A/N: Back with Chapter 10. Finished the roadmap for this story and I think I can say that I am almost positive that this is the best story I will have published. I won't spoil anything but the plot flow and timing of my future chapters just seems good. I have it mapped to 26 chapters so we still have 16 chapters after this one. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!
Also Natsu's story has been inspired by the song All Signs Point to Lauderdale by A Day to Remember. Here are a few lines from the song that inspired me.
-I never know the things to say to you.
-I never showed just what you do to me.
-I hate this town, it's so washed up. And all my friends don't give a fuck. They'll tell me that it's just bad luck. When will I find where I fit in?
So if you ever want to connect with Natsu in this story, I recommend that song. Anyway enjoy!
Natsu's POV
I always hated July 7th. It was the day that I honestly never looked forward to. July 7th was my birthday. And today was my 27th birthday to be more precise. As with every other holiday, I always got in a bad mood since I had no family and very little friends to help me celebrate. A few of the guys in the crew always took me out for drinks and stuff, but it still didn't change the fact that I had no family to help me celebrate. Even though the memories were vague, I do remember that my father had never really done anything for my birthdays either. He would give me some cheap dollar store card and then leave to go to the bar. During those times, I had always wondered if my mother would have been different than him. My father never talked about her much, just said she was beautiful and that they had fun together. He never told me about how they met or how she really died. But, my childhood self always imagined that she was truly a kind woman and that maybe my life would have been better if she had been alive. I shook my head. It was no use reminiscing on the past. It had been 27 years since I had been born, and 22 years since my father had abandoned me. Thinking about it all now wouldn't do anything except upset me.
"Natsu?" I looked up to see Lucy entering my office. I waved as she entered. It had been a week since we had decided to try to be friends and we were still in that beginning phase that happens in every new friendship.
"You seem upset?" Lucy took a seat on the futon on the other side of the room. Oh that's right, Lucy had no idea today was my birthday. I had just gotten so used to everyone knowing what was wrong when this day rolled around.
"Today's my birthday. And as usual, I'm torturing myself with thoughts of the family I don't have," I shrugged as I leaned back in my chair.
"Your birthday? Well, happy birthday Natsu," Lucy smiled softly at me. I gave her a small smile before closing my eyes.
"Why don't we go do something today to celebrate?" Lucy suggested. My eyes opened as I looked at her, surprised.
"Really?" I blinked a few times as I looked at her.
"Sure. No one should be spending time sad and alone on their birthday," Lucy stood from the futon. She moved to the door, gesturing for me to follow her.
"Uh yeah. Right," I said, still surprised. No one ever really tried doing much for my birthdays so this was a shock to me. As we left, I told Gajeel to keep an eye on things while we were out. I followed Lucy to her car.
"Where do you want to go?" Lucy turned to me once I got inside.
"We could go get a drink? Then maybe go to the mall and walk around?" I suggested. I really had no idea what I wanted to do today so I just said the first two things that popped in to my head.
"Sounds good to me," Lucy said as she started the car. We drove off down the alley and down a few blocks to this bar nearby.
"I'll take a margarita," Lucy told the bartender once we had sat down.
"Just two shots of tequila for me. And a Coke.," I said. The bartender nodded as he walked away to make the drinks.
"So I'm guessing drinking is your go to birthday plan?" Lucy turned to me.
"Pretty much. Not much to do when no one likes you," I shrugged. I nodded a thanks at the bartender as he set the drinks down in front of us.
"Well, you've got one friend now. Cheers," Lucy raised her glass. I grinned slightly as I clinked one of my shot glasses against her margarita glass. I downed the first shot while Lucy sipped from her margarita.
"I just realized we became friends but I don't know anything about you," I turned to Lucy as she spoke.
"Yeah, you're right," I said, downing the other shot before sipping on my soda.
"So, what music do you like?" Lucy asked, setting her margarita back down.
"Really just rock. Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, that kind of stuff," I said.
"I went to the Disturbed concert here a few years ago. I like rock also," Lucy said.
"Really? I was there too!" I replied. What were the odds that Lucy and I had been in the same place before we had met.
"No way! What section?" Lucy asked, her eyes shining a bit.
"I was in the pit by the stage. You?" I took another sip of my coke.
"In the GA sitting floor behind the pit," Lucy replied.
"So what's your favorite song by them?" I asked. Lucy looked away, thinking about it for a moment.
"Either 'Stricken' or 'Stronger On Your Own'," Lucy said. My eyes widened.
"I love 'Stricken'! I can actually play it on the guitar," I said.
"Really? You have to show me sometime," Lucy grinned at me.
"Sure thing," I replied. I had to admit, I was having a good time. She had really helped me get my mind off my depression. We sat there, talking about all kinds of things. We told each other our favorite animals and colors. She told me funny stories about things she had done with her friends and I told her about some of the dumb things I had done with Gray and Gajeel.
"Ready to go to the mall?" Lucy asked after about an hour of talking. I nodded. Before I could grab my wallet, she threw some money on the counter.
"It's your birthday," Lucy eyed my wallet. She smiled at me as she headed for the door. I grinned to myself as I followed after her. As we drove, Lucy threw in a Disturbed CD. She quickly scrolled through until she came to 'Stricken'
"You really weren't kidding," I said, grinning a bit as the song came on. I hadn't taken Lucy for a rock girl, even after hearing her talk about Disturbed.
"Told you," Lucy chuckled as the song started.
"You walk on like a woman in suffering. Won't even bother now to tell me why," I began singing along to the song. Disturbed songs always cheered me up. As I continued singing, Lucy would glance at me from time to time.
"You have a nice voice," Lucy said as the song finished.
"You think so? I always wanted to be a musician when I was younger," I said.
"Why didn't you?" Lucy asked as we pulled in to the mall parking lot.
"I don't really remember. Just gave up on it as time went on I guess," I shrugged as we parked.
"You hungry?" I looked at Lucy as we entered the mall.
"Kind of," Lucy replied.
"Come on," I led her down the escalator to the food court. This mall had a really good Mexican place that had really good quesadillas.
"I'll take two quesadillas with extra cheese," I told the cashier as we approached.
"Just a chorizo and cheese burrito for me," Lucy said. This time, before Lucy could grab her wallet, I handed the cashier the money.
"I said I was buying today," Lucy crossed her arms.
"You bought me food the other night and bought me drinks today. I wanted to pay this time," I said, putting my wallet in my back pocket.
"Whatever," Lucy rolled her eyes playfully.
"You guys are a cute couple," The cashier girl giggled as she handed me my change. Lucy and I both looked at each other.
"Oh we aren't-," We both began to speak but we stopped. Definitely not helping the situation. The girl nodded, but her gaze told me she didn't believe us. Oh well, I knew Lucy and I were just friends so no harm done. We eventually got our food and went to sit down.
"Was Lisanna your only girlfriend?" Lucy asked as we ate.
"Yeah. I had a few flings after her, but nothing ever too serious. What about you?" I took a bite of my quesadillas.
"I had a thing with this guy at the academy but he was a huge player so I eventually called it quits," Lucy shrugged as she bit in to her burrito.
"Any shops you want to look at?" Lucy asked. I thought about it for a moment.
"There's this clothing store that I like to shop at," I said.
"Want to stop there when we are done eating?" Lucy asked in between bites.
"Sure," I said. We ate in silence for a few minutes until we were finished. Getting up, I led Lucy to the second floor where the store was.
"Oh that jacket is cute!" Lucy immediately ran over to this white jacket. She fumbled threw the rack of them for a moment.
"Damn, they don't have my size," Lucy said. We looked at a few things for her in the girl section. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a light blue tee. Afterwards, we headed over to the guy section.
"See anything you like?" Lucy asked. I shook my head as I browsed through the racks of clothing. Nothing was really catching my eye. That is, until I saw a scarf hanging up in the corner. I immediately walked over it. It was a light grey silk scarf with a pattern that resembled dragon scales. I had always been fascinated with dragons, ever since I had been a little kid. That is why I found the scarf so appealing.
"I like this," I showed the scarf to Lucy.
"A scarf?" Lucy asked, looking at it.
"The pattern reminds me of dragon scales. And I always loved dragons," I said.
"Then I will get that as a present," Lucy said. I was about to hand if to her when I saw the price tag out of the corner of my eye.
"it is $75. I can't let you spend that much on me," I said, starting to hang the scarf back up. I was surprised when Lucy grabbed it back down.
"Nonsense. Today is your birthday and we are friends right?" Lucy smiled at me. I was speechless. No one, not Gray or Gajeel, not even Lisanna, had ever offered to buy me an expensive gift like this. When I didn't say anything, Lucy took the scarf and her items to the counter. As I watched her pay for it, I began to feel guilty at how much money she had spent on me today. I would have to find a way to make it up to her.
"Here," Lucy handed me the scarf as we exited the mall. I smiled at her as I took it and wrapped it around my neck, letting one side of it hang down the front of my shirt.
"Looks good on you," Lucy said as she began walking back to the car. I'm not sure why, but my body began moving on it's own as I rushed up to her and wrapped my arms around her. I felt a few tears well in my eyes as I hugged her.
"No one has ever cared about my birthday as much as you have today. Thank you, for everything," I said, clutching her tightly. I was so overcome with emotion at this point that I could not let go.
"What are friends for?" Lucy said. And unlike the last hug I gave her, she wrapped her arms around me and returned it.
We eventually got back to the warehouse, where I was greeted with a few birthday greetings as Lucy and I headed for the office.
"Thanks again for the fun day," I said once we got inside my office.
"No worries. Just trying to be a good friend," Lucy said, shrugging a bit. She may not think it was a big deal, but it was a big deal to me. My father of course had never done anything for my birthday. The ladies at the orphanage would always tell me happy birthday and give me extra dessert but that was it. Lisanna and I would go see a movie or something, but she never got me any gifts. Gray and Gajeel would take me out for drinks or something but what Lucy had done today had topped everything else. No one had ever cared enough to spend the whole day with me, let alone get me a nice gift.
"Well it's getting late. I should head hone," Lucy said as she began heading for the door.
"Goodnight," I said, giving her a small smile.
"Goodnight, Natsu," Lucy returned my smile before exiting the room. I sat back in my chair, admiring my new scarf. As J stared at it, I felt some unfamiliar emotion stir in me. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. It was happiness. A faint sliver of genuine happiness. And I knew the exact reason; I finally had a real friend.
A/N: Apologies for the shorter chapter! Have had a really busy day but still wanted to update. Anyways drop a review and give me your thoughts! See you soon for the next one!
