Chapter 34: Leisure- Confessions of Another
Lucy's P.O.V:
~Mizukina WaterLand~
~11 a.m~
"Watch out!" Maria warned.
"I got it!" Rina replied, catching the beach ball that Maria threw.
It's been over 30 minutes since Angel's Gate and Fairy Tail arrived at the private swimming pool (Emily allowed them to join us), and everyone's already having so much fun.
Erza, Juvia, Levy, Mirajane, Wendy, Maria, Rina, Chisaki, Jade, Sierra and I were playing ball while the boys were... Actually, I have no idea what they're doing.
I haven't seen them at all ever since we parted ways at the slide area. Maybe they're chugging down some food at the free buffet. Yes, that must be it.
Anyways, Emily and Celestia were the judges and they were currently drinking some fruit smoothie they had obtained from the drinks stand.
"Lucy!" Rina called out. She pushed the ball towards me and I managed to catch it with only my left hand. Swiftly, I threw it over my head to Chisaki before stretching my sore arms. Volleyball and beach balls can be very tiring you know.
"Alright, let's take a break," Erza declared. We all nodded at this and walked back to the edge of the 50cm-tall pool.
There are three pools in total, one of them is one meter tall while the other is a meter and a half. I pretty much prefer the second one (the one meter) since it's neither too short nor too tall but it's better to play at the shortest pool. We can easily move around with no problem and besides, it'll be a burden if there's too much water holding us back.
"Why don't you drink something to replenish your energy?" Celestia offered. In her hands was a large silver tray topped with at least a dozen smoothies and juices.
"Thanks," I said, taking a glass of transparent strawberry juice and sipping on the aquamarine blue swirly straw.
The drink was refreshing and had this fizzy feeling to it- my guess is that the bartenders who made this added some soda to the juice so that it's more flavorful to the tongue and mouth.
"So Lu-chan, I kept reading your novel over and over again, I must at least read two chapters a day or not I wouldn't be able to sleep," Levy rambled on. "Your stories are the best, the romance seems to intensify every time I read it and the plot was so good, I'm surprised you haven't published it yet."
"Well, I have more things to worry about other than writing these past few years but I'm hoping to publish my novel in a year or so," I explained.
"It's going to be strange," Levy admitted, sighing to herself.
"What's strange?" I asked.
"Many people- not only me- reading your book."
"Don't worry, Levy-chan," I assured, leaning in to whisper in the blue-haired mage's ear. "I made a little side novel just for you to enjoy. It's fairly new and I had done a lot of proofreading to it."
"Really?!" Levy said in a high-pitched voice. I nodded as a reply and she nearly dropped the glass of orange juice in her hand as she jumped up in excitement.
"You're the best, Lu-chan!" She smiled and winked. "I can't wait to see it!"
"I'll give it to you when we get back," I said just as someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned around to see Emily, who had put her hands on her hips and the corners of her lips turned up into a smile.
"Sorry to interrupt you girls but Erza here wants us to eat cake with her."
"There's a cake stand?" I questioned.
Emily sighed and smiled an amused smile. "Unfortunately."
Ah, typical Erza. Of course, whenever there's cake, she'll always go crazy and she'll probably eat a store worth of strawberry cakes if there is any.
"Alrigh- aah!" I shrieked as someone pulled me back into the pool. Luckily, I managed to put down my drink on the edge but my back wasn't so lucky.
It collided with the swimming pool floor to the point where I'm sure I'll have back aches till the next morning.
"Got you!"
My eyebrow twitched. "N- Natsu! What was that for?"
"It's just a prank, Luce," Natsu grinned my favorite toothy grin but I wasn't fooled by it.
You could feel my dark aura about a thousand miles away as I stood up and glared at the fire dragon slayer.
"Yikes!" Natsu yelped and looked at me with a scared look in his eyes.
"Come here," I beckoned but he just ran away. "I said come here!"
For around 10 minutes or so, all I did was chase Natsu at the private swimming pool area while he trip over various things like Gray's boxers, Erza's cake (no idea where that came from) and Jade's head. (Yes, I said head)
"Why you-" Erza and Jade snarled and the three of us started chasing Natsu.
Finally, we're able to catch him at the end and well... Let's just say we beat him pretty bad.
"I'm s-s-sorry!" Natsu wailed, he had three bumps on his head along with bruises all over his body.
Okay, we beat him very bad.
"Serves you right," I stated, walking away.
Jade and Erza were already back to what they were doing before, all that was left was me.
Suddenly, someone wrap his arms around my waist and I immediately knew that it was Natsu. How did he recovered so fast? Oh well, you never know with Natsu. He might have super healing for all I know.
Heat basically radiated off his body and I felt warm- warm like freshly-baked bread, warm like when my feet touched the sand of the beach located underneath the sun.
Natsu quickly embraced me in a hug and it'a just so easy to melt into it. It made me forget about everything that's going on around me and I felt more relaxed than ever.
The hug made me forget about the dangers lurking in every corner, the dangers that I- Angel's Gate and Fairy Tail too- had been dragged into. But just like Natsu's prank, the hug didn't fool me. My mind was too focused on the evils that might threaten everyone's- not only mine's- lives. Every thought I have focused on these evils and it's hard to just forget about it.
Involuntarily, I pushed a confused Natsu away and cross my arms. "What was that for?"
"Nothing," Natsu shook his head. "I just wanted to... You know... Hug you for a second?"
"Is that an answer or a question?"
"It's suppose to be an answer," Natsu shrugged.
I sighed and dropped my head low until it landed on Natsu's shoulder.
"What's wrong?" The dragon slayer asked, concern.
"Nothing's wrong," I lied. Dark Abyss was still lingering in my mind like a lost puppy- going nowhere, just staying in the same place, never moving out of my head as much as I wanted it to.
"Luce, I've known you for like what? 8 years, including the Tenrou Island incident. You have this look on your face, I can tell something is wrong by just looking at it," Natsu replied.
I raised an eyebrow, though I'm sure he couldn't see it. Is it really obvious? Before I put my head down on his shoulder, could he see the emotion I'm feeling before? As a person who had trained for a long time hiding her emotions, is it really that obvious?
"I don't have a look and nothing's wrong," I stated stubbornly.
"Look," Natsu was the one who sighed this time. "If it's about them, don't worry about it. I won't let anything happen to you. Besides, I couldn't live without you. I'd rather torture myself than see you get ripped out of my own life."
"I doubt it," I muttered. Natsu furrowed his eyebrows in question as I lifted my head away from him. "I don't deserve being in anyone's life."
"Who told you that?"
"I did."
He sighed in frustration before ruffling my hair with a grin. "Like I believe that."
"You don't have to believe anything!" I stated, crossing my arms.
"Come on," Natsu said, pulling my arm towards the pool. "Let's have some fun!"
I held back a smile, covering my mouth with my hand. "How childish."
"Luce, I'm not childish!" Natsu pouted again.
"Sure, sure," I replied, walking past him nonchalantly. I could feel Natsu still pouting behind me so I look over my shoulder only to be greeted by Natsu's kiss. It didn't last for long though, probably only 20 seconds until I pulled away.
"How many times did we do this kind of thing?" I asked, amused.
"I just can't help it," Natsu replied sheepishly. I bit my lip from saying how cute he is when he's embarrassed and broke into a smile.
"You say that every time. Now go on then, we don't want to be late."
He grinned yet again and we made our way to the pool.
Gray's P.O.V:
I watched as an angry Lucy chase Natsu around the area and smirked. Idiot. All of us know that Lucy can be really scary when she's mad but he still insisted on pulling a prank on her. Yeah, I know. Same old Natsu. You can't blame him though. He's just very excited that Lucy is back with us- well not exactly back with us.
Natsu told me how Lucy is happy being with Angel's Gate but Fairy Tail is where she truly belongs. She now have two guilds to choose from, balancing on both her shoulders, trying to see which one would be the best place for her.
I frowned, feeling bad for the blond- I mean white-haired girl. Man, I keep forgetting that she had changed her hair color. Honestly, I never try to pay any attention to it but the eyes is a whole different story.
Her purplish-blue orbs are hard to miss. Especially when they sparkle in the light- exactly like a thousand diamonds glimmering underneath the sun...
Wait, what am I talking about? Sparkling eyes? I seriously need to get myself back together.
I stretch my arms and tried to relax but that seems utterly impossible. So instead of doing that, I just examine the private swimming pool with wary eyes, sometimes listening in other people's conversation to keep myself entertained, even though it's not polite.
"I'll go get some water over there," I heard someone familiar say.
Automatically, my muscles tensed and I gritted my teeth in the hopes of stopping myself from calling out to the person, who was walking to the drinks stand next to me. Unfortunately, I couldn't help myself.
"Juvia!"
The said water Mage turned to look at me with a blank look plastered onto her face. "Gray. What do you want?"
I ironically froze. It was... Odd.
Before Lucy had came back, Juvia would glare at me whenever I tried to talk to her but she was now emotionless. I guess she thinks that doing that to me is useless and now that Lucy is with us again, she's back to her cheery self... Well, at least around the people that didn't ignore the stellar Mage years ago.
Her eyes were hard like titanium as she stared me down. "Gray, I asked you a question."
"Uh... I was wondering do-"
"Juvia-chan!" Lyon yelled.
"Lyon-san?" Juvia asked just as Lyon wrapped his arms around her. You could hear my veins popping out of my head at the sight of my old nemesis.
"Oi, Lyon! What are you doing here, huh?!"
"Chelia dragged us here," Lyon replied before completely ignoring me. "Would you like to go down the slides together with me, Juvia-chan?"
"I only wanted to get some water..." Juvia muttered, sweat dropping.
"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?" Lyon offered, getting more and more annoying- I mean excited.
"You do know that you're too old for her right?" I teased and crossed my arms. "You're like... 9 years older than her! Talk about a pedophile!"
"I'm not a child you know," Juvia snapped at me.
"S-Sorry," I apologized then went back to harassing Lyon. "You're 29, she's 20 years old. She deserves to be with someone much more powerful and much more younger than you!"
"Like who? You?" Lyon scoffed. Our foreheads clashed together and we glared into each other's eyes. "I bet Juvia would rather date me than you!"
"We'll see about that!" I growled.
"Are you actually saying what I think you're saying? That you'll be a good candidate to be Juvia's boyfriend?"
"As a matter of fact, I could beat you in anything so yes, that is what I'm saying," I declared, shocking Lyon. "Come along, Juvia."
My hand immediately grabbed the water Mage and dragged her farther away from a fuming, amused Lyon. Amused? Bah, it must be my imagination.
I gripped Juvia's hand tighter, feeling the softness of her delicate fingers and the smooth surface of her palm. I huffed in annoyance but managed to calm myself when Juvia gave me a reassuring squeeze (Though I could feel her reluctance to do this).
We rounded the corner where the line of drink stands ended and hid behind a series of slides a few feet away.
I needed to get away from all of the 'chaos' and this is the only hiding place I could think of. It was silent and sincere. No disturbance.
"Could you let go now?" Juvia questioned quietly. I pulled myself back into reality and mumbled a 'sure' before releasing her hand.
"Why did you drag me here?" She added.
"To get away from Lyon. Honestly, how can you stand that guy? He's annoying. Someone like him is no good for you," I explained.
A few months after Lucy left, Lyon would come visit Juvia and help calm her down but I don't think his methods of comfort is working at all. She smiled in his presence, to reassure him that she's fine even though she's not.
He kept coming back and one time, he even asked Juvia if she wanted to have tea with him. She accepted as to not hurt his feelings and I clearly remember the pang of jealousy I felt when Lyon came to pick her up. I nearly ended up stalking them but at that time, Erza wanted me to help with her mission and what can I do but follow her demands.
"Lyon-san is a good person," Juvia replied.
"Sure he is."
"Hmph. I'm going to go back. The girls must be wondering what's taking me so long."
"Hey," I called out, stopping Juvia mid-stride. "I know you're still mad at me for... You know..."
She nodded and beckoned me to continue.
"But I was hoping you would let me take you somewhere when we get home from the GMGs. Just once, to say I'm sorry."
Juvia was as silent as a mouse and all the hope I had mustered drained from my body.
Finally, she spoke up in a loud, clear voice. "Alright but only once. I haven't forgiven you yet but if Lucy forgives you, I'll try to forgive you too. If this one time goes without a hitch, I'll be able to trust you more... I guess."
Well, better than nothing. "Thanks."
"No problem," Juvia said, waving me off just as she disappeared from my line of sight.
Lucy's P.O.V:
When Natsu and I arrived at the pool, I noticed a few extra people sitting around the group of girls.
Next to Wendy is Chelia, they were busy talking and catching up that they didn't notice us walking towards them.
"Oh, Lucy-san!" Yukino, who was sitting an inch away from Celestia, waved at me and smiled.
"Yukino?" I asked. "I don't mean to be rude but... What are you doing here? Better yet, what are you and Chelia doing here?"
"Oh, Lamia Scale and Sabertooth decided to go swimming together and we ended up choosing this place. When we heard Fairy Tail was here too, I can't help but convince the others to visit you guys," Yukino explained. "It didn't take much to persuade Sting-san to agree."
"Did you just say Sting-" I said but was cut off by a very, very, familiar voice.
"Luce!"
"Sting," Natsu grumbled. His lips pulled back into a snarl and he growled at Sting when he hugged me from behind.
"You seem very eager," I commented, seeing his expression.
"Of course. I get to meet you. Why wouldn't I be eager?" Sting asked.
"Oi!" Natsu exclaimed. "Don't hug Luce!"
"Why not?" Sting taunted. "'What are you going to do?"
"I'll burn you to a crisp!"
"I'd like to see you try," Sting smirked,"flame head."
"Why you-"
"Stop it!" I yelled, hitting the two on the head. "We're here to have fun. This is a destination for leisure. So get along or I'll throw you both to the river!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Sting stuttered.
"Good," I nodded before looking around. "Where's the boys?"
"Um, well I don't know where Gray is but I'm pretty sure the others are still eating at the buffet," Natsu informed me.
I sighed. Just as I thought.
"Lucy!" Levy exclaimed. "Let's continue the game!"
"Hai!" I replied and was about to jump back into the pool before Sting caught my arm.
"Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Sure," I said and glance at Natsu, who was glowering at Sting.
We went to the farthest part of the swimming pool, which is technically the top of one of the slides, and a feeling of suspicion sprung up in my stomach.
What did Sting want to talk about?
"So, what is it?" I asked once we both stopped walking. Sting blushed but other than that, his face is serious.
"Lucy, I know what Natsu-san had said to you yesterday at the end of your battle but I want you to have another choice other than him."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I could tell something was wrong and became worried for a second until he said those three words that made me froze in my spot.
"I love you."
Author's Corner
CrystalDT: Sorry for the short, bad chapter everyone. I have been extra busy these days but you know that. Anyways, I forgot to mention there was another winner for the first riddle question: 'Natsu'. Thank you for answering it and let's move on to the next riddle. I've been trying to make it harder and this is what I got:
"Frail as a flower,
Small and fragile,
but as little as she is,
she has the sky for power"
CrystalDT: So try answering this riddle and like the last time, the winners name would be posted on the author's corner! In the mean time, please read-
Colette: Rate-
Gale: And review!