Traitorous Cat

{A soulmate is someone who appreciates your level of weird}

Chapter One

Natsu was really not in the mood for a fight.

Gray was trying to get under his skin, looking for entertainment due to the bar being a little slower than usual.

"What's with you, Flame Brain?" Gray asked, almost sounding worried. Almost. "Come on, Pyro! Whatcha doing? Contemplating life?" Gray asked, sarcasm thick in his voice.

"For your information, yes!" Natsu snapped. Just as soon as the flash of anger had come, it disappeared. Natsu lowered his head back to his crossed arms that lay on the bar counter. He didn't even seem to notice that rum and what seemed to be the remains of somebody's lunch what soaking into his shirt.

"Salamander? Thinking and refusing a fight? Never thought I'd see the day." A gruff voice commented. Natsu tilted his head slightly to glimpse Gajeel's smug expression. Today just really wasn't his day. First, his alarm didn't go off, so he ended up being late to class(Gildarts was not happy). Next, he misplaced his wallet just when lunch came around, leaving his poor stomach aching in pain for the rest of the miserable day. Not to mention it growled in the most inappropriate times, earning him glares from his professors when he interrupted their lectures. Then to top it all off, he was now getting mercilessly teased by the people he called friends for thinking. Seriously, Natsu needed to get out more and get better friends.

Then again, he couldn't completely blame his bad mood on being late, not having lunch, or even his crappy friends! If Natsu was being completely honest, the whole day had gone to shit for one reason. The letter. Well, it wasn't just one letter. There were several of them now and he was sure to get more. They all said the same thing and seemed like all they did was make him even more paranoid than he already was.

It wasn't his fault that he hadn't decided on something to major in yet! He was still just trying to find out what the world meant to him, nowhere prepared for deciding what he wanted to do in it. Everyone expected him to know exactly what he wanted from this world and make a life out of it. The thing was, though, Natsu had no clue what he wanted his life to be or even what it meant. He had no inspiration or drive. Nothing was exciting anymore and everything was...dull. Gray had tried to tell him before that all he had to do was make a simple choice and if he wasn't happy with it he could just change his mind. That may have worked for Gray, but Natsu wanted to really commit to something and stick with it. The problem was Natsu couldn't find anything good enough to commit to. Hardly anything made him smile anymore. His friends had started to notice too. His need for distance, his constant daydreaming, and the absence of his zest for life that had been so prominent before.

Everyone who had met Natsu, before his sudden change in personality, rarely forgot him. No one could forget that huge grin, childlike spirit, and intense need for fun and adventure. It was so different and refreshing, but now it seemed that Natsu was drained of color and life. A meaningless shell of the man he used to be.

The pesky letters were doing nothing, but deepening the hole of misery Natsu was stuck in. Natsu didn't know what he wanted to do when the first letter came and he sure as hell didn't know now.

"Hey, I was talking to you, Flame Brain. I asked ya what had you so quiet?" Gajeel asked, snapping Natsu out of his pitying thoughts.

Natsu groaned. "I got another stupid letter. They say I have to choose soon or else there will be 'consequences'." Natsu complained, raising his hands to make air quotes. "Whatever the hell that means." He added dryly.

Gajeel and Gray exchanged a look, then turned back to Natsu.

"How many times do we have to tell you?!" Gray said, exasperation clear in his voice. "Just pick something and get them off your back."

Natsu just rolled his eyes at his friend. "It's not going to work like that for me, Gray." They didn't understand. Nobody seemed to understand that all Natsu wanted to do was find the place where he fit into the puzzle.

"Stop being lazy and depressed! Get out there, chose a major, and get a life!" Gray snapped at Natsu. Gray would never admit it, but he missed Natsu. The real one, not the imposter that was sitting in front of him. He wanted his friend back.

Natsu just blinked up at Gray, clearly not grasping how serious he was.

"What does it matter anyway…" Natsu trailed off. "All that matters to people now is whatever is going to get them the most money. They base all their choices on it. Job, spouse, major. I want to do something that makes me happy. I just haven't found what makes me happy yet."

Both Gray and Gajeel looked a little dumbfounded. So, Natsu really had been contemplating life. 'Weird' was the only word Gray and Gajeel could think of. Finally, Gray snapped out of it and faced Natsu again.

"Natsu...what about your dad." Gray started cautiously, knowing he was skating on thin ice. "He would want you to live your life to the fullest, not in a shadow of what you used to be. Your da-"

Natsu sprung up from his bar stool and grabbed Gray by the collar of his shirt, which was surprisingly still on his person. "I'll interpret what my dead father wants me to do with my life." Natsu snarled, getting right in Gray's face.

Gray just stood still in utter shock. Natsu hadn't shown this much emotion in months.

Natsu glared one more time at both of them, then stormed out of the building. He threw open the doors and disappeared into the night.

Mirajane came up to Gray and Gajeel from behind the bar, looking at them questioningly.

"What was that all about?" She asked, motherly worry in her tone.

"No idea." the two boys chorused.

Natsu slammed open his apartment doors, stepping into his shabby and poorly taken care of living space. Clothes were strewn everywhere and trash was stacked up in almost all of the corners. No one beside himself had been in the apartment in at least a year. That being said, Natsu didn't see the point of cleaning it all up just for himself and his lazy ass cat.

Gray just had to mention his dad. Natsu had planned on keeping his cool that evening, only speaking when spoken to. Blending into the background.

Then, Gray happened.

Deep down inside Natsu knew that his dad would be anything but proud of his son at this point in his life. Natsu's father, Igneel, always wanted his son to be happy. That's all he ever asked of Natsu. Let's just say that Natsu was not fulfilling his father's wishes.

He was a mess and, frankly, he didn't know how to fix it. He'd tried drinking. It had worked, but when he'd woken up with a hangover he had just felt so much worse. He'd tried parties, but everyone and everything there just seemed so very fake. It was all so cliche and he couldn't stand it. Something was missing, he needed something, but he didn't know what.

Natsu flopped down on the couch, plugged in his earbuds, and put his playlist on shuffle.

Natsu had simply burned bright and was now burning out. He had flown too close to the sun and was now falling. He was an Icarus.

Natsu bobbed his head to the music, something that always seemed to calm him down.

"Look who's digging their own grave

That is what they all say

You'll drink yourself to death

Icarus is flying too close to the sun

And Icarus's life, it has only just begun

This is how it feels to take a fall

Icarus is flying towards an early grave..."

Alright! This is my first multi-chapter fic and I hope that it is satisfactory! I will be introducing Lucy in the next chapter which will hopefully be out soon.

Sorry if there are any grammar errors!

Remember to REVIEW! It really helps and it will spur me on to keep writing. Constructive criticism as well as pointers are welcome!

The song is "Icarus" by Bastille. Go check it out!

Byeeee!

~TheFallenAreStars