The more time that passed, the more the blonde lost her sense of surrounding. It was only the two of them, sitting there, swarmed in endless conversation as she gazed deep into his cavernous olive orbs.
The yellow chandeliers dimmed down as the duo went deeper into the night, and the chatter simmered down as people began to relax, creating a romantic vibe between the two.
Gentle sounds of wine glasses tapping together while people calmly conversed, sparked some sort of elegancy in their seating.
He leaned back on his chair the whole time as he kept his ears wide open, intently listening to every word that escaped the blonde's glossy lips.
"Enough about me though, you haven't told me, what do you work as?" She questioned as she poked her fork into her steak and began cutting it— feeling his gaze drilling into her in the process, which made her stomach silently flutter.
He dropped his eyes to watch her lips move as she spoke, then looked back into her eyes with some kind of hunger lurking in his orbs.
"I work here and there. Y'know, business deals and whatnot." He responded, as vague as ever.
His sharp teeth, much like fangs, made themselves evident every time he smirked or spoke, which was powerfully alluring to her.
"So you're an entrepreneur? Or like, a businessman?" She questioned, looking up into his olive orbs again, intrigued as she took a bite off her fork and enjoyed the soft, flakey taste of meat.
"You could say that." He responded, slowly taking a sip of wine from his glass.
"I bet you get to travel all the time. It is but a dream of mine to visit places all around the globe someday." She expressed with a hint of sparkle in her eyes, visiting her desirable future through her mind.
"I do," He only said as a small smile crept on his face.
"Maybe I can take you with me sometime," He stretched his arm and gently placed his warm hand above hers, looking deep into her brown orbs as he caressed her with his thumb.
Blush greeted the blonde's cheeks as she tried to register his proposal, feeling tingly already from his soft touch.
She could feel the coolness of his silver ring on her hand, contradicting the warmth his skin granted hers. Her heartbeats accelerated as she looked into his olive orbs, trying to uncover the mystery he held in them.
She could see it again—that dullness that was tinted in the center of his orbs. The deeper she looked into those tiny black holes-that are known to be the windows for a soul-the emptier she found him to be.
His smart tongue knew just the right words to say. His gentle hands knew just how to hold her. His charming self knew just how to act.
But those eyes... those goddamn eyes.
Just what secrets do they hide?
"Hello there!" A high-pitched feminine voice speaks out, coming out of nowhere, interrupting their conversation.
The blonde swiftly turns her head, startled, and met her eyes with the form of a petite bluette, wearing a white apron and a chef's hat.
The man with the heavy aura gently drifted his hand away and turned to the bluette.
"O-Oh, Levy!" The blonde greeted as she hesitantly smiled, still feeling overwhelmed by their moment.
"I was just informed that you were here, Lu-Chan! You should've told me," The bluette smiled, causing Lucy to let out a nervous giggle.
The salmon-haired man gazed upon the girl he found to be so little and forced a smile.
"And who might this be?" Levy diverted her attention to the man sitting across from the blonde.
"That's...That's Nathan. He's my date," The blonde blushed as she ended her sentence, looking back at him with a small smile.
She enjoyed him. His delightful, charming, pleasant self knew just the right words to say. She felt listened to and looked at by him.
A sort of interest sparked in her as curiosity embarked on her as to who he exactly was. This mysterious man that came out of nowhere took her out of her worries for the whole night.
And she cannot wait to tell her best friend all about it.
"It's nice to meet you, Nathan, I hope everything is to your liking so far." The bluette smiled.
"Everything is. The dishes you've prepared for us are flavorsome." He complimented.
The bluette took notice of his expensive suit, antique ring, and vintage watch before sneakily paying the blonde a quick glance of amusement.
"That makes me happy to hear, sir. Well, I better be going now." She brought her hands together as she looked at the duo.
"I'll be bringing dessert, on the house." She winked and picked up their empty plates before taking her leave.
The blonde smiles before looking back into her date's olive eyes again, giving him a shy smile.
"I guess I should've told you that the chef is my best friend," She said.
"So we have Loke, and now Ms. McGarden? Any more surprises?" He teased as he crossed his arms.
"No that's it, I think." She giggled.
"Wait, I never told you her last name?" She questioned instantly, confused and alarmed.
A brief pause took place, causing the blonde to narrow her brows.
"How would you know her last name?" Her voice grew firmer-her mind running a million miles per hour.
"She has a name tag, Lucy." He addressed, looking straight into her brown orbs.
The blonde rose her brows as her mouth slightly hung open, feeling ashamed she hadn't thought of that.
"O-Oh, right," She nervously tittered, a little embarrassed at herself.
"I wonder what's gotten you so paranoid." He said, looking at her in curiosity.
Though, in reality, he knew exactly why.
Ding-ding
The blonde's phone buzzed on the table, alarming her that she received two messages.
She let out a troubled sigh as she picked up her phone and muted it, then placed it facing down on the table, trying to be respectful.
His eyes lingered over her phone before looking back into her orbs again.
"I don't know, sorry about that." She said as she looked down at the table, silently scolding herself.
"Hey, what's that bandage on your arm for?" He questioned, leaning on the table as he looked and pointed at it, faking concern on his face.
His main goal was to earn her trust, and the only way to do that is to get her to open up to him.
She looked up at him before swiftly holding her bandaged arm, attempting to hide it.
"O-Oh it's nothing," She responded as she felt her heartbeats accelerating-her mind visiting that day again without her consent.
She blankly looked into his orbs, afraid that her eyes would expose all her secrets.
"Are you sure? Because it-"
"It was only a small accident, don't worry about it." She interrupted smiling, defusing the tension.
He leaned back again on his chair,
"If you say so," He responded as his eyes glanced over at the door, witnessing two familiar men walk through it.
The black-haired gentlemen had their shaded glasses on and were fitted into suits as they roamed their eyes around the restaurant-as if they were looking for something...or someone.
"Lucy," He called her out as he turned to her again, calmly.
"Yeah?"
"How about we go out for a walk?" He questioned with a small smile, making sure not to alarm her of anything.
"A walk?" She questioned, narrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"Yeah, somewhere to talk more privately," He said, reaching into his inner pocket to bring out his wallet.
The blonde took a moment to think before she responded.
"Okay... let me just tell Loke first." She said, turning her head to where Loke was seated, not finding him there anymore.
"Where is he?" She mumbled under her breath.
"He left a while ago, didn't you notice?" He said.
"He did?" She turned to face her date again in confusion.
"I'm sure he would've told me..." She picked up her phone to check her messages, only to find two messages from Loke-the ones she ignored a while ago.
As she tapped on her screen to unlock her phone and read the messages, it suddenly turned blank, giving her the "out of charge" sign.
"My phone just died," She sighed in disappointment-her face turning upset as she glanced over to where Loke was seated again, just to make sure she wasn't imagining him gone.
"How's everything so far? Do you need anything?" Their waitress, Tracy, interrupted.
"We'd like the check," He spoke out.
"I thought you did, here ya go," She slipped out the check from her apron's pocket and placed it on the table.
"Thank you," The blonde responded to the waitress.
Tracy nods with a smile.
Natsu slid out his credit card and placed it inside the checkbook before handing it to the waitress.
"Thank you," She said before taking her leave.
"Come on," He stood up from his seat, fixing his suit jacket in the process.
"Oh, I just need to go to the bathroom first," The blonde said before standing up from her seat and grabbing her purse in the process.
"Of course, take your time." He responded, slowly taking his seat again as she walked off to the bathroom that was placed at the far corner of the restaurant.
He looked back to make sure she was out of sight before picking up his phone and swiftly dialing his bodyguard's number-Gajeel.
He placed his phone against his ear and waited for him to pick up the phone as he looked at the men in suits, watching their every move.
"Hello?" Answered a throaty voice from the other end of the line.
"Are you still around the restaurant?" The Don, Natsu, questioned with a low tone, returning back to his character.
"Of course," Gajeel responded firmly as he turned on the speaker for his partner to listen in.
"Looks like word is out on my whereabouts. The Sandler brothers from Europe's mafia just walked in."
Natsu kept his eyes glued on the duo, watching them talk to the staff, probably asking around for him.
"Those bastards..." His partner expressed-a hint of rage tinged in his voice.
"There's no doubt they're upset about their range in second place, as they are every two years," Laxus spoke out-his other trusted bodyguard.
Tracy walked back toward him and placed the checkbook on the table, his credit card in it and all, before walking away again without a word, seeing that he was on a call.
"Both of you, take care of this." He demanded as he placed his credit card back in his wallet.
"We got this boss." Gajeel firmly answered. "We'll-"
The Don instantly hung up the phone after seeing the blonde walking back to their table out of the corner of his eyes.
"You ready?" Lucy questioned, smiling contagiously as she tilted her head.
He took a final look at the men in suits and found them walking in the opposite direction to where he is seated.
"Let's go." He stood up from his seat and slid his wallet into his inner pocket.
She nodded with a smile before they both began walking side-by-side toward the exit.
He smoothly held her hand as he continued looking and walking straight ahead-as if it were normal.
She gave him a quick glance as she heavily blushed, feeling her stomach flutter at the feel, yet gave him a small squeeze as a sign of acceptance as she looked ahead again shyly.
There was just... something about him that made her feel safe.
He pushed the doors open as the cold wind greeted them, ruffling up Natsu's salmon hair as the blonde's hair flowed with the rhythm of the wind.
"Geez, I forgot my sweater at home," The blonde said in between her shivers.
"Here," He said as he slipped off his suit jacket.
"O-Oh no, there's no need," She shyly reacted, looking at him as her face began heating up.
Without a word, he gently placed his jacket over her shoulders.
"T-Thanks, Nathan," She smiled as she held the jacket tighter around her.
"Come on," He placed his hand against her back as he led her across the street.
"Where can we go exactly?" She looked over at him with her big brown orbs.
He turned to her, taking notice of the small sparkles her brown orbs held that might've been due to the reflection of the moon, and her curled lashes that made her look even more beautiful up close.
Her bangs had fallen over her eyes and her fair skin had never looked so fragile.
"There's a lake straight ahead," He finally said as a smirk greeted his face. "We can walk by it."
"Really?" She asked. "I've been living in this town my entire life and I never knew there was a lake nearby."
He chuckled,
"C'mon, we're close." He held her hand again and led her down the path of the sidewalk.
The wind had flourished his masculine scent all around her, making her take deeper breaths, enjoying it. She looked over at him and watched his side profile as she walked by him, taking notice of his sharp features and tan skin.
The sound of his heels clicking on the solid ground made his presence heavy.
Ah, he sure is attractive.
.oOo.
The bluette hummed as she pushed the door open with her back, walking out of the kitchen, holding a delightful plate of dessert in her hands.
She made her way to the dining area and looked up from her dessert, looking over at where her best friend's table was, finding a new couple seated at it.
"What the-?" She narrowed her brows in confusion. "They were just here..."
"Who was?" Questioned a familiar voice who was passing by her.
"Oh, Loke, where were you?"
"I had an urgent call I needed to take, why?" He responded, fixing his glasses.
"Have you seen Lucy?" She questioned, roaming her eyes around her restaurant, looking for her.
"She's at her table," He responded as he turned and looked over to where Lucy was previously seated.
"What the fuck, where is she?" He reacted after seeing the table occupied by different people, and Lucy nowhere in sight.
"She probably just left," The bluette sighed as she looked down at her special-made dessert in sadness.
"She wouldn't leave without telling me!" He looked at the bluette, frustrated. "I'm going to look for her." He said before speed-walking away, heading towards the exit of the restaurant without another word.
"I'm sure she's fine." The bluette mumbled under her breath to herself before turning around to walk back into her kitchen, but sudden loud noises from behind her stopped her in her tracks.
She swiftly turned around at the sound of someone screaming,
"What was that?"
She nervously looked around the restaurant and found a crowd of people hovering around something.
"SOMEONE CALL 911! FAST!" One of the voices screamed out.
The bluette dropped her dessert on the ground, causing a wild glass-breaking noise that no one minded before she rushed to the scene. Her petite self squeezed in between the crowd until she finally reached inside the circle, and found two bodies on the ground, bleeding to death.
"AHHHHHH!" She screamed, bringing her hands to her face in shock as her heartbeats insanely sped up, feeling her legs weaken.
With heavy breathing, widened eyes, and tears carelessly flowing out her eyes, she looked over to the exit to see if Loke was there to witness this, but instead found two gentlemen wearing black suits, one with black-spiky hair and the other with blonde, calmly walking out the restaurant with a smirk on their faces.