Behind the Scenes

Chapter 21

Natsu?

"Lucy!" Yelled the man that was currently straddling me. Normally I would have pushed him off by now but his eyes were mesmerizing and I just sat there frozen. Flashes went off all over the surrounding crowd as people took picture after picture and shouted things out that I didn't understand.

His large hand reached forward and lightly caressed my cheek. The warmth was comforting on so many levels but the contact pulled me from my state of shock. "Kyaa! What the hell are you doing?! Get off me!" I shouted in panic. There were so many people around, whispering, taking pictures and just plain out gawking at us.

"Oh, sorry." He mumbled before pulling himself off me with a light blush dusting his cheeks. He reached his hand out and helped pull me to my feet before once more his arms wrapped around me but not as tightly. His body trembled , I had no idea how to react. "Lucy, I missed you so much."

His words surprised me, but at the same time hurt. Why, I'm not sure but I felt disappointed to know that it wasn't me that he was talking about. "I'm sorry, but I'm not this Lucy that you speak of." I whispered. He pulled back, his dark eyes gazing into mine. I felt exposed, as if he could see right through me and into my very soul.

"What? Of course you're Lucy, who else would you be?" He chuckled lightly as if I was making a joke. I smiled weakly at him before his face fell once he noticed that I was serious. "Y-your not Lucy?" He stuttered. I could hear the hurt in his voice and I wished that I could dull the pain but there was nothing that I could do for him. I was not the girl he was looking for.

"No, I'm not her. My name is Sora, but I must say that she is pretty lucky to have someone care about her as much as you do." My own words stabbed at me like a knife as I thought over the fact that I now had no one. No family, no friends, no home. Yes, I have everyone back in Nevada but I was never that close to them. Sayori was everything to me, and now that she is gone I felt lost.

"But Lucy, don't you remember me?" The desperation in his voice caused a tightening within my chest that I couldn't explain. I bit my lip as I stared into his sorrowful eyes. I shook my head, truly sorry that I wasn't the person he was searching for. As we stood there, the crowd began to part once more as two others came from the same direction as this man.

The first one to appear was a beautiful silver haired woman with long flowing locks and blazing blue eyes. Standing next to her was another gorgeous woman with long crimson hair and deep brown eyes. They both stood there, staring wide eyed at me and this pink haired man. The red head took a step closer, her lips parted before she managed to call out. "L-Lucy?"

"I'm sorry, but I am not her. My name is Sora." I saw the red heads eyes fill with tears and once more I felt bad for the situation. It seemed like this girl, this Lucy was really well loved and all her friends were looking for her. I wonder what happened to her. I glanced at the silver haired beauty who had a strange look set in her eyes, maybe it was disbelief but I wasn't certain.

"Right, sorry. Our mistake. It's just that you look just like a friend that we lost some time ago." The red head apologized. "My name is Erza Scarlet, this here is Mirajane Strauss and this man here is Na-" She was explaining before the pink haired man cut her off.

"Let's go, she's not her so there is no point in staying." His voice was cold as he turned and walked back towards the limo. I felt a bit hurt by his words but knew there was nothing I could do.

"Please excuse him, he was very close to the friend we lost." The woman named Erza stated sadly. I see, so he must have been involved with this Lucy then, that must have been the other thing that I saw in his eyes.

"Sora-san, would you like to join us for lunch?" The silver haired woman named Mirajane asked. I shook my head, not wanting to be a bother. Especially to the poor man looking for their lost friend.

"Please, just call me Sora and no thank you. I'll be fine, I don't want to burden you."

"Oh, it's no burden at all." She countered with a bright smile. This woman radiated warmth and they all seemed to be really nice people but my presence would only dampen their mood and remind them of the friend that they are searching for.

"No I couldn't, especially not when I remind you of this Lucy so much."

"Oh I must insist. It would be nice having you join us, so please come." With a sigh, I nodded. Mirajane's smile grew before she took my wrist in her hand and pulled me toward the limo. I felt a little nervous getting into such an extravagant vehicle but what could I do? I climbed into the car with the girls before the pink haired man turned to me with wide eyes.

"What is she doing here?" He questioned. Once more his words hurt but I knew that he had his reasons. Why would he want someone around to remind him of the person he lost?

"Hey, stop being so rude. I would like to get to know Sora, if that's okay with you of course." Mirajane turned towards with, her smile still present as she asked for permission. I didn't understand why they would want to get to know me but I liked having someone to talk with so I might as well enjoy it for the time being. I'll probably never see them again.

"Fine, do what you want." He said as he turned to look back out the window, a distant look growing in his eyes.

"So Sora, tell us about yourself. Where are you from?" Mirajane questioned.

"I'm from Nevada."

"Oh really, that's not far from here at all. How long have you lived there?" Mirajane was quite a curious person but I didn't care. I liked having them interested in me.

"Um well, around a year...I think." I added the last part since I wasn't sure exactly where I came from before waking up in the hospital. Mirajane looked at Erza, as if sending some sort of message to her before the red head nodded.

"Where were you before that?" Erza asked.

"Well, the thing is I don't remember." I started to explain but the pink haired man turned to us, a scowl clear on his face.

"Why does any of this matter?" He questioned rudely.

"Calm down Natsu, like Mirajane said, we want to get to know her. Now sit there and be quiet." Erza commanded with a tone filled with authority. "Anyway, as you were saying Sora." She turned to me with a smile before what she said finally dawned on me. Erza's brow furrowed when she noticed the shock upon my face. "What? What's wrong Sora?"

"What was your name?" I asked turning to the man sitting on the far side of the limo. He scoffed at me, before turning back to the window, not answering the question. I moved closer, and leaned towards him, my face not far from his to show just how serious I was. "What is your name?" A light blush coated his cheeks as he looked at me.

"His name is Natsu, but why does that matter?" Erza questioned. With a sigh, I went back to my seat and looked out the window. This had to be some sort of coincidence. There was no other explanation. When I didn't reply, I felt a hand upon my shoulder and turned to see Mirajane smiling warmly at me. I sighed once more before deciding that I needed to know a little more about this.

"May I ask what happened to your Lucy?" I turned my eyes back to the girls before they exchanged another glance.

"We are not exactly sure. She left a club a little over a year ago and was never heard from again." Mirajane explained. Another coincidence, I am sure. Funny yes, convenient yes, but there was no way that there was a connection. "Are you okay Sora?"

"I'm sorry but can you drop me off here, I'm not very hungry." I asked. I suddenly felt like I needed to get away. To be alone with my own thoughts to think things over. My first day out and I find out things like this? There way no way that it could be this easy, besides I would never believe that I was lucky enough to be their missing Lucy.

"If that's what you want, but are you sure you're okay?" Mirajane asked with worrisome eyes. I nodded, fighting back the tears that were ready to fall. I didn't know why I was crying, but for some reason I was and I didn't want them to see me like this. Erza told the driver to pull over before sending one last look our way.

"Are you sure you don't want us to drop you off at the hotel?" The red head asked. I nodded before saying my goodbyes and climbing out of the limo. Once it pulled off, the tears began to flow freely as I took the quickest route back to the hotel. I needed to lay down. I had enough for one day.

Because you all are so simply amazing, and because I managed to find more time, I decided to upload another chapter for ya! See, I told you guys that I would torture you for too long! You guys really had me gushing over your reviews! I couldn't believe how many I got for that one chapter so quickly! I can't thank you enough for all the wonderful sentiments and words of encouragement! To those who were worried that I wouldn't be finishing this story, do not fret! I will NOT abandon this story, I promise you that!