AN: PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER AND I KNOW IT SUCKS I AM TERRIBLE WITH ENDINGS I AM SO SORRY. I'm sure you all wanted to watch Lucy and Natsu progress as a couple, but if I wrote all that I wouldn't know how to end it lmao. SO, I wrote the ending with a big time skip! THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING AND SUPPORTING THIS STORY UNTIL THE END! I LOVE THIS STORY AND I'M SAD IT'S ENDING BUT IT HAD TO BE DONE! Also, important AN at the end! :D

Chapter 25

One year and five months later.

Lucy fidgeted in her spot, her hands clammy and heart racing. This was supposed to be one of the biggest days in her life and she didn't want to make a fool out of herself. Sure they had all rehearsed it plenty of times, but the girl continued to fear forgetting what she was supposed to do or tripping or even being unable to move. Like she was at the moment.

A warm hand gently grabbed her own and intertwined its fingers with hers. Lucy released a breathy sigh and gripped the hand tightly for reassurance. Hearing an all too familiar chuckle beside her, she promptly raised her fist and brought it into her partner's gut, smirking as he bent over clutching his stomach.

"What the hell was that for, Luce?" Natsu choked out as he glared at his girlfriend.

"That was for laughing at me when I'm nervous," the blonde answered, not even sparing him a glance.

The pink-haired boy chuckled and replied, "Sheesh, Luce. There's nothing to be worried about! All we have to do is walk on stage, grab the dumb piece of paper, and walk to our seats!"

"I know it sounds as simple as that, but it's not! What if I fall on my face-"

"That would be hilarious."

Lucy delivered a swift blow to her boyfriend's gut once more and continued, "Or if I freeze in front of everyone? Or I shake the wrong hand or I look stupid-"

"Lucy, stop worrying already! None of those things are going to happen, I won't let them!" Natsu assured, squeezing her hand. "Your tassel is on the wrong side, you don't flip it until after the ceremony." He brought his hands to the girl's cap and brought the gold tassel back to its rightful place.

That only seemed to make the girl even more nervous. "See!? I'm already messing up!"

Gray groaned, unable to deal with hearing any more of his "sister's" complaints. "Chill out, Lucy. It's going to be just fine!"

"Yeah, your yapping is getting annoying," Gajeel added, rubbing his temples to prevent an incoming headache. He yelped as his girlfriend stomped on his foot.

"Don't be mean to Lu-chan," Levy barked, glaring at her tower of a boyfriend.

"Levy is right, Gajeel," Erza chimed in with a stern voice. "You should be kind to your friends. But Lucy, you really should calm down. Graduation will be a success."

Lucy tensed at the word. Graduation. The girl knew that it was supposed to be one of the biggest days in her life but she absolutely hated it. And no, she wasn't uptight because she was nervous of what she said before. Instead, her feelings were more based around the fact that she didn't want high school to end.

Fairy Tail High School gave Lucy so many wonderful memories it was all too saddening to leave. Not to mention the fact that some of her friends were going to go separate ways from her. She loved her friends dearly and the thought of not seeing them five times a week scared the hell out of her. What if they were only friends because they saw each other so often? What if they never spoke again? What if they completely forgot about her? All of these negative possibilities were the true reason she was nervous. She didn't want to graduate. She knew the pain it brought with separation from attending last year's graduation ceremony.

It was a sunny day in Magnolia as Lucy and her group of friends sat on the bleachers as the band played its music. One of their very own was going to be graduating that day and ending their chapter of life at Fairy Tail High. Lucy was excited for Jellal. The once shy boy had quickly made a home for himself in their group of friends. The blonde knew that he had so many opportunities ahead of him, especially after Erza and his mother got him accepted into the school he wanted.

It was actually a boring ceremony. It was long and tedious listening to principal Makarov list off the names of people she didn't know. When the old man finally announced Jellal's name, however, the whole group stood up and roared with cheers for their friend as he retrieved his hard-earned diploma. Lucy cheered loudly with her friends and turned to face Erza, her happy smile dropping at the sight of tears slipping from the redhead's eyes. Not wanting to point it out in front of everyone, the blonde decided to let her friend deal with her problems on her own for the moment and would instead attempt to comfort her later. Thus, she returned to glumly watching Makarov hand diplomas out to random people.

After everyone got their diplomas and were seated, they listened to Makarov give a heartwarming speech. Finally, the graduating students moved their tassels to the opposite side of their caps and shouted in joy. They were glad that the torturous years of high school were finally over, just how Lucy imagined her own graduation to be like. However, after they all met up with Jellal- his mother hugging him tightly- she noticed Erza's eyes downcast.

"I'm so glad all of you were able to attend my son's graduation ceremony," Ms. Fernandez said, wiping the stray tears away from her eyes. "He's made such great friends. I wish I could invite you all over for a party, but I'm afraid we must be going now."

"Going?" Lucy questioned, her gaze falling back on Erza's glum face.

Jellal's mother nodded her head and answered, "Jellal is scheduled to move into his dorm today."

"But that's so soon!" Levy cried out.

"I know, but I can't afford to take any more time off and today is the only day I can take him. I'll leave you all to say your goodbyes."

And just like that, Lucy realized why her friend was so upset. The blonde watched as Jellal hugged and said his goodbyes. She hugged him as well, feeling tears brimming her eyes as the blue-haired boy moved onto Erza. The couple stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the rest of the group sympathizing for them. It had to have been hard being in different grades as Jellal was now going to move all the way to Acalypha.

Erza tried her best to contain her emotions but as soon as Jellal brought her into a hug, they all came rushing out. Tears cascaded once again from her eyes and into her boyfriend's brown graduation gown. The whole group winced at the sound of their usually steely friend's sobs.

Lucy shook her head, emerging from her thoughts. Since she watched Erza say a heartbreaking goodbye, the blonde feared saying her own to her dear friends. Of course it wasn't to all of them, but over half of them weren't going to attend Crocus University like she was. Gajeel was attending a school for mechanics in Acalypha while Cana was going to take over her dad's business in the brewery. Lisanna was going to attend a community college in Magnolia while working at Fairy Tail. The only ones that were going to be attending the same school were Erza and Levy. Gray, Juvia, and Natsu were going to be attending the community college in Crocus.

Imagining saying goodbye to her friends chilled Lucy to the core. She wanted to run away. She wanted to strip off the damned brown cap and gown and stomp on the golden tassel. She wanted to take her friends and run away with them so that their adventures could be infinite. But as the people in front of her began to move, the girl knew it wasn't possible. It was time.

All of the students were in two long columns, each standing by their graduation partner. Lucy held Natsu's hand for dear life as they followed Gray and Juvia out towards the football stadium. From there, two groups of two were to walk one by one and then the pair would separate and go onto opposite sides of the fields and sit down. When it was her and Natsu's turn to walk, her legs turned to jelly. Luckily, her boyfriend was there with a comforting squeeze and reassuring smile to at least get her to the checkpoint in which they had to separate. She sat beside Gray and waited as Levy took her spot on the other side of her. Erza then sat next to Levy, followed by Lisanna. On the other side was Juvia, sitting next to Natsu. He was then followed by Gajeel, Cana, and lastly Bixlow.

Finally it was time to receive their diplomas. Each row of students took turns standing and creating a line on both sides of the stage, reuniting with their partners as they shook hands with Makarov and Mira and retrieved their diplomas. They would then circle the stage and sit back in their seats.

As Lucy walked up the stairs onto the stage, her heart calmed down a bit as she saw Natsu on the other side doing the same. He sent her his infamous toothed grin as they both got their diplomas. Their names were announced and they locked their hands together as they walked down the center ramp of the stage. After they reached the bottom, Natsu pecked her cheek quickly and retreated towards his seat. Though Lucy's heart was still panged with the fear of saying goodbye to her friends, she did feel a bit better after the quick exchange.

Taking her seat besides Gray and waiting for Levy to get her diploma, the blonde was beyond relieved that she would at least have Natsu with her after graduation.

"I think I'm going to propose to you after graduation," Natsu announced. The two were cuddling in Lucy's bed. They had just started their senior year and were discussing their plans for the future.

"Please don't," Lucy replied with a giggle. "I'm way too young to be engaged."

"Fine. After college then."

Lucy brought a finger to her chin in thought. "Fine. I suppose I'll be old enough then."

"Good. Hey Luce, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"What is it?" the blonde questioned, turning around to face her boyfriend.

Natsu averted his gaze and fumbled with the ends of Lucy's golden hair. "Well, what exactly are we going to do after graduation? I know that you are going to Crocus University and I'm going to Crocus Community College, but what are we going to do about us?"

Lucy frowned. She hoped she could put off this conversation for as long as possible, but it was futile. "I don't know… I guess I just assumed we would still be together…"

"I know, I did too! But when would we see each other?"

"After school?"

"I know, but… Dorms have curfews and community colleges don't have dorms…"

Lucy propped herself up on her elbows and stared at the boy with a puzzled expression. "What are you trying to say?"

Natsu's cheeks were painted pink and he sat up as well. "I'm saying that I would have to get an apartment in Crocus."

"And?"

"And we've been spending almost every night together anyways so… Why don't we move in together after graduation, Luce? We could share an apartment."

Lucy was surprised at the boy's proposal but eagerly smiled and nodded her head. "That sounds amazing!" Wrapping her arms around Natsu's torso, they both were relieved that that whole issue had been solved, giving them hope in their relationship despite going to different schools. Soon enough, they found an apartment that was a bit small but cheap enough for them both to manage.

"Oi, Earthland to Lucy," Gray said, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. Once he saw that she was brought out of her thoughts, he chuckled. "Finally! I was asking you aren't you glad to be done with school?"

Lucy feigned a smile and weakly laughed. "O-Of course!" Turning her head, she found Levy with her typical cheery smile.

"How is she not upset?" Lucy wondered. "Her boyfriend is going to be living in a completely different town."

As if reading her mind, Levy faced the blonde with a knowing smile.

"Everything will be fine, Lu-chan. Have faith," was all that the blunette said before turning her attention back to the other students retrieving their diplomas.

Once that was all settled, Makarov started to deliver a heartwarming speech.

"Brats," he began, "it has been wonderful having you all parading my school. You are all trouble makers, each and every single one of you. I'm so glad that all of you will be out of my hair and wreaking havoc in other parts of the world. I am proud of each of you for making it up to this point and I hold great pride knowing that I had to honor of being your principal. Congratulations, kids!"

With that, the students roared with shouts of joy and moved their tassels to the opposite side of their cap. Then they removed their caps and threw them high into the air, laughing as they came falling back down. This was it. They finally graduated. And Lucy was still restless.

Once everyone met up, Lucy was shocked to find herself wrapped into a tight embrace. Spotting the pink locks that rested on her shoulder, her body relaxed and she in turn wrapped her own arms around the boy. Natsu pulled away with a grin and held his diploma in front of her.

"We did it, Luce!" he shouted, lifting her into the air and twirling her around. "We graduated high school together!"

Lucy giggled and replied, "Yes we did, now put me down!"

The group chatted easily amongst themselves, talking about when they were due to leave Magnolia- besides Lisanna and Cana, who were staying. The pain quickly returned to Lucy's heart during the conversation, but immediately disappeared as she spotted a certain blue-haired boy approaching them.

"J-Jellal!" Erza cried out, running towards her boyfriend and bringing him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hello, Erza," he said, chuckling at crying redhead. He then turned his attention to his friends that were staring at him with shocked expressions. "Congrats on graduating, guys."

"Whoa, you're here!" Gray exclaimed, clapping the other boy on his back. "I thought you couldn't make it!"

Jellal shrugged and replied, "I wanted it to be a surprise."

Lucy stared at her friends who were bombarding Jellal with a series of questions and greetings. A warm arm slung over her shoulder and she found Natsu grinning at the scene.

"See, Luce?" he said. "There's nothing to worry about. We'll all stick together and see each other again."

The girl's brown eyes widened as she gaped at the boy. "H-How did you know?"

Natsu chuckled and ruffled the girl's curled golden hair. "I know you, Lucy. Besides, you and I don't have anyone in the stands cheering us so there would be no reason for you to be worried about tripping or anything like that in the first place." By this point all of their friends were turning their attention back towards the couple with smiles plastered to their faces. "All of us are going to be friends for the rest of our lives. Even if we don't see each other for months now, we'll return to each other eventually. This isn't the end of our book, it's only the beginning!"

Lucy wiped away the few tears that gathered in her eyes and smiled along with the rest of their friends.

"Who made you valedictorian?" Gray teased. "But I agree. We'll all be friends until we're old and wrinkled."

"Juvia can't wait to see Gray-sama wrinkly!" the blunette cried out, everyone else laughing at her remark- besides Gray, who only face palmed.

Lucy smiled at her friends. Natsu was right, this wasn't the end. It was a new beginning.

"Oi, hurry up and help me bring the last of the boxes!" Natsu shouted from the front door of their new apartment.

Lucy refused to spare him a glance and instead replied, "No, you're already almost done. Just bring the rest."

"I'm going to kill you when I finish, Luce."

"That's fine by me. At least I won't have to carry a box."

Lucy giggled to herself as Natsu went back outside towards the moving van, muttering under his breath. The blonde glanced around her new apartment and released a happy sigh. Everything was now furnished with their mixed furniture. While her stuff was matching and clean, Natsu's was old and breaking away. In the end, their apartment looked like an Ikea store and a dumpster threw up in it. But she loved it in the end. It only served as a reminder that she was officially living with the love of her life.

"There, it's all here," Natsu said. Happy crawled around his feet. "Oh, by the way. I know I told you that we're allowed to have pets, but I lied. So don't tell anyone about Happy."

Lucy stared incredulously at her new roommate. "Natsu Dragneel, are you telling me that you smuggled a cat into our apartment?"

"Oi, it's not just any ordinary cat. It's Happy."

"I'm going to-"

"Going to what?" Natsu interrupted with a smirk. He placed his hands on the blonde's hips and pushed her gently to make her sit on the table. He placed delicate kisses running from her cheeks down to her lips and ending on her collarbone.

"Don't think that you can make me forget with some kisses," Lucy breathed out, though her pink cheeks betrayed her words.

"I would never," the pink-haired boy replied. Leaning towards his girlfriend, he placed his lips onto hers and sucked with pleasure.

Lucy felt her resolve dissipate and brought her arms around Natsu's neck. She deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth. They continued to lock lips for what seemed like forever until a grumbling sound rang out between them.

"Was that your stomach?" Natsu questioned with an arched brow.

Lucy flushed from head to toe as she shook her head furiously. "No, it was yours!"

"I think I would know if my own stomach growled."

"Argh, fine! It was mine!"

Natsu released a chuckle and ruffled Lucy's golden hair. "Alright, since I got the boxes, you have to make dinner."

Lucy pouted and stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend. It was only fair though, so she began chopping up vegetables and meat to make a stew. Turning around, her gaze fell onto Natsu as he played with Happy. A small smile graced her lips. They were like a family. The girl's phone buzzed and she stared at it and gasped, her smile growing wider. It was the group chat. Everyone had been so busy lately that it wasn't bustling like usual.

Gray: Did you two finish moving in yet?

Lucy: Yeah just finished! I'm making dinner right now, do you guys want to come over?
Levy: We'll be there!
Lisanna: Ugh, I miss Lucy's cooking! :(

Cana: Same.

Jellal: Gajeel makes me do all the cooking.

Gajeel: Deal with it.

Erza: Gajeel, I will murder you if you force him to cook for you again.

Juvia: We'll be there!

Natsu: Oi, don't bring Ice Pick!

Lucy laughed at her boyfriend, watching him type endless insults into the group chat. It was such a blissful moment for her. The group chat was what brought her closer to everyone and gave her the best friends in the world. She was beyond ecstatic to see that they all still talked.

Gray and Juvia lived in the same apartment complex as she and Natsu but moved in a month prior. Erza and Levy were roommates in the dorms that were only a ten minute walk away. Lucy knew that these dinners would be a usual thing, just like hanging out in her apartment in Magnolia was a usual occurrence.

As Lucy laid in bed later that night with Natsu, she released a blissful sigh. Her life was great. She still talked to her friends and it was like nothing changed. No, that wasn't true. Now she got to sleep with the love of her life in their bed in their apartment. She was scared after graduating high school, but now she knew there was no reason to be. She was right where she belonged and so were her friends. Graduation was just another new beginning for her, just as her first day attending Fairy Tail High. Just as her first day living with Natsu. Just as her first day of attending college would be. Life was pleasantly full of new beginnings, and she was excited for all of them, glad to have the love of her life there with her for each one.

AN: AWW ISN'T THAT CUTE. A HUGE thank you to everyone that read/favorite/followed/reviewed this story! Means so much to me! :') If any of you need some more Nalu to read, you can read my other story The Flaming Key. :) There will be an epilogue, so make sure you stick around for it! Thanks again! :D (In case any of you were wondering, yes Jellal and Gajeel go to the same school haha!)

Magnificent dragoness: Thank you so much for being a regular reviewer. Seriously, your reviews motivated me so much throughout the story! Meant a lot to me. :')

Sam1114: Thank you so much haha I thought that scene was funny too! :D

Sidjr100: Wow, thank you SO much for all of your reviews! You've literally been reviewing since I believe the first chapter! Means so much especially since this was my first AU nalu story. :') THANK YOU!

Guest: Thank you haha! :D I can see Natsu wording it possessively like that in the manga because I really don't think that he would be the gushy feelings type haha!

FireShifter: Haha thank you! And yes I wanted to give Lisanna a happy ending since she was so sweet! I don't really ship her and Bixlow (it's not that I don't like them together I just don't remember any specific scenes between the two) but everyone else does so I figured I would put them together instead of making an OC. :)

Lunahartz: Ooooh explain this project to me it sounds super interesting!

Author Autumn: Haha there was a bit of Jerza and the tiniest bits of Gruvia and Gale, but other than that just Nalu! :D

Alexa60765: Thank you haha I liked Natsu's confession I found it funny! :D

DragonSlayerDiana: Yes I just wish I gave Cana more time! I love her character so much, I just didn't have enough room for her towards the end! D:

CelesialLunaPanda-Senpai: AND NOW THEY LIVE TOGETHER YAY!

SavageReaper: OMG THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH! Wow, best fanfic you ever read!? What a compliment that's awesome! And the fact that this story was the first one you reviewed. :') THANK YOU SO MUCH WOW MEANS A LOT.

MavisPerez: HAHA WOW I DO THAT TOO! I never thought somebody would do that with one of my stories though. :') Thank you! :D

An Amber Pen: And he even asked her to move in with him. :') What is he going to ask next since he's on such a great roll? :D

Aqua Belladonna: IT DIDN'T END. Well okay, now it did. But there's an epilogue coming on Monday so yay? :D

Soul Eater Maka: I'M SORRY BUT THANK YOU!

Brynn chan: Oh I will be posting a Nashi story next week! :D And yes it's every other day when I update all of my stories. :)