"Who are you?" I hear Natsu say next to me as my eyes turn wide and I start to shake.
"Hello baby" I see the man say look at me. I start to shake at the sound of his voice. This is not him! I have been successfully avoiding him for 8 months and here he is at last.
"Baby? Luce who the hell is this guy" I hear Natsu say turning to look at me.
I try to introduce him but he sees that I am in shock and does it for me.
"I am Laxus. Lucy and I used to date. It's nice to see you again Erza, Juvia, Levy" He says giving all of the girls a hug.
"It's good to see you again Laxus" Erza says with her hug
"Juvia is glad to see you Laxus-san. Juvia hopes Laxus-san has been well" says Juvia
"How are you Laxus?" asks Levy
"I've been doing well thanks. I'm just so glad that you all could make it here. Lucy it's great to see you again" Laxus says finally turning to me again and I feel Natsu's hand lay gently on the small of my back. It feels surprisingly comforting and I seem to find my voice again.
"I-I'm doing fine Laxus. I can't believe you're here?" I say giving him a hug.
"Well it seems only fair since you helped me get here." Laxus says still holding onto my arms from our hug. It was nice….comfortable… familiar. It felt like home. I was lost in his touch for a few seconds when I remembered where I was.
"Oh Gosh sorry guys. So rude of me. This is Natsu, Gray, Gajeel and Jellal. They are from the band 'All Fired Up' that we are supporting." I say pointing to each of the guys in turn.
"I hope you are all looking after these great girls" Laxus jokes
"Believe me. They don't need looking after." Gray says laughing. The girls laugh with Gray.
"Actually, it's more of the other way around." Levy-chan added making all of the girls laugh and nod our heads in agreement.
"It doesn't matter, as long as everyone is well then that is fine by me." Suddenly a security guard comes up to Laxus and whispers in his ear. "Looks like the film is going to start in a few minutes, youre all sitting with me so we need to get going." We all nod and with a quick glance and a heart warming smile from Laxus, we all walk to our seats and sit down down to watch the movie.
Three hours later and we are coming out the theatre and into an adjoined room for the after party! Honestly, I was rather impressed with the movie. Laxus was amazing and I really believed his character and the storyline! As we all make our way to the hall, Laxus gently holds onto my arm.
"Lucy, can I talk to you for a sec?" I look back to see the guys all look at me concerned. From the looks of things Natsu is trying to hide a face of thunder! He promised me that if Laxus did anything that I didn't like, he would interject and stop it, but Laxus has put us all into a difficult position so I give a nod to the guys and say "Give me two minutes. I'll catch up with you. Get a drink for me!" They all look back and make their way into the room. I can tell can Natsu was really fighting with himself to do it but I had no other choice.
Laxus walks us to a quiet corner, just near the doors that we came out of. I look around and no one is paying any mind to us luckily. I look back at Laxus to see him looking a little nervous.
"Is everything okay Laxus?" I ask concerned
"Yeah everything is fine. Um…what did you think?" What! He is asking my opinion?
"You could have asked me that with the others around you know." I jest to him
He shrugs his shoulders "I know that, but you probably would have just said that it was good to not be critical in front of your friends. You're a good person like that Lucy." I blush hearing that. He does have a point with that.
"So?" He prompts
"Honestly I liked it. The story line was good, you were great in it.. 10 out of 10 I'd say" I answer beaming at him.
Laxus grins back at me. "Great. I'm glad."
"Cool." I say pausing for a moment. "I think we should probably go back to the others-"
I say this starting to turn and point towards the direction that they all went, when Laxus grabs my arm again. I don't struggle against him but I turn back around seeing that he wanted to get my attention for something else.
Laxus looks quite hesitant. "Are you sure you're okay Laxus, you're starting to worry me a little."
He looks down at the floor and murmurs something I can't hear.
"Huh?" I prompt.
"I miss you" My heart stops at this confession. I see him look up and I stare straight at him and see his sincerity. It was making my heart break just look at him admitting that he misses me.
"I miss you too" I admit. After 8 months of nothing, it is nothing short of the truth. I was deeply in love with Laxus before we broke up and I saw him every day. I would be surprised if I didn't miss him.
"Really?" He asks looking somewhat hopeful
"Really" I answer giving him a smile.
He pulls me into a quick hug. "I know this is a long shot and I know that we still need time to get to know each other again but….. Lucy…baby.. I miss everything. I miss us. I miss you and me spending every day together, I know that you are on your tour right now and I have another movie set coming up soon but…will you give us another chance?"
I am stunned. Physically and mentally! My thoughts have gone into over drive. Laxus is asking me out again? I don't know how I feel about him? What about Natsu? Should I give myself time to see if it goes anywhere? He really cares for me. I can tell that already from him being so protective of me and all….. but Laxus I know. I have known him since high school! We have been best friends throughout and then had a successful relationship until….then. Then it all fell to pieces. I couldn't see him or talk to him at all. I completely crushed him and what ever relationship we had with that event and I don't think that I can move past it. I've developed feelings for another man for heavens sake! I would see him more than Laxus! I would always be away on tour, he would always be away on movie sets…It couldn't work. Could it?
"I…I don't know Laxus." I stutter quietly as I move myself away from his hands on arms. "I'm so glad that I have you back into my life again. Nothing is going to ruin that for me but….."
Laxus scoffs frowning. "Oh. There's a but"
"But…..When would we see each other? When I was helping you with your work, I was only down the road in a garage with the girls or at the nearest pub or radio station. I was still in reach of you… but now that I am on tour and you will be on film sets…. I don't see it working. I'm sorry Laxus" I say feeling my heart break all over again as I mentally kick myself while telling the man who I thought was THE ONE, no to his proposal.
Laxus looks back at me, pulling a hand up to wipe away the many tears rolling down my face, sighs and nods. "I get it. Believe me I get it…. but can we just try baby? For old time's sake? Maybe just a month or two? If it doesn't work, we can just be friends again and put all of this behind us. There are so many things that I have left unsaid to you that I should have said long ago. I love you Lucy Heartfilia and maybe the fact that you and I are working so close to each other is fate's way of saying we should be together. "
I shake my head. "I couldn't be friends with you if we broke up again and I couldn't live with myself if we didn't see each other enough if we were together. I have spent the last 8 months pouring tears over the fact that you and I never got a decent shot, but during those 8 months, I begun to realise that maybe it was fate's own way of saying it wasn't going to work….." I cradle my hand on his face "And maybe this chance meeting was fate's way of saying that now we have the chance to say a proper goodbye instead of how we ended it the last time. I want you in my life Laxus, I don't deny that. But maybe not the same way you do."
Again, Laxus just looks at me, sighs and nods his head. "I don't want to give up on us Lucy but….maybe you're right. I don't want to lose you out of my life but I don't want to ruin it if we got a second chance because of work. Maybe it would be best if we were just friends and if something happens, something happens." Laxus suggests.
I nod "Okay. I like that." I give him a peck on the cheek "Thank you for understanding."
Laxus gives me one last look in the eyes and gives me a peck on the forehead breathing in my scent like he always used to. I close my eyes to remember this moment and embrace this small gesture. He looks down at me while I look up at him and whispers to me "I love you Lucy Heartfilia. You are the best thing that ever happened to me." Then he walks passed me, gives me one last glance and walks into the room where the after party is being held.
I feel tears stream down my face as my heart aches once more. How does he have that power over my emotions like that…..I blame his acting skills. I laugh to myself at the thought. I did love him so much and now I have just turned him down despite my original reservations. I have no idea whether I have just make the biggest mistake of my life or not, but either way, I need to see my friends and I need a stiff drink.
I run to the nearest bathroom, clean myself up, take in a deep breath and make my way into a beautifully lit function hall that is lighted with soft purples and yellows, while a DJ is playing in the back ground some club tunes and waiters with champagne flutes walk around serving. As soon as a waiter is nearby I grab two glasses of champagne and down the first one. Wow that stuff is strong! Must be really expensive! I place the first glass on a random table nearby and start working on the second glass, taking more care with sipping it.
I find Erza, Jellal, Levy and Gajeel at the bar and go over to talk to them for a while. I assure them that everything is fine and that Laxus was just wanting my opinion on the movie. I gave Levy and Erza a knowing look of 'I'll tell you in the morning' before carrying on our conversation. The next thing I know, I have finished my second glass of champagne and grabbing my third from the nearest waiter. The slick taste is running smoothly down my throat taking away all of the pain and memory of earlier with Laxus. It is really relaxing and I soon start to feel the effects.
"Are you okay blondie?" Gajeel asks
I nod my head as my head starts to fog and feel heavy. "I'm fine thanks Gajeel. My name is Lucy though" I correct him.
"Gee-hee I know that. But it's easier to give people nicknames incase I forget. That's why I call her Shrimp." He says pointing to Levy. We all laugh as Levy does not look best pleased.
"You know that I don't like that nickname Gajeel."
"Whatever shrimp." Gajeel retorts making the others laugh. I myself have slightly lost interest. My mind has wandered to a certain pink haired person.
"Has anyone seen Natsu. I need to see him." I ask. Erza points over to a nearby table and I follow it seeing Natsu in conversation with Gray and Juvia. I laugh to myself at the thought. Natsu and Gray never just talk. I bet they are arguing and poor Juvia is trying to stop them from fighting in the middle of the party.
I thank Erza and make my way over to Natsu and Gray who, points going to me here, are fighting.
"Oh come on Ice-princess. The movie was awesome. There was so much action in it!" Natsu was shouting at Gray.
"As if flame-brain. The movie was cool, I give you that. But the fighting you could tell was choreographed!" Gray retorted.
"Gray-sama, Natsu-san. Juvia thinks that it is not wise to shout so loudly that you didn't like the film while we are all at Laxus-san's premier?" Juvia tries to delegate. Gray is first to back down slumping his tense shoulders.
"You're right Juvia I'm sorry" Gray apologises before noticing me. "Lucy. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah everything's fine" I answer looking between Natsu, Gray and Juvia. The music from the DJ starts to get louder and more people are starting to join onto a make-shift dancefloor.
"Come on Gray-sama. I love this song!" Juvia says grabbing Gray's hand and dragging him to the dance floor before he could object. I laugh as I watch poor Gray attempts to dance with Juvia.
After a while of watching Gray's poor excuse for dancing, I hear Natsu talk beside me.
"Are you sure that you are okay?" I hear turning to face Natsu. Immediately I am reminded of the conversation between Laxus and I am and the tears come up again threatening to flood over my cheeks. I attempt a happy face and nod my head, knowing full well that if I said anything I would be crying. I finish the rest of my third glass in record time reaching for another, letting the cloudiness fill my head.
"Do you want to dance?" I hear Natsu ask. I smile at him. I can tell that he is trying to be polite and cheer me up, but I'm really not in the mood. This party has turned quite sour for me right now.
I shake my head to him. "I'm okay thank you. I am more of a people watcher rather than a dancer".
I look around the dance floor as I see many couple dancing together. I see Gray and Juvia together dancing rather closely sharing a kiss and I see Jellal and Erza dancing together. I smile at the thought of them two together. They do actually suit each other well. Looking around even further I can see Levy and Gajeel talking in the corner. I can tell that Gajeel is not one to dance and honestly neither is Levy.
But with all of this thinking and observing of couples, it is not changing my mood. It is only making it worse. I pound another large gulp of my fourth glass of expensive champagne and I realise that I am standing next to Natsu who is just watching me.
"Do you want to get out of here and get something stronger?" He asks pointing towards the champagne glass. I immediately nod. I know that our chauffeurs are still around so Natsu rings one of them telling him that we want to go back to the hotel, while I run to the girls to tell them that Natsu and I are going. Normally they would have objected but they seemed okay with it since I was not going home alone and they were kind of in their own tipsy worlds already.
I walk as soberly as I can to Natsu, he wraps his arm around me to give me support and we walk to the front door where we are met by photographers. Shit. I knew there would still be people there. Why did I have to drink so much! Preparing ourselves, I hang onto Natsu for support before we reach the limo in record time. Luckily the ride back was short and we were not followed so we just relaxed until we reached the limo.
I lay my head on the window sighing. I am so glad to be getting out of there.
And here is Chapter 15! hope you all enjoy your new years eve tonight and dont have too any fire whiskeys! See you all in 2014!