Imaginary Chapter 13: Burnt Toast

~0~

Age: 15

I woke up and I rubbed my face sleepily and turned to my side to find my alarm clock, the numbers glowed in vibrant green forcing my eyes to wince. When my vision had become clearer, it then occurred to me that it was only 4 in the morning, which meant 3 more hours until actual breakfast. I groaned and slipped out of bed, stood up, and went to the kitchen.

Looking around, the house was cleaner than most days. And I couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Dad was slowly getting rid of his drinking habit, although there were still a few half empty bottles sprawled across the living room floor. I sighed and sat in the kitchen table, leaning against it as I stared at the scenery outside.

Outside, the moon was burning brightly and the stars glistened in the dark canvas that hung above Magnolia. The quiet and peaceful aroma was heavier than usual tonight, and it lapped over our small neighborhood in the shopping district. Although it was rowdy in the mornings, it seemed almost dead at night, which wasn't necessarily bad—or good.

When you've lived there long enough you get accustomed to the busy noises and the occasional fights down below. At one point there was even a crime where a man had pulled out a gun and almost shot a child in the middle of the night. No one ever knew what his attentions were but it had definitely shaken everyone awake.

Suddenly a bright blue light radiated from the kitchen. I peered over my shoulder to see the fridge door open and a figure slumped over it, a yawn escaped his lips and he slammed the door close. Then he got up, stretched his back and looked at me with his pink locks falling onto his face. He grinned and raised both of his hands up, each carrying one-pint of vanilla ice cream.

I gave out a lame smile.

"It's about time we celebrate, don't you think?" He shrugged and sat in the seat across, the stupid grin never left his face.

"What is there to celebrate about?" I lifted my head up from the table and eyed the ice cream curiously.

"Well first," He took a spoonful of his and raised it up, some of it dripping onto the table. I cringed a little. "Here's to all the shit you had to put up with for the past few weeks!" Natsu waved it up high in the air, I hissed at him to stop spilling any more ice cream.

I stabbed my spoon into my ice cream and found it was still quite frozen. "Like what? I don't think there was that many things that have happened." I said, my voice still thick with sleep.

"Oh yeah?" He snorted, "How about Flare?"

"She's—okay now—hopefully—maybe-" I released a shaky breath, "I-I don't know. Mr and Mrs Scarlett were generous enough to let her work as part of the bakery to earn enough for not only her mother's medical bills, but enough for her to pay rent as well. But the problem is," I scooped up one spoon of ice cream, "She's pushing herself too much. She's been working after hours and even arriving at 5 in the morning everyday to help clean the bakery. She told me a few days ago she feels terrible about stealing the student council money and she feels even worse betraying the school. Although most of us have forgiven her, even Erza did, she still can't face most of the students." I sighed, "I just—worry for her. A lot."

Natsu chuckled and rested his chin against the palm of his hand, "You know, she sounds awfully like you."

I titled my head, "How so?"

"For one, you both work overkill on your jobs and secondly, you both have a similar heart. You both feel as though you can never repay for things you receive, like you're in debt, but that's where you're both wrong." He pointed his spoon.

"Wrong?"

"Blind. That's what you both are. Blinded by all this," Natsu waved his hands around my face, "This invisible wall of kindness makes you blind to the difference between giving and receiving. But someday, this wall will come down," He paused and his lips curved into a small smirk, "And it's going to come down hard."

I looked at him, trying to comprehend his words. I bit on my bottom lip and raised my spoon of ice cream. Happy's purring from under the table had got me to notice his presence, but he was fast asleep. My toes reached out to him and softly scratched his ears; he released a small 'aye' and curled his tail around his small shape even tighter.

"A toast to blindness." I announced and reached my spoon higher and closer to the middle.

"To blindness."

Our spoons clinked and almost immediately after that, they went straight into our mouths. I licked my lips clean and savored the taste of vanilla melting against my tongue. Then, I stabbed my spoon back in and scooped out yet another spoonful of vanilla.

"So, what's this scoop for?" I asked.

"To lunch food. Heard the lady's going to be replaced soon." He scrunched up his face, "Hopefully there won't be meatball Wednesdays."

My mouth formed a silent O, "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Heard some of the staff talking about it the other day," He waved his spoon around, more ice cream spilled, "You gotta hear what they talk about in the janitor rooms. There's pretty good dirt."

I smirked and lifted my spoon up, "To lunch dirt it is."

"Lunch dirt!"

And so, the night continued on with more ice cream and cheers being spilled and laughter filling the air. It was only until I released a loud yawn that caused me to welcome the feeling of sleep back into my system.

"Seems like somebody needs their beauty sleep." He wiggled his eyebrows and leaned in closer, amusement written all over his face.

"Oh shut up." I slapped his arm playfully and pushed the emptied pint to the middle. My spoon however, was filled with the last scoop of vanilla and Natsu's too. "So, what's this going to be?"

He rubbed his chin and pursed his lips upwards, as though he was in deep thought. Then he looked back at me, with a more genuine smile and he lifted his spoon. This time, there wasn't any ice cream spilled, not even a single droplet.

"To us."

We looked at each other in silence. Our eyes bore into one another. His onyx eyes burned under the moonlight, its white rays kissed his tan skin and his forehead glistened with little sweat. For a moment, I wanted to bring him close, to feel his warmth and to once again feel what it was like to be free. Deep down, I knew I desperately wanted that. I wanted that more than anything.

But.

It was best if I pushed such thoughts away. There were so many flaws, so many foolish, childish flaws in it.

It was never meant to be.

I supposed.

"To us." I replied with a smile.

It then dawned to me that it was the last day of our bet.

~0~

During lunchtime, I sat at the usual place with my group of friends, under the cheery blossom tree.

The petals were decreasing over the weeks, which was rare. It was either the staff had not watered it and the rain wasn't doing its job, or it was coming of age. It seemed odd to say that about a tree, but it had created some sort of connection in the group that made our bonds stronger than before. Which was why it pained me to see it in such a state.

Shaking the thought away, I returned to reality and turned back to my friends who were busy laughing and munching over their lunch.

"Say," Levy swallowed her sandwich, "If we ever do make it out of here, what do you guys plan to do?"

"Like future and stuff?" Cana drawled out and continued to suck on her emptied pack of orange juice (surprisingly it wasn't beer).

Levy nodded.

"I'd like to become a lawyer." Erza said with a little pride in her voice, her mouth still stuffed with her favorite strawberry cheesecake.

"A lawyer?" Cana snorted and showed an expression of disgust, "Don't kid me Scarlett."

Erza glared and cleared her throat, her voice came out in a low tone, and "I'm not kidding I want to bring justice to the court and to the people-"

Cana laughed and slapped her back hard making Erza yank her arm forth, Cana's body bending down, and finally letting her fall hard onto the ground. She released a soft groan.

Mirajane then moved in closer into the small circle and took her spoon out of her mouth, "I don't think I know what I want to be just yet. Maybe something I'll enjoy?" She mused and suddenly her face lit up, "How about a matchmaker? I'm pretty good at that if I say so myself. I'll be bringing valentine's day everyday!" She winked and giggled into her hand. "Everyone will be so in love."

We deadpanned and gulped before moving onto Levy.

"An author. No doubt. It's either that or a journalist. I just love books, a lot." Levy said sheepishly, "I even got the author of "Mages and Guilds" to sign my t-shirt last week! I'll probably write romance—not wait, maybe with a little bit of adventure and excitement—or should I also try noir? Though I never really tried it before—"

"Blah blah blah." Cana interrupted rudely. Levy gave out a silent retort. "All you futures are boring, plain, like dust and bad beer. You're all sticking to one thing. Why not more? What you all really need is to just be out there in the world. That's what I'm going to do. Yeah, do whatever the hell I like until I die trying. And when my kids and my kids' kids ask what my life was like, I'll tell them it was a life filled with freedom, no bullshit and fucks given and just pure happiness. That's what you call, a future. None of that other crap that only limits you to one thing. What's stopping you? The hand of the supreme eggheads? I don't think so." She grinned and kicked her feet up and wrapped them around one another so that she was sitting cross-legged, "See, that's my plan. I'm going to die with no regrets."

We blinked as we stared at her, letting her words sinking in. Even though she was undoubtedly one of the laziest, slothful and 'I-don't-give-a-single-fuck' friends in our group, she was also undoubtedly, one of the most daring out of all of us. And in some cases, she seemed the most inspirational. The strength in one girl was absolutely, unbelievable.

"Cana." I breathed out, still marveled by her words.

"Anyways." She turned towards me, "What about you Lucy?"

"Me? Oh—I," I hesitated and my fingers drummed against my brown paper bag nervously, "I don't really have an ideal."

"Well, what kind of person do you wish to be?" Mirajane asked and twisted her fork around her pasta, "For example, Heroic? Memorable? Charitable?"

I looked up at the sky and I started to think, who do I want to be? There were a million things I could choose from and yet, I still couldn't make up my mind. All of them seemed almost too impossible for a person like me. There weren't a lot of traits that I did not hold strongly nor were there any other traits that I wished I could improve on because in all honesty, I didn't really pay attention to a lot of them. I was too young to think about it—well actually, I was only a few years away, but still.

I cleared my throat.

"In that case, one day," I twiddle my fingers and darted my gaze towards the sky, "I no longer want to be blind." I whispered, "One day, I'm going to open my eyes."

Although I knew they clearly had no clue of what I was talking about, I could still sense a warm understanding and respect from them. Erza looked at me and rested a hand on my shoulder, a curve tucked at the corner of her lips.

"We wish you the very best of luck, Lucy."

I returned a smile.

The bell rang and we all dispersed.

A lonely petal fell from the tree.

~0~

I walked down the hallway of the fourth floor, the most insufferable place to be. It reeked of alcohol and smoke with the occasional spice of 'making out in front of my locker'.

I stood there awkwardly, with books held near to my chest as I stared at the couple against my locker, hands lost and twisted in each other's hair and moans escaping from their lips. There was no point in talking to them or pushing them because no matter what, they wouldn't budge until they were done.

"I love you." They mumbled and repeated into each other's mouths.

I bit my lip at those three words. It had made a part of me churn, my brain melt and the want for someone to say that to me, to breathe it into my ear. My legs wobbled at that point and I hugged my books closer. A soft heat crept up to my cheeks. An image of a certain person flashed in my mind, startled a little bit by it as more thoughts filled my mind. Suddenly a scent that smelled a bit like coal and spice revealed itself and it was driving me crazy. His hair. His everything. I wanted to—I just wanted to—

"Uh, rude." A feminine voice drifted me out from my thoughts. The couple was done and they gave me snarky comments and shot me a nasty glare before trudging off.

I sighed and clicked open my locker and took out the books I needed for the next two periods. What was I thinking? It was weird for me to have such—such thoughts. I never wanted them, never intended to have them in the first place and yet...

It was driving me absolutely insane.

"Come on."

I squeaked when I heard his voice and I turned to him, his figure leaned against the lockers idly as his fingers drummed against the edges. I slammed my locker shut and I felt myself flush slightly as I nodded, pulling him by the arm to next period.

"Are you okay?" He asked with his eyebrow raised, "You're acting pretty weird Luce-"

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed, my words were fumbled through in a rush. I released a nervous laugh, "Headache. That's all." Which was partly true.

He looked at me with a concern look, obviously suspicious and he clearly didn't believe anything of what I just said.

"You're not hiding anything from me are you? Whatever it is, you know I'm going to find out sooner or later-"

"It's nothing." I breathed out in a shaky voice and I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Really, it's nothing."

For another moment he stared at me again, only this time his eyebrows were drawn together in concern. Then, he sighed and rubbed the crook of his neck with his hand.

"Just so you know, I'm here for you." He looked straight ahead and flashed a toothy grin, "I'm always here."

Those words troubled me.

For the rest of the day, I pushed the thoughts away and carried on with school. But they had tempted me at every opening they got and it was infuriating.

I buried my face into the palm of my hands and groaned softly. What was wrong with me? It was sickening to see myself this way. I looked like a little girl having silly, childish thoughts.

Was this what they called a "lovesick fool"?

I shook my head and shot up from my seat when the final bell rang. I said my goodbyes and waved at a few of my friends before pushing through the double doors, I speed walked all the way to the market, trying to once again, get rid of the thoughts.

"Love?" I mumbled under my breath, "A joke. That's what it is."

I was a fool to think so.

~0~

Taking out a blue bag, I filled it in with the packets of squid I bought and paid the shopkeeper. Natsu stared at the salmon in front of him, wondering if he should buy it for Happy. Obviously, I had objected since the little blue feline had a whole stash of fish left in the fridge. He shrugged and rested his arms behind his head and whistled an old familiar tune.

"I'm tired Luce," he whined, "When are we going home?"

"Until I get my crab we're not going anywhere." I said as we walked through the street of pedestrians.

He scrunched up his face, "Gross. I was hoping for lobster or something." He nudged my side, hinting that he really wanted lobster.

"Lobster wha-" I spluttered as I crossed my arms, "Do you even know how expensive lobster is? We can't afford it."

"Yeah but last time-"

"Last time, it was a gift from Erza's parents." I pointed out, "Keep that moment clear in your mind because you probably won't be eating lobster in a long time."

"Or," He shifted closer, "We can just take one."

I spun towards him and jabbed a finger at his chest with a playful expression lingering on my face, "No," Poke, "Steal-" Poke, "-Ing." Poke.

"Okay! Okay! I'm joking!" He exclaimed before he swatted my hand away. He mimicked my actions and crossed his arms and smirked, "You're no fun Luce."

"I'm always fun," I smirked back, "Haven't you heard? I'm the life at parties."

He snorted, "Like you actually go to parties."

"Oh come on, you know you love me." I nudged his shoulder playfully and laughed-

Hold on, what did I just say?

I froze in my position and looked up at him, trying to maintain the same expression on my face but I could tell I was failing miserably. A lame chuckle escaped my mouth.

Seriously Lucy? Way to go.

For some reason, it only made his smirk widen.

As he was about to say something, a figure from afar caught my eye. It seemed familiar, far too familiar. The figure was a young man, fairly slim and he was slouched over an array of fruits. Then when he got up he scratched his hair, which was light blonde, and turned-

"Sting?" I mumbled under my breath causing Natsu to look at him too. Luckily he still hasn't seen us.

"What is he doing here?" Natsu said, almost like a hiss.

I pursed my lips, "Odd. I haven't seen him at the market in weeks." I paused, "I should probably go say hi."

"I rather not. I don't trust him." He leaned in closer, as if Sting could hear us from such a distance, "He sends off bad vibes."

"Bad vibes?"

"There's something wrong about him, no doubt." He said and crossed his arms, "Don't talk to him."

"Natsu-"

"Don't." His gaze hardened and he tugged on the edge of my shirt, bringing me closer to his side.

I rolled my eyes, "It's just formalities Natsu, it's called being nice. I won't even talk much with him-"

"You will."

"And how do you know that?"

Before he could start off with his rant Sting walked up towards us, his arms were filled with bags of fruit. He wore a smile and stopped only a meter from where we were standing.

Natsu whispered, "Too late."

"Hey Lucy! I never thought I'd see you here a again." Sting's words came out like a breathless laughter.

I waved with a soft smile and chuckled. "Me too. I thought you stopped coming to this market."

"Stop coming?" He shook his head. The smile still lingered on his lips, "Please. This market has one of the best prices on fish and fruit. No way am I going to miss out on that."

"I know right!" I exclaimed and raised my bag of fresh squid, "Two packets of squid only for half the price of the octopus here."

"You're shitting me."

"Nope."

We laughed and we started to make our way to the crab stall. As we talked on our way there, I couldn't help to notice the sky was getting darker and darker.

"So anyways," Sting said as he stuffed a few clams into his plastic bag, "Did you come here alone?"

I froze.

"Alone?"

He raised his eyebrow, "Well when I saw you just now you looked like you were standing alone so I—just assumed..." His voice trailed off.

I looked at him in confusion and replayed his words over and over again in my mind, trying to make sense out of it-

Oh.

Right.

He couldn't see Natsu.

I chewed on my bottom lip, wondering how I should respond. Natsu had disappeared all of a sudden and I wasn't quite sure when did he leave. I felt terrible, absolutely terrible about the fact that I didn't even notice or say goodbye when he had left. I darted my eyes to the ground and inhaled deeply.

"I was—"

"Looks like it's going to rain," Sting looked up at the darkened sky, grey clouds filled the canvas, "Right, sorry," he mumbled and laughed lightly, "As you were saying?"

I swallowed thickly and looked at him then, my lips curved into a genuine smile, "I wasn't alone."

The sky cried for the fourth time that week.

~0~

Later that evening, the bakery was bustling with people. Fridays were often the busiest.

"Come again!" The workers all chanted in unison as a few customers walked out the door.

I was out back busy making the loaf with Levy, Flare at the cashier, Erza arranging the pastries out in the front, Mirajane managing the shift schedule and Cana sleeping in the staff room. Everyone else was either helping out with the customers or working on new pastries or they were cleaning the floors.

"So," I grinned smugly towards Levy, "Gajeel, is it?"

She squeaked and almost practically threw the dough at my face, "Where did you hear about him?"

"Cana and Mirajane, obviously." I rolled my eyes as I poured more flour onto the table and giggled at Levy's flushed face, "Plus I heard you guys are having kids. And as your best friend, I get to pick one of their names. I was thinking, if it's a guy it should totally be Loke or—"

"We're not like that!" She cried and slapped my arm, "And where did you hear about the kids? We're not having kids by the way. No way. Not in a million years! We're not even together! I swear just ask-"

I burst out with laughter, "I'm kidding Levy!" I paused to look at my best friend, her pupils were slightly dilated and her expression clearly flustered.

I knew that look from anywhere.

"You really like him don't you?"

She hesitated and continued to knead the dough, paused, and then exhaled, "I don't know." She flashed a bittersweet smile.

I chewed on my cheek and stared at her for a minute, before letting out an exaggerated sigh, "Right that's it," I pushed her dough aside and sat on top of the table, even if it was dirtying my pants, "Spill."

"But the dough-"

"I'm sure the dough will understand," I grinned motioning towards the lump that sat on the table, Levy rolled her eyes, "Come on, you know how impatient I am."

Immediately she went off with a rant. Turns out, Gajeel was her lab partner for two whole semesters. He was gruff, or as she would like to call him, manly. He had piercings literally everywhere, apparently there were at least 4 on his face, and he had a hairstyle that made her nearly scream at first sight.

Slowly, they became closer. Although she wouldn't explain it, by the looks of it, they were head over heals. I would be lying if I said it didn't surprise me because it sure did. Levy often talked about her ideal man like from those sappy romance novels we used to read, and Gajeel—according to her description— was nothing like any of them.

"I don't know what to do Lu-chan," She mumbled and buried her face into her arm, "I don't know how to face him. He just—makes me feel," Levy squeezed her eyes shut, "Alive. He's wild and I'm just a nerd, we're two totally different people and yet-"

"What difference does that make?" I asked, "You both clearly like each other, shouldn't your happiness and comfort matter more rather than worrying about how different your personalities are? If he judges you by what kind you are, then he really isn't worth it. He can go die in a hole." I jumped off from the table, "What matters is that you both like each other, and that you don't give a damn about what people say about both of you. As the saying goes, opposites attract right?"

She laughed, "I don't even know if he likes me."

As I washed my hands, I couldn't help but to crack a small grin, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, don't we?"

Levy nodded and smiled, "I suppose."

Suddenly the door to the kitchen opened and Flare appeared wearing a red apron around her neck. She motioned her thumb behind her.

Flare said and flashed a smile towards our direction, "Lucy it's your turn. I'll take over yours until closing hour."

"Looks like someone's in a good mood." I pointed out as I made my way out.

Flare nodded and hummed towards the sink, finishing up the dishes, "The customers are pretty satisfied with our service today—especially the kid! And if we keep this up we'll have business like this everyday and-" She sucked in a deep breath and released a content sigh, "I think I found a new hobby."

"And what is that?" I curiously asked, only a step away from exiting the kitchen.

She grinned, "Making people happy."

Her figure faded into the back as she searched for more eggs.

I smiled at her words and nodded,

I'll be routing for you.

When I stepped outside, the warm smell of pastries filled the bakery with the chatter of customers and the occasional ring of the front bell. I went up to the counter and greeted the customer as I crouched down to stack up the trays.

While the customer was ordering, I couldn't help to find the voice seemed awfully familiar. And when I got up, I knew exactly whom she was, nearly dropping the tray in my hands.

"Juvia?" I breathed out as I looked at the girl in front of me, her blue locks ended right above her shoulders and she had the same icy blue eyes from two years ago.

"Eh? Lucy?" She clasped her hands together and gasped, "It's been so long! Juvia didn't know you work at this bakery!" (She often spoke in third person, a habit, probably).

"And I didn't know you come to this bakery!" I cried and leaned against the cashier, my face was beaming.

She laughed as she slipped the money against the counter top, "Well, Juvia just moved back and everybody was talking about the bread here. Heard it's the best and the cheapest in Magnolia, so Juvia came to check it out."

"Then you came to the right place," My grin widened as I cashed in the money and returned her the change, "Do you have time to talk after? Or are you—"

"Ah! Sorry Lucy," She bowed politely, "Juvia's got a job later on."

"A job?" I raised my eyebrow and went to search for the croissants she wanted, "I thought you came from a pretty privileged family."

"Well, Juvia does but—" She sucked in a deep breath and sighed, all dreamy like and tilted her head up with her lips curved into a lame smile, the kind that Levy would make whenever she was talking about a fictional prince, "This young man Juvia met wanted private swimming lessons, and she's been teaching him for the past few years." She paused and looked at me then, noticing my expression she quickly waved her hands in the air and her cheeks puffed out, "Juvia and him aren't like that! Or—well, at least Juvia wants to but—" Juvia sighed again and pouted her lips.

Was everyone suddenly under a serious case of lovelorn?

"If anyone can make you this embarrassed then that person must be a mastermind or something," I chuckled and pushed the bag of croissants towards her, "Tell me about him!" I chanted fanatically.

"Well," Juvia giggled and leaned in closer, "He's really tall and he wears the best underwear."

I nearly—once again—dropped the croissants in my hand, "You've seen him in his underwear?" I spluttered.

"It's not like Juvia wanted to! He just—it's complicated. Anyways," She continued, clearing her throat in the process, "He likes the cold a lot, for some reason, Juvia doesn't really understand but maybe that's why he likes swimming so much. And he can also make really good ice cream- no wait," She corrected herself, "The best ice cream."

A memory flashed of the night with Natsu.

I cough lightly and returned to the conversation. I widened my eyes slightly, impressed by whoever this guy was, "Seriously? He's hot and he can make ice cream? You made a pretty good choice Juvia."

"Right?" She laughed. When she looked down at her watch, a small gasp escaped from her mouth and she quickly took the bag of croissants, "Juvia's sorry Lucy! She has to run for the next stop."

"Wait!" I stopped her before she exited the bakery, she looked back at me as her fingers drummed against the doorknob, a little impatient. "What's his name?" I asked.

There was a moment of silence. The noise within the bakery filled in the emptiness. Then, the bluenette smiled, her hands opened the door only by a crack and grinned.

"How about next time, you can see him yourself."

And with that, there was a ding that rang from the door.

I stood there for a period, looking at the door as the streetlights began to illuminate the junction. Slowly, the bakery started to empty out. Customers buying the last things they needed, the staff tidying up the tables and got ready for the night shift.

I rubbed my hand against my temple.

"I just want to sleep." I groaned.

Sadly, sleep did not come for a long time.

~0~

Author's note:

*nervous laughter*

ehehhehe... I honestly don't really have an legitimate excuse this time. I was just incredibly lazy recently and i also got a n3DS too, so i was busy playing fire emblem and trashing dragon age on my ps4 and crying about feels and dead characters and FREE! is too homo for my own good I ship everyone-

OKAY I'M SORRY HERE'S THE CHAPPIE GUYS *THrOWS*

Because of the uber late update I decided to make it slightly longer and I decided to experiment more with Lucy's age- mostly hormone hurr durr. And DORK STING IS BACK! WEEEEEEE- ahem. JUVIA MAKES AN APPEARANCE! A LOAF OF BREAD FINALLY GETS THE SPOTLIGHT! And I'm sorry if I didn't really write much on Flare, I was a just a bit lazy on her part quq But, there's quite a handful of fluff in here, if I do say so myself ohohoo.

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I love every single one of you EVEN the haters. Haters always welcomed anytime .3.

AND YES.

I HOPE I'VE GIVEN YOU ALL ENOUGH FROZEN FEELS.

now shoooo and have a stupendous week everyone!

Reviews are my hybrid car *vrooms*

(I don't even drive but I really like hybrid cars k)