It was a day before the celebration when we arrived. Everyone was already busy, and instead of taking a rest from a long trip, my parents decided to help. Although I didn't understand because we had a lot of people to do all the work, so why bother wasting the opportunity to regain their energy, right?

Shrugging it off, I continued looking around. My younger self had no care for anything but to search for a certain person. He was not here, probably still in their mansion in the Central or busy with whatever he was doing at the moment. Realizing that I hadn't visited the Central yet, I ran out of the mansion and went directly to our parked car. Capricorn looked down at me, eyes were hidden behind those tinted spectacles.

"Where are you going, m'lady?"

"Let's go to the Central! I want to buy something!"

"Did you ask for permission—"

"Yup!" Nope. Mama and Papa were busy talking to servers and workers about whatever that they didn't even see me leave. But hey, they should not worry, should they? It's not like we'd take so long wandering in Central! I just wanted to check something...

As I reached to open the backseat, Capricorn was suddenly in front of me and blocked my hand. My eyebrows furrowed as I lifted my gaze on him. "Capricorn? I said they allowed me so let's go!"

"You may regret this later on…"

I clicked my tongue and started walking back and forth in front of him, getting impatient. "What's to regret when I'll just buy a book? I'll get bored here and I need something to spend my time on while my friends are not around!"

We stared at each other. I could picture his eyes narrowing behind his eyeglasses. A moment later, I almost jumped in delight when his iron-like body finally moved and stepped aside. Capricorn didn't return my smile, though.

Even with hesitation, he granted my request.

I was in awe as we drove through the roadway, surrounded by a vast range of trees. I couldn't help but press myself against the windows, gasping at the sight of wide branches blocking the blue sky.

I was born and I lived in the City of Crocus all my life, being surrounded by sparkling steels and glasses. Outside our home stood the tallest skyscrapers and numerous establishments, with luxurious transportations in every direction I turned. It's the reason why I loved landscapes of nature and sceneries so much as I rarely had a chance to see them this lively. Tenrou being covered by green leaves while it echoed the music of the sea mirrored those images I admired the most, giving me more reason to love this place. If it wasn't because of him, or how he treated me, I would have asked my parents for a transfer.

The trip from the manor to the public part of Tenrou was almost twenty minutes away. The once peaceful ocean of trees were now gone and had turned into a bustling life of modernization. Houses and numerous establishments greeted us, tall buildings could be seen from afar. It felt like I was back in my hometown, but this was also a bit different because the green life remained and scattered everywhere.

Not that there's no trees and plants in Crocus, but it was overwhelmed by the continuous growing modernity.

"Where do you want to go, m'lady?"

"Just call me Lucy, okay?" I was already busy looking around, eyeing the different boutiques we're passing by. "Um, are we in the plaza?"

"Not yet, Lucy-sama. Fairy Tail is in the heart of the town."

My head snapped to his direction at the mention of the strange name. "Fairy Tail?"

"It's what they call the place where the schools, shopping malls, hospitals, and a lot more are located," he looked at me through the rear view mirror. "It's also where the Tenrou's high profiles live like the Dragneels. Fairy Tail is the Central itself."

My eyebrows furrowed. Why was he telling me where they lived, anyway? As if I care...

"Then let's go to Fairy Tail."

As we neared the Central, my heart started pounding so hard. I was so looking forward to it, for some reason, the reason why I was really hurt by disappointment when I realized that Fairy Tail was so big for me to visit every corner of the place. It was as wide as Crocus.

With a heavy heart, I ordered Capricorn to stop by the shopping mall instead. I really wanted to go somewhere else, though...

We had already prepared a birthday gift for Larcade before we went here, so I planned to buy a book so I could have something to show to Mama once we returned home. But I had never once thought it would be the worst choice, as the familiar ache I had thought I would never feel again suddenly arose in my chest.

Of all places, why the heck did I have to encounter them in a bookstore?

They were talking about something I couldn't hear because of our distance, but he seemed so happy with her. He was wearing this grin he had never shown to me, and his eyes had this spark that had never appeared when he was looking at me. He was a different person from the one I had met years ago.

Swallowing hard, I eyed the woman he's with. She was so pretty with those deep blue eyes, his short silver hair complimented her small face, and her snow white skin was as bright as her smile. Looking so pure and young, she was the exact opposite of Natsu's rough and dark appearance which made them look more suited together. Unlike me, she was probably the same age as him or maybe a year younger. Even if she looked young, her features looked mature with her curves visible in all the right places, and her moves were delicate. She had this aura of class and sophistication.

Maybe he'd be kind to me if I was like her, too...

My grip on the book I was holding tightened, silently scolding myself as to why I was thinking that way. I shouldn't be comparing myself to anyone, I shouldn't be feeling the desire to change myself just for him to like me! If someone would accept me, I wanted it to be because of who I truly was…

My mind knew the right thing, but my heart was still screaming what it truly desired. I wanted him to smile at me, too.

With a plan of going home, I was about to leave when his eyes suddenly found me. I froze on my feet as I witnessed how its spark slowly vanished. The woman looked at me as well, and my chest clenched when she flashed a kind smile.

Not saying anything, I forced myself to walk away. Right after I paid for that book, I left the store to go home. Capricorn followed me in silence, giving me the chance to grieve for myself. The memories of him telling me earlier that I would regret coming here pissed me off more.

The thought of them occupied my head for so long until the next day—the actual day of the party. It was held in our garden where the overview of the sea could be clearly watched, on a peaceful afternoon. The sound of the waves and sea breeze were getting mixed with the children's laughter along with the elders' controlled voices.

It wasn't as extravagant as my cousin's wedding, of course, but the number of the guests and the preparation was bigger than a normal birthday celebration. Everyone was so happy and celebrating Larcade's first birthday. I was happy too, but my attention was just somewhere else...

They were here. She was here.

Yesterday after I got home, I tried to forget everything. Mama asked where I had gone to, and I told her that I had bought a book so I could have something to help me ease my boredom while we're staying here. After lunch, I had locked myself in my room and started reading the book in hope for a distraction, but I had just found myself on the veranda and waiting.

But he had never come.

I heard from Papa that Natsu had started helping in our plantation recently to gain some knowledge and experience since he took agriculture as his major, probably planning to take over their own business in the future. So he was staying here at the manor But last night, he didn't come.

Why? Questions kept lingering in my head. Maybe he was still with her? What were they doing that he couldn't even visit the manor to at least greet my parents? Was that so important?

And now that he brought her to a family gathering, I couldn't help but think that maybe there's really something going on between them.

"Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Heartfilia," he greeted when he had the chance to approach us. The woman was gripping on his arm while staring at me. Like yesterday, she gave me a smile.

But I didn't return it. I just gave her a blank stare before looking away. My cheeks heated when I realized that Natsu saw what I did. Years ago, I could tell if he's annoyed. I could still read what he's feeling. But right now, all I could see was the coldness in his eyes. It was darker than what I could remember, and void with emotions.

He was now a grown man in twenties. And this fact made me feel like our gap had grown more apart than it already was.

"It's nice to see you, Natsu," Mama smiled. "Where's your parents? Aren't they coming?"

"They're both still busy about some important matter. They asked for an apology."

"We understand. There's always next time." My mother chuckled. Her eyes soon turned to the woman next to him. "Who's this pretty lady?"

"Oh, sorry!" Natsu looked at her with an apologetic smile, making me narrow my eyes. "This is the youngest of Strauss, Lisanna. She's also my childhood friend."

Friend?

"You're kidding," Papa chuckled. "Are you sure she's just a friend?"

"Jude!" Mama gently slapped his arm, though a teasing smile was on her lips with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Lisanna only smiled at my father's remark, but a tint of pink started appearing on her cheeks. While Natsu grinned, shaking his head as he looked away.

"Come on, Jude-san…"

He didn't deny it.

Clenching my fists, I turned to walk away. They were all busy with each other, so my escape wasn't noticed by anyone. I went to the kitchen, finding Spetto alone while busy cleaning around. She beamed when she noticed my arrival. I couldn't help but smile too, despite the bitterness present on the tip of my tongue.

"Lucy! Do you need something? Tell me so I can help you!"

"A glass of juice, please," I helped myself up to sit on a tall stool bar. She put down a glass on the bar island in front of me, and filled it with orange juice. "Thank you, Spetto-san."

"So? What brought you here? Aren't you enjoying the party?" She asked as she continued mapping the floor.

"No, no," I shook my head after taking a sip. "I mean, it's fine. It's just…I don't feel like blending in the crowd…"

"Hmm. Maybe because there's no one your age on the guests? Ah, that sure feels lonely," she turned to place the map back on the corner, a teasing smile on her face. "What about Natsu? Haven't you two already met before?"

"That was four years ago. He probably doesn't remember me." I fought the urge to roll my eyes. "Besides, he's busy with someone else."

"Ah, what's that girl's name again? Lisanna? They're pretty close."

"Do you know her, Spetto-san?"

She gave me all her attention, resting a hand on the edge of the bar island. "She's often here with her friends."

"What?" My eyebrows furrowed, anger suddenly arising in my chest. Natsu was bringing people here? He might be working on our plantation, but did he think bringing his friends on somebody else's property was right? And...and a girl! He's bringing a girl here!

"Natsu is a working student. You know that Dragneels have their own plantation in Alvarez, don't you? Zeref wanted him to learn everything before he graduates by working here, the reason why he's staying in this mansion while his brother and Mavis live in the Central," she explained. "I heard he's currently attending summer classes. He can't leave the manor so Mavis allowed him to invite his groupmates over."

So he was given permission? Then he should make sure that what they were doing was solely for their project or whatsoever school related!

My cheeks burned at the thought, eyebrows furrowed more. Before I could say anything, Natsu rushing to the kitchen made me shut my mouth.

"Spetto-san, do we have medicine for allergies?" He asked with urgency as he entered the comfort room probably for the first aid kit, but walked out not long after bare handed. "Where is it?!"

"Here!" Spetto opened one of the cabinets and brought out a box full of tablets and other medical things. "What happened?"

"Lisanna is suffering from her allergy," he replied, searching for the right medicine.

"What did she eat?" Spetto rushed to get a glass of water.

"Mushroom."

I rolled my eyes when I remembered that the chef had prepared a dish with mushrooms. If she had an allergy, why did she dare eat it in the first place? A lot of different dishes were prepared, duh.

"Stupid," I murmured, not realizing that it came out louder than I intended. Well, it's supposed to be in my mind only!

I gritted my teeth when Natsu looked at me with deadly glares. But he didn't say even a single word before he left. Letting out the breath I was holding, I dragged my palm all over my face in disappointment for myself.

Damn it, Lucy. You just made him hate you more.

Tss, what? He was hurt hearing me insulting his crush? I was telling the truth, though! She really was stupid.

I was so annoyed that instead of going back to the party, I just stayed alone in the living room and busied myself opening my social media accounts and messages. Modelling agencies had started sending me offers after I joined a school pageant once when I was thirteen that was attended by few of them, which my parents had refused to consider. They wanted me to finish my studies and have a degree to enter a professional field, not enter this kind of industry.

Although it wasn't that of a big deal to me. I enjoyed taking photos of myself wearing fancy clothes with my long blonde hair fixed in different sassy styles, but not to the point of wanting to enter modelling. I was just, you know, neutral. It's just a hobby. For fun. However, if the opportunity was still open for me and my parents agreed, I'd take it. But if not, then be it. I'd just continue on with my life.

Two days after Larcade's party, we were scheduled to travel back to Crocus. But on our last day, I told Mama and Papa to go without me. I had decided to spend my remaining days of vacation in Tenroujima.

"Are you sure, Lucy?" Mama stared at me in disbelief. I couldn't blame her, though. I almost kneeled in front of her to let me stay in Crocus everytime they decided to visit this island years ago, but now I would suddenly ask them to leave me here? She had definitely found it suspicious.

"Yup! I want to be independent sometimes…"

Papa grinned, while Mama's eyebrows furrowed in clear objection. "You want to be independent? Jude! Is our princess indirectly asking us to let her live on her own already?!"

"What?!" I chuckled at her wild imagination. "Ma! It is only for this vacation! And I never said that!"

"Just let her do what she wants, Layla. Maybe it's a sign that she's slowly becoming mature?" Papa was busy arranging their clothes.

"But she's only sixteen! She's still my baby!" Gee, what's wrong with her? I still remembered her planning to leave me here when I was just twelve!

After so long of exchanging arguments, I had finally managed to convince her. And now, we're here at the dock to send them off, me facing them with a smile as I listened to my mother's endless reminders about everything. They had hugged me for the last time before they climbed up the yacht.

"Take care of my daughter, Natsu, okay?" Mama turned to the man standing behind me, worry was still etched on her face.

"You don't have to worry, Layla-san." No. He'd only bully me.

"I'm counting on you!" Papa waved his hand as they began sailing away.

Slowly, the smile on my lips vanished. The realization that I was now alone with him dawned upon me. The yacht was getting small, until they completely disappeared in our sight. Sound of the wild waves of the sea was what filled our ears, along with the loud beat of my heart that I was afraid he could hear.

"What's your reason to stay here?" He suddenly asked, voice was colder than the morning breeze. With no plan of letting him see his effect on me, I turned to face him with a blank stare.

"Nothing in particular," I raised an eyebrow, trying my best to send him a silent message that I wasn't afraid of him, when in fact, I could feel my hands trembling that I needed to clench it just so he wouldn't notice. My knees felt like melting. "Can't I?"

His jaw moved. But his expression never changed. It was still void, as if his eyes were staring at the most uninteresting thing in the world. It just pissed me off to the core.

"Do whatever you want," he turned his back on me and walked away. "But don't you dare meddle with my business."

With that being said, later that day, I just found unfamiliar faces in the mansion. So, this was the business he's talking about, huh. From the balcony of the second floor, I watched the people with my elbow on the railing, chin resting on my palm.

Aside from Natsu and Lisanna, none of them was familiar to me. There's this guy with a lot of piercings and long black hair, he looked like a gangster. The other guy was cute and looked cool, but he had a habit of stripping. On the single couch, there was a slouching four-eyed who was busy gaming instead of helping with their group project.

"Goddamn it, Loke! Stop that or I'll break your phone!" The red-head woman, the one who's keeping her group mates in line, exclaimed with her sharp glares.

"Alright, alright! Calm down!"

"Okay, Gray. Have you finished your task already?" Lisanna asked that stripper, eyes were still fixated on her laptop.

"Just give me a minute. Almost there."

Nope. He's busy playing a game.

"Is Fiona really not coming?" Their group leader probably, who named Erza, asked as she browsed a book.

Who's that?

"I heard she's still on the way from Crocus. Maybe she'll join us next time."

So they still have another groupmate who's yet to come, huh.

"Lucy!" Natsu's strict voice caught everyone's attention. He just came out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of sandwiches on hand. Spetto followed him with a pitcher of juice and glasses. He looked up in my direction after putting down the tray on the center table, causing his friends to look my way, too.

"What?" Did I do something wrong? Hah, am I also not allowed to stand here?

He only stared at me, lips were pressed together grimly. Rolling my eyes, I started walking away to go back to my room.

"Whoa! Who's that pretty girl, Natsu—"

"Fuck you, Loke. Back off."

That set-up had remained for the next few days. Whenever they're having their group work which was scheduled every other day, I wasn't allowed to leave my room. They were coming to the mansion every afternoon, though, always after lunch, so I had no excuses to go downstairs. While my afternoon snacks were only delivered to my room by Spetto. It was annoying, really.

I felt caged! I chose to be left here to enjoy a new and refreshing environment even just for a month, but Natsu was taking that chance away from me! I had even finished the whole book I had bought from Central already!

Wait, why was I even allowing him to control me?

Feeling the desire of rebellion, I went out of my room one of those boring afternoons. I couldn't remember how long it was since my parents departed, but it's probably more than a week by that time.

I walked down the stairs, too much confidence was overflowing in me because of the thought that he couldn't stop me. But then, instead of Natsu, I was the one who's surprised, and was slowly becoming annoyed after witnessing such a scene.

On the single couch, Natsu was busy working with something on his laptop with an unfamiliar woman sitting on the armrest, pressing her chest on his arm as she peered down at what he was doing. She was wearing a very short black skirt, displaying her tanned slender legs for all to see. I could even see Loke gawking at her. Her sleeveless turtleneck top was hugging all her curves, and I knew she's so proud of it. Unlike Lisanna, she wasn't demure. Heck, her perfectly arched eyebrows and fox eyes made her look so fierce and intimidating.

She was so beautiful and I hated it.

"Do you think it's already enough?" My eyes narrowed at the sound of her voice—a little husky—as I slowly walked down the stairs. My teeth dug in my lower lip in frustration when she put her arm on his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah," Natsu simply replied, which made my blood boil more. I didn't know if he knew what's happening and just liked it, or if he's really clueless because of too much focus on the screen. I wasn't annoyed for myself, but for Lisanna who stayed silent on the other seat.

Weren't they in a relationship? Her staying silent like this really pissed me off. If I were in her shoes, I'd give that woman a piece of my mind.

Damn, what's mine is mine. I don't share.

I intentionally cleared my throat, pairs of eyes quickly darted on me at once. Loke grinned as he waved at me that I only ignored.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked.

I raised an eyebrow. If it was a normal day, I would have felt afraid at his tone of voice, but right now, I could feel nothing but anger..

Rolling my eyes, I ignored him calling my name as I proceeded to the kitchen. Spetto wasn't around, maybe working on the garden. As I made my own vegetable salad, Lisanna entered the room and reached for a glass. She smiled at me when she caught me looking, while I only watched her seriously.

"Who's that girl?"

"Hm?" She filled her glass with water. "Ah, that's Fiona. A classmate."

"I don't like her."

Lisanna's eyes widened as she stared at me, before she looked on the doorway as if to make sure that no one heard me. "Shh! Tone down your voice, Lucy!"

"What? I'm telling the truth! I will never like her!" I sat on the stool and pierced my fork on the lettuce. "You shouldn't let her get near him like that!"

A blush appeared on her cheeks. "W-What are you talking about?"

"I don't like playing around, Lisanna. Isn't he your boyfriend?" I couldn't believe I was telling her this when I was way younger than her! I just couldn't stand it!

"N-No. He's not." From my bowl of salad, my eyes lifted to meet hers. They were sparkling in unshed tears, sadness was visible that she tried to hide from me by looking down. "W-We're just close friends, but I do have feelings for him. I'm not sure if he even has an idea about it, though."

She took a sip on her water. "Sometimes he's making me feel like he feels the same for me, but seconds after, he suddenly has his attention on someone else."

That bastard...

"I'd find him being this close with other girls."

Really.

"But I've gotten used to it! Maybe that's just how really Natsu is…"

A fucking playboy.

Our conversation was ringing in my head the whole day. I couldn't believe it. I admit I was a bit hurt when I learned that he's probably in a relationship with Lisanna, although a part of me tried to accept it because she was nice. I could've liked her if I wasn't so bitter.

But I had never thought that Natsu actually didn't like someone as angelic as her. He's into fierce women, maybe?

The next day, the group wasn't scheduled to go back to the mansion, leaving me all free and peaceful. Natsu also wasn't here because I heard that he went to visit the farm and plantation early this morning. So I had all the time to do what I wanted; taking the living room only for me, wandering in the garden, sketching a landscape of the ocean near the shore, and a lot more.

It was already evening when I woke up from my supposed nap in the afternoon. I went out of my room, going straight to the dining area for dinner. For the past week of staying here, I had never had the chance to dine with Natsu. It's either he was locked up in his room, or he's still out there. So I wasn't surprised when I found no one there but the maids.

"Did you see the girl he's with?"

I automatically stopped from walking. Girl? Now?

"Yup! She's so pretty! I even thought she's a model!"

"I heard he's getting linked to different girls."

"Well, Natsu is handsome. It's not surprising to have gorgeous ladies flocking around him like that."

I only stood there, fists were tightly clenched. The feeling of déjà vu bothered me so much.

"Did you see where they went?"

"On the shore, I think. Should I call them for dinner?"

"No, let them be. We don't want to disturb them."

What the hell? He's with someone right now when he shouldn't bring anyone here today!

My feet moved on their own, my mind was already flooded with ridiculous speculations and scenarios. I left the mansion and directly walked to the garden. The pounding of my heart was faster than my steps, and I was so distracted to care even if Spetto had called me multiple times. I climbed down the stone stairs, not minding the irritating sand that went in my slippers as I reached the end.

I looked around to search for them... "Ah, Natsu—!" …and heard a woman's voice coming from behind the nearby tree.

The night was dark, but the bright light of the moon was enough for me to see everything. Taking a few more steps, I had a clear view of what they were doing. There, Natsu was pinning Fiona against the tree, their lips pressed together, moving with aggression. His knee was in between her legs, while her hands were gripping tightly on his white shirt as if trying to rip it apart.

Extremely surprised, I made a loud gasp enough for them to hear. I felt heat not just gathered in my cheeks, but in the corner of my eyes, too, when they both looked at me. They were catching their breath and every part of them was dishevelled—from hair down to their clothes. Fiona looked so weak and she would have fallen on the sand if she's not gripping on him.

"Leave."

His voice was rough, and it brought needles coursing through my chest. Feeling my head so light, I just nodded before turning around. I hadn't taken a single step yet when his voice echoed again.

"Leave, Fiona."

My feet got rooted to the ground. For some reason, warm tears started falling on my cheeks.

"Fuck you, Dragneel! Fuck you! Go to hell, you bastard!" Fiona roared in anger and walked past me, murmuring more curses as she ran up the stairs. W-What... What's happening? I thought...

Realizing that I was left alone here with him, I also attempted to leave, but his hand caught my arm and stopped me. He made me face him, staring intently at me at the sight of my tears. I looked away, my chest felt hurt at all that violent beating.

"Why are you crying?"

I shook my head, refusing to meet his eyes or admit anything. But my tears were betraying me as they fell more, the image I had witnessed a while ago replayed in my head.

"Why are you crying, Lucy?" His voice sounded demanding as it had always been. But there was a sound of strain on it…and a hint of anger and frustration. It made me feel even more miserable.

"If…" I swallowed the lump in my throat along with my pride, now looking at him with all my courage. His eyes were still dark, but it was surprisingly soft and weary. "If I didn't come, I wonder what you two could have done."

His expression remained grim and impatient. "You didn't answer me. Why are you crying?"

"I like you," I whispered as I bowed my head. There, I said it. "Why are you doing this to me?"

I didn't care what he's going to think of me anymore. I just wanted to tell it to him already so I could finally get rid of the frustrations growing within me. Then after this, I'd forget all about it like how I did years back. I knew he'd never like me, anyway. With our gap not just in age but also in our relationship, I doubt he'd ever like me.

I might as well let him know how I felt then, because I didn't plan on going back here ever again.

"You shouldn't be crying…" his thumb that touched my cheek made me flinch. A breath got stuck in my throat, my eyes widened in shock as I felt his palm slowly rested on the side of my face. It was rough, just like his voice, but warm and comforting. "Please don't shed a tear over me. You'll find someone better…and much deserving."

He was rejecting me, alright. I didn't know it's this painful.

Looking up at him, I watched his moonlit face. Something in his eyes appeared that I had never seen before.

"Natsu…"

It didn't take too long when he let go of me as he stepped back like he was burned, his eyes widened a bit. "Go back inside."

Even confused, I followed what he wanted. I slowly walked away after giving him one last glance...without knowing that everything would change between us after that night.