Chapter Four: Stuck In The Middle

'Cause

Someday things will be perfect

It will be worth it all this time

Stuck in the middle

Natsu let the ice pack fall onto the bed. His cheek still hurt like a bitch, but at least it wasn't throbbing anymore. Fuck, he had almost forgotten how strong Erza was. Natsu snorted as he thought about how he should have one of those 'certain number of days since last incident' posters in their cabin. Actually, it would be a miracle if they even got to day 1 on that thing. Gajeel glared at him, split lip and a light bruise on his cheek showing Erza had punished him as much as she had Natsu.

"Would ya quite makin' all that fuckin' noise?"

"I snorted." Natsu defended sourly.

"And now yer talkin'." Gajeel snarled back.

"Go fuck yourself Gear Head." Natsu grumbled, jumping down from his bunk without the help of the ladder. He stood from his slight crouch, whipping a pillow he stole from Gray's bunk at Gajeel, who in turn batted it away with the back of his hand to where it landed in a cobwebbed corner. What a shame.

"If yer headin' out try not and stalk Bunny Girl, got it? Me and Lily don't need to hafta keep separating you and Ice Tits. Also don't need to explain to yer old man why you sent a kid to the hospital in yer first week of camp." Gajeel didn't bother looking at Natsu as he spoke, instead scribbling in his notebook that he liked to hide under his mattress.

"Thinking that hard won't help your headache." Natsu commented, grinning at the low snarl his cousin gave him and the distracted bird he was flipped. "And you might wanna try that in G minor rather than A major. It'll get that 'secretly happy' sound instead of 'obviously happy' that you're allergic to."

Gajeel grunted in response, Natsu rolling his eyes when he heard rushed erasing and rewriting.

"And let me know if you need any help with words that rhyme with shortie."

"Fuck off Strawberry."

Natsu ducked out the screen door, snorting at the loud 'thump' that signalled that Gajeel had thrown something at his back. And missed.

He fought back a small grin as he slipped in his ear phones. He knew for a fact that Gajeel had a pretty deadly aim when he wanted to. As much as he and Gajeel fought, at least he knew his jackass of a cousin would be in his corner. And Happy too for that matter, but Natsu could always rely on his little friend.

Natsu thumbed through his playlists on his old iPod, the silver back scratched to shit and the generation so old it no longer updated. Natsu had gotten this for his eighth birthday, Igneel having saved up for the surprise for months. Natsu settled on the playlist titled 'Life is Stupid' humming along as the opening bars of The Anthem by Good Charlotte blasted in his ears.

He walked slowly as he followed the gravel path from the cabin area to the main camp, letting his mind drift off into fantasies of talking to Lucy. He became more depressed as each time it ended in Lucy running away in disgust as she remembered him, not even able to pretend in his own mind that she would want him. Wasn't that just fucking pathetic.

Natsu groaned and kicked at a stone in front of him, sending it skipping through the grass beside the trail and into a bush. She had called him her friend, though, so that meant she didn't hate him, right? Or had she just been yelling at Gray? Natsu had to admit, it was stupidly easy to yell at Mr. My Face Begs To Be Punched.

Dragging his hand along his face Natsu clicked the the skip button attached to his headphones until heavy drums flooded his brain, over bearing as it drowned out his own thoughts. He absently fixed his dark grey beanie covering his stupid hair. This was fine. Natsu was fine. Lucy didn't need to know, and if she didn't know, she couldn't laugh in his face. Natsu kicked a larger pebble, sending it arcing through the air and rolling along the path a few feet in front of him. Lucy was too sweet to laugh at him, but she could still reject him. A cold pit lodged itself in his gut, similar to the time that he had been cornered by his teacher and forced to read from the stupid play book in English class.

Natsu still had nightmares.

The song faded out, Natsu barely registering the change as he walked past the climbing wall. While Fairy Tail was a music camp, they did offer some traditional activities for their campers such as lake sports, archery, and the 30 foot tall climbing wall, to name a few. The camp had other activities, but Natsu's focus drifted as he caught sight of the mess hall. The two story building was made entirely out of giant wood logs, large glass windows breaking up the light brown colour all around the building. While the roof was domed inside for acoustics, the camp had kept up with the outdoorsy aesthetic and the outside was a mess of sharp angles and triangles for the roof and over each window.

It had been like this for as long as Natsu could remember, and he felt a part of his anxiety wash away at the familiar sight. It was nice to know that somethings would never change, Fairy Tail being one of them.

He debated grabbing a cinnamon swirl cookie -a signature of the camp- but chose not to, continuing on his path. Natsu passed groups of kids walking by, laughing and talking and being more social than Natsu felt up to. He kept his chin up, though, confidence leaking into him by being surrounded by the comforting sights and smells. Fairy Tail was basically a second home for him, and he was good at what he did here.

Natsu drummed his fingers along his stomach in time with a guitar riff, hands inside the large center pocket of the hoodie he had thrown on before leaving. He finally passed the second largest building at camp, making his way along the path that led towards the largest one, the open faced stage where they would perform at the end of each week. Natsu closed his eyes as he remembered the feeling of standing on the stage, heart pounding along with the heavy drum beat, fingertips almost numb from the strings on his guitar as he performed. Light flashed in his mind, the roar of the crowd overwhelming and euphoric at the same time.

He was going to sing this year, Natsu decided as he opened his eyes. No more playing guitar in the background. Besides, there was no going back now; Natsu had already checked off the 'singer' box alongside 'guitarist' when sending his application in the winter.

God, Natsu was going to puke.

His palms became clammy as he thought of standing center stage, a weird mix of nausea and excitement that had Natsu thankful he hadn't wasted any of his food allowance on that cookie.

Natsu paused as he passed the break in the trees that led to the field in front of the auditorium stage, his feet moving him without permission. Before he knew it he was standing in the open area where everyone had gathered before for the welcoming ceremony, the space far more intimidating and surreal without the masses of campers and staff filling in the wood bench risers.

His iPod switched songs again, Natsu singing along more passionately now that he was alone.

"Condemned to be forever unable,

To give this stupid thing the time that it deserves,

I heard a proud few when the windows were gone,

All singing the same time to separate songs."

Natsu tilted his head back as he sang at the clear sky, sun warm as it bore down on him. His voice carried through the empty clearing. Natsu got to the skirt of the stage, his voice becoming strained as he hauled himself up with his arms. He rested on his knees, feet hanging off the stage as he looked it over.

Aged but polished metal followed the curving ceiling to the centre point 30 feet in the air, braces for the booms mounted against them and wires wrapping through the metal lattices until they reached the bars at the every third of the dome. The space between the start of the roof and the stage itself was just tall enough for a person over Gajeel's height to walk through, greenery of the forest peaking through the mess of metals and wires and sound equipment. Natsu ran a hand over the rough wooden stage floor, taking in the feel of it. How many people had performed here, found their love and passion for music on this stage?

He stood, wandering to the center of 20 by 16 foot platform. He turned in a tight circle, breathing in the fresh air with a deep inhale. Natsu's eyes fell shut as he relived last year's final performance, the lights and the crowd in his mind shifting to what he imagined performing at a rock concert would be, adrenaline pounding and the music burning in his soul. His hands pantomimed holding Fev, fingers tracing the cords from memory in the air as he played along to the music blasting in his ears.

As the music faded out he raised his hands in the hair, basking in the echo of the applause of his memories. He remembered looking out into the cheering crowd, that feeling of utter elation building and building with the volume of the cheers, and the pride in the faces of Erza and Makarov and Gildarts and… that one empty chair.

Natsu dropped his arms as though his puppet strings had finally been cut loose. Another song began in his ears, but he ripped earbuds out before the words even started. He stared at that spot, row f, seat 14. Empty now and empty then. No matter how much the crowd screamed, how good could he possibly be if his own father couldn't spare the time to come see him play?

He knew it was stupid. Igneel had been out saving lives, why should he stop to hear a cover of a song he'd already heard a hundred times. His work was much more important, and Natsu understood that. Igneel has promised he would get the day off too come see his performance at the final ceremony this year, so he'd just have to make it so amazing that last years didn't even bare to think about. Natsu clenched his fist around his ipod. He could do it, he could find the perfect song.

But still, the task was daunting.

Frustrated with his own self doubt, Natsu jammed his headphones back in his ears and flicked through his iPod until he found the perfect motivational song. Something to burn his self doubt into shreds. He debated Work Bitch- but then skipped it for shame of hiding Britney under 'Unknown Artist' should someone ever browse his most treasured possession- before eventually settling on a song that was 75% certain to make Gajeel disown him if he ever found out he listening to something so not-death-metal-ish.

He pressed play, turned the volume to its fullest and took as deep breath as the intro kicked in. A thought struck him and he dashed to the side of the stage, desperate to find the necessary props for this once in a lifetime solo performance before the vocals kicked in. He grabbed a mic stand someone had been generous enough to leave an unplugged mic in and rushed back to centre stage. He had a second to compose himself before he took the mic in his right hand and shoved his iPod in his back pocket, leaving his other hand free to perform Dramatic Emotive Gestures.

"I don't remember the morning I tried to forget,

I lost myself and it's better not said

Now I'm closer, to, the edge,"

Natsu pointed at that empty fucking chair with all the grace of 2009 Jared Leto he could muster. He imaged the camera right by his face, the lights, the crowd, the band behind him. He gritted his teeth as he sang for full scale emotional intensity.

"It was a thousand to one and a million to two

Time to go down in flames and i'm taking you

Closer. To. The. Edge."

He fully enunciated every word as though he'd never once stuttered speaking to a stranger or a pretty blonde girl. As though this was his stage and his song and he fucking owned this.

"No I'm not saaaaaaaaying, I'm soooooooorry,

One day, maybe we'll meet again."

He screamed the words into the mic because they did they did meet again and he wasn't sorry for that not one bit and by god he wasn't going to mess it up this time. He ripped the mic from the stand as he finished the chorus, kicking the stand away in the process so he was unhindered as the next verse began and he stepped forward calmly to sing about dreams and music and falling and getting back up and fuck he loved this song Gajeel be damned.

He punched his fist into the air with every no he sung into the mic. He closed his eyes and for a second he was there. The crowd was there with him, punching their fists into the air in time with his own. His through was tingling as he held the note and he could feel the heat of the lights on him as he plucked at his imaginary guitar strings during the bridge. By the time the song came to the close he finally opened his eyes and he could tell his voice was hoarse as the song finished.

"Closer to, the edge."

Natsu laughed to himself as he whipped the sweat from his brow and removed his headphones… to the sound of applause.

A single applause. Natsu looked up in horror to find the scantily clad brunette from earlier that had groped Lucy's… that had groped Lucy. Cana.

"Hhhooo boy!" She shouted from her seat in the back row, "Well, damn. I sure am on the edge of somethin'!"

Even from this distance Natsu spotted her wink. For the second time in a hour, he was sure he was gonna puke.

Gajeel lifted his eyes from the ninth thick line of crossed out lyrics, cocking his head to the side as he listened. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that was his dumbass cousin's voice faintly forcing its way into his cabin.

Had Natsu gotten his hands on a fucking megaphone?

Gajeel closed his eyes, concentrating on what the hell the words were supposed to be. No way...

Gajeel was going to get his hands on Natsu's iPod and delete everything pre 2010, that boy needed to stop living in his emo past. And he said Gajeel had bad taste in music.

"Yer owner's such a fuckwit he probably doesn't even know the mics on." Gajeel said to the bundle of blue fur curled into the crook of his knee. Happy lifted his head and blinked at Gajeel slowly, meowing loudly before tucking back into a fuzzy ball. "Ya get me." He nodded to himself, rubbing a knuckle between Happy's ears fondly, the small cat's low purr sparking the cat resting on Gajeel's head to begin to purr as well.

With a low curse Gajeel turned his attention back to the pad of paper in front of him. He couldn't even get a measly line down, and he was getting close to just digging through Gray's bags for a lighter and setting the entire fucking building on fire. Notebook included.

He'd save the instruments.

Probably.

Probably not his roommates though.

Gajeel settled for whipping the pencil across the room, sticking lead first between the paneling. Gajeel nodded to himself. Metal as fuck.

Panther Lily meowed in approval.

Happy didn't care. But Gajeel couldn't blame the cat, he probably had brain damage from listening to Natsu blubber over Lucy for months.

Gajeel pulled another pencil from behind his ear, two others pushed into the knot he had put his hair in to get it out of his face. He bit sharply on the end, pencil eraser gone so all he got was the sharp tang of metal and the satisfying crunch of the fake wood.

Maybe that was where his writer's block was coming from. Natsu had been getting his inspiration from love and flowers and other disgusting things so where was he, a true artist with an aversion to love songs, meant to gleam some ideas from? The sky?

Oh the sky looks so blue, he thought, just like your hair. The sun is her headband.

Gajeel sat up straight. No. This would not do. If he started singing about love- an emotion which he had never, for the record, experienced ever- what would he starting singing about next? Laughter? Friendship? The joy of learning?

Yeah fucking right.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. This was just a classic case of Overexposure. To Natsu, that is. That moron was so lovey-dovey Gajeel wouldn't be surprised if he woke in the night to find the hothead kissing his pillow. No, he had to distance himself so that his symptoms wouldn't worsen. No doubt the idiot would be on his way back any moment now once he'd realised the true scale of his embarrassment.

Gajeel decided to take a walk and stay clear of the drama.

He untangled Lily from his head, holding the black cat in one hand as he scooped the blue one in his other hand. Both meowed in complaint of being moved, limp in his hands as he stood from the bed. He rolled his eyes when he watched them snuggle deeper into the pillow he placed them on, Happy crawling on top of Lily before falling back asleep.

If Gajeel was less of a badass he'd call them cute. But he wasn't, so he shoved his notepad under the thin mattress, grabbed his noise canceling headphones, slung them around his neck as he grabbed his phone and threw open the front door to the cabin.

He was stopped from fully exiting, however, when he bumped into something. He looked around, confused as to what had blocked him.

"Oh um, hello," a light voice said. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at empty space in front of his face. It was like if he thought about her she just appeared.

"Whatcha want, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, feeling his lips crack into an unauthorized smile as he looked down. Levy pouted at the -very clever, Gajeel thought- nickname, hands fisting on her hips.

"I have a name you know." She said pointedly, glaring at Gajeel as she leaned forward. Heh, it was cute how she tried to intimidate him.

Wait.

No. She wasn't cute. Gajeel didn't think anything was cute.

"Yeah. Yer name's 'Shrimp'." Gajeel smirked, patting a hand on her head. Shit, she barely reached his ribcage when he flattened her hair. But damn if it didn't feel soft against his fingers.

"You're messing up my hair!" Levy complained, swatting at his hand. Gajeel it took back with a shrug, grin widening when she muttered as she fixed her bright yellow headband, the colour loud against her bright blue hair. Gajeel wondered if she dyed it. "Dummy."

"So what brings ya callin'? Need someone to lift you to reach the high shelf?" He teased. She blushed in irritation, huffing as Levy tried to think of a come back.

"No." She said, pausing again as she bit her lip. "I was looking for Lucy, and I thought she might be with Gray and Loke. But it looks like they're not here."

"Well why the hell am I 'posed to know where those idiots are?" Gajeel questioned, a heavy stone sitting in his gut at Levy's disappointed face, her frail shoulders dropping.

"We were supposed to go explore the camp together." Levy said, voice almost a nasally whine. She gave another heavy sigh, slipping her hands into the pockets of her shorts, white cloth peaking out from the short cargo coloured pants. Gajeel thought it was pretty stupid that her pockets were longer than her actual shorts, but he also wasn't about to tell that to Levy;s face when he could get an eyeful of thigh. Not that Gajeel was looking. Because he wasn't.

He wasn't.

"Well if ya promise to not bug me too much I can give you a tour 'till we find Bunny Girl." Gajeel grunted, shifting awkwardly on his feet. Why had he done that? The whole point of leaving the cabin was to not think about pretty girls.

Holy fuck he was going to fucking kill Natsu with one of the strings from that stupid red guitar.

"What?" Levy asked, brown eyes wide like a doe's. Gajeel grunted again, walking past her and down the path.

"It was just a thought." He said, ducking his head as he lifted his headphones over his ears. Maybe that would hide their burning colour.

"No, no, wait! Thank you, I'd- I'd appreciate that!" Levy called, hurrying to walk beside him. Gajeel looked from the corner of his eye, hesitating before pulling the headphones back to where they wrapped around the back of his neck, tucked under his bun. He stuffed his hands into his jeans, thumbnail rubbing along the pick he kept in his left pocket.

They walked in silence, nerves finally making Gajeel want to punch a tree. This was stupid. He was stupid. What did it matter that he could pick Levy up with one hand, or that she was showing what was probably an obscene amount of skin for a summer camp. Were the rips in the back of her tank top really necessary? Even if they looked metal...

He paid more attention to Levy as they wound their way through the cabin area. Her eyes were focused directly ahead, eyebrows set in concentration. She was taking almost three steps for every step he took. And that was fucking hilarious.

"Havin' trouble there, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, widening his stride. He wondered if he could make her run to keep up.

"Well not all of us are so blessed in the height department." Levy snapped, irritated scowl pulling down her full lower lip and making the bridge of her nose bunch. She gasped when she noticed his longer strides, swatting at his chest with the back of her hand in an offended motion. "You're doing this on purpose!" She accused, stopping in her spot and crossing her arms to glare at Gajeel.

"Gihii, I don't know whatcha talkin' 'bout Shrimp." Gajeel drawled, scratching the side of his face as he looked her over. "Ain't my fault ya got some size envy."

Levy's glare finally made a shiver crawl along his spine, and a thought crossed his mind that Levy could very well kick his ass is she wanted to. He had no idea how, but it still felt very true. "I mean, I'm sure bein' so small could come in handy. Like communicating with the mice that make your clothes." Gajeel bit his tongue. Why couldn't he stop teasing her?

"Are you calling me Cinderella or referencing a children's book?" Levy asked, suspicious as she slowly walked back to his side.

"Uh," Gajeel stumbled over his words. Shit. "No?"

"Because that book was my favourite when I was a kid," Levy hummed, tone suddenly light as they began walking again. "I think it was called Everything For Something? Or was it Nothing From Someone?" Levy hummed, tapping a finger on her lips as she spoke. Gajeel twitched with each improper title. Obviously it was Something From Nothing, but he wasn't about to say that. He shrugged instead, focusing on the few birch trees in between the maple and harlequin trees, their white and peeling bark standing out in the sea of green.

"Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me." Levy pouted, put out by being unable to trip up Gajeel. He began to pick at the flaking design on his guitar pick in his pocket as silence fell over them again. Why did he care if it was awkward? He didn't, because that would A; mean he cared at all -which he didn't- and B; that Gajeel felt awkward, which he definitely didn't. He also didn't want to hear Levy laugh. She probably snorted like the nerd she was for knowing that reference.

"So how'd ya know Erza?" he asked instead of keeping his fat mouth shut. Maybe he should pick up his bad habit of chewing on his necklace. At least then his fucking voice wouldn't crack. Not that it cracked. Because Gajeel was past puberty, obviously.

He didn't know how but he blamed Natsu.

"Oh, I take Judo with Erza, and she teaches a self defence class I go to sometimes." Levy said easily. At least Gajeel knew his self preservation instincts were right, if she was in the same class as Erza then she could take his ass in an instant.

"I haven't seen ya around the city. Though I guess I wouldn't be looking so close to the ground to notice, gihii-urgh." Gajeel said, smirk falling as she elbowed him in the spleen. Damn did she have pointy elbows, but Gajeel couldn't let her know that, so he kept walking, ignoring the throbbing and inability to breath.

"I'm not even that short!" Levy defended.

"Are you over five foot?" Gajeel asked, peering down at her expectantly.

"Four ten and a half." Levy grumbled under her breath, huffing and looking away when Gajeel cackled loudly. "Shut up. How do you know Erza, anyway? Judging by the way you ran at lunch I'd say you two know each other pretty well."

Gajeel grit his teeth when he remembered the fiasco that had been completely his cousin's fault. And his roommates for that matter. "We've both been regulars at camp for a couple years, my pink haired dumbass of a cousin too, and we go to East Hill together. If ya think she's a terror here you don't even know what she's like as student president." Gajeel shivered as he remembered their pep rallies, attendance not optional. "I don't know how Juvia manages to wring her in."

Gajeel and Juvia had come up through the same middle school class, both part of a local gang that Juvia's uncle had run. Igneel had tried to step in, but with Metalicana serving overseas as an army mechanic there had been little chance of Gajeel listening to him. They had both finally left together just before a big bust sent Juvia's uncle to jail and her on the street, then Gajeel's house. She had found solace in musical theater while Gajeel had reconnected with Natsu and Igneel, even if he'd never admit to his cousin how much he had helped him. Now Gajeel was set to graduate his metalshop program with honours next year, and Juvia wouldn't stop bugging him and Natsu to join band and work in the pit for her last performance. As if Gajeel was gonna go anywhere near Erza and her obsession with the stage, even if she was only the stage manager.

"Wow, it seems like everyone here knows one another," Levy sighed, the two now wandering through the outdoor activity stations. Gajeel raised a pierced eyebrow as he noticed the arrows and bows just laying in the field. Who was the genius that left those out?

"We get new people every year," he said gruffly, inspecting an arrow off the ground. "Like Bunny Girl and those the dumbass she brought with her."

"How come you call her Bunny Girl?" Levy asked, wandering to the next station that held bocce balls and lawn markers.

"'Cus she looks 'bout as scary as a cotton tailed rabbit." Gajeel said, head snapping to Levy when he heard a light snicker. Her hand covered her mouth but her dark eyes were dancing, and Gajeel grinned proudly. He'd managed to make her laugh.

"Don't let her hear you say that." Levy warned, wagging a finger at Gajeel even as she returned his shit eating grin -as his father liked to remind him every time they saw one another. "I'm sure it takes a lot of skill to herd Loke, Gray, and Cana. They're like cats."

Gajeel scoffed. "Don't insult cats like that."

Levy laughed openly, clasping her hands behind her back as they wandered past the rock wall and along the path that would lead them to the rehearsal studios. "You're right," she hummed.

"Hey! I see Juvia!" She said suddenly, gripping Gajeel's wrist as she began a light trot. Gajeel blinked dumbly down at where her tiny hand half encircled his wrist, just above the spike wristband he wore, because it was metal.

"Uh," he said, like even more of an idiot, letting Levy drag him to where Juvia had began to wave. He noticed how her hair bounced with each step, light and easily caught in the breeze as it fluttered around her head band. Gajeel was reminded how blue was his favourite colour.

Fuck.

Fuck.

Natsu wondered if he jumped off the stage if the five feet would be enough to kill him.

Probably not.

He debated trying it anyway as Cana sauntered down the steps. Natsu yanked at his headphones, stuffing them in what was already a knotted mess of wires into his hoodie pocket, hands following after he placed the mic on the ground as he tried to will himself to disappear. "So tell me, how'd you switch personalities like that?" Cana asked as she made her way to the stage, crossing her arms on the edge of the elevated floor and looking up at him. "One minute you're the dictionary definition of 'needs a hug but doesn't know how to ask for one' and the next you're Mr. Rock God, owning the stage like it's your bitch."

Natsu choked on his spit, taking a hand out of it's safety nest to pull his beanie further down his face. Maybe if he just prayed really hard a meteor would fall from the sky, killing him instantly. When a few seconds passed with no such divine intervention, Natsu released the breath he'd been holding and peeked at Cana, who now sat on the edge of the stage, one knee bent as an armrest and the other hanging off the old wood. She raised an eyebrow as more silence passed by them, taking a sip from a flask she had gotten from... somewhere.

"The music, I guess." Natsu mumbled, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. He knew that Cana was close to Lucy now, and whatever hope he had of not being a total idiot in front of her was gone. Her and Cana were probably going to laugh about it for hours. And Loke. And Gray too, probably.

Fuck.

Maybe he'd just live in the woods for the rest of camp.

"Well you should get that confidence with whatever you do. I haven't heard someone sing with that much raw talent for years." Cana said instead, and Natsu almost choked on his spit, again. He stalled under her suddenly serious look, head tilted forward as her mouth followed her lowered flask. "It suits you."

Natsu was struck by the sudden family resemblance between her and Gildarts. The old man had been Natsu's mentor the last few times he'd been at Fairy Tail, Natsu always feeling easy around him like he did with his own father. He didn't know why, but seeing the same eyes staring at him from the semi-drunk teenager both calmed and unnerved him.

'Um, thanks." Natsu said.

"No prob!" Cana smiled, back to her early cocky smirk. "'Sides, Lucy loves guys that look like they know what they're doing, and you have the right amount of innocent virgin that'll take her off her guard."

Natsu flushed deeply, stuttering over harsh denials at Cana's vague hand movements that gestured to, well, him. "I-, I mean I'm not not but I d-don't see, I- fuckin' alcoholic!" he finally spat out, glaring at the ground as he hopped from the stage, hands stuffed back into his pocket in fists. His glare snapped to her as she cackled loudly.

"Holy shit, if you could see your face! Relax buddy, no one cares here, duh. It's a stupid social construct anyway, no need to get your panties in a bunch." Cana waved off, patting him roughly on the back as she followed suit and pushed off the stage, walking towards the entrance to the arena.

Natsu debated turning on his heel and disappearing to go find a nice cliff to throw himself off of, but decided against it. Who would take care of Fev? Happy was sure to find a good home with one of his cousins, but his guitar? He wouldn't trust her with anyone but himself.

"Yknow," Cana began, pulling him from his thoughts, "your performance actually reminded me of someone."

Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

Cana opened her mouth to answer the question, but was interrupted by a very loud, very abrupt, distinctly red-headed-

"YOU THERE! HALT!"

Cana cursed to herself before springing up and grabbing Natsu by the scarf.

"Run for your life you virginal Jared Leto!"

Natsu fought for breath as Cana pulled him along, his feet complying with the harsh jolt from the rest of his body. He glanced behind them just as they slipped backstage to see two people, one with 'Camp Enforcer' written on her megaphone in sharpie, running down the steps towards the stage.

Why did he not check the mic was on?!

Eventually Cana let go of him to fumble with the dock on a stage side door. Her steady hand surprised him considering he was pretty sure that flask she'd had not five minutes ago was now empty. Within seconds they were out the door and barricading it behind them.

They ran for another five minutes. Making sure she-who-shall-not-be-named was no longer in pursuit. Cana found the whole endeavour quite hilarious. Natsu, however, was shitting himself. Even if Erza hadn't caught him now, there was no doubt she'd recognized his voice. She would come for him. Maybe not now. Maybe not later. But soon.

She would find him.

Natsu gulped.

"Anyway, what was I saying again?" Cana asked as though they hadn't just finished running for their lives.

"Something about my performance remind you of someone?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Please don't say Gray," Natsu cut in, "I couldn't live with myself."

"Oh no, you don't wear nearly enough eyeliner."

"I don't wear any eyeliner."

"That's not be point here," Cana waved her hand flippantly and pulled another, different flash from- well, it had to be thin air bc the girl had no pockets. Or y'know, an actual shirt.

And then she surprised him even more.

"You reminded me of Lucy."

Natsu froze.

"WHAT?!"

"Have you ever seen her perform." She insisted, "And I don't mean that fancy-smanshy graceful piano playing- I mean really perform."

"I-I've never even heard her sing."

"Well first of all, you're missing out. But second of all," Cana smiled to herself, "About a year ago Lucy had this huge argument with her Dad. I can't even remember what it was about but fuck- she stayed at my house for a full week. Then all of a sudden, she just went home. Said everything was fine. Loke found out she'd signed up to the talent show the next day, and eventually she all asked for our help in putting her act together. But it was her act. It was the first time she ever went solo."

Natsu listened with interest, not quite understanding where Cana was going with this.

"She invited her dad. Reserved the best seat in the house for him. And by god, that was the best 'fuck you' performance I've ever seen in my life."

"What did she do?" He was a little afraid to ask.

"She sang Not Ready To Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks and man, country was so unexpected but fuck if she didn't work it." Cana looked up at the sky, awe in her eyes as she relived the performance. "Played her violin as even more of a 'in your face, Dad' point and damn if I didn't cry tears of joy watching that angry little blonde seeth into the microphone and play her violin to a non classical song. The audience broke into the loudest applause of the night, even if her dad refused to pay for mer music lessons afterwards."

Natsu stumbled over a stone. "He stopped her from playing and singing because she was mad at him?" Natsu asked, horrified. He and Igneel had gotten into a few screaming matches about his attitude when he was younger, sure, but the thought that Igneel would ever deny him a part of himself, Natsu just couldn't imagine a parent doing that.

"Pssh, as if. Nah, Lucy used the allowance she had been saving and applied for scholarships for the programs. Got in too, when she proved that her father refused to support her." Cana brushed off, turning over the empty flask and pouting as it solidified her lack of prohibited drink.

"Oh," Natsu said. Real smart. Cana's telling him about a major moment in Lucy's life and all he can say is 'oh'. Still better than being caught by Erza though, so Natsu would take it. He looked around as they met the main path that led in a loop around camp, pale gravel reassuring as it meant he was only a few minutes away from being able to hide in his cabin for the next 48 hours.

"Shit."

Natsu was being yanked by his scarf -again- before he could ask what Cana had seen, forced to look at the bulletin board that would house the weeks' themes once they were released. Right now though, it held bulletins for school opportunities, programs, concerts, scholarships, and dead center; a poster for a karaoke night happening at the camp fire after sundown tomorrow.

"You two! Have you seen anyone run by here?" A voice called behind them, Natsu feeling his soul try to escape via puking and every nerve in his body fighting between 'run for your life' or 'lay down and accept your fate'.

"No idea what you're talkin' 'bout Erza," Cana drawled, perfectly playing the clueless camper role. "But if you see who had just been singing tell them congrats on the record deal quality voice."

Natsu blushed at the compliment, hands fisted tight in his pockets and struggling to concentrate on the board. There was no way she meant that. Natsu had an average level voice, at best. Now, if he could show off his guitar skills, then maybe she would tell Lucy about it...

"I will tell them that the stage is off limits territory when not during an event." Erza snapped, obviously irritated at missing her victims. Aka, Natsu. "What are you two doing here anyway?" she asked, squinting when Natsu finally turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"Just checking out the opportunities on the board!" Natsu said, voice cracking and sending him burrowing into his scarf.

"Yeah, I was just convincing Natsu here to do karaoke night! Can't keep all this talent hidden behind a dumbass beanie!" Cana added eagerly, slinging an arm around his shoulders and somehow dislodging his 'dumbass' hat. Natsu squawked as he lunged for the grey beanie, too late to do anything else but clutch it to his chest.

"Damn! What bet did you lose?" Cana guffawed. Natsu shrank under her laughter and tried to elbow her arm off his shoulders. Why was she the same height as him?

"It's just my hair," he grumbled.

"It's a good thing Lucy's favourite colour is pink then, eh?" Cana continued to tease, grinning at Erza. "But really, this can't be his actual hair colour."

"It is." Erza said with a small smile at Natsu. "And I think it suits him. I will see you both at campfire tonight! I'm looking forward to hearing what you choose to perform tomorrow Natsu."

Natsu watched blankly as Erza and a girl with purply black hair and a deadly stare stalked off. "What the fuck?" Natsu hissed, shoving off Cana roughly and yanking his beanie over his head.

"Aw cmon, don't be so sensitive." Cana rolled her eyes. "Besides, she bought it!"

"Now I have to sing at that stupid karaoke thing." Natsu grumbled. What if there were no good songs, or if his voice cracked. Sure Natsu could sing in the shower, but he'd never actually sang in front of people.

He wanted to put his head through the cork board. Why was he acting so insecure? He was Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel Dragneel, renowned rescue helicopter pilot. He could do anything he put his mind to.

Except talk to pretty girls like Lucy apparently.

"Well, if you do manage to find the balls to get on stage, try and pick a song you know in your sleep. Or come see me for a confidence boost recipe." Cana winked, wagging her empty bottle beside her head.

"Erm..." Natsu said, helpfully. What the fuck had he gotten himself into?

A/N: Go Natsu belting out the bangers! Hope you guys are liking it so far, let us know!

- HN & NJAF