Hello, hello! I hope you all are having a good day today!

I'm only on my second week of school and I just want to stop doing everything and sleep for about 5 years.

But I know I can't do that because I'm seriously going to get this story finished. I'm determined to end this story at chapter 35! (or 36... maybe) ;3 I hate that it has to end so soon, but it needs to be done!

I'm so overwhelmed and so so happy you guys have all enjoyed this story. I really didn't think this many people would like it! I appreciate you all so much, and thank you for reading my stories.

I do want to say that I always make sure to read your guys' reviews. I don't have time to reply to all of them anymore, but I do read them all! Your reactions are all so funny, I feel bad for torturing you all like this :') You guys are all so sweet and nice too asdfghl

Have no fear, though, because the drama will be cooling down next chapter. I'll be throwing lots of fluff (but which pairings? hmm) at you guys to heal your hearts, so be ready!

Also! I posted a one-shot on Monday for my best friend's birthday. It's basically Love At First Site's cousin, so go check it out if you want!

Sorry for the humongous A/N this time, but I just want to talk to you guys, okay. uwu

Again, thank you so much for reading! 900 favs? I'm going to scream until I pass out omg.

See you guys on the next chapter! :-) Hope you all like it, enjoy!

Gray wasn't sure how much he'd paced around Natsu and Lucy's apartment, but he was certain that it was more than he had ever done in his life. No matter how many times he put his clothes back on, they were subconsciously ripped off less than a minute later.

He trotted from the kitchen to the living room, the living room to the bathroom, the bathroom to the kitchen again, and sometimes he would enter Natsu's room for a change of scenery. Not once did he think about opening Lucy's door. He didn't want to even think about the note laying on her bed.

He called Lucy countless amount of times while he went all over the apartment and he still wasn't finished. He knew he was blowing up her phone, but the tight feeling in his chest wasn't going to go away until he heard her voice. All he needed to know was that she was okay.

However, Gray wasn't the only one being affected by Lucy.

Natsu had arrived to the apartment less than five minutes after Gray told him that she was gone. Gray couldn't hold back his bewilderment—Natsu was never this fast. Even when he mentioned that he just ordered pizza.

"Where is she?" was the first thing Natsu asked after breathlessly barging into the apartment. "She hasn't come back yet? Have you tried calling her?"

"She's not answering her phone," Gray mumbled as Natsu strode to Lucy's room and swung open her door to check inside. "Whoa, how are you able to do that so easily?"

"We live together," Natsu responded simply, roughly tugging at his scarf to let him catch up with his breaths. "You don't have any idea where Lucy is?"

Gray steps paused as he gave him a blank look. "Lucy didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?" Natsu frowned.

Gray ran a hand through his hair, his stress level rising each second. Not only had he entered Lucy's room without permission—he was also about to say her secret. He wasn't going to be surprised if she never talked to him again.

"What didn't Lucy tell me?" Natsu urged impatiently.

With a heavy sigh, Gray fell into the chair at the kitchen table.

"She's leaving Magnolia to go see her dad," he muttered.

"How do you know?" Natsu interrogated. "Did she tell you or are you assuming?"

"She told me," he answered, the rest of the explanation coming out of him before he could stop it. "She told me after I confessed to her."

The silence that floated between the boys was so tense, not even Happy was able to walk between them.

"After you what?" Natsu demanded once he found his voice again.

"I told Lucy how I felt about her on the school trip," Gray revealed, entwining and untwining his fingers together a few times. He couldn't bring himself to look up. "The campfire legend didn't work, though. She rejected me on the spot."

Natsu stared at Gray for a couple of seconds, grateful that his face was withdrawn. Natsu wasn't sure how obvious his relief was because the last sentence. All he wanted to know was if Lucy said anything about him during the confession, but he knew he couldn't ask something like that.

"S-Sorry," he ended up stuttering awkwardly.

"I got over it," Gray shrugged nonchalantly, lifting his head up to send him a smirk. "It sucks that it wasn't successful like yours and Lisanna's, but whatever."

Natsu's stomach flipped. "Well, funny thing is—"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence due to Gray's ringtone. Both of the boys' breaths hitched as Gray removed his phone from his pocket with flustered fingers.

Gray slightly shook his head, reading the caller ID. "It's not her."

"Who is it, then?" Natsu raised a brow.

"It's Juvia," he responded. "Don't give me that look, it's gross."

"I'm not giving you a look," Natsu grinned while Gray headed to the bathroom for some privacy.

"Stop it," Gray commanded under his breath as he shut the door behind him.

Natsu didn't hesitate to take his spot and pace around the apartment to pass the time. He wouldn't be able to act rationally if he didn't form out of a plan with Gray beforehand.

Some part of Natsu knew that Lucy wasn't gone. That was until a flood of second thoughts invaded his mind.

What if she was on a plane right now? Did she really leave without saying goodbye? Was that why she made the large breakfast this morning? The clouds were incredibly dark now, was she going to be okay if there was a storm?

"She's not gone," Natsu convinced himself firmly, dismissing all his taunting thoughts.

Taking out his phone, he began to call her to see if she still wasn't answering. Frustration quickly built up inside of him once he was directed to voicemail.

He had never felt this impatient before—he had never felt anything like this before.

"So, what should we do?" Gray questioned after his call with Juvia.

"Let's go to the airport," Natsu answered with no hesitation. "We'll see when the flights are, take the next one, go find Lucy wherever her dad lives, and—"

"Natsu, are you listening to yourself right now?" Gray cut him off. "You do know that the airport is two hours away from here, right?"

Natsu opened his mouth to reply, but promptly clamped it shut.

"How do you not know that?" Gray facepalmed with disapproval.

"I've never been to the airport before, okay?" he defended himself, folding his arms across his chest. "What do you think we should do, then, Ice Princess?"

"I think we should wait a few more hours," he admitted. "Let's see if Lucy calls us back and if she doesn't, we'll go to the airport."

"I don't think I can wait any longer," Natsu groaned. "Alright, fine, I'll try to wait. But if Lucy hasn't called us back by nighttime, I'm going to the airport."

"Sounds good," Gray nodded in agreement. "You'll have to go on your own, though. I have to work tomorrow morning."

"Fine by me," Natsu replied.

The two shared a short nod, simultaneously crashing into the couch. Both of them felt entirely helpless as they waited for either of their phones to light up with Lucy's name on it.

Playing video games as they waited didn't work in the slightest. Both of their minds were off into an entire different world—it took them several minutes to even notice they hadn't pressed play yet.

Natsu's mind was overflowing with Lucy. He needed answers to distract him for a bit.

"So, why did Lucy reject you at the campfire?" he asked as casually as he could.

"How am I supposed to know?" Gray scoffed. "Girls are weird."

"Tell me about it," Natsu muttered.

"Oh, what's that I hear?" Gray knocked his elbow against his, mocking him. "Having problems with your new girlfriend?"

"I guess you could say that," Natsu scratched the back of his head in response. "It's between me and her, so it's none of your business."

"I didn't know you were that kind of guy," Gray snickered, receiving a punch in the arm.

"Shut up," Natsu grumbled.

"Lucy didn't want to be with me because of Juvia," Gray returned to Natsu's question. "I think Lucy wanted me to give Juvia a chance instead."

"Why would Lucy want that?" Natsu inquired.

Gray shrugged. "Like I said, girls are weird."

Natsu returned his shrug—he unfortunately couldn't disagree.

It was beginning to be late afternoon when the two became so fed up with waiting, they decided to alternate turns on calling Lucy's phone.

"We've called her over a hundred times already," Natsu grimaced. "Why isn't she answering?"

"No idea," Gray murmured, glancing at the time. "I need to go soon. Juvia and I are planning to meet."

"You're going to leave at a time like this?" Natsu's eyes widened.

"You're here waiting for Lucy, aren't you?" Gray countered, picking himself up from the couch. "It's not like I'm the one she wants to see when she opens the door, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Natsu's brows furrowed, trailing behind him to the door.

"You'll figure it out someday, Flame-brain," Gray stated as he stepped outside, pausing slightly before what he said next. "Tell me when she comes back, okay?"

"Alright," Natsu nodded. "See you later."

Gray lazily waved behind him as he went down the stairs, but Natsu was already back inside the apartment and calling Lucy to see if she would answer again. The low rumble of thunder he was starting to hear made his heartbeats accelerate.

"Happy, you have any ideas?" he offered his pet, using him as his last resort.

Taking any clue he could get, Natsu strolled behind Happy as he led him to Lucy's bedroom.

"Hey, don't scratch the door. She doesn't like it," Natsu chided, gently pulling him back. "You want me to open her door?"

Curling his tail in the air, Natsu took that as a yes.

"Well, okay," he mumbled while shifting the knob and allowing Happy to go inside first. "What's in here you want to show me?"

His eyes followed the blue feline as he pounced onto Lucy's bed and leaned down to pick something up with his mouth. Happy turned around, holding a folded piece of paper between his teeth.

Immediately, Natsu's breath lodged into his throat. Was this what he thought it was? Betrayal surfaced into his chest when he uneasily unfolded the paper. If Lucy told him her plans on leaving, he wouldn't have let this ever happen.

Natsu could vividly imagine her elegant handwriting swirling all over the paper with her goodbyes written on it. He knew he wasn't ready to read it, but he forced himself to unfold it.

However, instead of being met with her flawless handwriting, he was met with handwriting that looked like chicken scratch.

"Isn't this my handwriting?" he scrutinized at the paper in confusion. He had no recollection on where the paper came from. After squinting and reading what he wrote, that's when all the memories came at once.

I really like her. I like her so much, sometimes my chest actually hurts. I don't know what this means.

"Happy, did you get this out from my room?!" he exclaimed incredulously, hastily whirling to his cat. "This was for an assignment for school! It's not—"

Natsu wasn't able to finish his sentence. He couldn't finish his sentence. Because whether he liked to admit it or not, what he wrote was very much real.

"Did Lucy see this?" he breathed out, staring at Happy for an answer.

This time, Happy's tail curled the opposite direction. Natsu wanted to hug his pet in relief; he yanked at his scarf to cool off.

Retreating back to the living room, he fell back down into the couch with his eyes shut. Never had he felt something as conflicting as this.

"I'm going to call her one more time," he declared to the ceiling. "If she doesn't answer, I'm going to the airport."

Bringing the phone up to his year, Natsu listened to the call ring. He balled his fists when he was sent to voicemail. He was planning on hanging up before the beep, but after hearing it, he couldn't stop himself from leaving a message.

"Hey, Luce, it's me. I've tried calling you all day, where are you? Did you take an umbrella with you? It's raining pretty badly right now. I'm starting to get hungry. Should I make some rice balls for us? This apartment is really boring without you."

Natsu couldn't control his words anymore. He said everything on instinct.

"Even though we saw each other this morning, I miss you. Is that weird? You know what's also weird? It's about Gray. I've been meaning to tell you this since the summer. I—"

Your voicemail has been sent.

"Hey, I wasn't finished!" he shouted at his phone. He tugged at his scarf again, his cheeks feeling abnormally hot. Was he getting sick?

Not having the energy to flip on the lights as the sky darkened, he laid on the couch in silence. The pouring rain that once soothed him did nothing but make him want to sprint to the airport and make sure Lucy was okay.

"If she doesn't come in five minutes, I'm going to the airport," he stated, forcing himself to wait just a while longer.

Natsu didn't take his eyes off the clock for a moment. He was ready to bolt to the door the instant five minutes passed.

When there were only thirty seconds left, thunder boomed from outside. Natsu cursed under his breath—he didn't want to imagine how Lucy was reacting to this storm. He already knew what the first thing he was going to do to her was.

Five seconds left.

Four seconds left.

Three seconds left.

Two seconds left.

One second left.

"Alright, Lucy, I'm—"

"Natsu?" a voice interrupted him. "What are you doing here?"

Natsu swiftly whipped around to the voice coming from the front door. His jaw dropped, his phone falling onto the floor with a thud.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Lisanna?" Lucy asked curiously. "Hey, what are you—"

"You're here," Natsu breathed out as he dashed up to her and wrapped his arms around her to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Lucy squeaked in response, her arms being stuck in his tight embrace. She didn't have time to close the door behind her; the cool air tickled the back of her neck.

"Natsu, are you okay?" she whispered, feeling his rapid heartbeat. Not only was his heart pounding in his chest, but his arms which pressed against her back were trembling as well.

"I'm okay now," he replied softly. "I'm okay now."

His arms around her loosened for a split second, and although Lucy felt horrible doing this, she took the chance to wrap her arms around his shoulders to comfort him. This was all she was doing—comforting him. Because she knew she wasn't able to do anything else besides this.

"I was so scared," Natsu finally spoke, his voice hardly above a whisper. "I really thought you left. I was really freaked out because you weren't answering your phone."

"Sorry, my phone died. Where did you think I went?" she questioned.

"To go see your dad," he responded. "Gray told me everything."

Lucy froze in his embrace. She wanted to jerk away from him; his hold on her didn't allow her to take even a step.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Natsu inquired, pulling away slightly to look at her. "Are you still planning on going?"

Lucy didn't look away from his intense gaze, no matter how close it was.

"I'm not," she shook her head. "I just came back from cancelling my plane ticket."

"You did?" he gaped at her with surprise. "Why?"

"Dad woke up," Lucy answered, a smile peeking out of her. "He doesn't need to be in the hospital anymore."

"That's great!" Natsu exclaimed, his eyes lighting up at the news. "So you're not going to leave? Ever?"

"Nope," the hint of her smile fully exposed itself. "I'm always going to be here."

In seconds, both of them wore matching smiles. Before Natsu could think about what he was doing, he did the first thing he was planning on doing in the first place.

"Natsu, what are you doing?!" Lucy giggled as he lifted her up in the air and spun her around the apartment. She hadn't even noticed that Natsu kicked the door closed in the process.

"I'm just happy," he grinned, eventually setting her back down. He leaned his forehead against hers with his eyes closed. "I'm really happy."

"That's good," she closed her eyes along with him. She could feel her heated cheeks, and she was surprised when she realized it wasn't only her cheeks that were warm this time. She was able to feel Natsu's face from the small amount of distance between them.

She felt Natsu's hands lightly trail up her arm. Once his fingertips gently took a hold of her jaw, she instantly lurched back.

"W-What are you doing?" she stammered.

"Sorry," he coughed out with embarrassment, taking a large step back. "I don't know what I was doing."

Lucy stared at Natsu with disbelief. She wasn't Lisanna—she wasn't the one he should be doing these things with.

Their hug was out of friendship and nothing more. Him spinning her around was out of friendship. He was happy because they were friends.

Natsu didn't feel the same way she felt.

"A-Anyway," he cleared his throat, getting in the way of her thoughts. "How did you walk through the rain?"

"I brought an umbrella since you told me about the clouds," she replied, lifting a finger and pointing to the dripping wet umbrella leaning against the wall.

"Didn't you hear the thunder?" he remarked.

"I had my headphones on," she answered with a smug look. "Were you underestimating me that much?"

"Of course not," he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just—"

Knocks on the door interrupted him. He scowled at the door as Lucy turned around to open it.

"I'm here to pick you up!" Levy proclaimed.

"Okay, let me get my umbrella," Lucy responded.

"Where are you two going?" Natsu asked while she grabbed the umbrella.

"Dinner," Levy grinned. "Sorry, you can't come. Girls only."

"I didn't want to go, anyway," he grumbled. "Oh, by the way, Luce, I have something to tell you when you come back."

Lucy raised a brow. "You better not forget."

"Won't happen," he guaranteed. "See you later."

"Bye, Natsu!" Levy waved, taking Lucy's arm and hauling her outside. Once Natsu closed the door, she commenced her investigation. "What was that all about? Does he usually say that to you after you leave?"

"N-No," Lucy shook her head. "I wonder what he has to tell me?"

"Well, you won't be able to find out until we're done eating. We haven't seen each other in so long, Lu-chan!" Levy babbled.

"You've been too busy with Gajeel," Lucy stifled a laugh.

"He never lets me out of his sight," Levy admitted, though her eyes were brighter than ever. "Anyway, enough about that, let's talk about books again!"

Lucy nodded quickly in agreement. With everything happening around them, it left them no time to talk about what they loved most.

Walking to Fairy Tail through the now drizzling rain, Lucy listened to Levy's nonstop rant on one of the books she recently read. She was listening to every word; however, her thoughts slightly drifted off somewhere else.

Natsu had something to tell her? What was it? It was probably about some food he wanted her to make, but something about his tone earlier was off. It sounded too serious to be something like that.

Hundreds of butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she remembered the feeling of Natsu's arms around her. She wanted to smack herself. She didn't have the right to have this feeling.

"So, I've been watching this one show," Levy mentioned after they entered Fairy Tail and had been seated. Since it was raining, not a lot of people were at the restaurant now.

Lucy didn't even need to ask—Levy was already explaining the plotline in less than a second. She didn't say much as Levy spoke, it was entertaining enough listening to her.

"I hate love triangles," Levy sighed out when she was finished. "I never know who to root for!"

"Why would you need to root for anyone?" Lucy giggled. "It's just a show."

"It's more fun if you involve your own feelings into a show," Levy shrugged. "So, what would you do?"

"What do you mean?" Lucy inquired.

"What would you do if the person you liked was in a relationship with someone else?"

Though Lucy had listened to everything about the plot of the show, she paused at the question. For some reason, answering it was a lot harder than she thought it was going to be.

She'd be lying if she said she disliked Lisanna for being with Natsu—nobody can control who they like. She'd also be lying if she said she was happy that they were together.

But she wasn't lying with the first answer that came to her.

"If the person I like is happy, then that's okay."

"I agree!" Levy replied with a nod. "Wait, Lu-chan, what's wrong?"

Lucy was about to tell her she was fine until her vision becoming blurry distracted her. She carelessly wiped her tears away, feeling incredibly embarrassed for crying at a time like this.

"Sorry," she hiccupped. "I don't know what's gotten into me."

"It's okay," Levy assured slowly with worried eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"I-I have something to tell you," Lucy revealed once she'd gotten a hold of herself. Her hands under the table trembled with anxiety.

"What is it?" Levy questioned.

Everything inside of Lucy's mind was a jumbled up mess. She took a deep breath, not sure where to begin. None of it sounded right in her mind, but she knew she had to tell someone someday.

"I like Natsu," she blurted out.

Levy's mouth immediately fell. "Whoa, Lu-chan…"

"Lisanna doesn't know," she confessed, her gaze dropping. "Actually, nobody knows. I was going to tell you guys, but when Lisanna said she was going to confess to him at the campfire, I couldn't."

"You've been holding that in all this time?" Levy whispered, grimacing as Lucy subtly nodded. "Lucy, why didn't you say—"

"Because I'm happy if Natsu is happy," Lucy cut her off. "I don't want Lisanna to hate me, or Natsu to hate me. I just want everyone to be happy."

"You're not letting yourself be truly happy," Levy countered hesitantly. "You shouldn't do that to yourself."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Lucy gave out a weak laugh. "I'm not the one Natsu—"

"Sorry, hold on, Lu-chan. Lisanna is calling me," Levy stated with large eyes after taking her phone out of her purse and reading the caller ID. "Hello? Lisanna?"

Lucy stayed quiet as she listened to the call. She froze when she heard her name sound out of the phone.

"Yeah, I'm with Lucy right now. Her phone died, so that's why she's not answering," Levy informed. "You want us to come over to your house? Right now?"

Lucy jerked her head up, her own eyes becoming large.

"What should we do?!" Levy mouthed the words frantically to her.

"Let's go," Lucy suggested softly.

"Okay, we're on our way," Levy told Lisanna. "See you soon."

"What was that about?" Lucy inquired once Levy disconnected the call and shoved her phone in her purse. They surged up from their seats and hurriedly exited the restaurant.

"I don't know, but Lisanna sounded serious," Levy answered nervously.

"What did she say?" Lucy asked urgently.

"She said it's about Natsu."