On the last day of the school trip, Lucy finally realized it was high time she sorted out her feelings. Loke realized that too and so he 'broke up' with her in order to let her do so. Natsu found out the truth from Lucy and agreed to give her some time.
~ One Sleepless Night ~
When Lucy woke up the next morning, she found that she was alone – alone in the bed, alone in the room, just alone. She flipped onto her stomach to check the clock on the side table. It was 9:10am. That was when she noticed the note, left behind by Natsu. She picked it up as she sat up and read.
Morning Lucy! By the time you're awake and reading this, I will be back in Magnolia. Sorry I left earlier, but there was something I had to do. I'm not worried about you though 'cuz my special drink has already cured you, so don't worry about me. See you soon. –Natsu
What…? Lucy still wasn't fully awake. She had to read the note once more before the fact actually sank in. She let her hand drop onto her lap as she thought about it. For some reason, she felt a little down. It's not like I won't ever see him again. I'm sure once we all return to Magnolia today, he'll be bugging me non-stop again, she told herself.
And so the blonde stood up, washed up and got changed. While she packed the last of her things, she couldn't help noticing that Natsu had really cleaned out. Absentmindedly she wondered what time he woke up and when exactly he left. The school trip had come to an end and today was just going to be an entire day of travelling back to Magnolia. So what was so important that he had to rush back first thing in the morning? She shrugged. No point wondering about it. I'll just ask him when I see him.
In the next half hour, Lucy was done packing and she brought her bag down to the lobby, which was the gathering point before all the students boarded the bus that would be bringing them to the train station. She was the third student to arrive; Erza and Jellal were already there.
"Morning, Lucy," Erza greeted the blonde.
"Good morning," Jellal said.
"Morning," Lucy smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and Erza sensed something was off.
"How are you feeling today?" The scarlet-haired student council president asked.
"Much better," Lucy replied. "I feel like my usual self again."
"That's good," Jellal said.
"Where's Natsu?" Erza noticed that pinkhead's absence.
"Oh, he left a note saying he had to leave early because of something." Lucy tried to sound nonchalant.
"I see," Erza said.
"Guys~!" A voice they recognized called. They turned and saw Juvia running over to them with her baggage in hand as well.
"Hey, Juvia," Lucy greeted.
"Morning, Juvia," Erza said.
"Morning," Jellal echoed after Erza.
"Juvia can't find Gray-sama anywhere! He disappeared!" The blunette burst out as soon as she joined them.
"What?" Lucy was the first one to react.
"He probably left with Natsu," Erza deduced.
"Natsu-san left?" Juvia questioned.
"Uh-huh," Lucy nodded.
"Oh," Juvia just said. "Why?"
"Apparently, he has something to do," Jellal replied.
"Yeah, he left me a note," Lucy added.
"Gray-sama's so unfair! He never told Juvia about this and he never even left a note!" Juvia whined.
"Maybe it was just so last minute that he didn't think of it?" Erza tried to calm her.
"But Natsu-san wrote one…" Juvia said.
Lucy kept silent. Does that mean the way Gray thinks of Juvia is not the same as the way Natsu thinks of me? She worried, but kept that thought to herself.
"Good morning, people!" A cheerful male voice joined them. It was Reedus.
"Reedus-san!" Juvia exclaimed. "Do you know why Gray-sama is not here?"
"Gray? I believe he left early with Natsu," Reedus answered.
"Why?" Juvia cried.
"Yeah, did something happen?" Erza asked.
"No, not that I know of," the teacher replied.
"How strange," Jellal commented.
As the four of them were left pondering over the odd actions of Natsu and Gray, one by one, the rest of the students came down and gathered in the lobby. By 10:30, they had all arrived and by 10:35, they had boarded the bus.
On the bus, Erza and Jellal paired off while Levy and Gajeel sat together. Lucy wasn't left alone though; Juvia sat next to her, but the fact that Natsu wasn't the one beside her suddenly gave her a weird feeling in her stomach. It was the same when they transferred to the train and then before she knew it, she had all these thoughts running wild in her head.
What if he misunderstood when I told him I needed some time to sort it out? I didn't mean he had to leave me alone altogether, I just wanted some time, Lucy talked to herself in her head. Oh no. What if he thinks I was letting him down easy so now he's avoiding me? At that thought, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Natsu. The phone rang for a long while but never connected.
Damn. She stared at the screen of her phone. Then she decided to send a text. But when she tried to compose one, she didn't know how to begin and so she gave up. In the end, she dozed off and slept the whole way back to Magnolia.
It was nearing dusk by the time the students arrived in Magnolia. Everyone was tired from the long travelling hours so they all returned to their dorms or their homes immediately to rest. Lucy and the gang went back to their apartments in Fairy Hills. She had the impression that Natsu would be waiting for her – that is, if he wasn't avoiding her – and so, when she found out that he hadn't even gotten back yet, she was disappointed and worried and also slightly angry all at the same time. But she couldn't understand this uneasiness that fluttered in her stomach. Was it because she really liked him? Or was it because she thought of him as a good friend?If any of her other friends had vanished like this – anyone else other than Natsu, she would probably feel the same as she did now. In any case, it was the worry that vexed her the most.
After convincing herself that what she felt wasn't because of any special feelings toward Natsu and that he and Gray were probably fine, Lucy decided she had to carry on doing what she always did. She unpacked her bags and then she settled in bed with her laptop as usual. When she had done enough writing for the night, she read a book – as usual. And when her eyelids finally began drooping – as usual – she fell asleep with her bedside lamp on, with the book held in one of her hands, lying face-down on her tummy.
It was a dark rainy night. One where raindrops pelted against windshields and the wind howled. A young girl sitting at the back of the car watched the windscreen wipers move like a metronome as they wiped the windshield of the car with mechanical rhythm. Left, right. Left, right. Her eyes followed them as they moved hypnotically and, with the motion of the car feeling as lulling as a baby bouncer, she soon grew drowsy.
"Lucy," the gentle voice of the girl's mother called. "Sleep if you're tired. It's still a while before we get home."
"Mmkay, Mama…" The young girl replied, rubbing her eyes. She was about to lie across the backseat when all of a sudden, a violent impact rocked the entire vehicle and they skidded to an abrupt stop. The alarmed girl was instantly wide awake again and Lucy Heartfilia awoke from her dream.
Groggy with restless sleep, the blonde refocused her eyes on the emptiness of her bedroom ceiling and realized she wasn't in the back of a car but in bed. It's just a dream, Lucy thought. But of all the dreams I could've had, why did I dream of that? After seven years, why am I dreaming of the night Mama died now?
The girl inhaled and exhaled slowly as she tried to relax. She put the book away and switched off the bedside lamp this time before tucking herself under the covers. She closed her eyes and tried to fall back into sleep, but that task proved to be harder this time round. Lucy tossed and turned, and tried to clear her mind. She tried counting sheep but even that failed. That was when she heard the sound of her phone vibrating on her end table, breaking the stale silence in the room. She turned on her side again, facing the end table now, and when she saw the screen of her phone lit, she caught her breath.
'Natsu', read her Caller ID.
Lucy grabbed her phone off the table and immediately pressed to answer.
"Hello?" She heard his voice – deep and husky and just so smoking-ly 'Natsu'.
"Hello, are you there?" There came his voice again.
"I'm here," she replied.
"Geez, you could've said 'hi' if you could hear me."
She pried the phone from her ear for a second to check the time. Then she put it to her ear again and said, "It's 2am, Natsu."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry I woke you."
"…It's okay," Lucy said. It's not like I could sleep anyway, she added in her mind.
"But you don't sound like you've been sleeping," Natsu caught on.
"Why are you calling, Natsu?" She changed the subject.
"Because I couldn't sleep," he said. "And I wanted to hear your voice. I didn't get to hear it at all today."
The girl blushed and turned onto her back. "Then maybe you shouldn't have disappeared without warning." She sounded angry in order to hide her bashfulness.
"I left you a note."
"Yeah, I saw it. Thanks a lot for that, totally cleared everything up. I wasn't even worried when I got back before you did," her tone oozed with sarcasm.
"Are you mad?"
"Yes," she said defiantly.
"Aww, don't be mad! It's not like I went off to slay dragons or something."
"Then why did you leave without saying anything?"
"I left a note!" Natsu repeated.
"Yea, after you had already gone. Did something important crop up?" Lucy asked.
"Not really. I just had to do something."
"Do what?"
"I'll tell you another time, okay?" He said. "Not on the phone."
"You promise?"
"Yes."
But Lucy still couldn't let it go. There was a nagging feeling in her chest and a pit in her stomach. She needed to know it was really something and not her, so she asked, "Did it have anything to do with me?"
"No."
"Really? You're not avoiding me because of what I said yesterday?"
"Lucy, you weirdo. If I'm avoiding you, I wouldn't be calling you. And if you think what you said yesterday was enough to scare me away, fat chance! I'm not going anywhere!"
Lucy smiled. "Well, in that case, don't go anywhere until I've made my decision, okay?"
"Ok," he said, and then the space between them filled with the night's silence. "Then…" Natsu was the first to break it. "Good night–"
"Wait." She wasn't ready to hang up yet.
"Huh?"
"Actually, I wasn't sleeping earlier," Lucy admitted. "I couldn't sleep."
"Oh. You too, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"How come?"
"I…" The girl hesitated. "I had a dream."
"… Do you want to talk about it?" Natsu asked.
"I'm– I'm not sure. It was a dream about the night my Mama died…" she shared.
"Ohh…" Lucy heard Natsu inhale on the other side of the line. Then there was a brief moment again before he spoke, "Look out your window."
"Why? What for?"
"You don't have to get out of bed. Just look out your window."
Huh…? Lucy was confused, but she did as he said anyway. She rolled onto her other side and, now facing the window which was next to her bed, she looked out and saw the night sky.
Guessing that she was now looking out the window, Natsu spoke. "See that one little star shining in the sky?"
"Mmhmm?" Lucy answered. The bright lights in the city of Magnolia dimmed most of the stars in the night but tonight she could see one star – just one. It was a mere speck in an endless midnight blue yet it shone like a diamond.
"Every time it twinkles," Natsu went on. "Think of it as your Mama. Think of it as her saying… I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you."
Lucy kept her eyes on the star as it throbbed with light, as though it had a heartbeat of its own.
"I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you…" Natsu repeated soothingly in his gentle voice.
As the starlight pulsed, Natsu said it again and again, slowly, while matching the beat of the twinkling. "I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you… I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you…"
Deeply comforted by the sound of Natsu's voice, Lucy relaxed and she gradually grew heavy-eyed once again, and soon she drifted back to sleep. Natsu, on the other hand, kept repeating those words until he himself fell asleep. Neither of them hung up that night.
And… that's the end of chapter 12!
… … Sorry. Just kidding! Please carry on reading part 2! ^^ But just in case you get confused, I just wanted to say, it's the same thing as the above part 1 but in Natsu's point of view. Enjoy~!
When Natsu woke up the next morning, he had his arms and a leg around Lucy and found himself snuggling into her as a bolster again. Carefully, he retracted his limbs and got out of bed. If that day weren't the day they were supposed to be returning to Magnolia, he would've liked to stay in that position but no, he couldn't afford to linger anymore. He had to go – He had to leave before she woke up. He had to leave before anyone else did because he couldn't let anyone else know about his condition. He didn't want anyone else to see him in his weakened state, especially Lucy. And so, quietly, he gathered his things, left a note by the bedside and snuck out the room.
Natsu had already planned this with Gray beforehand. Just as the sun was starting to rise in the sky outside, the two of them met up in the lobby and left the place together. They were the first to leave Akane Resort and naturally, the first to arrive back in Magnolia. However, they did not return to Fairy Hills immediately because Natsu wanted to avoid all the questions – questions he wasn't ready to answer yet and questions he himself didn't know the answer to, like why was he stuck with such a condition and when will it go away. He wasn't ready to explain.
As such, Natsu and Gray hung out at The Tavern until it was past midnight. To Natsu's relief and slight disappointment, no blond-haired girl walked through the rustic door that night looking for him. It was 1.30am by the time they left the bar and Natsu was tired.
Upon returning to Fairy Hills, Natsu went straight to his room. He dumped his bag onto the floor and dove into bed without showering. He lay on his back at first, but when he tried to sleep and failed, he ended up lying on his side. That was when he noticed the lone star of that night's sky outside his window and out of nowhere, his heart ached. The star reminded him of her and he missed her.
Without turning away from the star, Natsu reached for his phone in his back pocket. It was upside down when he retrieved it, so he flipped it around and then dialed her number. It was the middle of the night and he didn't expect her to pick up the phone, but then there was a click and his heart skipped a beat.
"Hello?" He went. There was no response. "Hello, are you there?" He said again, a little more anxious this time.
"I'm here." Lucy's voice replied.
Natsu found himself sighing in relief. "Geez, you could've said 'hi' if you could hear me."
There was a pause and then she said, "It's 2am, Natsu."
"Yeah, I know. Sorry I woke you."
"…It's okay." Her voice was distant and Natsu knew that something was on her mind.
"But you don't sound like you've been sleeping," Natsu pointed out.
"Why are you calling, Natsu?"
"Because I couldn't sleep. And I wanted to hear your voice. I didn't get to hear it at all today."
Natsu heard the rustle of sheets before her reply came. "Then maybe you shouldn't have disappeared without warning."
The steeliness of her voice told Natsu he might be in trouble. "I left you a note."
"Yeah, I saw it. Thanks a lot for that, totally cleared everything up. I wasn't even worried when I got back before you did."
She was worried, Natsu concluded and a goofy smile spread across his face while his insides filled with gooey warmness. "Are you mad?"
"Yes."
"Aww, don't be mad!" He tried to appease her. "It's not like I went off to slay dragons or something," he joked.
"Then why did you leave without saying anything?"
"I left a note!"
"Yea, after you had already gone. Did something important crop up?" Lucy asked.
"Not really," Natsu avoided her question. "I just had to do something."
"Do what?"
"I'll tell you another time, okay?" Natsu said. "Not on the phone." He felt that heavy conversation like that was meant to be had face-to-face.
"You promise?"
"Yes," he answered without missing a beat.
But Lucy still wouldn't let it go. "Did it have anything to do with me?" She asked.
"No."
"Really? You're not avoiding me because of what I said yesterday?"
Natsu wanted to laugh. "Lucy, you weirdo. If I'm avoiding you, I wouldn't be calling you. And if you think what you said yesterday was enough to scare me away, fat chance! I'm not going anywhere!"
"Well, in that case, don't go anywhere until I've made my decision, okay?" He could hear her smiling over the phone and that made him smile too.
"Ok," he said, and then there was a silent pause. Natsu thought she might be tired so, although reluctant, he said, "Then… Good night–"
"Wait."
"Huh?"
"Actually, I wasn't sleeping earlier. I couldn't sleep."
"Oh. You too, huh?"
"Yeah…"
"How come?"
"I…" The girl hesitated. "I had a dream."
A dream? This made Natsu curious and, remembering the words Ultear used with him, he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'm– I'm not sure." Natsu listened patiently and let Lucy open up to him. "It was a dream about the night my Mama died…"
"Ohh…" Natsu sucked in his breath. Then it went quiet between them again, giving him time to remember the star outside the window. As he gazed at it, he told her, "Look out your window."
"Why? What for?"
"You don't have to get out of bed. Just look out your window."
He heard the rustling of sheets again and Natsu continued, "See that one little star shining in the sky?"
"Mmhmm?"
"Every time it twinkles, think of it as your Mama," he told her. "Think of it as her saying… I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you."
Natsu watched the starlight pulse with life as he repeated those words. "I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you… I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you…"
In a way, he figured those would be the words that Lucy's Mama would say to Lucy, but at the same time, Natsu also meant them himself.
"…I love you, I miss you, and I will always be watching over you…"
And someday, he hoped she would realize that.
Alright, so now it's really the end of this chapter. Hope you've enjoyed it! I was just reading a card in a gift shop and the inspiration for this came to me in a flash. I finished writing it in 1 night. (But of course then I edited it for about 2 days.)
Thanks for reading! ^^