Hey guys! Sorry for the cliff-hanger in the previous chapter… Was that a cliff-hanger? I mean, it kinda was since you don't know Natsu's reaction. That was a pretty long chapter though. Oh! And did you guys like my OC characters? My favourite is Takeshi… I just love the way that name sounds and if I was Japanese, that would be my name. I know it's generally a dude's name but I like it so much! Anyways, I hope you guys like the story so far! Enjoy!

Disclaimer- I would really like to, but I don't own Fairy Tail.


"Thanks… I really appreciate it. I… I think I love Sting."

The words shot through Natsu like a bullet.

"That's… That's expected when you're in a relationship." He mumbled as the lump in his throat became larger.

"Yea… I know. But the problem is, there's something missing. I love him, but at the same time I don't. I feel like something is holding me back. I just don't know what it is. And I don't feel like me and Sting are meant to be." Lucy explained, pain in her eyes.

"But you are Lucy! I overheard Sting speaking to Rogue the other day, and he seems to love you a whole bunch. He cares for you and wants to spend the rest of his life with you. But… I'm not sure, it's just a theory, but I think the thing that is holding you back… is me."

"You…?" The blonde looked up at him, surprised.

"Lucy," Natsu placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes sternly, the pair coming to a complete stop. "We… I need to stop loving you. The feelings I have for you, can't keep going. It wouldn't be right. You chose Sting over me and I accept that. But I'm holding you back because I thought you were my one and only, but I guess not."

"But Natsu… Can we still be friends? Will anything change?" Lucy searched his eyes, and they were filled with hurt.

"Yea! Of course! Nothing will change. I promise." He hugged her, holding back his 'manly' tears. "Now how about we go back to our cabin before you catch a cold."

"Yea… Sure."

Natsu took off before she had even thought of moving. A tear rolled down his cheek, which he quickly wiped, not wanting to show any weakness.

They walked together in silence, only the sound of their own hearts were heard. Reaching their cabin, Natsu stopped suddenly.

"Just go in without me. I'm just going to be outside for a bit."

Lucy nodded. "Don't stay out here for too long. Try to get some sleep ok?" She walked inside, knowing what was going through his head. "I'm sorry Natsu…" She whispered before she closed the front door.

Natsu sighed heavily and dropped his head, leaning on the wooden railing. The door opened behind him.

"Lucy what ar-"

"Natsu, it's me." Gray interrupted.

"Oh…"

"By the look on your face, I guess you told her."

"She already knew though… She just didn't expect me to say it first." Natsu turned to face his friend. "What are you doing out here?"

"Just catching some fresh air. You?"

"Thinking about what I should do now. We're in grade 12 and the real world is so close I could almost touch it." Natsu raised his hand, as if 'life' was tangible.

"Don't worry Natsu. If destiny says that Lucy should be with Sting, then let it be. Just be happy that she's happy. Let's get going." Gray smiled and opened the door, welcoming the other male in.

"Yea… I guess I can't argue with that."

Early the next morning, Jellal woke everyone up by smashing pots and pans together.

"JELLAL! IT'S FUCKING 4 IN THE MORNING! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Gajeel shouted, storming out of his room.

"Waking you guys up of course. C'mon! We need to get going!"

"Where are we going?" Gray rubbed his eyes as he trudged out, butt naked.

"Somewhere that you need clothes. Natsu and Lucy left sometime this morning and who knows where they are and if they are even together. I'm going to search around the beach and you two search around town. Wendy, you stay here in case they come back. Call me if you find them." Jellal slammed the door shut.

"Where did flame-brain run off to now…?" Gray groaned.


Lucy sat on top of a cliff of rocks, swinging her legs off the side. She had just finished explaining her whole situation to her new friend.

"What do you think I should do, Wakana?" She turned to face the brunette.

"Look. In my opinion, just go with the one you love. The one you know you'll spend your whole life with."

"That's the problem… I don't know which one I love more." Lucy looked into the distance, noticing a jogging figure.

"That looks like Natsu… What's he doing at this time in the morning?" Wakana cocked her head to the side.

"I would ask us the same thing. I think he's just going for his daily run." Wakana looked at Lucy and sighed. "What?"

"You have pain stamped all over your face. You really love Natsu, don't you? But the thing is, Natsu is giving you too much grief. Stay with Sting. You must've chose Sting for some reason… right?"

"Yea…"

"Well then stay with Sting. If Natsu really loves you, then he cares for you enough to let you go. Look, I found something on the internet. When you love, you get hurt. When you get hurt, you hate. When you hate, you try to forget. When you forget, you start missing. When you start missing, you fall in love all over again. So watch your step." Wakana stood up. "I'm going to head back now. Takeshi is probably worried. Good luck. I don't know if I helped much but I wish you all the best." Lucy closed her eyes once she heard Wakana's footsteps fade off into the distance.

I don't know what to do… Mama, what would you do?


"Jeez guys! You had us worried sick! Natsu! You could've told us about your daily running routine! And Lucy! What the heck were you doing on a cliff that early in the morning?! Don't tell me you were gonna suicide!" Jellal gaped.

"No way! I was just thinking about stuff…"

"It's not my fault you guys don't know me well enough…" Natsu pouted.

"Yea, yea… Now thanks to you guys, none of us got enough sleep. It's already time for breakfast and then off to band practise. And we have to figure out what songs we're gonna be playing! " He scolded and lectured some more.

"Jellal-nii… calm down. We'll do fine today!" Wendy encouraged.

"And who slept on the floor yesterday in your room? I tripped on that bundle of blankets and pillows!"

"Me…" Lucy raised her hand.

"Get it cleaned up so we can stop his screeching." Gajeel grunted.

"Let's get this day started already." Gray yawned.

Throughout the day, Natsu and Lucy didn't speak much. It was still a little awkward between the 2. The group also picked out 5 songs for Regionals: Stereo Hearts, Tears Don't Fall, Animals, Can't Hold Us and SWG.

The day ended with fish and chips by the beach as they all had fun.

In the middle of the night, Lucy woke up and Natsu was gone. Panicking, she quickly got dressed and headed out. It was only midnight so Natsu couldn't be out for his morning jog.

Running through the soft sand, she stopped cold in her tracks, seeing Natsu fast asleep on the beach.

"Natsu… Natsu…" Lucy pushed him lightly.

"Lucy… don't leave… Hmm… Lucy…" He mumbled in his sleep.

The blonde bit her lip.

I can't fall for him all over again…

"Natsu! Get up!"

"What? Huh? What happened?" Natsu sat up, looking around for any sign of his memories. "Why am I on the beach?"

"That's what I was going to ask you."

"Oh! I remember… I needed fresh air so I walked down here… I must've fell asleep without knowing." Natsu scratched his head.

"Yea… That sounds like a Natsu thing to do. So… What do you want to do now? I'm wide awake so there's no way I'm going back to bed now. Let's do something fun." Lucy leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe… We could go swimming? The water looks nice." Natsu suggested.

"Won't it be cold? And my swimwear is back at the cabin."

"I'll go test the water." Natsu stood up and walked over to the soft waves. Crouching over, he placed his hand in, smiling at the warmth. "Don't worry Luce! The water is surprisingly warm!" Natsu called.

"But what about my clothes? Don't I need to get changed?" Lucy asked.

"You can but I'm not." Natsu ran back over to Lucy, quickly stripped and then jumped into the water.

It all happened so fast the poor girl couldn't even think about looking away. All she saw was a flash of pink.

"Natsu! What do you think you're doing?!" Lucy frantically looked around for anyone that would see them.

"Skimpy dipping? Skinny dumpling? What's it called again?"

"Skinny dipping! It's called skinny dipping! And while we're on that topic, why are you skinny dipping?!"

"Because the water is warm, I can't be bothered to go back to the cabin to get my togs, and you wanted to do something fun."

Lucy was gobsmacked. "Wha… How… huh?"

"Aren't you going to join me?" Natsu grinned.

"No way! I have a boyfriend and I am not swimming with you when we're both going to be naked!"

"Well… Fine. You're just going to have to sit there and watch me have fun then!" Natsu dove into the water and when he did come back up, he squirted water out of his mouth like he was a fountain.

"Natsu! Argh…" In her mind, she was contemplating whether or not she should do it. "Oh fuck it! Natsu! Don't look!"

"Ok!"

Lucy quickly took off her clothes and ran into the water. The warm feeling tingled her skin and she went deeper into the water so that it could cover her bare breasts.

"The water feels so nice… It's almost like a spa…" Lucy closed her eyes.

"I know right! Except it's way bigger!" The male splashed around like a small child, swimming about.

"Natsu… What if someone sees us?" Lucy looked around again.

"Well I guess we'll have to dive under and pretend there was nothing here!" Natsu playfully grinned. "Stop worrying so much Luce! Just have some fun! We won't get much on the holidays since it's filled with band practise and then we're back at school, so just enjoy it!"

"I guess your right… So does that mean I can do this?" Lucy splashed a whole bunch of water onto Natsu.

"Oh you're on!"

After at least an hour of swimming and playing around, they decided it was time to head back.

"Lucy. You can go get changed first. I'll look away and just yell when you're done." Natsu turned around.

"Ok. Thanks Natsu."

Lucy quickly jogged out of the water but when she got there, she was greeted by a surprise. Lucy walked back into the water.

"What's the matter Luce? Why are you back in the water?" Natsu turned around to face her.

"Um… My clothes… They're gone! I have no idea where they went but they're gone! Yours are still there but mine aren't!"

"What? How is that possible? This is probably Gray's sick idea of a prank…" Natsu cursed under his breath.

Wendy and Gray his behind a tree with Lucy's clothes in their hands.

"How did he know it was me?" Gray whispered.

"How could he not? And this isn't a prank… it's just a way to get Natsu and Lucy closer together as friends again." Wendy explained.

"Let's go back inside the cabin before they come back."

Wendy nodded and they left their spying spot.

"Luce… I'm going to see what I can use to cover you. Turn around."

Lucy nodded and obeyed.

Natsu ran up the beach, slipped his pants on and ran back to the edge of the water.

"Lucy! I'm going to close my eyes ok? Just come out of the water and put my shirt and jacket on." Natsu closed his eyes and Lucy slowly rose out of the water.

She slipped on his shirt, which barely covered everything and then she wrapped his jacket around her waist to cover the rest. (A/N if you know what I mean)

"Ouch… Natsu… I think my foot got cut on a shell… It's bleeding a whole heap."

Natsu opened his eyes and looked at it.

"Don't worry. I'll carry you to the cabin. It's not that far anyways so I won't have to worry about your heaviness."

Lucy smacked him. "This is no time to joke around Natsu!"

"Ok, ok!"

Natsu scooped her up and held her bridal style. He pressed her up against his warm bare chest as he began walking.

"Thank you Natsu…" Lucy mumbled.

"It's ok…" Looking down, he noticed she was already fast asleep.

Once they were inside the cabin, Natsu placed her onto a chair and treated her wound before tucking her into her floor bed.

Natsu then too, fell asleep soon after.


Lucy awoke the next morning, feeling something warm under her blankets. Lifting them up, she realised that it was Natsu.

He must've fell off his bed again… When did we get back last night? I don't remember anything…

Stroking Natsu's soft pink hair, Lucy smiled to herself.

I miss the good old days… Do I really love Sting? Or are you the one for me, Natsu?

The thought struck her and tears streamed down her face as she continued stroking his hair. She bit her lip to stop herself from making too much noise. Lucy couldn't take the pain any longer. She had to make a decision before it ate her alive. Sobbing into her hands, her whole body trembled and shook.

Mama… I don't know what to do! I need somebody to help me!

Something shuffling between the blankets stopped her shaking.

"Lucy… Who made you cry?" Natsu asked sternly.

Lucy shook her head and sobbed even more.

"Was it… Was it me? Lucy. Did I make you cry?" His voice softened.

"No… It wasn't you Natsu… It was me… Me and my indecisive and selfish and inconsiderate self."

"Lucy. Lucy! Look at me! You're not selfish or inconsiderate or indecisive! Whatever that means… But Lucy… No matter how much Sting and I love you, it's your choice." Natsu placed his hand under her chin. "Look at me Lucy. Sting is who you are meant to be with. That's your decision. Pick Sting over me."

"Natsu!" Lucy flung herself into his arms as she cried into his body. "I feel so helpless… I really am inconsiderate to your feelings… I don't deserve any of you!"

"That's not true Lucy… And you know it…" Natsu hugged her tighter. Promise me, promise me that you'll always talk to me. Promise me that you'll never bottle it up. And most of all, promise me that you'll never put yourself down."

Between sobs, Lucy whispered, "I promise Natsu… I promise…"

Natsu smiled and let tears of his own run free. "Good…"

Wendy opened her eyes slightly and frowned.

You still love her Natsu… Yet you're letting her go. If this is the pain I have to go through, do I have to let go too?


Ok… All I'm going to say is that the next chapter is over 4000 words and you get to know who's going to States… Bye!