Hello everyone! I'm so happy people are already starting to guess and theorise about how this story is going to develop!
I hope you enjoy this new chapter! Thanks for proofreading CJ!
Cana let herself sink into the couch with a plate of warmed-up lasagna. Lucy was late. She couldn't contain her hunger anymore and went ahead with dinner. She moved her bag aside, only to cause it to fall down to the floor, spilling all the contents.
She groaned. Could she just do something in peace without annoying things happening?
Just as she decided to leave everything on the floor and eat her dinner first, something caught her eye. Half-buried under candy wrappers, sunglasses, and countless sticky-notes, something purple reflected in the flickering lights of the television.
Confused, Cana set aside her plate and bent over to pick it up. It was a cardboard box the size of her hand with a glossy, purple finish. She did not recognise it at all. The box had a lid that easily came off. She took the lid off and turned it over. She almost let out a scream and dropped everything, causing the contents of the box to fall all over the floor. They were cards. Her heart stammered against her ribcage and felt as if the world was spinning around her. The lid rested on the couch's armrest. The inside of it was what had startled her. In gold, swirly letters it read; ' Property of Cana Alberona'.
She didn't have the time to process what had just happened as she heard the door handle of her apartment being pushed down. Quickly, she shoved the box, the bag and all its contents under the couch.
''I'm so sorry Cana about dinner,'' Lucy apologised, ''I totally forgot about the time in the library and-''
Cana grinned mischievously. She knew this look on her friend's face all too well ''You're practically shining, Lucy, spill the tea.''
''I- I met this guy in the library,'' she stammered, unable to lie, ''we're going to sort books together this Sunday.''
''So you went ahead and considered it a date already in your head, didn't you?''
Lucy totally ignored her assumption. ''He's just as tall as I am, quiet, wears glasses, and has black hair and eyes.''
Black hair. Cana unwillingly thought back about her second encounter today; the fortune teller.
''This encounter was predicted,'' Lucy said swooning, ''my horoscope never lets me down.''
Cana rolled her eyes. ''You still believe in fateful encounters and shit?''
''You just can't stand that the stars are always in my favor,'' she replied and stuck out her tongue.
''I don't think I should take part today,'' Cana said as they stood in front of the 'Fairy Tail' hanging sign.
''Nonsense,'' Lucy scuffled as she pushed her friend through the door opening, ''they want to see you too.''
As soon as the girls entered the community home, they were enthusiastically greeted by Levy. ''Where were you guys yesterday? You missed out!''
The girls exchanged a confused look. ''What happened?'' Lucy asked.
''Let me see.'' Levy counted on her fingers ''Natsu set fire to the stage, Erza found a sword in a cabinet and played around with it, almost causing a pillar in the main hall to collapse and Gray scared away someone who was lurking outside.''
''Sounds like an average day, to be honest,'' Cana laughed.
Something Levy had mentioned sparked Cana's interest. She walked over to a table where Gray was sitting. ''Can I sit here?''
He nodded.
''Just who did you scare away yesterday?''
He looked her in the eye, his normally gloomy eyes widened. ''What did the others tell you?''
''Nothing yet, I hope you'd be able to tell.''
''It was pouring yesterday, and everyone kept having the feeling we were being watched. Levy spotted a girl outside in the garden on the backside of the building and I went out to tell her off,'' he lazily said.
Cana raised a brow. ''That's all?''
''That's all.''
''I saw her too,'' she said, looking out the window that showed a view over the garden, ''I think she has no home to go to.''
''Beats me,'' Gray said and stood up, ''maybe she'll come back.''
He walked away, leaving a confused Cana. What was that guy's problem? She had wanted to tell him more about the girl she had seen just the day before. She started to wonder what else might have happened.
''Leave him be for today'' Erza said as she took place on one of the benches, ''we don't know what has upset him so much.''
''About that girl-'' Cana started, but was signaled by Erza to keep it down. Erza waited until Gray was out of sight. ''As soon as Gray went outside and said something to her, the rain turned to hail. Not some ordinary hail, but the kind that comes down like golfballs. She looked terrified and ran away before we had the chance to ask what she was doing.''
''Does he feel guilty?''
Erza shrugged. ''It's Gray, you will get to him eventually. We've been friends from childhood and he has never been the greatest at expressing his feelings.''
Lucy looked over to the stage, of which several planks were charred now. She turned to the corner in which Natsu was hanging out. ''You performed a fire show on a wooden stage?!''
''For the last time, I did not perform a fire show!'' he yelled, jumping up from his seat, ''the stage spontaneously combusted when I stood on it, I swear!''
She rolled her eyes. ''Yeah right.''
''I actually wanted to ask you something,'' he said, as he looked the other way.
His sudden change in tone caught Lucy off guard. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. Why was she reacting so strangely to a normal sentence?
''I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the zoo next Sunday,'' Natsu asked as he awkwardly ruffled his spikey hair, ''they have a new lizard exhibit and I wanted to visit it with someone.''
Lucy felt her face heat up. This was the last thing she expected. What was she supposed to say? She was going to the library already after all. Since when did she go from no dates at all to two dates on the same day?!
''I-I am sorry,'' she said, fidgeting on the cord of her sweater, ''I already have a date this Sunday.''
She watched the blush on his cheeks fade when he made eye contact again. She still thought his eyes had an animal-like trait and could not figure out whether she found it disturbing or intriguing.
''I see...''
The disappointment in his voice reached all the way to the core of her heart. Why did she have to make this choice? Her horoscope had been perfect for this week. She was supposed to spend time with her destined love. Then why did fate set her up with two dates?
''You still owe me a tour through the zoo one day though,'' she said.
His face lit up a little again. ''I have a year membership, I can bring friends with discount. You will love the birds!''
She giggled. ''What does make you think I'm a bird person?''
''I just know,'' he said with a big, confident smile.
Lucy wished her heart would stop stammering. They were having a casual conversation for goodness' sake. She would always turn nervous around good-looking people, but this was absolutely ridiculous. He wasn't even her type. Far from, even. He was childish, impulsive, and had bad manners around other people. In all ways, he was the opposite of every gentleman she ever dreamt of. And yet, she'd always look forward to spotting his silly hair color somewhere in the community home or in the streets.
''Natsu, Lucy,'' Mirajane called them over and awoke Lucy from her thoughts, ''it's time for cookie-baking!''
They looked up and exchanged a challenging look. ''You wanna bet you can bake without burning the dough?'' she teased.
He grinned back at her. ''Hell yeah.''