Chapter 15

No Regrets, Part 2

Lucy pulled her eyes away from Laxus and looked to Natsu, his eyes were full of pure rage. His fists were now balled at his sides, he shook as he struggled to contain himself.

"What is he doing here Fullbuster." Natsu seethed. The group all slowly stopped dancing as they watched as Laxus and his friends entered the house.

"I don't know, I made it clear he and his friends weren't to be invited." Grey said back in a deadly serious tone. Laxus had never shown up to his parties before, he had rarely even interacted with the dude as he was a grade above him.

"Someone needs to tell him that clearly." Jellal intervened. The boys all stared at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Their entire plan of attack this year was simply to make sure Laxus and Lucy never stepped foot into the same room, and it had worked, that was until now.

"Please, let's just ignore him. I won't be able to run from him forever, I'll just keep my distance." Lucy said so quietly she was barley heard over the music. The group looked at her, empathy filled their eyes. Lucy had a point, they went to the same school, they knew the same people. It was only a matter of time before she would have to face him again.

"Lucy, we can kick him out you don't have to put yourself through this." Gajeel said. He pulled Levy tighter to him to comfort himself. He couldn't imagine how Natsu felt watching Lucy experience this with no way of shielding her.

"No really, please let's just move on from this, If it gets to be too much then maybe we ask him to leave okay?" She said. Lucy was trying hard to be rational, but she could feel the depth of her sanity slowly chipping away. She knew if he got any closer, she would be violently ripped back into one of her episodes.

The boys grunted in forced agreement, as much as they all wanted to pummel Laxus, they wouldn't force Lucy to witness it. This was about her and her decisions, they would have to respect that.

The group decided to head to the basement to keep Lucy away from Laxus. Grey's basement was a game room, it had so many games and such it resembled an arcade.

"I call dips on dance-dance revolution!" Levy cheered as she dragged Erza to join her. Grey and Juvia headed off not too far to his pool table. Lucy watched as Grey taught Juvia how to play, touching her waist and arm as he taught her how to shoot the ball. Lucy smiled, she was happy to see her friends happy.

Loke had returned a sometime during the mess and he was now playing air hockey with Jellal, and horribly loosing at that. Girls encircled the table as they cheered Loke on, much to Jellal's annoyance.

"Whatchu wanna do Luce?" Natsu said. Lucy looked around when her eyes were caught by a skee ball machine.

"That one!" Lucy pointed. "I say we use this to finally finish our competition from earlier this week." She smiled deviously

"You are so on…" Natsu said as they ran to the machine.

… … …

The group would switch from game to game as Lucy and Natsu spent the next hour trying to beat each other in skee ball. They were currently tied and agreed who ever won the most points this next round won.

Lucy rolled her ball up and landed in the 40 slot, She cheered as she thought this assured her win. She wondered what she would make Natsu do. Maybe clean her apartment? Make him make her breakfast for a week? Maybe do her homework next semester? She shut down the last thought knowing Natsu doing her homework would only make her fail the class in an instant.

She was so caught up in trying to decide she barley heard Natsu land the ball in the 50 point slot.

"HA! I WIN! YOU LOSE! HA HA HA" Natsu jumped around like a fool as he mocked Lucy. She stood there in shock, she had actually lost.

"Damn… well looks like I owe you a favor." She said in defeat. Natsu finished his beer and smiled deviously. He rubbed his hands together thinking of all the annoying things he could make Lucy do now.

"Since you know have to do something for me, I say we dye your hair bright pink!" He exclaimed. Lucy's jaw hit the floor, no way in hell would he actually make her do such a treacherous thing.

"All jokes Luce, I actually have no clue what I want yet, maybe I'll just hold this over your head until inspiration hits!" He said as he patted Lucy's shoulders. She shuddered at the idea of Natsu holding this over her, she would never live this one down.

The two then made their way over to Juvia and Grey who had doubled back to playing pool.

"How about 2v2?" Grey suggested as he saw Natsu and Lucy approach. Juvia nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Juvia, how about we partner up?" Lucy suggested. Juvia nodded in agreement. She walked over to Lucy's side of the table as Grey racked up the balls again and Natsu went to grab more pool sticks.

The game started with Juvia and Lucy failing miserably. Natsu and Grey, who normally were at each other throats, seemed to make the perfect team. They took turns absolutely demolishing the girls in pool.

What they didn't know was Lucy had this all planned, she was quite skilled at pool thanks to Alex. He had taught her the trick of waiting until the opponent got cocky and then slashing them down. This technique made Alex lots of money at bars during his early twenties, it also resulted in him being banned from most bars in Fiore. Turns out even bar keepers don't like hustlers.

Just as Grey and Natsu had only the black 8 ball left to win, Lucy took her turn. In only one play she managed to get every single one of the stripped balls into a hole. Grey stared at her stunned while Natsu cursed under his breath, he should've known by her silly little smile that she had something up her sleeve.

"Looks like we are tied." Lucy said as she stretched nonchalantly. Juvia high fived her as she cheered, she thought they had no chance at winning, but she had been completely wrong.

"Let me take this one Natsu." Grey said as he stepped in front of him. Natsu stared at Grey, their manhood was on the line. Grey shot the ball and it rolled. The 4 watched closely as the ball slowly inched its way to the pocket, only for it to stop mere millimeters from it. Grey put his head down in shame, he pretty much gave the win to the girls.

"Juvia, I'll let you handle this one." Lucy said smugly.

Juvia gave a wink to Grey, successfully making him blush, before shooting the ball into the hole. The girls hugged each other as they cheered, sticking their tongues out at their opponents. Natsu and Grey began to argue about each others' pools skills which only made the girls laugh more.

"Hey Grey, where's the washroom?" Lucy asked, cutting off their argument.

"Oh, there's one on the main floor next to the kitchen, hard to miss it." He said casually as he returned to arguing with Natsu. Both were far to drunk to even be making coherent arguments which only made It worse.

Lucy slipped away from the group as Juvia attempted to hold Grey back once more from attacking the drunk Pinkette. Lucy ran up the stairs and found the washroom within moments. Once In there she took a moment to calm down a little. Despite all the fun she was having the back of her mind was ringing alarms throughout her head. Warning her of the threat nearby. She tried her best to ignore them as she quickly touched up her make up in the mirror. Even though she was uncomfortable in her top, she had to admit she did look good. Her top made her boobs look great and her skirt made her legs look fantastic. she finally adjusted her hair to make sure no one saw her scars on her back and opened the bathroom door.

When she did she was shocked to see someone standing right in front of it, blocking her in. They pushed her back into the small bathroom and closed the door.

"Lucy…" Laxus breathed. He was drunk. Lucy felt herself shrink back into her shell as he towered over her.

Laxus had spotted Lucy the second he had gotten to the party, hell he had only went to see her. Laxus did not specifically care for the girl, to him she was already all used up. But he knew how much Natsu cared for the blonde, and he would do anything to get back at Natsu. He blamed Natsu for Lisanna's death, he told her it was okay to give up and die. He pretty much had stopped her heart for her. The rage Laxus felt for Natsu only festered the years after her death as he tried to think of ways to get back at the pink haired murderer. He tried to destroy his friend group through Levy, but that hadn't worked out well. But now with Lucy, opportunity had fallen into his hands, and he would be damned if he didn't take it.

"Lax-Laxus please, let me leave…" Lucy stammered. Her eyes were glued to the floor as she began to shake uncontrollably. She felt the last bits of her mind chip away as she stood before the man who had broke her.

"Now why would I do that Lucy? You know I have missed you sooooo much. I say we catch up." Laxus said as he leaned in, he grabbed her chin and forced it up so that she looked him in the eyes.

Lucy stared at him in fear as tears welled up in her eyes, at least they smudged her vision, so she didn't have to fully look at his face.

"Laxus, please don't do this, I don't want to be here. Let me go." She said with the last bits of strength she had. Laxus took a step closer as Lucy took a step back, she was now flat against the wall with no where to run.

Laxus's face flashed anger, but he quickly suppressed it. If he really wanted to destroy Natsu he wouldn't just terrorize Lucy, he would do everything in his power to her his again. Manipulate her into thinking he was all she had. And just when she felt he was all she could turn to, he would shatter her heart once more. He knew to destroy Lucy was to destroy Natsu. Just as Natsu destroyed him when he killed Lisanna.

"Please Lucy don't be this way, give me another chance. I'm the only one who has ever really loved you." He said as he stroked her cheek. Lucy turned her face to look away from him. She fought with all she had to not cry, she knew that was exactly what he wanted.

"That's not true at all, my friends love me more than you are even capable of." Lucy spat. She felt anger overtake the fear coursing through her veins.

"Oh Lucy..." Laxus cooed as he brushed his fingers over her lips, "Do you really believe that? Your friends just pity you, if they knew who you really were, who your family really was. They would resent you for all your lies." He continued.

Lucy froze as he struck a chord. She didn't give much thought to what her friends would think if they knew who she really was, a poser. Unlike other people who had real struggles, Lucy willingly left her life of luxury to be poor. Unlike people who spent their lives trying to attain good things, Lucy had them laid at her feet and she threw it all a way as if it were nothing. She wasn't sure her friends would understand why she left her home, why she felt she had to hide and lie, so just decided to just not tell them, and not give it another thought.

"I bet you haven't even told Natsu. Does lover-boy downstairs now all your pain has been self-inflicted? Unlike them, I know who you really are, and I still care. No matter what you believe Lucy, I will always be the only one who can ever be able to love you." Laxus continued. He smiled when he realized he had got to her. He had planted a seed of distrust in her soul that would soon grow between her and her friends, successfully tearing them all apart from her.

Lucy felt the tears begin to fall as she let what he said sink in. she waivered in her mind of whether he was right or wrong. Lucy felt Laxus give her a soft kiss on the head, right where she had hit it the other day and he walked off, leaving her alone in the bathroom.

She felt herself fall to the floor as she continued to let her mind go to war with her heart. All the work she had done to prove she could be loved had gone out the window once more, she let the guilt of lying feed on her soul. She thought of Natsu, the boy she loved who she could never have because everything they had built was formed on the foundation of a lie. Lucy Helianthus battled with Lucy Heartfilia as she sat there. Who was she?

After a few minutes Lucy heard her phone buzzing, she reached onto the counter where she had placed it to see her texts being blown up by her friends, they all were wondering where she went. She went to respond but felt her hands stop, how could she let these people care for a girl who was all a lie. Laxus's words rang through her head…" Your friends just pity you, if they knew who you really were, who your family really was. They would resent you for all your lies." Lucy powered off her phone and got up off the bathroom floor, she slipped from the bathroom and ran out of the house.

She ran from her friends, from Natsu, most importantly, she ran from herself.

… … …

The group all searched high and low looking for Lucy. She was no where to be found. They had spammed her phone with texts and calls but each one remained unanswered. Natsu felt the anxiety in his core run through his limbs, he feared for what could've happened. He ran onto the first floor as he checked there for Lucy. That's when Laxus caught his gaze. Laxus stood there, staring at Natsu, with the biggest smile on his lips. Natsu felt his blood boil, Laxus had done something with Lucy and that's why the couldn't find her. Natsu ran up to Laxus and pushed him with all his force

"WHAT DID YOU DO? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH LUCY!" He screamed. Everyone stopped and stared at Natsu as he began to yell at Laxus. The DJ even stopped his set just to hear the cat fight about to ensue.

"Natsu, I have no idea what you are talking about." Laxus said with a smug smile.

Natsu didn't hesitate to punch Laxus square in the jaw, successfully making him stumble back.

"LAXUS I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT YOU DID." Natsu continued to scream as he wound up his arm to punch again.

Laxus recovered ungracefully, despite being bigger then Natsu, he knew without help he would not win a fight against the boy. Natsu had been training since he was a child, Laxus knew that even with all his muscle, Natsu's skill would outdo him every time.

"I didn't do anything but remind her of the truth." He said with a manacle smile.

Natsu lowered his arm, he wasn't worth the fight he tried to tell himself. Finding Lucy was his priority this moment. He turned around to walk away but quickly turned back and punched Laxus in the nose, he may have not been worth a fight, but he still needed to be reminded who he was messing with. He then turned back once more to go find Lucy.

… … …

Lucy sat on a street corner, she shook violently as the winter air bit at her exposed skin. She wasn't sure what to do or where to go. In moments like these she would normally go to Natsu, but now the thought of him made her feel terrible guilt. He would never be able to truly love someone he didn't know, let alone someone who was already so used up and damaged. Lucy wallowed herself to wallow in self-pity, she felt she deserved to feel terrible for her lies.

She tried to rationalize with herself a tad, Alex knew her whole story and he never once saw her that way. But Lucy labelled him an outlaw who took pity on a poor girl. Lucy could almost see the darkness of her heart wrap around her, holding her close to its core.

That's when she heard a voice in the darkness, a voice that made her feel all warm inside. It was Natsu, he ran towards her full force.

"Lucy? Luce? Are you okay?" He said as he got to her. He took her all in, she had mascara running down her cheeks, she fingers and lips were turning blue, but it was the look she gave him that made his heart stop beating. She looked as if she had just watched the world burn, like she was completely helpless and at the mercy of her own fear.

Natsu took off his coat and bent down, placing the coat around her shoulders to try to warm her up. He didn't say anything as he pulled her into a hug. She tried to push him off but Natsu wouldn't let go, he would not let her shut him out.

"I'm so sorry Natsu." She said between sobs. Natsu pulled away and gave her a confused look.

"Why are you sorry Lucy, nothing that just happened was your fault, whatever he said to you was a lie, okay? Don't fall into his manipulative lies." Natsu told her as her wiped the tears from her eyes.

"But he was right Natsu, I have lied to all of you, I have pretended to be someone I am not. I can't tell you how sorry I am." She sobbed even harder. Her arms wrapped around her stomach as she tried to hold her fragile body from falling to pieces before him.

"Lucy, what did you lie about?" Natsu said, he was not mad at this moment. Whatever Lucy had lied about he knew she didn't do it in vain. He knew that Lucy had been hurt, and hurt people will do anything to keep themselves safe, even if that was at the expense of the people around them.

"M-My Name. My Name is not Lucy H-He-Helianthus…. Its Lucy Heartfilia." She said looking down. A silent stream of tears fell from her eyes as she spoke. Natsu froze, he knew that last name anywhere, the Heartfilia empire was not something to be messed with. They owned pretty much all of Fiore, their investments were what kept the town from falling into a recession.

Natsu looked at her, his eyes searching her face for a reason. Why would she lie about who her family was. Natsu decided to withhold his anger, he wouldn't pass judgement until he heard her story.

"Luce… tell me what happened okay? I promise I'm not mad. I'm sure you had good reason to hide this didn't you?" He consoled her.

The two sat there the next half hour as Lucy recapped her entire story. She told him of the cold father she knew, of the haunted house she lived in. How she left to escape her past and pursue her future. She had changed her last name so that he couldn't find her.

Natsu sat there and listened, not once interrupting her story. He couldn't imagine living in a house that never felt like a home, with a father who resented her simply for being their child. He understood why she left, he understood she lied for her safety. She couldn't go around revealing her true identity to everyone she met, one may just end up spilling her location to her father. She didn't want to be trapped forever in his gasp, so she took the key and ran.

Unsure of what to say, Natsu did the one thing that came to mind.

"Lucy, I want my favor." He said. She looked up to him with wide eyes.

"You want me to dye my hair bright pink right now?" she said. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"No, I want something else." He said chuckled softly.

"What is it?"

"Close your eyes." He commanded. She gave him a confused look. "Just humor me alright?" Natsu continued.

Lucy closed her eyes. Natsu then took a deep breath leaned in and kissed her.

Lucy gasped, but kept her eyes closed. She soon melted into the kiss, his lips bringing the fight in her soul back to her as it dispelled the darkness that was suffocating her.

He pulled away and cupped her cheeks, "Lucy Helianthus, Lucy Heartfilia, it does not matter to me. You will always be my Luce. The Luce who knocked me on my ass on her first day of training. The Luce who did figure skating but still managed to wipe out on ice. The amazingly beautiful Luce who can convert the words of her soul into the lyrics of a song. I know you are and who you always have been. You are my Luce. Forever and always. Okay?" He said with a smile.

Lucy felt tears fall down her cheeks once more. She placed her hands around his and gave him a smile.

"You can't live this life with all this regret Lucy. You can't hide forever, so don't. Show yourself to me and I promise the rest is going to be okay." He assured her.

Lucy didn't respond as his lips met hers once more. When they parted Lucy whispered.

"No regrets?" She asked

"No regrets." He repeated back.

Authors note: Yay longer chapter! Hope you enjoy some Nalu action:). Just know this won't be the last of Laxus… Anyways Cya tmr!

I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTER'S; I simply write the plot:) All rights are reserved by the creators of Fairy Tail