Who knew there were so many daily occurrences that could halt the writing of my dear fan fiction? Luckily, I got this to be published on time! (Not really) I won't make any promises that the updates will always be on time, but I'll try my best!
~ Lucy's POV : Acalypha Zoo :~
"Your father is dying here in the hospital."
Sweat dripped down my face, probably staining my top, as adrenaline filled me from my feet to the top of my head. Natsu probably "sensed" my distress, and got up from the table. Though he was out of my vision, I knew he did.
"Par..don?" I barely got out.
"Yes, in Magnolia Hospital. We predict the time of death is about in two hours, but if his suffering gets worse..-" The nurse's voice failed to reach me any longer. I dropped my arm back to my side, not caring to turn it off. I fell on my knees, ignoring the pain that spread through them, caused by the hard, cold stone of the, zoo's ground, which I now considered to be the worst place on Earth.
"Luigi?" said Natsu, coming near me.
Loke and Gray along with Erza stood, but kept their distance.
"How could he have been suffering this much?" I spoke, but my words were barely audible. "How could he have kept this much from me?"
"Lucy? Are you alright?" Asked Erza.
Gray walked up and snatched my phone from the ground. He yelled into the receiver, "What did you say to Lucy?!"
Natsu slowly, but surely, neared me, and kneeled down to put his hand on my back. His touch was comforting, warm, and sent a feeling throughout me that made me stop moving. Even though I didn't want his pity, I did not jerk away from his simple, yet soothing gesture.
Gray bolted up after the heated conversation with the nurse on the line.
"You guys need to get Lucy to Magnolia Hospital. The nurse said that her father is dying there. Get a napkin and a pen, I need to write the information down," he said.
Erza returned with the supplies while Natsu and Loke helped me stand.
"Me and Loke'll take her to the hospital. You guys stay back and take care of the group," said Natsu. "Erza, assist Lisanna in leading the rest of the group." He turned to Loke. "I'll drive while you talk to Lucy."
~ Natsu's POV ~
I took the lead while Loke lead Lucy along by her hands through the slight crowd of the zoo. I stopped occasionally to peek at a map now and then, and Lucy wanted to sit down half way through.
We stopped at a garden-area with a stone-brick outline, letting Lucy take a breather. I knelt down to her eye-level.
"Luce, I know you're exhausted, but you need to get it together if we're gonna get to the hospital. I won't stop you from resting for a couple of seconds, but you're gonna need to focus. Be careful that you don't trip get lost, okay Luce?"
Lucy brought her hand up to her forehead, and pushed her golden locks away from her face. She chuckled dryly. "It's impossible for you to address me by my actual name, huh?"
I grinned, trying to get her to smile for real. "I guess not, but Luce is your nickname, now, for me." I moved closer to her face. "Can you stand?"
She took my hands and used me as support. "Yeah," she said, simply.
Loke glared at me, looking both angry and disappointed. "What's the use for me if I can't get the girl?" He said loudly.
I ignored him, and reached the exit. After checking out, we made our way to the bus. With less people, it somehow seemed closer.
"Who was the bus driver, again?" I asked Loke. "Is she still there? In the bus, I mean?"
"Kinana. I doubt it, I think I saw her head out with the rest of the group," he responded. "You know how to drive a bus, right?"
"Uhh..." I remembered my four years of experience with driving, helping to cope with my severe motion sickness, since it isn't so bad when I'm at the wheel, but I didn't remember giant yellow vehicles fit for fifty people on my list of cars driven.
"Can we call a cab?"
"That'll take too long," answered Loke.
"An ambulance?"
"Unless we break the girl's leg or break your empty head, then the answer will be no."
"Then let's improvise," I said, my eyes growing wide with excitement, my pulse quickening.
Without a second thought, I increased my stride, still in the speed range for Lucy to hold up, and we reached the bus in the ridiculously large parking lot.
"Keys?" Asked Loke.
Sweat beaded on my brow. "Shit.." I searched around in my pockets. "I think Erza gave me one..."
I pulled out a small key, and fitted into the double-doors. Surely enough, the lock clicked.
"Voila~~" I said, opening the doors. "Convenient enough, eh?"
Hopping in, I led my way to the wheel. "This is... unique... to what I'm used to."
"Why didn't you think to bring Kinana?" Loke asked.
"Shut up! I can figure this out! Now work your ladies' man magic on Lucy to cheer her up, or whatever."
"Then I'm going to need some privacy with her," Loke said, smirking.
I blushed. "I meant tell her some stories or jokes you tell your bimbos you date." I put the key into the ignition, and turned it. The loud sound of the engine startled me, and immediately lurched my stomach, but I felt better after I moved the bus out (and accidentally bumped into the curb) to start driving.
"How much time did we waste?" I asked Loke, who was looking up directions on his phone next to Lucy, who was sitting on the front-row seat on the left.
"Half an hour. We have an hour left to get to the hospital, not depending on traffic clearing up..." He glanced at the napkin. "Gray said that they're betting on two hours for Jude-san to live, right?"
Lucy nodded. "But I doubt that is the actual limit. These types of things are generously spared."
I shrugged. "As long as we get there in time."
Lucy sighed. I couldn't see what she was doing, and I refrained from looking in the mirror, but I do know that she chuckled a little bit.
"I have never been under this much stress since my mother was in the hospital," she said, softly. "I can't process the fact that two people who hardly even know about my life are helping me see a man who they haven't met and is going to live for a little more that an hour..." she sighed. "You're really something."
Those words always stuck out to me for some reason, now that I looked at the past. She said it so earnestly, she sounded like she was about to fall asleep, or in such focus to express her feelings. ("Either that or she was really high," later remarked Loke. I didn't deny it.)
"Watch the road, you dumbass!" Yelled Loke, who interrupted my thoughtful pondering.
I swerved from the noisy lane-separators, or whatever they're called, and continued to drive the giant bus on the correct lane.
"This thing is impossible to drive!" I yelled.
"This was a mistake.." murmured Lucy.
~ Lucy's POV ~
After about twelve chances we almost got into an accident, not including the times that Natsu wanted to pull over to puke, we got to the hospital in an hour, giving us thirty minutes to see and talk with my dad.
"I bet he's been suffering with so much pain so far..." I whispered, holding my forearms. "Because I was late."
"Are we gonna chatter, or actually get our objective?" Said Loke.
Natsu nudged him. "You can take some time, Luce."
"No, Loke's right, we gotta go."
Loke, Natsu and I followed the directions to the room using the napkin of information that Gray gave us.
"Jude?" I said, entering the room instructed.
I knew it was the correct room the second I opened the door. The cries of the maids and the conversations of the troubled butlers all around gave me a flashback to when my mother had died. On a hospital bed, just so... suddenly. All around, hardly a sound besides wails of grief and whisperings of "what should we do?". Of course, I was only around seven or eight at the time, and didn't remember what they said, but I remember vividly the pale, lifeless body atop the bed, hands folded neatly over her waist, and a relaxed look on the head propped up against the pillows, naturally sinking in without control. She was... smiling. But Jude wasn't. Hardly dead, yet definitely not alive.
He sat against a stack of pillows on the raised top of the hospital bed, his eyes half closed, the crystal blue standing out against his pale, thoughtless face, glistening with a cold-sweat.
"Jude.." I said softly. I cleared my throat and corrected myself, "Dad?"
I neared the bed, Jude barely even turning to see me.
"Hey, there, Lucy..." he said in a hoarse, husky voice without the presence of air. "Didn't know you could make it."
He let out a series of noises similar to coughing, but he just didn't have the strength to do it.
"Your sickness..." I continued. "I...- how is it that bad?" I stared at him. My eyes, themselves, drained of life. "How could you have hid that?"
"Whadd'a mean?"
"Jude... you're dying... On a hospital bed. This is ridiculous... How could I have not known that this... thing.. is attacking you enough so that you end up here... I don't even know what it is."
"We don't either," broke in a nurse. "The doctors did a thorough examination, and nothing that we know of showed up. Mr. Heartfilia, here, has an unknown disease. It's not terribly rare to find a patient with something unidentified. We have guesses; he has common, every-day like symptoms all packed up into one horrible, fatal, unknown condition that eventually breaks in on itself and takes the patient down with it."
Silence fell into the room. It's weird... All of my questions had been answered, but I was so unsatisfied, I dared not to speak. This is what I got? An, "I don't know," for something I've known little bits of, trying to fit the puzzle together, for almost three years of questioning. A "guess," even, wasn't good enough.
I stared to my father's cold, suffering eyes. I inhaled— hard. I was ready to let my feelings escape, but all my body could muster was a hard, uncomfortable sob. I didn't even feel sad enough to cry for more than a second. That was it. It was like a cough, releasing all the germs as much as I could muster, then it was over. It was so ridiculous, I started to laugh. It was small, but enough to make everyone in the room shut up and stare at me.
I looked at Jude once more and said, "Sir, I've joined a club. There are members here in the hospital, right now. Even though they forced me into it, I had fun on our trips. I think I've made some friends, or at least what will become a few friendships in the future. We travelled here on a school bus with an unqualified driver.. with only three people, all the way from the zoo, purely relying on luck and will. I know all of their names, and I even though I've only spent a week and a couple of days, I think I'm kind of.. growing attached. They like me too, I think— hell, I've gained two nicknames on the same day." I chuckled. "I've had an argument with some kid on the bus, and with a girl who insulted me about three times now. You've met her, she's a McGarden..."
I looked at Jude, seeing him nod slightly.
"Levy... no, I guess, Levy-chan. Since she calls me Lu-chan around the club."
I kneeled by the bed, still looking up at my father.
"I'm guessing that you're thinking that what I'm saying is absolutely ridiculous, but I feel like I now have a chance at living. All of my years, I've walked away from chances, turned away from people who wanted to befriend me, but now, instead of me doing it, they took the leap, and brought a lonely, shriveled loser such as myself into their arms." I inhaled. "I want to believe you're thinking of me, and wishing that I would make mistakes in life, miss chances, and lose people, like most people do. I want to live like a normal person, my life full of friends and past disappointments."
Jude gave off a look I've never seen before. It wasn't a smile, but his eyes sparkled, and he let go of a scorn he's been holding on for years. He said in his damaged voice, "Lucy, I do want you to do these things. I want you to take the leaps I wasn't able to. You don't need to take care of the Kozern. Leave that to your cousin. I don't know about your future, but I'll be sure to look after you and help you along the way." He actually turned the corners of his mouth upwards, and said his last words: "Don't die a pathetic death like I did."
I stared as he exhaled for the last time, his eyes draining completely of life. Adrenaline, once more, filled me. I shot up, and fumbled for his hands. I felt for his inexistent pulse, even though the heart monitor had gone flat-line.
"Can't you do something?!" I yelled at the nurses. "Bring him back?! Use one of your fancy, doctor-things to save him!"
I didn't know what to do, but the maids sure did. They burst out into tears, followed by the butlers. I squeezed Jude's hand, still trying to search for the life in the eyes I was staring into.
"Dad..." I whispered.
I didn't cry. My eyes remained dry as soon as I left the room, leaving the nurses and the staff alone in the heavily-atmosphered room.
I closed the door behind my back, looking down, in front of Loke and Natsu, patiently waiting on a bench, opposite the room.
"That's it," I told them, putting my back to the door. "He's flat-lined. Nurses said that there's no use in brining him back."
Loke and Natsu glanced at each other. "Like..." said Natsu. "He died?"
Loke punched him in the arm, leaving him to swear, but softly. Loke got up from the bench and wrapped his arms around me, making me lean into his embrace. Despite the gesture, I still didn't cry, but didn't back away, either.
Natsu got up, and, looking awkwardly around, decided to stroke my hair while Loke still held me.
I buried my face into Loke's chest, and wanting them not to hear me, I whispered, "Thank you.."
lll
Going home wasn't easy. First, Erza called Natsu on the phone, yelling so loud, Loke and I could make out their conversation. "NATSU!!" Was her first word when the poor boy answered his cellphone. "WHERE THE HELL IS THE SCHOOL BUS? DID YOU TAKE IT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH YOU?! I'VE TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES IT'S TOO DANGEROUS TO BE DRIVING THAT THING, AND YOU DON'T HAVE THE KEY, AND YOU FORGOT ALL ABOUT THE CHILDREN WE ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE BACK TO THE CHILDREN'S CENTER, AND—-"
I swiped the phone from Natsu's hand, and spoke over Erza's loud, deep voice.
"Erza-senpai, excuse me for interrupting your... discussion, with Natsu, but it was my fault that the bus was taken from the zoo."
Erza cleared her throat after hearing my apology, and said simply, "You are not the one at fault, Lucy, since you had an emergency. What I was about to say to Natsu is that he could of asked for help from Kinana, the bus driver, or have taken my car."
"You have a car?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes, and I have taken it to the zoo to show Kinana the way to the zoo. I will be coming to pick you up along with her right now so you can drive safely back to the zoo. It's one thing to be in an emergency, but it's another to be completely careless, or dangerously forgetful."
I sighed. "I see. Well, I'll be riding back with one of my maids today, since I have no use to return to the zoo, and they are here at the hospital with me."
"Oh! Forgive my rudeness, but how is your father?"
I said simply, without hesitation, "He died."
The line struck with silence for a couple of seconds.
"I see... I don't know what to say than, I'm sorry, Lucy."
"That's okay. I'm bringing the phone back to Natsu now."
I passed it on to the boy, and without another word, I joined Virgo inside to where my father lay on the hospital bed, with a thin, white sheet covering him from head to toe. Before seating myself next to the emotionless maid, I stared at the hopeless lump and whispered, "Good luck at Divine Judgement."
I sat myself on the fold-up chair next to Virgo, who was zoning out, half-looking at the corpse. I looked down and saw her trembling hands folded on her lap.
Instinctually, I placed my hand on them, and with my other arm, I wrapped her in an embrace.
As Virgo usually acts, she didn't react, but stayed in the hug, unmoving.
A nurse with puffy pink hair and a hat that fit a little too perfectly, entered the room, and breaking the silence with an atmosphere you could cut with a knife, she whispered, "I'm sorry."
lll
As I had suggested before to Erza, I rode home with Virgo with her at the wheel. It was silent, and far from comfortable.
I finally caught the courage to speak after ten minutes of aggravating silence. "So... He's really hit the bucket."
"After all of those years of suffering," said Virgo.
"I bet that God's punishing me for being such a bitch all these years," I remarked without thinking.
"God shall not end a life for just unpleasant behavior," she replied. "'Twas his time, no more, nor less."
I sighed, counting the clouds that scattered the abnormally gray sky. "Court's gonna kick my ass with the inherit laws, huh?"
"We shall see."
Soon enough, I got the call back at home:
"Lucy Heartfilia, my greatest condolences for your loss of your father. This is a call concerning your inheritance from your late father. Of course, we shall give you time to grieve, but I request of you to bring yourself and any close relatives to the main building of Jude Heartfilia's business, where we shall discuss the arrangements of the owning of the property and taking lead in the work of Jude. Perhaps after a funeral, if you're having one? Or whenever you are ready, but we shall need a week notice."
"I understand. I'll call you back." I hung up the phone, my energy completely drained.
I didn't even care to take off my uncomfortable blazer, or my high socks, but I collapsed into bed completely how I was when I left the house, and immediately fell asleep.
lll
Waking up was the most horrible thing I've felt that month, and that was a definite achievement. Even though I've slept ten hours of deep, undisturbed sleep, I was far from rested that morning, suffering from the biggest headache of my life packaged along with some nausea. Sorry... did I say morning? Well, five thirty AM was barely what any teenager called "morning." I was unable to fall back asleep, so, trying to cheer myself up from the recent death of my father, I curled up on my bed and watched the oh-so-familiar Fairy Tail, hoping to chase my troubles away.
In the middle of the third episode, I got a mysterious message from a number I was not aware existed.
"Can't sleep?"
I swiped down on the text and sent back, "Who are you?"
It was only thirty seconds I got another text.
"Don't worry, it's only Lisanna from club. When my parents died, my siblings and I couldn't sleep for a week."
I frowned and put my phone down. I looked around my dry, lifeless, dark room full of nothing but my bed, desk, and bookshelves of textbooks and a small collection of light novels. The rest of the novels were stored in a box in my closet, protected by the piles of clothes I never cared to wear, prohibiting any visitors to be aware of my geeki-ness. I opened my mouth to speak to the dark, uncaring void, and what came out was, "Soon, I'm going to leave this godforsaken house."
I picked up my phone again and messaged back, "How did you get my number?"
Again, she messaged in a nick of time. "My sweetheart has his ways~~"
I remembered when the club explained that the teachers leaked my personal contact info to the main leaders for the sake of blackmailing me.
"Why the hell am I starting to like these guys?" I said out loud.
I sent back, "You're good. I'm spending my time watching the mainstream goodness that is the Fairy Tail we are all-aware of."
She sent back, "I'm starting to believe that FT is the only anime you've ever watched."
"To prove it, I could explain the whole plot of FLCL in detail for you without the help of the internet."
"Oh, God, please don't, I don't want to embarrass seeing how far I was from the truth about it."
I grinned, but decided to go back to questions.
"Why are you up this early, and how did you know that my father died?"
"Guess," was her answer.
I typed out with care, "Your precious sweetheart leaked the info, didn't he? And I'm assuming Natsu is your 'sweetheart.'"
"Right on both ways!"
I leaned back on my pillows and exhaled, feeling slightly better. My eyelids started to droop, slightly, so I wrote out for the last time that morning, "Thanks, a lot, Lisanna. Even though it's kinda creepy you're up this late to text me about my late father even thought you hardly know me, you've succeeded in trying to cheer me up. I think I'm going back to bed."
I waited a minute for her response, but all I got was, "I guess you're not as grumpy as I thought you were."
And she didn't message any more.
Feeling confused, I put my phone back in its charger and curled up in my blankets to fall asleep in less than a moment.
lll
I awoke to the eve- so-pleasant sound of my obnoxious 8-bit ringtone of the Lucky Star opening, in which I immediately regretted ever purchasing, but was too lazy to switch out to the standards.
I answered the call in a groggy, half-awake voice, "Yes?.."
I yawned while I heard Natsu's squeaky voice yap on and on, not even pretending to pay attention to him.
"Oi, Luce, were you just asleep?" He asked, finally stopping his little rant.
I answered with a vague grunt, and curled back into my sheets, lazily holding my phone to my ear.
"How could you be asleep at this hour? It's 11:30! You know, in the morning! Get up!"
I hung up, but the action was useless since I awoke only five minutes afterwards to the boy barging into my room with Virgo standing in the doorway.
"Why are you here?" I asked into my pillow.
"To cheer you up!" He yelled. "I've cooked you a breakfast!" He slammed a paper bag on my desk.
"Why are you so loud?" I murmured, but then I turned to face him. "Rather... what the hell are you doing in my house?"
"I've told you on the phone! Get up! I have Gray and Erza downstairs. We're going to take you out to the town!"
I stared at the face of the grinning man-child with sleepy eyes, most definitely not ready for adventure. I pulled the covers over my head and mumbled, "I'm not going out today..."
Natsu crossed his arms and frowned.
"That depressed, huh? Are we bringing this day-out inside?" He sighed. "Virgo, can you bring Fullbuster and Scarlet up here?"
I couldn't see her, but I could only guess she bowed. "As you wish, Dragneel-sama."
Natsu sat on my bed, and, unexpectedly, said nothing.
I waited a good minute before peeking up from over my covers at the boy.
"Why are you here?"
Natsu turned his black eyes to me with a questioning look, but before he could say anything, Erza and Gray from club burst into the room, Erza pushing the door out of the way like it was her enemy. I've only seen her in her school clothing, and seeing her in casual clothing made me marvel at her actual beauty. Her glasses were gone, and she wore a ruffled, short-sleeved blouse with a thin, blue bow, and a skirt of the same color. Gray, to my amusement, was not wearing a shirt, but only black jeans and a silver cross neckless.
Virgo came up behind them, carrying a folded shirt, which I could only guess was Gray's.
"Gray! Where are your manners? The first time we enter Lucy's dwelling, you immediately take off your clothes?" Said Erza, glaring at the half-naked man.
Gray jumped and looked down. Instead of freaking out, he said, obviously tired of his habit, "I've told you that it happens on its own." and swiped the shirt from Virgo's arms.
"I like your introductions," said I, still hiding behind my covers.
Erza's eyes widened. "Oh dear, did we catch you at a bad time?"
I sighed. "Can you leave?"
Natsu decided to lie completely at the foot of my bed, making himself comfortable with his arms propping up his head.
"We're here to cheer you up! At OFTOC, nobody leaves a depressed member alone," he said.
"Leave me alone and get off my bed—"
Erza took Natsu from his t-shirt collar. "Lucy's obviously uncomfortable with us here, so we must be going, and catch her at another time."
I glared. "I'm fine, honestly, and none of you need to 'cheer me up.'"
"I've heard that before.." mumbled Gray, but he left the room anyway.
Erza popped her head back from the doorway and grinned. "Don't worry, we'll come back to keep you from being lonely."
Soon enough, that evening, I found myself face-to-face with Erza and other girls from the club at my front door, holding sleeping bags, backpacks, and, may I mention, Cana holding six packs of booze.
Cana grinned. "Yo, Lucy! We came for the sleepover! With refreshments~~"
I glared, and shut the door behind me. I intended to go back to my usual business, but Virgo happened to still be at the house, and I once again found more-than-strangers and less-than-friends people crowding around in my sacred temple (bedroom).
"Nice cave you got here, Lucy," said Cana, plopping down on my plush desk-chair, spinning around with glee.
I counted five who entered my room besides the crazy drunk invading my homework papers: Erza, Wendy, Juvia, Mira, and her sister, Lisanna, making six people who didn't belong in my house. It was too much. I decided to keep my composure, and asked calmly to the lead, Erza, "What are you doing here?"
She smiled. "Lisanna suggested that we throw you a slumber party in your rut when we asked for suggestions to cheer you up.
"I hope you don't mind us being here, Lucy-san," said Wendy, laying out her sleeping bag next to Juvia's. "This is my first-ever sleepover, and I'm so very happy to spend it all with you!"
While I was originally planning to kick them all out, Wendy's innocent brown eyes and gentle exterior made me lock my teeth and squint my eyes in strain to resist the adorable aura she emanated.
"Fine," I said, dropping my head to my chest. "You can stay..."
Lisanna grinned. "Fantastic! I hope you have a hell of a cheering up, because we're going crazy tonight!"
"Yeah! Break out the custom UNO cards and half-sugar cola with all of our favorite Disney movies!" sarcastically yelled Cana, hurting my ears. "In Diamond Edition HD~"
"I'm not planning that, for your information, Cana," insisted Lisanna, with a smirk. "The Diamond Edition is too expensive."
"Actually, I planned the slumber party," piped up Mira, smiling.
Lisanna wrapped her arm around her sister. "Yup! Even though I helped suggest a couple of things, she's the one hosting."
"Great..."
Half an hour passed in what felt like days. The girls apparently brought pizza, which, to my pampered stomach, acted somewhat like poison. The guests discussed what their favorite foods were, not making me feel much better. Fortunately, nobody noticed my distress, and was able to endure without conflict, and let the pain pass. Fizzy drinks helped, too.
"Movie time!" Lisanna chimed.
"Has it been that long?" I mumbled.
"Aww, cheer up, sport!" Said Cana, wrapping her arm around me.
"'Sport?'-"
"What shall we watch?" Asked Wendy.
A so-called "sleepover necessity" was played, and I ended up cradling Mira who was in a fit of tears.
"But his mother! I can't imagine!"
"Geez, Mira, it's just a cartoon! Settle down-"
"But Bambi's mom!"
Back in the room, Mira displayed a "surprise."
"Are you kidding me? This isn't better than the UNO idea," complained Cana, drink in hand, staring at the board game.
"Hush, hush, young woman," said Lisanna, grinning. "What I have here is a board game Mira and I composed ourselves. You roll the dice to move forward on the board. If you land on a blue space, you roll one die. If it lands on an odd number, you pick a card from the 'dare' deck, and the even numbers are 'truth.'"
"If you land on one of these pink squares, you have to drink!" Added in Mira.
I raised my hand. "I'm not old enough to drink..."
Wendy smiled sheepishly. "If you haven't noticed, I'm still only fifteen."
"Juvia dislikes drinking," said Juvia.
"It's irresponsible to ingest alcohol on a school night," added Erza.
"Fine, fine, we'll get rid of the drinking part," said Lisanna. "But it's your guys' fault if we all die of boredom."
"Wimps," said Cana, hiding the whiskey behind her back.
Erza suggested every time someone lands on a pink square, it adds a round of "Who's the King?" game. Not knowing we'll come up against, we began.
As the woman of the hour, I rolled first, and moving my standard Monopoly piece down the home-made board. I landed on a blue square, and I picked from the truth deck, eyeing the even number on the die.
"Alrighty, Lucy, pick from the deck!" Said Lisanna.
I picked the top card and read out loud, "Explain your worst first date in detail."
I clenched my teeth, keeping the card in front of my face. "We sorta have a problem..."
"What?!" Was all of the reaction of all the older girls. "You've never had a date?"
I stared blankly at their over-reacted faces. "Is it that surprising?"
"That's not fair! Pick another card—" Cana begged.
"The fact that I haven't been on a date in the first place makes it the worst," I insisted. "Now let's move on."
Time past, and somehow, half of us ended up standing in the center in only our underwear, singing, "-And a happy new year...~"
Mira recorded it on her phone, causing me to blow out in a raging attempt to snatch her phone away. She had already caught photos of Juvia crying in the corner, Lisanna kissing Cana, and Wendy reading one of Erza's smutty books out loud.
"Why did you even bring one?" I asked, but Erza just shook her head very slowly.
"Juvia's secret is aloud! She is too ashamed!" Juvia sobbed in the corner with only her undergarments covering herself.
"Everybody knows that you have a crush on Boxers, Juvia," said Cana. She then turned to Lisanna. "You sure need to step up your game if you want to empress Natsu." She winked
The girl blushed a vibrant scarlet. "Who are you to judge! You've kissed way too many people to have the right to judge!"
I bashfully slipped my clothes on while saying, "You two are dating, right? When I talked to Natsu the other day he was sort of unsure on the subject."
Lisanna made a sorrowful expression and turned her head to me. "He talked to you about that?"
Mira frowned. "Let's drop the subject and comfort Wendy over here."
Wendy was teary-eyed, but not crying, curled up in a pitiful, little ball. "Is that what humans really do?"
I sighed. "This'll be one hell of a night..."
The clock only stated that it was 22:13.
To be continued next month
