Lucy stood there, staring off with glazed over eyes as she tried to process all that had happened in the past few hours. Her attention was caught as she watched Natsu finally pick himself up and stand, his back to her. His shoulders seemed tense and sore, his scars and wounds already healing on their own from his magic.

Neither said a word to one another for a while as they both let what Gray said earlier settle between them.

I killed her.

That bit of information had shocked Lucy to the core. Natsu's face had been hidden away from her so she had been unable to read his expression earlier. But she knew this was a game changer. With the news of who Gray was, what he did, and the mentionings of mating and Natsu's passed relationships, Lucy had her hands full.

"Go on ahead," came Natsu's grunt.

Lucy assumed he meant his place but she stopped herself, "What about you?"

He took a moment before answering, "Don't worry about me, I'll show eventually."

The blonde felt something in her heart break. His voice was cold and the sight of his back turned to her felt like he was building up a wall against her. Lucy felt like she wasn't even getting a choice in the matter, her voice meaning nothing in the mess that was them.

Well, if Natsu wasn't going to give her a choice, she'd make one for herself, "No."

That made the pink haired boy turn but only slightly, enough to see her and give her a questioning glance, more surprised than annoyed at her denial, "What?"

"I said no," Lucy huffed, sniffing and trying to find her courage somewhere, "you're hurt and I don't think it's right to leave you here."

Then Natsu was laughing.

Lucy felt her pride slightly insulted at that but remained silent, not knowing how to deal with Natsu at this point. She stated her opinion and now he was laughing at her. Before she could say anything though, he turned to her fully, his laughter quieting down.

"Lucy, don't worry about me," he scoffed, "I don't need your help. Just go home and I'll meet you there."

She wanted to fight again but decided she didn't have the energy to anymore, "You promise?"

Natsu forced the smile down that was daring to tug at his lips before he answered, "Promise."


"Cause I killed her."

Gray's words hung in the air as Lucy blinked, not expecting that, "You…killed her?" she gasped out.

He smirked, glancing back at Natsu, "He's quite the horn dog. If you let him, he'd sleep with anything really," Gray turned back to Lucy, letting Natsu wallow in his sudden onslaught of guilt and fury, "So to prevent him from dirtying what's left of our rep, I killed her. Seemed only fair since he seemed to not wanna mate her or anything."

Lucy was almost surprised Natsu wasn't speaking up or at least beating the shit out of Gray for what he was saying. The horror of it all, having the one you loved murdered, cold blood, by a comrade.

He loved her.

The blonde refused to allow herself to go down that train of thought right now. Her problem right now was Gray, "That's…"

"What's what?" Gray asked, curious to hear what she had to say. Would she defend Natsu? Or would she finally see how disgusting and monster-like they really were.

"You killed her," Lucy began, "killed someone he cared about. I can't even…." She couldn't seem to find the right words.

"Can't even what?" Gray pressed, "He and I are monsters. We kill anything and everything we want. Humans like you, you're all below us. What's really disgusting is having one of our kind stoop so low as to want to even consider mating with the likes of you. But even beyond that, aren't you hurt? That you aren't his only one? That he would rather have her as a mate than your dumb blonde ass?"

Lucy remained silent. There were so many things she wanted to say and yet nothing would come to mind when she was asked to speak.

Gray seemed to take it as defeat, letting out a laugh as he stood up and turned back towards Natsu, making his way to the pink haired boy who still remained kneeling on the ground right where he left him, "You hear that, Natsu? She's speechless. Your human-whoring ways are finally getting the best of you, mate."

Giving Natsu another kick, his shin made contact with the side of Natsu's ribs, breaking a few as he moaned in pain and toppled to the ground. Lucy gasped and covered her face with her hands, tears stinging her eyes. Natsu hadn't even defended himself, simply slumping to the ground in defeat.

Gray sighed and shook his head, "I think my work here is done," he rolled a shoulder before smirking back at Lucy, "I'll be seeing you two later."

And with that, he was gone, leaving the two of them to pick up the pieces.


Lucy took a deep breath before dipping her head under the spray of water coming down from the showerhead above her. The blonde's nerves felt as if they were rolling off of her as she turned her brain off for once. It wasn't until the water began to cool down that Lucy realized she had been in the shower for quite some time now. Deciding it was high time to wash herself, she turned and squeezed the shampoo bottle until a decent amount of the gooey substance had landed into her palm. Capping the bottle, she went to work, scrubbing her scalp and massaging the roots of her hair clean. The entire process helped the building headache that was beginning to hit her and helped her calm her raging nerves. It would be an understatement to say that today was nothing but a walk in the park.

The walk back to Natsu's apartment had been a slow one, her thoughts circulating around so many things Gray had said and how many things Natsu hadn't. Lucy had hoped to help Natsu back to his place to at least ask him her running tally of questions but he had denied her; probably sensing her deep desire to understand just what the hell he had gotten her into.

But in the end, the space she was given to think had been nothing short of a blessing. Lucy had immediately decided that a shower would be the first on her agenda when she opened the front door to Natsu's humble abode. Grabbing her garbage bag of clothing and dragging it into the bathroom, Lucy had stripped naked and hopped into the shower without another thought.

Finally shutting off the tap, Lucy squeezed away any excess water from her blonde locks and slid the shower curtain open, grabbing the lone towel off the rack to towel dry her skin before she drenched the floor in water. Sifting through the plastic bag of clothes was a whole other ordeal, trying to find something decent enough to wear for pjs. Finding an old, ratty pair of grey sweatpants and a long sleeve top with a collar wide enough to slide off her frail shoulder, Lucy decided it was time to face the music and see if Natsu had arrived yet or not.


She found him, huddling on the floor in the living room. His head, tucked into legs he had pulled up against his chest. He looked defeated, pathetic even, after the fight he had with Gray; if one could call it a fight. It had been more like Gray arriving simply to discipline the pink haired boy; send a clear message that what he had been doing was wrong.

It was everything else the darker haired vampire had said that had truly been the cause of the Natsu that now sat before her.

Silently, Lucy walked over to him and sat herself down next to him up against the wall. The blonde didn't know what to say so she softly placed her hand upon his raised knee, receiving a flinch at the contact, "Natsu?"

He didn't answer at first. Lucy was about to call to him again when Natsu finally raised his head, still not looking at her but it was something. He seemed to be deep in thought but about what, Lucy had no concrete idea because it could've been a million things.

They remained silent in each other's presence for awhile after that. The sun was beginning to rise, lightening the room up and starting the next day. Yet Lucy didn't feel tired so much as exhausted. It wasn't until she leaned her head back to rest it on the wall behind her that Natsu found his voice,

"Are you hurt?"

Out of all the things he could have said, he chose to ask her that, "Uhh, no, my neck's a little sore but I'm fine," she sighed, rubbing her neck and feeling the tender skin below her fingers. The bruising from Gray's tight grip had probably already began to show.

Natsu only grunted, "I'm fine."

Silence reigned once more, the two of them deeply plagued with their own thoughts.

It wasn't until Natsu finally broke it, "I understand if you want to leave."

Lucy blinked, "Leave?"

He nodded, still not looking towards her, "Yea, after all that's happened, you can leave if you want to."

There he went pushing her away again. Lucy sighed, folding her hands together and placing them between her crossed legs, "I won't leave until you tell me what happened."

Natsu finally looked at her, even if it was only a quick glance before he went back to staring off into space, "Tell you what, exactly?"

"Well, it's not like that Gray guy told me a full story," Lucy said as if it were obvious, "and I'd prefer I hear it from you, to be honest."

Natsu sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"Who's Lisanna?"

The pink haired boy almost choked, his bluntness seemed to be rubbing off on the blonde after all, "Some girl."

Lucy just stared at him. It was unnerving.

"Fine," he huffed, stretching his legs out before him, "like Gray said, she was someone I cared about. Nothing more. Yes, we had a 'history'," Natsu feigned the quotation marks around his own words as he continued, "but honestly? It was years ago. Decades even. I can't remember. I've been over it for awhile."

Lucy hadn't really expected that, seeing as Natsu's reactions had seemed to tell her otherwise, "Then why let what he said get to you?"

He scoffed, "It wasn't that that got to me."

"Then what was it?"

"He just pisses me off," Natsu shrugged.

Lucy had a feeling there was more to it than that but decided to let it slide, "Then why are you moping?"

Natsu furrowed his brow and turned to her, "If anything, I'm surprised you're still here."

"Why?"

He sighed, "Lucy, I'm a fucking monster. I don't know how many times I have to tell you. I fucking killed your old man along with a whole bunch of other people. I'm not good company."

Lucy had no response for that. She wasn't really sure why she was still here either, if she really thought about it.

But before she could say anything, Natsu continued, "You have a choice, you know? I'm planning on leaving, like Gray said. I've done enough damage in this town for people to start questioning. To be honest, I should've left awhile ago," he looked at her quick before continuing, "So I need to leave. Probably tomorrow."

The blonde knew what he was asking between the words he was saying, the underlying message. Either she could leave with him or decide to stay back. Lucy felt she knew which she would choose but this was a big decision and deserved more time to think it over.

Natsu seemed to be thinking along the same way because he was standing up and making his way out of the living room on his own, "I'm exhausted and gonna head to bed. I'm leaving tomorrow so..."

She nodded, "I'll let you know."

He held her gaze for a moment longer before he nodded and left her for his mattress.

Lucy sighed, pulling her legs in tighter to her chest, resting her head on her knees just as Natsu had done earlier. What was she going to do? What was the right choice?

She knew that she cared deeply for Natsu, despite her best judgement. He had protected her, even though the means to which he did so were unorthodox and immoral. Natsu seemed to have quickly become a constant in her life, a first for her after her mother's passing and her father's distance and abuse.

But honestly, it would be insane to stay any longer with Natsu. Despite all of the kindness he had showed her, there was also a danger that surrounded the boy. Yes, it captivated her to an insane degree, but it could easily get her killed. Thinking back through all of the things that had happened to her since meeting Natsu, Lucy thanked the gods she had survived it all.

What was she going to do? Staying with Natsu meant certain death really. There was no point in lying to herself. Natsu equalled reckless and danger all in one. But not going with him would mean remaining here, alone. There was no one left for her. Nothing left for her here.

Lucy sighed, squeezing her legs tighter. That left her with choosing Natsu against her better judgement to live out a potentially fatal life with him or choosing the safe way, leaving him and remaining here, alone but safe and very much alive.

The blonde shook her head and stood up, feeling she already knew her answer. It was best to sleep on it now and face the music tomorrow, telling Natsu her choice and pushing forward from there.

So with that, Lucy decided sleeping on the worn out and old couch next to her might be the best option. Piling up some of her clothes as a makeshift pillow and blanket, the blonde found herself finally closing her eyes and sleeping.

Then the sun rose.


A/N: Okay so before I begin, I just want to say that when I open myself and my stories up for criticism, I'm kind of hoping for more than 'I HATE LISANNA!' (direct quote from anon review). It's incredibly disheartening and I feel I need to rise up and defend myself. By bringing in Lisanna to the story, I was surprised to receive a few reviews that were against this. I understand some of their disappointment, given her overuse when it comes to being Natsu's 'past love' and Lucy being some silly 'replacement'. But that is not the case in this story. Lisanna happened to fit the bill for me when it came to bringing in some more tension/angst (which this story is filled with if you haven't noticed). I easily could have swapped her in for Erza or Levy, etc. But I felt Lisanna held a closer relationship with Natsu in the past when you take the anime/manga into account. Now, before I get a bunch of hate, I don't equate that to love or pairing or whatever. I am quite aware that Lisanna and Natsu weren't a couple. But to be fair, neither have Lucy and Natsu been made canon either. So, unfortunately, I kind of dumbed down my original plot that I had planned with Lucy and Natsu when it came to Lisanna in this chapter, as you might have been able to notice.

I could go on but I was kind of hurt that that was the kind of criticism I received. I was hoping for something more constructive but alas.

Anywho! Ranting aside, I ended this chapter this way for a reason. I WANT YOU TO CHOOSE THE ENDING. There will only be one more chapter to this story because I intend to eventually write out a sequel).

So basically I'm asking for everyone to vote: Should Lucy stay or leave Natsu? I've laid out her thoughts and opinions but it's up to you.

I usually don't do things like this but I've received such mixed reviews when it comes to why Lucy remains so I've kind of decided to leave it in your hands. Whichever opinion I receive the most of, I'll write out that ending.

Thanks again and R&R your thoughts to me before May 8th!