Storyline: Continuation of 'Hate' – Part Two


Natsu growled again, his palms clenching into fists over the bark of the tree. The wood bit into his flesh but he didn't care. Anger made him defy all reason as he glared at the girl below him. He and Lucy used to stand at the same height when they were young, but from what he could see she had barely grown since. He stood a good foot or so taller than her.

It was almost cute how much Lucy tried to hide her shock at Natsu's new appearance. But he knew he was very different than when they were children. His short pink tufts were always hidden behind a beanie due to him being self-conscious.

But he got over that. Natsu let his hair grow out, the mass of gravity defying locks hung messily over his furious emerald eyes. His hair framed his face stylishly. He had lost all his baby fat, his face now had a strong, masculine jaw that was taut as he glared at her.

Natsu's growl pulled her from her trance. He didn't have to patience to wait for her to stop ogling him right now.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped again, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Lucy just grinned up at him, leaning back almost casually on the tree, as if he wasn't forcing her to stand there.

"Why, not happy to see me?" she asked as she tilted her head.

"Lucy." Natsu warned, his voice low and hard. Lucy sighed.

"Come on, Natsu," she droned, trailing a single finger over his chest provocatively. He snarled and pushed away from the tree, stumbling back a few steps as he turned his gaze away from her.

"Don't pretend you're not happy to see me," she continued, still leaning on the tree behind her. She rested head back to rest on the bark as she eyed him challengingly.

"Happy is far from what I'm feeling right now," he growled. Lucy just laughed, shaking her head before looking up at him, turning her head once again.

"You know, it's not cool to blame me for everything that ever went wrong with your life just because I had to leave." She told him suddenly, all the joking, sarcasm gone from her voice. He looked up to see her standing straight, no longer leaning on the tree as she's stepped forward a few steps. Her eyes were sharp and hard as she met his angry gaze.

Natsu barked a laugh, making Lucy blink.

"Wait, are you kidding? That's why you think I hate you?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

"Things got bad after I left," she said in a guarded voice. "Your dad, your brother…"

She trailed off before continuing.

"I got the impression from what I've been told that you blame me for it all, since things only went bad after I left you."

Natsu laughed again, the sound default of any humour. He had the pleasure of watching Lucy's previous confidence begin to fall from her face.

"Are you stupid?" He asked, stepping forward dangerously. "The things that happened with my family have nothing to do with you. And it's certainly none of your business. They have nothing to do with why I hate you."

He began to lean forward as he glared at her.

"This may come as a shock, Lucy, but the whole world doesn't revolve around you." he drawled, his voice calm but sinister. Natsu took another step forward, and Lucy did something that he didn't expect. Something that didn't suit her new character at all.

She fell a step back.

Her face was still rigid and angry, but it was nice to know she had some sense. Natsu wasn't the same little boy she once knew, and he had a certain dislike for the female gender - It took an idiot not to see that. He knew Lucy was no idiot, the fact that she had regained some sense to see some danger gave Natsu the upper hand.

He liked that.

She fell another step back as his lips curled up into a menacing smirk, his head tilting back as he eyed her small form.

"Something wrong, Luce?" he rumbled, his lips curled back again to reveal his teeth in a snarl as he edged forward, and Lucy backed away. She muttered a curse as her back hit the tree. Natsu just smirked nastily as he stopped to stand right in front of her, looking down on her once more.

Lucy glared right back.

She squared her shoulders as she faced him, refusing to let him think he scared her. She suppressed another wince as his angry, emerald orbs glared down at her.

"It doesn't matter why I hate you." He said bluntly, and this time Lucy did flinch.

"You just need to know that I do." He told her softly. He turned away in the direction of his house as fast as he could, not once looking back at the woman as he strode away.


Natsu slammed the door shut behind him; he threw his keys on the table beside the door before making his way upstairs. He removed his shirt and grabbed a clean one before throwing it over his head. He swallowed thickly when his eyes wandered to the window that exposed the wood behind his house.

Reluctantly, as if in some kind of trance, he made his way over to rest his palms on the windowsill and glare at the opening that he came out of. He wasn't willing to admit to himself he was waiting for a certain figure to emerge so he could get one last glimpse of her. And she did. He saw her alright.

Walking along beside Lisanna.

They were laughing, Lisanna's face was all red with laughter and Lucy was amused, but they were definitely getting along. As they came to the path where Lisanna had to leave, they hugged before parting, Lisanna's face alight with delight.

Lucy remained where they stood and Natsu's fingers curled around the windowsill's ledge, the splinters of the worn wood biting under his nails due to the force of it. Lucy's eyes turned up to his window and gazed right onto his face, before pulling an expression that made the man in the window seethe.

She smiled.

He knew what she was doing. She was getting back into the group. Lucy was worming her way back into her childhood friends' group so she could continue to torment Natsu with her presence. Lucy held his gaze for a moment longer before turning her back and walking away in the opposite direction Lisanna went.

Natsu groaned as he ran his hand through his hair. He grit his teeth angrily and jumped into his bed, pulling the covers over his head. He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing, desperately deciding to forget the day's events and not think about his life was about to become an absolute nightmare.