A/N: Thank you to everyone who gave this story a try. Thank you everyone who liked/favourited/reviewed the story and myself as an author. You're all amazing.

. . . . . .

Chapter Two

I could feel Aquarius' eyes boring into me from the other side of the room. I didn't have to turn around to know that's what she was doing. Staring at me with that penetrative gaze of hers; her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she silently critiqued my every move.

"Focus, Lucy! You expect Edolas to be impressed with that!?" Obviously, I had spoken too soon. "Keep your leg straight. Get your head in the game, Lucy!"

If my leg was any straighter I could shove it up her ass and have my toes dancing their way out her nose.

"And pirouette," she called out, "nice, Evergreen. Good."

But then again, arguing back wouldn't impress Edolas too much either.

I tried to keep in time with the music; a challenging task for anyone who was subjected to the musical talents of eighty-six-year-old, Tone Deaf Deena. Every week she'd bang on the old piano sitting in the corner, a cloud of dust lifting into the air before sending her into a fit of dry heaves. I often wondered why Aquarius hadn't replaced her with a CD player before now. She was probably hoping she'd up and die on us before she'd ever have to.

"And finish in arabesque." We were a sea of arms and legs as we finally came to a stop, the piano carrying on momentarily. "Well done, ladies. Much better. Just make sure you put the practise in before next lesson."

With a single nod of the head we were dismissed, and once again, I could breathe.

"Lucy, could you stay behind please?"

Forget I said anything.

I couldn't help but be ashamed at the weakness of my nod, Aquarius' gaze fixed on me as I gathered my things together. As the girls shouted their goodbyes and promises of texts through the week – texts I knew I'd never read – I pushed my way to the front.

"Remember to keep that leg straight now, Heartfilia," Evergreen smirked as she sauntered past, her shoulder less than gently bumping mine, "wouldn't want that to be the reason Edolas said no."

There would never be enough words in the English language to describe my contempt for Evergreen. So, for now – and probably for the rest of eternity – a glower would have to suffice. Since childhood we had barely been able to stand each other; a feud which had been born in the Christmas of X772 when I was appointed lead ballerina in our festive concert.

With the two of us now in the running for Edolas, I could see that things were probably never going to change.

"Goodbye, Evergreen." Aquarius' voice ground out.

Smile falling slightly, she quickly left, the heavy door to the hall banging closed behind her. I could only hope that she tore a ligament falling down the stairs before next lesson.

"Lucy," Aquarius snapped, drawing me away from my thoughts, "are you still with me?"

"Sorry, Ms Aquarius." I sighed, approaching her with dread. "You wanted to see me?"

Arms crossed – her most infamous pose to date – Aquarius stared at me with a mixture of annoyance and what seemed to be indifference. In all the years that I had known her, I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I had seen her smile, which was a shame really. She looked a lot less terrifying when she did.

"Tell me, Lucey," she began in her usual monotone, "are your feet bleeding?"

"No, Ma'am." I answered simply.

"Are your legs sore?"

Not anymore.

"No, Ma'am."

"Then what the hell is going on with you?" She asked, her palms heavenward as if she was expecting me to drop my excuse right into her grasp. "You've seemed very distracted the last few lessons. Are you feeling alright?"

Flashes of soaking bloody underwear in the sink at two in the morning would be enough to distract anyone. Two weeks on and they still managed to push their way to the front of my mind. But I'd be damned if was going to tell Aquarius that.

"I guess I'm just nervous about the scouts coming." I lied, a soft smile sealing the deal as I shrugged my bag further up my shoulder.

The hard lines in her face faded. "Nerves are normal," she said, "but don't let them come in the way of you and your dancing. You're good, Lucy. Very good. The only thing you have to be nervous about is me kicking your ass if Evergreen gets the position, but don't dare tell her I said that."

One of her rare smiles broke forth then.

"Thanks, Ms Aquarius," it was a poor effort trying to contain my smirk, "I'll definitely be keeping that in mind."

"Good." She nodded. "We'll have an extra lesson, you and I. Monday night, seven o'clock," again, this was not a request, "your feet might be bleeding then."

"I'll bring the band aids."

. . . . . .

"What the fuck took you so long!?" I had barely set one foot out the door before Cana was yelling. "Places to go and people to see, Lucy."

I laughed, my bag falling from my shoulder as I dragged it along behind me. "Cana, I highly doubt that going to the diner and spying on the cute firemen across the street falls into that category."

"That's exactly what I tried saying to her," Levy chimed in, swinging under the old railings of the stairs, "she disagreed."

Hands flying to her hips, Cana could only glare.

"Hey, fire safety is fucking important!"

With a defence like that, I could tell law school was just around the corner.

It was just hitting three by the time I got out; the euphoric feeling of freedom – I could only imagine – resembling that of a convict's first glimpse at the outside world after a long haul. And that was only in my feet once the point shoes were off.

As predicted, we soon found ourselves in the small diner in the centre of town. The strong smell of coffee that hit you the second you walked in was enough to churn even the strongest of stomachs, but Dad had always praised them on their brewed sludge. In his younger days – back when he was working as the messenger boy for his own father – he'd find himself stumbling through the doors early every morning to get the workman breakfast. He'd said that the free cup of coffee he got was what got him through the rest of day.

Personally, I think it was because Mom was the waitress with the pretty smile.

Finding our usual booth, Cana had barely parked her ass before she was peering out the window; her head bobbing around frantically trying and get a good view of the guy across the road. If subtlety was an Olympic sport, she'd have most likely been disqualified.

"Cana, have some dignity, " Levy chuckled while snatching up the menu she could practically recite, "jeez."

Chin in hand, she pointed out the window with a lazy smile. "Is it just me or is there something oddly attractive about him?"

"Oh, he's a work of art." My blue haired friend replied with a roll of the eyes.

It was the bell ringing out from above the door that eventually drew my attention away from my own menu. The difficult decision of what I wanted on my pancakes – lemon and brown sugar, or maple syrup and bananas – seemed so frivolous at that moment in time. And why wouldn't they at the sight of him walking in.

I don't think Natsu noticed me as he sauntered up to the counter, but if he did, he showed no sign of it. Hell, he barely even acknowledged Bisca Connell as she asked his order. He just sat there lost in his own little world, the people round him about as significant as ants. I could have sworn that my heart broke a little at the sight of him; the cloud of sadness hanging over him strong enough to shatter even the hardest of souls.

Drawing my gaze back to my menu ended up proving harder than I thought possible. No sooner had I managed to snap my attention away from him before Cana was taking over as the Designated Natsu Drooler.

"Ooh…" She practically purred, her smile growing with every rapid beat of my heart, "looky what Lucy's found."

On instinct, Levy swung round, her lips curling up in amusement before she turned back to face me with a raised brow.

"I never thought I'd see the day where little Lucy Heartfilia would be mentally stripping someone in broad daylight." She joked.

The heat rising in my cheeks was enough to send them over the edge. Like a pair of hyenas, their laughter rang out; the noise attracting the attention of more than one patron.

"Y'know what, screw you guys," I huffed, closing over the menu before sinking in my seat, "I wasn't looking at anyone."

"Oh, honey cheer up." Cana bellowed. "We were just kidding."

Chancing another glance back at Natsu, I saw that he had finally noticed me. That, or he was just choosing to acknowledge me.

A forced smile tugging at his lips, he stared at me for what felt like a lifetime. To everyone else, I imagined the small exchange must have only lasted a few seconds. A brief meaningless glance between two strangers. A forced politeness. But for Natsu, I could see. I could see in his eyes that he'd come face to face with a ghost. The ghost of a girl who had given him everything for nothing.

". . . Just thought I knew him from somewhere." I mumbled. With a clear of the throat – one that I hoped hid the emotional mess I felt spilling within me – I grabbed for my purse. "I'm going to go order."

Natsu looked away when I pulled myself out from the booth; Levy and Cana quickly getting caught up in something else worthy of their time. Frankly, I didn't know why I was so nervous approaching him. It wasn't as if I had anything to be nervous about anymore. But still I couldn't stop my mind from wandering.

When he'd dropped me home that night, I had quickly accepted that I would probably never see him again. After we had finished, he had quickly sorted himself, his belt buckle – once again – being the only sound that deafened me as I'd scrambled about for my underwear. We had sat there for maybe an hour before he finally brought the old car to life; the sound of silence our only music as he drove me home.

I had chosen to do what I had done that night for none other than myself, so why I had spent the remainder of it in tears, I'll never know.

As I approached the counter, I hadn't thought about what I was going to say to him, the debate on whether I was going to speak to him at all too busy unfolding in my mind. Four feet away and I was still weighing up the chances of making a clean exit without bumping anyone.

But then he turned around, and his eyes lit up ever so slightly and it calmed me.

". . . Hi, Natsu." It had been a hesitant greeting, my voice hitching ever so slightly as his name spilled out with a surprising amount of ease.

For a second I didn't think he was going to reply at all; something I was realizing was a common occurrence when it came to him.

"Hey, Lucy." But I couldn't deny I was glad when he did. "How've you been?"

I had never been a fan of small talk; or particularly good at it for that matter, but considering the nature of our relationship – if I could even call it that – small talk was probably most appropriate at that time.

"Good." I nodded, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. ". . . Good . . . and you?"

"Good."

"Good?"

"Good."

Laughing had seemed stupid in that moment, but I hadn't been able to stop myself. A disgruntled, tuneless melody of a laugh.

Natsu didn't laugh.

"That's . . . good." He must have thought I was the biggest idiot to walk the face of the earth in that moment.

We stood in silence after that, neither one of us knowing what to say to the other. Natsu looked away first when Bisca came over; her smile so big and so bright I was almost convinced that she knew the connection between us.

"Hi Luce," she beamed, her tattered notepad in hand, "what can I get you today, Sweetie?"

I had known Bisca Connell my whole life. Watched her daughter for her too. Every second Friday I spend my night playing video games with little Asuka so she could have a date night with her husband.

A strikingly beautiful woman, she stood no more than two inches above me; a smile constantly etched on her face. But behind the friendly smile, there was glimmer in her eye. One that shone only to those who knew her well enough. One that whispered your darkest secrets back at you. She was nice to the right people – Bisca was – don't get me wrong, but I was fortunate that my mom had been one of those right people.

"Hey, Bisca." I smiled softly. "Just the usual for us."

Scribbling down our order, she glanced at Natsu out the corner of her eye. I could tell that she was weighing up all the scenarios. All the reasons on why I was talking to him. But instead of commenting she just plastered on that overly zealous smile of hers, tore off the order and handed through the hatch to Bickslow.

"Your order won't be too much longer." She told Natsu, her tone changing ever so slightly.

All he did was nod, his gaze barely meeting hers before she turned back to face me.

"So, how're you doing, Sweetie?" She also had a habit of speaking to me like I was twelve years old. "How's your dad and Ashley doing?"

I became hyper aware of Natsu at that moment. This guy didn't even know my last name and he was about to be subjected to the Tales of the Heartfilia Clan.

"They're doing ok," I nodded, my cheeks burning as I tucked a lock behind my ear, "Mavis is home. She came back to help out for a bit."

Hopefully that would be a good enough reply.

Leaning on the counter, Bisca gave a wide-eyed grin. "I know, I bumped into her in the store last week. She was saying you got into Edolas! That's fantastic!"

"Well, I'm not in yet." I shrugged it off. "The talent scouts are coming in a couple of months to watch me dance. I can't guarantee I'll even get past that stage, so I've registered with the Fairy Academy just to be on the safe side. Got a job working at Gildarts to help save for it too."

"Aw, you're a good girl, you'll get in." It stunned me that she thought my behaviour alone was enough to get me into a school like Edolas. "How'd your dad take the news about working in a place like Gildarts?"

It was a no secret that my dad had an issue with Gildarts Clive. Gildarts had been the town drunk back in the day, the two of them usually butting heads whenever they would meet. He would stumble around – bar to bar, liquor store to liquor store – a drink his only goal. Unfortunately, one day, however, Gildarts thought he would get further in the car. Rammed right into the back of my mom as she was coming back from an appointment with the midwife. There was no serious damage done, Mom, and her two buns as she had liked to call us, all unscathed.

Gildarts sobered up pretty quickly after that.

His wife, Cornelia, had been pregnant with Cana at the time. I guess it had all just hit a bit too close to home. When Cana and I had met in school all of Dad's fears resurfaced. Like father like daughter. But Gildarts didn't want Cana turning out like him. He knew she liked the taste of alcohol a little too much. That's why he offered me the job and not her.

"He wasn't the happiest." I admitted. "But a job's a job these days. Can't be too picky. I've actually got a shift tonight."

I didn't miss the glance that Bisca shot in Natsu's direction, even if he did.

"Just you be careful in there." She sounded like a mom. "You don't know who you'll get through the doors that late at night."

Out the corner of my eye I could see Natsu's knuckles turn white at her silent insinuation. Apparently, he had seen her glance.

I smiled. "Don't worry. I never get a customer in after eleven . . . Tonight should be no different."

She seemed satisfied with that, the ping from the bell at the hatch drawing her away to collect Natsu's order. As she turned away, I took my chance to look at him. But he didn't look back. Instead, he took his food, nodded his thanks and left.

He didn't speak to me. He didn't look at me. But I didn't miss when his hand brushed the back of mines as he turned.

I knew that was his goodbye.

. . . . . .

I had a dream the night I slept with Natsu. A dream that I was standing at the riverbank. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing and I had been happy. When I looked in the river, the water had been as clear as newly polished crystal, and my reflection had stared back at me smiling and looking pretty.

I had basked in the sunshine for a while, my white dress blowing in the wind as I had danced amongst the daisies. I was in paradise. I had spun and spun and spun, my arms outstretched, palms face up towards the heavens and I didn't think I was ever going to stop.

I didn't think I could.

But then I had seen him. Natsu, standing on the other side of the river, one hand in his pocket of his leather jacket and a bottle of bud in the other.

I had waved to him, called out his name but he had shown no sign of noticing me. I had searched for a bridge to cross and I couldn't find one, but I wasn't going to let it stop me.

Determination coursing throughout me, I had taken a step into the river; the water warm and inviting. Then I had taken another step, and another and another until I was totally submerged. As I had pushed forward, the sky clouded over, the suns warm rays becoming a distant memory. But I didn't stop. Not until I had reached the muddy bank.

I had stumbled out, clambering up the slippery slope towards him. He never moved from his spot, but eventually, I reached him.

He had only smiled down at me, one which I had happily returned.

"I did it." Had been my panted words, my hands grasping hold of the front of his jacket. "I did it."

Looking down at me, he had just continued to smile, the suns light completely gone.

"But what have you achieved from it, Luce?"

My smiled fell then, his words knocking me back.

Inching further away from him, I had been left dumbstruck. I watched on as more and more people began to emerge from the trees behind him. My Dad and Mavis. Ashley and the Dragion boy. Bisca and her husband, Alzack.

Levy.

Cana.

Evergreen.

Aquarius.

And not one of them had smiled. They had just stared at me in disgust.

Looking down at myself, I saw that my white dress had turned black. The river's mud and dirt caking every inch of it. I had felt embarrassed. I had felt ashamed. But I had still done it. I had still made my way through the river.

But for what, I now didn't know.

It was the photo of the river hanging behind the cash register which brought me back to that dream. I couldn't understand why Gildarts insisted on its occupancy in the store, but he did. For ten minutes my gaze had been wandering between it and the clock. At eleven forty, my predictions had proven correct. Not one customer in over an hour had stumbled in through those doors.

But I wasn't one for complaining about that.

Grabbing the broom, I decided that making myself useful would probably help the rest of the shift go in a little quicker. I had already swept twice, but with the state of the floors, you couldn't tell.

By eleven forty-five, I was done.

It was closing in on midnight when I found myself, once again, staring up at the picture of the river and replaying the awful dream in my mind. I couldn't help but wonder just how much Gildarts would miss it if something unfortunate were to happen to it.

But I was too chicken to ever find out.

The sound of the buzzer screeching out as the door opened, I'll admit, surprised me. Twelve oh-one was now the new record for the latest I had seen anyone come trudging in.

With a small sigh – and one final glance at the picture – I turned to give my generic, overly enthusiastic greeting to whoever had decided to grace me with their presence. But for the second time that day I was left stunned at the sight of him.

"Natsu. . ." Was all I managed to spit out. "What're you doing here?"

But he didn't answer. Instead he turned, glanced out the glass door into the empty street, and flipped the sign in the window over to 'closed'.

My heart was going a million miles to the gallon as he slowly turned back and began to approach me. But this time, it felt good. He came to a stop mere inches from my side, and without saying a word, reached in behind me to switch the lights out.

With the place in darkness, we were at no risk of being disturbed.

I didn't stop him when he dipped down and kissed me. I didn't stop him as he took my hand and silently led me further into the store.

I just followed him.

Through into the stock room, and back into the river.

. . . . . .

A/N: Well guys, what did you think? My hearts racing every time I go to post a new chapter. It really has been a while XD

Please let me know by leaving a wee review. Many thanks my lovelies xoxox