dedicated to UnlimitedMagic

Chapter Fifteen

Turbulent

Point of view: [Lucy]

I hadn't really expected that he would keep his word, but he did. He didn't call me, text me, or show up in front of my doorstep to see me like he usually does. And since we didn't have school anymore, our contact was completely cut out, and I hadn't seen him anywhere in the past week.

I used up that time going to the town's swimming pool to practice with my club. It was refreshing to see Juvia so excited to do her best and show off in front of the man she loves. I really hoped that Gray wouldn't turn her down this time, since she's confessed to him at least a hundred times. We were all inspired by Juvia's positive attitude and were getting better and better by the second. I had high hopes for this festival, and I wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

I also regularly go to the bookstore, this time working full shifts since I have more time and I can earn a bit of extra money. My parents weren't surprised to hear that I wasn't planning on going home this winter break, but they tired persuading me nonetheless, yet I didn't give in as they thought I would. I was happy just going to work, train and back home. This was my new life and I'd gotten used to it. I felt like I had a proper role here and planned to act it out perfectly.

In the spare time I had when I wasn't doing any work or swimming, I went to the library to read and study for the upcoming term. I went out for some coffee with Mirajane, and most of the time we went to Levy's workplace so she would spend her worktime around us. When her shift finished we would go to one of our houses and grab some take out. We spent the evenings watching movies. Moments like those made me feel like even I could have real friends if I tried hard enough. But I still felt lonely from time to time, when something reminded me of my past. The past I plan to keep buried until the very end.

I couldn't even explain the fear I felt when I saw Natsu reach out to open the door last time. It's not that he would find anything in my old roommate's room since there was nothing hidden there, but I could bear having that door open. I felt as if the sea of memories inside would spill out and flood the house, washing my sanity away with it. Nobody ever suspected anything wrong with the fact that my roommate moved out, and I planned to keep it that way.

When I felt some negative energy kick in, I focused on the New Year's dance that would be the day before the actual celebration. I had to make sure everything was perfect, and went to talk to the principal about the whole 'matching theme' thing. He said it was okay, and we decided to organize the party in the school hall, since it was really spacious. We would have decorations, drinks, and a few prizes of some sort. We will probably declare the best matching group of friends, the best couple and things like that.

I kept thinking about how I'd spend my Christmas, which was just a few days after the festival.

In short, I busied myself with a lot of things, and I still had free time I didn't know how to manage. The past week had been weird without any actual hard study work going on. I also noticed that I had some sort of empty space I was used to being filled before. Like, whenever I left the house, I was 100% alone. I would check my phone and it would often be devout of any messages or missed calls, maybe some from the girls and that's it. Natsu was nowhere to be found.

And you would think that I would be happy about it. I guess I am, it's just that I'm not used to not having him around. It got weird pretty fast.

Sting and Yukino—who turned out to be his ex-girlfriend—were now in a happy relationship far away from me. Just the way I liked it.

"Earth to Lucy."

I snapped back into reality, tuning in on the conversation I had apparently dosed out of. I apologized to the girls, watching them shake their heads left to right to signalize how displeased they were with my short attention span.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Levy continued, brushing a strand of blue hair behind her hairband, "I will be in charge of keeping scores at the festival! I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked the shortest straw. I mean, I'm terrified of public speaking. And now I have to stand up in front of all those people and tell them when someone scores a point? It's practically impossible."

"I would offer to do it, but my club will be in charge of decorations for the New Year Dance." Mirajane excused herself gently, turning to look at me. "Come to think of it, weren't you in charge of planning it, Lucy?"

I nodded, remembering the time I spent with Natsu in the classroom, when we decided on the theme. "The teachers agreed that we can make a theme party. So the thing is, we all have to pick one or more people to join us with a themed costume." I took a sip from my juice, casting a quick glance around the library, "I think it will be a good opportunity for people to get closer and all that. Hey need to match somehow. Like wearing the same glasses, or something like that."

"You'll probably get asked out by Natsu. He would want to go the dance with you." Levy chimed in, hearts bubbling up in her teary eyes. "We can all see it coming. I mean, the guy follows you everywhere. I'm surprised you've been hanging out with us the past week without having him track you down."

"Same here," Mira nodded, "I was sure he would be here by now. Looking at you from behind the bookshelf or something." She turned around, suspiciously scanning the room, then finally giving up, "But I guess not." Her small hand scratched her chin, "I wonder if something happened."

"Actually," Ceasing my inner debate on whether or not to tell them, I guessed that they would find out eventually, "Natsu came to my house the other day and we talked. He said he won't be following me around anymore because he wants to prepare for the sports festival."

They watched me in awe. I could tell from their wide eyes and open mouths that they were surprised as ever.

"Wait, first things first," Levy slammed her drink on the table, the gust of air brushing through several pages of the books we had opened an hour ago but hadn't read a page from, "He came to your house?" I closed my eyes, cursing my decision to be honest in front of them. Mirajane almost spit of her coffee, and screamed out some inarticulate sounds.

"Well," I looked for a way out, but found none, "He had a fight with his dad and stuff, and I invited him home because he was really upset."

"Hold your horses!" Levy choked out, slamming her fists repeatedly on the table, Mirajane having to watch over the cups so they don't spill, "You're the one who invited him in? What is this development?"

Mira snickered behind her hand, "I have to agree, I never saw this coming." She pulled out a notepad out of thin air, "I have to write down the date when my shipping dreams came true!" I tried negating everything I had said previously, and changing the subject, but she wouldn't have it, "My, my, Lucy. Who knew you would spring into action so abruptly!? You hated him just a day ago!"

"And I still do!" I shouted, trying to prove a point I so obviously didn't have. "But he needed someone and—"

"—And you decided to be that someone!" Mira shouted, squealing, "How romantic!" Her eyes glinted as she lowered her head, looking around to make sure nobody was looking at her, "How long did he stay?"

"Just for the night, but—"

"Just for the night!? Lucy!" Levy covered her mouth with her hand, a loud gasp escaping. "What did you do?"

I wanted to clear up the huge misunderstanding, but something told me I should just shut up and take it, instead of trying to defend myself then end up worsening the situation. So I kept quiet and watched them bend over backwards trying to make this hell even worse for me.

Loud comments kept flying everywhere, kissy faces were motioned, fanfictions were written, fantasies were spoken and after a while of constant teasing, I decided that taking it wasn't the best decision. Offence is the greatest defense after all.

"And what about you Levy? What happened with Mr. It's not just a phase, mom!" Her skin dyed in a light shade of pink.

"What about him? Nothing happened. He's a delinquent and I calculated that he is more trouble than it's worth." She shook her head, but the blush remained.

"Oooh, you calculated?" Mira teased, "You can't calculate love! But the fact that you took time to think about him and your situation proves how much you care!"

"And what about you?" Levy snapped, unable to bear the responsibility of the village idiot on her shoulders, "What happened with Mr. I'm a gym teacher and I can do whatever I want?"

"How dare you!?" Mira gasped, the thoughts of our P.E. teacher Laxus Dreyar flooding her head as we speak. She always stays way past class is finished to help him gather the equipment.

"You're acting pretty suspicious if you ask me!" Levy continued her attack, the conversation getting heated, "Are basketballs the only balls you're helping him pick up?" Levy bit her lip right as the words left her mouth.

The room went dead silent, and I swore I saw Mirajane tear up a little. This thing was going downhill fast, and I felt a little responsible for it even though they started first. Seeing as though they wouldn't stop, I decided to intervene.

"Alright, alright, calm down!" I shouted, making the librarian turn around to scold me. Even though I was on the first floor where talking was permitted, we were still disturbing the others. I cleared my throat, watching the two girls cross their hands on their chests, and look away from each other. Feeling like I involuntarily got stuck in the middle, I sighed and let things cool down before taking the initiative.

"Anyways," I coughed to clear the atmosphere, "Juvia's going to confess to Gray at the festival."

They took the bait.

"Again?" Levy asked, leaning back in her chair, "That girl seriously never learns."

"I think it's cute that she's trying," Mira spoke up, "I really want them to get together already. Especially since he's showing interest in her too."

Levy perked up, "Is there something we don't know?"

"Well, I saw Juvia cheering for Gray while he was training with his team in the gym the other day. I was there to ask coach about something—and don't you dare ask what—when I saw her screaming from the top of her lungs. She was sitting on the top of the bleachers, and guess what—" she paused for dramatic effect, even though I could already guess where this was going, "—she was wearing the jacket of his jersey!" Levy gasped. "I mean, I almost fainted! He didn't notice her at first, but when he did, he just smiled. He smiled. He didn't even ask her where she got it from!"

"Actually, she got it from me. Gray gave it to me first…" I mumbled, ready for the things to come.

"OH MY GOD"

"Lucy, you whore~!"

And before I could protest, my voice was tuned out by the sound of questions and loud giggles.

"One ham sandwich please," I said to the cashier, waiting for my dinner to be wrapped up in a napkin and tossed into a plastic bag which I'd gladly take home in the confines of my private space, and enjoy the sweet soundless interior after a bubbly evening spent with the girls.

"Lucy?" I turned abruptly, startled by the outburst.

"Oh hey there," I replied to Gray, "What are you doing here?"

He pointed towards the sandwich that the cashier was holding out to me, "I think we came for the same reason."

I waited for him to pay as well, even though I wasn't fully aware why.

"Well," he said, as he sat his bag on one of the many empty tables, "Join me for dinner?"

And even though I had already planned a date with my solitude, I smiled and sat down one of the chairs. We ate our sandwiches in comfortable silence for the first few couple of minutes, before he found that it was time to speak.

"How're you holding up with swimming and all that water stuff?"

I waited to finish chewing, "It's going pretty well. Juvia is really pumped, and it kind of motivates the whole team. I can't wait for the real thing! I'm getting excited just thinking about the competition."

He smiled at the mention of her name. "Same here. I really want to give it my all at the basketball tournament."

And just like that, we ran out of things to talk about. The comfortable silence from before was slowly melting into a more awkward one, as we looked around to avoid each other's gazes. His proposition to eat together was probably out of courtesy, and I shouldn't have accepted his offer. But it was too late to run off now, and I decided to burst out one of the few things we had in common.

"So how's Natsu?"

He stopped chewing. His eyes widened in surprise, since he clearly wasn't expecting me to ask something like that. I watched him play around with a napkin, carefully choosing the words he would use to form an answer that would satisfy me without revealing too much information.

"He's been… good." He waited for a reaction. When I didn't give him one, he continued, "He's been practicing like crazy lately. When he got back home a week ago, his dad was already gone to another one of his meetings or whatever. He left a note on the fridge saying 'talk to u soon', and that was it." He paused for a moment, probably thinking over if he should continue or not. "Natsu stopped returning his calls, and he doesn't call his mother that often either. He's put everything he's got into his training. He's at the field practically 12 hours a day." I swallowed down a bite of my sandwich, gulping down water to try and get rid of the lump in my throat, "He said he doesn't want you to see him as a failure."

I realized that the lump was not a piece of bread.

"He says he can't face you properly if he loses."

I nodded, not really getting the importance of his scheduled talk with me after the festival.

"Is he planning on inviting me to the dance?" I asked.

The corners of Gray's lips lazily crawled upwards into a soft smile, as he looked down at his leftovers, poking his plastic fork through the green salad he skipped. A warm look grazed over his eyes.

"Something like that."

Author's Notes: Thank god for Gray or Lucy would've kept wondering about Natsu... ahhh love is blooming

I would like to thank everyone who read my other story, since it got pretty good reviews even though I'm only two chapters in.

Thanks for reading this story and not giving up on it, I appreciate you for that!

Dedicated to UnlimitedMagic for always being there for me, and being one of my closest friends.

~With keys, Through Flames! Aye!~