A week. One, single week is all she's given. A week riddled with anxiety and hopelessness, fear digging its sharp claws into her being, shattering frosted glass fantasies. Pretty dreams and visions of a life with Natsu lay ahead, fogged over with lies and dishonesty. Their fragile relationship ultimately cracks and chips away as news of his relocation bogs her down.
The woman paces back and forth, running grooves into the tiled floor. Chewing manicured nails, she glances at the mirror as silver hair bleeds blonde, the tips stretching and expanding down her shoulders. Grabbing onto the counter, her knuckles go white as shameful azure eyes darken into hazel brown. Wishing upon the stars, she hopes and pleads for this to all be a dream, but knows deep within her world is crashing down, shards of reality pierce into hopeless desires.
Tears prick her eyes as they fight for freedom, soon pooling down porcelain cheeks. "What am I going to do?" The blonde murmurs, desperate eyes searching herself for answers. The truth is an obvious choice, yet fear scares sensible solutions away.
Her mind screams she knew this day would come, but hoped it wouldn't. A week. Seven days is all she has left until the lies catch up, if they haven't already. She needs a plan, a foolproof plan to keep her unattainable dream a reality. If only a fool wasn't in charge of such an idea. A fool, she is, for lying in the first place, for putting herself in such a predicament.
Teary eyes pluck up her forgotten phone, having rashly thrown it after hastily hanging up. Glad, but a tiny bit sad, at not seeing new messages from Natsu, shaky fingers hesitate as they hover over the screen. Needing solace, she calls her best friend.
Slow, painful rings run through her ear as she waits, hoping for an answer but wishing for not. Finally, the phone connects as a gentle voice floats through, "What's up, Lu?" it says.
"L-Levy," she croaks, voice raw with emotion. "C-can you come over, please?" she begs, cracking like broken glass.
Before the words leave her mouth the sobbing blonde hears the faint jingle of keys, "I'm on the way, Lucy. Just hang in there, okay?" Her friend soothes, words like balm on jagged cuts.
Time drags on in which Lucy berates herself, self-defeating thoughts swarm in her mind like flies, never going away no matter how hard she swats. Finally, a soft knock pulls the woman away from the horde, the constant buzzing drifting into the background.
Running over, Lucy yanks the door open, gratitude spilling out from red, puffy eyes. The friends pull each other into a desperate hug as they enter the apartment. Levy whispers encouraging words as she rubs soothing circles into Lucy's back.
"It's okay Lu, I'm here," she whispers, sitting on the plush couch, "I brought ice cream."
Lucy pulls away with a watery smile, one hand swiping away tears, "You're the best, Lev."
Pulling their legs onto the couch, the girls dig into their delicious, milky treat. Levy doesn't pry for information just yet, giving her friend time to arrange her thoughts.
"You know that guy I told you about? My, um, boyfriend?" The blonde gulps, shame ebbing into her words. Lucy stares at her ice cream, slowly pushing the melted dessert around. Levy's the only person who knows her secret.
A small gasp flies from the shorter woman's lips, her quick brain already piecing the puzzle together.
Small tears leak from chocolate eyes as she admits the truth, "He's moving to Magnolia next week, I-I don't know what to do."
"Oh Lucy…" Levy whispers, eyes full of compassion. She places a dainty hand on Lucy's arm, gently squeezing for comfort.
Hiding behind her hands, Lucy's shoulders shake with regret. "I'm such a coward, Levy. He deserves to know the truth, but I can't bring myself to tell him," she sobs.
"It's okay to be scared, it's a part of life," Setting their forgotten ice cream aside, Levy pulls Lucy back into an embrace.
The blonde buries her face into Levy's neck as sobs rake through her, tears and snot stain her shoulder dark. "W-What if Lisanna finds out? She'll be so disappointed, I could never face her or our friends again."
"Lucy, you know Lisanna. She won't judge you, nor will the others," the blunette chides, smacking sense into her friend. "Deep down, do you want to tell them? Maybe it'll ease your conscience a bit."
Taking a deep breath, Lucy clears her mind, searching for an answer. "I guess a small part of me does, especially Lisanna. She needs to know I've been using her pictures." A slight frown forms, knowing what needs to be done but not wanting to do it.
"Why don't we take baby steps and start with her? Then we can make our way up to informing Natsu." Levy recommends with a grin.
Lucy's bottom lip juts out into a pout as blonde brows lower, "Can't I slowly break it off with Natsu as Lisanna, then talk to him as myself?" She pleads, eyes full of desperate hope.
Levy gives her a knowing look, "You know that's not a good idea Lu, imagine how devastated he'll be. Plus he'd eventually find out, it's not like you change your voice or personality when talking to him." She states, being the voice of reason. "I know the conversation will be difficult, but honesty is crucial in all relationships. Telling him can strengthen your relationship and build a foundation of trust."
Lucy flops back onto the couch, arms spread out like a starfish. "I know, ugh! Why is this so hard?" She groans, turning her pout towards soft cushions.
With a giggle Levy joins her, both women now staring up at the ceiling. "Why don't you text her now? Before you lose confidence."
Another miserable groan passes between Lucy's lips as she curls into herself, hugging her knees to her chest. "Okay," she sulks, pulling out her phone. Slowly her quivering fingers glide over the keyboard, typing out several messages before changing her mind and deleting them.
"You can do it, Lu, just ask if she can meet up. Think of it as any get-together."
Blonde brows dip down into a scowl as her bottom lip juts further out. "Yeah, any other get-together where we casually admit our deepest secrets," she grumbles.
Hey Lisanna, can we meet up? Lucy types. Gathering all her courage, the anxious woman hovers over the send button. Squeezes her eyes shut, she taps on the screen, sealing her fate.
Levy places her hand on Lucy's knee, patting her for support. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"I need to do this by myself, but thank you," Lucy replies with a grateful smile.
They turn on the TV as a distraction from gloomy thoughts, but they still lurk in the back of Lucy's head. The smell of fresh popcorn fills the air as their movie starts, a comedy to combat the depressing mood.
Hours pass in the blink of an eye, and soon the friends are yawning their goodbyes. Lucy walks Levy toward the door with a tired smile, grateful for her support. A soft chime sounds from the coffee table, the blonde woman rising to check her notification. Guilt seeps back in as she reads the message,
Sorry babe, I think the storm disconnected me. I'll talk to you in the morning, it reads, followed by a few heart emojis. Shaking her head, the blonde replies with her own goodnight, before climbing under the snug comforter, wishing her situation away.
Lucy's legs shake like jello as she stumbles into a local pub, sweat glistening her forehead as she rethinks her decision. This is not going to be a fun night. Brown eyes scan the room before landing on her friend. The silver beauty is sitting at a booth in the back, thankfully away from prying ears.
Oh, how she wishes Levy was here.
Her fists clench on her purse strap, trying to ground herself as she ambles over. "You can do this, Lucy. She's your friend, remember?" she whispers, pepping herself up for battle, heart pounding in her chest as she draws closer. Each step feels heavier than the last, like her shoes are made of lead. Lucy sends hopeful prayers to whatever deity is listening, promising to attend church more often if Lisanna delivers a quick, painless death.
Bright blue eyes glance up at the approaching woman. Lisanna flashes a beautiful grin as she gestures for Lucy to take a seat.
The nervous blonde slides into the chair across from her as a tight smile pulls at the corner of her lips. "Hey Lisanna, glad we could meet on such short notice."
"Of course, I'll always make time for you!" She chirps, eyeing her friend's anxiety. "What's up? You said it was an emergency, I hope everything is okay." She questions, plucking up a chilly drink.
Lucy fiddles with her nails, unable to look Lisanna in the eye. Just looking at her causes shards of guilt to prick. Deciding to skip small talk, Lucy dives head first into the eye of the storm. "Ah, well, there's something I need to tell you." Her voice wavers, the yearning urge to bolt gnawing at her chest.
Lisanna's grin thins out as she regards her friend, her eyebrows raising slightly in apprehension.
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, brown eyes peek up through pretty lashes, "Do you remember my long-distance boyfriend?" Her voice breaks on the last word as pain stabs through her, unsure of how long she'll have the luxury of calling Natsu as such.
The woman's expression turns serious as her hardened eyes fixed on Lucy, "Did he hurt you? I'll murder him, and trust me no one will find the body." Lisanna demands, hand pausing before the glass can reach her lips.
In any other situation, Lucy would have keeled over as she laughed, but not tonight. Tears pool in her eyes as she averts her gaze back towards the table, long strands of gold curtain around, shielding her from view. "I'm so, so sorry Lisanna," Lucy cries, finally finding courage.
"I've been pretending to be you, but I promise I didn't mean any harm. You can look through our messages if you'd like, it's the least I can do," she rushes out, words spewing like vomit.
Lisanna's eyes blow wide open. Her full lips drop open in an 'o' as she's stunned into silence, quietly taking everything in. Her emotions fly all over, trying to place why Lucy, this confident, gorgeous woman, would use her pictures. Feeling the weight of her words, Lisanna sets the glass down, focusing solely on her crying friend.
"It was an accident, I swear," watery eyes gaze into confused blue, begging for forgiveness. "I only sent him photos when he asked, which he hardly does."
Despite everything, Lisanna's eyes soften as she gazes at Lucy with compassion and understanding. "It's okay Lucy, I'm not mad, just confused. How did this happen? You know you can get any guy you want with just a smile, and you're full of confidence. So why pretend to be someone else?"
Lucy's trembling lips morph into a grateful grin as a shaky sigh leaves her, raising a dainty hand to wipe away fallen tears. "Remember when we made fake dating profiles to catch Dan cheating?" She questions, small hiccups bursting out and interrupting her story.
With a small nod, Lisanna agrees, grateful they caught her douchebag ex.
"Well, after another failed date I opened one of the apps and met Natsu. I didn't realize it was automatically logged in to your fake account until it was too late, and by that point, we exchanged phone numbers and spent hours calling every night. I'm so sorry Lisanna, I should have told you as soon as I found out."
Taking another shaky breath to steady herself, Lucy continues on. "I-I should have told him too, but my own stupid insecurities stopped me. I haven't lost confidence in myself, but he saw your photos and reached out first. A small part of me feared he wouldn't be interested if he saw me, especially after I lied for so long."
Kind and understanding Lisanna slides out of the booth, choosing to sit next to Lucy and wrap her in a hug. Lucy leans into the embrace as nimble fingers glide through golden tresses. "I really, really like him, maybe even love," she mumbles between quiet sobs, "Natsu's the best thing that's happened to me, I don't want to lose him."
The silver-haired beauty whispers comforting words into Lucy's hair, trying her best to reassure her. "It's okay Lucy, we'll figure this out," she breathes, pulling back slightly. "Besides, my offer still stands. I know a guy who's good at homicide cover-ups," she winks.
This time Lucy gives a water chuckle with a playful swat to Lisanna's arm, "You know Gajeel would rat us out without hesitation, he takes his job a little too seriously." With that, both women laugh as they reminisce about Levy's first run-in with her now-husband.
"So," Lisanna starts, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "You haven't told us much about your boyfriend. What's he like? Where does he live? Is he cute!" She squeals, shaking her friend's shoulders.
Lucy chuckles with a shake of her head. "He's amazing Lis, I've never met anyone like him before. He's so sweet, considerate, and a total goofball at times. Not to mention absolutely adorable, he's like a little puppy." Brown eyes sparkle as a soft grin plants itself on her face.
Pulling out her phone, Lucy scrolls through her gallery, plucking her favorite pictures of Natsu. A genuine smile spreads across her face as doe eyes soften, a special kind of warmth radiating throughout her.
"Aww, he is adorable!" Lisanna admits, leaning over Lucy's shoulder. "And he rocks that pink hair," she giggles.
They swipe through several pictures, all featuring Natsu's affectionate grin. "He insists it's salmon," Lucy quips, eyes tracing his pixelated face. Striking green eyes peer back at her, his gaze swelling with affection. A light blush paints Lucy's cheeks as she stares, absorbing his beauty.
Lisanna glances at the blonde, any trace of anger slowly melting away.
"He's moving here in a few days. I'm scared, but also excited to finally meet him." Lucy's smile morphs into a slight frown. "I don't know how to tell Natsu the truth."
The silver-haired woman thinks over her response. "Natsu likes you for who you are as a person, not what you look like. He's been with you for over a year and has rarely asked for more than a phone call, it's worth the difficult conversation now rather than letting it drag on. He won't suddenly stop caring about you once you show your true face, he seems like a very understanding person."
Placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder, Lisanna's comforting words ring through Lucy's ears. "You're not alone in this situation, why don't we form a plan?"
A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of Lucy's lips as she glances at Lisanna with genuine gratitude.
Cupping her chin, Lisanna hums in thought. With a snap of her fingers, her blue eyes alight with an idea. "We can send him a photo of the two of us, maybe it'll get him acquainted with you, then it'll be easier to tell him the truth."
Agreeing with the plan, Lisanna grabs Lucy's phone and snaps a picture. Both women stare back at the camera as they adorn bright smiles, a slight blush tainting the blonde's cheeks. She can't help but be nervous, it's the first time Natsu has peered past the fog, seen her face, even if he doesn't know.