Hiya! I'm going to try and update whenever I have time, at least until I'm caught up. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm going to start answering questions and give shout out or whatever. I don't know how long it will last but. . .
A Thank You to:
FlyingDoll 4 :Yeah, that's something I didn't like. I'm working on adding a conversation when Natsu and Lucy pass back and forth ideas. Sorry for any confusion.
The other lovely guest that reviewed : I don't want to bash on Lisanna, I want to work out a new plot where Lis isn't the bad guy, but for now she needs to be the bad guy because she's the only character fit for this plot. In all honesty, Lisanna is one of my favorite characters.
Fairy Tail F.T: Thanks I really appreciate it!
Shugo Fairy 4eva: Thanks for reviewing!
Other guest: Thank you!
Again, instead of moving to Italy, I followed the idiot inside, and right now, as we sit at a table in the crowded food court, I regret it. "Okay, since we are playing a in a big area, we have to play in pairs," Natsu instructed seriously. He's so incredibly weird, that I... don't even know. He grinned, showing his unusually sharp canines.
"To do that, I will write down the guys' names and the girls will choose a slip of paper. Whoever's name is written on their slip will be their partners... does anyone have a pen and paper?" Natsu laughed nervously. We all sighed and searched our bags. Nobody had paper, but Levy had a pen. Natsu searched the ground and found a receipt. Him being noisy and all, decided to read it aloud.
"Victoria's secret!? Who the hell buys a bra for 55 jewel!?" We all laughed awkwardly as Natsu wrote down the guys' names rather messily. He ripped the receipt into 5 pieces and crumpled the slips into little balls. He held open his hand. "Okay pick one." And we did.
"Me and my lucky teammate will seek. The other groups are hiding."
I got stuck with Natsu, Erza is partnering with Gray, Aries is with Loke (yay, some more weirdness), the two kids (Romeo and Wendy), and Levy and Gajeel are teaming up for this game. I mentally groaned. He's loud and obnoxious which means we'll lose because everyone within a 5 mile radius can hear him coming.
We all situated and traded seats to sit next to our partners. Natsu pulled out his phone. "Now pass your phones around in a circle and add in your numbers." Everyone blinked.
"Come on. What if Erza pushed Gray down the escalator, Gray would need to text us! Or if you loose your partner! Or. . . Or if Lucy and I give up, we'd have to call off the game! Just do it," Erza glared daggers into the pinkette, but pulled her phone out of her pocket and passed it to the shirtless raven-haired teen in one swift motion. Gray passed his to Aries, Aries nervously passed hers to Loke (who wouldn't be nervous!?), I passed mine to Natsu who had passed his onto Romeo and so on. Once everyone typed in their number into everybody's phone, Natsu was able set the last few rules.
"No hiding in Victoria's secret or any other store like that, Spencer's, or bathrooms. You cannot leave the mall without sending a group message, and you only have the length of 2 songs to scatter through the mall. You can move around and switch hiding places or whatever, and whenever. If we find you, you have to help look and cannot tell the others you have been caught. You HAVE to stay with your partner. Lucy will text ya if we think of more rules." The players nodded and smiled, except Gajeel who still seemed disinterested. Natsu plugged in the white earbuds into his phone and stuck one in my ear, and then the other in his own. He scrolled through his playlists and grinned. "Go." He instructed, the others flew off in different directions. He pressed the play button and Fashionably Late by Falling in Reverse started blaring loudly in my right ear. I couldn't help but grin along with the idiot sitting next to me. I lipped the words, oblivious to the fact that Natsu was staring at me through the corner of his eye.
"You know this song?" He said in disbelief.
"One of my favorites," I spoke through a grin. He gave a larger one in return and refocused on the music blaring through his left ear, stealing a side glance here and there. When that song ended, my grin grew even wider when my all time favorite song started playing. I Feel Like Dancin by All Time Low. Natsu seemed to like this song alot because he started bobbing his head to the beat and singing aloud. When the chorus started, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet and started doing stupid dance moves to the song. I started laughing as he sang and the danced despite being in the crowded food court and how stupid he looked considering only him and I could hear the music. I refused his many invites to join in and just laughed at his horrific dancing. His singing was pretty decent, though, I couldn't help but notice the weird glances and the group of giggling teens.
Natsu and I might of never talked before today, but he didn't feel distant. He almost felt like an old friend. The song ended and laughter bubbled in his chest. He let loose and burst out laughing.
"You can dance like that in a public place, but you're embarrassed to be seen in our pink mini-van?" I said, rolling my eyes a bit, though I could feel that I was smiling. He just shrugged and pulled the ear buds from our ears and wrapped them around his phone.
"Why not?" He said with that grin of his.
I made an attempt to look annoyed before talking. "Where do we start looking?"
Natsu hummed thoughtfully before he started naming places where his friends might hide, "Gajeel would probably take Levy into Hot Topic, Ice-prick will go wherever that demon tells him to, Loke is probably just walking around I guess, Wendy probably went into Disney or Sears or something. Where do you think Erza took the ice-princess? She wouldn't kill him would she!?"
"No, Erza wouldn't kill him, she'd take him into Delia's or some other clothing store. Maybe Aéro or Pac•Sun." I stated as we started walking.
"Let's go check Hot Topic for Gajeel. It's closest." Natsu said as he took hold of my hand and began running.
"Natsu!" I yelled, trying to match his pace. He ignored me and pressed on. 'The nerve of this guy!'
Whatever familiarity I had felt moments ago was gone, replaced two times over with annoyance.
We arrived at the store and Natsu finally slowed down and let go of my hand. I crossed my arms and blew the hair out of my face. He peeked through the window, and sure enough, the scruffy haired teen with many piercing was standing with the short bookworm.
"Let's spy on them first. It'll be fun," Natsu smirked and rubbed his hands together mischieviously. And to that, I agree.
"Only for a little bit!" I warned. His smirk grew into a sly grin. And with that, we silently crept into the store and stayed a good 10 feet from our friends without being noticed, and with the dim lighting, it was easy. When we were finally within earshot, I smiled.
"Come'n Shrimp, just eat one." Gajeel stated holding out, what looked like a small ball of chocolate. Levy took a step back and shook her head vigorously.
"No! That's disgusting Gajeel! I'm NOT eating that!" Levy protested.
"It's not gonna kill ya. They're actually not that bad. Dragneel and I ate them, and we're still breathing ain't we?" Gajeel countered. I seen Natsu's face go from confused to discuss. Levy's face looked quite similar.
"It's a chocolate covered GRASSHOPPER!" Levy and I shivered, "It's just not happening."
"Gihi. I'll throw in 10 jewel." Gajeel bargained.
"That is NOT worth 10 jewel," Levy stated as her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Fine, 10 jewel n a pat on the back." Levy's eyes narrowed even more. Gajeel laughed.
"Gihi, just kiddin' Shrimp. 35 jewel, give or take." Levy's face scrunched up slightly in her usual thinking face. 'SHE'S ACTUALLY THINKING ABOUT IT! Ew, Levy, don't do it!' I mentally warned her, praying that she got my silent plea. She hesitantly grabbed the small grasshopper with her petite hand and looked at it. Natsu suddenly looked like he was going to be sick. 'Oh Mavis, please don't Levy!' She quickly flicked it into her mouth. Gajeel snickered and fished through his wallet.
"I gotta say Shrimp, I didn't think you had the guts." Levy and I winced as she crushed the bug with her teeth. 'Why Levy? Why must you be so weak when it comes to money?' Natsu gagged. Levy pocketed her money and swallowed. She cringed as it slid down her throat.
"That was. . . horrifying," Levy said, making Gajeel grin and stretch out his arm. As he patted her head, Levy kept an annoyed look planted on her face despite her obvious pink-tinted cheeks. Natsu, being a moron, jumped out from behind the small shelf.
"Aha! Found ya!"
Gajeel and Levy heads shot in our direction. I face-palmed and came out of my hiding spot. Levy grimaced and Gajeel grunted.
"How long were ya there Salamander?" Gajeel crossed his arms and spoke roughly as if he were irritated.
"Long enough to see you try to kill her! Not that bad!? Not that bad you said!?" Natsu now paced back in forth in front of the register.
"I almost died after eating those things metal-head!"Gajeel interrupted with a snort.
"Yeah, almost died of diarrhea. You were shitting for days." Gajeel laughed and Levy's eyes widened into the universal sign of 'oh shit'. I've notices that Gajeel's laugh was not one of those haha or hehe kind of laughs. It's more of a Gihi, with a bit of mischief hidden within it. Despite his act of disinterest, I bet Gajeel is just as childish as Natsu and Gray on the inside. I laughed at the thought. Like Gajeel be as stupid and obnoxious as Natsu, impos-
"What was that metal-face!?" Natsu shouted, getting the attention of many people around us. I sighed, anything was possible with these fools. I wouldn't be surprised if they ate something crazy like metal or fire for breakfast at this point. I smiled, maybe some things are impossible.
"Shit-ting for daaays." Gajeel repeated.
"You're asking for it!" Natsu charged, and one thing led to another, and they were now fighting in the middle of the store. I sighed for the billionth time in the past 5 minutes and stepped in with Levy to stop it. Levy conked Gajeel upside the head, and I did the same to Natsu. They both rolled their eyes and rubbed their now bumped skulls. I smiled satisfied, and put me hands on my hips. I shifted my weight to one leg.
"What the hell made you think that it's alright to fight in a public place! Idiots!" I scolded them as Natsu brushed the imaginary dirt from his jeans. He once again rolled his eyes. A teen that looked about our age put a hand on Natsu shoulder as he walked by. "Women." He said with an eyeroll.
"Hey jackass, I heard that." I glared. The man put his hands up in defeat and walked off. I slapped my forehead and slid my hand down my face. I glanced at the now bickering Gajeel and Natsu and then at Levy.
"Okay. This is how it will go. Levy," I looked at the said bookworm. "You will take the metal-faced idiot somewhere. If you happen to run into the others either hide or lie. I'll take Pinky to find the others." Levy nodded, Gajeel grunted, and Natsu argued.
"Salmon!" He complained.
"Oh come on!" I grabbed his scarf and dragged him out of Hot Topic despite his struggling. He eventually stopped squirming after Hot Topic was out of site.
"What was that for!?" He exclaimed dramatically. I shrugged, but kept a firm face as I let go of his scarf.
"Who are we going to look for next?" I asked, a smiling creeping onto my face.
"What's with the creepy smile?" Natsu asked, taking a small step back.
"I think I have an idea of where Erza might've taken Gray..." Natsu, being the over dramatic hyper manic, thought this was an appropriate reason to get into my personal space. His hands clamped onto my shoulders and he leaned into my face so that our noses were centimeters apart. I felt my face heat up slightly and the air around me started getting really warm.
"Where!?" He grinned. I sighed. Why the hell did I have to get stuck with this idiot? Did I do anything to piss off the universe or something? Because if I did, I apologize a hundred times over for whatever I did.
"The small cheesecake place over by the Dragon's Café." I tried to say as normal as possible. Despite being a small café, The Dragon's Café was a huge deal in Magnolia. Only one exists in all of Fiore and that's here in Magnolia's mall. It opened up a year ago and I've never been, but Levy and Erza say it's one of the best out there. Natsu took a step back and stared at me intensely, making my blush darken.
"Why's your face all red Lucy?" I sighed for the umpteenth time today.
"Because it's hot in her dumbass. Let's just go." I pushed him forward and began walking a pace behind him. We didn't talk at all until we passed The Dragon's Café.
"Hey, do you mind if I go inside the Café for like a few minutes?" Natsu asked nervously.
"Uh sure? But only a few minutes don't take forever." And with my answer, Natsu dashed inside.
I looked up at the café's sign. Damn, it's so simple yet so eye-catching. Whoever painted it, was extremely talented. The sign was simple brown, antique looking wood cut in the shape of an oval, giving the restaurant a medieval aura to it. It had bright orange and yellow flames rising up from behind the simple red lettering. There was something about the flames that were so different, but I just couldn't place a finger on it. I've seen the sign hundreds of times, yet, it still fascinates me. It's amazing. I wonder who painted it. I stood there for 10 minutes admiring the sign and comparing it to others. What the hell is taking the idiot so long? He said a few minutes, not 10. I pulled open the door and was hit with an enormous amount of different smells, however, they blended so well, it was mouth watering. No wonder this place is a big deal, just walking in felt fantastic, but now was not the time. I had to find Natsu and finish this stupid game. I looked around the antique and medieval, decorated café and searched for the all too familiar pink hair.
My eyes stopped searching when I seen the wall to the right. There was of a red dragon, surrounded by flames painted beautifully on the wall.. It was magnificent. The flames looked the same as the one on the sign. They almost looked real. It was obvious that the person that painted the sign painted this too. I went back to searching for Natsu.
When I finally spotted him by the register, I was caught by surprise. A man with fiery red hair was scolding both Wendy and Natsu. I also noticed Romeo about 5 feet away in a mahogany apron, taking someone's order. What the hell, the kid can take orders with ease, but can't make a simple box of mac-n-cheese without setting his kitchen of fire! Anyways, the man with red hair continued scolding and I continued staring. I knew that man from somewhere. I just can't lay a finger on it. After a few minutes, I got it. That's Igneel, my dad's old business partner! I started to make my way over to him. I guess Natsu noticed me because he silently shooed me away with his hands. I rolled my eyes and I could hear Igneel from here. "What the hell are you doing Natsu!?" His voice was still scruffy and low.
"Uh, there was a fly?" Igneel laughed.
"Natsu that is one of your lamest excuses yet. Who are you telling to go? For all you know, they could be a paying customer." Just as Igneel said that I made it my way over to there, and to my surprise, he recognized me.
"Lucy!? Is that really you?" He asked.
"Yeah. Hey Igneel. It's been a year hasn't it?" I looked over Igneel's shoulder and at Natsu. His jaw hit the floor and his pointing finger faltered.
"You've grown so much! You look just like your mother! Your father searched to the end of the world and back to try and find you! What on Earth Land are you doing here?!" Igneel pulled me into a hug which I gladly accepted. Natsu remained a pile of goo, and Wendy just looked flat out confused. I ignored them for now, thinking Igneel might explain. We pulled from our hug and I smiled solemnly. "I actually doubt he searched for me like he said he did. And if he did search it was because he needed an heir, but anyway I came with a group of friends today." I said quietly.
"Nonsense he would have bawled like a baby if he didn't miss you! But sadly, he passed on shortly after you left. He said to give you something if I ever seen you again. I'll get Grandine to get it for you after I finish scolding my children." I sort of felt something tug at my heart before he continued, but I couldn't bring myself to cry after all my father has done. Igneel continued.
"Can you believe that they were playing hide-n-go seek inside the mall! I expected that from the older one, but my little Wendy!? She should know better!" I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend the fact that I've known Natsu's father for most of my life. Then I laughed awkwardly.
"Actually Igneel. . . I was playing too." Now it was Igneel's turn to be shocked.
"What!? Lucy, after watching you grow up, I was sure you'd never do something so immature! You were always mature for your age! Wait, you know my son and Wendy?" I laughed again.
"Well, I am an only child and all. I never got to play these kinds of games. And yeah Natsu is my partner for a stupid writing project thing for Mr. Macao, but I just met Wendy today." After I finished explaining, Igneel turned towards his children.
"Since Lucy has never played this game before, you guys can continue playing. Wendy can you go and get your mother. Tell her that Lucy is here." Wendy nodded and headed to the back. Natsu on the other hand grew ecstatic.
"What the hell Dad! You never mentioned anything about Luce! I don't get it! How do you know her? You know what!? I'm just asking mom, you're ignoring me!" Even though he never gave his dad a chance to answer, he followed his sister into the kitchen. I smiled at his idiocy.
"He may act like an idiot, but he is actually great at a lot things. He has a lot of talents that boy. Natsu has been through a lot as a child, and I'm proud of him actually. But what fascinates me most, is his carefree way of smiling. That smile is his greatest talent." Igneel said with pride twinkling in his eyes. I smiles even though I didn't really understand what he meant by 'that smile is his greatest talent'. I didn't give it much thought and asked a question that has been itching in my throat since I arrived.
"Hey Igneel, who painted the sign. I walk past it once a week to go to the cheesecake place and I always stop and stare at it. It's so simple, yet so eye catching." The pride in Igneel's eyes shined brighter and a small smile graced his lips.
"As I said, that boy has great talents. He chose the name for this place too. He can do a lot. Paint, he's a decent singer, and believe it or not, he could grow up and be an author for all I know. He's in that honor's English class with you, and that was not out of pure luck. He earned it. He also cherishes his friends, like they are his last." As Igneel finished, the dark blue haired woman exited the kitchen followed by a smiling Wendy and a pouting Natsu, with a small box. My eyes swelled with tears as I silently took it it from her hands. It was my mother's. She used to put her locket in this one. Sure enough, when I opened it, the silver chain and heart-shaped locket sat in the box with a small note folded underneath it. I smiled and lifted it from the box. I took the note from the bottom and started reading. It was written in my mom's loopy cursive.
Dear Lucy, I wish I could give this to you myself, but I can't.
Mavis is calling for me, and there's nothing I can do. I want you and your father to live on happily without me.
I have a feeling that your father might freeze his heart after I go, but I want you to know that he loves you. This locket means the world to me and I wanted to give it to you on your 16th birthday.
So I'll ask Jude to do it for me.
Love you forever and always,
Momma
At the very bottom was my Father's scratchy handwriting.
Dear Lucky Lucy,
It's been a while since I called you that, but I want to say I am sorry for all I've done to you. I hope you can forgive me, but if you can't, I understand. I still love you and will forever.
Your Father, Jude Heartfilia.
"I forgive you Papa. Thank you Mama." I whispered.
*End of chapter*
ANNNNDDD that is where I'm ending this chapter! Follow & Review! Much is appreciated! See ya! ( -.^)/