Chapter 13
Saturday mornings is one of the favorite days of Luciya Hart because it's her self-proclaimed self-time day, which means she could do everything she wants because, after a long hard week, she believes that she deserves a break.
Early that Saturday morning, Luciya was heading towards a bakery to have her breakfast. She loves eating in that shop because of their delicious bagel sandwiches. Since she has grown to love the sandwiches, she has become a regular customer of the shop. Being one, she has made friends with the owner of the bakery, and Luciya couldn't deny that the owner was indeed a sweet and caring person.
Opening the door to the bakery, a sweet elderly voice quickly greeted, "Ah! Good morning my dear!"
"Good morning too, Mrs. Hyoka!"Lucy greeted as she slowly approaches the old woman standing by the counter, then she added, "You look lovely in your dress..." Lucy smiled genuinely at the elderly who returned the gesture, "Oh thank you dear...My daughter bought me this and she said it reminded her of me that is why she bought it"
"That is so sweet..." Lucy said as she unconsciously places a hand to her cheek, trying to contain the happiness she feels, "How I wished I had a mother to share moments like that..." Lucy utters making the elderly sad all of a sudden, which Lucy late realized what she said. Seeing how the face of the elder changed, Lucy quickly shook her head and smiled, "Oh! Please, don't feel bad for me. My parents have passed away long before, I just miss them from time to time" after seeing the reassuring smile of the blonde, Mrs. Hyoka suddenly grasped Lucy's hand and gave a gentle squeeze, "Well, I'm sure, your mother and father miss you too"
The two then fell silent but Luciya quickly clears her throat to end the growing awkwardness of their topic. As Luciya began to smile, she immediately asked, "Do you have smoked ham bagel sandwich?"
"Oh of course! I'll start making it for you..." Then the elderly turns to leave as she headed to the kitchen. After the elderly left, the cashier quickly steps in to accept the payment of the blonde, and soon, Luciya found herself a table near a window, overlooking the streets of Magnolia.
Moments after, the elderly woman walked up to Lucy's table and quickly handed the plate of bagel. Allowing herself to take the sit in front of the blonde, the elder watched the young woman smile back at her.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hyoka..." Luciya states as she slowly grabbed her knife and fork to cut herself a piece of her meal, "No problem..." Mrs. Hyoka replies before she started watching the lady, "So," she started making the blonde look up at her and gave a questioning look, "How's your boyfriend?"
"Boyfriend?" Luciya repeats before she chuckles and shakes her head while saying, "Oh, I don't have a boyfriend Mrs. Hyoka"
"You don't? Why?" Mrs. Hyoka asks back, not believing one word of the blonde, "With your beauty and kindness, I doubt..."
"Well, there is no good guy left in this world. I mean, they are probably taken already and those kinds of men are quite scarce nowadays..." Luciya then laughs along with the elder, who soon snaps her fingers and grinned at her
"I know one! I believe he is single..." Mrs. Hyoka then winks, making the blonde chuckle even more
"Oh Mrs. Hyoka, you're amusing me. Thanks for the idea but no thanks. I'm not looking for love as of now..." Luciya's smile slightly falters as she looks down at her food, "I have things to fix first before I decide to commit to such relationship..."
"Well, I hope you can fix it soon so that your heart will not feel guilty whenever you feel that tingling feeling in your chest if you see that right guy" Mrs. Hyoka then genuinely smiles at the blonde before she started tapping the table and said, "Well then I better go. I should start making good food for everyone"
"Thank you again, Mrs. Hyoka..." And with that, Luciya bows her head as she watched the elderly stand and leaves her table. When she was alone, she looked outside the glass window and watched people pass by. Suddenly, her mind began to wander and it ended up thinking of a man with pink hair who wore a distinct scaly scarf. As soon as it crossed her mind, she shook her head as she continued to cut her food to grab a bit.
"Luciya, you shouldn't be thinking of him..." She mumbles to herself before she stabs her sandwich and shoves it in her mouth. Nodding to herself, she mumbles again, "I shouldn't be thinking of him..."
"Can you please tell me again why I'm doing this?" Natsu irritatingly asked as he had his arms crossed over his chest while the lady next to him continuously glanced at the shops they were passing by
"It's because we are bonding Natsu..." Miranda said without looking at the man, "As my future husband, you should know where to buy my favorites", Miranda suddenly halts making her pull Natsu back, "Come on, let's get inside this shop. I need a new dress." Without caring for Natsu's opinion, Miranda began pulling the pinkette and dragged him inside the shop. But Natsu quickly pulls his wrist away from her as he commented back, "Didn't you just tell me that you had new dresses the other day when your mother came back from Paris?"
"Yeah," Miranda nonchalantly replied as she skimmed through the racks of clothes
"Then why are you buying again?" Natsu asked more with malice in his voice
"Because I need a new one..." Miranda then pulls out a red dress with lace for its shoulder, "What do you think?"
Grumbling at the woman, Natsu gave a scowl look as he replied, "Think of what?"
"The dress…for me?" Miranda then places the dress over her body, pretending to wear it, "Do I look good in it?"
"The dress is nice but not on you. Red does not fit you," Natsu then turns to leave and headed towards the couch that was placed in the middle of the store.
Natsu continued his way to the couch despite hearing the woman grumble and stomp her foot to the ground to emphasize her annoyance. As he drops himself to the cushion of the sofa, he immediately took a magazine to distract himself and forget the idea that he was spending his morning with his annoying fiancée.
Moments later, a clearing of throat came, making Natsu look up from the magazine. There he saw Miranda wearing the same red dress she showed to him.
"I believe I am perfect for red color..." Miranda said before she places her hands to her waist to accent her nonexistent curves. Smiling at the man, Miranda tried to pull on her seductive look but Natsu just gave an expressionless face.
"Let me repeat myself, Miranda. Red does not fit you..." and with that Natsu pulls up the magazine again to hide Miranda's face from his gaze. Hearing the woman groan in annoyance, Natsu smirk as he thought of making the woman storm off next.
"Fine! I'll try another one!" Miranda exclaims before she heavily walked off, muttering something about her being perfect and that any clothes and color fit her
When the sound of Miranda's voice disappeared, Natsu slowly puts down the magazine and scanned the place. He immediately shuts close the magazine when he couldn't see Miranda and quickly walked away from the couch. Right when he turns, he suddenly bumps into a woman with blonde hair whose hair was pulled up in a tight bun.
"Oh, sorry..." Natsu mumbles as he steps back
"It's fine sir...may I help you with anything?" The woman smiled
"No, I'm fine miss..." Natsu then sides steps to walk away but immediately stops when he heard his name
"Where are you going Natsu?"
Turning his head to glance at the person, Natsu saw Miranda with her brows raised and eyes were throwing daggers his way, "I was just about to..." Natsu looked around and quickly sees the blonde still standing next to him. So he grasps the shoulder of the woman and said, "Ask this attendant to help you choose the right dress for you because that dress looks ugly in you...too"
"I thought you were leaving me," Miranda then stood up straight as she tried to put on her sad face, but Natsu just scoffed at the failed attempt. "Anyways, come on now, help me!" And with that Miranda turns to leave and the blonde attendant trails after.
When the two women were gone, Natsu lets out a sigh before he turns to face the exit of the store. As he stared at the exit, he thought to himself.
"If I leave right now, I can get away from Miranda...for the mean time. But if I stay, I can stay away from being bombarded of lectures from grandfather…"
If Natsu thought to leave the store earlier, he decided not to anymore since he didn't want to get in trouble again with his grandfather. He just knows that if Miranda ever discovers that he has ditched her, she would immediately call his grandfather and be such a cry baby and start telling his grandfather that he is being mean to her again.
With that in thought, he decided to wander around the place and glance at the clothes of the shop. Thankfully the shop was not just for women but also for men. And so, he decided to look at some dress shirts that he could purchase.
"I'm here at Dress and Co., Yukino. I'll see you in a bit" Luciya said as she walked her way to a dress shop. As soon as she ends the call, the blonde woman kept her phone away and slowly approached the different racks of dresses. She would aimlessly check on a dress then go onto the next one until she finishes one rack.
As Luciya would repeatedly check on the dresses in different racks, she didn't realize that she has been inspecting already then men's side of the store. And as she glances at the whole store, she was grateful enough that no staff from the store approached her yet because it would be embarrassing for her to make an excuse if she would be asked for whom was she looking for.
"I'm just looking..." She mumbles to herself as she one by one looked at the dress shirts displayed on the racks. She found those clothes manly and handsome, and she couldn't help but imagine sometimes what her imaginary boyfriend would look like in those clothes.
"Ah, this looks nice..." Luciya said to no one in particular before she pulled out a hanger and brought the dress shirt up in front of her. As she tilts her head in contemplation, she thought that the man who would wear the dress shirt must have at least a broad shoulder and he's toned.
Right when Luciya decides to return the shirt back to the rack, she suddenly had a glimpse of pink hair. Abruptly putting the dress shirt down to inspect, she immediately recognizes the person and she couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise. As quick as possible, she squats down to her shin and clutches close the dress shirt to her chest as she gasps about what she just saw.
"Why the heck is he here?" Luciya whispers frantically as she felt her heart beat rapidly. Cautiously turning around, she slowly tried to stand and check the other side of the rack if the same man was still standing there. With a fast glimpse, she saw Natsu was standing in the same place, checking out on some dress shirts too.
"Oh, my goodness...what do I do?" Luciya said to herself as she squats down again. Realizing that she still held the dress shirt she took, she immediately pulled it in front of her and scowled at it, "This is your fault! I shouldn't have checked on you..."
When she realized how ridiculous she sounded, for scowling and blaming a dress shirt, she scrunches her face in despair as she thought that there was no way out of this. Right when she was about to check if Natsu was still on the other side of the rack, she was quickly startled when someone suddenly tapped her shoulder. Squealing for a short moment, Luciya quickly covers her mouth to suppress the noise. Slowly turning around, with the fear that it was Natsu who has caught her , Lucy looked at the person but to her relief, it was a silver-haired girl who has tapped her.
"Luciya-san, what are you doing exactly?" The newly arrived woman asked
"Yukino, you scared me..." Luciya exhales in relaxation before she shook her head to get a grip of herself, "I'm just checking some clothes," She answered but then the woman in front of her just raised a brow
"Riiight," Yukino said as she nodded her head before she asked again, "Are you sure everything is fine?"
"Yeah!" the blonde answered too fast and just smiled at the silver-haired woman to cover up her lie
"Okay…then I guess we can stand now" Yukino said, and just as she was about to stand Lucy urgently stops her and pulled her down again. With her surprise, the blonde instantly smiled and asked, "Before we do that…could you check first if there is a guy standing across from us?"
"A guy?" Yukino repeated and the blonde continually nodded to her. Doing what Luciya asked, Yukino slowly stood up and pretended to brush some dust off her clothes as she gradually turned to look at the other side of the room. As she did, she immediately saw a man with pink hair, looking at two dress shirt as if he was thinking which of the dress shirts was he going to take. Before Yukino could even try to recognize the man, she was suddenly pulled down again and there she meets the curious eyes of the blonde.
"What? Is he still there? Is he far enough now or is he closer? Oh my goodness, did he see you-" Luciya continuously asked and she was just stopped when Yukino placed her hand over the blonde's mouth
"Luciya-san," Yukino calmly said the blonde's name
"Hm?" Lucy hummed as she nods her head
"The pink-haired man is still there, studying two dress shirts. He is far enough from us not to be heard but close enough to be seen once we stand. And he didn't see me…" Yukino then breaks into a smile as she pulls away her hand and watched the blonde sigh in relief
"Is he your ex-boyfriend? Or your suitor?" Yukino suddenly asked making Luciya surprised
"Wha-what?" Lucy then felt her cheeks to burn as she constantly shook her head, "Of course not! He's-he's just…just…you know what, let's just run" Luciya then slightly stands up and peeked at the man
"But Luci-!" Yukino started but was cut off when her friend immediately squealed while sprinting out of the store, "Wa-wait!" Yukino shouted before she breaks into a run as well.
As Natsu was gazing at the two dress shirts he was holding, he suddenly puts down his hands when he heard some ruckus on the other side of the racks. Glancing at the other side of the room, he suddenly saw a woman with short silver break out into a run as she was shouting, "Wa-wait!"
Shaking his head in disbelief, he suddenly mutters, "Ladies are really weird…"
"There you are!" a voice suddenly snaps Natsu out of his thoughts before he turns to see his fiancée wearing a red pleated dress, "Miranda, how many times do I have to tell you, red does not suit you!"
"Fine!" Miranda then turns as she stomps her feet, walking away
Walking inside the mall, Luciya has finally calmed down as she acts like nothing happened moments ago. She knew that her friend has been dying to ask her about that scene in the store. But as kind and shy as Yukino is, the silver-haired woman couldn't bring to ask.
"I bet you want to know what exactly my act is all about…" Luciya then stops in her tracks as she turns to look at the surprised girl. Stepping closer to her friend, Luciya immediately wraps her arms to Yukino's urging her to continue walking, "The man back at the store is the president of Dragneel Art Corp.," Lucy said, then Yukino gasps in surprise, "Really?! Oh my goodness!" The silver-haired girl then had a wide smile on her face but was quickly replaced by a curious face, "then why were you hiding?" Yukino asked when she found it odd that her friend actually hid from her new boss, "Isn't he would be your new immediate head?"
With Yukino's question, Lucy couldn't help but widen her eyes as she glances at the woman, "W-well...yeah"
"Then why'd you hide? We should have greeted him," Yukino then shrugs her shoulder but was startled when Lucy exclaimed, "No!"
Inquisitively looking at the blonde woman, Yukino raised her brow at her and Lucy knew that she needed to explain, "I mean...we don't want to interrupt his leisure time..."
"But greeting him would not mean work Luciya-san..." Yukino then halts, making Lucy stumble a bit. Turning to face her friend, Lucy tried to defend her point as she stood up straight, "He doesn't know us Yukino. It would be a hassle to even try to introduce ourselves. He's a busy-oof!" Lucy then stumbles forward to Yukino, which made the silver-haired woman surprise as she tried to catch her friend.
As Lucy was about to fall forward towards her friend, she felt a warm sensation on her waist as she was being pulled back. When she finally stood straight, she whips her head to glare at the person and shout, "Would you look-!", Lucy started but quickly stops when she took the appearance of the person who bumped her, "Natsu?" Lucy mumbles the name of the man in front of her
"O," Natsu then points at the blonde when he finally realized who was standing before him, "it's you!" Natsu then smiles at the woman who just gazed back at him. And as Lucy just stared at the pink-haired man, Yukino suddenly tapped her shoulder making her snap out of her thoughts, "Luciya-san, are you okay?"
"Huh, what?" Lucy exaggeratedly turns to look at her concerned friend, "I said are you okay?" Yukino repeated. But before Lucy could even respond, a man's voice suddenly came, making her turn her attention again, and heard "You're being weird again..." Natsu said before he grins, and Yukino stifles a giggle while the blonde widens her eyes
"Excuse me?" Lucy suddenly said sternly but then Natsu just grinned even wider as he chuckles, "Sorry, I'm just messing with ya,"
"Oh Luciya-san, loosen up..." Yukino then hip bumps the blonde who was surprised with the gentle push. Gawking at her friend, Yukino just smiled at her before turning to look at the man in front of them, "Forgive Luciya-san, she's just sometimes a killjoy..."
"Yukino?!" Lucy whines as she felt betrayed by her friend but then she just saw her giggle along with the pink-haired man. Snapping at the man, she suddenly asked, "Why are you even here?"
"Who? Me?" Natsu asked pointing a finger to himself, "Oh, I just ran out of that store..." Natsu then points his thumb to his back where a guard was standing
Cocking their heads to the side, the two women gave off a questioning look, "My...companion...she was trying every perfume she sees. And unfortunately, I have a very sensitive nose. All the scent she has been picking is very irritating to my sense of smell"
Yukino then smiles as she said, "No wonder that you were running away from that store..." The two then shares laughter. As for Lucy, she just continually had a confused look but she quickly snaps out of her thoughts when she heard him say, "Sorry about that, by the way..."
"Oh, it-" Yukino was then cut short when Lucy grabbed her wrist and say, "We better get going Mr. Dragneel,"
"Wait? As in now?" Natsu was then alerted about the two ladies' sudden departure
"Goodbye, Mr. Dragneel," and with that, Lucy steps aside to leave, pulling the silver-haired woman along. Sooner than expected, Natsu saw the two disappear into the crowd and he no longer saw them. But for the first time for that day, he genuinely smiled. She always made him smile.
The weekend ended with a blink of an eye for Luciya. The next thing she knows, she had to wake up early, get dressed and head to work. But this time, it was not heading towards Magnolia Art Institute but towards Dragneel Art Corp.
It was a few minutes away before 7 am, and Luciya Hart was already standing at the foot of the stairs heading the entrance of the DAC building. She was wearing a red mandarin collar chiffon blouse with a loose bow in front, tucked under her black pencil skirt that hugged her body almost like a second skin.
"I can do this..." Lucy mumbles to herself as she stares at the tall building in front of her, "I am Luciya Hart. I am capable of anything especially when I put my heart into it..." Lucy then nods to herself in conviction but then something crossed her mind and made her look down to her black stilettos, "But I can't put my heart into someone's hand..."
"Uh!" Lucy then stomps her foot as she looks up again, "Luciya! What are you talking about!? This is purely professional. Nothing personal..." Lucy then sternly gazed at the building as if she was trying to burn it in her mind, "Right...This is just a job. I didn't come here to flirt...I didn't come here for-"
"Good morning," A manly voice suddenly startled the blonde, making her stumble in surprise, "Oh my god!" Lucy bellows
When she composed herself, she turns her head sharply and glared at the person whom she assumed was a man because of his voice. But once she has laid her eyes on the man, her anger quickly fades as she watched the man stand close to her, "Natsu..." She said in her mind
"Good morning Ms. Hart," Natsu then smiled at the blonde art scout who just continued to stare at him with confusion and surprise on her face. When the woman didn't react at all, Natsu just nodded before he continued his way towards the building.
Taking a step towards the building, Natsu felt reluctant to leave the blonde behind. But the way the woman was staring at him, he knew that it wasn't the right time to be acting so friendly. After all, the woman was said to be a killjoy.
As Natsu continued on his hike towards the entrance of the building, he couldn't help but feel his feet be heavier each step. So, stopping from his march, he turns around to glance at the blonde once again, and there, he sees a confused blonde and seemed to be scowling at herself. Natsu didn't call the blonde immediately, instead, he just watched her for a good time. When he decided to call the blonde, he said to himself, "She's being weird again..."
"Hey!" He called, making the blonde look up with pure astonishment with the sudden attention, "Aren't you coming?"
"Huh?" She audibly asked while tilting her head in confusion
"You'll be late if you'll just stand there..." Natsu then grins when he saw the sudden realization of the blonde
"Right! Yes! I'm coming!" And with that, Natsu watched the blonde run in her high heels. Secretly, Natsu looked at the blonde from head to toe. There he notices how her hair swayed, how her chest would rise up and down while taking a quick step, then her skirt being constricted every step she took, then her shoes. It reminded him of daggers and he thought being on the bad side of the blonde would mean 'bye-bye' to his feet after one strong stomp of her foot.
In a short time, the blonde was to catch up and be a step away from the pink-haired president. With that, he turned and continued to walk towards the building. If he could just express himself freely, he would have grinned and said that he was happy to walk next to the blonde. But since he decided to be casual, he just glanced at the blonde. But to his dismay, he saw her gave a safe distance between them.
"Sorry if I didn't you greet back immediately…" The woman next to Natsu suddenly said after he has turned his head to look away. Giving a short glance at the blonde, he noticed how the cheeks of the woman had a dash of pink, "It's fine…" He started before he smiled as he recalled his first day, "I was just like you on my first day in D.A.C."
With the sharing of the man, Lucy stared at the face of the pinkette and she couldn't help but admire how genuine his smile was. Natsu then added, "I was mumbling things…but you were a lot weirder" and with that, Natsu gave a teasing smile when the blonde suddenly huffs in disbelief.
When Lucy was about to complain, Natsu suddenly opened the door of the building and a few noise was heard from the lobby. With the sudden sound, Lucy couldn't help but glance at her surroundings. As for Natsu, he gave a glimpse of the face of the woman and he saw how astonished she was. So to snap her out, Natsu said, "Go to the receptionist. She will be the one to take you upstairs…"
With the short instruction, Lucy quickly glanced at the president. But the moment she looked, she saw him walk away already and was heading towards the escalator. Left with no choice, Lucy just watched the man's back before she softly said, "Thank you…"
"And this…" A girl with long chestnut braided hair said as she steps out of the opening elevator, "Is the art department section. This will be your floor," the young adult then turns to look at Lucy
"Ah, so this is Ms. Strauss' floor as well? I heard she's the team leader?" Lucy inquired as she tows behind the receptionist
"Hai," The girl nods as she smiled, "This will be your office" she then opens a door and quickly steps aside to let the blonde walk in, "For the next months, this will be your office along with your co-team member, Ms. Alberona"
"Oh, that's good!" Lucy says after she has looked around the office, "Thanks, Coco!"
"No problem!" and with that, the young woman bowed before the blonde, "I should go now while you wait for your colleague. Ju-"
"why's that?" Lucy asked as she tilts her head
"Well, I was instructed that Mr. Dragneel would be the one introducing you both to the whole team for the event. So, when your partner arrives, I'll assist you both to the 58th floor for the President's office"
"Well then if that's the case…" Lucy then puts down her bag before she walked up to the confused receptionist, "We should go!"
"But what about-?" Coco asked baffled
"I bet," Lucy interrupted as she places a hand on the young woman's shoulder, "She would go straight to Mr. Dragneel's office…"
"How…" Coco trails off when she saw the convincing smile of the blonde
"Come on, lead the way" Lucy then opens her arms, pretending to open a gate for the receptionist. In spite of her confusion, Coco nodded her head before she steps out of the office and leads Lucy to the elevator to go up to the 58th floor.
To be continued…