Thanks to Kagome Juh, Brain31washed, and KittyKat for the reviews! I hope you three enjoy this new chapter and continue to read more! I look forward to more reviews from you as well as others!

Because I'm Broken,
When I'm lonesome,
and I don't feel right,
When you're gone away.
You've gone away…
You don't feel me here…
Anymore.

Broken- Seether and Amy Lee from Evanescence

What Once Was

Ch.2 Almost like the good ol' days

Lucy was on the bed that would be hers for the next week. She was lying on her side, trying to calm her pounding heart. It had almost been two hours since the first hallway encounter. Shortly after Natsu had gotten settled he had joined them downstairs where they had drinks and mini sandwiches that Juvia had prepared. During that whole time Lucy's heart had been drumming against her chest, so hard she could hear it pulse through her ears. And her nerves were at their all time max. She had been as prepared as she had thought she was. She had no idea that it would be this hard. She thought surely she was over it by now, sadly, she was proven wrong.

"He looks pretty much the same," she noted to herself. "His features have matured some, but I'm sure he himself has yet to. He's still fit, and his hair seems to be a tad bit shorter. His eyes are…just as intense as I remember them to be. I wonder how I looked when he first saw me?" she shook her heat rapidly. "No! I don't care about that! Ugh! Forget about that pink haired asshole! Gah!" She quickly covered her mouth once she realized she had nearly been shouting.

"Now is not the time to be bitter, Lucy. The past is the past. I've gotten over it. I have a great life in Crocus and I am completely happy. I'm here to support Juvia and Gray, two of my closest friends. I'm here to reunite with other friends. I am here to have a good time, and nothing, and I mean NOTHING is going to ruin that." She nodded to herself, sitting up, and kicking her legs to the edge of the bed.

Pushing herself up, she stands and fist pumps the air. "That's the type of attitude I will continue to have. I am not going to let Natsu Dragneel affect me. From here on I will stay strong and I will not break."

She breathed in deeply before letting it out. "I feel so much better now!" she giggled before walking towards her closet. "Now what to wear tonight, we're having dinner here and everyone will be coming…" she scratches her chin. "Hhmm…to wear a dress or to not wear a dress?"

A light knock echoed through her ears causing the blonde to peek her head out of the walk-in closet.

"It's Juvia!" the blunette informed as she entered the room. "Just making sure you were comfortable. I see you've unpacked already."

"Hey Juvia," Lucy smiled. "Perfect timing. I need wardrobe advice. Care to lend a hand?"

"Well that is Juvia's specialty! Juvia would be happy to assist you!" she beamed walking over to the blonde. "Juvia is so excited for tonight!"

"The whole wedding party will be here for dinner?" Lucy asked as she browsed through her borrowed closet.

Juvia nodded. "Most will be here this evening."

"I haven't seen Erza since she came up for our graduation from CU. I'm excited to see her and Jellal. Those two are next to tie the knot!" the blonde giggled thinking about her friends she hadn't seen in over a year.

"Juvia is very happy for them. Oh by the way have you heard from Levy-chan? Will she be able to make it in tonight?" Juvia questioned as she pulled out a dress and examined it closely. "Juvia likes this one. It's not overly formal and it's pretty. I like this color, red suits you well."

"Long red dress it is," Lucy leaned over to look at the dress. "Levy might be in tonight. She was hoping to catch the last flight out. She had a test in one of her classes that she couldn't miss; otherwise she would have arrived with me. She's got a room at the hotel right?"

"Hai," Juvia answered. "She'll be in the hotel most are going to be staying at."

The roar of a motorcycle was heard from outside. Lucy looked over at the blue haired beauty confused. "Who is the world is that?

Juvia smiled. "And the last house guest makes his appearance! Come, come meet him! Juvia must introduce you!" she announced, grabbing hold of Lucy's hand, dragging her out the bedroom door and down the stairway.

"Gray-sama, come quickly!" the excited bride to be, shouted as her and her maid of honor stepped through the front door to greet yet another guest. They arrived just in time as he was removing his helmet.

"Whoa, talk about hair," were the words to escape Lucy's mouth.

She looked over as the man stepped off of his bike, his long spiky black hair falling down his back. He had intimating red eyes and piercings, quite a few piercings. He was also tall and muscular. 'Juvia has friends like this? He looks like some kind of wanna-be rockstar.' Lucy thought to herself.

"Gajeel-kun! You made it! Juvia is so happy to see you!" She claimed running up to him with a huge smile on his face. "Lucy, this is Gajeel-kun, Juvia's best friend since childhood, like you and Gray-sama. Gajeel-kun, this is Lucy! My roommate from college Juvia's wanted you to meet for a long time now!"

The man named Gajeel looked over at Lucy. "Tch. Sup blondie?"

Lucy's eye twitched. "Nice to meet you, Gajeel-san."

"Gajeel," he corrected with a stern look.

"Gajeel it is," Lucy mumbled to herself. 'Hard to believe such a sweet girl like Juvia is good friends with a lug like this. And he's going to be staying in this house too? Can this trip just get any better?'

"Ah, Gajeel, I see you've arrived," Gray chuckled, making his appearance. He stepped up to the taller male and they look each other over.

"Fullbuster," Gajeel acknowledges with a nod. "Sweet pad you two have." His eyes fall upon Natsu who was leaning against the doorframe. "And who might you be?"

"Natsu Dragneel," the pinkette informed.

"Dragneel-san is a friend of Gray-sama's that he hasn't seen in awhile. Dragneel-san is also staying with us, like you and Lucy," Juvia stated pointing to each person she had spoken of. "Please come in, I'll show you, your room."

Gajeel unstrapped his bag from his bike and swung it over his shoulders; he and Juvia then disappeared into the house, walking passed Natsu.

"Well isn't he quite the character," Lucy mumbled, glancing over at Gray who had his arms crossed.

"He takes some time getting use to, but he's not too bad. Believe it or not he has a hilarious sense of humor. But don't you dare give him the mic if you sing Karaoke. I'll hurt anyone dumb enough to do that," Gray groaned, walking back toward the house.

"Any more interesting people like that comin' through?" Natsu asked, an eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"Something like that," Gray shrugged. "The most troublesome will be Lyon."

"Lyon?" Lucy questioned. "He's actually invited to your wedding?"

"Well he is family," Gray grumbled under his breath. "Mom would have my head if I didn't invite him, even if he is in love with Juvia."

Natsu started to laugh. "You're marrying the girl and STILL have competition?"

"I wouldn't call it a competition, Juvia was never interested in Lyon that way," Lucy answered walking beside Gray. "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself to understand what I mean. Lyon isn't one to give up so easily either."

"Don't I know it," the dark haired male sighed. "He'll always be a pain in my ass."

Natsu followed behind them into the house, and he couldn't help but feel a little out of place. Back in the day it used to be him and Gray both at Lucy's side, but here he was now, watching their backs. The simple truth was things weren't what they once were. People change and so do relationships, even though that statement was true, he couldn't help but feel awkward. "I'm goin' to head up to catch a few Z's before dinner. See ya later." And with that being said he disappeared up the stairs.

Lucy stared at the floor as she listened to his footsteps. "Sorry Gray, I didn't expect it to be this hard," she sighed.

Gray touched her arm and smiled at her. "Hey, I knew this was going to be tough on you. It was my fault for inviting him."

"Don't say that. He's a friend of yours. He should be here, if he wasn't I'm sure Erza would skin him. He might have been MIA for a bit, but that doesn't change the fact that you two pretty much went through everything together," Lucy whispered. "And besides, I'll get over it. Just not use to seeing his face."

"Me either to be honest," Gray looked up the stairway. "And it wasn't just the two of us. I remember a certain blonde in the mix. This is almost feels like the good ol' days."

"Almost," Lucy agreed with a nod.

Lucy looked herself over in the mirror; she had hair in a formal bun, and just the right amount of make up on, and wore her mother's ruby necklace. She wore the long red dress Juvia had picked out hours before; the straps were thin and crisscrossed in the back. It was also v-cut to show off Lucy's rather plumped chest; her friends' 'favorite' part of her body, they always tell her to flaunt them as much as she can while she is young because someday she won't be able to. Lucy rolled her eyes remembering all the conversations she had with her girl friends about her breasts.

She grabbed her tube of lipstick and applied a light amount onto her lips, before deciding it was time to make her way downstairs and get this party started. She had spent two hours helping Juvia prepare the meal and dessert for this evening and she was ready to relax and have a couple of drinks.

It was almost seven and she knew that everyone would start to show up there shortly. She left her room and made her way downstairs and making her way to the dining room, knowing that the soon to be Mrs. Fullbuster would be there making sure the table was set just right.

"Juvia, let me help you," the blonde assisted placing plates onto the table. "You sit back and relax, you're stressing yourself out."

"Juvia just wants everything to be perfect," Juvia insisted, still placing down silverware.

"And it's going to be," Lucy couldn't help but giggle. "Relax. Everyone is going to have a good time regardless. They are not going to care if they have three forks or if they only have one to eat with. I promise."

"You're right," Juvia nodded. "Juvia is just being a perfectionist."

"Like I always told you at CU, you really stress about the little things," Lucy teased placing a hand on the bluenette's shoulder.

"Juvia knows," her friend agreed. "They all should be arriving soon. Is Juvia's house presentable?"

"Your house is cleaner than my small apartment," Lucy stated, "And again, they all going to be too excited being reunited to care about the cleanliness of your beautiful home."

Juvia inhaled a deep breath. "Ok. Juvia is calm now."

Lucy smiled. "Good, now let's go check on that dinner shall we?"

"Something smells fantastic!" Gray stated as he entered the room, he approached Juvia and kissed her cheek. "You outdid yourself once again."

Juvia blushed. "J-Juvia tries her best to please Gray-sama."

Gray gave her a stern look. "Gray. Try it. Grrrraaaaayyyy."

"Ugh gag," Lucy complained walking away. "Can you two not be so cute in front of me? It really is depressing." She walked out of the room, looking at the two lovebirds. She watched Juvia try her best to say Gray's name without the honorific 'sama' and she couldn't help but giggle. She was too busy observing them that she wasn't watching where she was going and she walked straight into someone, causing both bodies to fall back. "Ahhh!" Lucy landed on her bottom with a thud. "Ouch!"

"Sorry about that."

Lucy's heart stopped. She looked over at the person she had walked into, knowing exactly whom was on the floor next to her. His onyx eyes were on her. "No that was my bad, Natsu."

He stood up first and offered her his hand, wanting to assist her back onto her feet. "Here, let me help you."

Lucy ignored his offer and stood up on her own. "I got it, but thanks."

Natsu shoved his waiting hand into his pocket. "Guess we both weren't payin' attention."

She dusted herself off. "I was too busy being disgusted by the happy couple. I should have known better. I really do apologize."

"Its fine, really," he claimed with a small smile. He looked around and noticed they were alone in the hallway and now would be a good time to try and talk to her. He had been wanting to all evening, but he knew she had been busy. "Listen, Lucy, I…"

"I really need to help Juvia in the kitchen," she stated walking passed him. "Excuse me."

"Wait I…" he tried again once more.

Ding-dong.

Lucy stopped and looked back at him. "Maybe later okay?" she suggested, walking back towards him to head toward the front door. "But not right now Natsu." With those words she walked passed him once again, avoiding eye contact. She reached the door and opened it for the outside guests to enter.

There stood a woman with long scarlet red hair and a man with dark blue hair, both smiling at Lucy.

"Erza! Jellal!" Lucy squealed throwing her arms around the couple. "It's so good to see you guys!" She stepped out of her hug and offered them to come in. "Please."

"Nice to see you too, Lucy," the man called Jellal chuckled, walking inside, his fiancée followed.

"Lucy, I can't wait to catch up later," Erza stated, "though right now I feel like lecturing you for not calling so often."

A sweat-dropped form on the back of Lucy's head as she started to nervously laugh, "a-about that, you uh, see I've been really busy."

"I'm sure you had moments to spare," the look the red haired woman gave the blonde caused goose bumps all over Lucy's body.

"Erza, dear, you can interrogate Lucy later," Jellal insisted, "for right now let's enjoy a peaceful evening. Sound good Lucy?"

'Thank you Jellal!' Lucy screamed to herself. She nodded and gave them both a smile. "Right right, follow me and I'll get you something to drink." She lead them into the doorway as they walked she noticed Natsu hadn't left his spot.

Lucy stopped and looked back at the couple behind her. She saw them both stare at the pinkette, she saw rage flicker into Erza's eyes for just a moment before she gained control of her emotions. Jellal's face held no emotion at all, which Lucy noted was how he handled complicated situations.

"Erza. Jellal," Natsu nodded towards them. "How's it been?"

"Natsu, it's good to see you again," Jellal approached him first offering him his hand. The two men shook hands and Natsu grinned.

"How have you been Natsu?" Erza questioned, a small smile forming on her face. "So glad you could make it back for Gray."

"I couldn't miss Stripper's wedding now could I?" Natsu chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "It will definitely be a sight to see. Never thought Frost-bite would be the one to tie the knot first. I always imagined that it would have been the two of you to seal the deal before the rest of us."

Erza and Jellal both blushed at the last comment. "W-well you see…" Jellal started.

"Jellal was afraid to propose to Erza, and who wouldn't be?" Gray teased as he and Juvia entered the room. "And could you stop with the 'cold' jokes? Just because I like colder weather and had an obsession with snow cones when I was younger doesn't mean you get to keep on with those dumbass nicknames, jackass."

"If the sock fits," Natsu growled.

"It's shoe. If the shoe fits," Gray corrected, "if you're going to have comebacks, better know how to use them properly, idiot."

"What was that stripper?" Natsu continued. "Wanna come closer and call me an idiot?"

Gray started to take a step forward before Lucy got in the middle of them. "Seriously you two? It's like we never left high school. Can you pretend to act your age for the night? Please? Or does the old Erza need to come out and play?" Lucy warned, hands on her hips.

All three men in the room gulped and all three shook their heads quickly, it was wise to fear Erza Scarlet after all. Erza looked over at her fiancé. "What are you afraid of?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"U-uh…nothing, nothing at all," Jellal mumbled, looking at the others for some form of help and they all shook their heads refusing to assist in escape. "I honestly was only worried for Gray and Natsu."

Everyone but the long time couple started to laugh. It was like the past all over again and that nothing had changed, but sadly things have changed. Some changes were great and also some new awesome people had entered their lives. Some other changes weren't so great and unfortunately the group of friends went their different ways, but looking at them now you wouldn't believe that fact.

"Natsu! Gray! What have I told you two about fighting!" a pre-teenaged Erza bellowed as she stepped on one boy and held the other by the collar of his shirt. She glared daggers and both the young boys. "And what if you would have accidently hurt Lucy?! Huh? Did you forget she was standing here too?!"

"S-sorry," Natsu mumbled as he was pressed into the ground by the older girl. "Sorry Luce, we didn't get ya did we?"

Lucy stood off in the distance and shook her head. "No, but you two were really going at it this time."

"That lava-head started it," Gray complained trying to wiggle free from Erza's grasp.

"I don't care who started it, I'm ending it, understood?" Erza hissed with fire in her eyes.

"H-hai!" the two boys shouted in unison.

Erza released Gray and removed her foot from Natsu's chest. "Now I want you two to apologize to each other and then hug it out like friends are suppose to."

"N-ani?!" The boys questioned.

"You want me to hug stripper? But why?!" Natsu complained.

"Exactly what he said! Why do I have to hug dumbo over there?" Gray mumbled under his breath.

Erza's head snapped in their direction and the boys could have sworn there was a demonic shadow behind their scary friend. They both sighed and gave each other the lightest hug they could have given and afterwards they both made gagging noises.

Lucy couldn't help but giggle at her two best friends. "You two looked ridiculous!"

Natsu marched toward her and poked her forehead. "Don't laugh at us Luigi!" He crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at the blonde.

"It's Lucy!" the girl bellowed with her hands on her hips. "And it was your fault the two of you looked silly hugging each other. You're the ones who were fighting over what power ranger was the coolest!"

"And I clearly was right, the black one," Gray claimed with a shrug.

"No way! The red one was the best!" Natsu barked, and seconds later the boys had their foreheads pressed together as they glared and growled at each other.

"Enough!" Erza ordered. "Natsu, you walk Lucy home, and Gray I'll follow you home. I'm separating you two before things get bloody. And tomorrow, you both are going to be over this childish fight. Got that?"

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu mumbled with a roll of his eyes, he turned on his heels and grabbed onto his best friend's hand, pulling her along with them as he stormed off. "Come on."

"Hey, don't pull!" Lucy complained, causing the boy to slow down.

"Sorry Luce," he grinned at her causing her to be less annoyed. "Erza really pissed me off barkin' all those stupid orders."

"She had a point," Lucy stated, "you two are best friends, you shouldn't beat each other up all the time."

"That stripper my best friend?" Natsu spat the bad taste out of his mouth left from that comment. "As if."

"He is though," Lucy giggled at her friend's foolishness.

Natsu stopped them both from walking and then turned to Lucy while he stared into her brown eyes with his dark onyx ones. "You're my best friend Luce, not that dumb ice princess." He was one hundred percent serious and being completely honest as he made that statement.

"But eventually you and Gray will have a lot more in common than you and I will. I'm a weird girl after all," she pointed out, remembering all the times Natsu had called her 'weird'.

"You are weird, Luce," Natsu claimed nodding his head. "Extremely weird."

Lucy bonked his head with her first. "Shut it!"

"OUCH!" he complained rubbing his newest injury. "I didn't mean anythin' bad from it."

"How is being called weird a good thing?" she grumbled, removing her hand from his so she could cross her arms over her chest.

"But that's why I like you," Natsu claimed with a big grin on his face. "That's why we're best friends."

Lucy blushed at his words and as she looked at him and his big goofy grin she couldn't stay mad. No, she could never stay mad at her best friend. They have been so close for three years now and she knew he was the closest person to her out of all their friends. He was the one who was there when her mother passed. He was there when Lucy's dad started to become distant and too busy for her. He was there when she first entered public school. He was there for it all, and she knew he wouldn't go anywhere. He knew her and she knew him.

She knew how he didn't have a father or a mother and how the only family members he had were his Grandfather and his cousins. She knew how badly the boy wished to have known his parents. She knew how strong he was. She knew everything there was to know. They had been each other's only friends for two years before Gray moved to Magnolia and before they met Erza. They had this special friendship and Lucy knew that it would never change. Natsu would always be her best friend.

The worst is over now, and we can breathe again.
I wanna hold you high,
You steal my pain, away.
There's so much left to learn,
and no one left to fight.
I wanna hold you high, and
Steal your pain

Well here's chapter two! What did you think? Is my summary interesting enough? Am I still keeping you entertained? And do you like the flashbacks at the end of the chapter?

Please send me a review with your thoughts! Also reviews are my motivators like most writers. Thanks again minna!

Cookie-chan91