Chapter 14
It has been two days since Lucy met Erza in the coffee shop. At the moment of seeing the red-haired woman, Lucy would have thought it was a coincidence to meet Natsu's friend. But discovering that Erza was background checking her, thanks to Natsu's mother, she couldn't help but feel like she was being watched all the time. She was used to being followed around by media people but the idea that a simple citizen requested for a background check on her was very nerve wracking. She felt like she is some convict waiting to be busted by the police.
Slamming a notebook to the couch, Lucy looked up at the television and glared at Sherry Blendy, the villain in the drama she is currently watching. Lucy has her brows furrowed as she continued to stare at the actress, "How could you?!" Lucy suddenly exclaims as she shares sympathy with the protagonist, "She is your best friend and yet you dare to seduce her husband?!"
Lucy then punches the notebook she was holding when suddenly she heard a faint sound of paper being ripped. Looking down, alarmed, Lucy quickly brought up the notebook and inspected it, only to see a small tear on the paper by the ring bind's side. Sighing in relief, Lucy relaxed her body on the couch and continued to watch. When the drama went on for commercial, Lucy looked down again to her notebook and audibly read the next line she should have read moments ago.
"When was your first date with Natsu?" Lucy reads the question before she looks up at the ceiling and answers her own question, "Three months ago when we both met at a friend's party. Lisanna's party," Lucy then looked down to her notes to check her words and she was indeed correct. So moving on to the next question, Lucy was about to read another question when suddenly her phone beeped.
It was a text message from Natsu and so, Lucy quickly opened his message. It is rare for Natsu to text her mid-day but Lucy just shrugs it off as she read the message. Natsu told her that he would be leaving Magnolia for a few days since he had some business meeting with people from Lilia City. He also reassured her that she doesn't have to worry about Erza and his mother since they would be busy as well.
For the first time since that unexpected meetup, Lucy was able to breathe freely. So, sighing and relaxing her back on the couch, Lucy smiled at the television as she thought how she could finally do things she wants outside her condominium unit. She said to herself, once the show she is watching finishes, she'd call Levy and Lisanna to hang out knowing they have flexible schedules.
Soon enough, the episode ended and Lucy immediately calls her friends. It was quite surprising for the two girls to hear Lucy inviting them to hang out and have lunch since the blonde doesn't like much being followed around. But since Lucy insisted, Levy and Lisanna both agreed to meet up in a restaurant within the city.
Wearing her strips off-shoulder dress, Lucy patiently waits inside La Frances Restaurant. The place is quiet and has a semi-formal vibe but not too stiff to feel uncomfortable. It is a relief to Lucy that customers of the restaurant didn't mind her much, just a few crews asking for a picture with her. Of course, as kind, as she is, she smiled with those people wholeheartedly.
Sooner than later, Levy and Lisanna came one by one and sat along with her, and began their early lunch.
"So, how's the diversion going?" Lisanna asks as she dabs her fork to her salad
"Well, it's good..." without looking at Lisanna, Lucy replied back and trails off, "for now," she quietly adds but Levy still heard her
"What do you mean, for now, Lu-chan?" Levy cocks her head to the side as she stared at the blonde
As Lucy looks at her, she shrugged her shoulder and said, "For now, everything is going well. I just don't know until when will this smooth pretending end,"
"I wouldn't say smooth pretending," Levy suddenly comments when she recalled Mira busting her about Lucy's deal. Lucy and Lisanna then looked at the blunette, who was a little uneasy.
"Why not?" Lisanna questions
"Well, last Saturday, Mira called me asking about Lucy and Natsu dating," Levy said as she fixed her gaze to Lucy, "I barely made it successful in lying 'cause you know Mira, she sees through me..."
"What did you tell her?" Lucy asked in concern
"I just said that she should just ask you about the time you met Natsu's parents without her knowing," Levy then shudders when the blonde suddenly glared at her
"You told her about me meeting the Dragneels?" Lucy repeats the words of the blunette with a threatening voice, "This should be kept secret,"
"I know!" Levy panicked as she leans closer to the blonde, "That's why I'm wondering if she has ever called you about it,"
Lucy then became silent as she tried to remember the past few days if Mira called her and talked about anything related to Natsu. But then she couldn't remember any instance.
"Actually, no..." Lucy then shakes her head, "She called me last Monday but it was about an event I have to go next Friday. Besides from that, nothing else,"
"Huh," Levy sighs and gets a little confused because Mira sounded really eager to know, "I wonder..."
"Why don't we just forget about it for the meantime?" Lisanna states, capturing the attention of the two, "Since my sister hasn't talked about it, I guess we could just act like nothing happened,"
"You're right," Levy agrees before she begins to dig into her salad again.
Lucy was then silent for a moment. Her friends were correct and besides, worrying about something that isn't much of an issue yet would just be a trouble in the head. But then she remembers the Dragneels.
"There is one more problem," Lucy said, staring off at the glass of water next to Lisanna's plate, making the two other girls tilt their head in confusion
"I thought everything is smooth?" Lisanna comments as she stares at Lucy
"I thought it was...but then I remembered..." Lucy trails off, trying not to shudder as she recalls her Sunday experience, "Grandine Dragneel," Lucy mutters softly. Levy just skeptically looked at the blonde while Lisanna had her eyes grew wide.
Dropping her jaw slowly and covers it with her hands, Lisanna shockingly answers, "Oh my goodness...did Auntie Grandine background check you?"
"Background check?" Levy repeats, quite surprised with the term Lisanna used, "What do you mean background check? Who does that?"
"Apparently, Natsu's mother," Lucy mumbles as she tossed a few leaves on her plate. Levy then returns her attention to the actress as she waited for her to explain.
"Last Sunday, Erza Scarlet," Lucy then points to Lisanna, "I don't know if you know her, but she pretended to accidentally meet me in a coffee shop near my place. She came to me really friendly and I thought what a coincidence to meet one of Natsu's friends. But then, later on, she started asking me questions about my relationship with Natsu. I knew right at that moment, it was odd. She was too interested in my relationship with Natsu, more than a person would usually do. So, I quickly tried to excuse myself. I called Natsu, told him about it and there he reveals to me that Grandine have been background checking all his latest girlfriends,"
Levy and Lisanna were baffled, utterly confused and stunned with what Lucy experienced. It is odd for them to hear someone is background checking other people for the purpose of love. They never realized it happens in true life and not just some drama.
"Wow," Levy comments, "I can't believe it Lu, you're living like in a real life drama series. One antagonist is Loke, another is Natsu's mother and then you and Natsu are the protagonist?"
Lisanna then chuckles at the somehow childish analogy of the blunette, "Really Levy?" Lisanna shakes her head, "We know how much you love series but come on this is serious for Lucy. Right?" She looked at Lucy and the blonde nodded
"I know how ridiculous and absurd it sounded that Grandine background checks me, but it's true. Now, Natsu and I are very cautious. We are both practicing our lie properly to avoid giving contrasting answers,"
"Really? So, you have like, a notebook of what you and Natsu possibly have done?" Levy questions and Lucy nods, making Levy chuckle in surprise, "Oh my goodness, this is really like a drama,"
"So, what happens now?" Lisanna suddenly asks Lucy, who halts from playing with her food to look up at the silver-haired singer
"Since Natsu and I keep things in low profile, I'm thinking, you two should do the same," Lucy replies. Lisanna then tilts her head in confusion
"Why exactly?" Lisanna asks and Levy nods in agreement
"Well because I said to Erza that I met Natsu because of you. So, I'm pretty sure, Erza would come up to you and subtly ask questions about us. As for you, Levy," Lucy then looks at the blunette, "I told Erza that you are a close friend of mine, so she might suddenly pop up to your office or I don't pretend to meet you and start asking questions. And take note, you are dating Gajeel, so she does know you,"
"Right," Levy then nibbles her lower lip in anxiousness, "I should be careful,"
"I guess it's mutual. We are all going to keep ourselves in low profile," Lucy said to her friends with seriousness in her voice, and the two ladies nodded their heads in agreement.
A few more days have passed since Lucy and the girls met in the restaurant. True to their words, Levy and Lisanna kept their selves in low profile. Lisanna refrained from posting any pictures in one of her social media accounts, while Levy refrained from going alone from one event to another. She always made sure she had a companion in going to events, as an easy way to escape unwanted sudden interview from the red-haired woman Lucy has mentioned.
As for Lucy, she refrained from attending a casual meet up with other showbiz friends as not to further add people in Erza's list to interview. She said to herself, the only reason for her to attend an event if it's an official business such as brand promotion and commercial shoots. Other than that, Lucy politely declines invites from people.
When Saturday morning came, Lucy woke up extra early for her morning jog. Like her usual routine, Lucy ran from her condo building to the nearest park which was a kilometer away from her starting point. Despite being early and hoping to avoid the paparazzi, a few media people were able to stay alerted and capture her day activity. Lucy quickly dismissed the worry about having another rumor, thinking that it was fine for the media people to capture her morning routine since there was nothing to write about it.
So, reaching her home back after her morning jog, Lucy tiredly sat down at one stool of her island table and finished off her water. Sighing as she let out her exhaustion dissipate, she took off all the gadgets wrapped around her body. When done, she grabbed her phone and did her leisure habit, to scan her social media account.
As she was scrolling, her phone made a ring as a notification appeared on her screen. An email was sent to her by Mira, where a link was attached to the mail. Pressing on the link, an article comes up by Press People Column, an internet media outlet. The article was entitled, "Lucy Ashley still not over with Loke De Leon?"
Scoffing at the old news, Lucy was about to close the article when something caught her eye. It was the word 'single'. So, instantly, Lucy began to read the article. The article was concerned about Lucy's dating life.
"After being spotted going out with the bachelor businessman, Natsu Dragneel a week ago, it has been a question why the actress is not spotted to hang around the man again. The two seemed to click together but after the last shooting week of the actress, the two is no longer spotted together in public. Could it be, Lucy rejected the businessman for she is still not over with Loke De Leon? And prefers to be single in meantime?"
"Really? Just because of that, I'm still in love with Loke?" Lucy comments after reading the article. She knew it, that article was just some made up story just to keep putting her name next to Loke. It was tiring and frustrating to keep on reading articles that are baseless.
"Seriously, they've got to find new writers about these stupid stories. Who is this writer?" Lucy then scrolls up only to find no name displayed. Lucy then grunts when she couldn't name the writer of the article.
Returning back to her email app, she presses the reply button to Mira's mail and told her not to worry about the article. She told her that the story was just a shallow comment about her appearances as a single person. And with that, she sends the reply.
Putting her phone down, Lucy decided to take a shower so that she could start her other activities for the day. Yesterday, Mira confirmed to her that she has a photo shoot today for the brand promotion she would be attending on the coming Friday. It's a new product of Eclipse Beauty, a makeup brand she has been endorsing for two years now. She is thankful that the company hasn't pulled out her contract despite the rumors she has been involved with.
Almost getting dressed, her doorbell suddenly rings and reveals her personal assistant and driver. They were there to pick her up and help her get her things ready.
"Morning, Lucy-sama!" Laki happily greets as Lucy opens the door
"Hey, guys, get in," Lucy opens the door wider for the two as she steps back to allow them to enter. When her staffs were inside, Laki immediately ushered her to get dressed while her assistant would start packing her things up.
In a few minutes, they were settled and left the unit. Wearing simply a ripped jeans and a gray t-shirt with a faded Daisy Duck design in front of the shirt, tucked in her pants, Lucy came out of the building in simple attire but her beauty still radiated and captured the attention of the many.
Snapping photos of Lucy leaving the building and riding her van, the media made sure to get the best angle of the actress, after all, she is a hot topic. Once Lucy is inside her van and Laki closes the door, Max immediately steps on the gas and leaves the Condominium building.
"It's been a long time Juvia," Natsu said with a smile on his face before he leans forward to take his cup of tea and sip his lemon ginger tea
"Hai," Juvia timidly bows her head to the pink-haired president, "It has been a long time since Juvia saw Natsu-san around Lilia City. How was your travel?"
"It's good," Natsu nods and shrugs his shoulder, "I've taken my meds before the flight so it wasn't much of a bother,"
"Well, then that's good…" Juvia sweetly smiled to the man before she picks up her own tea cup and sips her tea. When she was done, she slowly places it back to its saucer and said back to Natsu, "The city has new beautiful places to go to; you'll enjoy visiting them,"
"Really?" Natsu replies back, sounding impressed, "Well, I do hope I have enough time to visit some new attractions around the city,"
"Natsu-san has a lot of time to visit the new heritages," Juvia confidently assured the man, who suddenly scoffed at her comment
"Yeah, like that would happen," Natsu sarcastically answers back, making Juvia pout cutely
"It's true, you can visit the places in less than a day," Juvia mutters back like it was a fact
"That is only possible if your lover-boy arrives soon," Natsu then slumps back to his chair and grins at the surprised blunette
"Ahhh! Natsu-san thinks Gray-sama is Juvia's man!" Juvia giddily wiggles on her seat, making Natsu chuckle at the lively blunette
"Well you make it so obvious, who wouldn't think so?" Natsu answers the blushing girl
" Ahhh," Juvia nods before she smiles to herself and digs into her bag, "Since you believe Gray-sama is Juvia's love, I shall help you call him," she then begins to fumble with her phone as Natsu rolls his eyes to the woman, with a smile on his face too
After a few ring, Gray answered the call and told Juvia that he was on the way. As Juvia and Gray were conversing, Natsu loudly exclaimed that Gray was being such a loser for taking so long to arrive. Soon, the two men bickered, with Juvia being in the middle of the fight. At the end, Juvia had a ringing ear because of the yelling the two boys made.
As Juvia keeps her phone away, she gives a death glare to the pinkette making the man quiver in fear, suddenly remembering a certain blonde.
"How dare Natsu-san shout at Juvia's ear?" Juvia menacingly questions the man who gulped in nervousness
"Don't blame me, Ice princess is being such a slowpoke," Natsu mutters back, avoiding to look at Juvia in the eyes. When the blunette didn't answer, Natsu got curious as to why the woman was silent and so he looked back at her. But he quickly regretted it when he saw the deadly gaze of the woman, making his hair in the arms rise in fear.
"Juvia would really give you two some piece of my fury!" Juvia shouted and Natsu quickly docked in his chair as if the anger of the blue-haired woman would directly kill him
"Oy, Juvia, why are you shouting?" a cool and deep voice suddenly spoke, capturing the attention of the two.
As Natsu sees Gray, he sat up straight and tried to warn the man but before Gray could understand the look Natsu was giving him, Juvia stood from her chair and quickly swings her handbag to the man. Hitting Gray in the arm hard, Juvia then exclaims, "How could Gray-sama cuss in Juvia's ear?!"
"Ah!" Gray yelped in surprise and pain, "Juvia! That hurts!"
Hearing the man, Juvia's eyes then widen and realize what she did. Placing her bag back to her chair, she hurriedly walked up to Gray and rubbed her hand to the spot where she has hit him, "Ah, Juvia is sorry!"
"Oh come on Juvia!" Natsu whines as he watched the two lovebirds, "He deserved that!"
"Shut up flame-head!" Gray retorts back as Juvia continued to apologize to him
"Juvia is sorry. Juvia just got carried away," Juvia mumbles to Gray. As Gray looked back at her, she continued, "If Gray-sama didn't shout bad words to Juvia, Juvia wouldn't be mad," she then slaps the spot again as she remembers the train of cussing Gray shouted in her ear. But when Gray yelped again in surprise, Juvia quickly apologized and rubbed his bicep.
Rolling his eyes to the two lovers, Natsu groaned before he relaxes back to his chair and mutters, "Will you two take your seat already so we could start our meeting?"
"Ah, right!" Juvia then steps back from Gray and returns to her seat as while the man followed and sat next to her.
Soon enough they began to discuss business. Gray Fullbuster is the Marketing and Sales Director of Ice Castle Industry while Juvia Lockers is the Marketing Manager, a direct subordinate of the director of the same company. Natsu has come down to Lilia City to discuss a joint project between the two companies as the Dragon Empire groups decide to open a new business.
This day isn't the official meeting yet, but for the time being, they were meeting up to clarify immediately some concerns. It took them an hour and a half to finish the discussion, and it ended with Natsu sighing out loud.
"Finally we're done!" Natsu exclaims as he drops his back to his chair and closes his eyes. Hearing Juvia chuckle, Natsu kept his eyes closed but when Gray spoke, he abruptly stared at the man with a curious look
"Oy, ash-brain, I've heard, you have a new girlfriend," Gray mutters as he fixed the files he has brought out
"Since when are you a nosy sissy, ice-queen?" Natsu snappily answers back but before the raven-haired man could respond, an excited yelp was heard from Juvia.
"Natsu-san has a new girlfriend?!" Juvia animatedly squirms on her seat as she looks at Gray then at Natsu, simultaneously
"You haven't heard?" Gray puzzledly looks at the blue-haired woman, "Ash-brain was taken photo with an actress,"
"An actress?! Who?!" Juvia continues to asks but they were quickly interrupted when Natsu spoke
"You both talk about me like I'm not sitting in front of you," Natsu stated with a bored look at the two
Juvia sheepishly smiles at the pink-haired president before she bows her head to him, "Gomen, Natsu-san,"
Natsu then brushes it off as he sits up straight and stood up, making Juvia surprised while Gray confused, "Where are you going?" Gray questioned
"I'm leaving," Natsu replies back as he takes his bag with him
"Right now? Can't you stay?" Juvia guiltily pleads
"Nah," Natsu shrugs the blunette, "I'll leave you two for your date,"
"Date?!" Juvia and Gray exclaims together but with different intonation
"Yeah," Natsu then chuckles as he side steps away from his chair and turns to leave
"Natsu-san! I want to meet your girlfriend so I could thank her!" Juvia shouted as she watched the man leave
"Thank her? For what?" Gray confusingly asks Juvia
"Visit Magnolia then!" Natsu utters back, making Juvia grin and reply, "Juvia will!"
When Natsu was out of the café, Gray suddenly turns the seat of the blunette to face him, making the woman shriek in surprise.
"Why do you want to thank Natsu's girlfriend?" Gray repeatedly asks but Juvia just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Because finally, Natsu-san isn't alone anymore. He has a good reason not to hide anymore,"
"Ahhh," Gray expresses as he recalls that time Natsu thought of unplugging in their city.
Lilia city has a large land of forest and mountains, and when Natsu thought of unplugging, they knew that Natsu was trying to be uncontacted and that would be dangerous. Knowing Natsu, he could impulsively make dangerous decisions.
"I think I should too," Gray then relaxes to his chair as he stared at the blunette, "When are you free? Let's visit Magnolia,"
Days went by and Lucy is still hardly seen in public especially with Natsu, making her news even noisier around the social media and the internet. Lucy has been continuously followed by media; trying to know what happened to the pink-haired businessman Lucy was 'previously' dating after her breakup with the actor, Loke De Leon.
With the absence of Natsu around the actress, media and netizens have begun to suspect that Lucy is indeed no longer dating the pink-haired Dragneel. This causes the mass to create different reasons why Lucy suddenly stops seeing the pink-haired man, such as Lucy still not over with the Orange-haired actor.
"Ms. Ashley, be ready in 10, you'll be heading to the stage soon," a crew from the Eclipse Beauty brand said, as she peeked inside the built-in booth for the actress
"Okay, thanks," Lucy replies back looking at the crew through the mirror while her hairdresser continued to adjust her braided hair.
When the crew disappears after the curtain was dropped, Lucy looked back at her Ipad, showing the current internet news about her. It is just the same story about her, being still in love with Loke. Lucy thought, she may have lost the rumor about her being the stalker ex-girlfriend, but she is still perceived as the woman who is still heartbroken and still in love with the Ex.
"There you go," the hairstylist suddenly mutters, making Lucy snap out of her thoughts. Looking up at the mirror and turns her head to the side to check her hair, Lucy smiled to her hair stylist and said back, "Thanks, I love it,"
"You look younger with your hair up like this," the stylist said and Lucy shyly blushes at the compliment
"Oh, thank you," Lucy then looks down and bites her lower lip in nervousness
"Is there anything troubling you?" The stylist suddenly asks as she steps back from the actress and begins to fix the things she have used
Lucy, looking up at the older woman, she gave a gentle smile before she lightly shakes her head, "No, I'm just nervous to step out in the crowd,"
"You? Nervous?" The stylist looked at the blonde, baffled, "Knowing you for more than three years, I've never thought you'd be nervous around your fans,"
Chuckling lightly, Lucy puts away her Ipad in her bag before she timidly looked back at the Stylist through the mirror, "You know I do get nervous,"
Laughing at the shy actress, Shikora, the hair stylist, shakes her head and places her hands on her hips, "Well, you're naturally shy at the start but you become an outspoken person when you get comfortable. What are you nervous about?" Shikora finally turns to look at the actress, face-to-face, instead of looking through the mirror
"Have you read the articles about me?" Lucy inquires and watched the Stylist nod her head
"Yeah and I find it ridiculous," the stylist then pushes herself off the table she was leaning on, to walk around the blonde, "I mean just because you are not seen around that businessman it means your not over with Loke. Loke is so old news,"
Lucy then chuckles as she thought the same with the woman, "Yeah, but apparently, it's still a topic for them,"
Before the stylist could respond, another crew lifted the curtains and called on the blonde. Soon, Mirajane excused herself inside the booth and walked up to the actress.
"Ready?" Mira asks and Lucy smiles at her manager
"Yeah," Lucy then steps down from her director's chair and fixed her dress, assisted by her fashion stylist, Mika.
"Good luck, Lucy," Mika said as she waved goodbye to the actress along with the hair stylist
"Don't worry about the media, they'll focus on the brand," Shikora adds before Lucy disappears from the curtains.
Soon enough, Lucy slowly walked up the stage after her name was called by the two emcees. A loud chant was heard, cheering Lucy's name as they waited for her appearance. A week after the end of her series, Lucy finally makes a public appearance, which makes her fans even more excited.
Lucy! Pretty Lucy!
Our princess! Lucy!
We love you, Lucy!
"Hello everyone," Lucy greets as soon as she was halfway through the stage and waved at the audience before her
Ahhh! Lucy Ashley! We love you!
Lucy! Our series princess!
"Welcome to our stage, Ms. Lucy Ashley!" A bob cut brown-haired woman greets with open arms as Lucy approaches them
"Thank you for having me here as Eclipse Beauty Ambassador," Lucy answers as she bows her head before the media and fans gathered at the endorsement event
"Alright, let's take our seats!" Another emcee said who has her long black hair brushed neatly at her back. Soon the trio sat down at their respective seats, with Lucy sitting on the middle plush chair while the two emcees sat at both ends of the actress.
"So, Lucy, how have you been?" The brown-haired emcee asks the actress
"I'm good," Lucy replies with a bright smile, "After the last shooting I had for 'Secrets' I'm able to take some break and relax from all the daily tapings I had,"
"Oh, that's nice," the black-haired emcee comments, "What have been your activities since your break?"
"Well, I haven't done much yet besides from catching up with rest and exercise," Lucy answers with a little laughter in her tone, as the two emcees nod their head before looking down to their cue card
"No wonder Lucy looks absolutely stunning," the black-haired emcee states, "Can you tell us about your secrets in maintaining a beautiful skin?"
Lucy then cups her cheeks as she shyly smiles at the audience, "Oh, thank you. Um, I don't have much beauty secrets but the best way to have a beautiful skin is to eat healthily and have a good rest,"
"Yes, it's so important to eat right," the brown-haired woman agrees as she nods her head
"I always make sure to eat vegetables, fruits, protein, and fibers. I try to eat a balanced meal even during taping sessions," Lucy adds to her statement
"Ahh, that is nice. Eating the right food, having an exercise routine and good rest can bring out our natural beauty. But Yojika," the black-haired emcees calls on to the other woman, "What do you think is the other way to help enhance our natural beauty?"
"Oh, Jeiha, that is simple, with Eclipse beauty new product," the brown-haired emcees finally begins the brand promotion, "Lucy, why not tell us about this new product of Eclipse Beauty,"
Lucy beamingly smiles at the emcees before she speaks before her audience, "Oh, I'd love to. Eclipse Beauty has a newly generated beauty product that protects our skin, especially our face, from harmful UVA rays. Not only that, this product also helps maintain moisture on our face, prevents our pores from producing excessive oil that could cause dark skin and pimples. This is the Neo Eclipse moisturizing cream,"
"Oh, wow!" Jeiha enthusiastically exclaims, "A cream that protects our skin from UVA rays and moisturizes our face that prevents excessive oil. Lucy, have you used this product?"
"Of course," Lucy replies with a proud smile, "As a brand ambassador, I make sure to use the product so I may share my experience,"
"What is your experience?" Yojika asks
"Well, let's say I have a more refreshed face. I like using the Neo Eclipse moisturizing cream in the morning because it gives my skin a fresh feeling. It doesn't leave a greasy feeling on my face,"
The trio continued to speak about the new product and the beauty regimens Lucy uses during her shooting days. Lucy spoke with politeness and professionalism, making her more believable in endorsing the product.
Within the first half hour, a brand representative joins as well the actress, explaining the Neo Eclipse Moisturizing cream and other new products of the makeup brand. The media and fans were all attentive to the actress on stage. Soon, a few audiences were invited on stage to experience using the products, which Lucy participatively joined her fans. When the activity was done, the open microphone was given to the media, allowing them to ask any question to Lucy.
"Ms. Ashley, can you tell us about your upcoming plans and projects?" One reporter asks the actress, which Lucy gladly answered
"Well, my plan for the meantime is to take a break and just enjoy a short vacation. As for my upcoming projects, I haven't decided yet since I really do look forward to taking a short break first. But, from time to time, I guess I'll be doing some promotional events for Eclipse Beauty,"
Soon, another media walks up to the microphone and asks, "Are you planning to travel out of the country and where exactly do you plan to take a break?"
"I'd love to travel in a different country but with my schedule that sometimes changes in a day, I can't afford to leave Fiore. So, maybe just traveling to provincial places with beaches and nature would be good," Lucy ends with a smile on her face
As the third reporter comes forward, media were expecting to hear a question related to Lucy taking a break but they were taken aback when a different subject was asked.
"Ms. Ashley, do you plan to take a break with Mr. Natsu Dragneel, the alleged recent boyfriend of yours?"
Lucy's smile then falters a centimeter but she quickly widens her smile to hide her astonishment, "I'd love to. Um, he's…he's busy as for the moment because he's a businessman as people all know, so the schedule is really difficult for us,"
Without warning, another reporter walked up to the second microphone and asks the actress, "Is that the only reason why he isn't spotted coming to your place?"
Unsure of what to answer, Lucy just tried her best to fill in, "Yes…Um, he's currently in a different city for business but we keep in touch like any couples do,"
"What does he think about the rumors running around the internet about you and him breaking up because of Loke?"
"I don't think it's important for him to react to such issues that are untrue," Lucy finally clarifies the rumors, making the media more interested in asking questions.
"Ms. Ashley, what does Loke think about your new relationship?"
"I haven't talked to him. But I don't think I'd need his opinion about my relationship with Natsu," Lucy sternly answers, slowly losing the smile on her face
"Is there any truth that you are still in love with Loke De Leon and that Mr. Dragneel is just someone trying to help you get over him?"
"That is not true," Lucy suddenly answers with a pissed off tone but she quickly changed it for it is rude to answer in a mad tone in front of the media, "Um, I am in a relationship with Natsu because we both have mutual feelings for each other and my feelings for Loke are totally over,"
"Ms. Lucy-" a reporter starts but was quickly interrupted when Mirajane suddenly taps the microphone and mumbles, "Okay, everyone, we'd appreciate more if you ask questions regarding Lucy's endorsement for the Eclipse Beauty rather than asking about her personal life,"
And with that, the reporter returns back to his seat since his question was not regarding Lucy's endorsement. Soon enough the event ends with Lucy taking a photo with the Eclipse beauty staffs and with her fans.
When the event was over, Lucy was ushered back to her van, with bodyguards protecting her and her manager. Media crowded Lucy as they wanted a few more pictures of the actress but Lucy had hidden half of her face with shades already.
Driving away from the venue of the event, Mira silently observed the actress. Lucy was not speaking at all, and Mira could feel the tension after receiving such questions from the media. Clearing her throat, Mira softly comments, "Well, that went well," she then gave a short glance to the blonde
"…I guess," Lucy mutters back as she looks at her window
"As you can see Lucy, your fans are very supportive of you. Many of them gave a gift for you, look," Mira gestures to look at the back couch in the van which was filled with different wrapped boxes and paper bags
"Lucy-sama is sure missed by her fans," Laki added as she turns in her seat to glance at her boss, "You barely go out to meet friends,"
"I'm just being evasive to the media," Lucy replies back to her assistant before she slowly pulls off her sunglasses and keeps it inside her bag
"She has a point to be evasive," Mira agrees as she rests her back finally to her seat, knowing that Lucy was calmer now, "These internet media continuously try to keep Loke connected to Lucy even if they barely see each other anymore,"
"Ah, right…" Laki nods to herself as she remembered reading an article about the actress, "They are also trying to make Lucy-sama bad again,"
"It's not that," Lucy suddenly speaks, "These media just wants a scoop and without having Natsu's name or Loke's name included, they would never get the attention they want,"
Laki and Mira then became silent. They had a few more questions in their minds but they are hesitant to ask since they think this is sort of a sensitive topic for Lucy, which they wonder why.
"Um, Lucy-sama…if you don't mind, I just want to make sure…" Laki trails off, trying to test the water but Lucy abruptly looks at her and gave a bored look, "Laki, just ask,"
"Oh, uh…" Laki then tried to compose herself as not to give the wrong question, "So, technically, you and Mr. Natsu are dating? And are still dating?"
"Yes," Lucy simply answers before she rests back to her seat and closes her eyes.
With that, it was obvious Lucy was no longer interested in talking about her personal relationships. So, silently, Laki and Mirajane nod their head in understanding before they looked away from the actress.
Sitting comfortably on his bed, with his back resting on the headboard and legs up on the bed, Natsu sighed in relief after having that dreadful long dinner meeting with the board members of the Ice Castle Industry. Natsu is just grateful enough to have Gray and Juvia around to keep his boredom at ease. But still, he feels tired already. Being on a meeting for almost two weeks was draining and he just wants to unwind already. He has a few more days to stay in Lilia City before he returns back to Magnolia.
Oh, how he misses the people in Magnolia...
"What are up to these people?" Natsu suddenly mutters to himself as he felt a longing for his family and friends. He then reaches out for his bag, placed on the bed next to him, and pulled out his own Ipad. Within minutes, he is already scanning all the photos shown on his newsfeed.
There was nothing much that interested him as he continued to scroll until he got bored again. So, he opened a different app and played a game. He played for nearly 15 minutes until his life number in the game was finished, leaving him with no choice but to exit the app. Still bored, Natsu sighs and drops the gadget back to the bed. He stared at the turned off television until he decided he'd watch a show instead. But before he does, he goes to the bathroom and changes his clothes into his sleeping attire, which was just a black lounge pants.
"Alright, what show do we have on a Friday night?" Natsu audibly said to himself as he drops himself to the bed after he took the remote of the television. Soon, he turned it on and broadcasting news was shown. Groaning, he flips the channel and looks for a more entertaining show. A few drama series he passes by but he was too exhausted to deal with heavy dramas, so he looked for more, until he suddenly saw a blonde woman that was familiar to him.
Stopping right at the channel, he saw it was Lucy in her drama, Secrets which ended a few days ago. It was just a clip while a narrator spoke about the actress.
"The drama Secrets officially ended last Wednesday with a very heartbreaking ending. Lucy Ashley's character, Miakura Satsuei ends the show with a tear-jerking message about falling and rising up from challenges of life. How relatable is this to the actress, Lucy?
Recently, Lucy Ashley had been speculated that she is single once again after being spotted several times being alone in public spots. On the last shooting week of Secrets, Lucy had been publicly seen around Natsu Dragneel, the bachelor businessman of Dragon Empire Group. But after that week, Lucy was never been spotted again with the man.
Could it mean Lucy is no longer seeing the businessman? And could the reason be her ex-boyfriend, Loke De Leon?
Lucy Ashley's first public appearance after the end of her show was for the Eclipse Beauty endorsement event. As the brand ambassador of the said beauty brand, Lucy introduced the new product with bright smiles. With this public appearance, media took the chance to question her real status.
Lucy Ashley clarified that she is indeed still dating Natsu Dragneel and she is long gone over with Loke De Leon. With Lucy's statement, FUA Agency hopes to end any more rumors about her personal relationships."
Natsu then turns off the television as he took a minute to stare and process what he heard. Lucy is in another news rumor.
Grabbing his phone from the nightstand, Natsu quickly fumbled with his phone and placed it next to his ear. After a few ring and the call was answered,
"Lucy?" Natsu hastily calls
"Natsu?" Lucy answers, sounding so surprised with his sudden call
"Hey," Natsu then becomes silent, suddenly unsure of what to say, "Um...how are ya?"
"Me? Oh, um...I'm good. You?" Lucy returns the question to him
"Yeah, me too..." Natsu pauses again as he begins to pick on the strings of his lounge pants, "Luce?"
"Yeah?" Lucy shortly answers
"Well...I-I...in the TV- about you..." Natsu then trails off, wincing as he sounded ridiculous, saying words that didn't quite make sense. But he was a little surprised that Lucy did understand his point when she said, "Oh about the rumors. Yeah, pretty much I still have it and that includes you too. People are assuming I'm not dating you anymore because I have feelings for Loke still..."
Somehow hearing Lucy chuckle at her dilemma, it made Natsu chuckle as well. When he decided to call Lucy, he thought he'd hear her sounding so tired and sad but to his relief, the blonde didn't sound too sad.
"Yeah, I saw...I guess, they can't help but put your name close to Loke's," Natsu then smiles to himself when he heard Lucy chortle
"Apparently," Lucy then gives a soft giggle before she lies down to her own bed, "So, what are you up to now?"
"Me?" Natsu points to himself even though he knew Lucy couldn't see, "Well, just got back from a dinner meeting a few hours ago," Natsu the lies down on his back and comfortably listened to Lucy
"Let me guess...it was boring? Even if there was a bribe of food," Natsu then chuckles out loud when Lucy guessed it right
"How'd you know?" Natsu questions with laughter
"Somehow, I have an idea of what you are like in a meeting," Lucy states back with a smile on her face
"Ahhh..." Natsu then smiles to himself as he realized Lucy pays attention to him in some way, "I bet you made Lisanna tell you stuff about me,"
"No, Lisanna willingly told me what you are like," Lucy then laughs when she heard Natsu make a sound like he was hurt
"I can't believe Lisanna would betray me," Natsu then rolled to his stomach as his grin continues to widen, "Hey, I suddenly remembered, did you mention to Lisanna and Levy about Erza?"
"Yeah, last week. I forgot to mention it to you the last time we talked. So, sorry..." Lucy then makes a peace sign as if she could be seen by Natsu
Natsu then scoffs as he said, "It's fine. At least we don't have to worry much about Erza anymore,"
"Now that you mentioned Erza, do you think Erza saw the articles and news about me? Do you think she'll look into it?" Lucy then bites her lower lip in anxiousness
"Don't worry about it, Erza and mom rarely watches showbiz news," Natsu reassured the blonde, knowing how paranoid the woman could be
"I hope your right..." Lucy then trails off and just enjoyed the silence between them, listening to each other's breathing, "Natsu?"
"Yeah?" Natsu softly answers like he was trying to preserve the silence
"Did you call me because you were concerned?" Lucy asks shyly, knowing she would appear curious
"Yeah, of course. I'm worried that the media is overstepping your boundaries," Natsu then pauses for a second and Lucy patiently waits for him to continue, "I'm worried because I can't protect you,"
And with that, silence lingered between them again. But for some reason, their silence wasn't uncomfortable, instead, it was comforting. It was comforting for Lucy because she realized she had someone who cared for her more than just as an actress. She has a friend in the form of Natsu. As for Natsu, he was comfortable in the silence because he knew what he said was true and honest. In a short span of time, he had developed the feeling to protect Lucy from people who continuously try to make her feel sad.
"Thank you Natsu," Lucy softly mumbles
"I'll be back soon, okay? So until then, take care of yourself" Natsu said, and somehow it made Lucy blush, which she is grateful for that Natsu couldn't see her
"Yes, I will…" Lucy then trails off as she inhales deep and suddenly said, "Come back soon, Natsu! I miss my darling! Bye!"
And with that the line ends, leaving Natsu speechless. Pulling the phone away from his ear, Natsu barely realizes how his cheeks were warmer than usual. Natsu stared at his phone, and soon enough, he realized what Lucy had said. He couldn't help but chuckle at the cute departing words of the blonde. Natsu shakes his head as he mumbles back to his phone as if it would send it to Lucy, "I miss this weirdo…"
To be continued…
