CHAPTER 16
Sitting in her computer chair, Lucy stared at the engagement ring sitting on her finger. Its nearly been an hour since she came to her office and stared blankly at her hand. A lot of things has been bothering her, especially what happened last night. Last night was her engagement party, in which she and Natsu had to pretend in front of everybody that they were an in-love couple. It would have been easier to pretend if she didn't have those mixed emotions, but that wasn't the case.
With her continuous sighing, she couldn't stop herself from recalling what happened at the engagement party. She closed her eyes and soon, her minded wandered to that night.
As Natsu leaned down close to her, he kissed her right on the lips. Hard yet warm. A kiss so familiar to Lucy that she couldn't help but close her eyes again as if she wants to cherish the very moment. When Natsu pulls back from the kiss, Lucy couldn't bring herself to look at the man, so she kept her eyes close. She's afraid that she will not like how Natsu would look back at her, then she remembers Natsu's promise at the veranda.
She hears him say, "I promise Luce that will be the last,"
"Lucy?" a voice suddenly calls her name, snapping the blonde out of her thoughts
"Huh?" Lucy baffled looked up to the newcomer, "Levy-chan, come in,"
"Thanks," Levy replies as she closes the door and heads closer to the blonde, "So, how are you?"
"I'm…good," Lucy then gave a wide smile before she pushes her chair back and stood up, "Why'd you ask?"
Levy then watches Lucy walk around the table and took a seat on the sofa next to her, "Well, nothing…I just wanted to check up on you,"
Lucy then chortles, "That is sweet of you Levy-chan, but, you don't have to worry about me. There is nothing to worry about,"
"Looking at you right now tells me something different," Levy comments as she raises a brow at the blonde, "I know you Lu-chan,"
"Trust me, I'm fine," Lucy then gave a tight smile before she looks down at her hands and fiddled
"I'm pretty sure you are bothered about last night" Levy started as she observed the blonde. When Lucy looked up at her, she continued, "He kissed you again,"
"He warned me about it," Lucy lied as she tried to smile at her friend
"Did he?" Levy asked suspiciously, "You seemed surprised last night,"
"No, he did...he just didn't tell me when exactly that's why I looked surprised," Lucy then stood up and headed to her table to grab something, "By the way, this is the list of interview questions that we will use for the Dragneels' interview on Wednesday,"
"Great," Levy commented before she frowned at the blonde, "But, can we stay on topic?"
"Levy-chan, I don't think we need to continuously talk about it," Lucy immediately turns her back and headed to her chair, "There are a lot of work to do,"
Left with no choice but to go with the flow of her friend, Levy kept to herself all her arguments. She'd have to confront her friend another day. So, nodding her head, Levy stood up and took the paper that Lucy showed.
"Alright, I'll work on this," Levy then gave a tight smile to her friend, "By the way,"
"Yeah?" Lucy replies as she tilts her head in curiosity
"Natsu agreed to do the interview,"
"Oh," Lucy then nods her head before she looks down to her paperwork. Even though she had no idea what Levy was talking about, she simply replies, "Then that's great,"
"About that..." Levy trails off as she steps forward to catch the attention of the blonde, "You see, Leah isn't around today because she called in sick,"
"Uh-huh," Lucy finally looks up at the blunette
"So...I'll be needing a stylist for Natsu's photo shoot today and..." Levy then lets Lucy guess on her own what she wanted to tell her
"You want me to style Natsu," Lucy then watched Levy's face glow in excitement, which made her chuckle at her friend, "Levy, it's not that I can't or what...but, can't anybody else do it?"
"Mira is in a different photoshoot, and then the other stylists have another photoshoot to deal with. Technically, this is Leah's job and she really can't come today. So, she thought that maybe you could fill in for the job today since...you're Natsu's fiancée,"
"Wow..." Lucy then slumps back to her chair, "just because of that?"
"Come on Lu-chan," Levy then gave a smirk to her friend, "Unless, you are really avoiding Natsu because of last night,"
"Levy," Lucy calls on her friend, who suddenly laughed at her, "t-this has nothing to do with last night,"
"Oh really? It seems like you are avoiding him because you don't like talking about last night, you don't feel like dealing with him. This simply tells me that-"
"Fine!" Lucy exclaimed as she stood up, making Levy grin back at her
"Yes!" Levy jumped in excitement, making the blonde shake her head in disbelief
"This is blackmailing you know," Lucy comments as she rolls her eyes at her best friend
"Nah," Levy shrugged it off, "It's just teasing,"
Levy then grabbed the arm of the blonde and quickly stepped out of the office. The two immediately headed to the elevator and pressed the 5th-floor button, wherein the upcoming photoshoot will take place.
As the two best friends rode the elevator, Lucy watched the number go down to five. Then she thought and asked Levy, "You said, this will be Natsu's interview, right?"
"Yeah," Levy answers as she looks up at her friend
"Interview for what? in our FT-Magazine? I thought we would be focusing on Auntie Grandine and Uncle Igneel?" Lucy tilts her head in wonder
"Oh, Natsu's interview is for our other magazine,"
"Other magazine?" Lucy slowly widens her eyes in astonishment
"Yeah…" Levy then was quiet when she realized she hasn't mentioned what type of magazine they were interviewing Natsu for, "Didn't I mention that Natsu is going to be our feature for FT-Sports and Health Issue?"
"In fact no, Levy McGarden," Lucy then crosses her arms over her chest as she raises a brow at the blunette, who guiltily snickered at the blonde
"Sorry," Levy said back as she raises two fingers as a peace sign
"Levy!" Lucy suddenly exclaims as she stomps her foot, "This will be awkward!"
"No-no-no! I promise it won't!" Levy raised her hand as she swore, "I'll be next to you and will help you keep the conversation going,"
"Promise?" Lucy menacingly asks the blunette, as if she was threatening her if she would defy
"Promise!"
|…..||…..|
"Where are you, Levy?" Lucy mumbles to herself as she looks for her blue-haired friend around the area. But to Lucy's dismay, the woman is nowhere around. She is starting to feel a little agitated, knowing that Natsu was coming soon.
"Levy McGarden you promised me you'll be around," Lucy hissed as she tries to find the woman she has been seeking for, but all she sees are the assistants and staff of the photographer for the photoshoot
"Luce?" a voice suddenly spoke, making the woman turn around abruptly
As Lucy turns to see Natsu standing by the entrance, she couldn't help herself but suck in her breath and hold it for almost a minute. When her chest was burning in pain, she immediately stated his name as she releases her breath, "Natsu!"
"Yo…" Natsu slowly walks up to the blonde
"What are you doing here?" Lucy dumbfoundedly asks, even if she knew why he was there
"Um, I have a photoshoot for FT-sports," Natsu replies as he scratches the back of his neck
"Oh, right! Yeah…Levy told me…you'll uh, be the cover," Lucy then awkwardly laughs as Natsu did the same
"Yeah…" Natsu then glanced around the room before he takes another step closer to the blonde and bent closer to her, "Um, Luce,"
"Hm!" Lucy yelps with her voice a little pitched higher as she widens her eyes at the sudden closeness
"C-can…can we talk later?" Natsu questions as he tries to understand his best friend's facial expression
"Talk?" Lucy's eyes roll around before looking back to Natsu with a little uncertainty, "about what?"
"Something," Natsu shortly replies
"Uhh…yeah…sure," Lucy then steps back as she puts some distance between them, "Uhh..after? If there's time?"
"Okay," Natsu then stood up straight but his head tilts in confusion, "Um, but why are you stepping away from me?"
"Me?" Lucy points to herself in disbelief, "Am I?" Lucy then stops moving, "I'm just…going to look for Levy and tell her you're here,"
"I'm back!" a voice suddenly shouts, which sounded like the petite blunette, "Oh, great Natsu, you're here!"
"Hey, Levy," Natsu greets back with a raised hand
"Are you ready?" Levy questions as she stands next to the blonde
"Yeah, sure," Natsu replies back with a shrug of his shoulder
"Great!" Levy then places her hand on Lucy's shoulder, "Lucy will be styling you!"
Natsu and Lucy then widen their eyes to the blunette. For Natsu, it was more of a surprise with Levy's news but for Lucy, it was more on disbelief that she was being too blunt.
"Really?" Natsu slowly looks at the blonde and sees the stunned and annoyed look she had on her face, "Oh…will it be okay Luce?" he suddenly asks
Lucy then glances at Natsu with a tight smile, "Of course, it's fine…" Lucy then walked towards Natsu and grabbed his shoulder to turn him around and push him towards the dressing area, "Come on, let's get started,"
While Levy and the photographer converse about the photoshoot, Lucy was left alone to face her challenge in staying one room with Natsu. After what happened in the engagement party, the two barely talked. Though, it was more of Lucy who did not talk anymore and kept a cold aura between them.
So, as Lucy picks out the ripped jeans Natsu would be wearing for the shoot, Natsu was grateful enough to be around Lucy without feeling awkward. He watched the blonde through the mirror while he was being prepped by a make-up artist.
"I think it's very sweet that you watch Ms. Lucy with a lot of love in your eyes," the make-up artist, Ryan, comments as he watched the pinkette
"Huh?" Natsu stunned looked back at the artist. But the man was already chuckling, leaving him a little bashful, "It's just…different I guess," Natsu replies back
"What do you mean different?" Ryan questions as he begins to dab his brush over Natsu's forehead
"Different...like, how she's very serious about work and everything while she can be a little crazy when it's just us," Natsu slowly smiled to himself
"See…" Ryan comments again, making Natsu look at him, "You have that in-love aura. It's amazing that you emanate that love…Ms. Lucy is such a lucky girl,"
"No, I'm lucky…she's by my side,"
"How about this?" Lucy suddenly turns and look at Natsu through the mirror
Natsu just smiled at the blonde and shrugged his shoulder, "Whatever you want,"
"Uh," Lucy rolled her eyes before she stomped her way towards the pinkette, "Natsu, you have to at least pick,"
"You pick," Natsu says back
"No, you pick,"
"Hmmm…" Natsu then looked at the pants Lucy was holding and the pants displayed on the couch, "How about the pants that will look sexy on me?"
"Which is?" Lucy then waits for a continuation, but the man just shook his shoulders, "Uh!" Lucy whined before she turns away and grabbed the other pants, "Fine! Try them on,"
"Am I good?" Natsu looks at the make-up artist and Ryan nodded his head before leaned and signaled to the blonde that she was stepping out.
When Ryan was out, Natsu quickly jumped out of his seat and grabbed the pants Lucy was holding. Without hesitation, Natsu unbuttoned his pants and pulled it down and put on the pants. While he was doing it, Lucy unmaliciously watched the man strip not until she saw Natsu's face.
"What?" Lucy curiously asks as she looks back at Natsu
"I…nothing," Natsu shakes his head as he tries to stop from smiling
"Natsu, what?" Lucy quickly grabbed his arm as she squeezes his bicep a little as if it would spill Natsu's thoughts
"Nothing," Natsu slightly chuckles as he watches the blonde scrunch her face in annoyance
"Liar," Lucy calls out as she drops her hold on him and turn away but then Natsu immediately grabbed her hand and stopped her from turning away. When they faced each other, Natsu took a step closer to the blonde and said, "It's…nothing really special. It's just that…you watched me strip down,"
Lucy then gawks at the man before she lightly slaps his arm, "Oh! You think I enjoy watching you strip down your pants!"
Natsu shrugged his shoulder as he wickedly smiles at Lucy, "I think so,"
Natsu and Lucy then began to laugh as Lucy playfully slaps the pinkette. Without realizing, the two somehow fixed the growing awkwardness between them. When they somehow settled down, Natsu glanced at the blonde next to him on the couch. He had his smile slowly growing and he couldn't help but grin after. So, without warning, Natsu embraced the blonde, who was taken aback.
"Oh?" Lucy squeaked as her eyes grew big and became unsure whether to hug back or not, "Natsu?"
"Luce…" Natsu mumbles backs but before Natsu could continue, the sheets covering the dressing room suddenly screeches open and reveals the petite blue-haired woman.
"Natsu, are you ready? Oh!" Levy gasps as she sees her two friends hugging, "I'm interrupting-"
"No-no!" Lucy quickly utters back as she pulls away from the pinkette and stood up, "Um, he's ready,"
"You sure? Because I can come back later," Levy stepped back but Lucy shook her head and insisted
"No, no, he is done…he's dressed up," Lucy then looked at Natsu, who was quite baffled, "Right?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah…" Natsu then stands up and dusts off the imaginary dust on his pants
"Okay, then Natsu, take off your shirt!" Levy then winked at the blonde and quickly left the tent, leaving the two surprised.
|…..||…..|
While Natsu is posing in front of the photographer, Levy and Lucy stood at the side and watched everything happen. Although, Levy was more focused on her blonde best friend, who nearly have thousands of expressions on her face at the moment.
To catch the attention of the woman, Levy slightly hip bumped her and waited for her to look back. When Lucy did look, Levy gave her a smirk and asked, "So, how was the experience?"
"What experience?" Lucy asked confusedly
"You know, the moment you had to rub oil all over Natsu's body?" Levy then smirked at the full blush of the blonde.
Lucy immediately covered Levy's mouth and shushed her despite her warm cheeks, "Levy-chan! Don't say it like that,"
"What?" Levy reacts back as she shakes off Lucy's hand, "It's true. You had to rub oil on Natsu's body to make it look tan,"
"I know! But…" Lucy then looked away as she tries to ignore her blush, "It was pretty awkward…but it was fine too,"
"Did he tease you?" Levy asks
"He didn't…" Lucy then looks back at the blunette, "He was just silent. Though he's really ticklish at the side and he tried hard not to laugh," Lucy suddenly chuckles as she remembers that moment. With this sudden change of expression, Levy couldn't help but notice it, "So, does that mean, you two are good again?"
Lucy's face then became serious as she thought about the real situation between her and Natsu, "To be honest, I don't know, Levy-chan…I don't know,"
Without realizing the time, the day finally ends for Lucy in work. After the photoshoot, Lucy immediately headed back to her office and did her other tasks at hand. With so much concentration on her work, she barely noticed that the time was already 5 not until one of her staffs bid goodbye to her. So, as soon as she looked at the clock and saw the time, she immediately fixed her things and went home.
As she headed out of the building, Lucy was surprised to see Natsu standby at the side, waiting for someone. So, right at the moment, she stepped out of the door, Natsu called out to her and made her stumble.
"Natsu?" Lucy stunned calls out to the pinkette
"Luce, are you going home?" Natsu asks as he strides closer to the blonde
"Yeah…I thought you went home," Lucy curiously looked at the man
"Nope, I waited for you. Come on, I'll drive you home," Natsu then grabs her hand and pulls her towards his car
"Wait, wait," Lucy pulls Natsu back, "I-"
"I insist to drive you home," Natsu seriously states back to the blonde, which took Lucy by surprise for some reason. Left silent for a moment, she nodded her head and softly answers, "Um, okay…" Lucy then walked next to Natsu as they headed to the car.
As Natsu catches up to the blonde, he slightly leaned to her and mumbles, "And besides, you promised that we'll talk," Natsu then opens the door for Lucy
When Lucy looked at Natsu with a little surprise on her face, she couldn't help but smile at the man for seeing the determination on him to fix whatever problem they had. She knew Natsu could be too insisting but she was glad to think that Natsu is typically like this when he knows it's worth fighting for.
Lucy then replies at the pinkette, "How about, let's talk it over Tacos?"
Natsu slowly grinned, "Yosh! Let's do this!" and with that Lucy laughed at the man before she shakes her head and takes her seat inside the car.
Soon enough, the two droves to their favorite taco place. While they were driving, Lucy thought that they would be dining inside to have their talk. But to her surprise, they only went into a drive-thru and drove away again.
"Just to clarify, I thought we were going to talk over tacos?" Lucy then glanced at the pink-haired man, who only grinned after
"Just wait for it Luce," Natsu replies back as he gave Lucy a short glance
"Don't get me wrong Natsu, it's not that I don't trust you, but why are exiting Magnolia?" Lucy then looks around and sees that they were already on the expressway heading south
Natsu then chuckles at the blonde, "Luce, do you remember that place that I brought you to two years ago that you said it is one of your favorite place in the world?"
"Um, Natsu, you brought me to a lot of places that I either liked or hated," Lucy then rolls her eyes at the pinkette before she chuckles back at him, "But either way, I'm glad to see all those places with you,"
Natsu suddenly looked back at Lucy, as if he was stunned to hear her say it. But once he looked at her, Lucy immediately looked away and kept her gaze at the scenery. So, without further delay, Natsu pressed on the gas and speeds away to reach their destination.
After an hour of driving, the two finally arrived at the destination Natsu had in mind where they could talk. Right at the moment, Lucy saw the sea, she remembered what Natsu was talking it. It was a spot on the outskirts of between Magnolia and Hargeon. She remembers it so well- it was midnight when Lucy called Natsu and told him that she was stressed out at work and she wanted to escape for some moment. Being the best friend Natsu is to her, he immediately asked her to dress up something comfortable because they were heading somewhere, and this was somewhere.
"We're here," Natsu announces as he smiles at the blonde as if he knew that Lucy already recalled that moment two years ago, "Thought you'd like to be in your favorite place to de-stress,"
smiling kindly at the pinkette, Lucy nodded her head furiously as she answers, "I needed this,"
When Natsu stops the car a few meters away from the edge of the cliff, Lucy immediately opens her door and ran to the edge of the cliff. As the wind blows hard on her, she closed her eyes and let out every worry she had in her body. Feeling relieved already, Lucy felt her smile grow wider as she realized she is feeling better about everything.
"I didn't bring you here so you could forgive me immediately," Natsu suddenly said, making Lucy aware that he was behind her, "I just thought that maybe you'll need the most relaxing thing at this moment,"
Lucy finally opened her eyes and slowly turns to look at Natsu, "You know, I nearly forgot this place because of everything that has been happening. With our situation, I felt like everything is messed up and that my world is starting to crumble and the only way for me to feel better is if I just confront my problem. But you brought me here…again," Lucy then ran up to Natsu and embraced him tight to the point that they nearly tumbled down.
"What would I do without you, Natsu?" Lucy whispers over his shoulder, "You understand me most, you know just the right thing I need to get back up. I don't even understand why I would hate you, when you're just being yourself around me, telling me that you care about me,"
"Luce," Natsu calls out to her name as he wraps his arms around her waist, "There is nothing more important for me than making you happy,"
Lucy then chuckles for a moment when she thought how ridiculous the idea that crossed her mind. Shaking her head, she continued his words, "Because I'm your best friend?"
Natsu pulled back a bit to look at the blonde. When he saw her expression, he nodded his head and smiled, "Yeah, because you are the most important best friend I have,"
Lucy softly smiled at him and hugged him again, "Me too…you are the most important best friend I have."
As the two hugged for a few more minutes, Natsu finally spoke again and asked the most awaited question, "Are we good?"
Lucy laughed at the man as she pulls back from him. When they stood apart, Lucy slowed down from her laughter and ended with a smile, "Yeah. We're good,"
As Natsu grinned wide with a twinkle in his eyes, he immediately looked back at the car and suggested to grab their tacos before it becomes soggy. So soon, Natsu grabbed their food and sat down at the hood of the car. As they ate, they talked about the engagement party and recalled all the moments that they found funny. Since they knew that they were a little awkward last night, they weren't able to converse naturally, making them miss out to laugh together. When Natsu was finally done with his last taco, Lucy dusted off her hands to catch the attention of the pinkette.
"So, Natsu…" Lucy looked at the chewing man. When he made a sound that he was listening, Lucy continued and asked, "Are you still go with this fake wedding? I mean you know me, I can be a little hard to work with. I have moods, I change my mind easily, I complain a lot-"
Lucy then stops talking when she hears Natsu's loud laughter. Being annoyed with his reaction, Lucy immediately hits him on the arm and scolded him, "Hey! Aren't you listening?!"
As Natsu slows down from his laughter, he suddenly drapes his arms around Lucy's shoulder and pulled her close, "You know Luce, it's true,"
Lucy raised her brows at the man but Natsu continued, "It's true that you do have a lot of mood swings, you have an erratic ideas, and you complain almost about everything," Natsu then looked at Lucy, who was already pouting at his confirmation of her bad habits, "But that what makes you, you. You wouldn't be Lucy if you were like that. I wouldn't be able to identify you as Lucy my best friend if you weren't like that. So, no matter how messed up you are during this messed up ideas of yours, I'm 100% in. I'm your best friend, I know your craziness,"
Lucy then chuckles as she feels like tearing up, "Thanks," Lucy mumbles back as she hugs him on the side and squeezed him out of his life.
"So, what is the next plan?" Natsu asks as he pulls back a bit to see the streaked face of the blonde. As he sees her trying to wipe away the tears, he made sure to keep his laughter discreet
"Um," Lucy then pulled out her phone and searched for the picture of her long list, "We're done with the guest list, the church, and the priest. Then, Mira called me and said that she knew someone who could make the invitations, which I don't understand why we have to make one,"
"Just proof," Natsu defends for Mira, which Lucy took with a shrug
"So, the next thing to fix is the wedding theme?" Lucy then looked up at Natsu as if she's finding it ridiculous to think about a theme, "Seriously?"
"Well if it says there, then I guess it is needed to be planned out,"
"Okay, fine," Lucy then moves back a little to lie down on the hood and stare at the night sky. Natsu follows next to her and stared too
"Perhaps, you want stars to be a theme?" Natsu suggested earning him a raised brow from the blonde
"What? No," Lucy then chortles at the idea, "Don't get me wrong, I love stars, but I can't imagine myself walking the aisle with stars on my dress or veil, or have stars everywhere in my wedding venue,"
Natsu then thought for a moment as he tries to imagine it too. When he had pictured it, he immediately shook his head and affirmed, "right, right, no stars…so what do you like?"
"Um…something like…a shabby chic style wedding," Lucy replies back as she looks at the pinkette, "Something that has the element of garden, wood, and garlands,"
Natsu suddenly sits up as he claps his hand in excitement, "That's perfect!"
"Really?" Lucy then sits up too as she amusingly looked at the man
"Yeah. I mean, Aralia chapel has this wide garden at the back and we can rent out the place for our reception!" Natsu then turns to face the blonde completely, "We can do that!"
Tilting her head in doubt, Lucy scrunches her face as she disagrees with him, "I don't think they'll let us do that, because dude, that's still a church. We can't hold a party there, no one will believe us if we said that the reception will be at the back of the church,"
Natsu then shrugs his shoulder as he thought about it, "I guess you're right…but where?"
"Hmm, I was thinking maybe we could…" Lucy and Natsu then looked into each other's eyes and as if their minds were connected, their eyes grew wide and blurted out together, "rent a lake house!"
"Perfect!" Lucy cheers as she cups Natsu's face before jumping off the hood and twirled around in excitement, "This will be the perfect wedding!"
As Natsu watches Lucy be excited about everything they were planning, Natsu couldn't help himself but smile and be happy for her. Despite knowing that everything is just bogus, trying to plan a wedding that is intended not to happen, he couldn't' help but like what he's seeing. There is nothing that makes him happier than seeing his best friend happy. And if this preparation of the fake wedding excites her, then he's looking forward too for this event.
"So now that we have that kind of theme planned out, what color?" Natsu then slides off the hood as to stand in front of the blonde
"Color?" Lucy suddenly stops from dancing as she thought for a moment, "What do you have in mind?"
"Hmm, red," Natsu then grabs Lucy's hand and gave her a little push so that he can pull her back twirling. As he did that, Lucy couldn't help but laugh as she realized that Natsu was trying to make her dance without any music playing. Nevertheless, she ignored Natsu's intention and went with the flow as she thought of what color they should use for the wedding
"You want red? I like the idea of red and yellow," Lucy pulls herself away again and raised her other arm as to prepare her partner for her twirl, "What do you think?" She asks
"I like yellow, but not with red," Natsu replies back as he nudged Lucy for the twirl. When Lucy received the signal, she began her twirl and once she was back in Natsu's arm, she responded to Natsu, "If not red, then what? I just don't want it yellow,"
"Hmm, how about pink?" Natsu said as he tilts his head, making his hair flop forward, catching the eyes of the blonde
"That's right!" Lucy suddenly exclaims as she pulls away from their embrace, "Pink and Yellow!" she then grabbed her long hair and showed the man, "Yellow, and pink," she then ruffled Natsu's hair
"Salmon pink," Natsu corrected and Lucy just rolled her eyes before she cackles at the correction
"Alright, alright, salmon pink…so, that's our color?"
Natsu grinned at the woman and said, "Yep, yellow and salmon pink,"
When the next morning came, Lucy came to the office with a bright smile on her face. Its normal for her to walk-in in the office with a wide smile, but for the past few days, the employees of the publishing house see her troubled look. That is why, when the others had verbally complimented her smile, Lucy couldn't help but wonder why people were suddenly taking noticing her smile.
As she enters her office, she immediately kept her bag in the shelf and took her seat in her computer chair and turned on her computer. As she waited for the computer to load, the door to her office suddenly opens up and reveals one of her friends, Mira.
"Hey, Mira," Lucy greets with a dazzling smile
"Oh~, you have a bright smile today," Mira commented as she closes the door
"What is with everybody commenting about my smile today?" Lucy asked in disbelief before she shook her head, still with a smile
"Well, I guess you just radiate this happy and excited aura," Mira then chuckles before she takes her seat in front of the feature writer, "So, what's up with you?"
"With me? Well, nothing much besides from continuing this fake wedding plans," Lucy said with a shrug of her shoulder, "What about you? You seem to be busy lately,"
"Well, let's just say I have a lot of events to work on. There are these photo shoots, parties to manage, some meet up,"
"How about a date?" Lucy inquired as she leans forward to place her arms on the table and rest her chin on her open palm
"Date? With who?" Mira asks back with a little laughter in her voice
"Oh, you know who," Lucy teased, "He's got yellow hair, a scare on the face, bulky body,"
"Oh, please, if you think Laxus is into me, you're wrong honey," Mira shook her head as she stifles her laughter
"But why? I mean, the last time I heard from you, you were hitting on him,"
"Yeah, and that was pretty much the last because believe me, he's a tomato when I did that and he pretty much ran away from me," Mira chortles at the memory
"Oh, come on. The guy could have been just surprised and didn't know what to react," Lucy shook her head in astonishment
"Well, I hope so," Mira then blushes before she leans close to Lucy, "I mean, I like him and I know that he got balls to ask women out. But what I don't understand is why's he's different when it comes to me? Am I too bad for relationships?" Mira then drops her back as she crosses her arms over chest
"Maybe, he's just a little intimidated and shy when it comes to you. I mean, look at you, you're gorgeous, sexy, smart, funny, and tough-minded. No guy can be an asshole in front of you because before they can, you'll kick their asses," Lucy then chuckles at the proud look Mira has on her face, "That's why give the guy a little time to overcome this shyness. I'm sure, soon, he'll ask you out for lunch or dinner,"
"Really?" Mira then blushes at the thought, "I hope so…we'll be working together later. I'm styling Teshka later because he requested me to be the stylist,"
"Then that's great! Tell me anything juicy after, okay?" Lucy requested with a grin
"Yeah, sure…oh, by the way, how's the planning going?" Mira then began to dig into her purse
"Well, it's good. Natsu and I agreed already on the guest list, the church and venue for the reception, and theme and color," Lucy replies with a satisfied look
"That's great! What color did you agree on so that I could mention to the people who are designing your invitation," Mira then grabbed a pen and a paper on Lucy's desk
"Do we really have to make an invitation? I mean, this is a fake wedding and there won't be one by the time June comes,"
"Regardless of fake or not, we'll have to prepare. We don't have to send it out immediately, we just have to have a draft for it," Mira then clicks the pen, "So, what's the color?"
"Yellow and salmon pink,"
"Aww, so cute. It's both your hair colors," Mira then stood up, "Well, consider the invitation as done because I got this already. Oh, and if anyone asks you who'll be your videographer and photographer, you can use Laxus' name. He knows it and he knows what to tell," Mira then winks before she heads out to the door, "Well, got to go, Lucy. See you later,"
"Thank you! Bye!" Lucy then waves at the white-haired woman who disappears as the door closes.
When Lucy was by herself again, she finally let out a sigh before thinking about her fake wedding. She couldn't believe it that she's actually planning a wedding, a wedding she hopes to be true in time.
"Who knew, planning a wedding could be really trying?" Lucy commented as she shook her head and stood up, "I guess that's why they hire a wedding planner,"
With what she had said, something suddenly clicks in her mind, "Oh my goodness…mama could be looking for a wedding planner," suddenly panicking, she quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her mother's number.
After a few rings, Layla finally answered the call with a little surprise in her voice to hear Lucy calling her early in the morning.
"Hi mama," Lucy greets as she paces in her office
"Lucy-dear, what made you call?"
"Oh, nothing much…just want to update you," Lucy bit her lower lip in nervousness
"Oh! That's great! I've been dying to ask you about wedding details,"
Lucy then gave an awkward laugh before she answers her mother, "Well, Natsu and I have agreed on the church,"
"Great! Where?"
"Um, Aralia Chapel," Lucy then was silent when her mother didn't react immediately
"…Why not Kardia Cathedral?" Layla suggested, which would only mean to Lucy that her mother was not approved of the church
"Um, we did think about that. But you see mama, I don't like big weddings,"
"But Lucy,"
"Please, mama? Natsu and I likes Aralia chapel, it means more to us than any church," Lucy suddenly realized something about what she had said, making her drop down to her couch and catch her breath
"Well, then if it means a lot for the both of you, then I guess we can arrange that,"
"Thanks," Lucy wearily replies back, "By the way, you don't have to find us any wedding planner anymore because we asked Mira to be one,"
"Oh, is that so? Jenny Realight just contacted the other day and asked if she could meet you and Natsu,"
Lucy's eyes suddenly grew wide as she hears the woman's name, "What did you say to her?"
"Well, I told her she can drop by in your office today,"
"What?!" Lucy exclaims, making her stand from her seat,
"Are you shouting, my dear?"
"No, no…I'm just a little surprised," Lucy lied as she began to pace again, "Um, do you have any idea when will she come?"
"Oh no, dear. She just said she'll check her schedule since she has some deadlines too for her articles,"
"I see…" Lucy nods her head in slight relief, "Well if she ever comes by, I'll call you,"
"That's great dear. I'll be waiting,"
"Alright, bye mama," Lucy then pulls away from the phone when she hears her mother said goodbye too.
In a quick pace, Lucy sat down in her computer chair and began searching the internet about Jenny Realight. If she's not mistaken, Jenny Realight is one of the famous celebrity wedding planners. She is hired to make the perfect wedding for any couple. If she could remember correctly, one celebrity couple commented that Jenny Realight was a "gift from heaven to make the perfect wedding anyone could ask for."
Soon enough, the wedding website that Jenny Realight manages opens up and Lucy began to read the opening message of the wedding planner to her potential clients. As Lucy read the message, she had thought she was right that Jenny is one meticulous and keen wedding planner, who sometimes can foretell if the wedding will be a success or a disaster. Usually, she backs down to weddings that are meant to collapse and sometimes gives advice to her couples. Jenny even mentions on her website that a lot of the weddings that she cancels on hates her because of how honest she can be in telling them that they will not be a successful couple. But no matter how harsh others can be, it doesn't change the fact that she is always right.
Reading all of this, it has brought chills all over Lucy's body. Just imagining Jenny handling her and Natsu's wedding, Jenny could easily discover that their wedding is a hoax. That's not the worst part, the worst is Jenny writing it down on Weddings magazine and say how she and Natsu are such a liar, knowing that they are influential people.
"Oh my god, then Mama and auntie Grandine will know about it and curse us forever. Their businesses will be affected and their reputation will be destroyed," Lucy's eyes were so wide that she began to feel tears pool in her eyes, "What am I going to do?"
With the sudden opening of the door to Lucy's office, the blonde couldn't help but shriek out loud, causing the incoming person to be startled as well.
"Ms. Lucy! Are you alright?" the secretary concernedly asks once she got out of her surprise
"Oh my goodness, Annie, you should have knocked first," Lucy groaned as ran her hand over her face
"I-I did, Ms. Lucy," Annie defended
"Fine, fine," Lucy brushed it off before she looked back at her computer, "Why'd you come here?"
"Oh, uh, Ms. Enno requests you to come by her office in 10 minutes, and Ms. Jenny Realight called and said that she'll be meeting with you this afternoon,"
"What?!" Lucy suddenly sat up straight at the mention of Jenny's name, "I mean…yes, okay. Thank you,"
The secretary then bows her head before she slowly closes the door. When Lucy was alone, she let out a haggard breath as she thought of a plan to do. The only best way to solve this is to have Mira come by since she's making the woman as her wedding planner. As for Natsu, he'll be updated later. She'll handle this alone. The least she wants Jenny to know is how fake she and Natsu are acting as a couple.
"That's right. Lucy, you are smart. You can outsmart Jenny as long as you do the right moves," Lucy then bangs her fist over her table with determination on her face, "Lucy Heartfilia, you can do this,"
To be continued…
