XVI. So Close, Yet so Far
"So how'd it go?" Gray asked Natsu.
Natsu just looked at Gray with a dumb look as if he didn't know what he was talking about.
"C'mon Natsu-nii, tell us what happened when you went after her", Romeo begged.
"You mean Lucy? Oh, she declined that old man's offer", Natsu simply replied while he was lying on the couch. He closed his eyes and tried to doze off, but as he opened his eyes again, his four band mates gathered around him. They stared at Natsu as if teasing him.
"Why are you staring at me like that? Don't you guys know anything about personal space?" Natsu complained.
"Personal space huh? Well I think you really like Lucy", Loke said adjusting his glasses.
"Since you didn't pull any tricks to get her fired or quit, I figure that what Loke said is right", teased Jellal.
"Whatever", replied Natsu blushing. Suddenly, Lucy showed up at Clive Complex.
"I'm sorry for being late", she said.
"It's okay, Lucy. We don't have anything to do today, no photo shoots, no concerts. We have a day-off. I guess you could use one as well", Jellal replied.
"Looks like Natsu forgot to tell you, didn't he?" he added.
"Or maybe you just wanted to see her," whispered Gray to Natsu. This ticked off their lead singer.
"Why you…" he said. Gray and Natsu were at it again.
"So, I guess I'll be going then", Lucy said after bidding goodbye.
"Oh, wait. Natsu will walk you out", Loke grabbed Natsu by the shirt.
Although Natsu didn't want to since the guys were teasing him, he still accompanied Lucy out of Clive Complex.
"Since you've been so down lately, why don't we go out?" Natsu asked with a cheeky smile.
Lucy blushed and said "Like on a date?"
"Well… uhm…you know… How about we go to the mall like we always do?" Natsu also blushed at his statement. Come to think of it, the two had always had fun when it came to shopping for Natsu.
And so they were off to the mall. Jellal and the others were also watching from the building.
"I was right", Loke praised himself.
Natsu and Lucy enjoyed the streets full of boutiques and restaurants. The two also tried the arcades.
"It's kinda surprising that there are no paparazzis around," Lucy said while they ate ice cream.
"They gotta take a day-off sometime", Natsu replied.
"So what of that guy?" he added.
-"What guy?"
-"You know, the one who proposed to you."
-"Let's just say that he had a change of heart."
~Flashback~
At Yoshimura's mansion last night, Lucy declined his offer. This is how it went…
"I'm here to decline your offer Yoshimura-san" said Lucy as she turned her back on the old man.
"Why you! Come here!" he grabbed her by the arm and led her to his private office.
"If you do anything stupid, I'll tell everyone about your little secret!" threatened Lucy.
Yoshimura's nose was steaming with anger. He tried to stare her down but he gave in. He gave up.
"Oh please, don't tell them I'm gay!" he begged as he knelt down.
"Hahaha! I knew it! You're freakin' gay! What am I here for then?" asked Lucy as she sweat-dropped.
-"Well, if I'm gonna marry you, people would think I'm straight"
-"I'm going home"
-"No! Wait! I know you would decline the proposal and I'm really thankful for that. I can't stand ugly girls! Fufufufu! By the way, how'd you know I was gay?"
-"I've done my research. I also knew about how you almost you-know-what two guys before"
-"Let's just keep that a secret then, love"
-"I'll keep it a secret if you're not going to let me pay for the hospital bills"
-"Well, maybe just half of it all"
-"Well, okay. You got yourself a deal! And I'm not marrying you"
Present time.
Not a moment too soon, girls came running toward Natsu and Lucy's direction.
"Oh my gosh! It's Natsu from Madoushi Ouji-sama!" they screamed.
One of them even pushed Lucy out of the way.
"Could you take a picture of us?" they asked Lucy to be their photographer while they posed around Natsu. He seemed annoyed by this, but he couldn't do anything since those girls were fans. Suddenly, another batch of girls showed up and recognized Natsu. There were a lot of people surrounding him. They were excited to see him. It's not every day that you'll run into a famous pop-star in a mall.
In the middle of it all, Natsu seemed to be searching for Lucy, but she was nowhere in sight. She was in a bookstore near the fussing crowd. Natsu on the other hand was still taking photos with fans.
"This isn't what I had in mind for a day –off", he thought.
In a magazine section, Lucy came across with a celeb magazine featuring Madoushi Ouji-sama.
She went through the magazine and found a page with an exclusive interview about the band's interest in GIRLS. The question was: "Would you consider dating a fan?" Everybody in the band said yes. But Lucy knew that it would be unlikely for Gray and Romeo, since she figured that they're not into girls…yet.
"Loke maybe, but those two…" Lucy laughed at the thought. But what about Natsu?
There was another question that made her think even more.
"Let's say you fell in love with a fan. What can you do to make her feel that you're not out of her league?"
Jellal: "Love should be enough to tell her that we're not worlds apart."
Natsu: "I don't think what she does and what I do really matters. If I like her, then I wouldn't care what other people would say. I'd only care about what we think about each other."
This made Lucy smile but for some reason, her heart tells her another thing. As she sees Natsu outside the glass window with fans, she realized how far apart they were from each other.
She went out of the store and took off without Natsu. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm.
"Hey Lucy, why did you ditch me?" Natsu asked.
"Oh… you were kinda busy so I just…" before Lucy could finish her statement.
"Wanna go grab something to eat?" Natsu said with a cheeky smile.
Lucy noticed some girls a few meters away from them. She didn't hear what they were talking about but they were staring at them and started whispering.
So Lucy told Natsu, "No thanks. Something came up and I really need to go."
"Well, I'll take you home then," Natsu said.
"No, it's okay. I texted Romeo and he said that they're gonna come here," Lucy replied.
"Oh, and thanks. I had a good time," she said before leaving.
Natsu was left standing and watching her leave from afar. Then a familiar voice called out to him.
"Yo, Natsu!" Gray greeted. And his four band mates joined him.
"Where's Lucy?" Loke asked.
"She went home," Natsu replied.
"I'm starving! Let's eat," he added as he threw his arms at the back of his head.
Meanwhile, Lucy was already home. The thought of what the magazine contained kept running through her mind. She opened her laptop and started surfing the net. She typed "Natsu Dragneel" and clicked the search button.
To her surprise, she found photos of her and Natsu. They were numerous stolen shots of them. There were photos when they went to the amusement park, the grocery store, the mall and even when they were just walking on the streets. The latest photo was uploaded that afternoon. On the photo, Natsu was seen grabbing Lucy by the arm. What upset Lucy the most was the massive list of comments by fans of Madoushi Ouji-sama. Some of them read like this:
"I can't believe Natsu is dating that girl! She's not even famous!"
"Rumors say that she's working as his personal assistant. It seems to me that she's doing personal services. LOL. Gosh, I hate her!"
"He's way out of her league! Just leave Natsu alone blondie!"
"Gold-digger!"
"That b****!"
"Natsu's mine! Stay away from him!"
Lucy couldn't finish reading the bash list. She cried half-way through. Suddenly, her phone rang. Natsu was calling. She clutched the phone and hesitated to answer. She chose to let it ring but she never accepted the call.
"I can't. We're just two worlds apart."
To our reviewers:
NaluAngel, it'll get better.. d=(´▽｀)=b
natsu434, we love you too ! ＼(^▽^＠)ノ
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xEternity, Lisanna's a nice girl. She won't go after Lucy because of Natsu .. (=^-ω-^=)
MangafreakXP, NALU has officially begun .. (* ω)
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twinSlayer, glad you liked it! just search for "cute japanese emoticons" on google... you'll find them there .. (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･
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