Oh, what to say about Fairy Tail chapter 421. Can we all just take a moment and appreciate the scene of Natsu tickling Lucy with Happy's tail?
That may or may not be the first scene for next week's chapter of this fanfic. :')
While I was writing this chapter, I realized I need to start shifting towards the third person omniscient side.
So from now on, everyone will be able to know some little extra things in the story. :-) It won't be a drastic change of perspectives, but it'll be slightly broadened chapter by chapter. Hope you guys are okay with that!
The next time I'll be updating it's going to be March. If that doesn't freak anybody else out, I have no idea what's wrong with you guys.
But just 10 more months until Christmas!
Hopefully, you guys enjoy this chapter! Finally some progress. We need some in this story, haha.
Here's chapter 12~
The apartment was strangely silent the next morning.
As Lucy hoisted herself out of her bed for school, she could hear the low creak of the floor with each step she took.
After hastily brushing her teeth, she exited the bathroom and suspiciously scanned the quiet apartment.
"He overslept, didn't he?" she muttered with quick strides to Natsu's bedroom.
"Natsu, wake up," she commanded while opening his door.
Her eyes widened with surprise when she was met with an empty room. That's when she was reminded.
"We're fighting," she stated dully.
One of the missing lunch bags confirmed that Natsu decided to leave earlier than usual.
It made sense that he was already gone; he was saving them the trouble of becoming awkward with one another.
Despite avoiding some awkward interaction, Lucy had never felt so lonely before as she dressed herself for school and ate her unappetizing breakfast.
"I wish you could talk, Happy," she sighed while she threw out her food that had hardly been touched.
Happy purred in response and went inside Natsu's bedroom—leaving Lucy all by herself again.
Even though this was how living independently was supposed to be like, she didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.
Leaving the apartment, she strolled to school, appreciating the spring air. It was much fresher than her dreary home.
"Good morning," Lucy greeted her friends when she entered the classroom. She was slightly relieved to see Natsu's seat was empty.
"Good morning!" Levy waved from her seat.
Lucy could tell Levy was more energetic than usual. She immediately understood the reason why after her eyes landed on Gajeel.
"Is he sleeping?" she whispered, pointing a finger at his snoring body.
"He told me to wake him up when class is over," Levy replied normally. "He's a heavy sleeper."
"Isn't he going to miss the notes during class?" Lucy remarked.
"I'm going to be writing down the notes for him," Levy informed.
Lucy scoffed at her response, adding under her breath, "You like him too much."
"What did you say?" Levy asked. "I couldn't hear you."
"Nothing," Lucy shooed her away.
"Good morning, guys!" Lisanna smiled as she sat in her seat.
"Good morning," Lucy and Levy responded.
"Good morning, Lucy," Gray told her as he entered the classroom next.
Lucy smiled as her greeting, but it wavered once she noticed who was trailing behind him.
Instantly, Natsu and Lucy's eyes connected. She swiftly averted her eyes away from him.
"Are you ready to work in front of us, Lisanna?" Levy grinned.
"I'm nervous," Lisanna laughed softly. "But I'm happy to have you guys come again!"
"You think you can get me some free food this time?" Natsu sought hopefully.
"If she said no the first time, what makes you think she'll say yes the second time?" Cana rolled her eyes at the question.
"I'm going to try until she says yes," Natsu declared.
"Maybe," Lisanna gave a sly smile.
"See?" Natsu smirked towards Cana.
Before Cana could retort anything back, the bell began to ring. As class started, Lucy took the time think about the situation with her and Natsu.
She absolutely hated the tension she knew she wasn't imagining between them. She could see Natsu in her peripheral vision taking subtle glances at her.
All Lucy wanted was everything to be okay again.
But how could she make that happen when each of her mental apologies just didn't sound right? They all sounded like she was accusing him.
Lucy was just too stubborn to apologize. And unfortunately, Natsu was, too.
"I love lunch!" Levy sang happily after the bell dismissed the students to eat.
"You should make some for Gajeel someday," Cana teased.
"Don't say things like that," Levy whined.
"I wouldn't mind," Gajeel spoke, rising from his seat.
"I-I thought you were sleeping!" Levy exclaimed with large eyes.
"I was," he nodded. "So, when will you make my lunch? Tomorrow?"
"Sure," Levy squeaked.
With another short nod, Gajeel left the classroom.
"Why did you say that?!" Levy pouted to Cana.
"Hey, I think he likes you," Cana smirked. "Don't mess up his food tomorrow."
"Lu-chan, can you make it for me?" Levy asked desperately.
"Sorry," Lucy forced herself to shake her head.
"I can give you some recipes," Lisanna offered.
"Please do," Levy begged.
Lucy couldn't help but laugh at her frenzied best friend. She watched her other best friends with amusement, but was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder.
"You're not eating again?" Gray inquired.
"I'm not really hungry," Lucy answered.
"You better eat at Fairy Tail or else," he attempted to threaten.
"Of course," she assured.
"If you're not going to eat your food, you should give it to Natsu," he advised. "He won't stop complaining about being hungry."
"Here," she handed him her lunch bag. "Give it to him."
Gray gave her a puzzled expression, but ended up taking it with a shrug.
Lucy didn't bother to watch Gray give away her food. She twisted back around to her friends and tried to keep up with the conversation, but was interrupted once again.
"He doesn't want it," Gray stated.
"Why not?" she asked, incredibly surprised Natsu refused the chance to eat more food.
"He said you should eat it," he revealed.
Lucy's breath hitched in her throat as she paused.
"Okay," she took back her bag. "I will."
Giving her a smile, Gray went back to his group of friends.
Lucy blankly stared at the lunch bag. She knew she should eat, but she couldn't bring herself to. She knew her body would reject any food she tried to force in.
"We're going to Fairy Tail after school, right?" Jellal joined the group of girls several minutes before lunch ended.
"Yep!" Lisanna confirmed.
Lucy could see in everyone's eyes—especially Erza's—how much they were looking forward to going to Fairy Tail.
"I'm so excited to go again!" Levy nearly bounced off the walls while the desks were being pushed back to where they belonged. "Are you excited, Lu-chan?"
"Of course," Lucy nodded. "I look forward to it."
Levy could hear something odd in Lucy's voice, but a sneaky hand at her desk grabbed her attention.
"You don't get to eat my food until tomorrow!" she scolded Gajeel, smacking his hand away.
Gajeel raised an eyebrow, leaving Levy terrified about what he was going to say next.
"Okay," he shrugged.
Lucy tried her best not to giggle aloud; she would truly never get enough of their conversations.
The day was only halfway over and Lucy was beginning to deeply regret not eating her lunch. She was having the worst stomach pains of her life.
She laid her head down on her desk in the meantime. When she listened to the last bell of the day, she breathed out a sigh.
"Lucy, are you alright?" Gray studied her for a moment.
"I'm fine," she bluffed, feeling as if her stomach was being kicked again and again.
"Can we go to Fairy Tail now?" Erza asked the group. The strawberry cake was clear in her eyes.
"I'm so hungry, I'm going to eat everything on the menu," Natsu claimed.
Lucy walked behind the group with not only stomach cramps, but a faint chest pain gradually returning after noticing Natsu and Lisanna.
She couldn't do it anymore; Lucy needed a break just for today.
"Hey, guys," she spoke up while they stepped outside.
"What is it?" Levy tilted her head.
"I don't feel good," she confessed. "I'm going to go home."
"Are you okay?" Lisanna questioned with concern in her eyes.
"I will be if I go home," Lucy guaranteed.
The group exchanged a look but they reluctantly let her go.
"Feel better soon!" Levy called out.
Lucy waved behind her, hurriedly walking home. Her legs were trembling like crazy. With each heavy step she took, the world around her swayed.
It wasn't until she was treading up the stairs when her legs gave out.
She shut her eyes as her knees buckled but before hitting the cold metal stairs, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her up.
"You don't look alright to me," Gray muttered, helping her up the stairs.
"My stomach hurts," she admitted, allowing him to nearly carry her up to her apartment.
"Don't tell me you didn't eat lunch?" he inquired as he searched for her keys.
"Or breakfast," she added.
"You need to eat right now," he ordered once they were inside the apartment.
"Can I lie down first?" she requested but plopped down on the couch before he could answer. If she didn't lie down now, she knew she would face plant the floor in seconds.
"I know I look bad. You don't have to tell me," she said to Happy who was staring her down from across the room.
"What do you want to eat?" he asked from the kitchen.
"Why aren't you at Fairy Tail?" she answered with her own question.
"As if I could go to Fairy Tail when you're as pale as the moon," he scoffed.
"Thanks, Gray," she smiled as she spoke, her eyes becoming extremely heavy out of nowhere.
"Wait, wait!" he scurried to her before she fell asleep.
"What?" she opened her eyes and forced herself to rise and sit upright.
"Let me check if you have a fever," he leaned over to her and placed a hand on her forehead.
The instant his hand landed on Lucy's forehead, she flinched.
"Your hand is freezing!" she exclaimed when Gray jerked his hand away in surprise.
"I can't really tell," he scrutinized at his hand, flipping it back and forth several times.
"I don't have a fever," Lucy assured. "I just need sleep."
Without another word, she went back to her previous position and pressed her head against the pillow. She shut her eyes again to stop the apartment from spinning any more.
"If I fall asleep, you can leave," she told him.
"Well, alright," he gave a sigh that was soaked with worry.
"Don't worry about me, Gray," was the last thing she said before her entire world became dark.
Lucy had absolutely no idea what year it was once her eyes fluttered open. She couldn't tell if she had slept an hour, three hours, or maybe even thirty minutes.
But what she did know was that she was extremely starving.
As her senses slowly returned, she began to hear loud frantic steps going across the floor and rummaging around in the kitchen.
She lifted her head—incredibly glad the world wasn't spinning anymore—and looked behind her to the kitchen to see what Gray was up to. Though, it wasn't him making the noise.
Natsu scrambled all across the kitchen, opening cabinets left and right. He quickly mumbled to himself as he searched.
"What are you doing, Natsu?" she asked.
Lucy watched as Natsu froze.
"You're awake," he swiftly turned around with large eyes.
"Yep," she nodded and started to push herself to sit up.
"Are you sick? Do you have a fever? Do you want me to make you something? I can go to the convenience store and—"
"Natsu," Lucy interrupted his rambling, holding back an amused smile. "I'm perfectly okay now."
"No way," he shook his head with skepticism. "You can't feel okay out of nowhere."
"Check me then," she pointed to her forehead.
Natsu didn't hesitate to sit beside her and reach out towards her. Lucy was shocked to feel a warm hand place itself on her forehead. It was so warm, she felt as though she could fall asleep again.
"How is this possible?" he breathed out. "Why does your forehead feel normal?"
He leaned back against the couch in relief, his chest rapidly rising and falling like he had just finished running a marathon.
Lucy knew she didn't have a fever in the first place, but seeing his reaction was priceless.
"Were you worried about me?" a giggle escaped her.
When he didn't reply, Lucy gave his cheek a poke.
"I wasn't," he stated with closed eyes.
Giving him a few more pokes, his eyes snapped open.
"I said I wasn't!" he repeated, snatching her finger.
Neither of them realized what was happening until Natsu was towering over her on the couch. Lucy stared up at him with startled eyes.
"Sorry," he apologized immediately, going back to leaning against the couch.
"It's okay," she responded with warm cheeks. "How was Fairy Tail?"
"I didn't go," he answered.
Lucy tilted her head with a perplexed expression. "Why not?"
"I was worried," he scratched the back of his head.
"So you were worried about me!" she proclaimed.
"Of course I was," he sighed. "You're my best friend. How can I not worry about you?"
Lucy blinked at him for a few seconds. Did she actually hear what she thought she heard or was she imagining?
"I thought Lisanna was your best friend," she blurted out.
"I can't have two?" he countered with a smirk.
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She shut her mouth, her teeth clicking when they connected.
It was quiet until Lucy and Natsu's stomach growled simultaneously.
"You didn't go to Fairy Tail," she realized.
"Nope," he smiled sheepishly.
"Let me go make dinner for us," she rose from the couch and began to step towards the kitchen.
"Hold on," Natsu said, instantly in front of her as though he was the one who got up first.
Without any warning, he leaned towards her and double-checked her forehead.
Their faces were so close, they could hear each other's breaths. Lucy examined Natsu's hazel eyes as he stood there longer than the first time.
"How can you tell if I have a fever or not?" she questioned, secretly wishing that Natsu would leave his warm hand there for the rest of the night.
"Magic," he grinned while pulling his hand away.
"Yeah, right," she stifled a laugh. "What do you want for dinner?"
"I'll help," he offered, following her in the kitchen.
Lucy was grateful she had an extra set of hands to help her make dinner. The more hands there were, the faster their dinner would appear.
And by how their stomachs seemed to be competing to be the loudest, they knew they needed their stomachs to be filled soon.
"I'm sorry," Lucy apologized the second they took their first bite of dinner.
"M-Me too," Natsu stuttered, clearly caught off guard.
"We're friends and friends need to help each other," she stated. "I understand why you tried to help me yesterday."
"And I get why you didn't want my help," he nodded in understanding.
"So we're okay now?" she asked softly.
"Always," he beamed with bright eyes.
"I can handle myself with Gray," she reassured.
"I know you can," he smirked.
"Isn't Lisanna going to be upset that you didn't go to Fairy Tail?" she remarked.
"I can go another day," he shrugged. "Being here with you is better, anyway."
The response made Lucy happier than it should had. It made her way too happy.
For once, the topic of Natsu and Lisanna didn't make her chest ache; there was a new feeling in her chest now. Lucy didn't need to think twice at what it was.
She knew exactly what this bubbly feeling was.
"What's up?" he raised an eyebrow after noticing she stopped eating.
"N-Nothing!" she squeaked, shoving all her remaining food into her mouth.
"Hey, you're going to get sick if you eat that fast—"
"It's okay!" she hastily gulped down her water.
"I'm going to check if you have a fever again," he began to lean over the table.
"I'm okay!" she repeated, rocketing out of her chair. She strode to the sink and wet the dishes.
"Where are you going?" he chuckled at her clumsy movements.
"I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight," she spoke in a rush, slamming her door behind her.
Lucy yelped in surprise when she realized Happy was in her room. He jumped off her bed and sat down right in front of her with his eyes boring into hers.
"No way," she shook her head, being able to read his eyes. "I don't speak cat."
She widened her door and allowed Happy to slide out.
Pacing around her room, she attempted to deny every emotion she was feeling, but it wasn't working.
She fell into her bed and pressed her face into her pillow. She couldn't believe her stupid looking pink-haired roommate was making her feel this way.
"Happy is right," she groaned with a muffled voice. "I like Natsu."
The statement sounded strange aloud. Too strange.
Lucy stayed still in her bed in the dark. At that moment, there were only two words running through her mind.
"Damn it."