I tap at the keys again, hoping that this time it'll work. So far, I've made no progress and I think I'm overdosing on caffeine.

"This one would look so good on you!" Lucy gushes, as she and Juvia flip through wedding magazines on the couch. Lucy set out tea and cookies on one of her favorite wooden tray thing.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Juvia squeals, she shoves the magazine at Grey. "what do you-no, shoot!" she hugs the magazine to her chest "never mind, don't look."

"Why not?" Grey laughs.

"You can't see the dress until the day, its bad luck." Juvia explains.

"Come on." Grey leans toward her "just a peak."

"No!" Juvia squeals, giggling as she pushes the magazine into Lucy's hands. "It's bad luck and we don't need any of that."

Lucy laughs and hides the magazine behind her back her back.

"Come on, just a peak." Grey reaches behind Lucy, Lucy squeaks and hops off the couch.

"Hey." I bark jokingly. "That's mine."

"Ooh," Juvia giggles "careful, Natsu's getting possessive."

"Natsu's just protective." Lucy smiles at me, still hiding the magazine behind her back. Grey sidesteps the couch and holds his hand out to Lucy.

"Come on," he says, "let me see."

Lucy smiles wider and cocks her brow. "Nope." She tosses the magazine to Juvia, Grey just missed it.

"Now that one is mine." Grey pounces on Juvia, she shrieks and explodes into a fit of giggles. Grey kisses her and tries to slide his hand toward the magazine but Lucy whisks past and snatches the magazine up.

"Almost." Lucy holds the magazine out in front of her and flips it closed.

"Good thinking." Juvia pushes Grey off and Grey flops back against the couch. "I just wanted a peak." He groans.

"You will get the full effect on September sixteenth of next year." Juvia nudges against Grey "Now, go sit on the chair so Lucy and I can keep looking at wedding dresses." Juvia pushes Grey off the couch and Lucy plops back down beside her.

"I love wedding dresses." Lucy sighs "they're so beautiful."

"Yeah." Juvia agrees "except for that on." She makes a face at the page Lucy has the magazine open to. "That one is ugly."

"Not particularly my style." Lucy halfway agrees, always reluctant to be mean, even if that person would never find out. Lucy, she's just good like that.

"Whatcha working on?" Grey plops down beside me with his cup of coffee but he's not watching me, he's watching Juvia.

"Attempting to write." I sigh sitting back. Grey nods, still watching Juvia.

"Thank you." Grey says, finally looking at me.

"For what?" I half laugh half scoff.

"You and Lucy, you're so solid." He says, "it's like you two just belong together, watching you guys... it's as easy as breathing for you two."

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"You made me a better boyfriend, Natsu." Grey says.

"Dude, I still don't get what you're saying," I admit "I mean, how could I have anything to do with you and Juvia's relationship.?"

"You just showed me it is possible to find the right girl and when I opened my eyes to it, I found Juvia." He shakes his head and chuckles "I mean, you don't marry a girlfriend or a boyfriend, you don't even look for a wife or a husband." His eyes shift toward Juvia "you find a best friend, you marry your best friend and you just enjoy each other."

"Yeah..." I agree watching Lucy's hair sway with every move and stray strands cling to the couch.

"We're the luckiest guys on this planet." Grey states.

"Yeah." I nod I am so lucky to have you, Lucy

"You figure out what you wanna do about asking Lucy?" Grey's eyes weigh down on me.

"I saw a ring the other night on my way home from work." I shake my head and stare into my hands "she would love it."

"I'm guessing it's pricey." Grey smirks "it doesn't have to be, you could just ask her."

"No, I can't" I shake sigh "she deserves more than that, she deserves that ring, she deserves some grand fairytale gesture."

"Then do it." Grey says it likes it's that simple.

"I don't have the money for the ring or the gesture." I prop my head on my hand and watch Lucy flip through a magazine filled with wedding dresses.

"Maybe it's not the money thing." Grey says, "maybe you're just not ready to ask."

"I know she's the one, Grey." I shake my head, I can't help the smile on my face. "I just know it, I feel it."

"Then what's holding you back?" Grey looks at me like I'm an idiot. I probably am, I mean, what idiot holds off asking a girl like Lucy?

"I don't know she just..." I sigh and shake my head "she just deserves more than..."

"More than you?" He asks. "Because I don't think that's your decision to make, I think that's hers so stop making her mind up for her and man up, talk to her."

"How?" I demand "How do I talk to her about this?"

"You're making this so much harder than it has to be." Grey drops his head back "just talk, that's it, that's literally it."

"It's not-"

Grey slaps the back of my head. "Shut up."

"What the heck, man?" I growl at him.

"It's not anything." He says, "Tonight, talk to her about it."

"How."

"Start with, do you see us together forever?" Grey throws his arms out, as if it's that's easy, as if talking about that couldn't lead to something I don't want to know. Like maybe she doesn't see us together forever, like maybe she's just waiting for something better to come along. Except, Lucy isn't like that, she's honest and kind and loving and real.

"Yeah... you're right." I nod. I watch Lucy on the couch for a moment.

"Can I tell you something that you won't say anything to anyone, even Juvia?" I ask him.

"course." Grey brows furrow in confusion.

"This guy stopped by a few days ago when you were passed out on my couch." I begin.

"What did he want?" Grey asks.

"He was asking for Lucy, he was weird though." I push away from the table and lean back.

"What was weird about it?" Grey sits back.

"When I told him Lucy was out he started yelling for her, like I was hiding her or something." I slide a glance at Lucy but she's not listening to us, she's still busy with Juvia.

"Was he high?" Grey half laughs but he looks uncertain.

"I don't know, he said he'd be back later." I keep an eye on Lucy, I don't want to upset her again.

"Did you tell Lucy?" Grey asks.

"Yeah and she got really upset." I lean closer and lower my voice "she wouldn't talk about it, she just shut down, she looked... scared."

"What do you think it is?" Grey asks, "an ex, maybe she had a stalker ?"

"I don't know, I'm afraid to bring it up again." I glance at Lucy to make sure she's not listening in.

"Well, you've got to find out." Grey says, "if she's that afraid of someone we need to handle it."

"We?" I ask.

"of course," Grey looks at me like I'm stupid "she might be your girlfriend but she's my friend too and if someone's giving her a problem they've got a problem with me too." Grey sounds angry.

"Everything okay over there?" Lucy must have heard Grey.

"Yeah, everythin-"

"No." Grey interrupts me "Lucy, is there someone bothering you?" Grey pushes away from the table as if he's ready to fight someone right now.

"What?" Lucy's face morphs into a mixture of surprise and anxiety.

"is there anyone bothering you?" Grey asks again "because me and Natsu will handle it right now."

Lucy freezes, her eyes widen the slightest bit and trail down to my casted arm. I can see the guilt there. She still blames herself. She forces a smile and meets Grey's eyes.

"Of course not, everything is fine." Lucy pushes out a stiff laugh but neither Grey or Juvia are buying it.

"Lucy..." Juvia rests a hand on Lucy's shoulder. Lucy meets Juvia's eyes with that same stiff smile.

"Everything is okay," Lucy laughs nervously, as if she's losing her breath "really, I'd tell you guys if I needed help." She's not lying there. She must not think she needs help.

"Then who was that guy that stopped by to see you?" Grey demands. Lucy goes stiff as a board, her eyes land on mine and along with everything else she's feeling, she looks hurt.

"You told him?" Her voice is barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Lucy," I begin. Lucy curls in on herself again, trying to shrink into the tiniest version of herself and disappear.

"I told you everything was okay." She says, there's a rare edge to her voice "I told you I'd tell you if it became a thing and it hasn't."

"Lucy, I'm just worried about you." I nudge the chair aside as I stand.

"Everything is fine." Lucy says again sounding more like she's trying to convince herself more than us.

"Are you sure?" Juvia asks reaching for Lucy. Lucy backs away, Grey and Juvia follow her.

"Lucy, tell me who's bothering you and I will take care of it." Grey says sounding dangerous and. I can make that promise but I can't keep it. I'm not a fighter, not like Grey, I can't protect her maybe that's why she didn't tell you I think.

"Everything is fine." Lucy repeats out of breath. Her shoulders press back as she fills her chest with air. She shakes her head "it's-" she gasps "fine." She's forcing the words out.

"Back up guys." I don't say it loud enough move, you idiot

"Lucy, you don't have to be afraid." Juvia's voice sounds soothing but Lucy doesn't look soothed.

"Let me take care of him for you." Grey says.

Move, she's having a panic attack! My brain is ordering me forward but I'm stuck there watching it you can't even react! I scream at myself help her!

Finally, my feet move and I'm drawing closer to her. Grey and Juvia are trapping her against the wall, her hand is pressed against her chest.

"back up." I say again, a little louder this time. still not loud enough though because they don't hear me.

"I-" gasp "every-" gasp "its-" gasp. Her eyelids flutter as the lack of oxygen hits her, she reaches behind her trying to find the wall. Her legs give out.

"Lucy!" Juvia shrieks as Lucy goes down. I reach her just in time to fall with her.

"Back up." I snap again, they hear me this time.

"She hasn't had a panic attack in so long." Juvia's voice is light, like she's afraid to speak too loudly.

"Lucy," I fan my hand over her face.

"Tea." Grey runs to the kitchen and puts a pot on. Juvia shifts from foot to foot, anxiously waiting for Lucy to wake up.

"Go help him." I tell Juvia, she needs something to do. "He doesn't know which teas don't have caffeine."

"Right." Juvia jumps at the chance to be helpful.

"Lucy." I pull her into my lap. Her eyes flutter before sliding open.

"Did I faint?" She asks, she still looks dazed.

"Yeah, you did." I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding. "Are you okay?" I ask her. She smiles and nods but the smile falls almost immediately.

"Why did you tell him?" She asks, "You know how Grey is."

"I was just worried." I tell her, "you were upset the other day on the phone and then you didn't even want to answer your phone and there's clearly something going on and I'm just worried that you're not telling me because-"

"One cup of piping out tension tamer tea." Juvia drops to her knees beside Lucy with Lucy's favorite Paris cup.

"Thank you." Lucy pushes herself up, I sit behind her so she can lean against me as she takes the cup. Lucy takes a second to smell the tea and then carefully takes a sip, her eyes close and she disappears in her tea world for a few moments before sighing and opening her eyes again.

"Thank you, guys." Lucy says sounding much better. She looks at each of us.

"Anything." Juvia rests her hand on Lucy's knees.

"You can always count on us." Grey says obviously not so much about the fainting as the previous thing. Lucy seems to notice too because she nods and looks him in the eyes.

"I promise, I will tell you if I need help with him." Lucy's eyes are tight but she means what she says. She pivots around to press a kiss to my cheek "you too, Natsu." She says, "you'll be the first one I tell."

"Promise?" I press.

"Promise." She smiles and starts to get up, but Grey, Juvia and I all reach for her at the same time to pull her up. Grey pulls her into a hug.

"You'd better call me if he shows up again." He means just for her to hear it but he's not really a quite person.

"I will." Lucy's voice it still shaky. Juvia hugs Lucy from behind. Lucy's phone lights up on the ground, I recognize the number immediately when I grab the phone from the ground. I grab a pen from the table and scribble it down on the edge of a magazine page before rejecting it. I'm going to find out who's bothering her.

Dear Internal Monologue,

He's a writer, he read to me under the stars tonight and we had Champaign and chocolate covered strawberries but he had to leave before the clock struck midnight. I guess he was going to turn into a pumpkin or something. LOL, just kidding, he had work.

He's also working on polishing up his book to get it published. It's about this girl who's like sixteen and she meets this little boy who has cancer, well the girl volunteers in a kid's cancer center and there's this especially mean boy there and she takes him to fulfill his last 12 wishes because he terminal and his parents stopped visiting him because they couldn't handle the pain of watching their son die.

He read me the first fifty pages and gave me a summary before he had to go. It sounds really good so far.

He hasn't kissed me yet though. I don't know why he's waiting so long. I don't have forever.

Lucy

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for reading and as always I will see you tomorrow

XOXO