Hello; once again I'm an asshole.

I have something to maybe make up for the many months I have been absent for: I'm updating two chapters at once. I spent many hours on these chapters so I'm hoping they turned out good and I did you guys proud!

I do love this story very much and I really want to finish this.

Love you so much!

Chapter Nineteen: Dan's Dilemma

The news of Lucy's panic attack remained hushed among her group of friends, which was exactly what Lucy had hoped for. Any pondering questions would've led to fabrications of events; which neither Dan or her wanted to take part in with any of their friends. Juvia had her questions as to what happened to her friend during the rest of the school day, but Lucy shrugged it off to exhaustion and stress - the closest to the truth she was able to give to one of the only people she trusted.

Natsu, on the other hand, was being more persistent for answers. Over the next few days, he constantly kept asking her if she had been okay… to which Lucy avoided giving a proper answer to. It wasn't that Lucy didn't want to tell him… she was afraid she would reveal too much, instead.

The time they had spent together hadn't been long at all, but Lucy felt herself becoming more and more comfortable with Natsu. Not only did the timing scare her… but the aspect of it all scared her. What was supposed to just be a casual twice-a-week thing was suddenly emotionally becoming more than it needed to be, and to Lucy's fear… it might only be happening to her. Nobody else knew about the two of them except Juvia - who swore off telling Gray. Outside of their privacy they were nothing but close friends; they seamlessly blended within the group as just that, and while everybody had their suspicions and predictions, the two of them were able to convince everyone that nothing had been going on at the moment.

Not only did Lucy not want to give Lisanna any leverage in discovering them, she wanted what had been transpiring to just… happen. She knew they both needed this; Natsu because of the pain he carries within his heart, and Lucy for the pain she carries within her soul. He was the ibuprofen that made her forget her pain bit by bit, and it didn't bother her that it was just being pushed aside for a later time because with Natsu around, that time never showed it's head.

But the dynamic was starting to change, and not only was it changing right under their noses… it was changing without any protest from either of them. From the night talking about her father… about running away… it had been too much. If she told him anymore, it would've been game over for her. Even though Lucy didn't fully understand why she was no longer putting her walls up as firmly as she told herself she would, she wanted to salvage a distance from Natsu. Having him too close was dangerous; she couldn't and wouldn't expect anymore than what they already were to one another.

Do you want me to come over?

I know it's not Friday… but I just want to make sure you're okay. I worry, you know

Arm's length.

I'm alright. Don't sweat it - I'll see you tomorrow as usual.

She wanted him over, more than anything… but she just couldn't do it.

Alright…

I'm here for you if you ever need or want me to be.

Lucy almost wished he didn't say that.

…

Tomorrow came as usual, and while Natsu and Lucy carried themselves the way they usually did in front of their friends during the school hours, it was hard for them to rub off the Friday jitters.

"Too bad I have my paper to write over the weekend," Sting sighed as he took a bite of an egg roll. "I was planning on skipping town to go see the Lantern Festival in Tokyo."

"I have my Functions exam next week, so it rules me out from going anywhere either," Lyon gently shoved Sting's shoulder. "Why don't you come over so we can suffer together?"

"You know we're not getting shit done, right?" Sting rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his iced tea. "We're just gonna end up killing each other on the PS4."

"Say, Lucy," Loke pushed his sunglasses in while staring at the blond-haired girl seductively. "Got any plans for the night?"

This man kept trying over and over to go out with Lucy, only to be met with the same answer. "Loke… I'm getting tired of saying the same thing over and over again," Lucy sighed while placing her cheek against the back of her hand.

"Come on, Loke," Levy chuckled while leaning her head against Gajeel's arm. "You might as well just give up - it's clear she's not interested."

"Asking the same girl out over and over again only to get the same response is kinda sad, i'm not gonna lie." Cana sighed, while eating an apple. "I'd quit while I still have a sliver of dignity left."

"Leave me alone, man!" Loke said, clearly embarrassed. Lucy couldn't help but feel amused; this group of friends always knew how to make her smile, no matter what the day was. This was a quality in friendship she missed dearly, and she was grateful to have it back.

Loke's really starting to get on my nerves.

Lucy's phone pinged just quiet enough to alert her and not the others around her. When he opened her messages, she was surprised to find Natsu - who was a seat away from her - messaging her.

It's fine - I don't take him seriously anyways

Lucy guessed Natsu didn't want to be caught talking about Loke in front of anybody.

Still… I don't like the way he looks at you. Or talks about you. It's so sleazy.

Although Lucy agreed, she was surprised he cared about that so much that he felt the need to bring it up then and there.

Natsu Dragneel… are you jealous?

Just simple fun - nothing serious. Lucy found over the months that she enjoyed teasing him, because it was the best way to get into his feelings.

Not jealous… possessive.

Just as he said that, Lucy felt a hand running up her thigh - making her instantly shiver. She turned her head slightly towards Natsu, and was able to barely catch the smirk laced around his lips. With his free hand on his left hand, he managed to send her another text.

I'm gonna show you how possessive I can get tonight.

That single sentence was enough to make her throb, but she forced herself to regain composure given the fact that the two of them were in public.

Possessive, huh? Should I be afraid?

Lucy could almost feel Natsu's eyes on her, even though she was no longer looking back at him.

You should be afraid of how loud I'm going to make you scream.

If it hadn't been for Dan interrupting their text exchange, Lucy would've not only been bright red as a tomato, but unable to explain it away.

"Hey guys." Dan smiled as he took an empty seat next to Gajeel and just across from Natsu and Lucy.

"What's up, man?" Gray asked, popping a grape into his mouth.

"This Fall Formal stuff is killing me - why does it have to be Disney-themed?!" Dan groaned as he sank his hair into his hands. "These songs are just… they're not for dances or festivals! They're for movies!"

"Oh, uhh…" Wendy chuckled nervously as she toyed with her chopsticks. "I forgot to tell you… we scrapped the Disney idea yesterday because it was impossible to conceptualize. We're now going for a spring-time theme since the winter is always so hard on a lot of people… and when spring arrives, life comes back with it."

The look on Dan's face went pale for a good minute, while Lucy tried to keep her laughter in. All that worrying and panicking only for the theme to be changed. She didn't know whether Dan would be angry or grateful.

"Well… I wish… you would've… told me… sooner," Dan uttered through clenched teeth. Yup… he was definitely angry. But the anger didn't last long as he took a deep breath immediately afterwards. "At least I get some flexibility, though. My God, I was dying with the songs I had to work with!"

Although a lover of Disney herself, she could understand why Dan wasn't the biggest fan of the songs that came with the movies. They were fun and nostalgic, but he wasn't a movie-soundtrack kind of musician. He had his own brand of production and vision… which was why Lucy wanted to work with him all that time ago.

"By the way," Dan said as he turned to face Lucy, "can I ask you for a favour? I'll owe you one for this!"

"Depends on what it is." Lucy stated in a matter-of-fact manner while sipping her iced coffee. She smiled at him to soften the blow, though.

"Will you please please PLEASE be my singer for the Fornal?"

Woah. Lucy was clearly not expecting that question - especially from Dan. But as their stories were unknown to the rest of the table, everybody else's eyes lit up. "Oh my god, Lucy! This would be so perfect!" Juvia's face was beaming with happiness as she clasped her hands together.

Although Lucy wanted to protest, Sting ended up jumping into the conversation. "You can sing?!"

"I forgot I don't have you on Snapchat," Natsu joked as he leaned into the table to get a better view of Sting. "You really missed out, man."

Sting scoffed in return. "That's not my fault, dingus! You're the one that keeps on forgetting to add me!"

"It's not a big deal, Sting." Lyon chuckled, trying to calm his friend down. "If you want to do it, Lucy, I think it'd be a wonderful scene for all of us."

"I agree!" Wendy replied, standing up from her seat. "If you want to do it, you can tell me right now so I can add your name to the list of staff! I think you'd be a great addition."

This was all becoming a little too overwhelming for Lucy. "Hold on, guys," she said, as she faced Dan with a stern and stiff look. "I'm honoured, but I really don't think I'm ready for something like that."

Dan's eyes suddenly fell, and it seemed as if the magnitude of what he had just asked of her didn't settle in until now. The secret that remained between the two of us was clearly still shaking him, and he wasn't able to act differently around her after finding out. In his mind, they'd pick up right from where they left off… not knowing she couldn't. "Sorry… I shouldn't have asked that. It's just… Lisanna is driving me insane with rehearsals, and she keeps acting as if she's doing me a favour by being a part of the show…"

Lisanna. Another reason she should've avoided the proposal. Anything getting in the way of Lisanna's path… she wanted to avoid. It still wasn't crossing her mind that she had already been getting in her way, no matter the scenario, the situation, and the circumstances. She didn't care, and it was likely she wouldn't care in the future. "Is she really being that difficult…?"

"Apparently she had a problem with everything; the way I talk, the way I arrange songs, and even the way I sing." Dan sounding stressed out broke Lucy's heart; she knew how creative and talented her friend was. He didn't deserve any of that. "And if the Disney idea is being scrapped… I wanted to perform some of my original work, but I know she's going to turn up her nose as soon as she sees it and she won't even give me a chance."

Two words. Two words was all it took for Lucy to change her mind almost on the spot. It didn't matter that Juvia and Canada were both awkwardly sipping their drinks, indirectly agreeing with Dan's assessment of Lisanna, or that Natsu was rolling his eyes while chuckling at the description of his rotten ex-girlfriend. It didn't matter that Sting or Lyon sniggered at just the mentioning of her name, and it especially didn't matter that Levy was nervously laughing at the prospect of negatively speaking about somebody despite agreeing with the attributes. Those two important words were enough.

Original work.

"I'll do it."

Lucy smiled while glancing towards Dan's direction, and watched his expression go from helpless to exuberant. "Wait, you… really?!"

"It'd be my pleasure." And that was as truthful as she would be about any aspect of her life. Dan was a musician to the core, and a lyrical mastermind. She didn't come up with her contest-winning, Grammy-nominated song by herself. Not only was he an integral part of the song, he had been an integral aspect of her influences. "When do you want me to start working with you?"

"Do you want to come by the music room on Saturday?" Dan chirped excitedly. "The music teachers cleared me to use the room for the weekends to work on the Fall Formal arrangements."

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then."

On one hand, Lucy couldn't believe what she had done. Her one goal of staying away from Lisanna and avoiding trouble with her was now on the verge of backfiring. Even though the risk and opportunity was worth it… she couldn't help but wonder what was going to hold within her future.

It didn't matter; cohesion exited the door, and she was going to discover sooner or later that whatever she wanted to do for her mind and heart wouldn't work out.