*Rise from the grave*
I'm back! Please don't kill me! I didn't expect school to actually become challenging, and I also visited my friends in Utah for ten days! I thought I would have been able to finish this chapter at that time...but no D:
Recap:
"You must have been fighting to stay awake," whispered Lucy as she stared down at Natsu's sleeping face. Happy jumped on his bed and curled into a ball. Lucy tucked her blonde hair behind her ear before bending down to kiss Natsu's cheek.
"Good night," she said with a smile.
A day later, Natsu jumped out of bed in the morning with a smile on his face. "I feel so much better!" he exclaimed. He threw on his uniform and headed downstairs to eat breakfast with Lucy. "Great news, Luce! I'll be going to school toda-" He froze when he noticed that the kitchen was unoccupied, and the aroma of food was non-existent. "Luce?" called Natsu. He check inside a pot and called her again.
He went upstairs assuming she just forgot to cook food. When he stopped at her door, he knocked on it and asked if she was getting ready. He knocked again, but she still didn't answer. "I'm coming in!" he announced. He tried to turn the knob but it was locked.
Natsu went outside and around the house, scaled up the wall, and reached Lucy's window. He slid it open, silently thanking Lucy for not locking it, and jumped on the bed.
"Ah!" cried Lucy. She fell off her white sheet and brought her pillow along with her. When she sat up and saw Natsu kneeling on her bed, she grunted. "What the fuck are you doing?" she growled as she slowly got up, using her bed for support.
"I got worried when you wouldn't answer! You forgot about breakfast, so I came to remind you. Hey, you don't look so good…Is this how you look like every morning?"
"Can you please get off my bed?"
Natsu shuffled off and dropped to the floor.
Lucy coughed as she returned to the comfort of her sheets. "I caught your damn sickness, Natsu. I'm not going to school."
Natsu's eyes lit up. "This is the perfect opportunity for me to return the favor!"
"That's okay, Natsu. You should go to school. Your grades aren't the best…"
"I don't care about that right now. So…I'll try to take care of you like you took care of me yesterday, okay?"
"Fine."
Natsu hummed as he made his way downstairs to get some water. He fed Happy first before letting scalding hot water run into the bowl. He grabbed a rag and went back upstairs. "I got the water!" he exclaimed as he soaked the rag and brought it to Lucy's face without twisting the fabric first.
Lucy cried out. "It's hot! It's hot!"
"What are you talking about?"
Lucy threw the rag off of her face and touched her red wet skin. "Natsu…" she whined. "Can't you tell the difference between warm and fire breathing hot?"
"No."
"I think you should probably go to school." Said Lucy as she turned away from Natsu, wiping the water off of her face with the end of her pajama shirt,
"Not a chance!"
The bell signaling that school was over rang, and Levy started to merrily skip towards Lucy's house. I'll buy her some sweets on the way! She thought with a smile.
Gray grabbed her arm, releasing her from her day dream. "Levy, I've been asking everyone this today, but do you know where Natsu lives?"
Levy froze. Oh no, she thought. Should I say yes? Should I say no? I don't know what to do!
"Well?" pushed Gray. "Do you know?"
"N-N-Not at all! Sorry!" Levy was about to continue on her way when Gray held her arm tighter.
"I don't believe that."
"Ouch! What do you care, anyways?"
"He's my friend and I'm concerned! Where are you heading anyways? Your place is the other way and Gajeel isn't with you."
"Oh, I'm going to Natsu's house!"
A wave of silence passed between them until Levy finally realized what she said. "I-I-I-I mean Lucy's house! That's what I meant!"
"But you said it was Natsu's house first."
"Did I?" Levy giggled nervously. "We were talking about Natsu so I accidentally let it slip!"
Gray eyed her suspiciously. "Then…you wouldn't mind me following you? I'd like to check up on Lucy since she didn't come to school yesterday as well."
"I don't think she would like that…"
"Wait…Natsu and Lucy weren't here yesterday, and now they're absent today…Are they-"
Levy's eyes widened.
Gray continued. "Were they skipping together? Without me?"
Levy sighed in relief. "Yeah, that's what they're doing!"
Gray smirked. "But you said that you were going to go see Lucy, so you must know where those two are."
Levy's lip started to quiver. She couldn't hold it in anymore. "Natsu was kicked out of the student apartments and has been living with Lucy for a while now!"
Gray stared at her blankly. Levy looked at him worriedly and asked, "Gray? You okay?"
Gray laughed. "No he's not!"
"I was just there yesterday!"
All humor in Gray's face vanished. "You're certain?" he whispered. "Why didn't he tell us? Why is he living with Lucy?"
"Well, I guess Lucy saved him. He couldn't bunk with anyone else because most of his friends are in the student apartments, so I think it was either Lucy or the streets. Knowing how sweet Lucy is, she sure wouldn't let that happen."
Gray sighed. "Alright then, let's go. I need to see this for myself."
"Natsu, I'm fine. Please go away." Lucy kept her back turned from Natsu who was sitting crossed legged on the floor.
"The moment I leave, something terrible is going to happen. Like…A meteor will fall out of the sky and hit your house."
Happy jumped on the bed and curled himself underneath Lucy's chin. She sighed heavily. "Natsu, the chances of that happening…"
"What do you want to eat for dinner? Do you want me to make you some soup? Salad?"
"I'd rather not have you in the kitchen unsupervised."
"Then I'll call someplace. I'll be right back!"
Natsu ran downstairs to retrieve his phone that he left on the dining table. As he started to search for restaurants that could deliver, the doorbell rang.
"Wow," mumbled Natsu as he set his phone back down. "That was fast. I didn't even call them." He quickly walked to the door and opened it, only to quickly close it in Gray's face.
"Don't shut the door on me, flame-brain!" yelled Gray as he moved his foot out in front of him to stop the door from closing all the way. He slammed his body onto the surface and started pushing Natsu back. "Let us in!"
"You must have the wrong house. Bye!" Called Natsu in an attempt to sound like a girl.
"I know it's you, Natsu!" Yelled Gray. "Open up the fucking door! You've got explaining to do!"
"Please, Natsu," said Levy. "Let's not break the door."
Natsu quickly jumped back, causing Gray to fall in face first. A fight was about to break out when Levy intervened.
"Natsu, you look okay! Why didn't you or Lucy come to school today?"
"Lucy caught my cold and she's in bed right now. I was just about to call for some food."
"Don't you work today?" asked Gray, getting up.
"Yeah…Bisca will probably fire me if I don't show up later, but I can't just leave Lucy."
Levy slapped the back of Natsu's head and said, "I can't believe you let her catch your cold!"
"We'll take care of her," said Gray with a shrug. "If that's okay with Lucy."
"Actually…" started Levy. "I've got work at the library pretty soon, but I can come back later. Have you as a caretaker, Natsu, is probably not the safest thing."
"Then I guess I will take care of her on my own," said the raven haired male with a shrug. "Where is her room? I'll go talk to her."
"No," said Natsu sternly. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I won't allow it."
"I wasn't going to ask for your permission. I was going to ask hers. Plus, I'm doing you a huge solid. You need to get to work, and I want to help Lucy. You're not the only one who is worried about her."
"Natsu…" Levy whispered. "Let him go."
Growling, the pink haired boy turned towards the stairs and said, "It's this way." He led the two up into Lucy's room where she was sitting up and reading a book.
"Who was it?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of the text in front of her.
"Lucy," started Gray.
The blonde looked over, surprised. "Gray? What are you…"
"Natsu has to go to work soon, and if he doesn't, then he'll most likely be fired. Levy also has to go to work, so I'll stay here and take care of you. But only if that's fine with you."
Lucy sighed. "Look guys, it's just a cold. I really don't need this royal treatment-"
"But you deserve royal treatment!" exclaimed Levy as she walked in and sat on Lucy's bed. "You're sick. You should have someone here to help you get better."
It's true that I've never been alone while I was sick, thought Lucy. Virgo always took care of me. Gray's not a bad guy either…
"Will you be alright with me staying here?" asked Gray.
"Yeah, sure," responded Lucy as she picked her book up again.
Natsu grabbed Gray's wrist and dragged him out the door. He pinned him against the wall and said, "If you treat her badly, I swear-"
Gray pushed him off and whispered harshly, "You think I'm that kind of guy? If you really think that way, then you don't know me at all. Now go to work."
Natsu flared his nose toward Gray before leaving to his room.
As Gray was about to re-enter Lucy's room, Levy came out.
"I have to go now," she said as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon. Take good care of her, okay?"
Gray nodded and approached Lucy. "I'm sure by now you've figured out that Natsu can't cook shit, but lucky for you I am a decent chef. So, mademoiselle, what would you like for dinner?"
Lucy looked up and smiled. "You can cook?"
Gray blushed and looked away for a moment. "Yeah, what do you want?"
"Surprise me and use anything you can find in the kitchen. You'll be serving a master chef, so I won't judge you lightly."
Gray headed downstairs to get started on cooking. As he was looking through the cabinets, Natsu came down in his work clothes.
The two eyed each other for a moment before Natsu disappeared.
As Lucy was finishing up her novel, Gray knocked on her open door. He balanced a tray of food in one hand. He flashed a smile and said, "Dinner is served."
Lucy tried to inhale deeply to take in the scent of the soup, but her clogged nose made it almost impossible. She coughed loudly and lightly tossed her book to the foot of her bed. "What did you make?"
Gray set the tray in front of his patient and said, "Classic chicken noodle soup, grapefruit, and ginger tea with honey. You're going to get better in no time. With Natsu taking care of you, who knows how long that would take."
Lucy smiled. "Thanks, Gray."
"Natsu? Natsu! Snap the fuck out of it!" Bisca slapped Natsu over the head.
Natsu was staring blankly into space as he wiped down the empty tables. The moment Bisca's hand met the back of his head, he let out a yelp of surprise. "Hey! What was that for?"
"I've known that you're an airhead, but this is just ridiculous. Tell me what's going on."
"I-It's nothing. I swear, I was just thinking about food."
"Is it a girl?"
"N-No! Let we do my work, hag!"
"Excuse me? I am your boss!"
Alzak hurried over with his daughter Asuka following closely behind him. "What's going on?" he asked worriedly.
Bisca grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's a good thing I've known you for a long time, Natsu. I would have fired you a long time ago for your smart mouth."
"I'm sorry," said Natsu finally as he tossed his rag on the table and faced the restaurant owners. "I'm just really stressed. I was taking care of a sick friend at home but I had to come here and leave them with someone else. I'm just worried about her."
"Lucy?" piped Asuka.
"Yeah," said Natsu with a smile as he patted the young girl's head.
"Lucy's sick?" questioned Bisca. "You mean to tell me that she was taking care of you the other day and caught your cold? You stupid idiot. Alright, since it's Lucy, I'll let you leave early. Just wait while I get some food together that you can give her, okay?"
"O-Okay."
Once Bisca left, Alzak smiled and said, "I hope Lucy's fine. Bisca really likes her, and if she wants a job here, we'll give it to her. She did a fantastic job when she took your place."
Asuka dug into her pockets and pulled out a small candy wrapped in white foil. She held it out for Natsu to take and said, "Please give it to Lucy and tell her to be better!"
After Gray finished washing the dishes, he went upstairs to talk to Lucy. When he arrived at her room, she was already asleep, and the book that she finished reading fell on the floor. Gray picked it up and gently placed it on the night stand.
Lucy mumbled something in her sleep and turned so she was facing her caretaker. Gray moved some of Lucy's hair away from her face and smiled.
"You're really cute," he whispered. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then left her room with his heart pounding.
Natsu unlocked the door and quickly entered the room. He was about to storm upstairs when he saw Gray sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels. Natsu placed the container of food on the table and moved over to the couch.
"How is she?" he asked.
Gray turned the television off and said, "She's resting. Since you're here, I'll be heading out now."
He got up and was about to leave when Natsu put a hand to his chest to stop him. "Wait," said Natsu, looking down. "Thank you. I'm sure you took better care of her than I did."
"Damn right I did."
Gray opened the door and was face-to-face with Levy in mid-knock. She blinked twice before the giggled awkwardly.
"I'm back!" she said.
"I'm leaving. See you tomorrow at school."
Natsu went upstairs with Levy to check up on Lucy. As Gray said, she was sleeping soundly.
"What should I make her for dinner?" Levy whispered.
"I brought some food from work," replied Natsu. He took the candy that Asuka gave him and placed it on top of Lucy's book that was placed on top of the night stand.
"I told my parents that I would be staying the night. I brought my clothes and stuff." Levy left the room and entered the guest room to leave her stuff.
Natsu gazed compassionately at Lucy's sleeping face, but quickly shook his head and disappeared when he heard the doorbell ring.
"If it's that Gray again…" muttered Natsu as he stomped down the stairs.
With force, the scarfed boy swung the door open with a scowl on his face. Lisanna jumped back, surprised.
"N-Natsu?" she questioned in a high-pitched voice.
Natu stared at her with wide eyes for a few moments before he looked around outside to see if there was anyone else with her. "How did you know I was here?"
"I heard that you were kicked out of the student apartments, and I was getting really worried when you weren't showing up to school. I followed Levy and I saw Gray come out not so long ago."
"How many more people know that I was kicked out?"
"Well…people were beginning to wonder why it was so quiet, and why nothing has been wrecked recently. Then many people started noticing that you haven't been around, so we assumed it's because you were working more. I'm sure that there have been a lot of people who already know that you are kicked out, but they don't know where you currently live."
Lisanna looked up at the house. "You live…here? How were you able to afford this?"
"Yeah. My…um… distant cousin lets me stay here for free. I try to pay for rent, but she refuses. She caught my cold so I've been taking care of her, so that's why I haven't been in class recently."
"Oh! Do you need any help?"
Lisanna was about to come in when Natsu moved in her way. "N-No! I've got it! Thanks, though. I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"
Lisanna's eyebrows knitted together. "O-Okay…bye, Natsu."
The following day, Levy got up early to make breakfast for everyone. She fed Happy and then placed two plates on omelet on the table, and then put the other plate on a tray to take to Lucy.
"Are you feeling well enough to go to school?" asked Levy as she placed the tray on Lucy's lap.
"I think I'll rest for one more day. I'm well enough that I don't need a whole lot of care, so you and Natsu don't need to worry. All I have is a headache and my nose is a little stuffy still."
"Alright, but I'm coming the moment school lets us out!"
Lucy smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it."
Natsu slid into the room, panicked. "How is she? Is she okay? Is she still alive?"
Lucy sighed. "Natsu, I have a cold. Not a terminal illness. You don't need to worry about me when you're in school."
Natsu crossed his arms. "I won't go to school with you still sick! I gave you my word!"
"Natsu!" scolded Levy. "Your grades are plummeting! Think of it this way…the school will contact the student dorms to find out what's up. The office will inform them that you were kicked out. The school will find out where you are, and how happy do you think they will be when they find out that you have been living one girl and no adults without permission?"
Natsu nodded his head. "You make a fair point."
"Go to school, you two," said Lucy as she picked up her fork. "I'll be fine. Happy will still be here to watch over me."
Lunch time came around. Erza slammed her palms onto Natsu's desk and glared at him. His face went pale when he saw a dark aura floating around her.
"Where have you been?" asked the scarlet haired woman as she eyed her prey.
"I-I've been sick!"
"You know what I mean. Word is spreading that you were kicked out. And not just recently, but weeks ago. Care to explain?"
"Has Makarov heard about it yet?"
"There is a good chance."
Natsu sighed. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been staying with Lucy."
"What?"
Natsu held his hands up. "Before you jump to any conclusions, she saved me from living on the streets. We're just roommates, and nothing has happened."
"So where is she?"
Natsu scratched his head. "She…well….caught my cold."
Levy and Gajeel came over with some food as Erza slapped Natu's head. "She caught your cold?"
Levy sighed. "I'm assuming he told you?"
Gajeel looked at Levy with a confused expression. "Told her what?"
"She's student council president," replied Natsu. "She was going to find out sooner or later."
"Find out what?" asked Gajeel.
Erza nodded her head. "I've made up my mind. I'm visiting Lucy after school today."
"What is going on?" continued Gajeel, noticeably irritated.
Levy sighed and patted Gajeel's muscular arm. "I'll tell you later, but for now, just forget about it."
Lucy's eyes fluttered open. She looked over at the time and saw that she slept past the time that school was let out. She stood up to get changed, but she immediately fell back down on her bed. Happy looked at her worriedly as Lucy broke out into a coughing fit. She could hear the pounding in her ears. She lifted her hand to her forehead to feel her temperature.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "I was fine before…" Lucy took the glass of water the was sitting on the night stand and took two big gulps before laying back down.
Natsu unlocked the door to the house and stepped in with Levy, Gajeel, Gray, and Erza behind him.
"Don't you think that it will be way to crowded?" asked Natsu as he eyed Gray.
"You said she was feeling better," said Gray, ignoring the look that he was receiving. "So I don't see this being a problem."
They all went upstairs to greet Lucy and saw her still and bed. Levy automatically knew that something was wrong and quickly went to her side. She placed her hand on Lucy's forehead and said, "That's so weird…she was fine earlier…"
"I'll go get some cold water!" announced Erza as she dashed downstairs. The noise of her going through the cabinet could be heard all the way back to the bedroom.
"She's sweating!" said Gajeel. "We need to get her out of her clothes or something!" The large man went over to the sick girl and was about to undress her when both Natsu and Gray pushed him away.
"Like hell you're going to do that!" yelled Levy. "Find me a pain reliever. She's having a really bad headache."
The boys scrambled into the bathroom and began to destroy the place looking for a pill.
Erza came back with a bowl full of cold water and tossed it onto Lucy.
"Erza!" cried Levy, backing away from the wet bed. "What are you doing?"
"Her body needed to cool down!"
Lucy passed out.
The boys scrambled back into the room with a bottle of pain killers in Natsu's hand. Levy shooed everyone out so that she could properly take care of her sick friend. Gray, Erza, and Gajeel left the house with many apologies, and Natsu stayed waiting on the couch. Once Levy came down the stairs, he quickly got up to receive a report.
"She'll be fine," said Levy. "I changed her bed and clothes, so all she needs now is more rest. She must have been needing a lot of that for quite some time."
Natsu nodded his head and went upstairs as Levy exited through the door. He started running when he heard Lucy screaming.
"Lucy!" he cried when he burst into the room.
Lucy threw her sheets on the floor as her arms flailed around. She was having a nightmare.
"Virgo!" she cried. "Dad! Stop it! Leave her alone!"
Natsu took hits as he grabbed hold of Lucy and waited for her to calm down. Lucy tried to break free, probably thinking that Natsu was her enemy, but her water-filled eyes snapped open. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she looked around her room, confused.
"Lucy…" started Natsu. "Are you alright?"
The young woman stayed silent as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. Recalling her dream, she started shaking uncontrollably.
"Lucy?" questioned Natsu.
Lucy started to sob hysterically, which caused Natsu to hold her tighter. He let her cry, and patiently waited.
For what seemed like hours, Lucy eventually stopped, but the tears were still there along with sniffing. She pulled herself away from Natsu and turned to face him. "I'm sorry," she said as she looked down.
"There is nothing to apologize for," responded Natsu. "You were having a nightmare. Are you alright now? Do you want me to get you anything?"
"I…I want to talk to you. About…my family."
"Are you sure?"
Lucy nodded her head and repositioned herself on the bed. "After my mom died in a car accident, my dad was never the same again. He started abusing me mentally and physically. One night, I saw my dad…" Lucy's squeezed her eyes shut at the bad memory.
"It's okay, Luce," said Natsu as he placed his and on top of hers.
"He was raping the maid, Virgo. Virgo is like a second mother to me, and to see my dad doing those things…" Lucy paused to steady her breathing. "She kept it in and pretended that she was okay when she was with me. She always smiled and never showed how sad she was. She stayed that way so that I wouldn't feel sad as well. My dad kicked me out of the house to have more time with her…I would take a thousand more hits, just for him to stop torturing her."
Lucy broke out into more sobs as Natsu held her tight once again. She fell asleep in his arms, and he silently cried for her.
The next morning, Lucy woke up tucked into bed. Her headache was gone, and she could finally smell out of her nose. She took a long needed shower and got ready for school. When she went downstairs, she saw Natsu waiting for her at the table with a big brown bag in front of him.
"What's that?" asked Lucy.
"Breakfast," responded Natsu as he took out a large breakfast burrito and tossed it to his companion. "Best in Magnolia."
Lucy caught it and began to unwrap the wrapper as she took a seat across from Natsu who was already digging into his food.
Lisanna waited patiently outside Natsu's home, but out of shyness, she hid herself behind a tree. When she saw the door opening, she quickly hid herself from view. When she heard Natsu talking to someone, she slowly peeked her head out to see who he was with.
I wonder if it's his cousin, thought Lisanna.
When she saw that it was Lucy, she dropped to the ground.
Is Lucy really Natsu's distant cousin? Or did Natsu actually lie to me?
She felt like her heart was stabbed.
Chapter 14 is going to be...interesting...
Stay tuuuuuned!
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~Bl00dyshad0w