thirty minutes seems to fly past us; I'm not even finished munching on my chips when Erza announces that we'll be resuming our study session.
It isn't until the shadows have disappeared from the living room when everyone's energy has finally died out—even Erza's.
"I say this was a good first session," she claims although her weary eyes tell us otherwise. "We will host our next session tomorrow."
"Can we play trivia games to test ourselves?" Levy questions. I nod in agreement, knowing that I'll forget mostly everything I studied if I simply continue to memorize everything.
"We'll do that tomorrow, then," Erza replies. "Let's go home now."
"Please," Gray groans.
"Shouldn't he be a little nicer?" Lisanna scoffs as he waves us goodbye from his spot in the living room, not bothering to walk us out.
"That's Gray for you," I laugh slightly.
Once we've all gone our separate ways for the night, Lisanna, Natsu, and I stroll back to our apartments as if we have all the time in the world. Natsu has started teasing Lisanna more than usual; I can't help but feel content that she gets to feel what I have to put up with.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Natsu speaks up randomly. "Luce, I have a question."
"What is it?" I ask, seeing Lisanna peer at us with interest.
"What happened between you and Popsicle Breath?"
