Hello! Chapter 2 is up and ready to go! I'm trying to get as much done as I possibly can while I have a computer at my disposal.

So please enjoy! Thanks for the three people who reviewed the first chapter Ushindeshi, Maddog-booknerd, and NaluGrey. I love reading all the reactions from you guys and as always please leave a comment, I try to reply to them all.

Enjoy!


She sat in the darkness of her room, her phone still in her hand but hanging down to her side. She was alone… left to consult with her own thoughts and actions. What had she done?! The conversation with her father was a blur almost like a dream but she knew it was real. This weekend was going to suck…

Lucy lifted the phone into her view and her fingers maneuvered the keys until she hovered over Natsu's name. She breathed in a quick huff of air and began typing : 'Hey, Natsu, it's Lucy.' She paused… what to say?

With no words coming to mind, she hit send. Great, now it's out in the universe now. Panicked and fearing the worst, Lucy walked into her kitchen and found a bottle of wine. She had just gotten done pouring herself a glass when her phone sounded. Lucy glanced at the screen to see Natsu had replied. A tap on the screen once more unlocked the phone to show the message: 'I know who it is, weirdo. :P'

Lucy was able to release that breath she had been holding in for what felt like forever. At least he still has a sense of humor… for now. 'How have you been? Are you excited for the festival this weekend?' he asked. Well, down the rabbit's hole we go, Lucy thought as she took a long swig of the alcohol. 'I'm excited as I can be.'

'That bad, huh?'

'Oh, you don't even know the half of it.' She replied. Yet.

' We can catch up at the airport.' The airport? 'I'm assuming you make a connection in Clover Town too right?' Lucy raced to her room where her itinerary was lying on her desk. She grasped for the ticket and saw she in fact did connect through Clover Town. Duh! Lucy thought, he's only one town over from me.

'Yep! I will meet you by the gate.'

'Sounds good! Can't wait to see you; it's been too long.' 2 years too long… how on earth would she make this work?!

Natsu smiled as he returned the phone to its charging cable. He used to spend every day with Lucy up until High School. They were as close as two people could be without dating that is. They were the best of friends… but drifted after high school.

He sighed in frustration, maybe this week would turn out ok if all his friends were there. Going back home without the job, the house, the girl… was completely embarrassing, especially when he had everything in high school.

Natsu was the captain of the football team, had the coolest car, had a great job, had good grades and was dating the most beautiful girl in school, Lisanna Straus. Well, when graduation came that all seemed to dissolve rather quickly. His car died and with his crappy temp job, all he could afford was an old junker. Lisanna didn't want to do the 'long distance' thing so they broke up and Natsu's life now seemed far from awesome. And to make matters worse, he had to return home to his very successful family and deal with the shame of not living up to the legacy.

He decided to not worry about it further and try to get a few hours of sleep before his fears became his reality.

Her knee bounced wildly as she sat in her seat, sandwiched between two strangers (who were very uncomfortable with Lucy's actions). Not only was she fidgeting in her seat, but between her chewing her nails, she kept sipping on the tiny bottles of alcohol she purchased from the stewardess. She would need a lot of liquid courage for what lied before her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are beginning to start our descent into Clover Town. Please put your tray tables up and bring your seat to the forward position. Welcome to Clover town!" All Lucy wanted to do was punch the announcer; the pure joy in her voice just stirred that anger and frustration Lucy was brewing within her.

Turns out Lucy's flight got in early and instead of freaking out the entire time at the gate waiting for Natsu, she decided to burn off some steam at the bar. The stewardesses had cut her off so she simply picked up where she left off.

Natsu walked off the plane and strode over to the board to find which gate his next flight would be taking off from. His eyes glanced over all the locations until he found it. Okay, Gate C6. Natsu shifted the backpack he wore and began walking in that direction. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and began typing a message to Lucy when he was caught off guard by an obnoxious laugh.

His eyes went wide and he stopped dead in his tracks, much to the disappointment of those behind him. He glanced over to his left, towards where the laugh was coming from and saw the sign on the store… a lounge with a bar. He breathed an uneasy sigh and strode into the lounge.

His eyes scanned the restaurant until he saw her. She was obviously drunk and was laughing and hanging on some stranger at the bar top (who was not enthused). His mind flashed back to the only other time he had seen Lucy this drunk… it was the night she found out her mom died. Something was obviously wrong.

Natsu carefully walked towards Lucy as the prey would walking past its sleeping enemy. As if he made one wrong move, Lucy whipped her head around to see Natsu standing there. Her eyes immediately went wide and the biggest smile grew on her face. Oh no, was the only thought Natsu could get out before Lucy ran full force at Natsu and jumped into his arms. He had just enough time to brace himself before the impact and he was barely able to keep them both on their feet.

"Natsuuuuu~ I'm so happy to see you!" she cooed as she rubbed her head in the crook of his neck.

"Y-yeah… you too, Luce."

A bartender from behind the bar approached the two, "Does this one belong to you?"

Natsu looked down at the blonde who was so very out of it. "Ummm… well, I guess so?"

"She's drunk. She needs to leave the restaurant immediately." Natsu nodded, collected their things and supported Lucy as they hobbled to the diner inside the airport. He dropped Lucy into her chair before he walked around the other side of the table to his. He hadn't even sat down before Lucy slipped out of her seat and onto the floor.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked as he rushed over to her. Lucy tried to speak but all she could do was laugh. He sat her back up and made sure she was stable before he returned to his chair.

Lucy leaned forward on the table and rested her chin in her hand, "It is so good to see you, Natsu." With her other hand she reached out and touched his arm, notifying her he was really here. "Are you really that worried about going home that you got drunk? It can't be that bad…"

Lucy shook her head but had to quickly stop so she didn't get sick, "Natsu…"

"I mean you seem like you're doing well; you've got the job you've been wanting for a while and Levy tells me you have been dating a great guy for a while." Confusion grew on his face, "Which reminds me, here is he?" Lucy slammed her head down on the table and buried her face is her hair and arms.

"Lucy?" Lucy began mumbling something unintelligible but was muffled by her arms. "What?" Natsu moved his chair so he was sitting beside her and leaned in to hear her. His eyes went wide and he leaned away from her, "He was married?!"

Lucy sat up to speak to Natsu, "How could I be so stupid?! I'm such a loser." Lucy hid her face in her hands. Natsu rubbed her back in an effort to soothe her, "No, Luce, you're not the loser, he is. What kind of scum dates someone else behind their spouse's back?! At least you didn't bring him home."

Lucy's face began to contort into tears once more and she buried her face in Natsu's shoulder. "That's not all…" she whined. Natsu wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. "What else is wrong, Luce?"

"It's my dad… he's dying." Natsu's eyes went wide. Dying?! He knew Jude had grown weak in his elder years but that's a normal part of aging right?! He also knew Jude put his health by the wayside after Layla passed away. No wonder Lucy had been drinking… she found out her dad was dying the same time she discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her with his wife?! Scratch his pity party, Lucy got hit with the unfortunate stick and hard.

"My dad said all he wanted was to meet my future husband before he passed," she cried. Natsu sighed, he remembered how important marriage was to Jude… well to both their families actually. "Well, at least you won't be alone in the Disappointing Your Parents club, I'm right there with you."

Natsu noticed Lucy slowly calmed down, only because she seemed to be falling asleep. He was always amazed at how fast she crashed after she had been drinking. "Not quite…" she yawned.

Lucy snuggled herself further into Natsu's chest as she slowly drifted off to sleep, "I didn't want to disappoint him so I told him we were engaged."

"YOU WHAT?!"