Thank you again for your reviews! Sorry if there are scenes/parts that I didn't write like their first lunch together… It's just that I have several encounters of Lucy and Natsu written already for future chapters and I still have a lot that I'm planning to write :D …
I'm not sure if you guys notice how I write but as much as possible, I want you all to visualize the scenes the way I do…
PS: Black Buttons Turndown Collar Elbow Sleeve – this is Lucy's outfit for this chapter but I think it suits her if it's above the knee length and not a long dress (you can search this in google wink wink) lol. Song is Turn back time by Daniel Shulz. (I got the idea of this chapter from this song :D)
I'll wait for your reviews! Enjoy reading!
Gray was singing his heart out while Juvia, Levy and Lucy were drinking and cheering for him. Everyone was having fun except for Natsu who's stuck on his phone. He was sitted across all of them. It's like he's on his own world. He was responding to the urgent message that Mira sent him. Gray looked at him and his concentration in unbelievable despite the noisy surrounding. They rented a karaoke room, they're all supposed to have fun, sing and drink the night away so after his last song, Gray played another one. But this time, he didn't have any plans on finishing it... He can't believe Natsu is working right now when he's supposed to make a move on his wife! This bastard is unappreciative of everything that I do for him. Tsk. He thought to himself.
The next song started playing and Gray started to sing
We used to run red lights and never look back
We used to chase long nights, nothing wrong with that
'Cause I loved you and I lost my mind
And now, I try to leave it, oh, I try
But you still haunt me, no matter where I go
Then he extended his hand to give the mic to his friend. Natsu just looked at him questioningly but Gray responded with a raised eyebrow and a silent "Really?" was formed in his lips. Natsu knew he can't escape this and he didn't want to ruin everyone's night and make a scene so he took the mic and that earned him a grin and a tap on the cheek from his friend.
If I could turn back time and make it all alright
Only a piece of you and me will keep me warm all night
If I could turn back time and rewrite every line
If only I could, but baby, I can't
Lucy was startled when he started singing. She was amazed to learn that Gray can sing but it never crossed her mind that the Natsu Dragneel will and can also sing. She can't keep staring.
So I'ma scream, shout, let it all out
And scream and shout and let it all out for you, for you
Natsu felt her gaze and looked at her. He then realized the song choice of Gray for him. What the heck Gray, was the only thing that he said inside his head.
I hit you up like, "Hey girl, can we talk right now?
I know you're far away, girl, can we hang right now?"
'Cause I loved you and I lost my mind
And now, I try to leave it all behind
But I still see you, no matter where I go
I know it's getting late, girl, I don't care right now
I tried to call you on the phone, girl, but you don't pick up
And I lost you and I lost my mind
Now, I tryna leave it, oh, I'm trying
But you still haunt me, no matter where I go
If I could turn back time and make it all alright
Only a piece of you and me will keep me warm all night
If I could turn back time and rewrite every line
If only I could, but baby, I can't
Juvia poked Lucy to tease her, then whispered in her ears. "Why don't you guys get a room?! You can't take your eyes off each other! "
Lucy snapped back to her senses. She looked at Juvia, smiled and drank the bottle of beer in front of her. "That's not gonna happen tonight, girl."
But despite her words, she's shamelessly staring at him again. "It's not like this song means anything."
So I'ma scream, shout, let it all out
And scream and shout and let it all out for you, for you
So I'ma scream, shout, let it all out
And scream and shout and let it all out for you, for you
The room was huge and Natsu is sitting alone on the other side. Not a very good arrangement for the couple that Gray wanted to make up. Natsu is now just looking at the big screen in front of him while Gray walked towards to Lucy, Juvia and Levy. He winked at Juvia then reached out his hand to Lucy, "Princess? May I?" Lucy smiled and nodded then placed her hand to his. But before she stands, she asked playfully, "I didn't know both of you can sing, is there anything that you can't do?!"
Gray chuckled. "We had a lot of free time when we were kids and this just became a hobby. But, there's one thing that he's really bad at. Don't let him dance." He paused and grin "Like ever. That's his hidden talent that just needs to be kept hidden, locked forever."
Lucy laughed at how Gray talked. "So, he does have a weakness."
She stood up still holding Gray's hand. "He's just plainly bad at it princess but that isn't his weakness."
Lucy was thinking he wanted to do something stupid like dance but she wasn't expecting the next thing that he did, she was guided to sit beside Natsu.
She couldn't resist because of the firm grip of Gray on her hand and her friends were shouting "Go get him girl!" while giggling but what she heard clearly was the last thing that Gray said before he went back to Juvie. "His weakness is family – especially you."
Lucy just swallowed hard. Me? His… she thought then she shooked her head. She looked at her friends they are still taunting her. Get him? Na-ah. Not gonna happen… I'm not attracted at him at all… she said to herself then stared at him again. I'm not attracted... I'm not… she sighed and remembered how she wanted to jump at him earlier when she saw him got out of his car and when a little incident happened…
After a pampering day – salon, spa, a little bit of shopping – with her girls, Juvia requested one last thing for her birthday. It was to have dinner with Gray and go out and have fun after. Lucy and Levy can't say no to her since this is the first time that they celebrated her birthday with all of them together after Lucy moved to the States.
Gray reserved a private dining room for them and agreed to meet at 6PM in front of the resto. Lucy was just glad that she didn't wear a sweater and shorts that day and decided to dress up a bit. Her friends looked prepared for this dinner. Levy was wearing a black long sleeve turtleneck blouse and a below-the-knee orange pleated skirt paired with black heeled boots. The birthday girl wore a blue above the knee length loose haltered neck sleeveless dress matched with a pair of white wedges, and she was so glad that she wore a black button-down above the knee length dress with a collar and brown belt and elbow sleeve with brown low-cut boots. She looked prepared for the event, though she didn't really know much about this plan.
When they arrived a few minutes before 6 PM at the venue, one of the waiters told them they could already go inside the private dining room. She felt relieved because her feet were already killing her, but Juvia wanted to wait for Gray outside, so she and Levy decided to stay with their friend. They were teasing each other about every man who passed by and stared at one of them but their little fun was halted when a black sports car parked in front of them.
"Nice car." Juvia commented. "Looks like we'll be seeing a celeb…" she was distracted and forget to continue what she was saying when Gray went out of the passenger seat. He was wearing a black V-neck sweater and jeans with black boots and waved when he saw them.
Levy and Lucy giggled and Lucy said looking at her friend "So, your boyfriend is the celebrity?"
Juvia looked back at them and looked at Lucy's eyes intently with an evil smile on her lips. "Well, for me, of course he is. But didn't you see the real celeb? " She held Lucy's chin and directed her face to the direction of the person who went out from the driver's seat. There are so many surprises today like - this dinner thingy, but this… What she's seeing now… she's not ready to see him today but she can't help but inspect him from head to toe. Natsu is wearing a white v-neck shirt with a black coat and black skinny jeans with white sneakers – she's still amazed to see him in a different outfit than his normal work clothes and white shirt and sweat pants at home. She's enjoying the view but the person she was checking out caught her staring and he started to approach her. Look away Lucy, look away… stop staring… she said to herself silently but her eyes are betraying her. She felt like she wanted to keep him away from everyone, keep him in her purse… how can he go out looking this… good? Her heart was running like it's in a marathon and thankfully he went straight to Juvia and not her because she's not sure how she'll react if he approached her.
"Happy birthday Juvia" She heard him say to her friend.
"Thank you! I'm glad you were able to come in just short notice. I know you're a very busy person."
"You're special to Gray, that simply means that you are also to me." He smiled at her then Gray put his arms on Natsu's shoulder. "Bro, that's mine. Yours is princess." Gray looked at Lucy who's standing beside Juvia. "Right, princess? Your Nat.." Natsu face palmed Gray. "Leave her alone Gray." He said while smiling and shaking his head.
Gray just shrugged then guided Juvia inside, Levy followed immediately with the intent of leaving the other couple alone.
"Hi…" Natsu tried to start a conversation but he was interrupted by a black-haired woman who shrieked upon seeing him and she started talking to him.
"Natsu Dragneel?"
He did not respond and just looked at her. "Can't you remember me? We met a few months ago in one of the board meetings… my dad asked if you can go out with me then..."
He's not paying attention to her and he's kinda feeling scared of what might happen next. He's closely paying attention to his wife. She's looking at the woman in front of them with a sharp eye, he's not sure if he should be happy or be afraid of her reaction. He is sure of one thing though; this won't end good for him if he doesn't stop this woman from talking.
"I'm sorry, I don't recall, but please say hello to your father for me." He took Lucy's hand in his and brought her close to him, then put his arm around her shoulder. Lucy's still glaring at the woman, so he decided to kiss her temple hoping that will erase the frown in her face and said "Wife, let's go." She just nodded.
When the woman is already out of their sight, that's when Lucy realized how she reacted and how Natsu acted earlier and how he is holding her now while they're walking. Her frown deepened. For a moment there, when the woman was talking like she's so familiar with Natsu, it made her blood boil. "I told you, you attract so much attention." She wasn't supposed to say it out loud but it just went out of her mouth then she heard his response. That made her smile a bit. "And I told you that I'll be busy staring at you, Luce. They can look at me all they want but you're everything that I see." Lucy wasn't given the chance to respond because they arrived at their private dining room where their friends were waiting.
"We thought you guys ditched us. What took you so long?" Levy asked while giggling.
"We met an old lover of his…" Lucy said bitterly. All of the person inside the room looked at Natsu questioningly except for Lucy. Natsu raised his hands up and shrugged. "I don't know her…" he explained then Lucy glared at him. "To be exact, I can't remember her." He sighed and smiled at her; he adjusted the chair for her and slightly forced her to sit then he sat beside her.
Levy saved Natsu. "Give him some slack Lucy, he's famous so it's normal that someone will approach him like that." She winked to Natsu who's sitting across her and Natsu said "Thank you," silently.
Lucy heaved a sigh then their foods started to get served. Juvia and Gray on the other hand are being entertained by this little incident.
During the entire dinner, no one opened up about the black-haired girl again. Instead, Levy kept on asking personal questions about Gray and Juvia and every now and then Natsu will ask Lucy if she's okay and she finds it sweet.
She survived that dinner without giving in to his smiles and now she just needs to remember why she's mad at him. She needs to reminder herself that he cheated on her and there's no excuse for that. He admitted to her face that he still loves his ex despite having her as his wife. And the fact that he's not ready for a commitment. For her. She regained her senses and heard the lyrics of his song clearly…
Maybe it's a mistake if we let the clock break
Everything in my mind, everything in my mind is telling me
That it's a mistake and it ends in heartbreak
Everything in my mind, everything in my mind is telling me
To try to turn back time and make it all alright
Only a piece of you and me will keep me warm all night
If I could turn back time and rewrite every line
If only I could, but baby, I can't
It's simple Natsu. You don't have to turn back the time… you still have the present and future to make up for everything…she thought and sigh. Just stop being stupid.
After the song, Gray grabbed the mic from Natsu with an accomplished smile in his lips. "Happy?" Natsu asked his friend sarcastically. "Very. Now, if you'll excuse me… I have to go back to my woman and you take care of yours." Gray responded then he's gone choosing another song again.
Natsu and Lucy sat together but they haven't spoken a single word with each other. They weren't awkward but during that time, there was a slight tension between them.
"I think it's fate." She heard Natsu said after he drank his tequila shot.
She looked at him confused and he understood, so he continued. "Seeing you today… Fate made it happen." Then he glanced at his friend and thought to himself or Gray. Gray made it happen. Either way, he's glad or rather happy.
"Fate or not, it doesn't matter. It doesn't have to matter. I didn't really want to see you today." She mumbled.
"Yeah, you're right. Fate or not, it doesn't matter. What matters most is that I'm with you right now." It pained him to hear from her that she didn't want to see him, but who was he to question her? I reap what I sow, huh? He said to himself.
Lucy did not respond and there was silence between them again.
"Guys, let's play a game!" Juvia blurted and took out a small booklet and jenga blocks. "A Jenga game with a twist."
"Wow… you sure are prepare girl." Levy said in awe and she took the jenga from Juvia's hand. "So, how do we play this?"
Juvia raised the small booklet she's holding. "Well, let's play a sexy Jenga game with a twist."
"Sexy Jenga game?" Lucy asked in a panic. She knew Juvia too well. If she said "sexy," then she literally meant it's a sexy game. She just prayed that Juvia did not go to any extremes in this game... It would have been OK if Natsu were not here, but he's here and who knows what the hell her friend is up to?
"U-huh. If anyone would like to pass on this, please go home." She said while looking at Lucy with a coy smile. Upon seeing Juvia's face, Lucy admitted defeat. She didn't want to upset her friend by going home, so she decided to stay.
Levy started to fix the jenga blocks while Juvia explained the game. "So, I assume everyone here knows how to play a Jenga game, right? It's gonna be the same but with a twist. Each block has a number and each number entails 1 "truth" question or "dare". The questions and dares are all written here." She pointed to the small notebook on the table. "If, you knock down the blocks during your turn, you'll have to drink 2 shots of tequila and still do the "truth or dare" part."
"What if we don't want to answer the question or do the dare?" Lucy asked.
"Then drink 2 glasses of beer or 2 tequila shots, your choice." Juvia answered.
"That's it?" Lucy was surprised by that.
"Yeah, but you can only pass once. If you're not planning to play the game all out, then you can just go home." Juvia said to her plainly.
She breathed heavily. "No, okay. I understand."
"Anyone else have a question?" Juvia looked at everyone inside the room and they all shook their head. She smiled happily. "You guys are the best!"
Gray is seated between Juvia (on his right) and Levy (on his left). Natsu and Lucy are sitting across them. Lucy is sitting on Natsu's left side.
The jenga blocks where placed in the middle of the long wide table.
"Let's start with Levy, Gray, me, Lucy then Natsu." Juvia said then looked at Levy so she can start. Levy stood up to get 1 block. She smiled after successfully getting one. "I have number 44."
Juvia started to flip the small notebook. "So, is it truth or dare?"
"Truth." She answered while going back to her seat.
"Oh…So, your question is.. Have you ever had sex with a person of the same gender?" Juvia asked with a grin. Levy blushed and didn't answer right away. "Heyy, what is it girl?" Lucy asked excitedly.
"Well.. yeah…"
"What?!" Juvia and Lucy said simultaneously and Levy felt the defend herself "Well, don't get me wrong. I was young back then!"
Gray butt in with shining eyes. "So, Levy, how was it?!"
"Hey! I already answered the "truth" question so guys quit it." She said while laughing but Gray wanted to hear an anwer. "Then?" he said while smiling.
"What? Juvia, your boyfriend is creeping me out." Levy is still laughing. Juvia tapped Gray's head and said. "Stop it Gray." Then she looked at Levy, "Go ahead girl, answer his question."
Levy didn't want to answer it and just said while grinning, "I'll never give you satisfaction guys. You won't get an answer from me. Gray c'mon it's your turn."
Gray stopped pestering her and took a block. "34"
"Truth or dare" it was Lucy who asked.
"Truth." He said then drank his glass of whiskey.
Juvia scanned the notes and asked "Have you ever recorded yourself having sex?"
He glanced at Juvia and asked with an evil smile "Have we recorded babe?"
Juvia smacked his head. "No."
"Then my answer is no." Natsu though seemed to disagree because he started laughing and mumbled "Liar."
Juvia smacked Gray again. "You should answer truthfully, dummy."
Gray glared at Natsu. "I thought you're my friend bro."
Natsu just shrugged. "Fine, yes. But that was all in the past now." He faced Juvia and continued without giving her time to speak "It's your turn now babe."
"Sneaky bastard." Juvia retorted but of course she meant it as a joke.
"41" she handed the notebook to Lucy. "You check, I choose dare."
Lucy looked for 41. "Dare? It says here, you should lick your partner's chest."
"Oh my goodness, you're going to violate me here, babe?"Gray asked mischievously, but Juvia was not the type to back down during these times. "Why not?" she responded confidently, and before Gray could respond, Juvia was already straddling him and she had already licked his chest. He's still amazed by her boldness. It's not the first time that he's met someone like her who can be dominating at times, but it's only her who can make him shut up. Juvia stood up and went back to her seat, then taunted her boyfriend. "Did you say anything, babe?"
Gray just swallowed hard and that earned him a lot of teasing from everyone else in the room.
"Lucy, your turn." Juvia said to Lucy.
Lucy took a block but she accidently bumped into something and that knocked down all the blocks. "Princess!" Gray shrieked. "That's 2 shots plus your truth or dare." He said, grinning.
"What the…" she sighed and laughed at herself. "I'm not really lucky with games."
"I know. That's why we're playing right now." Juvia said, then stuck her tongue out to her friend. "What's your number?"
Juvia's words just solidified her feelings that she's onto something. "12."
"12…12…" Juvia murmurs, "there. Truth or dare?
"Dare."
"Ohhh.. that's the right choice dear." Juvia's eyes were glistening. "Look at the person on your right - take a body shot at him/her."