Chapter Ten

Hide and Seek

Lucy needed more time to wrap her mind around... these images that kept her tossing and turning in bed last night. Dreams of him in a magical forest at night, dressed in a rugged black leather trench coat, displaying - if she dared to admit - his lean stretch of tanned pecs and abs, all in firm contact with support against her. His protective arms would hold her close, giving her access to unravel his scarf hidden beneath the collar. His tender eyes warming her face as she drew closer to his lips.

Her face was warm all right. And she inhaled a fresh wave of air. She shook her head and clapped her cheeks.

Pull yourself together, woman! He's your best friend. Not your boyfriend!

And not only that, he was also her co-worker. They got a romantic fantasy play to produce and a client to keep happy. And if that meant she had to cope by avoiding him for the next three months, as long as reasonably possible, she would. With a gulp, she searched around for the perfect hiding place. A place that could cover her natural scent and mask her trail with other distracting fragrances. An idea came, along with her pride.

She broke into a run towards Magnolia's food marketplace. Into the hubbub of eccentric pedestrians and farm animal carriages bustling down streets and sidewalks, shop tenders hollered sales of vegetable and fruit crops, seafood and sushi, and all sorts of meat fresh off the grill and onto appetizing sample platters. Lucy hunkered down into a brisk walk, following the crowd. The clean chop of meat cleavers and sharp slicing of spatulas over sizzling tabletops sounded from her right. Chefs in flashy uniforms flipped knives and created volcanoes for the tourists' entertainment. Cooking fumes escaped from the open front windows and into the atmosphere. She stood close to the hot aromatic cloud of fried rice, grilled teriyaki, salmon, and red peppers for a good minute.

Then, she passed by a boutique on her right, shielding her eyes from the shopping window, avoiding the temptation of purchasing something on sale or clearance. When she reached a commercial stand selling beach balls, swimming pieces, towels, and picnic blankets, a gorgeous sarong caught her eye. It was tie-dyed in different shades of pink that would go so well with her bikini piece.

"Like omigosh, who would want to wear this piece of blanket on the beach?" One of the two fashionistas criticized the sarong. "It looks like a giant used bubblegum wrapper."

A bubblegum wrapper that could hide her face from sight, she thought. She brushed past them and greeted the discouraged tender whose name tag read Mr. Bikinisworth.

"I'll take that, please." She touched the holographic screen pad, selected the item through the browsing section, and punched in her payment info. The numbers glowed the price of 1,000 jewels and she accepted the transaction, bringing a wide cheeky grin on the mustached tender's face. Normally, she would bargain for it if she wasn't under such a time crunch. She wrapped the sarong around herself in style, covering from head to toe, as the girls in designer sunglasses stared at her in disgusted shock. Upon leaving them behind, Lucy heard one remarked, "I'll have what she's wearing."

She smirked. One of the perks of belonging to a famous guild was inspiring mean people to change for the better.

"Look, mom! It's Salamander!" A little boy exclaimed, pulling at the hem of his mother's dress, pointing at a distance.

Her heart fluttered to her throat when Natsu walked into the crowd. All eyes set on him and paved a pathway for him to pass through like a parting sea. He stopped in his tracks, sniffed the air, and scanned the area with his eyes.

Lucy hid her face, feeling his eyes glossing over her. Her pulse beat louder in her eardrums as she attempted to walk forward as casually as possible in the colorful crowd of tourists.

She dared another glance over her shoulder. Natsu had stopped to watch the chefs for a moment. She seized the opportunity to back herself into the nearest alleyway. Then, she bumped into a trash can. The metal bin crashed onto the pavement, spilling empty wine bottles, spoiled pasta, knocking over plastic support beams and rolls of tarp laid against the brick wall of a restaurant.

Her gut clenched, squeezing out a curse word under her breath. She sprinted deeper into the alleyway, the sound of heels clicking on stone echoed around her until she rounded the corner with her back pressed against the wall. Panting with hot beads of sweat sticking every fabric onto her skin, she peered over and quickly retreated. Within seconds, Natsu skidded around the corner and saw the toppled trash can. He st

She listened to him sniffing followed by a pondering silence. "Lucy!"

Her heart thundered and shook her body.

"I know you're in there!" His sandals shuffled towards her. "I can still hear you!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her lips into a thin line. She refused to allow his bluff to tempt her into surrender. Even if he'd already figured out her avoidance from him, surrendering meant confessing to him, and the truth could destroy everything they built together since the day he'd given her a new family in Fairy Tail.

The shuffle over stone grew louder with every walking step.

Now what? If she made a run for it, he would hear her. If she remained here, he would find her. Her fingers reached for the keys again. Could anyone help her? Or would Aquarius, her celestial spirit, accuse her of being too needy again? She had already turned down Levy and Loki's advice. Maybe... she should consider.

He neared the corner and she opened her mouth. A hollow gong sounded from a distance, bouncing against concrete and brick walls in waves.

"Agh!" Natsu hissed, covering his ears. "Stupid bell!"

Saved by the Cathedral bell! Lucy chased down the source, its echo covering the sound of her rapid steps, rounded the corner, and stumbled onto the wide plaza of the Kardia Cathedral. Her eyes darted for more hiding places and landed on a bridge. The man-made channel flowed from the natural stream that lead to the outskirts of the East Forest.

Another idea formed.

She pushed forward, shouldering her way through the crowd of citizens pouring onto the plaza from the worship service. Crossing the bridge, she racked her mind on how to confuse Natsu and shake him off her trail. She followed upstream into the forest and rounded a few trees where she found an open clearing next to a pebbled riverbank. The perfect spot to execute her escape plan. She unraveled the pink sarong and stripped down to the bare minimum. She stepped into the water and squealed with a shiver. Even under the hottest afternoon, the melting snow of Mt. Hakobe kept a wonderful diversity of amphibians, insects, and flying fish cool and happy. With a whimper, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, holding onto mind over matter, and dove straight into the water. Persevering through the pore-tightening depths of colorful fish, rock-like river turtles, rainbow arrays of rocks and discarded spiral shells of crustaceans, she swam through the tall bed of dark green aquatic weeds and surfaced. Gasping for air, she clung onto the boulder, teeth-chattering. As much as she wanted to get out of the water, she needed to wait for her plan to work.

After a moment had passed, Natsu appeared from rounding the dense bushes and trees. His eyes followed the glistening stream and finally rested on her clothes strewn on the ground. He stepped over the knee-high tree roots, leaning forward to follow her trail from the clothes to the water. Straightening up, he surveyed the riverbank. Lucy ducked behind the boulder, slipping deeper till the water leveled to her lips. Only the cacophony of amphibious croaking, dragonflies buzzing, and freshwater lapping against rocks filled the silence. Then, the crunching of pebbles under his sandals became faint. She breathed relief through her nose. Maybe he'd given up, her absence sending a clear message.

"Natsu! She's over here!"

Lucy jumped with a squeal. Towering over her on the boulder, Happy grinned victoriously of locating the coward.

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