Hey guys, quick Chapter update to give you those cliffhanger antidotes!

The next chapter will be longer, so just know this is just a small update to make sure you guys understand how they both feel.

Let me know in the comments how you feel about the story and what you wanna see!

Love you all,

BlackRose999


"Just" Friends?

Chapter Six: A Devastating Reality Check


"I think I love you."

"I think I love you."

The words rang in his head, and slowly the meaning of them caught up to him, she loved him… She loved HIM. He stared at her dumbstruck and then did something incredibly stupid. He pulled away from her quickly, dressed without a word, and left. Lucy sat there naked, a stupid look on her face, and felt hot tears start streaming down her face.

She'd confessed… She'd confessed her feelings, and he'd left. No… not just left… he'd fled from her like she'd cursed his existence. She slowly moved down from her dressing table, feeling him leaking out of her, and went to gather her normal clothes. She pulled on her black leather pants, her black strappy tank top, and her boots and jewelry. She did this in a trance, in a broken, defeated trance. She walked past the flashing cameras with a fake smile and fixed makeup, got into her car, and started to go home.

Home… Was he there?

She couldn't go there. Grabbing her phone, she dialed Levy. "Lu? What's up?" Lucy bit her lip and steadied her voice, "Hey, mind if I… swing by and chat?" Levy immediately picked up on her tone and readily agreed. So Lucy changed course and arrived in record time. Lucy practically ran into her friend's luxurious apartment, the little bluenette sat on the couch, wearing black jogging pants and a vintage black band tee, her little feet covered in socks and her trademark locket around her neck.

One look at Lucy and she was up on her feet. "Lu? Lucy, what's wrong?"

The lost look she gave Levy made the girl gasp, and rush over to take her hands. "I told him… I told Natsu I loved him… And he ran." Lucy began to cry again and slowly sank to her knees. "He ran…" Levy held her as she cried, and that's how Gajeel found them, with Levy rocking her like a mother would a child.

And at this moment… Lucy indeed looked like a child lost in a world she did not understand.


Natsu fled past the paparazzi without care and headed back to Lucy's place. A vague notion told him she wouldn't be there for some time. When he got there, he went about drinking himself into a stupor, regretting what he'd done to her. How he'd reacted when he was glad, happy, that she loved him too.

God, why had he fled!?

They'd agreed, promised, it would be just sex! What the hell were they playing at? It was supposed to be simple, easy! But they had muddled it, fucked it up with real feelings. He paced back and forth, growing angrier by the second. Why was he so angry? Why was he so worried? What did this mean for them?

What did this mean for their future?...

He sighed and laid his head in his hands, dropping his drink. He'd fucked it up… Just like he'd thought he would. 'Idiot… Did I just destroy any chances I had with her?'


"Oh Lucy I'm sure it's not that bad, maybe he was just surprised?"

Lucy sighed but looked up at her friend with some hope. "I really hope that's all it was, I hope I haven't scared him off." She bowed her head, "I don't want to lose him." Levy was silent, unsure of what to say, then to everyone's shock Gajeel piped up from the couch beside his girlfriend. "You ain't gonna lose that hotheaded moron, the stupid bastard is nuts for you. Has been since before Lisanna worked her way in and you got with that creep, Leo. He panicked 'cause he probably has feelings too and doesn't know how to tell you without freaking you out."

Lucy sighed and grabbed her keys. "No point running from him forever…" Levy stood with her and grasped her hand tightly. "I'm here Lu, always." "Thank you, guys. You two are probably the only two real friends I have, Gray has been kind of a dick now that he's with that jealous wreck of his." Gajeel chuckled, "Juvia is odd yeah, but she's good once you get past that bitchy exterior of hers." Lucy smiled, and said quietly "I'll try to get to know her better, after all, I'm a bitch at first too!"


Lucy stared at her front door, almost scared to open it and confront him. Unbeknownst to her, Natsu was on the other side debating the same feeling. Shaking her head, she strode forward and opened the door, almost screaming in surprise to see Natsu directly in front of her when she didn't expect him to be. "Lucy I-!" "Natsu I wanted-" They both stopped, unsure of where to start. Natsu broke the silence first. "I'm sorry for running out on you like that… I just…" "I know… I can't say I forgive you or that it's ok. But I understand."

Natsu looked away, shame on his face. "Come on, let's go talk." Lucy nodded and sat down on the couch with him, looking at her hands. "I think… I think we should back off from each other, we said it was just friends with benefits, and that we'd give it five months to find out if we'd work together…" Natsu said quietly, "So far we've just been screwing each other and occasionally acting like a couple. We have a comfortable friendship, but I want to be sure about how we-... I feel… before we go full-throttle."

Lucy bit her lip and quietly agreed, despite wanting to cry and beg for him to let her love him. But she didn't want to seem desperate for his love and attention, for the sex and the thrill of their current relationship. So she did the only thing she could do, she quietly went to her room and hopped in the shower, letting herself sob in the deafening sounds of water running in the bathroom. She didn't see Natsu's broken expression, she didn't see his outstretched hand as she left, almost asking her to stay and wishing he could take it all back.

She didn't see any of it, and in some way, she didn't want to.

It'd just make the feelings worse.