So I was writing this chapter and out of nowhere Word crashed. I have never felt so frustrated in my life and now I'm late for my piano lessons. Yay! ~
The amount of follows/favs/reviews is insane. Thank you all so much for reading! You guys are the best.
Why yes, the last sentence of the chapter is a foreshadow. C:
Enjoy, everyone!
Lucy gained skeptical glances throughout the day while she was at school the next day. She easily brushed them off with a wide grin. Natsu was her boyfriend and she had no intention on concealing her happiness.
Returning home from school, Lucy hummed along with her laptop as it lit up. She'd never been in this much of a happy mood before. She was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
"You're alive!" Levy's messaged exclaimed when she logged on.
"You scared us yesterday," Gray said.
"What?" Lucy typed.
"We kept trying to talk to you last night, but you didn't respond," Levy explained.
"She kept typing in capitalize letters," Gajeel added.
"Like you could hear her or something," Gray's scoff was visible in his message.
"Sorry!" Lucy apologized. "I was talking to someone."
"Was it Natsu?" Levy asked, although it was on the girls' chat. Something told Levy that this wasn't meant for everyone just yet.
"Yes," Lucy answered, already smiling.
"Tell me what you were talking about!" Levy commanded.
"It's a long story," Lucy warned.
"Then tell me through voice chat to make it faster," she responded.
"Fine," the blonde hovered her cursor over the URL bar to type in the website. After informing each other on which room name it was, they met with each other several minutes later.
"Spill the beans," Levy's voice demanded eagerly.
"Nobody where I live says that anymore," Lucy giggled.
"Well, we do!" Levy defended. "Stop stalling."
"I'm not stalling," Lucy grinned.
Lucy listened as her name was whined out repeatedly. She was having too much fun.
"I have a lot of homework," she reached over her desk to ruffle random papers.
"If you don't tell me, I'll ask Natsu," Levy threatened.
"I'll tell you!" Lucy said quickly. Knowing Natsu, he'd lie about everything just for his amusement.
"Well," she began. "We didn't voice chat."
"Did you.." Levy didn't finish her sentence.
"We video chatted," Lucy spoke. She could hear Levy's muffled squeals.
"And?" Levy asked after her final squeals.
"We talked," Lucy replied simply.
"You're killing me," Levy groaned.
"How did Gajeel ask you to be his girlfriend?" Lucy inquired.
"No way," Levy breathed out.
Lucy stayed silent as she waited for her best friend to collect her thoughts.
"Natsu asked you to be his girlfriend?" Levy shrieked so loud it made Lucy's speakers shake.
"Yes," Lucy laughed nervously.
"You said yes, right?"
"Of course," she smiled, replaying all his facial expressions she was able to see.
"I'm so happy for you two!" Levy declared.
"Thanks," Lucy couldn't fight the tugging of her cheeks.
"How does Natsu look like?" Levy asked.
"Weird," Lucy replied instantly. "He has pink hair."
"Pink?" Levy repeated.
"Yep," the blonde nodded. "A salmon pink."
"That actually sounds like Natsu," Levy giggled.
"It does," Lucy agreed. "How did you react when you first saw Gajeel?"
"I was really scared," Levy laughed softly. "He has piercings all over his face."
"Piercings?" Lucy echoed.
"He has over twenty," she informed.
"Twenty?" Lucy spoke in the same tone as Levy.
"Yep," Levy responded. "He likes them."
"Do you like them?" Lucy asked.
"A little," she replied quietly out of humiliation.
Lucy's cheeks had begun to ache after all the smiling she had done. She was happy that she wasn't the only one feeling this much joy.
"Do you know what we can do now?" Levy perked up.
"What?" Lucy tilted her head.
"We can have double video dates!" she cheered.
"Is that even a thing?" Lucy frowned.
"I'll make it a thing," Levy declared.
Although Lucy found the idea ridiculous, she agreed to it. It would probably end up being fun, anyway.
"I'll be back," Levy announced. "I'll talk to you on the chat later!"
"Okay," Lucy responded, watching the voice chat disconnect. She glanced at the clock and her heartbeat sped up immediately. Natsu was going to be logging on in just a few more minutes.
As each minute ticked by, Lucy started to become anxious. How was she supposed to act now that they were together?
Natsu logged on earlier this time. She waited for Natsu to speak with shaky fingers.
"I slipped on ice today," he sent onto the main chat.
Lucy couldn't help but snort at her screen. She watched as Gajeel and Gray picked on him with pink cheeks. It was winter but her face felt like a summer's day.
"Is Lucy here?" Natsu asked.
"She died again," Gray predicted.
"I'm alive!" Lucy typed frantically.
"What do you mean again?" Natsu questioned.
"Now that I think about it," Gray's remarked, "you died yesterday, too."
"You two both disappeared last night without a word," Gajeel spoke.
"Her and I were talking," Natsu explained.
"About what?" Gajeel inquired.
"He was probably confessing his love," Gray joked.
It was dead silent on the chat for a longer time than Lucy wanted. There was no way she was going to speak now.
"I did," Natsu said.
"You're lying," Gray stated.
"He's not," Lucy spoke.
"So you're with Natsu now?" Gajeel asked Lucy.
"Yes," she typed with a smile.
"Gray, you better find a girlfriend soon," Gajeel pressured.
"You're the only single one here now," Natsu chimed in.
"Who said I'm single?" Gray retorted.
Lucy's jaw dropped and she could feel Natsu and Gajeel's dropping as well.
"Show us a picture of her," Gajeel ordered.
"No," Gray refused.
"Gray is the possessive type," Natsu noted.
"Yeah, so what?" Gray responded.
Lucy read the messages until her lungs begged for air. When the guys were together, they were the most amusing thing.
"I'm back!" Levy popped in.
"Where's Erza?" Natsu inquired.
"She had a student council meeting," Levy replied.
"We better enjoy this moment while she's gone," Gray stated.
And on cue, Erza logged on.
"How does she do that?" Gajeel asked.
"Do what?" Erza questioned.
Before there was an outbreak, Lucy came in.
"How was the meeting?"
"It was good," she replied. Then a message came from the girls' chat.
"Jellal walked me home today," her message said.
"How romantic!" Levy virtually shouted.
"Yeah," Erza spoke shortly, out of embarrassment. Then another message came in, "What were you talking about with Natsu?"
"Natsu asked her to be his girlfriend!" Levy reported.
"Really?" Erza asked.
"Yes," Lucy typed.
"I'm happy for you," Erza announced.
"Thank you," she replied.
"Has Natsu talked to you yet?" Levy asked.
"No, actually," Lucy answered with a small frown. When he first came on, he indirectly spoke to her but that was it. "Maybe he wants me to talk to him first?"
"Yeah, do that!" Levy encouraged.
Lucy went to the individual chat with Natsu, already grinning at the past messages, and clicked the box to start typing. Though for some reason, her fingers wouldn't move.
"Why is this so hard?" she muttered to herself. Her mind was blank on what to say. She forced her fingers to move and she could only muster a simple hi.
"Hey," Natsu replied instantly, like he was anticipating the message the whole time.
"How was school?" she asked awkwardly.
"Was I in your head all day?" he ignored her question to ask his own.
Lucy read the message with wide eyes. How could he possibly know that?
"How did you know?" she typed skeptically.
"Magic," he answered slyly. Lucy could already picture his smirk; causing her stomach to fill up with butterflies.
The stiffness of the conversation slowly faded away like it always did. Lucy was grateful that Natsu somehow had the power to do it.
The more they spoke, the less satisfying it became. She wanted to hear his voice. And if she could, see him as well.
"I want to hear your voice again," Lucy sent before she backed out of it.
"I want to see your face again," he responded.
She read the message over and over until she was convinced that he had actually said it.
"Let's video chat?" she suggested.
"Okay," he replied.
They didn't exchange links because there was no need. Neither of them could forget the link that brought them together.
Lucy didn't think to fix her hair so when she remembered, it was too late. The call was already connected.
"Hi," Natsu gave a small smile.
The thoughts of her hair were thrown out the window when she saw what Natsu was wearing.
"Your clothes," she observed with wide eyes.
He glanced down with a puzzled look and the size of his eyes soon matched hers.
"I'm so used to just coming on the computer I forgot to change," he mumbled at his school uniform.
"The tie looks nice," she complimented with a grin.
"I don't know how to tie it, so I hide it under my scarf," he revealed, lifting his white scarf up to show a tangled mess.
Just the sight made Lucy burst out laughing. When she looked back at her screen, Natsu was grinning.
"I'll go change," he rose from his seat.
"Okay," she nodded, watching his slim body walk away from the screen.
"No peeking!" he called out from the back of the room. At the edge of the screen, she saw Natsu holding up his index finger.
"I'm not!" she exclaimed, turning away from the screen.
She heard Natsu's movements and Lucy rotated her chair slightly so she could sneak a glance at Natsu. She couldn't fight her curious side.
There was only a lean arm visible at the side of the screen. Disappointment flooded through her.
"Are you looking?" he asked.
"N-No!" she squeaked, jolting in her seat. She turned back in her chair and looked down at her hands.
"You're bad at lying," he smirked when he returned with normal clothes.
"I didn't look!" she lied with a pout.
"Okay, I believe you," he nodded.
He believed her so easily, Lucy felt bad. She sighed.
"I looked," she confessed.
"I know you did," he grinned.
Before she could explain, there was a knocking on her door. She didn't have any time to react. Miss. Spetto opened the door and stuck her head in.
"Are you talking to Natsu?" she asked with a grin.
She nodded, hoping she didn't hear the conversation that was going on. Miss. Spetto opened the door so she could step in.
"Oh, you're talking to him face to face," she raised a hand to her mouth.
"Hi, Miss. Spetto," Natsu spoke. Lucy turned back to her laptop to see Natsu waving.
"Goodness," Miss. Spetto fanned herself. "I'm in my work clothes right now! How embarrassing!"
"You look fine," Lucy assured, wanting to calm down her guardian.
Miss. Spetto stretched her neck to look at Natsu over Lucy's shoulder. A soft giggle escaped her lips.
"He's handsome," she whispered to Lucy.
Lucy's eyes widened instantly and she mentally begged Miss. Spetto to leave. Natsu listening and watching this conversation was incredibly humiliating.
"I came here to ask if you wanted some coffee," Miss. Spetto recalled.
"We ran out, didn't we?" Lucy asked.
"I got more today," Miss. Spetto beamed.
"Thank you," Lucy smiled. "I'll have some."
Miss. Spetto took another glance at Natsu and paused. She returned to fanning herself with her hand.
"I was just about to ask if Natsu wanted some!" she laughed at her mistake.
"I have some here," he said.
"Peppermint?" Lucy spun around to look at him.
"Of course," he replied with a grin.
Miss. Spetto's presence had already begun to slip Lucy's mind, but once she heard giggling she turned to her guardian.
"I'll go now!" Miss. Spetto announced after getting stared at. Before she shut the door, she gave Lucy a thumbs up.
"Why is she so embarrassing?" Lucy groaned.
"I like her," Natsu stated.
"She's a good person," she smiled at her guardian. She did embarrass her, but Lucy was always her first priority.
"I want coffee now," he whined.
"Let's go get some," she spoke.
"Last one back is a rotten egg!" he declared childishly, surging up from his seat and sprinting out of his room.
Lucy stared at Natsu's empty room until she heard the ding of her microwave. She grinned as she dashed out of her room to get her cup. There was no way Natsu was going to get back before her.
"Thank you!" Lucy swiftly seized the cup from the counter and returned to her room. Careful not to spill the hot liquid, she walked a bit slower this time.
She shut the door with her back and she heard footsteps coming from her laptop while it clicked shut.
"No way!" Lucy exclaimed, rushing to her seat.
"I was here first!" they both shouted simultaneously as they sat down.
"No, I was," they said together again.
Lucy took a deep breath and Natsu did the same movements. He was mocking her.
"How did you warm up your coffee so fast?" she asked while he took small sips.
"I have a special microwave," he replied.
Lucy frowned. Perhaps Magnolia had better microwaves than Acalypha.
"Does your cup have a dragon on it?" she scrutinized at his cup.
"I really like dragons," he admitted. He held the cup to the webcam and spun it around so she could see all sides.
"You're amazing at drawing them," she complimented.
Natsu froze at her words but not long enough for Lucy to notice.
"Thanks," he muttered, having his head withdrawn to cover his face.
The night rolled on with light-hearted conversations. The couple acted just as they did before and Lucy didn't mind one bit. She would probably be more flustered than usual if it wasn't that way.
"Hey, everyone," Levy sent a message on the main chat.
"Yes?" Erza asked.
"We should all video chat tomorrow," she suggested. "It's been three months already. It's about time."
Lucy was about to accept the offer but her fingers paused when Natsu spoke.
"Now everyone is going to see your face," he complained.
"I see Gray isn't the only possessive one out of our group," she teased. She looked at Natsu to see him pouting. Lucy didn't think he couldn't get any more adorable.
Everyone ended up accepting Levy's invitation. Although Lucy had to beg Natsu until he eventually accepted.
"See you all tomorrow! Literally," Levy stated then logged off.
"She's not the best at jokes," Gajeel told everyone, his name disappearing seconds later.
Erza and Gray sent short goodbyes and then there were two.
"Do you want to stay up all night tomorrow?" he offered in the midst of their conversation.
"I will make you stay up late!" she declared, using that answer as her yes.
"We'll see," he replied. He then leaned back in his chair, "I think I can get used to this."
"What?" she raised an eyebrow at his nonchalant position.
"Seeing you everyday," he answered simply.
"Me too. I don't think I'll ever get tired looking at your hair," she pointed at her screen.
"What about me?" he grumbled.
Lucy immediately became tongue-tied. How did compliments for boyfriends work again?
"You're nice to look at," she stammered.
"Is that a compliment?" he smirked at the flustered blonde.
Lucy pouted in response, refusing to look at Natsu's teasing face.
They talked for a while longer and once a yawn left Lucy's lips, Natsu took that as their signal.
"I'll let you sleep now," he said.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she replied.
"Literally," he grinned, stealing Levy's joke.
"Literally," she repeated with a grin. She loved her best friend but the joke was awful.
"Goodnight, Lucy," he spoke gently. The way he said her name made Lucy's heart jump.
"If your face becomes any redder, mine will, too," he mumbled, averting his gaze from the screen.
"Is it that obvious?" she patted her blazing cheeks.
"It's cute," he coughed after the sentence. This caused Lucy's cheeks to heat up more.
"Goodnight, Natsu," she waved. Once he returned the wave, she forced herself to log off. She had to rest up for the all nighter coming the next day.
She felt as if she had met Natsu three times. She met him on the website, voice chat, and video chat. There was just one more box, or place, left to check and Lucy wanted to mark it as quick as possible.
"I should start saving up," she spoke as she shut off her laptop.
Saving up and waiting was the only thing left to do now.