Previously
He felt ease at heart as if everything was fine.
But one thought haunted his mind….
'What else do I not know about her?'
Chapter 7 (Piercing Eyes)
Lucy didn't know why but people—well, mostly girls—were all glaring or looking at her with puffy red-eyes and tear stained faces. She guessed that they must be the fangirls from earlier morning, and that they must be heartbroken at the pink-haired teen's sudden announcement of their relationship.
Even if she knew that it wasn't true, she couldn't help the blush creeping onto her face which becomes red hot while walking in the halls with his warm hands wrapped around hers.
Suddenly, she remembered those cliché movies she watched with Wendy last night where the girl got bullied because she became the popular guy's girlfriend. She nervously gulped at the thought. Jealous crazy fan girls were one of the scariest things on earth!
Natsu seemed to sense her distress so he squeezed her hand to get her attention. His onyx eyes met her chocolate brown orbs and he couldn't help but like the way her warm eyes stared at him.. and only at him.
"Am I going to get bullied now?", she asked while pouting her pretty pink lips. Natsu stared at her serious and worried gaze for a second before laughing out loud. He ruffled her hair making her puff out her reddening cheeks.
"Do you seriously think that I'm going to let anybody hurt you Lucy?", he suddenly said before turning serious. His eyes softened and he had the sudden urge to cage her in his arms; to make her feel safe.
"I promise I won't let anybody hurt you, Luce.", Lucy was taken aback by the seriousness in his voice and somehow she felt like she had heard Natsu's exact words before. She had the strangest feeling that the person who said it was the person she wanted to return to.
The person whom she had made her promise to.
Her tears welled up as she tried to remember him.
She suddenly became desperate to remember that person because she was worried that maybe somewhere, he was blaming himself because he wasn't able to keep his promise; that and maybe, he was still holding on to her promise of her return.
Natsu felt warm. In his arms, she felt safe.
But at that time, all she could think about was... if like her, was he lucky enough to have someone hold him whenever he felt vulnerable? She hoped he does.
"My name is Lucy, you know.", she whispered before Natsu pulled her into a tight hug on noticing the tears flowing down her cheeks.
"I know..."
"Natsu, where are we going?"
The moment the school bell rang, the pink-haired teen had quickly dragged her out of the class and out of school.
She pouted when he didn't answer. She tried her best to keep up with his fast pace and it wasn't helping that her school bag was heavy with all the homework.
Finally, they arrived at a place where there were a lot of people shouting and bright neon lights were all over the place.
"Are we going to play?", she asked, her eyes sparkling as realization dawned on her. They were in an arcade!
"I'm going to play, you are just going to watch.", he smirked. A vein popped on her forehead, and she smacked his chest in response.
"Tch. Violent Little Angel, I was just kidding."
Her expression immediately changed, her now wide eyes shining with excitement, "Really?! Well let's go!"
She grabbed his hand and excitedly went through all the machines and the busy people, a lot of whom were students like them and some who looked like college students, scattered around the area.
"Wah, there's a whole lot of people here", Lucy exclaimed while looking for someone that she might know. She slowed down her pace and was now walking side by side with Natsu.
"Tsk. Of course there are, it's an arcade you weirdo.", the boy replied, squeezing her hand a little. He had become so used to holding her small hand like this.
The blonde shot him a glare, her eyes sharp but it still held kindness in it. Her lips formed into a thin line which immediately morphed into a pout, her overall expression now resembling an annoyed child.
He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her expression.
Seeing him laugh, her mood suddenly changed into an enthusiastic one, her eyes wide and her lips stretched into a happy grin.
Looking at her, Natsu realized he wo
uld never get tired of seeing her different expressions every day.
Gajeel was pissed. Well, he always was, but this time it was different!
He was sitting on the hood of his car; the silence and coldness of air adding up to his pent up frustration and discomfort. He thought about all of the things that happened that day and he still couldn't get over it.
He hated the way he felt when he saw her picking up her books earlier. How her tiny hands fumbled for her things as she tried to ignore the mocking laughter of the girls who probably did that to her. He hated how his feet bravely moved towards the direction of the bluenette but froze the moment his crimson eyes landed on her shaking hands. She was scared. Scared of being bullied again.. and it was all his fault.
He crushed the can of beer in his hand and glared at the bright city lights that gave light to the darkness of the night. He was alone again at that spot with no one to watch the beauty of the city with him. Alone, while looking at the view that was supposed to be breathtaking and beautiful but it only made him feel worse.
He was alone. He always was.
After all, who would want to be with somebody like him?
His figure was bulky and lean, which was supposed to be a masculine asset but only scared off most people. He had metal studs that only gave him the impression of a juvenile delinquent.
But most of all, he hated his eyes. His piercing eyes that scared the shit out of everyone. It wasn't his fault that his eyes were naturally cold, having a slightly murderous intent to them. It wasn't, really.
He closed his eyes but he could still see the bright lights in his mind. He had memorized each and every part of it, every shades, every time they flicker... All because of the years he spent, coming to that same place.
Eyes still closed, he took a deep breath and grimaced as the city was replaced by a pair of scared brown eyes and bright blue locks falling to floor.
His hands immediately found his hair, gripping on it tightly, trying to get rid of the image. Her cries resonating throughout his mind, ripping his very soul...
He didn't mean for everything to go that far.
He didn't mean to make her feel that way... Yet, he knew that he couldn't change anything about his past. About the unforgivable things he had done to her.
And now, he was paying for it.
Sure they are fine now. Interacting when the others are around, cracking a few jokes here and there.
But he knew.. he knew that she would never forget what he had done to her. He knew of her uncertainties and the trauma of their past that would always haunt her. He knew that... and he hated it because he couldn't do a single damn thing about it.
He opened his eyes and he took a moment to take in the view in front of him again.
Someday... Maybe someday, he would be able to share this with her.
Natsu was sitting on Lucy's bed as she took a quick shower. He had finished painting her room and was quite satisfied with his work.
The room's color was mostly navy blue and yellow.
A night sky with a celestial dragon soaring in its mighty glory. He got to admit, the dragon he painted was so cool.
His eyes suddenly landed on the plain blue closet. His hands suddenly found the what-was-supposed-to-be snow doggy, the prize he won for her while playing at the arcade earlier, and unconsciously rubbed it's head. His brows scrunched together in thought, as his fingers patted the soft plush toy.
The next thing he knew, he had grabbed his paintbrush and was painting the words he wanted to say.
Lucy took her time in the shower. She felt really relaxed and blissful as the warm water trickled down her skin.
Her time at the arcade with Natsu was so much fun. She couldn't remember the last she had this much fun; well, not that she remembers much about her past life anyway. A smile formed on her lips as she remembered Natsu's face as he struggled to get the stuffed fish toy from the claw vending machine that they saw.
She remembered staying there for quite a while, the impatience that gripped at her nerves which faded away the moment she saw a triumphant look cross his face. His lips stretched into a wide smile as his eyes sparkled with joy while he held up the plush toy in victory.
"Look Luce! I got the toy for Happy! I'm sure he'll love it! He likes fish too much."
Her chest warmed up at the memory and she knew that his face at that moment, will be forever be embedded in her mind.
Luce. It wasn't the first time he called her that way but it never failed to make her heart thump louder in her chest. Her breath hitched and she felt a sudden pain and longing in her chest that she couldn't understand.
They played at lot of games and she couldn't help but huff as she remembered the time when they played basketball. It was actually kind of hard for her because she couldn't see the ring through the metal fencing and of course that resulted in her, scoring barely 30, and him to finish up with 200.
"Man, I'm getting rusty. At this point ice-freak might catch up to me.", she heard him say but she just crossed her arms in annoyance. An effing 200 and he was still not satisfied?!
She had yelped when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her near, her hands landing on his shoulders in reflex.
"Don't feel sad Little Angel. After all, it is expected since you are so small.", he said with a cheeky grin. Lucy would have smacked him then and there, if she wasn't feeling something weird in her stomach the moment her brown eyes stared into his cheerful and ecstatic onyx orbs.
So instead, she had gripped his shoulder and tried to muster a powerful glare as she didn't trust her voice.
She lightly slapped her cheeks to get rid of the warm feeling on it.
She kept convincing herself that it was the water's fault as to why her cheeks were rivaling Natsu's hair color, but a part of her knew otherwise.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the shower and dried herself. She put on a pair of pajamas that Grandeneey bought for her and she couldn't help but laugh at the red mini dragon designs on it.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she took a quick bored glance at Natsu who was busy painting her closet, his back turned to her before making way to her bed, but paused in her steps as she did a double take. Her jaw dropped open as brown eyes stared in awe at colors imparted by the pink-haired teen's brush.
A blonde angel was flying in the blue sky, her hair splayed out as if flowing in the wind. But she wasn't alone. Her hand was extended out, the fingertips making contact with a projecting red nose. The snout of a flying red dragon. The angel was softly smiling as she caressed him.
Her chest warmed at the picture.
Natsu. He didn't care if she was an angel. He didn't care that she was already dead. The painting was his way of saying that no matter what the circumstances, he would be with her, that he would even fly with her if needed, and she knew.. She knew that he would never leave her.
But she would leave him.
Natsu was completely focused on painting the last details that he didn't even notice her get out of the shower.
The next thing Lucy knew, she was already behind him and had her frail arms wrapped around his torso, hugging him from behind, eliciting a small 'Oof' from the surprised pink-haired teen. But he immediately relaxed when his nose caught a sweet scent.
"Don't surprise me like that. I might spill the paint you know.", he said softly, placing his hand on top of hers.
"Thank you Natsu. Thank you, for always being there for the girl you barely know and h-helping her a-and p-protecting her and... and... Just, thank you.", she said as her voice cracked a little from crying. Natsu let out a chuckle and tightened his grip on her hand.
"No need to thank me idiot, it's what a dragon does..."
Gajeel was sitting in the library again, waiting for a certain blue-haired girl to come. His head hung low as he thought about yesterday. A low growl rumbled his throat as he planned his little revenge on the bitches who did that to her yesterday.
"Gajeel-kun?"
His head immediately snapped up to look at source of the voice and saw a blue-haired girl looking at him with worried and inquiring eyes.
Well... not the blue-haired girl he was expecting but still, at least it was her.
"Juvia."
"Gajeel-kun, what are you doing here?", she took the seat next to him and placed her books on the table.
His eyes caught a glimpse of the books on history and biology. He grimaced as he remembered the upcoming tests for those subjects.
"Reading, what else?"
"Reading without a book?", she said while arching her brow. Man, Juvia never used that tone with him before. She was hanging out with Cana way too much.
"Come on, Gajeel-kun, Juvia knows that you can lie better than that", she rolled her eyes. Gajeel scoffed while making a mental note to do something about her hang out with Cana.
'A liar huh...'
"Yeah, well you're not my mom so I don't need to explain anything, rain-woman."
Juvia pouted, making Gajeel smirk. Well, that's more like her.
"Seriously Gajeel-kun, Juvia can't see a reason for your being here so early in the morning...", the girl paused when someone entered the library, "...unless... "
Juvia's eyes narrowed at the raven-haired man, before turning her gaze back on the petite bluenette girl who made her way towards one of the tables in their vicinity.
The girl had her glasses on and was too focused on reading the book in her hand to notice where she was going.
Juvia jumped in her seat, as the petite bluenette let out a high-pitched scream when she almost fell over a nearby chair.
The girl's face turned a crimson color when she noticed that all eyes were on her. Rubbing the back of her head, she gave everyone a sheepish smile while the librarian just shook her head, smiling at her clumsiness; well, it was a daily occurrence after all, so no need to be mad at her. It became a kind of entertainment in the old lady's boring time at the hall.
Juvia's ears perked up when she heard a low chuckle to her side. Snapping her head to look at the source, her eyes landed on the owner who had a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips, before turning his head to look at her with indifference flickering in his crimson eyes.
Her eyes softened as they took in the bored nonchalant façade her best friend was putting on. The man flinched a little when she placed a gentle hand over his, but made no move to remove it.
"Gajeel-kun, if this is still about that time, Juvia thinks that you should let go and move on. Levy-san doesn't hate you, she has forgiven you already... she forgave us. You shouldn't continue to punish yourself like this just because of-"
"Don't. Talk. About. It", he said in a warning tone while gripping Juvia's hand. She flinched at his tone and at his strong grip but she knew that he was just trying to keep his hands from shaking.
"Don't talk like you know everything. Don't talk like what happened before was nothing because it's not Juvia! It's not! I know it because I can still see it in her eyes that she is still damn scared of it happening again!", he hissed, venom dripping with each word; his guilt was eating away at him again as the scenes of his greatest nightmare flashed before his eyes once again.
Letting go of her hands, he stood up and left without another word or glance.
He knew Juvia was crying.
And it was again, his entire fault.
Juvia quickly wiped the tears from her face; she hated being such a crybaby. She felt guilty for saying those things to her friend. She had taken things too lightly and didn't think about his feelings when she talked to him.
She wanted to smack herself for thinking that the situation was just a forgive-and-forget one.
That day, after what had happened, she was quickly forgiven, all thanks to Gray. But with Gajeel… it wasn't the same.
The guy endured so much hate for himself after what happened and even up till now, he was still carrying that heavy burden in his chest.
Juvia sighed as she gave one last glance at the smaller bluenette who was too busy reading to see her. If only she could go back in time... she would undo it all...
Gray was having the time of his life.
Natsu the idiot, came to the classroom holding his girlfriend's hand as usual.
But what the pink haired teen didn't expect was the ice on the floor that made him slip, effectively dragging her along with him. Both landed in an awkward position where her boobs smothered his face.
The 'ice-maker' he used to cover the floor near the door with ice was a project in chemistry and he was glad that he could put his A plus for more important purposes.
Natsu groaned and complained about something heavy on him. His hand came up to squish the soft thing on his face, eliciting a shriek from the blonde above him, slapping his face hard in the process; her face red both from anger and embarrassment.
Gray guffawed, clutching his stomach hard with tears brimming at the corner of his eyes.
He only meant to get even with the flame-head for the punch he received from him yesterday. The punch had come out of nowhere, followed by an explanation from the idiot himself.
"That's for hugging her. Do it again and I will pummel you to the ground!"
"Possessive idiot...", he grumbled as he remembered the pink haired teen's words.
His eyes landed on the bluenette girl who was about to enter the room, she looked like she was in daze.
She was about to step on the ice-covered floor when the raven haired rushed towards her; before he could even think of what he was doing.
Too late though, because the blue haired girl slipped and let out a squeak as she braced herself for a bad fall.
She would have liked it if a pair of strong arms encircled on her waist and stopped her from falling. Too bad, since her life sucks and she wasn't on some romance movie.
She felt her back painfully make contact with the cold floor. But what she didn't expect was to find Gray shouting out her name while reaching out to pull her up, but instead, he slipped on the ice making him loose balance and fall on top of her.
But then again, life was so good so he fell into a compromising position where his hand groped her chest and his face inches away from what's-under-her-skirt, making the both of them almost die in horror and embarrassment.
And of course, their teacher Gildarts Clive arrived at that exact moment and told them off to get a room making the bluenette faint.
"Do it again and I'll make sure you'll regret being born a man", the scarlet-haired said with a heated glare to Gray.
Fortunately for Gray, his life was spared earlier since Erza was in a Student Council meeting with Jellal.
"Aye", the raven haired said dejectedly. His plan of revenge on the pink haired teen backfired on him the moment he and Juvia found the same fate as Natsu and Lucy.
Speaking of Juvia, he thought the girl would be swooning over what happened but, all she did was stare into space while playing with her drink. It's true that he was thankful that she wasn't that clingy anymore, but he knew that he still prefers the crazy but happy Juvia instead of the quiet and sad one.
He could think that she was still gushing about their scene earlier but unfortunately she had this sad look on her face making him conclude that she was thinking about something else.
"Is something wrong Juvia?", the words escaped his lips without him noticing.
The blunette looked up at him then smiled a little, "No Gray-sama, nothing is wrong."
He contemplated if he should inquire more but went against it when he thought that the girl may not want to talk about it. He just hoped that Juvia was up for another stargazing at the park tonight.
Natsu was pissed with Gray, but the moment he saw the stripper's karma he felt okay, though he still made a silent promise to himself, to give the worst payback.
He wasn't sure why his face felt hot whenever the scene replays in his mind.
Lucy was also mad at him and it wasn't helping that his mind thinks she looks so cute while puffing out her reddened cheeks and crossing her arms over her chest.
He groaned at the word.
Cute.. Really, what was happening to him?
But he decided that all of his mixed feelings are all because of the blonde, so she should be the one giving him answers.
With that thought in mind he made the blonde face him and cupped her cheeks in his hands while gazing deep into her eyes; ignoring the squeals and weird looks of his friends.
"Lucy…What are you doing to me?"
Author's Note: So this is the first part of the second mission and not so much of the GaLe yet haha XD But yeah, my graduation is tomorrow so vacation and our family trip is a day away and I'm happy and I'm half-way through the next chap so expect a faster update ;) (well, I hope I'll be able to update fast xD) Thanks again for editing this starfire! ;)
QUESTION NO. 2 FOR 20 QUESTIONS (If you didn't answer my first question, feel free to answer this XD)
What is your Zodiac Sign? (Include your birthday if you want XD)
-mine's Libra. My birthday is on October 21.
I just noticed that this story doesn't get much follows or favorites XD Haha, not that I'm greedy for those or something, I certainly like reviews more (since I can communicate with people and hear their thoughts) but I can't help but think that this story ain't that appealing for most people XD Oh well, I love this story and I certainly love my reviewers and readers and that's more than enough X3
LOVE YOU GUYS! SEE YOU ON THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Next Chapter: Piercing Heart
7 days and 94 more to go
FOR MY WONDERFUL GUEST REVIEWERS XD:
Jili-chan: Helllllllooooooo Jili-chan! Haha and he'll be sooo much cuter when he finally accepted that he is INDEED a man in LOVE hoho XD and thanks for the lovely review ( as always) hope you liked the new chap!
Nicole: Haha thank you very much! *gives you virtual hugs* I'm so sorry for the late update though : but I do hope that enjoyed this new chapter
Matteo XD: I was honestly very busy during the month of feb till the first week of march and I was feeling bad for not updating for over a month especially if I received such lovely reviews as yours! Waaaah! I always reread the reviews I got (since it makes me smile so much) and yours just keeps on tugging on my heart ah, you're so nice! Thank you! Girls liking my story is one lovely thing and a GUY liking it too and telling me that he feel loved for that chapter is so flattering! Thanks for playing 20 questions with me Matt, and I hope that you liked the new chapter XD
P.S. Well continue to review, not only for this story but for others too, because your sweet reviews will definitely inspire more authors to write! XD
8Nevermore3:THANKS! HAHA. YOU'RE AWESOME FOR LEAVING A REVIEW AGAIN TOO! I'M GLAD THAT YOU LOVE IT AND THANKS AGAIN! IT'S SO HEARTWARMING THAT YOU THINK IT'S THE BEST XD *ehem* thanks for playing 20 questions with me and I hope that you liked the new chapter
Sting-sama: Heyyoow! Thanks for reviewing too! Thank you for greeting me, and yeah, I updated late so belated Happy White Day instead (though even that is late haha) *gives you virtual hugs* Oh we all love the NaLu moment so need to ask 'coz I'll surely add lots and lots of 'em! Hmm.. Not much of a GaLe yet huh (Just some one-sided thoughts of Gajeel) but I still hope you like 'em and the bit of Gruvia here Thanks for playing 20 questions with me and I hope you like the chapter X3 Well, I gotta admit, Sting is cool, but I still like Natsu more than him ;P haha XD
Romeokise-kun: I totally agree with you! NaLu Rocks! Haha. Wow thank you and I'm really really sorry for the very late update. Thank you, you're so sweet! *^_^* Thank you for playing 20 questions to me (it means a lot to me) and I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!
Milen: Helloooooooo! I totally ship NaLu too! They're so cute *squeals* Thank you! It's good to know that you think the characters suit the story well and that you find this amazing XD I'm so sorry for the late update! I hope you like the new chap and I promise the next will be updated faster. Also, thanks for playing 20 questions with me, it means a lot
leapyearbaby29: Hello again! XD Wow that's so heart-warming and waaah you just make me so happy! I'm so sorry for the late update though! I'm starting another story, kinda different from this one but still some NaLu fluffs XD but I'm not gonna post it yet since I wanna focus on this story for now. Thank you for the nice review, as always , and I hope that you like the new chap!
AsdubalewerII: Hi! Wooooow! A boy who ships NaLu! It makes me squeal! Hmm.. Thinking Out Loud. I updated really really late and I'm not sure if you still like that song but do you want a scene like that? I can add one for you since you're such a sweet reader and reviewer for this story! (though I can only use it for a much much later part of the story and you probably like another song when that time comes xD) ^_^ Waaah! Thanks for playing 20 questions with me and I hope that you like the new chap!
JohnTeggi28: Thanks for playing 20 questions with me! And wow thank you very much! Your words are very motivating, as always , and thanks again for the support! I hope that you liked the new chap! XD
Zyra Kyung: Yessssss he is! *squeals* and I want my own Natsu too! Haha. Too bad the real one with pink hair and cute grin already belongs to Lucy in my shipper heart X3 but yeah, I wish for my very own Natsu to sweep me off my feet haha XD and of course! More NaLu moments for this chap to make up for my late update (sorry for that : ) and I hope that you like the new chap!
Zyrah: Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Ahhhh.. Even me, is squealing for the NaLu love and the support I get this story and the girlfriend part.. I wonder when Natsu will make it official? *grins* I'm really sorry for the late update : I promise that I'll try my best to prevent it from happening again! Thanks for playing 20 questions with me! And I hope that you like the new chap!
Maysie: Hello! XD Yeah! I'm pretty certain that Juvia's a NaLu shipper haha. Yes! I believe that Gray's a NaLu supporter too Gray's gonna be one of my pawn for more NaLu fluff muahaha XD I'm so sorry for the late update! I'm really really sorry for that. I hope you liked this new chap though X3
Krissa Cheon 18: Hi! Thanks for playing 20 questions with me Yes they are developing.. again. Haha XD Sorry if I sorta hurt you in this chap (though I'm not going to deny that I'm sorta happy too because this story is having an attachment to my lovely readers XD) but I just wanna explain that that part is kinda necessary for the story if you want me to explain further just tell me next time and I'll gladly explain it.
And don't worry about Gray; he's a NaLu shipper! XD Nah, it's okay XD and don't worry, I'm a fucking fan of NaLu too so there's definitely more moments for them Sorry for the late update, I hope that you liked the chapter!
PluMaplEGG33: Yo! Thanks for playing 20 questions with me I'm sorry if it's late this time, and thank you very much! That's so sweet of you to say XD I hope that you liked the new chapter!
SassYIncheoNGurl: Your review (and the others too) made me had a hard time to get up too because *squeals* they are just so nice and lovely and it's making me so happy too. I'm so glad that my story can make you feel the NaLuness haha XD Ihh, I love the truck scene too though that's not credited to me, it was starfire (my beta-reader) who improved that scene and made it more NaLu Sorry for the late update : I hope you liked this new chap though!
Star-chan: Now aren't you a very sweet reader! Haha thank you very much! And I sooo LOVE lovely reviews like yours in return. Well, NALU MOMENTS! are a requirement whenever I write a chapter haha XD I really can't help but write scenes for them (it just doesn't feel right if the NaLu moments didn't cover at least 1/3 of the chappy X3 Well, expect to see more of Natsu in the future chaps and get ready for Lucy's character development as well. GaLe is on its way! Thank you very much, I think I'll be needing it for both *grins* Sorry for the late update, but thank you for playing 20 questions with me and I do hope that liked the new chapter X3
Guest: Yo! Sorry about that, it was just a typo XD I know Cana. I'm a Fairy Tail fan and I'm updated in both anime and manga soooooo I pretty much know my stuff XD Thanks for reading, reviewing, pointing out a typo and giving this story a chance X3 I do hope that you liked the new chap! (if ever you continued reading this story till the last chappy XD)
Edited-07-22-16