This wasn't good. He's still here. I reached for the door handle and stepped through the door at the exact same second Natsu charged into my room. He fell right into me and knocked me onto the ground. I blushed as he sat on my legs.

"Lucy! Why did you leave? It's not safe!" he yelled.

"It's plenty safe," I mumbled. "And I only came back for a bath and new clothes. I told Mira to let you know I left when you woke up."

"Yeah, well, she woke me up and said that you left a few minutes ago, so I came straight over!" he said. "Don't leave me side again. I don't want anything to happen to you!"

My face turned an even darker shade of red, and his cheeks turned a little pink too. Wait, Natsu is blushing? Does that mean…?

"You llllllike each other," Happy said, floating above us.

"No we don't!" I mumbled. "And I don't like how much you're rolling your tongue!'"

Natsu stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up with him.

"Come on, let's just go back to the guild. Levy was just walking in when I left and asked how you were, so you better hurry and get to her," Natsu grumbled, looking at the ground. I smiled to myself and kept a hold on his hand.

"Well then let's go!" I said, pulling him after me. Happy flew above us, chanting some rhyme about us liking each other. Natsu looked shocked at first when I didn't release his hand, but a second later he grinned bigger than ever.

We walked back the entire way like that, and were still holding hands when we entered the guild. Mirajane noticed us and winked at me as we walked by. I dropped Natsu's hand the second I saw Levy and ran over to her.

"Lu-chan!" she yelled. I grabbed her into my arms and we hugged the life out of each other. "Are you ok? They wouldn't let me see you when you were in the medical room! And I saw you walk in holding hands with Natsu! Does that mean you told him you liked him?"

I slapped my hands over her mouth and looked around. Natsu was standing right behind me. Levy looked at me smugly and laughed as she skipped away. I stared at the ground.

"I like you too…," Natsu said, staring at the wall behind me. I looked up in surprise.

It's a lie. He hates you more than anything or anyone. You are too pitiful for anyone to ever fall in love with you.

"Yo, flame brain!" Gray yelled. He stalked p behind Natsu. "I heard you let Lucy leave alone this morning. Are you an idiot, or just insanely dense?"

"What you call me, droopy eyes?"

"I called you dense, squinty eyes."

"You think I meant to let her leave, Ice Princess?"

"How did you not notice? You were lying on top of her when I left!"

"STOP!" Erza yelled, shoving them apart. "How are you feeling, Lucy?"

"I'm okay," I said. There was no point in worrying everyone. It would just make them angrier.

"Are you sure? It looks like you have bags under your eyes. Are you sleeping properly?"

Natsu ran over to me and stared at my face. "Hey, she's right!"

"I promise I'm fine. It just took a while for me to fall asleep!" I insisted, crossing my fingers behind my back.

They know you're lying. They hate how you lie straight to their face. They hate you.

"Well, if you say so! Let's hang around here so you can rest, and then we can go on a job tomorrow!" Natsu said. I nodded mutely, relieved that they believed my story. Erza stared at me a second longer before walking after Natsu to the job board.

"I'm going too," she said.

"Me, too," Gray added. Natsu groaned.

"Gray, your clothes…," I started. He looked down and shrugged. I giggled and went to find Levy. She had some explaining to do.

I stared through the back of the carriage, straight at the sun. I didn't sleep at all last night, and I felt proud that I found a way around the nightmares. Natsu was spread out across from me, looking like he was about to hurl. Erza sat beside me, and Gray sat on the floor, since Natsu took up the entire bench.

"Are you sure you're ok? You look exhausted," Erza asked.

"I'm fine!" I promised her. It was getting a little difficult to keep my eyes open, but I could manage.

The cart rolled to a bumpy stop in front of the town. It was supposed to be an easy job. All we had to do was find some weird herb in the forest that was supposed to be guarded by a mage. Simple enough. Natsu picked the easiest job he could find; probably to make sure I would be able to handle it. We haven't talked about what happened in the guild yesterday. Did he really like me?

"Let me check in with the guy who posted the job and we can head out," Erza said, walking towards a little house on the corner. We stood around quietly waiting for her return. Natsu and Happy babbled on about something or other. I kept my eyes on the sun, trying to stay awake.

This job was going to be easy, they said. We'd be done in an hour, they said. Yeah, right. Instead of only being one guy guarding the plant, like the job said, there was an entire guild. And they were angry. Natsu tried to keep them all away from me, but he was swamped with all the men crawling over him. He was flattened onto the ground. The mages weren't very strong or powerful, but there were a lot of them. More than we could have ever imagined. What was so important about this stupid plant?

"Gate of the Lion, I summon thee. Leo!" I yelled. Loke appeared in front of me.

"I'm on it, princess," Loke said. A minute later, and we were both panting. We were pressed back to back. He punched everyone that came near his side, and I whipped everyone that came near me. There were just too many of them. Nothing we could do could stop them. If I hit one somebody, they would just stand right back up.

"Cover me!" I yelled to Loke. He nodded and picked up his pace.

"Gate of the Twins, I open thee. Gemini!" I yelled. The two little blue twins appeared in front of me. "Transform into Natsu and help us!" I said desperately. A few minutes later, everyone was down. Gemini used Natsu's powers and got rid of everyone easily. I sat on the ground and panted. Having two spirits out at once had used up all of my magic. Along with not having slept in the past 48 hours, I was about to pass out. I fell forward and lay on the ground. Loke and Gemini disappeared back into the spirit world, realizing how much pain I was in. Nobody noticed me at first. Erza went to pick the plant carefully. Gray and Natsu were arguing about who had defeated more people. In the end, it was Happy that realized I hadn't said anything, and that I wasn't in the same area as them. During the battle, Loke and I had moved more into the woods to fight.

"Lucy?" Happy called. Natsu and Gray cut off their fighting and looked around for me. It took everything I had to keep my eyes opened. I didn't have the strength to use my voice.

"You fool," Loke said, picking me up. He used his own magic to pass through the gate. He carried me over to where Natsu was searching.

"Lucy!" Natsu gasped. He took me out of Loke's arms and hugged me to his chest. "What happened?"

"She called out two spirits at once," Loke explained.

"I can walk," I breathed. I didn't want to be treated like a child.

They feel bad for you.

"No, you can't." Natsu said. I squirmed in his arms. Gray went to get Erza. They walked back together.

"You don't have to push yourself that hard!" Erza scolded. "Let's get back home quickly so you can rest."

Natsu put me gently back on my feet. I wobbled and almost fell immediately. Loke disappeared again.

"If you won't let me carry you, then how about this?" Natsu wrapped one arm around my waist and lifted my arm around his neck. I nodded grudgingly. We limped back to the town, where Erza delivered the plant and got the reward.

"It's getting late out. We should stay here for the night," Gray said. I tried to protest, but Erza cut me off.

"Good idea. Lucy should rest."

I sighed in defeat. I guess we're spending the night here.

I stood up and quietly walked to the door. Natsu and Gray were snoring on the floor, and Erza was sleeping in the other bed. To save money, we only rented one room at the hotel. Erza insisted that I get one of the two beds, and she took the second one herself. I tried to let one of the guys have mine, but once Erza makes a decision, there's no changing her mind.

Sneaking out of the room was simple enough. Now I just had to find somewhere to go. If I lay in a soft, warm bed at night, I will surely fall asleep. That's the last thing I need right now. Without sleeping, my magic energy won't restore easily, so I'm putting my friends in danger if we attacked again. But nothing was worth what Umidjon would do to me if I fell asleep.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" Loke sighed as I walked down the stairs. I almost tripped.

"Don't scare me like that!" I gasped, clutching my heart.

"Then tell me why you're sneaking out in the middle of the night in a town you know nothing about."

"I…I just need to go for a walk! It's really stuffy in there, so I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air!" I lied.

Loke sighed and shook his head. "Ok, princess. I don't agree with you going out by yourself, especially with how weak you are, but I'll stay quiet. Just promise me you'll get some sleep as soon as you go back inside."

"I promise." Loke vanished.

Stop lying. That's the reason he hates you. You lie to everyone.

"Shut up,'" I muttered. My feet dragged as I circled the town, once, then twice, and then three times. The sun was about to start rising when I went back to the hotel. I snuck in just as easily as I snuck out. Nobody noticed a thing.

They don't care about you.

Maybe…

1 Week Later

This was getting really damn hard. I haven't slept at all in an entire week. Don't ask me how I'm pulling it off, because I honestly have no clue. I was like a zombie. All I could do was eat and attempt conversations with people. I can tell that everybody is worried about me, but whenever they ask I always deny it. Natsu has stuck to my side like glue. He walks home with my every day and sleeps in my room every night with Happy. I have to go shopping every couple days, because he completely cleans out my fridge. Every time I go to the store, I always buy a few extra fish for the little blue cat.

My head was hurting today, so I left the guild earlier than usual. Natsu offered to come with me, but I lied and said I would probably just go home and sleep, and that he should stay here and have fun. He promised to meet me at my apartment in half an hour. I nodded and trudged home. Plue came out and walked with me. I had almost no magical power left by now. It hasn't regenerated since I haven't slept. Plue passed through the gate with his own magic. I haven't called anyone else out in the past week.

As always, I stepped onto the wall that separated the sidewalk from the river.

"Please be careful!" the fisherman called. I stumbled, but caught myself on time.

"Maybe you should get down!" he yelled again, seeing me trip.

"I'm fine, I promise!" I told him. Maybe I should….

Well, there's no point now. I was almost to my house. What would a few more feet do? I held out my arms for balance and stared straight ahead into the setting sun. The view in front of me quickly changed. Plue jumped in fear. Umidjon stood straight in front of me. The sun I was staring at earlier was replaced with his purple eyes.

"I told you I would get you when you least wanted me to," he laughed darkly. My head spun. I lost my balance and slowly fell, for the first time ever. I've walked on this wall countless times, told the fishermen that I would be fine countless times. And now, minutes after he floats away, I fall. My eyes are slowly closing. In slow motion, I leaned towards the water. Even the splash of the cold water couldn't wake me up. There wasn't time for me to catch my breath or even scream. I breathed in a lung full of water and choked. Was this going to be how I died? A second later, and my shoulder hit the bottom of the river. My cheek scratched against the sharp rubble. My eyes slowly closed as my vision blurred into nothing.

I told you so.

A/N: Super long chapter! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you like it so far!