Lucy woke up to a knock on the door. She groaned and sat up.
"I'm going to work now," Ur said from the other side of the door. "You guys will be alone until Wendy gets off school."
"Okay!" Lucy called back. She looked over to the clock and saw that it was six in the morning. She's only been sleeping for an hour. She looked over to Gray and saw that he was very much asleep. She was a little surprised that he didn't wake up. But part of her knew he wouldn't. They were up all night, after all. She laid back down beside him and fell asleep almost instantly.
"I'm coming to take you home."
Every time she closed her eyes, Lucy would get the same nightmare as before. She would wake up almost in tears. She would calm down when she saw Gray beside her. But every time it was worse, just because she knew that at some point when she has that dream it will be true, and Gray won't be beside her. And that scared her.
X
It was finally time.
It's been a week since Lucy got the letter from her father, and she was positive that he would come that day. Layla canceled class for that night. She had a feeling Jude would come as well.
Layla cried for a whole day when she found out. She couldn't bare the thought of losing her daughter again. Laxus was pretty much in shock. Ciel and his friends were livid about it, promising to go find her father and kill him. They already knew why she ran away in the first place. Natsu and everyone else was pretty surprised. All the girls cried and demanded a girls day out, which they all enjoyed. Ultear was pretty upset. Lyon didn't have much of an opinion, but Lucy could still tell if bothered him. Ur cried as well. Wendy bawled and wouldn't let go of her for a least two hours. And Gray hasn't left her side. They did have all of their classes together, so that made things easier. But if she even went to the bathroom, he was right outside the door. He was really glued to her side. Lucy was we sure she caught him with a few tears in his eyes, but he never openly cried about it.
And so, Layla, Lucy, Gray, Ciel, Wendy, Ultear, and Ur were all cramped in Lucy's living room. They all just couldn't bare the thought of her leaving without saying goodbye. All of her friends tried to come, but Erza told them not to. She said it would be too hard for Lucy, which it would have been. Ciel insisted he came. No one seemed to argue his logic.
When everyone heard a car door, they froze. Lucy ran over to the window. She could see her father walking inside the dojo.
"I'll go talk to him while you say goodbye," Layla said, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder as she walked past.
"Oh, Lucy!" Ur cried, latching onto the blonde. She hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go. "Believe it or not, I love you like my own children. You better come and visit."
"I love you too," Lucy cried, hugging her back. It was like she had two mothers. And her bond with Ur was special, because she chose for it to happen, unlike with a normal mother where you can't chose who it is.
Ur kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to go downstairs. Don't forget to call, alright?"
Lucy wiped her eyes and nodded. Ur kissed her forehead one last time before rushing downstairs.
"L-Lucy," Wendy cried, running over. She was crying more than anyone. Lucy knelt down on the floor and hugged the girl. "Please don't go."
"I'm sorry, but I have to," Lucy said soothingly, running her fingers through the girl's hair.
"Okay, I have to join in," Ultear announced in a broken tone. She knelt down beside the two and made a group hug. Lucy removed one arm from Wendy to hug Ultear. After a minute, Ultear pulled Wendy away, knowing others needed to say goodbye.
Ciel walked over to Lucy and smiled forcefully. She felt more tears roll down her face. She buried her face in his chest and hugged his waist. "But I finally got you back," she cried.
"This time we won't lose touch," Ciel said, hugging her tight. He felt the same way she did. He waited two years to see her again, finally gets her back, finds she's dating someone else, and now he's losing her again. "Just give me the word. I'll make Chase book us a concert in Oak Town. We can spend a whole weekend together."
"Don't tell me that," Lucy laughed. "You'll lose your voice from singing too much."
"I'm really going to miss you," Ciel said quietly. He was about to cry himself. "Okay, you need to say goodbye to your other boyfriend."
Lucy laughed as she let Ciel go. Ciel went to the kitchen with everyone else, giving Lucy and Gray space.
"You said you weren't letting me go anywhere!" Lucy cried, jumping into Gray's arms.
"I'm sorry," Gray said, holding her tightly. He could feel a tear going down his face. "Why is this hurting me so much?" he asked. "I haven't even known you a year but, I feel like I'm losing a part of myself."
"Don't say things like that. You're just making me cry more." She let out a small laugh, but it was forced.
"You better tell Sting that I'll kick his ass if he doesn't look out for you. I know how you like to run off." Gray let out a forced laugh as well.
"I'm coming back when I finish school. Promise me you won't be with someone else when I come back." Lucy couldn't help but remember Ciel asking her that. She obviously broke the promise. She wouldn't brake it this time, and she hoped Gray wouldn't, either.
"I wouldn't dream of it." He loosened his grip on her so he could see her face. He wiped her tears off with his thumb. She smiled faintly and did the same to him.
"I love you," she said, resting her head on his chest.
Gray lifted her chin up so she would look at him. She started crying again. "Don't cry," he said. He was sure he would cry more if she didnt stop. "Close your eyes."
She slowly did so. She could feel him touching her neck. She didn't know what he was doing.
"Okay, you can open them now," he said. She did so and looked and him in confusion. He grabbed her hands and put them on her chest. She looked down and saw that she was wearing Gray's necklace.
"Gray, I-"
Gray kissed Lucy, stooping her from finishing her sentence. "I want you to have it," he said, putting his forehead against hers. "It's my promise."
"Promise for what?" She couldn't imagine what would be so important that he would give away his father's necklace.
"When you come back, no matter how long I have to wait, I'm going to marry you." He was crying at this point.
"Are you serious?" Lucy didn't know what else to say.
"I love you, Lucy," Gray said, letting her go. He took three steps back and looked off to the side. "Just come back, okay?"
Lucy smiled, seeing the pink on his cheeks. "I'll come back as long as you come and visit me." She ran over and kissed his cheek. "I have to go now. Help me with my stuff?"
Gray silently followed Lucy to her room. She slung a backpack over her shoulders and grabbed a small box. Gray grabbed a backpack and a slightly larger box. He noticed that there was still so much in her room. He could tell she was serious about coming back, just because she left a lot of things. She only took what was important.
When Jude came into view, Gray had to push Lucy forward. Layla and Ur were standing there, sad smiles on their faces. Jude had his arms crossed, his face as sour as ever.
"H-hello, Father," Lucy said nervously, looking at her feet.
Jude scoffed. "Do you have enough metal on your face?" he asked rudely. "Go put your things in the car."
Lucy and Gray went to put everything in the car. She smiled at Capricorn, one of Jude's servants. She didn't even know why she thought Jude would drive himself.
"Can you give me a couple minutes?" Lucy asked when she went back inside.
Jude rolled his eyes. "Make it quick," he said. He went out to the car. Layla and Ur quickly went upstairs. Gray looked at Lucy with interest, wondering what she was doing.
Lucy looked over to the front door of the dojo.
"What can I help you with?"
Lucy turned around and saw Layla standing there, wearing her martial arts outfit. She could see all her students behind her, including Wendy. She turned around and saw herself.
"You seem peppy. You're Layla, right?"
Lucy felt a tear roll down her face. She walked over to the parent seats. She sat down. She could see Wendy and Layla standing in front of her.
"Speak of the devil! Have fun flipping burgers?"
Lucy smiled and looked over to the door. She saw Gray standing there, wearing his McDonald's uniform. Wendy ran over and hugged him. She looked over to the floor of the dojo. Gray was fighting with Layla. The scene changed. She saw Laxus picking her up. Layla laughed and went upstairs. She looked out the window and saw her and Gray sitting in his car on their way to the amusement park. The scene changed again. She could see herself kissing Gray. Ultear came bursting through the door, her whole face red.
Lucy smiled and walked up the stairs. She could see her and Gray working on their Rome poster. She looked over to the kitchen and saw her standing in the doorway, shocked. That was when Mira was over and was telling Laxus that Gray kissed Juvia. As the Lucy in the flashback ran to her room, Lucy followed her.
"Come on, let me see it."
"No way! You have to wait!"
Lucy smiled. That was when she wouldn't let Gray see her dress for the school dance. She opened up her bedroom door. She had so many memories. She could see herself throwing away all her cigarettes and lighters. She didn't realize Gray had such a worried look on his face. She saw her fight with Gray that one time when they were fighting about Juvia and Ciel.
Lucy never realized that she had so many good memories. At the time, everything seemed bad. But now she realized that all those memories were precious. She was never going to let them go.
"Are you okay?" Gray asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Lucy smiled and turned to face Gray. "When I first moved here, Mom called me into the gym at school. She asked me how it was going with you. She told me she's seen you in relationships before and knows when you like someone. She told me you were perfect for me." She paused. "I'm finally realizing that it's true."
"No, it's not," Gray said, putting his arms around her waist. "I'm not perfect for you." He kissed her forehead. "You're perfect for me."
"Lucy, Jude is waiting," Layla said, leaning against the doorway.
Lucy ran over and hugged Layla, surprising the latter. "I love you, Mom. Thanks for looking out for me."
Layla smiled and hugged Lucy. "I love you, too, Lucy."
Lucy let Layla go and looked behind her. She smiled a Gray before walking out of her room for the last time for a while.
"It's amazing how one day you walked into my life and left me wondering how I ever lived without you. And now you leave me wondering how I'll survive now that I'm leaving. Because I've met you, I've changed for the good. Thank you, Gray."
I would have to say that this is my favorite chapter. I don't mean for this story, either. I mean out of all that I've written. I just loved the flasbacks. I'm glad I thought of it. I actually went through and used exact quotes. And the last paragraph was just something sweet I came up with.
This is actually the last chapter. Thanks to everyone who stuck with this story from the beginning!
Please Review!