Hello again friends! So I decided I will do one chapter per week. I figured it gives me enough time to write and fix anything I don't like when I read over it. Or even add in ideas I get throughout the day. So this will be my last chapter until next week. If anything changes I will let you know via twitter or tumblr.
Several weeks had passed in our first grade year since that day we had played soccer. Every time I asked, he said that the deal had not been lived out yet. With each passing day Grays face grew more and more anxious. When I tried to ask he simply said you'll see soon enough. If I tried to guess he simply turned his head and didn't answer. The others didn't know anything about it either. We were all in the dark about what high stake they had bet on and the last two weeks of school were quickly approaching. It was Tuesday on the third to last week of school. They only had so much time.
"Yo! What's going on everybody?" Natsu came into class one day very happy.
"You seem to be in a really good mood." I told him as he sat down in his desk chair.
"You bet!" He replied, holding out his hand with his fingers making a peace sign.
"Why?"
"Part one of our high stakes bet will happen today." He smiled.
"Will you tell me now?" I asked him annoyed.
"Nope. No can do Luce." He crossed his arms.
"Why noooooot?" I whined, sprawling myself out on my desk.
"Because then it wouldn't be as fun if you all knew. Someone might tell and then the whole school would know."
I wrinkled my eyebrows and crossed my arms. "Well I see that you don't trust me. So much for being best friends."
"Aw come on Luce don't be like that. I trust ya 110%. But how would it look if I told just you and not the other guys?" He explained.
"How would it look Natsu?" I asked sternly and a little offended.
"You know how it'll look." He turned his head a bit embarrassed.
I stood up out of my chair and slammed my hands on his desk, placing my face inches from his. "How would it look. Natsu Dragneel?"
He jumped at the slamming of my hands on his desk and got even more flustered when he looked straight into my eyes. For a moment he couldn't find the words then..
"Natsu! Stop making out with your girlfriend and get over here." Jet yelled into our classroom.
His eyes shifted downward, then he quietly spoke, "I gotta go." and got up and left the classroom.
I watched as he walked away, knowing what he meant. I sat back down at my desk and stared out of the window, upset at the information I received. Natsu was dense but I didn't know he could be this dense. About ten minutes later the bell had rung signaling the end of class. I quickly gathered my things and left for home before anyone could see me. I didn't care if I missed out on the first part of the high stakes bet. I was going home and practicing violin, something I hadn't done for a while. Or so I thought.
On my way home I decided to take the long way back. It took me to another neighborhood and through a park near there. When I reached the park I decided to watch the kids playing soccer. They were a small group but they had two girls playing with them and not just one like ours. One team consisted of a long black haired boy, another boy with spiky locks like Natsu only his hair was blonde like mine, and a petite girl with short, white hair and a small blue rose clip on the left side of her head. The other team had a large boy with seafoam green hair with a mean look, a boy with long golden locks and a funny outfit, and a mean looking girl with long raven hair who had two buns on either side of her head. Both girls were goalies and the boys the players. I sat and watched as the blonde haired kid and the long black haired kid worked so elegantly together. They passed and dribbled the soccer ball like it was part of their body. The other two boys had a hard time keeping up with them and were constantly clashing, letting their opponents score a goal.
After watching for half an hour I decided it was time for me to get going. Mom would be wondering where I was at. And most likely Natsu would have went to look as well, seeing as how I disappeared after school. Just as I hopped off the small set of bleachers the ball hit my feet. I looked down and then up as the kid with blonde hair came running up to get the ball.
"Hey can you pass the ball?" He asked.
"Sure." I replied and kicked it over to him.
"Thanks! Hey you're not from around here are you?"
"How'd you know?" I asked a little taken aback that he knew that.
"Well for one I've never seen you around here and I've also never seen you at school." He smiled.
"What school do you go to?"
"Sabertooth elementary. You?"
"Fairy Tail." I responded.
"You know how to play soccer?"
"Yeah, I play a lot with my friends after school at the park near our neighborhood."
"We should totally play against each other! Hey guys come here!" He called his friends over. In a slow jog they all came over.
"I'm Sting. This is Rogue, Yukino, Rufus, Orga, and Minerva. We all go to Sabertooth together. What's your name?"
"Nice to meet you all. My name is Lucy and I go to Fairy Tail."
Turning toward his friends he said, "Guys she knows how to play soccer. And on top of that she has friends that she plays with as well."
"We should play against each other. Not a lot of kids around here play." Rufus spoke.
"Well," I began "I'll see what they think about it and let you know on Thursday. Maybe we can play on Friday?" I suggested.
"Sounds good. See you later Lucy!" And off they went.
Following them I left as well. I made my way home but stopped by a bakery for some of my favourite cookies that not even mom could duplicate. I enjoyed them as I walked home. I wasn't far, about ten more minutes and I would be in my neighborhood. I thought about visiting the park to see if the boys were there but I decided against it and kept towards home. When I turned on my block it was quiet as usual. My house was five down from the corner making Natsus the fourth. Walking past his house I stopped for a moment to see if I could see Igneel in the living room. When I didn't see him, or the lights on for that matter, I kept on walking to my house. Arriving at the door I opened it and announced, "I'm home!" But no one answered back. I slipped my shoes off and set my stuff down on the couch. Mom wasn't in the kitchen, dad wasn't in his study, there was no one in the backyard, they weren't in their room or any of the other rooms upstairs. So I walked over to the house phone and decided I would give them a call. I rang moms cell but she didn't answer and dad didn't like us calling his cell unless it was an emergency. So I hung up the phone and walked over to the fridge to make myself a snack. When I opened it up there was a plate of food covered with saran wrap and a note on it. It was from mom.
'Lucy, your father fainted at work and was taken to the hospital. I went to meet him there. Here's some dinner just in case I'm not back in enough time. Don't worry, he will be okay. Love, mom.'
Part of me wanted to run over to Natsus house so he could comfort me. But pride wouldn't let me. I left early so I wouldn't have to see him for his ridiculous answer today. So I walked up to my bedroom and locked my door, then crawled into a ball under my blankets. My father wasn't always family oriented but he had his moments. Recently his company had been doing so well and he hadn't had a lot of time for us. I only hoped he would get well soon.
..~*~..
That next morning I was woken up by the smell of food. I jumped out of bed and scurried downstairs. Surprisingly it was my mother. I hadn't expected her until I got home from school.
Quietly, I said, "good morning mom." and sat down at my usual place at the table.
She turned around and smiled at me. "Good morning Lucy. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes."
"Your father will be alright." She started "He just overworked himself is all. He should be getting released today. The doctors will have ordered him to relax and be on bed rest for a while."
I smiled, happy to know that it wasn't anything serious. After finishing my breakfast I ran upstairs and followed my normal routine. Shower, pick out an outfit, and head off to school. I left my house and walked my usual route. Past Natsus house, I wasn't upset with him anymore, and down the main road of our neighborhood towards the big streets where my school lay in wait.
I had arrived a little earlier than normal and decided that I would walk around the school. The entire year I had never really went where it wasn't necessary. I simply went from the front gate to my class and from my class to the restroom or the principals office. I never wandered around like Natsu or the other guys did. Maybe that's why I didn't have more friends. I reached the second floor of our school building. It was weird and somehow seemed different from the first floor. I walked over to a small window that was open and looked out. There was a nice breeze and the view wasn't so bad either. I could see the mountains filled with snow. After five minutes I decided I should start heading for class. Just as I turned around I got a face full of blue something and fell on my butt.
"Ow!" I cried as I hit the floor. The figured turned around and gasped.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" They asked helping me up.
Rubbing my butt I replied, "Yeah, I'm fine thanks." I looked up and to my surprise it was a girl with blue hair. We stared at each other for ten seconds before either of us spoke.
"My name's Levy. Levy McGarden." The bluenette smiled and extended her hand once again.
"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia." I responded and shook her hand.
"I've never seen you up here before, are you new?"
"Oh, uh no, my class is on the first floor I just got here a little early and decided to walk around a bit."
"Oh okay! Well, I gotta go but I'll see you around Lucy." And she skipped down the hall.
I continued on my way back to my classroom. There was about fifteen minutes until the first bell rang and I didn't want to catch the hallway traffic of kids hurrying to class so they wouldn't be late. When I arrived at the door of my class it was pretty empty. Only me and four other students were inside now. I quietly made my way to my seat and sat down to enjoy the peacefulness of it all. Once Natsu got here it wouldn't be quiet anymore. He always managed to make the room burst with conversations.
In a few short minutes kids started coming into the class in pairs. Finally the bell rang for everyone to get to class and the sea of rushing five to six year olds filled the hallways. As the rest of my classmates poured into the room I searched for Natsu. And as the late bell rang he was nowhere to be seen. My heart dropped a little not knowing where he could be. Maybe he got sick and stood home. Or maybe something bad happened to him yesterday like he was hit by a car?! Or worse kidnapped! I started to panic silently in my seat, shifting uncomfortably. Then suddenly the door opened. It was Natsu. Despite being a troublemaker, he had never been late to school.
"You're late Mr Dragneel." Our teacher said allowed.
He didn't say anything except gave her a note and made his way to his chair next to me. Again, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat unsure of what to say to him. He didn't seem down or anything but rather, emotionless. Before I could whisper anything to him our teacher began her lesson for today.
..~*~..
The school day had come to an end and it was time for soccer as usual. I gathered my things and stood in front of my best friend.
"Hey Natsu." I said quietly as he shoved things into his pack.
"Oh, hey Luce. What's up?"
"Are we playing soccer today?"
"Uh, no not today. I've got some stuff I need to do. I'll see you later okay?" And he left.
I stood there for a moment, wondering what could be bothering him. Nothing ever phased Natsu. But something was bothering him and I was going to find out what. As I made my way into the hall of dwindling students getting picked up or taking the bus I spotted Gray and Loke. I jogged over to them.
"Hey guys!" I said as I came up.
"Lucy?! WHERE WERE YOU YESTERDAY?!" Gray shouted at me.
"We thought you got kidnapped or something." Loke added in.
"I went home right after school. But I took the long way home. Why, what happened?" I asked the pair.
"Well you didn't show up for soccer so we were all worried." Gray replied. "Especially Natsu."
"Sorry, I just didn't feel like playing yesterday. I should have said something. I didn't mean to make you all worry." I apologized.
"Well where did you go yesterday?" Loke asked.
"Just to get some cookies from the bakery and straight home."
"Well, next time let one of us know. Something could have happened to you." Gray scolded me softly.
Embarrassed, I put my hands behind my back and looked down. "Okay.. Well, I'll see you guys around. Bye." And I headed off.
It's nice to know that pink head was worried about me. I headed home again, this time with the intention of practicing violin. It had been a while since I had done so and thought I should brush up. There were quite a bit of competitions coming up that father expected me to take part in.
When I arrived home my parents were in the living room. I was excited to see my father back home and in a better condition than I had pictured.
"I'm home!"
"Lucy, how was school?" Mom asked.
"It was fine, pretty boring for the third to last week of school." I told her.
"Do you have any homework?"
"No, but I'm going to practice violin upstairs. The summer music competitions are coming up." I smiled.
"Do you still have a love for music, Lucy?" A deep voice sounded suddenly. It was father.
"Y-yes." I answered, surprised he was listening.
"Good. How about you come play us a song then?" He asked.
"Well.." I hesitated.
"When you're ready." He told me.
"Okay!" I smiled and hurried up to my room to practice. Father had hardly interacted with us in the last couple of weeks that I had forgotten he loved hearing me play violin. So I grabbed my violin and went over some exercises before I went to play for father.
..~*~..
Two weeks later school was ending. I never proposed the idea to play soccer with the Sabertooth kids to my friends. But I did apologize to them on the Thursday I said I'd give them an answer. I told them that I never told my friends because we were wrapped up in other things. They were more than a little disappointed but understood and said that one day we'd be able to play together. Gray chickened out and never finished the high stakes bet. He said it was too embarrassing. When I asked Natsu he said he was supposed to run around the school hallways with nothing but a loincloth on and shout some chant. It didn't seem that bad, especially since Gray had his weird habit of losing his clothes. School had ended on a warm Friday afternoon. It was finally summer. Which meant fun days ahead. At least that's what I had hoped.
"You're.. leaving?.." My heart sank when I received the news from my best friend.
"It's only for a month. I'll be back in time for the end of summer festival." The pink head told me.
"But why are you leaving?"
"Some family business. Dad says it's important so I have to go."
"Well, I'll be here when you get back, okay?" I was trying to hold back my tears.
"Aw, c'mon Luce don't cry. I'm not leaving forever." He comforted me.
Wiping my tears I punched his arm. "You better come back dummy."
He smiled at me and then got in Igneels' car. I watched as they headed off and rounded the corner. Summer wasn't going to be fun without Natsu.
There it is friends! I feel like this chapter was also boring. I apologize for that. Right now there's going to be some pretty sucky, boring set up chapters. But I promise later on it'll get interesting. I have plans for this story. So until next week! Don't forget to review and tell me what I could do to improve this story. Constructive criticism only! I would like to know how I can improve and appeal to my readers. Thanks for reading my story! I appreciate it.
