~~~Chapter 3: Ya Weirdo~~~
(AN: Chapters are a bit short, but it's in the best stopping points so sorry. Lucy is a bit tough to write for me because I am mainly Gruvia, but I hope it's alright. Tell me what you think, thanks! ~Dragon)
I never made it back to Fairy Hills. I was too embarrassed about it. Could I even look at my friends again? I didn't know, so the day after I spent avoiding the guild as much as possible by writing and wandering around the city. Natsu didn't make any of his usual break-ins into my apartment, and I didn't want to see him even more than anyone else in the world. After three days I decided that I avoided the guild for long enough, so I sat silently at the bar alone to the best of my ability.
"Hey, Lucy," Mira greeted. "What have you been doing? I haven't seen you since you ran off. You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, Mira. I've just been caught up in my book, is all. Don't worry about me," I reassured, though it wasn't the total truth.
Cana asked randomly, "What'd ya do?"
I questioned, "What do you mean? Do what?"
Cana explained, "I mean, yesterday and today Natsu hadn't even flinched to go and fight in a brawl. What happened? You know?"
"No," I answered, blinking in confusion.
"You should go ask him," Erza suggested, appearing out of nowhere making me jump.
"Why do I have to? You're just as capable," I replied.
Erza responded, "He won't talk to anyone. You're the only one that might actually be able to snap him out of whatever trance he's in."
I sighed that I would have to confront the one person I didn't want to even look at and stood up, searching the room for the familiar pink hair. He sat alone at a corner table opposite of Gajeel's. I shook away the surprise and gained the courage to walk up to him. Natsu's never been like this before, not even when he was actually concentrating or thinking about something. It was obvious that something was bothering him. Just seeing him like that nearly erased my earlier embarrassment.
"Hey, can I sit?" I greeted. Even Happy was moping on the table next to the Dragon Slayer.
Natsu sat up quickly at my voice then recovered and answered unenthusiastically, "Sure."
It was so out of character for him. I got right to the point and asked, "What's wrong?"
He grumbled, "Nothing."
"It's obviously not nothing," I deadpanned.
"I was just thinkin' 'bout goin' on a job alone," he replied.
"Why alone? We're partners, right?" I asked.
He declared, getting up from his seat, "I can do whatever the hell I want."
I blinked at his harshness and watched him walk off with Happy hesitating to follow behind him towards the job board. He had never been like that, let alone towards me before. There was something in my stomach that fluttered as if it left with him. It was weird because that feeling only came up in dire situations before. I couldn't stand to watch his retreating form and jogged after him.
"Natsu! Hey! Would you stop?! Happy?!" I called, running after them now that I made it into the streets of Magnolia. "Can you please at least tell me why you're acting this way?!"
"Why?" Natsu declared and said under his breath, "It's not like I'm worth your time anyway."
"Natsu, please," I begged, finally caught up to him.
He huffed, "And they say that I'm the dense one."
I rolled my eyes. Of course he wouldn't say anything sensable. I warned, "You better not be calling me dense!"
He returned, "And what if I did?!"
His cold eyes bore into mine and I shuttered. I was never on the receiving side of that gaze. My stomach dropped at the sight. This wasn't Natsu… This wasn't my Natsu… What happened? Wait, did I seriously just call him my Natsu?!
I didn't even realize that I stopped walking from his outburst. There was a wetness on my cheeks as I watched the pink hair enter the train without a look back. I stood frozen in the same spot even after the train departed. My hand extended as if I could catch it and bring it back to me. Bring him back to me.
I don't know what took over me as I stayed there in the train station for hours, as if expecting him to come back. Levy found me before sunset still in the same spot. I hadn't even eaten the whole day besides some breakfast before going to the guild, yet somehow I wasn't hungry.
That night I couldn't sleep, even when I tried. His eyes, his voice; they bothered me. Why would Natsu, of all people, act so aggressively towards me? As I played the scene over and over again, nothing still made any sense. He had to have given me hints, right? He had to have called me dense for a reason, right? Natsu called me dense.
"Damn it, Natsu," I cussed, tossing in my bed to stare up at the ceiling. "What did I do to you? I wasn't even at the guild, so how could I have upset you?"
"You really are dense, you know that?" a voice called from the windowsill.
I turned towards the voice as fast as I could and gasped, "Natsu. You're back."
He hopped into my apartment and leaned on the window siding. The moonlight lit up his figure and his features weren't in his usual relaxed position. He tched at me and loomed out the window to the dark city.
He answered, "I came back before taking the job. I couldn't."
"Why not?" I asked.
"I just couldn't," he responded. "I guess we're even then. We both couldn't do something."
I asked, "What do you mean?"
He sighed, "Never mind. Good night, Lucy."
With that, he exited back out my window. I called him back, but he didn't return. I hugged my blanket to my chest and looked down to the bed. He couldn't be offended because I didn't kiss him, could he? But this is Natsu, there's no way that he would care about something like that… Would there?
(AN: Thanks to the following people: nico2883, AnimeDAngle, OtakuPrincess28, and Since the Beginning.)