I hear Lucy's music just the same as any morning but I don't hear her feet on the floor and she's not singing. I peel my eyes open but she's not in the room either. I slip out of bed and throw a t-shirt on and head out to the kitchen.
I find Lucy sitting at the table, a cup of tea in front of her, the steam wafting upward.
"Lucy?" My throat a little hoarse from sleep. She doesn't react, her eyes are big and
she's chewing on her lip the way she does when she's nervous. I love the way she does that.
"Lucy," I say again, it's weird she's not sitting at her window seat, or dancing around the house or smiling, she always smiles.
"Lucy." I say once more. Finally, she snaps out of her thoughts, her eyes still wide from being lost.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong?" I ask her. She turns her wide eyes on me, she spaces out when she's nervous. I love how spacey she is.
"I just… well…" she sighs and she looks at the window, the rising sun setting filling the sky with shades of pink and purple.
"Just tell me." I offer her a smile. She nods and she starts chewing on her bottom lip again.
"My mom wants to meet you." She says.
"Is that all?" I laugh "parents love me."
"My mom is a little…" Lucy struggles to find a word which means she's trying to find a nicer word. "crazy." She exhales a long breath "she can be a bit much to handle."
"She made you." I say, "she's can't be that bad." Her features soften and she smiles at me but there's still tension. Probably because she hasn't seen her mom in about two years.
"It's going to be fine." I promise pulling a chain up beside her. She doesn't look convinced, so I wrap my arm over her shoulders, she leans into me and she fits so perfectly against me. I love how perfectly she fits against me.
"It is going to be okay." I kiss the top of her head and rub her arm.
"When's the dinner?" I ask. She takes a drink of tea and sets the cup down before interlacing her fingers and turning toward me.
"Well…" She reaches up and pecks me on the lips. I cup her cheek in my hand to hold her there.
"Well…" I prompt her.
"tomorrow night." She pecks me again before grabbing her tea and taking a long sip.
"Tonight?" I ask her. She nods, her cups still on her lips.
"I work tonight." I say. she nods again.
"is there any way we can do it tomorrow?" I ask, I don't want to make a bad first impression but I can't miss work either, not if I'm ever going to afford a ring for Lucy.
"My mom isn't the kind of person you bargain with." She says carefully, always trying to find the nice way to say things.
"Okay," I sigh "it's fine, I got this, I'll swap shifts with… Clyde, he won't mind or Lisana , one of them will swap with me."
"Are you sure?" Lucy rests her hand on my chest.
"yeah, it's fine, Clyde owes me a favor anyway." I pat her shoulder "Friday is one of the best shifts to work, whoever switches is really the one getting the better deal."
"Are you sure?" she asks again. I squeeze her and nod "of course, it's going to be great, I can finally meet your mom, my family is already in love with you, I'm sure you're mom will love me just like she loves you."
Lucy's eyes betray her anxiety. "I don't think you want her to love you like she loves me." Lucy's voice is so quiet I don't think she meant for me to hear. She takes another drink of tea, her brown lipstick doesn't leave an imprint on the cup this morning.
"You're already dressed and got your make-up done." I sigh and shake my head, that does it. Lucy breaks out her smile.
"Sun's up… so I'm up." She cuddles next to me and drinks her tea. I really want a cup of coffee but I don't want to disturb her. I can hold out a bit longer.
Lucy doesn't move for a while, she just huddles against my side and watches the morning while she enjoys her tea. As the sun climbs higher, I can almost feel Juvia's morning call closing in. I don't know exactly what time she calls but I know she calls around this time. I'm not even waiting for the call but I've fallen into the habit of waiting for the call. A familiar tune (another I can't name but know I've heard) comes from the bed room.
"That'll be Juvia." Lucy's got an especially big smile on her face as she hops up and hurries down the hall to our room. I take the opportunity to make a cup of coffee.
Lucy giggles on the phone with Juvia as she pads around the house, tea in hand, her hair falling in beautiful waves down her back and her lips a toned-down shade similar to my coffee when it has just the right amount of creamer. I lean against the counter and watch her laugh and smile, her eyes widen, her suggestions for colors and half sentences Lucy finished for Juvia or Juvia finished for Lucy. Lucy's always got her eyes on things, always got things going on in her mind. I don't understand how her minds works. She's always thinking and planning and dreaming and appreciating the things right in front of her all at the same time.
"Yes!" Lucy's voice squeaks a pitch higher in her excitement. "Oh my goodness, yes that'll look so good… do you want me in a long dress or a short dress?" Lucy waits for Juvia's answer while I take a drink.
"Either or?" Lucy says, her eyes taking on a serious edge "got it, it's just got to be the right shade." Lucy nods, takes a drink and nods again. "yep, got it." Takes a drink, nods some more. "Yeah no, I'm free until three today." Lucy says, "yeah, I can totally get measured for my dress today, where at?" she nods and I drink with her this time.
"Oh, that's that little shop right next to our coffee shop." Lucy nods and drinks again. She hesitates with her cup to her lips and looks into an empty cup. I stifle a laugh when she gives the empty cup a slight frown.
"Here." I hold my hand out for her cup. She smiles and mouths a thank you as she hands it to me.
"You're welcome." I put her kettle back on the stove and heat the remaining water in it. Lucy goes back to walking back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, now using her free hand to emphasis her words.
"Yes, you need a tiara." Lucy giggles and throws herself back onto the couch. I grab one of her butterscotch teas from her tea drawers and set it into her Paris cup. It's got a few rings on the inside of it. She just rinses it out, since she doesn't put any sugar or milk in it.
"Navy blue and gold would be so gorgeous." Lucy plays with her hair as she drapes herself over the arm of the couch. "Yeah, yeah, right." Her laugh fills the room, I stop what I'm doing just to enjoy it for a moment.
The kettle whistles and I pour the water over the bag. The water almost instantly turns a deep butterscotch kind of orange.
"Yeah, I'll meet you at the store. No, Natsu isn't busy today, no work tonight, he switched… I'll tell you when I see you." Lucy's gives a poorly disguised nervous laugh "okay, I'll see you soon, love you, bye." Lucy drops her head over the back of the couch, she turns around, kneeling on the couch.
"Oh, thank you." Lucy takes the cup in her hand and holds it under her nose. She closes her eyes and basks in the warmth and the smell for a moment.
"Everything is going to be fine tonight." I assure her. She keeps her eyes closed as she takes the first drink and for a few more seconds after. Finally, she breathes a sigh and opens her eyes.
"Promise?" She asks. I nod and trail my fingers along her jawline. "I promise."
"Okay." She leans over the back of the couch. "I believe you."
"Now where are you going with Juvia?" I take a seat beside her on the couch with my coffee.
"I need to get measured for my bridesmaid dress." She says.
"How long is that gonna take?" I ask.
"Not long, but we're gonna stop and have a bagel too, so I'll be back before three." She takes a sip of her tea.
"What time are we going to your moms?" He asks.
"She said to be there at eight." Lucy arches her back until it pops.
"Eight?" I ask, "Kind of late for a dinner isn't it?"
"My family is… they've always been night owls." She traces her finger around the rim of the mug.
"You are too." I say "well… actually, you're both a night owl and an early bird." I nudge her with my shoulder. "You've never told me why you like getting up so early and staying up late, why you never sleep."
Lucy shrugs her shoulders slightly.
"Does it have to do with your family?" I ask.
Lucy shrugs again "I just… never liked to sleep." She takes a drink. "I never wanted to miss anything." She doesn't say it with her usual wide curious eyes, or the hint of mischief in the corner of her smile.
"Something else to it?" I ask her. Her chest fills with air and she looks up to me and offers a half-hearted smile. "nothing I want to talk about." She drops her head back to her tea. I watch her for a second. This isn't right, Lucy looks… wilted, like she's got something to heavy inside her and she's getting too tired to hold it up anymore.
"Lucy." I pull her into my arms, my completely average sized arms, I keep my casted arm on her back and lift her chin with my good arm. "Don't you trust me?" I'm not trying to guilt trip her but I need to know.
"I trust you." She says, her eyes conveying her honesty "I just didn't want you to know everything, I wanted you to know the person I am now[GM1] ."
"You can trust me with everything, you know?" I hope she knows. She nods but there's something heavy about that too and I don't know if it's me or if it's something else.
Lucy recovers, plastering a poor imitation of her smile on after she finishes her second cup of tea. She pecks me on the mouth and grabs her bag.
"I'd better go meet up with Juvia, I'll see you in a bit." She bounces out of the house with barely a third of her usual enthusiasm. I watch her hurry down the street, her curls trailing after her as her head bobs with each stride. My phone dings just as she disappears from my view. I take a seat back on the couch and open my laptop. The email pops out from the side of my screen and it's from Bort's Literary agency.
Dear Mr. Dragneel, we would like if you could send us a complete copy of your manuscript for further consideration. Please send it in reply to this email as a .doc attachment.
Thank you for considering us.
-Mr. Hensley
"Yes!" I hit the reply button immediately and attached the entire copy of my manuscript to the email. I types a quick thank you and sent it off.
"Yes, yes, yes!" I pump my fist in the air and jump to my feet. "yes, so much closer, they liked the beginning they'll like the rest too." I let myself feel the excitement. That last rejection was my fifty-seventh rejection.
"What are we celebrating?" Grey's voice pulls me back to reality.
"What are you doing here?" I ask. He shrugs "our girlfriends seem to think that if they leave us alone they need to set us up on a play date." Grey opens my fridge. "do you guys drink anything but coffee, tea and lemon water?" He sighs closing the door.
"She also makes cucumber water." I'm only half joking. Other than that we just can't afford to fill our house with sodas, Lucy doesn't really drink soda and her habits rubbed off on me without a word.
"Cause that's better." Grey groans and snags a loan Kool-Aid packet from the cabinet. "Yes!" he grabs a pitcher from the cabinet and stick it in the sink.
"So, what were you celebrating?" Grey pours the Kool-Aid packet in the pitcher.
"Agent requested my complete manuscript." I'm trying to contain myself but this is the closest thing to a yes as I've ever gotten.
"Awesome man." Grey bobs his head and stirs the Kool-Aid. "you're getting there, soon you'll be some big-time writer and be buying us all lunch."
"Right." I scoff "I don't need to make it on the best seller's list but I'd like to be able to make a living off my books at some point."
"You'll get there man, this is just a stepping stone." Grey grabs the bag of sugar jar and pours a heap into the pitcher.
"Yeah, hopefully this is the first step in the right direction." I sit back down with my coffee and laptop. I open my most recent story and stare at the screen for a few minutes but nothing comes, I don't even want to write this right now because I can't think of a single thing to write for it. I tap at the 'I' key repeatedly and wait for inspiration to strike but nothing. Not even one little sentence, not even an idea for a future scene.
"Lucy's mom wants to meet me." I say. Grey freezes from his Netflix skimming.
"her mom?" He asks, "the one she hasn't spoken to in years?"
"Yeah." I nod
"The one that called a daughter who she hasn't spoken to in two years… drunk." Grey cocks his brow, his arm still pointing the remote towards the TV.
"Yeah," I nod again
"I'm sure you guys'll have a great dinner." Grey half laughs but I don't think even he thinks anything about this is funny.
"I don't know anything about the woman." I shake my head "I need something so I can impress her." I continue to tap the 'I' key.
"I don't think Lucy is weighting the future of your guy's relationship on this dinner." Grey clicks through all of Lucy's saved movies and shows. Everything from heavy sci-fi like CARBON ALTERED to every Barbie movie available on Netflix.
"Lucy still loves her mom." I sigh "I don't know what falling out they had but Lucy isn't this affected by something that's not important to her."
"Yeah." Grey set the remote down, giving up on finding anything to watch right now. "but still, I think this is so she can see if her mom's changed or done something to fix what made a girl like Lucy run away and ignore her mom for two years, She just isn't the kind of girl to leave someone."
"I know." I agree "That's what's so weird." I erase the rest of the I's and close the document. "she's got to be pretty bad if Lucy left her, Lucy is the nicest person I've ever met, she never gets angry" I grab my laptop to tuck it away in the coffee table.
"Dude, I know what you mean." Grey sits up "she's the kind of person that makes averagely nice people look like scum."
"Right." I exclaim "so what did her mom do that was so bad that she didn't just move out, Lucy stopped talking to her."
"Yeah." Grey nods "but she kept the same number."
I look up at Grey "she did" I agree. "she wanted her mom to still be able to get ahold of her."
"It doesn't matter what her mom did to her, Lucy still loves her and despite everything, she's hoping to reconnect with her mom tonight." I drop my head into my hands "that even worse!"
"Chill." Grey smacks my shoulder "Lucy loves you, her mom is… icing, you are her main course."
"What?" I laugh but it's not funny.
"If things work out the way Lucy hopes with her mom then it's icing, it's not an expectation but it's an extra sweetness she'd love." Grey explains "but if it doesn't, she still has you."
I watch Grey for a second "I'm gonna use that in a story." I tell him[GM2] .
"I get credit." Grey stands "now come on, let's man you up."
"How?" I stand anyway.
"Gym, duh." Grey grabs his jacket from the arm of the chair.
"Lucy's not gonna like that." I warn him "I don't get this cast off for another two weeks."
"Then don't tell her." Grey says simply.
"You know I can't lie to her." I grab my coat from beside the door.
"Just don't bring it up." Grey opens the door and motions me out.
"But she's gonna ask me what we did today." I step out.
"Just say we hung out." Grey closes the door behind us.
I stop and turn to stare at him. "I don't know if you forgot this but Lucy is a detail oriented person."
"She does like all the little details." Grey sighs and clasps my shoulder. "Sucks for you."
"Thanks." I shake my head. still, a little confidence boost can't hurt.
Dear God?,
I guess that works. I believe there's a God. I guess if I was actually talking to God though, I'd ask him why he made me a time bomb and then gave me Natsu. I mean COME ON! WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?
Why would you do that to me and Natsu. I think he feels the same thing I do.
I hope he does.
No wait, I don't. It won't be so bad when I leave.
Lucy
Author's Note:
We're just gonna call this a marathon. i think one or two more chapters tonight and another multi post marathon tomorrow as well.
Let me know what you think, thanks for everyone who gave me a chance.