It Started with a Big Mac

Chapter 14

Natsu swung the girl around happily, laughing in joy as he cried out, "Lisanna!"

I felt my blood run cold as Natsu continued to hug the white-haired girl close to him. Just who was she? Why did she look so familiar? How do Natsu and that girl know each other so well? Why do they look so... happy? And... so much like... a couple?

A feeling of rage washed over me. Oh hell no. I got a sudden urge to just rip those two apart, grab Natsu, and high-tail it outta there... But I couldn't. I mean, they looked so happy to be together, why would I ever want to break up their happiness? But... for some reason... seeing them happy together left a bad taste in my mouth.

While stuck in these thoughts, the bell signaling homeroom rang.

"Lu-chan?" Levy asked me worriedly. I stopped my thinking and focused my eyes on hers, finding worry, sympathy, as well as... guilt?

"Come on, Love Rival. It's time for homeroom." said Juvia quietly.

"Alright, let's go!" I tried to say enthusiastically... tried. It was hard seeing the guy you have certain unknown feelings for being so close to some other girl.

As we settled down for the fifteen minutes of homeroom, I couldn't help but notice how close Natsu and that girl Lisanna were. Both emotionally and physically. I also noticed how Natsu's eyes were brighter whenever she smiled and how he kept smiling.

I hated it.

"Lucy." Gray said again.

"Hm? What?" I tore my eyes off the pair and looked around me. All my other friends were here. They were watching me carefully... but why? "What's up?"

"You probably have a lot of questions, don't you?" Gray asked.

I smiled sheepishly. "You got me. Who's she?"

"That's Lisanna Strauss." Erza replied.

"Mirajane's younger sister?!"

Erza nodded. Huh. No wonder. I thought Lisanna looked familiar. There were definitely similarities between the sisters.

"Yeah, and she's Natsu's childhood friend." Gray continued carefully, as if fearing I would break.

Oh. Ooohhhh! That made a lot more sense... I felt my heart crack strangely.

"Oh, really?!" I asked with a strained smile. I hoped my friends didn't notice. "That's wonderful!"

"She finally came back after almost two years of studying abroad. Lucky bi-" Cana muttered while cradling her alcohol.

"Anyway!" Levy interrupted, "Are you alright, Lu-chan?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, Juvia knows how Love Rival feels now that a new love rival has come back to take Natsu away."

I flushed. "Lisanna isn't my love rival! Why would you say that? And for the last time, I d-don't l-l-like Natsu!"

The others looked at each other nervously before nodding at the same time.

"You see, Lucy," Jellal began slowly, "Two and a half years ago, Natsu and Lisanna were-"

The bell signaling the first period rang loudly. I got up quickly, not waiting or wanting to hear what the blue-haired man had to say next.

"Oh, will you look at that!" I shouted nervously, "Oh, it's time for first period. What a pleasant start of the day. Oh joy! Come Levy, Cana! Let us be off to English class with Mr. Freed Justine!"

I grabbed the two and sprinted down the halls, ignoring Loke's cries of leaving him behind.

Just what the hell was that? Why did I all of a sudden run away from my friends? It's not like I was afraid of hearing what Natsu and Lisanna were, was I? I mean, their past is the past, it shouldn't really affect anything now... And what would I even be afraid of? It's not like because Lisanna came back... Natsu would forget about me... right?

Not too long after, the four of us (including Loke) reached English class and settled down.

"Lu-chan," Levy said while we were unpacking, "I think you deserve to know about Natsu and Lisanna's past."

"Why? It's not like I have anything to do with it." In reality, I just didn't want to know. Maybe... just maybe I was too scared to know.

"You should know! We don't want you to get broken-hearted again!"

Before I could answer, Mr. Justine started the class off with a lecture on Hamlet.

Leaning over to Levy, I whispered, "Yeah, I don't want that either, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"You like Natsu, don't you?!"

Again with the liking?! When will people stop? "N-No I don't! So please stop making that assumption!" I hissed rather loudly.

"Ladies! Please save the chit chat for lunchtime." Mr. Justine reprimanded.

Soon enough, English class ended with the deaths of nearly all the characters in Hamlet. Levy apologized to me for always teasing me about Natsu and I apologized to her for yelling at her before dragging Cana to join the others in Laxus-sama's math class. Within minutes, Cana, Gray, Juvia and I were seated around each other in the classroom. Natsu was the only one who didn't show up.

"~Heya Lucy!" Cana sung while swinging an arm over me.

"Hey Cana. Finally awake, I see?"

She lightly punched me in the arm. "Gawd, English class is soooo boring with Freed! Now math class with Laxus-sama... mmhmm..." She leaned in closer while pointing towards the said man. "Lucy. What does six of Laxus' wonderful abs plus two of his delicious biceps equal?"

I lightly laughed at her message and shook my head. "I don't know. What?"

Cana smirked. "Perfection."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... what?"

"It's just... wow. Good one."

Cana smiled. "Why thank you."

After another moment of waiting, Laxus-sama started the day's lesson. There was still no sign of Natsu.

"Jeez. Where did that flame head run off to?" Gray muttered.

For some reason, I had a really bad feeling about this... a feeling even worse than the ones I feel when confronting Dan. The familiar pit of doom was back in my gut. After about two more minutes, two people ran into the class.

"Sorry we're late, Laxus!" a very familiar voice shouted.

"Yes, sorry! It's my fault we're late!" a less familiar voice said.

I looked up from my notes and saw Natsu standing at the door... as well as Lisanna.

"Well, why were you late? And that's Laxus-sama for you." the blonde-haired man said gruffly.

Lisanna answered in a smile, "Well, it's been a while since I've been back, so I got lost trying to get to class on my own, In the end, I had to call Natsu to get me and bring me here. So I'll take full responsibility for this."

Natsu nudged her. "No way! I'll take the blame too!"

"Natsu, please! I don't want you to get in trouble."

"No, we were both late, and that's final."

"Natsu-"

"Enough!" Laxus commanded. Everyone remained silent. After a minute of complete silence, a smile broke out of Laxus-sama's face... a rare smile no one had ever seen before. "Oh yeah! Lisanna, you're back! Welcome back to Fairy Tail. Now, go sit down."

The white-haired girl sat down in an empty seat near the front. Natsu sat down beside her, but not before waving at us and grinning. My heart fluttered a bit and my hand moved to wave back, but he already turned around. I felt Gray, Juvia, and Cana glance at me worriedly, but I didn't pay attention to them. I instead watched the interactions between Natsu and Lisanna. Anyone could see that they were close friends. I noticed the giggles they shared, the smiles, laughter, and happiness. I also noticed the occasional glances Lisanna stole at Natsu, the occasional touch on the arm she would make, and the occasional playful nudges that she would initiate.

I hated it.

After what felt like forever, it was finally lunchtime. By the time I reached the lunch table, everyone was already there... including Lisanna. Natsu noticed me first and waved me over. My heart fluttered.

"Hey Luce!"

"Hey Natsu!"

"Luce, I want you to meet my childhood friend, Lisanna. Lisanna, this is my best friend, Luce. But you have to call her Lucy."

Lisanna giggled and got up. She turned towards me and smiled brightly. "Hi Lucy! I hope we can become great friends!"

... Omigawd she's amazing. Why didn't I like her again? Anyway, I smiled back and shook her hand. "Great to meet you, Lisanna! I'm sure that we'll get along great!"

She nodded her head rapidly before gasping out loud. "Oh! Wanna hear stories of Natsu's childhood?!"

"Yes! Tell me!"

"No! Don't tell her!" Natsu screeched.

"Oi, ash head! That nearly burst my ears!"

"Eh, what did you say?!"

... Needless to say, another brawl broke out within the cafeteria. Lisanna and I chatted for the rest of the lunch period. She really is a sweet and kind girl I felt really guilty for having had bad thoughts about her when she's really an amazing person. When I first laid eyes on her, I thought that she was going to be a total bitch who would ruin things between me and Natsu - wait, what?! - but in reality, she's a kind girl who would give up anything for a friend. Now I understood why Natsu hung around her the whole day: Lisanna gave off this feeling of warmth and had this personality that... drew you toward her and made you want to... protect her. That doesn't make me not jealous of the two, but it just made me understand their relationship a little bit better.

All too soon, it was time for the last two periods of the day. It was actually pretty uneventful (no situations with Dan)... except for the facts that my head was nearly flattened by Erza's dodge-ball of death during P.E. and that Loke and I nearly blew up the chem lab again (his fault, not mine). Anyway, it was finally the end of a long school day. Our whole giant group met up at the front gates to say farewell (for the day). After a few minutes, it was time to go home.

"Natsu!" Lisanna called out, "Is it alright if you take me home? I don't really remember the way that well."

The others looked at me worriedly. I felt my heart crack further. It's no big deal... right? I can't keep hogging Natsu to myself, even if it's an unspoken tradition that we walk to and from school every day together.

Natsu looked at me, almost as if he were asking to go with her. ...How could I resist those eyes? How could I say no? If I did, that would make me seem bad. I sighed quietly. "What are you looking at me for, Natsu? If you wanna go, then you can go!" I smiled, one that didn't quite reach my eyes.

Lisanna's face twisted into one of panic and regret. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you two go home together! Please, you two go, I'll be fine. I'll find my way-"

"Don't be silly!" I smiled, "It's alright, really. I can make it home on my own." I checked the time and gasped (a fake gasp). "Oh, will you look at the time?! It's so late! I better get going before my dad gets worried. Well, gotta run! Great meeting you Lisanna! Bye everyone!" I turned around and sprinted towards my penthouse, escaping the heavy stares my friends had on me.

After a minute, I slowed to a normal-paced walk. I really hope they bought that... Anyway, this was okay, right? It's good to give Natsu and Lisanna more time together to catch up, isn't it? What I did was the right thing... yet why does it feel like there's a gaping hole in my chest? Why do I feel like crying? Why do I have the sudden urge to turn around, sprint back, grab Natsu, and run away with him? I wiped away a stray tear from my eye. My mind was telling me that what I did was right, but my heart was telling me otherwise.

I shivered and blew into my hands. It sure was cold. I felt something warm wrap around my neck and smelled the familiar ashen scent I loved. I whirled around and saw the very familiar salmon-hair and onyx eyes. "Natsu?!"

He grinned brightly at me. "Yo!"

"What are you doing here?!"

"I'm here to walk you home, duh!"

"But why? Where's Lisanna? And I can manage to walk by myself!"

"Lisanna's going to wait for Mira so they could go home together. And I want to walk with you!"

My heart fluttered and I blushed. "Th-thanks Natsu!"

He grinned his signature, toothy grin at me. As we walked towards my place, we talked more about his childhood, mainly the stories that Lisanna had told me. After several minutes, we reached the door to the building of my penthouse.

I wrapped Natsu's scarf back around his neck. "Thank you Natsu. I really appreciate you walking me here. I'll see you tomorrow!" I turned to go inside but was held back. Looking at our intertwined hands with a blush, I asked him what was wrong.

With his head down, Natsu said, "Luce, I'm really sorry for leaving you like that this whole day-"

I smiled. How could I ever believe that Natsu would forget me? "It's okay! I understand. You wanted to catch up with Lisanna. It's really fine!"

Natsu smiled a little bit before frowning. "Thanks, and about that... I need to tell you something. You deserve to know."

Oh no, not this.

"Two and a half years ago-"

Oh no.

"-before Lisanna went to study abroad-"

Please, don't say it.

"-she and I-"

Stop.

"-were going out."

... He said it.

Woahhhh! Hello again :) Sorry for not updating last week... I had exams D: Anyway, about updating... just to be safe, I'm gonna say that I'll update once EVERY OTHER WEEK. I'm really sorry about this change :( I realized that I don't update every week like I hoped to do and I'm probably letting a lot of people down by having them expect a new chapter every Thursday :( So I'm gonna say I'll update every other week instead (because I can at least do that) to be safe and avoid having people hate me. Of course, I'll still write whenever possible and I'll still try to update every Thursday if I can. But if I can't, then there will definitely be a new chapter the following Thursday. I'm extremely sorry and I hope you'll understand :(

Anyway, so this was the newest chapter! Not too much Nalu, but I wanted to clarify that I don't intend to make Lisanna evil in this fanfic. I think she's a nice character and being evil is just a bit... out of character? Yeah, my other fanfic made her evil... so I don't really know... Anyway, in this fic, she will NOT be evil :D

And like always, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH TO THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWING, HAVE FAVORITED, AND HAVE REVIEWED THIS FANFICTION! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST AND ARE THE REASON WHY I KEEP WRITING :D SO THANK YOU!