It's been about two weeks since the tour came to an end. The band is back home and are happy to be home. The tour may have ended, but the band is still going. Now that the tour is over, Levy was able to take the band to another level.
"We're going to star in a movie?!" Natsu said as they stood right outside a studio.
"Levy, you're awesome!" Gajeel said as he hugged her and lifted her right off her feet.
"Okay. Put me down." Levy said. Gajeel realized what he was doing and set her down with him a little embarrassed. "Anyway, yeah. They're making a movie and they originally wanted to use our songs in it. Long story short, we worked things out so that we can actually be in the movie, and Natsu...you're the main star."
"Are you serious?!" Natsu said with excitement.
"Figures." Gray said with annoyance. The band went inside and had a look around the place. They had a lot of fun being in the band, but the fact that they're going to be in a movie is unbelievable.
"There's one thing I should warn you guys about." Levy said.
"Is something wrong?" Erza asked.
"It's the director. He's good, but he can be a little hard to work with. I think he's a perfectionist or something." Levy said. "So it might be best to try and go with what he says."
"How bad can he be?" Gray said. They're about to find out as they entered a meeting room.
"There you are!" The director said. "You were suppose to be here precisely two minutes ago. We are burning time, time is money, and we have a lot to get done!" Now they see what Levy was trying to tell them.
"Sorry...?" Natsu said.
"We'll try better next time." Erza said as they tried to go with it like Erza said. They all had a seat and were being handed scripts of the movie.
"Now let's begin." The director said.
"Wait. We can't start. Lucy isn't here yet." Natsu said. The director already appeared annoyed.
"Where is she?" Levy asked.
"I don't know. She seemed nervous. I'm gonna go look for her." Natsu said as he got up and headed for the door, but Lucy came running in.
"Sorry. I'm late, I know." Lucy said.
"Hey." Natsu said as he hugged her and kissed her. "We're just glad you're here." Their actions did not go unnoticed by the director as he saw them interact as they sat down.
"Wait a moment. Are you two an item?" The director asked.
"Yeah. We've been dating since our tour ended." Natsu said. Those have probably been the happiest two weeks of Natsu's life.
"No. No. No. You must break up." The director said.
"What?" Natsu said.
"Why?" Lucy said as they really didn't like the idea.
"Because the characters you are playing are a couple that break up in the movie." The director said. "I want emotion out there. That means you need to really break up and put those feelings out there."
"No way." Natsu said. "Levy, I'm not going along with that."
"I'm sure we can work something out where everyone is happy." Levy said.
"Truth be told...maybe I shouldn't be in the movie." Lucy said with everyone looking at her. "I just don't think I'm really an actress. It's one thing with our music videos. It's another with an actual movie."
"Come on." Natsu said as he held her hand. "You're going to be fine."
"If anyone should be taken out for being a bad actress, it's Erza." Gray said.
"Hey! I happen to have great love for the theater!" Erza said.
"I'm sure you do, but remember our plays for our parents in elementary school?" Gray said.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Erza said as she was trying not to remember. They barely started and there is already difficulties in the movie.
"Please!" The director called and got their attention. "There is no time for tomfoolery. I do not like working with novice actors, but it would seem that there is no other choice. Now, I want you all to focus on the movie and actually try to get it done. Do you all think you can actually manage that?" They could, but that doesn't mean they have to enjoy working with him.
...
Natsu's Apartment
"Oh man. That guy has a serious stick far up his butt." Natsu said as he and Lucy hanged at his apartment. "Who does that guy think he is, telling us to break up?"
"Don't worry about him." Lucy said as she leaned into his side. "Levy's a smart girl. I'm sure she'll work something out."
"By the way, is everything okay?" Natsu asked. "You seemed pretty nervous about the whole thing."
"Yeah. It's just... I'm actually a little anxious about something else." Lucy said. "I actually signed up for this music competition before I found out about the movie."
"You did? Sounds great." Natsu said.
"Not really." Lucy said. "It's for classical music. You wouldn't be interested in it. The competition is happening tomorrow and I've been rehearsing, but I'm not sure I'm going to have time for the movie."
"Come on. You're a smart girl yourself. You don't need to be taken out of the movie." Natsu said, but Lucy didn't seem so sure. "You're going to be fine. In fact, I think I might have a way to keep your mind off your troubles." Both of them moved closer to each other.
"Natsu! You here?" Zeref called as he entered the apartment and ruined their moment. He came in and spotted the two of them. "Hey, guys." He greeted, but he realized he probably walked in on the wrong time. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Yeah..." Natsu said.
"Sorry, but I heard about the whole movie." Zeref said. "Are you really going to let a certain member of your band going to take part in the movie?"
"Wait. Who you talking about because the director already has a problem with me and Lucy being in this together." The director said.
"I mean Erza." Zeref said.
"I've never seen Erza act before. How bad can she really be?" Lucy asked.
...
The Next Day
"I... I... I will go... I will go and..." Erza kept stuttering. The camera was rolling right in front of her and it was like she was frozen. Gajeel and Gray watched as she was falling apart.
"Oof. She is bad." Gajeel said.
"Yeah. Erza does love theater, but she is no actress." Gray said. "She can't act when she's in front of a camera or an audience."
"I don't get it." Gajeel said. "She has no problem when we're doing our music videos or when we perform in front of a crowd. How come she's having problems now?"
"I'm not really sure. It's a mystery, but I think it's best left unsolved." Gray said. Erza wasn't doing a great job at acting and the director was not having any of it.
"Cut!" The director called out. "You can barely get a sentence out there. Work on that!" The director just walked away and got Erza plenty mad.
"How about I work on something else." Erza said as she readied her arm to attack him, Gajeel and Gray moved quickly and grabbed her before she could really do anything.
"Forget him, Erza." Gray said.
"Yeah. Let's just get out of here." Gajeel said and the three of them just got out of there. As the three of them walked out, Natsu and Lucy met up with them in the halls.
"Hey, guys. Lucy just won that classical competition. First place." Natsu said.
"Wait. That competition you told us about?" Gray questioned. "That's great."
"Not surprising. Lucy is fantastic on the piano." Erza said.
"So what did you win?" Gajeel said.
"Nothing really. They just gave me a trophy." Lucy said.
"Still, you earned it. Now you have plenty of time for the movie." Natsu said. The others seem excited, but Lucy didn't looked as thrilled. That's when Levy came by and spotted them.
"There you are. You dropped this, Lucy." Levy said as she handed a pamphlet to her. Lucy grabbed it and stuck it in her purse. Luckily, the others seemed distracted. "Is that what you really won?"
"Yeah, but don't say anything." Lucy said, but Levy doesn't get why Lucy wants to keep what she really won a secret.
...
Rehearsal
They began shooting and Lucy was hoping for the best. She was nervous about filming, but is that really what she's nervous about? She kept thinking about what to do as she changed into a school uniform for the scene they're about to shoot takes place in a private school. As everyone was getting ready, she took a look at the pamphlet that Levy returned to her.
"Hey." Natsu said as he came up to her, but she got spooked. "Sorry. You okay?"
"Yeah." Lucy said as she hid the pamphlet in a book. "I guess I'm still a little nervous."
"Don't be. You're going to be okay. There's nothing to be nervous about." Natsu said. Lucy really hoped that was true.
"Places, people! Places!" The director called out. "We are at the scene where your two characters break up. So actually try to make it look like you're breaking up for real. Try and put some emotion out there."
"He's telling us to put feelings out there when it seems like he has none?" Natsu said with Lucy laughing.
"Ready?!" The director called as they all got set. "Action!"
"Are you keeping something from me?" Natsu acted.
"It's not as simple as you think." Lucy said.
"I think it sounds pretty simple. You're keeping something from me and I don't like secrets." Natsu said. Out of all the lines to be said, it had to be something like that with how Lucy was feeling. It made things harder for her to say what she should tell him and it's now affecting her acting as she couldn't say her lines.
"Cut!" The director shouted and they stopped filming. "What was that?"
"I'm sorry. I just...froze." Lucy said.
"Urgh... Amateur actors." The director groaned.
"Hey, lay off her." Natsu said.
"Just try to do it right." The director said as he walked away.
"Don't worry about him. You're doing fine." Natsu said. "You just need to say some lines and say it like you really mean it. You can do this."
"I don't know. I'm just not sure about all of this." Lucy said as she moved her arm around and the pamphlet she was hiding fell right out. Natsu spotted it and grabbed it.
"What's this?" Natsu asked and Lucy was afraid of this. "A pamphlet for a cruise? Lucy, what is this?"
"It's...It's actually the prize I won for the competition." Lucy said with some fear of what might happen. "I get to go on a cruise trip on a four-star yacht."
"You and your family?" Natsu asked.
"Actually...just me." Lucy said. Natsu wasn't so sure he liked this.
"You're going by yourself? Why didn't you tell me about this?" Natsu said.
"Because I'll be gone for a while." Lucy said. "The truth is that this is the reason I wanted to be taken out of the movie. If I go, there's no way I can do the movie with how long the cruise will take."
"How long is a while?" Natsu asked as he really didn't like where this was going.
"I'm not sure. Maybe somewhere between...a month or two." Lucy said.
"Two months?!" Natsu said as he threw everything on the floor and got everyone's attention. "You're going to be gone for possibly two months?! It feels like we just started dating and you might be leaving?! That also means summer will almost be over by the time you get back!" Lucy was afraid something like this might happen.
"Wait! Start rolling! Start rehearsing! I see emotions!" The director said. Actually appropriate given the lines earlier.
"Are you keeping something from me?" Natsu said and he was really asking this time.
"It's not as simple as you think." Lucy said.
"I think it sounds pretty simple. You're keeping something from me and I don't like secrets." Natsu said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen, but I just... I don't know what to do." Lucy said.
"So where does this leave us? Are you saying we might break up?" Natsu asked. Lucy just walked away in tears. That's how it was suppose to go in the script, but it felt like it really happened.
"Cut. Print. Perfect!" The director said. At least one person got something out of this. Natsu just got Lucy and now it feels like he's losing her.