I do not own FT. I wish I did. R&R always welcome.

Chapter 3

She stood in front of him, her big brown eyes filled with dread, her body frozen as if time had stopped while he locked eyes with her. Her blonde hair fell past shoulders to her waist with ripples hinting that her hair had been up in a bun earlier in the day. He smiled slightly before glancing away.

"I guess I'm not the person you expected to see here, huh?" He asked, his voice rather rough.

"I... Uh... Just wanted to make sure the person who fell out of the tree was alright." She responded.

He looked back up at her. A necklace lay around her neck, with a fairy charm. She wore a casual yet dress-to-impress outfit consisting of a black pencil skirt, lovely white blouse with lace around the edges, a blue designer coat, and black high heels, roughly 1.5 inches he judged. She also carried a satchel, most likely containing some manuscript she had been working on.

Not hearing a response from Natsu, Lucy continued, "You're alright, so I'll be on my way now." She turned quickly, heading back the way she came.

"Lu, wait." He caught up to her, keeping up with her brisk pace. "I'd like to talk to you." He set his left hand on her right shoulder.

She brushed it off, turning towards him. "What makes you think I want to talk to you?" She said quietly.

"I..." Taken aback by the bitterness in her tone, he let his hand drop to his side. He had known she would be angry with him, after what had happened back in high school, but he didn't think she would have held onto her anger this much. "I'm sorry."

"Apologies mean nothing to me..." She turned again, walking away.

He watched her from behind, just like he had that day, expect that time she had run away. Now she walked casually, yet her posture gave away her confused and hurt emotions and he wasn't going to let her get away this time.

"Lucy, please." He watched her stop, but she didn't turn around. "At least let me buy you a coffee so we can talk, and then you can decide whether you still hate me or not."

Taking a moment to think, she turned around and nodded. "Sounds fine, I guess."

They walked in silence towards a little mom-and-pop cafe next to the entrance to the park. His eyes flittered around her body processing her changed features since the last time he saw her, at their high school graduation. Her chest hadn't changed much, still as big as ever. What had changed was how fit she had become. He could see through her clothes that she had been exercising these past years, probably keeping fit in order to maintain a constant flow of ideas for her novels.

He read all of them, but the novel that held the most precedent in his mind was her debut novel. He had read it when it had first come out four years ago. He had been so proud, yet he hadn't been able to confess to anyone that he had read it. It wasn't like he loved to read. The only reason he had read "When Thorns Meet Flowers" was because she had written it and he had had the chance to read portions when they were still best friends. He couldn't admit that, not when he was with Lisanna.

He ordered her a vanilla bean frappuccino and himself a decaf, then joined her a table next to the window. The silence continued until they received their drinks. After taking a sip of his, he asked, "So how have you been?" Small talk seemed to be a good way to catch up, at least he thought so.

"I've been fine. Very busy." She replied. She wouldn't look him in the eyes.

"I noticed." He smiled. "I've read all of your novels and journal articles. You must travel quite a bit." Silence. "So what type of article are you working on right now?"

"I'm a freelance journalist so I don't write articles all the time."

Look at me dammit. He took another sip. "So, then you're finishing up your next novel?"

She looked up at him. Finally. Nodding, she took a drink of her frapp. She smiled slightly. "You remembered." Her voice was soft and quiet. None of the pain and anger moved through Natsu's ears, causing him to believe that it had subsided.

"Mhm. That was always your favorite."

Lucy sat looking into her drink for a moment, before looking "Why'd you want to talk to me?" she asked bluntly. "I don't even know why I agreed to this spur of the moment thing." The latter she mumbled to herself, yet he picked up exactly what she said.

"Lucy…" Feeling rather bold, he reached across the table taking one of her hands. "I've missed you."

Her eyes softened for a split moment before hardening again. "I can't." She pulled her hands back off the table and picked up her bag. "I can't do this." She stood up. He could see fear and frustration return to her eyes. "Thank you for the coffee, but I honestly should've declined." She left the cafe quickly, leaving the vanilla bean frapp behind on the table.

He didn't even have a moment to catch up to her. "Lucy…" His head dropped and he rested his forehead on his hands. "...I…" The rest of the sentence escaped his lips, except he couldn't hear them over the rush of thoughts in his head.

He sat there for a while before standing up, having finished his coffee. He grabbed the vanilla bean frappucino and left the cafe, shoulders slightly slumped, the thought of Lucy still on his mind.

A/N: (I'm trying a new format for author's note.) I hope you enjoyed. I apologize if Natsu appears a little ooc. I'm trying to make him more mature here than in the anime/manga, but he'll still have his immature and rash moments. I mean, he fell out of a tree. I don't know many people older than middle school who climb trees personally. I'm actually able to write quite a bit faster than I thought. University isn't killing me currently, so I hope to have the next chapter out by next Wednesday at the latest. (I'm almost done with it anyway.) Thanks for reading!