Chapter XXIX: Spicy Orange Juice

Morning of the first Monday on that month, the cherry blossoms were already done falling from the trees. The cherry blossoms covered the streets with pink-flustered sweetness. Everyone was going about their daily lives and so did our little Lucy Heartfilia. It had almost been months since she met the guy he admired most whom she thought was just the guy on her bedroom wall. Lucy yawned and stretched her arms as far as she can. She smiled as she took to the bathroom and get her hair done and go to school. The beautiful young miss looked at the mirror as she brushed her teeth back and forth.

"I'm sure I'll see Natsu today. I'll finally tell him" she stated with a smile clearly on her fair face.

She changed her clothes, grabbed her bag and went down to have breakfast. Wendy was there to greet her with her favorite asa gohan. She put the food in front of Lucy and sat down on the other side. Both girls were eating their breakfast when Lucy suddenly realized Wendy was very silent. She figured something must be wrong.

"What's wrong Wendy?" asked Lucy as she munched on her chopstick.

"Well Lucy…I talked to Romeo yesterday" bashfully remarked the little girl.

"REALLY? WHAT DID HE SAY?" Lucy was ecstatic as ever.

"Nothing much actually just about—" before Wendy could finish what she was about to say, Lucy excused herself and took off.

Fairy High was buzzing as ever with students going through lockers, changing shoes, and trying to cram for quizzes. Lucy rushes to find Erza. She found her with the other girls. Suddenly, one of them asks her if it was true that she was now the girlfriend of Jellal. Erza blushed and fainted—it was a yes. Lucy shook her friend to put her back to normal.

"ERZA! ERZA! I gotta tell you something" Lucy was all smiles.

"What is it?" Erza was back to her usual calm and cool personality.

"I'm gonna tell Natsu that I like him—very much! I'll tell him today! Is he around?" Lucy stated with a huge grin on her face.

Erza avoided her statement. She looked down to the ground and asked Lucy to accompany her outside for a moment. Lucy asked her what was wrong.

"Didn't Natsu tell you?" asked Erza as she tried to state her sentiments.

"What do you mean?" Lucy was bewildered.

"They're going to America today. They won't be coming back. They got a deal from a big shot producer there" stated Erza.

With those words they won't be coming back, Lucy's world shattered to pieces. Her heart sank.

"He didn't tell me anything" she said to herself.

"Natsu, is everything all set?" Jellal asked as he put his bag inside the car. Natsu was just busy staring at his phone.

"Look, why don't you call her?" stated Loki, putting his arm on Natsu's shoulder.

"Ah! My battery just died", Natsu finally spoke.

"It seems as if you sucked the life out of your phone just by staring at it. You should've just told her that you're going away. Maybe one day you're gonna regret not telling Lucy anything", lectured Jellal.

Natsu just kept quiet. His mind was wandering though. He wanted to see Lucy, but he couldn't.

Lucy was running as fast as she could, since the taxi she rode in got stuck in the middle of heavy traffic.

She was panting with exhaustion, but she knew she had to see him.

"Really? Well, we don't know when this time will ever come again."

"…you can't help but feel lonely when you know you're going to leave people behind someday." (Chapter 28)

Natsu's statements kept running through her head.

"He wanted to tell me. I can't believe I didn't notice it before," she thought as tears rolled down her cheeks. Lucy has been calling Natsu nonstop but there was no answer. Things couldn't be worse, or so she thought.

At the airport, the passengers were heading to the plane. Natsu and the others were ready to go. Hands on their tickets, headphones on the ears and a single dream in their hearts, the guys of Madoushi Ouji-sama are one step closer to an international career.

"What is it, Natsu?" asked Gray as he noticed that Natsu paused and looked back.

"It's nothing. Let's go."

"I'm sorry miss, but you can't pass here", a flight attendant stopped the blonde girl.

"Please! I need to see someone", Lucy pleaded. She was already tired from running.

"There's someone important to me. I might never see him again", she added. Tears were in her eyes.

The staff was touched, but it's a strict policy that anyone without a ticket can't get in.

"I'm really sorry, but there are rules that we need to follow here", the flight attendant had the last word.

There was nothing that Lucy could do. That was it. All she wanted was to see Natsu for the last time. Maybe there was no hope after all. Lucy was heartbroken.

"Got it. But I don't see the problem, Lucy… since I do love you." (Chapter 22)

She remembered what Natsu said.

"Why didn't I tell him before when I knew that I felt just the same?" Lucy thought to herself. This hurt her even more. Not knowing when or if they will ever see each other again, was devastating.

Lucy was on her way back to school where she left her things just to get to the airport and still didn't find Natsu. She had to turn away. There was nothing else she could do. Lucy was still walking in the parking lot when she heard the roar of the plane. She looked up and there she saw it soaring – the plane where her prince might be.

"Natsu…sayonara."