Thank you for the support and im sorry this took a while. Life is a very distracting bitch. That and I was having trouble with this chapter. I know whats going to happen (obviously) I just get stuck on figuring out how to put it all down into words -_-
In regards to natsu and his dragon wings. Lets just say they 'sprout' from his back. Kinda like the presidents son on xmen.. lol
We are building up to the freaky voice owner and the story of Lucy. Hopefully when I get there, you like it :P Lucy and Natsu.. did I have them kiss too soon? I wanted them to have one of those spontaneous moments you know? Dont need to know someone well for one of those ;) lol
Anyway. Shall we continue?
Chapter Fourteen: Of Softened Blondes & Troubled Pinkettes
"Stupid stupid STUPID!"
She had planned everything out perfectly. From the second she would arise with the sun, to the moment her head would fall back onto her oversized pillow. Unfortunately she had not foreseen drinking herself into a giddy stupor and waking up late the next day with a pounding headache.
"Ugh.. I knew I shouldn't have had anything to drink." She grumbled miserably as she made her way into the adjoining bathroom.
If ever there was a time she was grateful for having such a luxury, it would be now.
"Ugh.. I feel like crap.. I didn't even drink much.."
The rational side of her brain reminded her that it was her first time so it's understandable that she's such a lightweight.
Pft. Where was that voice last night?
"Never again.."
Her face contorted into a look of pure disgust when she realized that she was still in her uniform. So, not wanting to smell like shit even longer than necessary, she stripped off the offending garments and stepped into the nice hot shower that was ready and waiting for her.
A blissful sigh escaped her as the water made contact. It felt heavenly against her skin, easing her taut muscles and relaxing her stiff posture.
"I don't even care that I don't remember much of last night.." she breathed out. "I made it out in one piece so that's all that matters.."
There was something nagging at her though. Something that she was sure was significant. But she cast the feeling aside (she'd figure it out later) and focused on waking herself up. There was still time to do what she had been looking forward to after all. Even if her original schedule went up in a cloud of smoke she was still keen to get in to it. She just hoped Jellal felt the same way.
After securing the funds needed for the festival and informing the Headmaster of the decision, he had (very enthusiastically) granted them permission to head into town to order supplies and purchase anything they deemed an absolute necessity whenever they found the time.
Lucy may not come off as the type, but she loved shopping.
Out of all the years she had been in the area, she had not once ventured into the city, choosing instead to remain within the protective walls of the Academy. So she had cornered Jellal and (very nicely) told him that they were going to go on said trip the following Saturday.
She could barely keep in her excitement all week.
A frown appeared on her face at the thought of her blue haired partner. He must have known Erza was drinking when he told her that the redhead had wanted to see her.
"Bastard" She growled, grabbing her shampoo. "He could have at least warned me! And he knew that we had plans today!"
Pouring a reasonable amount onto her hand and massaging it through her hair with a new found sense of vengeance, she came to a pleasant solution.
Jellal was in for a world of pain.
She had barely stepped back into her room when a barrage of knocks sounded at the door and an all too familiar (and way to cheerful) voice filtered through.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty! I have wonderful news!"
Lucy winced at her friends tone and briefly considered ignoring her.
The last time she had listened to her she had ended up drunk on stupid.
And why the hell was she so hyper so early?
Oh..
Right.
She had slept through most of the morning.. but that was beside the point! The girl was way too loud after a night of heavy drinking.
"I know you can hear me, Lucy! Now let me in before I break down this door!"
Oh hell no.
Her poor door had already suffered from manhandling maniacs. Said maniac was just lucky it was really her own fault, or she would have seriously considered drawing blood.
So with a small huff of agitation she marched forward.
"I'll give you 10 seconds Lucy then I'm coming in! ... 10!"
And then she froze.
"9!"
The sudden thought of Natsu had made something else spring to mind.
"8!"
It was a memory..
"7!"
Her eyes widened as image after image came flooding back to her.
"6!"
She had seen Natsu last night..
"5!"
He had attempted to apologize..
"4!"
She'd seen his wings..
"Don't think I wont Lucy! ... 3!"
He had kissed her..
"... 2!"
And after he had taken her back to her room.. she had thanked him by kissing him back!
"1!"
The door burst open and smacked into the wall so hard it left a gaping hole where the doorknob had smashed into.
Lucy didn't even flinch.
Erza lowered her leg and tutted when she saw the blonde staring wide eyed a few steps away from the door.
"Honestly Lucy, making me yell when you were already awake." The girl said as she walked inside. "If you had moved a little faster I wouldn't have had to kick your door in.."
Lucy blinked afew times then looked at Erza as though she had just noticed she was there.
"Sorry.." she answered distantly. "I didn't hear you 'til now.."
Erza shook her head before closing the now slightly off hinged piece of wood and made herself comfortable.
"Get dressed." She said with a smile. "I'll tell you of our plans when you are decent."
Lucy nodded and gathered all her clothes at a break neck speed before retreating back to the bathroom.
Once she was alone she sunk to her knees and buried her face in her hands.
"Stupid stupid stupid.."
She had finally re-emerged once she had calmed herself down and went about making her bed. She needed to keep herself busy.. distraction was the key to staying calm.
"Sorry to keep you." She said. "Last night was.. definitely an experience."
Erza smiled apologetically in return.
"Yes. About that Lucy.. forgive me for dragging you into it. Had I known you had plans today I would not have been so insistent."
"Aw it's okay Erza. I had fun."
"I'm glad. I'm also amazed you managed to walk all the way back here.. you were pretty tipsy."
Lucy laughed nervously and started fluffing her pillows.
"I don't remember how I did that either."
Liar.
"But it's in the past now. Nothing to do but move on right?"
Erza hummed in agreement before her eyes began to sparkle and her face lit up with a very pleased smile.
Lucy wasn't sure if she was going to like the reason for that smile..
"The Headmaster has requested that I accompany you and the boys on your trip today." She announced happily. "And since it takes a good two hours or so to travel there and back, he has also allowed us to spend the night at the Fairy Hills Hotel. Isn't that fantastic Lucy?! Fairy Hills provides the best cheesecake!"
Lucy stared at her friend in shock. Were they really going to be spending the night at Fairy Hills? Of course she had heard of it. It was one of the establishments their Headmaster owned and it was famous for its mineral baths and hot springs.
A matching smile adorned the blondes face and she sped around the room packing an over night bag. How exciting! Not only would she be looking around Magnolia for the first time, but she'd also be spending the night in a five star hotel! And Erza would be there too so she'd have someone other than Jellal to talk to!
Her day was proving to be even more awesome than she had originally thought.
"Hold up" She froze as all of what Erza said registered. "What did you mean by boys?"
Erza folded her arms in front of her and studied the blonde carefully.
"You don't know? You had apparently invited him after all.."
What?
"Natsu informed the Headmaster this morning which is why I was asked to join so that you wouldn't have to put up with them by yourself.."
But she didn't -
"I'm going into Magnolia tomorrow with Jellal.. would you like to come Natsu?"
Shit.
"Lucy? Are you alright? Did Natsu lie?"
If Lucy hadn't known that Erza was very much excited to join, she would have said yes and denied everything. As it were, the blonde didn't want to depress the girl that had done so much for her. So with an inward sigh and a small smile she shook her head.
"No he didn't. I invited him.. didn't want a repeat of last time you know? I just kinda forgot.."
Erza's entire body relaxed and the wide smile was back on her face in a heartbeat. She nodded in approval and understanding then sat back down.
"Wonderful. Well then, chop chop. The boys will meet us at the platform. Our train arrives in 30 minutes. We can eat once we check in at the hotel and drop off our luggage."
Lucy moved on autopilot as she listened to Erza's excited ramblings about cake.
'Stupid stupid stupid!'
When Erza told her that Jellal had already taken her luggage to the platform, the last thing Lucy had expected to see was a mountain of bags and accessories loaded up and chained to a wagon.
"Uh... Erza.." the blonde said as they drew closer to said wagon. "You do know that we're only going for one night.. right?"
Erza chuckled beside her.
"Of course! But one can never be too prepared!"
Lucy slowly nodded.
"Right..."
She eyed the massive heap of random things then shrugged it off.
Oh well. Not like she was going to be heaving that thing around. From the sounds of it, that task would most likely fall onto Jellal.
Speaking of. Said boy came into view once they rounded the ridiculous amount of luggage and looked up with a smile. But as soon as his eyes met with Lucy's brown ones, he looked away and coughed awkwardly.
That's right blueberry.
Squirm.
"Hello boys" Erza greeted pleasantly. "Have you been waiting long?"
Lucy's eyes found Natsu's hunched over figure and briefly wondered why he looked so miserable. Her answer came shortly after when she heard Jellal mention that the pinkettes motion sickness seemed to already be kicking in. He's been green ever since they arrived.
Lucy rolled her eyes and despite the sudden surge of butterflies she felt being so close (because like hell was she going to let a little crush affect her) she walked over to him and nudged him with her booted foot.
"Hey salamander, if transportation makes you ill, you don't have to force yourself to come you know."
Natsu raised his head and smiled.
"Hey there" He greeted warmly before pulling her close, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her stomach. "Don't worry. I'm sure it won't be so bad since you'll be with me."
She heard Erza coo at them and Lucy's face immediately went red. She rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head.
Violence always helped in her opinion.
"Don't just go around hugging me and saying shit like that moron" she grumbled in embarrassment and stepped away from him, completely ignoring the sense of loss she felt when she had.
Natsu grinned sheepishly and made to grab her again but she skipped away from him and in a moment of childishness, she poked her tongue out at him.
Erza's amused chuckles and Jellal's knowing smile made Lucy inwardly kick herself.
'How embarrassing..'
"Well it's definitely nice to see that the two of you are getting along." Erza said with a teasing lilt in her tone. "Did something happen that I'm not aware of?"
Lucys face darkened despite herself and immediately went on the defensive. Stating that nothing happened and that Erza is crazy, whereas Natsu's grin morphed into a pleased smirk.
"Are you sure nothing happened, Luce?"
"Shut it!"
The sound of the train arriving caused Lucy to inwardly leap with joy and jumped on as soon as it stopped. She walked all the way to the end compartment and plopped down with a small huff.
She really needed to work on not reacting to that boy..
Natsu appeared moments later looking like he'd rather be anywhere BUT there, and sat down beside her with a groan and resumed his hunched over position from earlier.
"I think.. I'm gonna be sick.."
Lucy took pity on the poor soul and reached out to rub his back.
"Seriously. You should just wait here.. it's not like I'll be gone forever."
The train lurched causing Natsu to groan in discomfort and fall sideways until his head was laying on her lap.
Lucy froze, her face beet red and her hands raised up as if she didn't know what to do with them.
Natsu turned around so that his face was buried in her shirt and after inhaling deeply he fell asleep.
"You have some nerve salamander.." She huffed. "One kiss and you take it as an open invitation to keep touching me."
She was being way to soft on him she was sure. But she couldn't help it.. she felt drawn to him now..
"You kissed?!"
Lucy couldn't help but to groan herself when the elder pair made their presence known.
This was going to be a very long train ride.
Two figures watched from their perch atop the train station building as the four fairy tail students made their way down the cobblestone path, laughing and talking amongst themselves.
"She's right there." The one standing pointed out. "Why not just kill her now?"
"Now isn't the time. I'm merely here to observe."
"Why?"
The crouched figure looked between the two that were walking side by side and frowned.
"I need to find out who matters the most to her. That white haired hussy turned out to be completely useless."
"I'd assume it would be you."
"I don't count or matter." The smaller one snapped. "I have never mattered."
There was a brief silence between the two that was filled with so much tension that the boy couldn't stop himself from shifting uncomfortably.
"It's going to be difficult getting her away from that lot when the time comes." He said. "You know who they are don't you?"
"Erza Scarlett and Jellal Fernandes. Yes. I know who they are."
"You don't seem concerned. They are only two of Makarov's best students."
"I don't seem concerned because I'm not. They have nothing on me."
"You seem intent on making her suffer."
"Lucy took everything from me. So simply killing her wouldn't be satisfying. I will make her regret what she did.."
"Interesting.."
"What's that?"
"It seems as though someone heard us."
The girl followed his line of sight until she saw dark eyes narrowed in their direction. A smirk formed on her face and she leant forward a bit more.
"So. You can hear me can you? From all the way over there? my my... you 'are' interesting."
She saw him tense and heard him growl which only increased her amusement.
"You can snarl all you like. I will have her head. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"You won't fucking touch her!"
Everyone around the pink haired teen jumped away from him as he sprinted down the street, fangs bared and fire burning in his eyes.
Whatever it was that had set off the strange boy, they had no intention of getting in his way.
The others spun around after hearing Natsu's furious outburst having just realized he was no longer walking with them and watched in shock as his pink head disappeared in the crowd.
"Natsu must have overheard something troubling for him to react like that." Jellal stated matter-of-factly as he scanned the area.
Erza nodded and glanced at the boy beside her.
"You and Lucy go ahead and check in. I'll follow him."
Lucy looked between the two then back in the direction Natsu had taken off.
"He said you won't touch her.. who do you think he was talking about?" She asked curiously. Part of her didn't want to acknowledge the twinge of jealousy she felt at hearing how protective he had sounded.
Erza pursed her lips and shrugged off her jacket.
"There is only one person he could have been referring to." She said grimly, handing the piece of material over to Jellal. "Anyway, stay with Jellal, Lucy. I'll bring him back."
And with that she took off at a speed Lucy hadn't known she possessed and watched in awe as her teacher and friend disappeared almost as suddenly as Natsu had.
"Come, Lucy. Let's get these things to the hotel."
Lucy slowly nodded her head and followed after him.
"Right.."
She couldn't shake the feeling that she had just missed something very important.
When Erza finally caught up to her friend, he was staring out over the city with a troubled look on his face.
"Natsu." She called out softly as she strode forward to stand beside him. "What happened. Why are you here?"
The boys fists clenched and in the next instant they were engulfed in flames.
"Someone is after Lucy." He growled. "They vanished almost as soon as I got here so I've no idea who they are but.."
His eyes closed and he inhaled the scents that were still lingering.
"One of them.. is very familiar."
Erza glanced at him, a frown marring her own features.
"A familiar scent? Any idea whose?"
Natsus eyes followed his blonde mates figure until it disappeared inside the hotel.
"Yes." He replied quietly. "One."
Erza arched a brow expectantly but Natsu didn't answer her. Instead he turned on his heel and made his way to the door that led them back down.
"Let's go Erza. I'm starving."
For the rest of the afternoon Natsu had remained silent. No one questioned his dark mood or asked about what happened earlier and for that he was glad. He wasn't ready to answer any questions yet. Especially since he wasn't completely sure he had any to give in the first place.
When he had arrived atop the train station he had caught a glimpse of the cloaked female that had threatened Lucy, and the sight of her made him freeze. If that face hadn't given anything away then her scent sure as hell did.
He stayed directly behind Lucy as they went from store to store and had briefly wondered if he should ask her about it. The idea though was quickly shut down the more he thought about it.
Things were good between them right now. They were getting along great and she seemed to genuinely want to be around him. If her shy smiles and playful shoves were any indication.
He just knew, that if he were to bring up that subject, Lucy would distance herself from him again. And that was the last thing he wanted.
But what the hell was he supposed to do about it? How the hell could he be sure?
Lucy glanced back at him and raised an elegant brow.
"Well? You ready to head back to the hotel?"
Natsu forced a grin on to his face and nodded.
"Only if you and I get to share a bed.." He said suggestively and wriggled his eyebrows.
The punch to his face he received was totally worth seeing that blush.
You liiike? I hope so.
Im not sure when the next chapter will be posted but I will definitely not make you all wait so long :/
Be safe lovelies. Tis a cruel world out there xox