Happy Earth Day! Have you guys been recycling today? I hope so, because I haven't. :')
I hate that there isn't much action in this chapter, but the next few chapters will definitely make up for it. I've got it all planned out and it's just going to be great!
/LOUD SCREAMING BECAUSE THE NEW FAIRY TAIL CHAPTERS. Okay, I can't be the only one who was so relieved after chapter 430.
I really want to apologize to those who don't read the Fairy Tail manga. Please, just ignore me when I talk about it, lmao.
ALSO, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 1,000 REVIEWS!
There's too many caps in this A/N today, wow.
It really means so much to me that I'm able to make you guys happy with my writing. It only makes me want to work even harder, so thank you. ;w;
Well, that's all I have to say today! Please enjoy and see you next week!
"I'm going to die of heatstroke," Natsu groaned, lying on the floor in the middle of the apartment.
"It's not that hot," Lucy rolled her eyes while never taking a break to fan herself with her hand.
It was one of the most sweltering days in Magnolia and it was just their luck that their apartment didn't have air conditioning.
All of the windows were open, all the fans were spinning, yet it didn't help their damp foreheads.
"How about we go out somewhere?" she proposed in order to escape the humidity for a bit.
"Will the place have air conditioning?" he inquired without raising his head to look at her.
"Hopefully," she responded.
She could see Natsu's sticky skin peeling away from the floor as he picked himself up and stretched.
"I don't mind," he yawned. "Where do you want to go?"
"I think a new ice cream stand just opened down the street," Lucy recalled. "It's outside, though."
"Let's go then," he said, shuffling to his room. "Let me go get a shirt."
"Should I invite everyone else?" she asked before he entered his room.
"It's too early in the summer to see Droopy Eyes," Natsu shook his head. "We can invite them another day."
Lucy paused, forcing down all the joy that wanted to blossom inside of her.
Once Natsu had put on one of the most wrinkled shirts Lucy had ever seen in her life, they exited their stuffy apartment.
"It's hotter out here than it is at home," Natsu grumbled.
"Don't think about it," Lucy commanded, leading him to where most of the people on the street were rushing off to.
"It's only the fourth day of summer but I feel like I've lost twenty pounds," he continued to whine, putting over half of his body weight on Lucy by leaning on her.
"Are you done yet?" she quipped as she pushed him away.
"I won't be until I get my ice cream," he declared.
Lucy gave him a hard stare. "Did you not hear how childish you just sounded?"
"Yeah, I know," he grinned.
The blonde rolled her eyes for the thousandth time that day. Entering the end of the long line, they patiently waited for their ice cream.
"I want to go swimming," he stated randomly.
"Is there a pool close to here?" Lucy asked.
"There's a beach a few hours away from here," he revealed. "Lisanna has a beach house over there."
"A beach house?" she repeated incredulously.
"Her parents," he merely shrugged in response.
"Are you talking about me?" a voice inquired behind the couple.
Lucy spun around to find a beaming Lisanna behind her.
"I was telling Lucy about your beach house," Natsu explained.
"It's not as impressive as it sounds," Lisanna immediately assured Lucy's surprised expression.
"Whatever," Natsu scoffed, turning to Lucy. "It has three floors."
"That sounds pretty impressive," Lucy mumbled.
"It's not!" Lisanna reassured. "How about you come and see it?"
"Can I?" Lucy blurted out with large eyes.
"Mira and Elfman love having my friends come over," Lisanna replied with a smile. "I'll invite everyone else, too."
"When would we go?" Lucy asked excitedly, loving the idea of being at house right beside the beach.
She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to the beach—let alone vacation.
"Well, we have to clean up everything and that takes a while," Lisanna hummed in thought, but when an idea popped in her head, she snapped her fingers.
"How about we go for Natsu's birthday?!"
"Why my birthday?" Natsu lifted a brow.
"It'll be perfect timing," Lisanna answered. "We can spend all day celebrating your birthday."
Natsu gave another half-hearted shrug, directing his attention to the approaching ice cream stand.
"We should go for Natsu's birthday," Lucy said with a nod. "It sounds like a lot of fun!"
"I'm so excited now!" Lisanna cheered happily.
"Me too," Lucy agreed; she tried not to daydream too much.
"Here, Luce," Natsu handed her an ice cream cone with two scoops of strawberry ice cream.
"What about me?" Lisanna pouted.
"Get your own," Natsu stuck his tongue out at her before focusing on his four scoops of chocolate ice cream.
Staying behind for Lisanna, they waited for her to get her ice cream. Lucy was just about to invite her to the apartment, but Lisanna began to step away.
"I have to go give this to Mira and Elfman before it melts," she lifted the two ice cream cones in her hands. "I'll call you soon to tell you when we'll go to the beach!"
"Going to the beach sounds so relaxing," Lucy sighed with content, gleefully eating her ice cream as they sat on a nearby bench after Lisanna hurried away.
"Have you been to the beach before?" Natsu inquired.
"I can't remember the last time I've been," she admitted.
"It'll be fun," he guaranteed, going on to the cone of the ice cream. "The nights over there are the best."
Lucy didn't want to hear any more about the beach house—it wouldn't help her already overflowing excitement—but she didn't stop Natsu from telling her all about it.
"Getting there is a nightmare, though," he leaned back on the bench, letting his neck hang.
"H-How bad is it?" she questioned hesitantly.
"I don't want to talk about it," he gave a refusal shake of his head. "You'll see how bad it is when we go."
Within seconds, the lively beach in Lucy's mind turned into a deadly one.
"Now I'm not sure if I want to go anymore," she stifled an anxious laugh.
"May the best man win," he stated.
Lucy's eyes widened at how much dread was in Natsu's voice. She watched him rise from the bench.
"I don't want to go home yet," he took several steps away, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Let's go somewhere."
She pressed her lips together to hide away her smile while standing up with him.
"Last one to get to the arcade has to pay for all the games!" she proclaimed, sprinting away from him.
And with that, they began to race against together to the arcade—the beach house lingering in the back of their minds.
Lucy had never felt so elated after a phone call once Lisanna had revealed the news.
"Two weeks!" she announced. "Since Natsu's birthday is Sunday, we'll go to the beach from Friday to Monday."
Lucy could feel just how excited Lisanna was on the other end of the call; that only meant everybody else in the group were looking forward to it just as much.
Over the course of the next two weeks, Lucy planned, shopped, and slept for the upcoming vacation.
Picking out the cutest outfits, swimsuits, and most effective sunscreen, she was ready.
"I don't need any new clothes," Natsu protested when Lucy dragged him out of the apartment to the mall.
"Have you seen how dirty your shirts have gotten lately?" she scoffed in response. "You need some new clothes."
After they had enough clothes that would last them for the whole four day vacation, all they could do now was wait for the date to arrive.
It wasn't until there were two days left when Lucy realized she had forgotten to inform the person who needed to know about the vacation most.
"Hey, Mom," Lucy smiled into the phone when the call connected.
"How are you doing, dear?" Layla asked with her voice filled with a subconscious worry.
Lucy couldn't deny the voice of her mother's comforted her instantly.
It all came spewing out of her at once. She felt the need to drink a glass of water after all the talking she had done about all her adventures.
"It sounds like you've been having a lot of fun," Layla laughed lightly. "You don't miss your father and I, even just a little a bit?"
"Of course!" Lucy exclaimed. "How could I not?"
"So, you'll be spending your birthday at the beach this year?" Layla clarified.
Lucy froze, her mouth abruptly closing.
"Don't tell me you forgot about your birthday," Layla sighed into the phone.
"I don't know how, but I did," Lucy winced with shame.
"You're just like your father," Layla stated with amusement. "I'm sorry we can't spend your birthday with you this year."
"I understand," Lucy assured. "It's okay."
There was a short silence which was interrupted by a fit of coughing.
"Is that Dad?" she asked, listening intently. "Is he okay?"
"He's been coughing a lot lately," Layla answered. "He's been working too much."
"Has he been sleeping well?" Lucy inquired.
"I sure hope so," Layla responded with more coughing fits in the background. "Well, I hope you enjoy your birthday, and don't get into trouble on your vacation."
"Never," Lucy spoke with a grin.
"Oh, Lucy!" Layla raised her voice before she disconnected the call. "Have you been keeping your apartment clean?"
"I'm managing," she confessed. She had just finished sweeping the floor that was solely covered with Natsu's crumbs.
"And imagine if you brought Plue? Your apartment would be a mess," Layla pointed out.
Lucy stayed silent, remorse flooding in her veins.
Hiding a secret from her friends was bad already, but it felt ten times worse when she hid it away from her mother.
Lucy knew her mother wouldn't approve of her living with Natsu at first. It would take time for her to approve, especially her father. And she couldn't forget to mention the hundreds of lectures she'd receive.
But if that's what it took to get rid of this deep feeling of regret, she was willing to take the risk.
"Hey, Mom—"
"Sorry, dear, I need to go," Layla interrupted. "Enjoy the beach for me!"
Without another word, the call ended.
"Were you going to tell your mom about us living together?" Natsu poked his head into Lucy's room seconds after she was hung up on.
"Y-Yeah," Lucy stammered. "But she had to go."
"No rush," he reminded her smoothly.
"Sure," she muttered.
Pushing away her guilt to think about other things, the remaining two days soon breezed past her.
And the third Friday of the summer soon arrived with the entire group all packed and ready to go to the beach.
With Fairy Tail being their designated spot, Lucy was forced to haul Natsu with her to the restaurant.
"What if my motion sickness patches don't work like last time?" he complained.
"They won't work if you keep saying that," Lucy threatened.
They were the last ones to reach the restaurant; Lucy braced herself to see what outrageous vehicle they'd be riding to get to the beach house.
"We're riding a van?" she inquired with a dull expression.
"I'm already getting the chills thinking about being in there," Natsu shuddered.
"Me too," Gajeel shivered along with him.
Lucy sighed, feeling as though Natsu had purposely made her worry. She wouldn't be surprised.
"You won't believe how many motion sickness patches Gajeel has on right now," Levy whispered into Lucy's ear, giggles mingled along with her voice.
"Men!" a deep voice howled into the air.
"Don't mind my brother, Elfman," Lisanna waved a hand in the air to dismiss him. "He's weird."
Once Elfman—who was incredibly large for someone his age—had piled the group's luggage into the back of the van, everything was all set.
"I'm not sitting next to Flame Breath," Gray immediately declared before they picked their seats.
"Me either!" Lucy yelped, putting a finger to her nose.
Lisanna was too busy giving the group a dumbfounded expression which left her to be the last one to touch her nose.
"Whatever!" she brushed it off with a shrug. "Let's just go to the beach!"
Lucy shouted along with everyone else in happiness, joyfully entering the van.
She didn't know how she ended up in the very back of the van beside Gray, but she didn't mind.
As long as the nauseous Natsu and Gajeel were at the front of the van, far away from her, she was fine with anything.
"Oh, before we go," Lisanna spoke up, twisting around to face them. "Elfman's driving is horrifying, so try not to pay attention."
Elfman snickered at the front of the van, glancing at them through the rearview mirror.
"Get ready, men," he sent them all a mischievous grin while inserting the key into the ignition, the engine coming to life.
"Elfman, pull over, I feel sick," Natsu begged.
"No, Natsu," the group said in unison.
"We haven't even left the parking lot," Gray scoffed under his breath.
And after shutting Natsu up with Lisanna's hand covering his mouth, they were off to the simmering ocean and bright blue skies.