Hi guys!
The A/N at the bottom is very important so please make sure you read it.
;)
Day Twenty-Five
How He Didn't Leave Her
She gazed out over the guild.
It was loud, noisy, and cheerful as ever. But there was something different about it.
She knew what it was.
He had told her, the week before, that he was leaving. She almost didn't believe him at first. He had to go search for Igneel, he told her. And they both knew the words he left unspoken: that he might never come back.
It wasn't going to be an easy journey. It'd be dangerous. It'd be long. And it might never end. Natsu could go on searching for the rest of his life, and maybe he'd never find Igneel. And there was always the chance that his journey might be cut short. Because who knew what horrors he'd encounter on such a quest?
She asked him to stay - she begged him.
You can't go!
The face that he'd given her when she said that just about broke her heart.
I have to, Luce.
Now, she watched him prance around the guild, teasing Gray and punching Elfman. She watched him laugh, and found that she was crying.
How could he just leave her like that?
Friends weren't supposed to leave friends.
Family wasn't supposed to leave family.
And she knew, above all, that Natsu Dragneel was not supposed to leave Lucy Heartfilia.
She had been the only one who'd known he was leaving, besides Happy. He was leaving in two days, and he still hadn't told his guildmates - because, she knew, he couldn't work up the courage.
The only reason she knew he was leaving was because he couldn't work up the courage to keep it from her.
So, right then and there, she made up her mind. She stood up and left the guild. She hurried home to her apartment and grabbed a suitcase, filling it with everything she needed.
Plenty of clothes. A few pairs of shoes. Lots of books. Her half-finished novel. Some basic toiletries. Stuff like that.
She hardly realized what she was doing. What was she thinking? She couldn't just up and leave, too! Levy would be heartbroken, for one thing, and their teammates - well, the whole guild would have a hard time with two of their nakama leaving at once.
But Lucy knew, in her heart, that she couldn't very well stay either.
Not if he was leaving.
Because there was no way she was letting him go alone.
She finished packing and forced the suitcase closed. Two days. He was leaving in two days. Well, that gave her two days to tell him she was coming along, whether he liked it or not - and two days to tell the guild the same thing.
She decided she'd tell them all as soon as he told them all.
Except that didn't happen as she expected it to. He didn't tell them later that day, or the day before he left, and suddenly it was the morning of his departure and neither he nor she had told anyone, anything.
She walked to the guild that morning with her head bowed low and her suitcase rolling along behind her. How was she going to tell them this? How were they going to take it?
She stepped in the doors of the guild and plunked herself down at a table - coincidentally, she found herself sitting across from him.
Neither met the other's eyes. She found it almost amusing that he didn't notice the suitcase she'd brought along. Others seemed to see it, but most made no comment.
"Lu-chan?"
She looked up and found herself staring straight up into the eyes of Levy.
"Yeah, Levy-chan?" she replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but not doing such a great job of it.
"Lu-chan - why do you have that suitcase?"
She took a deep breath. Here we go, she thought. Time to spill it. Once and for all.
"Because I'm leaving."
Levy gave a squeak of surprise. "What?!"
But the blond didn't reply, only turned toward the pink-haired boy who was staring at her in utter shock.
"Luce - what are you - "
"I'm going with you."
Realization dawned on him. He stared at her strangely, as if she'd grown another head.
She saw that look and almost panicked. What if he didn't want her to come? Sure, she'd told herself she would go with him whether he liked it or not, but she never actually thought about the possibility that he might really not want her to go with him.
But then, suddenly, he smiled.
And all her fears melted.
He held out a hand. "Well, if that's the case, then c'mon!"
She took his hand, squeezed it, and smiled so brightly, it could have lit up all of Magnolia. "O-okay!"
And that's the story of how Natsu Dragneel didn't leave Lucy Heartfilia.
... ... ...
Oi! Hope you enjoyed!
Okay, this is a VERY IMPORTANT author's note.
I WILL NOT BE POSTING UPDATES ON TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, OR THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK.
I'm sorry, but it's impossible. I'm being pulled on a family vacation to a place with no internet service. However, I WILL STILL KEEP UP WITH 1095 DAYS OF NALU! I will write a one-shot every day, however, I just won't be able to post it to the site. So rest assured, my three-years-straight challenge will not be interrupted. You simply won't be able to read the one-shots until Friday, when I come home and post them all.
Thank you all for your lovely patience. I WILL post tomorrow, though - so see you then! ;D