Chapter Fourteen: Late Night Sessions (Part One)
November slowly approached - as the chill of the winds could be felt all around the streets in the coming days. There were scatters of snowfall around, indicating that Winter was coming sooner than later. The week had almost come to an end, as the students were rushing to get to their last classes. Lucy clutched her books close to her chest, and made her way through the usually busy halls to make it to her Calculus block - the one class her and Natsu had together.
They were both careful over the last two months to keep their ordeal a secret from their friends - especially Lisanna. Juvia had an idea of what had been happening between the two, but Lucy made her promise to keep it to herself, and not mention it to anyone in fear that Lisanna would hear of it. What started as a scattered gig morphed into a Monday and Friday routine - Monday to sweeten a sour start to the week, and Friday to celebrate the end of the week and the beginning of a blissful weekend. There were often times when Lucy would wonder when their arrangement would end - as no-strings attached relationship were always bound to end. Natsu wasn't her boyfriend, and she wasn't his girlfriend. They were merely the one thing they both needed desperately at that moment - a distraction.
It's what Natsu fought so hard to get, and what Lucy didn't know she needed until he got her where he wanted her. A diversion from their own hardships - Natsu's broken heart, and Lucy's broken life. They were the temporary glue to the pitch black atmosphere that had been following them for months to come.
Lucy didn't mind if he didn't see her as anything more as a friends-with-benefits - she doubted she saw him as anything more than that herself. She liked what they had - it was simple easy, and drama-free... for the most part. Lucy hated that she was under Lisanna's scrutiny again, but keeping a distance from Natsu helped distancing Lisanna in return.
She knew she needed to maintain a distance - not just from Lisanna. From Natsu. From everyone.
That's why she couldn't bring it upon herself to see Natsu as anything more than a friend she's sleeping with.
Or why she couldn't bring to call Juvia a close friend.
She was still too afraid.
The classroom was fairly crowded, but she noticed Natsu sitting on top of a desk. Waving slightly to her, Lucy smiled and made her way towards the salmon-haired boy. "So, my place or yours?" Lucy made sure to keep her voice quiet enough so no one heard her.
Squinting his eyes, a smirk crossed Natsu's lips. "Nah, that's too predictable. I wanna make things interesting."
"Well, what else do we have besides your place and my place?" Lucy chuckled nervously. She couldn't help but feel as if Natsu had something sneaky up his sleeve - he was the mischievous one after all.
Pulling out what seemed to be a set of keys, Natsu's smirk stayed intact as he dangled them in front of Lucy. "Gray's place is ours for the night."
Lucy was dumbfounded, barely able to keep her mouth closed as she took the keys from Natsu's hand. "But... but... why would Gray give you the keys to his house?"
Giggling, Natsu took his finger and placed it playfully on Lucy's nose. "His parents are in and out a lot - and this weekend, they're out. Gray wanted to spend the weekend with Juvia and her parents, and he gave me the keys to the house."
"I guess that makes sense but..." Lucy's eyes were blinking rapidly. "I don't get what's so special about Gray's house, though..."
Winking slyly, Natsu took the keys back from Lucy's hand, and stuffed them back into his pockets. "Now that's gunna remain a secret."
Lucy hated the playful tone in his voice, but she couldn't help but giggle. She did love surprises, but she was itching inside to find out what it is. The teacher soon entered the room, and their planning for the night was put to a temporary halt.
Or so it seemed.
Normally texting in class could get you kicked out, sent to the principal's office, or even as far as a suspension if you're caught one too many times. But to Lucy and Natsu's benefit, their teacher's back was almost always faced towards them, making it near impossible for her to monitor them. Grabbing her cellphone from her pocket, Lucy opened her text messages.
Are you seriously not going to tell me? I'm losing my mind here!
Lucy waited a brief moment to see if Natsu got the text - and sure enough, he was looking down on his own phone.
It'll spoil da fun dummy ;)
Rolling her eyes, Lucy kept typing.
It's no fun waiting like this ya know... (-_-)
A barely audible laugh came from Natsu, as he replied back.
I knowwwww. I justlove buggin ya XD
Lucy shot a glare towards Natsu's direction, which made him giggle softly.
I swear to God, I hate you sometimes.
Hmmmmm, okay, fine, buut, I bet you don't hate how I feel.
Lucy felt her ears going red.. but to her fortune, her hair was covering them. Trying to avoid eye contact with Natsu, she rapidly started texting back.
You're getting punished for that.
...
"Luuuucy!"
Juvia waved from across the hallway as sh made her way towards Lucy's locker. Lucy was packing up for the day, and was about to grab her backpack. Smiling back at Juvia, Lucy was organizing her textbooks one last time to make sure the books don't crash on top of one another.
"I heard you and Gray were planning on spending he weekend with your parents?" Lucy said, while Juvia leaned next to her against one of the adjacent lockers.
Nodding her head, Juvia plastered another huge smile on her face. "I'm really excited! Gray and my parents get along really well - my dad and him always talk about Hockey, and he's also pretty handy in the kitchen!"
Seeing Juvia as happy as she was talking about Gray gave Lucy a sense of familiarity. It was a happiness she hadn't experienced in a while. The kind of happiness that can only come from the feeling of love - true, spirit-binding love. Whether it be romantic or platonic, it was a rare sensation anyone would be lucky to feel - a sensation Lucy hadn't experienced in quite a while. "You know Juvia, I love seeing you happy."
A twinkle flashed upon Juvia's eves, as she continued to gaze at a smiling, vibrant Lucy. Returning the favour, Juvia placed her hands together. "I love seeing you happy too, Lucy."
After giving her a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek, Juvia started heading towards her locker - where Gray was supposedly waiting for her. However, before she disappeared, Juvia stopped to face Lucy again - which caught Lucy by surprise.
"I don't know what changed over the last few months... but you're not as reserved or timid as you used to be." Juvia closed her eyes, and a soft, simple smile grew on her face. "Don't lose it, okay?"
And with that, she was gone.
Blinking several times, Lucy tilted her head in confusion, but a few moments later, her entire face became beet red.
There's no way this has anything to do with Natsu.
Slamming her locker door, she made her way outside of the school building, hoping the army of students roaming the halls would conceal her obvious blushing.
...
"Okay... this is a nice house."
It was almost nine in the evening, and Natsu and Lucy had just arrived at Gray's house. It was moderately bigger than most of the other houses in the area - which told Lucy that the Fullbuster family must've had some remodeling and renovations done. Going inside of the two-story building, the interior was almost regal-looking, and the floors and counter tops were polished. However, Natsu's feet were taking him straight towards the backyard of all places - without exploring the rest of the house, or even showing Lucy around.
"Hey, aren't we going to go upstairs?" Lucy called out towards Natsu, while taking off her high tops.
Natsu shook her head as he turned around to face Lucy. "The house itself isn't that interesting - here is where it's at!" Natsu gestured Lucy to come towards the backyard to where he was, and Lucy sighed, but ultimately obliged. It was chilly - she had no idea why Natsu would want to spend their Friday together outside.
Her thoughts were immediately put to rest once she saw what was in the Fullbusters' backyard.
"A HOT TUB?!"
I had to do what I did back in Chapter Four and Five... split this in two parts. I'm so sorry but I promise I'll have the next part up by Friday! Get ready for a really steamy chapter!
I guess more than anything... I wanted to tie up all the loose ends in this chapter, and get the story back on track! Hopefully I did that.
Also, I made some modifications in the last chapter! So look out for that!
Thank you again for the love! I really appreciate all of you! Keep reviewing! I do interact with my reviewers when I can - and I'll be doing it a lot more often now!