My Chemistry Partner
Chapter 21 - Midnight Delma
To say Natsu slept well was an overstatement. In fact, to even say he liked sleeping would be considered wrong. Natsu liked being awake, he liked his friends and daytime activities.
To simplify it, he was an energetic person.
There was also another drawback to sleeping for him. Every now and then he'd fall asleep and find himself in a room of darkness. The room seemingly went on forever, there was never anyone there with him, and it was very cold.
Now, he'd be able to handle normal nightmares, but these...
It was claustrophobic and yet so empty. The air was thick and heavy, the only sound was his footsteps, and he had nowhere to go but forward.
No... that was wrong.
He wasn't sure if he was going forward or backwards, after all there was no way to tell in the dark void.
Some nights he considered he was going forward, and that always felt more hopeful as if he was closer to finding what he was missing. Other nights he told himself he had been going the wrong way, and always would be- that he would never find what was missing in his heart. Those nights were the worst ones.
Natsu didn't like being alone. It reminded him too much of when Igneel left. Bringing alone was isolation and madness. In these dreams, he was always alone. He could hear the wind hissing in his ear, which was strange because he could never feel the breeze of it. No biting of its sharp teeth, and never would it brush across his skin. It was as if it wasn't even there, as if his mind made up the winds scream to make him feel more alone than before- more isolated.
As if he mind wanted to remind him of the loneliness he so carefully dodged.
It was one of the nights where Natsu believed he was walking in the wrong direction, far from anything, far from hope and light. He began to doubt if he would ever wake up- or perhaps he was already dead. He began to feel so small and hopeless as his walk turned into a jog, and a jog into a dash. In this dream the darkness was great and small. It was implausible to be in such an endless place, it just wasn't possible.
Yet the cold bit at his skin, and the sweat that trickled off his forehead told otherwise. How could something be so realistic and unrealistic at the same time? How could he be dreaming, yet so awake?
"Igneel... Where are you?" He huffed out. His voice broken, small, and ragged.
Silence passed through the vast emptiness. He shivered, despite the fact there was no weather.
The loneliness was consuming him whole. It was like a python that wrapped its whole being around himself, hoping to crush every bone in his body- every feeling in his mind- to destroy him into nothingness. He couldn't breathe. Natsu clawed at his throat, his head becoming light. He could barely hear himself gasping as his ears ringed and hissed.
Yet, it was all over in a moment, as his body jolted upright- his ears caught the sound of something bumping into his bedroom door. His hair was matted to his head with sweat, his clothes clinging to his skin, and he could feel the droplets of the salty water running down his arms and back.
He couldn't see an inch in front of himself, but he could hear the cricket's outside. The air was no longer suffocating- but comforting. It was no longer silent. The world around him was moving. There was start and end. His bed gave him comfort, and the noise coming from his window gave him reassurance.
"Dream." He told himself slowly, "It was just a dream... man a shitty one at that."
Standing up slowly, the pinkette stumbled to the door, where the noise that woke him had come from. As he got closer he could hear frantic whispering. Natsu rubbed his eyes before opening the door.
"Damn cat! Look what you made me do-"
Natsu blinked at the blonde, who looked like a deer in headlights as she squatted down to scold the blue feline.
There was a long silence in which the two of them processed what was happening. Finally Natsu scratched his head in confusion,
"Lucy?"
Of course it is Lucy, who else is weird enough to be scolding a cat so early?
Through the morning darkness, he could see the burning red on her cheeks, her embarrassment prominent. It was a sight that never got old to him. Not that he would tell anyone that.
"A-ah, good morning Natsu." Lucy stuttered as she slowly stood up, glaring at Happy as he skipped into Natsu's bedroom.
"Morning..." Natsu blinked as he tried gathering his thoughts. He wasn't sure if he should ask her what she was doing outside of his room or thank her for waking him up with her clumsiness. He didn't get the chance to do either.
"Geez, you look like crap." Lucy bluntly remarked. The blonde's eyes widened as she quickly waved her arms, "I-I mean-"
However, Natsu just laughed softly.
"Thanks, I wasn't really expecting visitors at..." The pinkette trailed off as he realized he didn't know the time.
Lucy groaned in distress, "It's about three a.m. Your stupid cat woke me up and wouldn't leave me alone!"
"Huh?"
"When I got up to shoo him away he started walking to your room and wouldn't stop meowing and I didn't want to wake anyone up-"
"So you knocked on my door?"
The blonde's blush spread to the top of her ears, "I didn't knock on your door, I accidentally hit it with my hand trying to hush your cat."
Natsu let out a chuckle, she was really weird.
"But seriously, Natsu," Lucy redirected the conversation, "Are you okay?"
Onyx eyes widening slightly, Natsu hesitated to answer. What was he going to tell her? That he was crazy? She had enough on her plate as it was...
"No it's nothing, what about you? You okay?"
Natsu looked at the blonde through the darkness of the early morning. He could see her jaw clench and her eyes look down despite the shadowing blanket. She put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips.
"Lucy?" He asked again, confused as to why she had gone silent.
"Natsu, don't deflect my question like that." The blonde met his eyes through the dark, he could feel her glare, "You look as if you just had a nightmare or something."
Once again, Natsu's eyes grew wide. She never cease to amaze him. How come she could read him like a book, and yet he could never tell what was going on in her head?
"I wasn't..." Natsu trailed off unsure, "I didn't mean to brush aside your question."
"Sometimes at night I get these nightmares, but it's really not a big deal." He added
Lucy let out a sigh as her hands dropped back to her side.
"Wanna talk about it?"
Natsu hesitated before moving out of his doorway to let the blonde walk in his room.
This probably wasn't the most appropriate time for him to wonder if it was normal for his crush to be in his room at three in the morning. Then again his crush was the same girl his family invited to stay the night, and that wasn't exactly normal either.
Well right timing or not, Natsu's mind wandered as Lucy sat at his desk chair once more.
The pink haired teen turned the lights on before closing the door, and as he walked back over to his bed and sat down he realized Happy had made himself very comfortable in Lucy's lap. The blonde looked torn between petting his blue fur and hitting him on the head.
"I think he likes you."
Lucy looked up and met Natsu's eyes.
"You already said that, remember."
Natsu blushed, "Huh guess I did."
"So your nightmare..."
"It's really not that big of a deal."
Lucy's face turned into a scowl, "It's not nothing! My mom told me holding things in are bad."
"Luuucy, you can't just barge into someone's room at three in the morning and demand they tell you about their dreams."
"Don't make it sound so creepy you invited me in!"
"What was I supposed to do?"
Lucy closed her mouth, pink lips set in a frown.
"Come on don't pout..." Natsu sighed as the blonde crossed her arms and turned the chair so her back was facing him.
"This is like déjà vu." The pinkette muttered under his breath. "Come on Lucy, you can't honestly be mad at me for not telling you?"
After a few moments of silence Natsu groaned, slamming the back of his head into his pillow.
Where all girls this difficult? Or was it just Lucy? Well after all she was different from most girls he knew.
"Fine you weirdo," Natsu commented, "I'll tell you. But no making fun of me-"
It only took a split second for Lucy to be sitting across from him on the bed, Happy in her arms, and with a serious look on her face.
"Promise!"
"O-okay..." Natsu blinked at the girl in front of him. Did she have any idea- even a slight hint- of how she made him feel? How could he focus on anything when his heart was beating so fast.
Ugh! She looked so cute with her hair all messed up and she was still wearing his shirt. It's so strange how he's never felt something like this before, but he just wanted to kiss-
"Natsu?"
Shit.
"Right!" The pinkette exclaimed, suddenly trying to look anywhere but at the blonde. Maybe if he hadn't snapped his head away so quickly he would've noticed the light blush that crept onto the girls face.
After-all he was staring very intently at her- or rather at her lips- like she was the most dazzling thing he'd seen.
Shaking her head, Lucy dismissed the idea. Surely he was just spaced out.
"Sometimes I get these... nightmares. And it's like I'm in a giant room but everything's dark- like pitch black." Natsu's voice carried through the dimly lighted room. "And I'm stuck in that room no matter which way I walk. I don't even know which way I'm walking, but sometimes I think it's either backwards or forwards and... Well... It's kinda lonely ya know?"
Lucy nodded her head slowly. Urging him to continue.
"You know... Grandeeney was once really sad and lost, real different from how she is now. I suppose one of the reasons she's so accepting to anything that makes me or Wendy happy is because when Igneel wasn't here she didn't know what to do. She felt so distant." Natsu paused, he looked over at Lucy as if to see if she was still listening. She was.
"Like I said before, Igneel just disappeared. Grandeeney had to raise me and Wendy all on her own. And Wendy was real young then, she didn't really understand. Not to mention she took care of Gajeel too. When Igneel finally came back she didn't even want to let him in, but he promised he'd never go again. Whatever hope she had is the reason she let him back. Since then they do whatever they can to make me and Wendy happy."
"Grandeeney... She really is a great mother." Lucy said quietly. Natsu smiled.
"She's the best. She raised me and Wendy right. She accepts us for who we are and let's us become our own people."
The gears in Lucy's head finally clicked, for she gasped suddenly- eyes wide.
"Then your nightmares when it's empty... Does it remind you of-"
Natsu's face crumbled just the slightest. Enough for his normal smile to fade away.
"Yeah, it reminds me a lot of when Igneel left. I tried looking for him but just like in the nightmare no matter where I walked he wasn't there. Sometimes it makes me feel really alone. I'll wake up and have this really dreadful feeling."
A silence overcame the two teens before the bed shifted.
"Wah-" Natsu's eyes went as wide as saucers as the blonde wrapped her arms around his waist, pushing herself closer to him as he hugged him tightly.
Well, that wasn't the reaction he was expecting.
"Natsu," The blonde said as she hugged him, "You don't have to be alone okay? You have Igneel back, and Grandeeney and Wendy they're here too. You have Gajeel and Metallicana, you even have Gray, Lisanna, and all your other friends. You have me too, okay? You don't have to be lonely." Her voice wavered and her grip around his waist tightened.
Natsu's face broke out into a brilliant red, he didn't expect such a passionate response. Her words really struck him. You have me too, okay? It was almost like she was asking him if she could be there for him too.
"Yeah... Okay." The pinkette slowly lowered his hands to his sides.
"I had a sister, a long time ago, her name was Michelle." Lucy mumbled, her hands still wrapped around his waist, "She wasn't actually my sister but I loved her a lot. She used to come over every day back when I lived in a big mansion."
Natsu felt his throat grow dry, "What happened to her?"
"She was lonely. I was too young to know how to help her... I couldn't help her. I pushed her away when my mom died, and she lost the only person she had left. And so she... She uh..." Lucy shook her head against his chest. She could hear his heart pounding dramatically.
"Lucy?"
"Even when your feeling lonely Natsu, just remember all the people who care about you okay? Cause your friends and family... they care about you. I do too."
The pinkette was silenced by her words, his eyes wide and filled with disbelief. "Okay." He said again, his voice low as he brought his arms around the girls body.
He didn't notice it before but she was shaking. Did it really scare her that much? How much did she care about him?
"It's just a nightmare Lucy," Natsu said, "I don't normally feel lonely."
The blonde finally pushed herself back so she was sitting directly in front of him.
"But if you ever do-"
"Yeah. Gotcha. You'll be the first I call."
Lucy nodded, her cheeks tinted with pink.
"I think you have an irregular heartbeat." Lucy mused after a while, finally going back to sit at the other end of the bed.
"Hah?" Natsu's face was suddenly bright red again. She heard his heart?!
"Yeah it was pounding really fast- I thought you were gonna faint!"
"Y-your lying." Natsu mumbled
"Nope!" The blonde teased, "Well I should probably go back to bed now. Night, Natsu!"
With that the blonde jumped off the bed and fled the room in record time.
Happy stared at Natsu for a few moments before following after the blonde, he would've sworn he saw a grin on the feline.
"Traitor..." The pinkette mumbled weakly. There was no way for her to not know what she was doing to him, right? The way she got his heart up- the way she made his mind go blank.
Natsu groaned in distress. He stood up, turned off the lights, closed the door, and then returned back to his bed where he successfully slammed his head into the mattress.
Though, he doubted he'd fall asleep after that.
Hope you guys enjoyed! This is a revised and edited version of the original, and if you do find any mistake remember to privately message me.