I woke up to the smell of a sharp coulonge. But it didn't smell bad, it smelled good, like a boyfriend kind of coulonge. I opened my eyes to find myself in what seemed to be Natsu's bedroom. But there was no Natsu in sight.
I pulled the covers off of my body. I was somehow changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Natsu…
I looked down to find multiple bandages and mini ice packs wrapped around my arms and legs. Oh Natsu… I smiled realizing what he had done for me.
I shuffled to the open living area to find Natsu sprawled out on the couch with a thin blanket and pillow. I bent over and whispered in his ear 'thank you'. I stood up to find a smirk plastered on his face. I giggled before deciding to make him breakfast as a small gift of my gratitude.
I finished the pancakes just as Natsu began to stir out of his slumber.
"Hey sleepyhead! I made breakfast as token of my gratitude for all you've done for Andy and me." Natsu smirked while his eyes remained closed. "Smells delicious!" He exclaimed. He forced himself up. I looked up at him. He stood stretching, displaying his muscles as he looked out the window at the bright blue sky. I blushed as I brought my focus back down to the dishes I was washing. I moved back over to the pans that still held the baking pancakes.
Natsu shuffled into the kitchen running his hands through his salmon hair. He peeked over my shoulder and smiled at the meal I was preparing.
"I'll go wake up Andy." He called going to Andy's room. "By the way," he began as I looked over to him, "I made sure I didn't see anything you probably wouldn't want me to see." He nodded in my direction. I smirked at him. "Mhm, sure!" I teased giggling at his blush. "Well geez next time I'll leave you to sleep in the most uncomfortable clothes ever!" He laughed going back to his original intent.
Andy came running into the kitchen laughing as hard as he could trying to hide behind me. "Andy? What's going on?" I asked worried.
"The Natsu Monster's going to get me!" He screamed. I looked over to find Natsu creeping closer and closer to me. I giggled as I stepped to the side that way Natsu had an open shot at attacking the little boy. I smiled as Natsu attacked lifting Andy into the air claiming him as his 'prey'. I almost peed my pants. I was laughing so hard. Then Natsu grabbed me by the waist and lifted me over his shoulder. I squealed as I hung over his shoulder.
"Now I have both of you!" Natsu roared stomping around the apartment.
"Natsu! Natsu! Stop I'm gonna pee my pants!" I warned through a fit of giggles. He placed me down as I immediately dropped to the floor. I couldn't stand I was laughing so hard.
"Luce! You okay?"
"I'm just fine!" I laughed gripping at my sides in pain.
"Bye, Andy! Have a great day at school!" Natsu shouted out the window waving at the blonde haired boy. Andy looked back and smiled before dashing into the school.
"Natsu, to be honest, this is the happiest Andy has been since my mother passed." I smiled weakly. Memories of my mother rushed back to me like a tidal wave.
My smile faded away as I remembered the first day my father hit me. It was the day we buried my mother six feet under. I was crying on the living room lounge we owned looking through some old photo albums. Snapshots of happy moments in time decorated the pages from top to bottom. Moments that my mother was apart of. Moments that will never happen again in the same way because she's gone.
My father shuffled up to me. He bore two large holes into the top of my head as I trembled staring at the pictures.
"I miss her…" I whispered in a raspy voice. Suddenly, he snatched the album out of my reach.
"What are you doing?" I cried attempting to bring the books back to me, but it was hopeless. He wasn't going to give them back.
He stared down at the books long and hard. The silence in the room grew heavy as if it were fog.
"We cannot dwell on the past. We must forget what has been lost and move on." He hissed sternly. Then in the blink of an eye, he threw the album carelessly into the fire we had across the room.
"No!" I screamed. I sprinted to the books aid to try and salvage what could be saved. I heard quick footsteps come up from behind me. Fear rose in my heart as he kicked me in the stomach.
"What are you doing?" I shrieked. A terror-stricken look plastered on my face. I searched his features for a possible reason he would want to hurt me. I searched for the old man I used to know. The man who laughed, not yelled. Who cried with tears of joy, not anger. Who protected, not harmed the people he loved. But his face said it all. That man was gone. Just like mom.
He kicked me once more starting another terror wave roll over me. Then he left as if nothing had happened.
Now that I think about it, I get quite angry at my mother for leaving us. Not only did she take her presence, light, and love away from us, she also took the man I knew as my dad. For that, I can never forgive my mother completely for dying. But I also knew she had no control over my father. So I had no one but to blame but myself. There's no real reason for the blame to be put on me. There's just no one else to take it, so I do.
"Lucy!" Natsu yelled. I snapped to attention falling from the clouds of memories that had blocked my mind.
"Yeah?" I mumbled confused about the question he probably just asked while I spaced out.
"I said….do you just want to skip school today? We could hang out, talk, sleep…"
I stared at him blankly. Skip school? That actually sounds nice, but… dad would kill me.
"My dad would kill me." I replied. Natsu scoffed at the mention of my father.
"But you're in my house now. You don't have to listen to your dad as long as you're with me. I'll protect you no matter what." He sighed but it slowly grew into a smile.
My heart fluttered at his words. Protect… me? Why would he do that? I quickly forgot the question. I smiled, "Really? Then yeah, skipping sounds like a good idea." I frowned at the last part. Whenever I go back to my house, my father is literally going to kill me.
"Hey," Natsu tapped on my shoulder causing me to look up. "Don't worry," he smiled, "I've got you. Nothing is going to happen to you or your brother as long as you're with me." I smiled back at his reassuring comment. My cheeks warmed. I figured I was blushing so I snapped my head around to stare out the window.
Natsu pulled up into what seemed to be a coffee shop parking lot. I perked up out of my light doze. I shifted my gaze to Natsu. He smiled, "Good morning sleepy head!" I giggled at his comment.
"Hey! I made you breakfast this morning!" I complained sarcastically.
"Well… well… you got me." He surrendered throwing his hands up.
"Anyway, I thought we were going back to the apartment to catch some Zs," I confronted confused.
"Well, before that, I want to talk to you… if that's okay with you?"
I raised my eyebrow in question. Why would he want to talk? I mean I revealed everything last night. I have nothing else to hide. Well….that's a lie.
"Plus it seems that the only way I can keep you awake long enough is to bribe you to drink some caffeine." He laughed.
I laughed in response, "You don't have to bribe me. Buying the drinks would be enough for me."
He smiled flashing his wallet with another questioning look. I nodded unbuckling my seat belt. As I passed the waiting boy on the sidewalk, he draped his arm around my shoulders. I felt a pang of security run down my spine. I smiled as we walked inside.
"So…" he began. I knew what he wanted to talk about it, but I didn't want to. Just thinking about it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It's just too painful to think about.
He seemed to notice the painful look in my eye because he immediately changed the mood of the room.
"So, what's you're favorite color?" He asked with a smirk on his face. I raised an eyebrow in question. The subject literally came out of nowhere. "What? I've never asked before and friends know each other's favorite colors right?"
I still stared at him shocked. He's literally a child.
"Pink." I stated blandly stirring the coffee in front of me.
"Wow," he began sarcastically, "very original." I stepped on his foot under the table. "What's yours then?" I smiled as he acted as if he was comforting his 'hurting' foot.
He smirked and looked to be deep in thought. He hummed as he thought of his answer. "Come on! We don't got all day." I giggled.
"Yellow." He smiled. I frowned. "Who likes yellow?"
"Who likes pink?"
"Well maybe I like pink for another reason other than being a typical girl."
"Well then maybe I have a different reason too."
"Touche…" I smirked. "My turn."
"What is your favorite… book?" I smirked. I knew Natsu so well that I knew he has never read a book in his life. I remember in the eighth grade we had to read The Diary of Anne Frank, and he lost the book around six times before actually reading it. Well, before he read two words and threw the book away. You could imagine the number of F's he got and the money he had to pay the library.
"Hey! That's not fair! You know that I hate reading!" He whined softly tapping on my foot. I blushed at the tapping, but suppressed it before replying.
"Well then you better come up with the name of a book in the next five seconds." I giggled. "5… 4…"
"Wait! That's not fair…"
"3… 2…"
"Umm… Charlene's Web!" He shouted causing some glares to be shot towards us from other people in the cafe, but we didn't care.
"Charlene's Web?" I laughed. "That's not even a book!"
"But I could've sworn the teacher read that to us in like first grade!"
"Do you mean Charlotte's Web?" I was laughing so hard. He actually pulled a book name from memory… almost. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. I stopped laughing feeling the blood rise to my cheeks.
"What's yours?" He asked. His foot rest on top of mine now making my heart burn.
"Well, I think I don't have a favorite. I've read so many they would probably all blend together. But I guess if I had to choose, I'd choose my novel even though it's really bad." I replied with a blush. I just revealed one secret of mine without even thinking. I guess I just feel so free around Natsu that I can tell him anything.
"Wait, you're writing a novel?" Natsu perked at the mention of me writing a novel.
I sighed, "Dangit. I wasn't supposed to say that."
"Why not?"
"Well," I looked into his onyx eyes, "well, I just, it's not that great and I just don't tell people that I'm writing a novel because I just know they'll think I'm a weirdo."
He frowned at my comment.
"Well, I don't think it's weird! I think it's pretty cool! You can get paid a lot when you publish those things." He laughed seeming to be staring off into space.
"No one would want to read mine." I mumbled.
"What? Of course people would want to read your book! Heck, I would love to read your book! That's saying something!"
"Really?" I blushed. I couldn't help all the blushing my heart was on fire from his foot on mine and he wouldn't stop saying all these extremely nice comments. I wasn't used to it. I was so used to being insulted instead of complimented. It's a change I had to get used to.
"Of course! I can't wait. What's it about?"
I opened my mouth as in to say something, but nothing came out. I can't tell him. He'll know everything. But I feel so comfortable talking to him though. I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. Why is this so hard?
"I-I… T-That's for you to find out when you read it." I said out of the blue. It's not like I'm actually going to publish it.
"How long do I have to wait?" Natsu looked excited… to read… a book… my book.
"Why are you so excited? You know I said novel, right?" He shrugged in reply. He didn't care enough, or he still didn't understand.
"Well I don't even know if I'll publish it. It's just something I can mourn with. Something I can write down my feelings and what is happening in my life." Shoot! I did it again!
"Mourn? Did something ha-"
"U-uh I-I just l-lost m-my pet gold… uh… fish." I stammered out.
"Oh, I'm sorry for your loss." Natsu looked down. He actually believed that? He is literally so dense.
"It's… nothing…" I replied in a confused tone.
The mourning part is more of myself pouring out my feelings about my mother's death. It hasn't exactly left me in the best shape which is why I mostly began the book. Then everything else that has happened just ended up falling into the book too. It helps me cope with what I'm thinking. It's kinda sad that Natsu couldn't see through me. Maybe I've built wall so tall, that people outside can't see inside. They can only see the wall that blocks all the hurt inside.
"Wait, you said it has things that happen in your life. Does that mean I'm in it?" His face lit up like a lightbulb. I pulled myself from my thoughts.
I actually hadn't written in the book for a long while. It was just always the same things happening each day. There was no point to writing the same things down. But I hadn't realized the new situation I was in. I need to start writing again.
"Actually, I was just about to write you into it." I giggled with a smile pointed at Natsu.
"I'm actually in a book! This is so cool! Even though I don't read books, but it's still so cool!"
I laughed at his ecstatic response. It seems that there is nothing that can get Natsu down for even a moment. He's just a really happy guy and nothing can bring him down. I admire that about him.
Natsu and I ended up spending what felt like the rest of the day at the cafe. We shared more things about ourselves, but I made sure not to reveal anything I would regret later. When I finally looked over to the clock, I almost choked on my drink.
"We gotta go get Austin!" I yelled gathering all of my things. By the time Natsu responded I was halfway out the door. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" I laughed, "No, you did forget."
We rushed to the school just as the students were walking out. I saw Austin walking out staring at the ground. His hands were stuffed in his jacket pockets and his face was buried in his collar. A baseball cap that I didn't recognize shadowed his face from view. He looked up just enough to see Natsu's car before he shifted his gaze back to the ground.
"What's the matter, Austin?" I asked as he climbed into the car. He shook his head with no response.
"Hey, buddy, what's up?" Natsu tried, but Austin just ignored him. Weird, I thought, if anything, he would respond to Natsu and I.
It was a quiet ride home. The only sound that filled the car was the sound of the talk show probably about football on the radio. I sighed. Something was up with Austin, but he wasn't sharing.
When we arrived back at Natsu's apartment, Austin immediately ran to his room, slamming the door shut before we could question his behavior.
After a while, a knock came to the door. Natsu opened it and greeted the familiar raven-haired boy.
"Whaddup?" Gray slurred.
"What do you want?" Natsu groaned. Well, I never said it was a nice greeting.
"What? I can't come by and drop off your homework because you decided to ditch today?" Gray pushed past Natsu. He finally noticed my presence with a questioning look. "Why is Lucy here?"
Natsu shut the door. "Thanks for the homework," Natsu snarled, flicking Gray in the ear, "and Lucy is here because I don't want her to be living on her own."
"Yeah right, it's only because you li-" Gray began but was interrupted by a pillow flying into his face. "Why'd you do that, flame-brain?" Gray yelled throwing the pillow back at Natsu.
"Shut up!" Natsu yelled. A slight blush decorated his face. Gray groaned in anger before turning his attention to me.
"Anyway, I don't have your homework, but I can tell Erza to bring it over here to you since you're staying… here." I rolled my eyes at his comment. I knew they were already getting underneath each other's skin.
"Would you guys stop fighting for once? It's really annoying." I muttered. That's when Austin came out of his room.
"Who the heck is that?" Gray seemed genuinely surprised that two other people could survive in Natsu's home.
"That's Austin, my brother." I looked over to Austin as he walked around with the baseball cap still on his head. "Austin, where did you get the cap?" I asked going to pull the cap off. Austin quickly dropped out of my reach and ran back towards his room. "Austin! Come back!" I yelled beating on the door.
"I'll go talk to him." Natsu smiled. He opened the door and shut it behind him. I walked back over to the couch and plopped down.
"Lucy," Gray began, "you know that everyone is worried about you right?" I shifted my eyes to floor. I knew exactly what he was talking about. "We all care about you a lot! Especially Na-" He stopped. He seemed to be thinking about if he should say the name or not.
"Yeah," Lucy mumbled with a small grin. "I just can't feel it. Like, I know people care about me, but… it… it seems the pain numbs all other feelings away from my heart and just tortures me… over a-and over a-again." A tear slipped down her face.
"Everyone cares about you! Don't forget it! Levy, Erza, Juvia, Gajeel, Wendy, me, and definitely Natsu! We're always here for you, and we won't ever leave. Not even when you try to shut us out. We're going to but back into your life because we all care about you. Nothing will ever change that." Gray comforted. Lucy smiled and whispered a small 'thank you' just as the door to Austin's room slammed open.
Natsu came out of the room carrying Austin at his side. Austin was kicking and screaming, "Let me go! Leave me alone!"
Natsu then sat the boy down on the seat across from the couch. I immediately noticed the dark purple and blue ring around his eye. "Austin! What happened?" I inspected his eye as if he had a broken arm.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were being bullied?" Natsu spat with crossed arms over his chest. Silence filled the room. I stopped what I was doing and looked up at Austin's teary eyes. Gray placed a folder of papers on the couch.
"I'm just gonna leave. See you guys tomorrow." Gray left leaving us in the silent room.
"Austin, why didn't you tell me?" I asked. Sympathy filled my voice as I felt tears already gathering into the corner of my eyes again.
"I didn't want you worrying about me. You already had to deal with dad, and… and I just didn't want to be another problem for you." Tears streamed down the little boy's face as he spoke. Natsu kneeled down beside me and placed his hand on Austin's knee.
"You don't ever have to worry about me. Okay? No matter what I'll be fine," I lied, "you will always be more important than what… dad does to me. Okay? Always tell me if someone is bothering you 'cause you know what?"
"What?"
"I'll pop them in the nose." I smiled. The comment made Austin laugh.
"I will too, and then you can!" Natsu yelled pretending he was punching someone, but instead of an invisible person, he ended up hitting the wall. We all laughed at his miscalculation in space that he had to throw one.
"Thanks Lucy and Natsu," Austin smiled, "Lucy I need your help on my homework." He jumped up and ran to his room to get his homework.
I smiled at Natsu who was now crawling to the couch to get the folder of homework. Then it hit me. Natsu is the only one living here. Why is he living all alone?
I opened my mouth to ask him why he would possibly be living alone, but I was interrupted by my little brother coming back into the room.
A/N: Hello! I just wanted to thank you guys for all the nice comments. I love when I get nice feedback from my readers! Also, I appreciate when you guys leave corrections/advice on my writing. It allows me to grow as an author and I love it! Someone had asked who my favorite character from Fairy Tail is and I'd have to say Natsu Dragneel. (Yes, I'm cliche lol) Once again, thanks for the feedback and hope you like the chapter!