Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Here's the update of The Fish with Two Hooks, Chapter 3! Keep a lookout, because this is the chapter before 'the cat is let out of the bag' next week! If you put all the hints together, you might be able to figure it out before Chapter 4 is released next week! Also... My birthday is just round the corner! :D I'm going to upload a Birthday Special, a mini-sequel to this story, either tomorrow or on my actual birthday! Note that Erza is missing in this chapter. Where could she be? There will be a few hints in that story as well, so make sure you catch it! Without further ado, here's the chapter you have all been waiting for!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, only the storyline is mine.

-TheFlyingNeko

While they danced, Natsu took a step closer to 8-Island. He had searched Hargeon Restaurant already and found nothing there, so he headed to his final destination. Soon, his hand was reaching towards the doorknob, and when he touched it...

He found himself opening the door to stare at a wonderful, yet familiar beauty slipping and falling on an icy stage. But then, a prince caught her. Their faces ended up so close together, that their noses touched. Then, they continued waltzing on the stage, twirling each other around.

"What on earth..." Natsu muttered, gaping at them.

"That's... Lucy... And Gray." Happy said, with a jaw wide open as well.

"That... Was their job?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah... Looks like it..." Happy said disappointedly.

Mirajane saw Natsu's entrance and was completely shocked.

At that moment, Gray lifted Lucy up, and let her stand on his shoulders.

"Gray! We haven't practiced this that much!" Lucy whispered to Gray on stage.

"Don't worry. Just remember our training. Just keep your knees locked, and hold on tight to my hands!" Gray whispered back through gritted teeth as he took Lucy's hands and Lucy slowly stood up, finally managing to stand. Then Gray started twirling on the ice, while Lucy stood on his shoulders.

"Oh… No…" Mirajane said, shocked. "Why…"

"We… We should look for the bracelet…" Happy said, trying to get Natsu distracted from the scene, but he himself was distracted.

"Yeah…" Natsu said, but his eyes were still glued to the stage, where Gray just helped Lucy down from his shoulders.

Natsu sniffed in the air and found the scent of the bracelet. He traced the scent and found the bracelet lying under the table.

"L-let's go…" Natsu said sadly.

"Aye…" Happy said, and they exited while Lucy did a twirl on the stage, landing in Gray's arms.

"Natsu… Oh dear, what should I do?" Mirajane asked herself as she bit her lip.

"Happy… Do you think… We were meant to see that?" Natsu asked.

"I don't know… Don't dwell on it too much, Natsu." Happy said, as they reached the Lady's house.

"Here… Your bracelet…" Natsu said as he passed her the bracelet.

"OH MY GOSH! Thank you! Man, you look so down! Let me guess… Girl problems? My dear boy… Care to sit down for some tea?" Mrs Penny said, after a complete change of personality.

"WHAT?! No! I don't have any girl problems." Natsu denied.

"And that's a big change of attitude there…" Happy said.

"Seeya." Natsu said, as they left after collecting their reward.

'Do… I have a problem with Lucy being with Gray? I shouldn't right? I mean, it's their own business… Whatever Lucy does is not my business… But what is this wrenching feeling in my heart? Well, it should go away after a good night's sleep! Right…?" Natsu thought, while they walked back to the train station.

"Natsu… Are you alright?" Happy asked, since he had suddenly gone quiet.

"Mm… Just thinking…" Natsu replied.

"THINKING?! Natsu is thinking!" Happy exclaimed, shocked.

'Not now, Happy." Natsu said, scaring Happy.

"Natsu has never been this serious before…" Happy muttered to himself.

Unknown.

"So? Did it work?" A voice asked.

"Mm." 2 voices, a male and a female replied at the same time.

"Perfect! That means everything will be in time." Another voice said.

"Remember tomorrow, everyone! We gotta give it our all! And if it succeeds tomorrow, it should be alright by the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, but… but… She saw it… And we were forced-"

Suddenly the door banged open, and a woman entered, her face extremely dark.

"Oh, Welcome back, M-" A voice said.

"Shut up. Someone better explain to me… in full detail." The woman said.

In the guild, the next morning.

Natsu sat alone at a table all the way at the corner, still thinking about his feelings. He was extremely frustrated that he could not figure it out, and had no idea what was wrong with his heart. That wrenching pain he felt last night did not go away after a good night's sleep. Mirajane, who was at the bar absentmindedly wiping down a glass, looked deep in thought as well, and did not entertain anyone. Lisanna was busy trying to take all the orders, since Mirajane couldn't. Levy and Gajeel, along with Lily, sat near Natsu, and were chatting.

"Oh yeah, Gajeel and Lily. You two don't know much about Lu-chan, do you?" Levy said.

"Well, blondie entered the guild before us, so no." Gajeel replied.

"Well… She met Natsu at Hargeon Town, due to the appearance of a 'fake' salamander. She was trying to join Fairy Tail at that time, so Natsu brought her back." Levy said.

"Heh, blondie's here only cause of that Salamander, huh." Gajeel said.

"Heh. Interesting." Lily said.

Natsu overheard their conversation and quickly moved away, because hearing that only made him more confused. 'Here because of him?' He was struck by those words. He moved to where Happy and Carla were, trying to seek shelter.

"Oh, Natsu! Are you okay?" Happy asked.

"Y-yeah… What are you two talking about?" Natsu asked.

"I'm telling Carla about the amazing tales of Fairy Tail! Remember when Phantom Lord attacked? Anyways, let me continue! Lucy was caught and trapped in this hugeeee sky prison! However, instead of letting herself be captured by the enemy, she jumped off! Do you have any idea how longgggg the drop was?" Happy said, switching on something in Natsu's brain again.

"Wow, then what happened?" Carla asked.

"Then Natsu here caught her! The cool thing is that Lucy didn't even know that Natsu was around! She didn't even look down to confirm if Natsu was there!" Happy said.

"Wow, she must really trust Natsu…" Carla commented.

"Mm! Later on she got captured again by Phantom Lord and was being tortured by that damn Gajeel over there. Luckily Natsu got there in the nick of time! He beat Gajeel up for Lucy's sake!" Happy said, making punching gestures.

"Wow…" Carla said.

"Tch…" Natsu mumbled.

"What?" Happy asked.

"I… gotta go." Natsu said, before moving to the other corner of the room, wanting some peace.

Natsu saw Romeo and Wendy around the area, and thought they wouldn't be much of a nuisance, so he sat a few tables apart from them.

"Um, Wendy?" Romeo asked.

"What?" Wendy asked.

"Hanami is coming, right? I heard that Lucy-san was sick during her first hanami festival…" Romeo said.

"Mm, she was. She nearly didn't get to see the cherry blossom trees. It was Natsu-san who uprooted a tree for her and let it sail along the river, so that Lucy-san could see it." Wendy replied.

"If you were sick, would you want me to do that for you too?" Romeo asked, scaring Wendy and making her blush wildly.

Natsu overheard the conversation and thought… 'I did that as a nakama… Didn't I?'. However, after snapping out of it, he realised that hearing all these conversations were starting to mess up his brain. As a result, he moved to the middle of the room, on another empty bench, hoping nothing like that would fly in his ears again.

"Elfman, thinking back to the grand magic games…" Evergreen said to Elfman.

"Yes?" Elfman asked.

"Did you see Natsu's expression when Lucy was being tortured by Minerva in the water sphere during the Naval Battle?" Evergreen asked.

"No… What was it like?" Elfman asked.

"Well… He seemed extremely mad. Like he could kill with that look. Also, he was one of those who ran straight to Lucy right after that..." Evergreen said.

"Protecting a girl is being a man!" Elfman declared, making Evergreen mad.

"STOP WITH YOUR 'MAN'!" Evergreen screamed at him, whacking his head.

'Protecting…? I looked like I could kill…?' Natsu thought, after hearing yet another conversation about him.

"DAMN!" Natsu screamed and stood up suddenly, completely silencing the guild as all eyes landed on him.

Natsu then ran out of the guild, kicking open the door with a loud bang.

"Damn…" Natsu muttered, while running.

However, as Natsu took a turn, he was greeted by the sight of Lucy and Gray, flirting with each other. Lucy's hand was on his chest, and they were both blushing wildly. Gray held Lucy very close to him, and their faces were very near each others', just like in 8-Island.

"L...ucy…" Natsu muttered again, extremely shocked, before running off in the opposite direction, wanting to escape from them.

However, after a few minutes of running, he bumped into them again, and they were sitting on a bench sharing a cake this time. Gray and Lucy crossfed each other, while grinning wildly.

Natsu ran off at the sight of them again, panting and panting and trying to escape the horror. Many voices and opinions rang in his head, even those that he heard in the guild, and he was terrified. If this continued, he would go mad. He quickly ran in the direction of his house, hoping that they would not pop up again.

He soon reached the rainbow sakura tree that he had uprooted for Lucy years ago, and used it as his support while he panted and tried to rest. The sight of the tree evoked many memories, of the hanami. However, he got mad at himself for thinking of it and ran off again, even though he wasn't fully rested.

He kept on running, but he ran into Lucy and Gray, for the third time. They were hugging tightly and Gray was wiping off Lucy's sweat for her using a napkin, and he saw in Lucy's hand an ice flower, that Gray probably created for her. She was smiling so wildly, which made him mad. She was happy, with Gray?! He did want to see that smile again, but not when she was with someone else; when she was with him.

Natsu ran off again, hoping it would be the last time. Luckily for him, Natsu soon arrived at his house, went in, slammed the door, then lay on the bed, with an arm over his face. Tears soon started streaming down his cheeks.

"Tears…?" Natsu said, shocked.

"What… What's wrong with me?" Natsu asked himself, while crying.

He let his mind wander around his memories…

When they met at Hargeon Town, like Levy had said. He was the one who helped her break that charm, helped her fight off Bora, then dragged her to Fairy Tail. Why did he want to do that? Is it because… Her love for Fairy Tail was so great? Or was it her that caught his eye? Either way, he's the only reason she's here.

When Phantom Lord attacked, and she jumped off the sky cell. It was him who caught her, who had fallen from many stories high. Also, Gajeel tortured her after she was caught for a second time, and she was near death after being hit so many times. She's only living because of him. Because he caught her, because he stopped Gajeel from torturing her.

He remembered when she decided to go back to her house to clear things up with her father and their team thought she was leaving fairy tail, he cried. He just didn't want her to go somewhere she isn't happy, because her happiness means alot to him.

She fell sick, and couldn't make her first hanami. She was extremely excited for it, he remembered. Also, he was so worried and completely distracted for the entire hanami, and only felt a weight off his chest after releasing that tree on the river. She only managed to see the cherry blossom trees… because of him.

The Magic Ball… He enjoyed dancing with her, even if he didn't look like it. Also, when Lucy turned invisible and no one remembered her existence, it was him who remembered. During the grand magic games… Nothing had angered him that much. Lucy already lost, and yet she had to be tortured like that. It was clearly foul play.

He finally found the reason he wanted her to be on his team. Not because she is strong or cool, but it's because he likes being around her. There were also countless times he saved her, countless times he was worried, sad or angry for her.

Also, he realised that he frequents Lucy's apartment a lot. To be on that huge comfy bed… The wonderful bath, searching through her things, reading her novel, and just being there. Why was he so attracted to that place anyway? Each time, he will have this huge urge to just leap into her apartment, for a reason still unknown to him.

Thinking about it made Natsu depressed. Were things ever going to be the same again?

He didn't like how Gray was so intimate with her. That uneasy feeling that leaps on him when he sees it… That feeling… The feeling of snatching her away, of punching Gray, even of killing him. That feeling was just that strong.

And after what had just happened, he felt… hurt, for some reason…

Then, he decided. He was not okay with Gray being with Lucy.

He wanted everything to be normal again. When he could frequently enter Lucy's house, and they could go for jobs together. When they could create comedy together, laugh together, cry together, and share their doubts and troubles together. Where did those days go? He shouldn't have taken those days for granted.

And most of all, he missed the blonde hair, the chocolate eyes, and the smile.

He missed her.

That's when he realised… He can't live without that fun, annoying, cheerful and noisy blonde around him.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! This chapter is pretty short, forgive me! I'll make it up to ya'll with the birthday special! Whether you are a Nalu or Graylu fan, don't lose hope on your ship! Last but not least, hope you had a fun time reading! If you enjoyed the story, please do review, favourite and follow! Thank you and stay tuned!:)

-TheFlyingNeko