YOU GUYS WERE RIGHT I'M SO SORRY I UPLOADED THE WRONG CHAPTER FIRST HAHAHAH
After an eventful morning full of surprises and excitement, the entire family and friends packed inside of the RV that the Drganeel's had rented for the weekend. Luckily, it was big enough to accommodate the nine of them that were traveling but for some reason, Grandine continued to complain how there was no room.
Especially for a certaun unwanted guest that she made very clear of.
And now sitting in the tight van, Levy, Cana, Lucy, Grandine, Lisanna, Romeo, and Natsu were all in a circle, quietly sitting next to one another as Igneel and Layla were up front driving and chatting it up.
Lisanna was basically glued up next to Natsu while he had his earphones blasting music and scrolling down his social media while Grandine just shot Lisanna dirty looks the entire time.
Lucy looked completely awkward as did everyone else, awkward glances being exchanged within her friends. How did she end up in this position? And how did Lisanna, the head cheerleader from their school, end up tagging along? Natsu definitely looked like he had no idea about this trip so how did this person end up knowing about it?
Lucy didn't really know Lisanna well enough but she did know who she was. Lisanna wasn't really the nicest gal in school as she was part of the popular crowd and Lucy and her never had a conversation for her to really know if it was true or not. But from what she's seen and even heard, she knew Lisanna was one of those girls Natsu refers to as 'annoying' and 'head over heels in love' with him and now she was witnessing it first hand.
Lisanna had no shame butting into their vacation and acting as if she was Natsu's girlfriend. It made her wonder if they have ever dated or even done things with the way she was attached to him by the hip.
Natsu obviously didn't seem to care nor acknowledge her as he kept his head glued to his phone, soft muffled noise coming from his headphones. His younger brother was exactly the same, sitting right beside him and also face glued to his phone.
And now with Grandine's known annoyance with the silver-haired student, the atmosphere felt thick and heavy. Nobody wanted to speak or even move for that matter, awkwardness blanketing them in thick air.
Lisanna suddenly gasped, standing up to try and grab something from the top shelf right above Lucy. Kneeing the blonde by the legs, she tried to get through making Lucy yelp and Grandine glare at the female as she brought down a bowl of watermelon.
"Hey, Natsu, do you want some watermelon? I cut them into nice squares so it's easy to eat!" She cooed at him, smiling sweetly.
"We have plenty of watermelon in the cooler, sweetheart." Grandine said bitterly as Lisanna looked her way.
"Oh well, but mine are really sweet! They're sweet as honey!"
"A watermelon is called a watermelon because it tastes like it... if watermelon tasted like honey, then it wouldn't be watermelon, now would it?" Grandine gave her a pinch smile, making Lisanna's smile falter.
Lucy exchanged looks with Cana and Levy who tried to hide the smile behind their hands and clearing their throat.
Looking away from the woman, Lisanna felt defeated as Natsu glanced over at his mother who basically spat the entire sentence out at the cheerleader. He bit back the smirk as the entire van exchanged uneasy looks.
"Uhm... uh, if you don't mind me asking, Lisanna," Levy said, making the silver-haired one turn and look at her. "How'd you find out about us going to the beach?"
Lisanna blinked in her direction before a smirk spread across her lips. She simply dipped her head down, pretending to look for something in her bag. "Well... uh... word gets around." She said as she remembered how in art they were talking about it while she hid behind the desk and ease-dropped.
Innocently looking around the RV as if she was interested, her blue eyes suddenly caught on a machine right behind Lucy and Grandine.
"Oh my, you have a karaoke machine?!" Her eyes widened with glee before she turned right to the rosy-haired male, clinging onto his arm. "Natsu, do you want to sing as we go?"
"Sing? We don't have time for loud mischief like that," Grandine snarled, making Lisanna frown and look down at her lap.
While Lucy appreciated Grandine's hostility towards the newcomer, Lucy still felt bad. Seeing how Lisanna hung her head, Lucy piped up, offering a small smile. "How about... we play a chain game?" She suggested making Lisanna scoff and look away in disgust.
"Chain game? Why chain games? How stupid to suggest that." She said making Lucy frown but Grandine suddenly clasped her hands together and grinned.
"Chain game?! I love that game! Sounds like fun—let's play!"
"Wait, wait!" Cana suddenly said making everyone look over at her. "How do you exactly play chain game?"
"Well, like the name suggests, it's like a chain, you keep it going. Within a category or such like if it's an animal, you continue going on and on till there's no more left." Lucy explained to the group who listened intensely. Besides Natsu and Lisanna, everyone seemed to be on board.
Lucy didn't know why she kept peeking over at the couple as if she was keeping an eye on them. It's not like they were going to do anything with everyone here and Natsu didn't seem to really like her anyways… right? Or is he just like that to everyone?
"Levy, start it!" Grandine suddenly said, pointing at the highschooler who blinked in surprise, looking at the older woman.
"E—eh..? Me?" She pointed at herself while blinking in confusion.
"Yes, go on. Choose a category."
"Erm... celebrities!"
"Alright, Cana you start us off! Levy said celebrities!" Grandine's mood did an entire one eighty as she grinned and cooed at the other girls.
The brunette felt flustered with the many eyes on her and she rolled her eyes, trying to come up with an answer. "U—uh... Dave Franco!"
"Romeo!"
"Jennifer Lawrence." The younger lad said in a monotone voice without even looking up from his phone.
"Natsu!" Grandine shouted making the male blink and pull one of his headphones out of his ear as he looked over at his mother.
"What?"
"It's your turn!"
"My turn for what?" He asked and Lisanna giggled, leaning into him even more where he lazily looked her way.
"Silly, we're playing a chain game! It's your turn! It's celebrities!"
Natsu pursed his lips, furrowing his brows while his phone still laid in his hands, a video he was watching prior playing in a loop. "We're actually playing this game?" He asked, making his mother smile and nod, pointing at him again.
"Go on. Do it or losers have to pay consequence."
Rolling his eyes, Natsu let out a sigh. "Uh, Blake Lively?"
"Lucy!"
"H—huh?" The blonde was surprised to be called on next, seeing how everyone was now looking in her direction. "Celebrity? I don't know that many..." Lucy frowned, trying to think of some as she wasn't really into social media like that. All she knew about was Dave Franco since Cana was basically obsessed with that male. She listened to a lot of music but she didn't really pay attention to the artists either... she was screwed.
"Four seconds, Lucy!"
"A—ah?! Erm, wait!" She cried out as they started to count down making her try and think of somebody famous. It made her anxious as they chanted down the numbers, her eyes wide and darting around.
Somebody famous? Like in the school? A popular jock?!
"Natsu Dragneel!" She suddenly shouted out, acting like it was an accomplishment when everyone became silent and stared at Lucy who now realized her mistake. She looked around to notice they were all giggling and smirking, making her blush as she looked directly at Natsu who had a full smirk plastered to his lips.
She swallowed thickly as he looked at her and she caught a glimpse of Lisanna fuming right beside him, her cheeks growing crimson at her mistake.
"You suggested this game so you can say my name, didn't you?" He snickered and Lucy gasped, shaking her head back and forth furiously.
"N—no way! I just... I just thought of you since you're popular at school… and…"
Natsu scoffed out loud, crossing his legs across one another as he extended them out. "Yeah right."
Lucy felt like she could die at that moment.
—X—
After driving for nearly four hours, they have finally made it to Akane beach. Everyone was excited to finally step out of the cramped RV and stretch their legs, satisfied moans and groans filling the air as they stretched and moved around. The ocean air was a nice slap in the face as the salty air licked at their skins. With the ocean waves bringing in soothing sounds and the seagulls that cried out, the prospect of a beach vacation was even more exciting.
As soon as everyone trailed out of the RV, they got to work. With three tents being set up for the boys and anyone who wanted to claim the third one being open, the girls were directed to sleep inside the RV for optimal comfort.
Lucy offered to take the tent since she preferred to sleep outside with the many stars above and while Cana and Levy suggested they share, it was only a two person tent that could barely even fit her and Romeo.
But Lucy was fine with it since the tent had a zip up with a mesh covering so she could quiet literally sleep with the stars staring down at her.
She was actually a bit excited about it.
Once the set up was finished, everyone rushed to get changed into their swimsuits while the adults sat at the picnic table, setting up drinks and snacks after the long trip.
"Mm, it's such a nice day today." Layla said while stretching her arms up in the air, sighing contently.
"We picked a great day to come," Igneel agreed as the three laughed and spoke to one another like old times. Grandine fed her husband some cut up fruit while they spoke, giggling and smiling like they were still kids in school.
With that, the girls began to trail out of the RV in their swimsuits.
With Lisanna the first to climb out, the platinum blonde wore a lavender bikini with a see-through cover up wrapped around her pale body. She had a wide smile to her face with her eyes darting around looking for a certain rosy-haired jock and Grandine didn't even hide the look of distaste on her face while Layla quirked a brow, sipping from her drink.
Right after Lisanna, Lucy, Levy, and Cana all trailed out as well. Levy wore an orange top with a white skirt-like swim bottom while Cana wore her favorite green and orange striped swimsuit. Lucy wore a pink bikini with bright yellow stars scattered all about as her blonde locks were pulled back into two pigtails, making her appear much younger than she was. She had a blown up tube by her side, dragging the large thing beside her.
"Wow, Lucy, you look great!" Layla cooed at her daughter making her heels flush crimson.
"Lucy, you're the cutest!" Grandine cheered as Igneel chuckled, giving her a thumbs up while he sipped from his cup.
Blushing slightly, Lucy took in the praise as Levy suddenly nudged the blonde, making her attention shift where Levy pointed. Her eyes almost bulged out of her eye-sockets when she witnessed the beautiful body of Natsu Dragneel.
She got a glimpse of his chest just the other day when he had come out of the bathroom and that was a mouthwatering experience on its own but this? This was almost like torture. He looked so good. Too good. Could this really be what a body a jock was? Tan, muscular, gorgeous, and so delicious?
The thought of running her hands up his chest and body, feeling every dip and groove, would probably feel like heaven.
She was snapped out of her lewd thoughts when Grandine called out to her two sons, making Romeo and Natsu look over.
Lucy instantly felt the blush cover her chest all the way up to the tips of her ears, her head turning away so she could look away from the sight.
What has gotten into her? Why is she suddenly ogling this man as if he wasn't a menace to her? How could she think the enemy was attractive?
Get a grip, Lucy!
"Natsu, isn't Lucy's bikini very pretty?" Grandine cooed and Lucy's entire body went rigid at the question.
She had no idea if she was on her side or Natsu's at this point. She was trying to keep away from the said jock and his mother knew that too since she was there to witness his anger when he got home so why is she purposely asking Natsu such questions and making them interact?
Seeing how Natsu glanced her way, she could feel her blush amplifying and she flung her arms up to try covering herself with her blown up tube.
She scowled at him while his eyes dragged up her figure and once their eyes met, she felt the embarrassment inside of her swell as his lips pulled to a smirk.
"She looks like a child with her star bikini."
Scowling at his rude blunt self, she regretted saying he had a gorgeous body.
"What's this? You use a tube, Lucy? I don't even use a tube." Romeo said, coming over to the blonde with a streak of sunscreen down his nose.
Lucy smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Uh, yeah, I can't swim well you see..."
"How embarrassing," Lisanna snickered, placing her hand over her mouth to cover up the smirk. Her icy blue eyes dragged up her body and Lucy didn't know why it felt more uncomfortable with her doing it than when Natsu did. "Well, at least you have a good body." Lucy's jaw dropped at her compliment before she spun on her heel and latched onto Natsu's arm once again. "C'mon, Natsu! Let's go swim!"
The three stared at how Lisanna clutched onto his arm tightly while Natsu looked a bit annoyed. But he didn't even say anything about it as she dragged him and Romeo towards the shore.
Lucy could only sit there and gawk. How come he didn't say anything rude to Lisanna but he always is so quick to tell her off? She knew if the roles were reversed, he would have shrugged her off and told her off about how annoying and clingy she was.
Could Lisanna truly be someone Natsu might like? Or even tolerate to that degree that he lets her touch her and even tag along to this sudden family vacation?
Lucy didn't know why she was feeling so upset about the situation as she stood there and watched them talk and splash around in the waters.
So much so that she nearly shrieked when Cana jumped in her line of vision "Come on, ignore those two! Let's go in the water!"
"Yeah, come on, Lu. Ignore him," Levy joined in as the two linked arms with the blonde and dragged her away while Lucy sighed, her eyes still glued on the couple.
How come that was Lisanna instead of her?
Even with the bitterness that nipped at her, Lucy was quick to forget about everything once her two friends dragged her into the waters. They splashed and kicked in the warm ocean, giggling and swimming around like they were back in elementary school.
It has been so long since she had gone on vacation and the simple thought that she would have been in class right now, but isn't, made her grin.
The hot sun that was high above the sky was blanketing them in rays of warmth. Warm refreshing ocean water splashing against their skin and bathing them in salt water.
Her, Cana, and Levy kept to themselves towards the other end of the shore while Lisanna, Romeo, and Natsu were on the other side.
Even through her fun, Lucy found herself peeking over to see if they were having as much fun as they were. Or if Lisanna was still attached to his side like some kind of parasite. It seemed like from her end that he kept to himself most of the time or even with Romeo, trying to swim and play with him before Lisanna would come and ruin it for the brothers.
Though, her attention would get ripped away from them whenever Levy or Cana would poke at her or even when she would catch the glimpse of Natsu lifting his head to look over her way.
She would just pretend to be looking at something else, squinting her eyes and nodding her head dramatically or quickly throwing herself into the depths of the water to hide.
Honestly, all of it was ridiculous because why was she even acting this way?
"Kids! Come and eat some watermelon!" Grandine's voice echoed from the shore and Levy and Cana were already splashing in the water to rush out while Lucy tried to keep up.
She didn't know why she never learned how to swim properly. It's not like she went out swimming a lot anyways so maybe her parents never thought to teach her but it didn't bother her too much considering she was doing just fine. She just kind of lagged behind but regardless she was fine.
She could see Natsu and Lisanna also coming out of the water, approaching the adults who were crowded around a table with bowls of fresh cut watermelon on display.
The sense of jealousy rushed through her again and Lucy merely huffed, trying to trek through the water with her tube in tow.
A sudden splash her way made her yelp and she turned her head to see Romeo smirking at her, his hands dipped into the water before he was spraying her again.
"Hey!" She cried out, trying to cover herself with the tube. "Romeo!"
"Lucy the bimbo!" He taunted, cackling like the child he was.
Lucy furrowed her brows, shooting him a glare. "Bimbo? Who do you think you're calling bimbo?! I'll have you know, I'm a lot smarter than your brother!"
"No way! Natsu is the best!" Romeo splashed her again and she shrieked. "Lucy the bimbo who can't even swim! Bimbo, bimbo!"
"Hey! How dare you disrespect your elder?"
"Biiimbo!" Romeo said again with his tongue sticking out towards her and all Lucy did was growl, throwing her tube to the side while splashing him back.
Romeo looked stunned when she sprayed him back and the look of pure determination crossed his features before he was splashing wildly, "Bimbo! Bimbo!"
"Stop calling me that, you brat!" Lucy couldn't even see as she swung her arms around, trying to splash him as much as she could. But with all the splashing and flailing around, Lucy squealed as her footing slipped and she fell into the ocean water. She could hear Romeo cackling from above and she quickly emerged, gasping for air.
"Look how clumsy you are! You're just proving me right!" He snickered her way and Lucy pushed back her wet hair from her face, glaring.
"You're spending too much time with your brother!"
"Because he's cool," he shrugged before a smirk spread across his lips. "Unlike you."
"Why you…" Lucy growled before she lunged for him. He ended up swimming away just in time for her to go face first into the water once again, the muffled sounds of his laughter filling her ear even underwater. Coming back up, Lucy took in a deep breath of air. "Get over here, brat! I'll show you who is uncool!"
Romeo shrieked playfully as Lucy began to try and chase him in the water. Thankfully, her legs were much longer than his so she could catch up to him but as soon as she was close enough, he would abruptly jerk to the side making her fall face first over and over into the salty ocean.
Lucy coughed up what felt like liters of ocean water, her eyes and nostrils burning. Romeo was still taunting her as he stuck his tongue out and laughed in her direction, a good distance away from her so she wouldn't be able to get her hands on her. And he was in the deeper end with the water reaching his chest and Lucy never liked to go further than her thighs. Her tube wasn't with her and she knew she couldn't swim even if she tried but this little prick of a kid was making her really contemplate if it would be worth it or not.
Lucy never thought about drowning a twelve year old before until now but the thought didn't sound so bad as she heard him throw insults her way just like his asshole of a brother..
With his back towards the ocean and his tongue stuck out in her direction, Romeo failed to see the large wave that was approaching from behind. Lucy opened her mouth to say something but the wave had crashed against him, swallowing him whole.
Holding her hand up to her snickering face, Lucy could only watch Romeo pop out of the water gasping for air before another wave came crashing in and pulled him under. She could see his hands in the air, flailing and she just rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Pretending to drown? I'm not falling for that one!" She said as she watched how he continued to gurgle and throw his arms in the air. "Come on, you gotta do better than that if you're trying to trick me to believe you're drowning!"
With Romeo's arms being thrown in the air and his body being tossed around by the currents of the ocean, Lucy's smile slipped a little when she heard his choked cry. "H—help!"
Her eyes widened and her arms dropped to her side as she felt the waves of the water roll over her, the water level dipping with each wave as it rose up to her mid-thighs.
"W—wait, you're really drowning?!"
With Romeo's head coming back up for him to inhale sharply, he disappeared back into the wave while shouting, "Help!"
Lucy turned around to see if anyone was watching or even paying attention but everyone seemed too focused on the cut up watermelon. She was too far out to shout for them since clearly Romeo's shouting wasn't even reaching them. Her tube had now floated over to the shore and way too far for her to go and get it.
Romeo was just a few feet in front of her but Lucy knew how dangerous and unforgiving the ocean can be. She can't even swim and someone like Romeo who did know how to swim was drowning so what could she possibly do for him?
"Help!"
Finally, realizing that they wouldn't notice her, Lucy cursed out-loud and dove right into the deep end where Romeo was throwing his limbs around and gurgling out salt-water. But as she reached him and wrapped one of her arms around him, she was caught up in the choppy waves and started to drown herself.
How pathetic could she really be?
Trying to keep Romeo close to her, Lucy gasped for air as the water began to rise and wash over them. Lucy couldn't even find her footing and she was growing scared as she didn't know how deep the water was. Have the waves been pulling them further out to sea? The thought alone scared the hell out of her and as she heard Romeo's gurgling beside her and the splashes of his arms being thrown around, Lucy found herself wondering if they were going to be able to survive such rough waters.
Throwing her limbs in the air while trying to hold onto Romeo tightly, she tried screaming for help but was ripped away from Romeo when another large wave engulfed them, washing her further out while Romeo bobbed in the other direction.
Feeling the salt-water enter her mouth and burn her lungs, she closed her eyes to fully absorb her fate as her body burned with the intense exercise. Just when she was about to finally slip into the darkness, she felt two arms encircling around her waists and her head popping back up on the surface.
She felt a hand pound on her back for a second making her gasp and have loads of water come spilling from her lips, coughing aggressively as the salt water traveled back up.
In the distance she can hear Grandine shouting Romeo's name over and over again and the loud crashing of the ocean waves beside her but the main thing she was entirely too focused on was Natsu wrapped around her and dragging her out of the depths of the ocean.
His body was warm and hard against hers and as his firm grip was around her torso, she knew her heart was pounding for entirely different reasons.
He looked utterly exhausted and a bit ticked off as he trekked through the choppy waters, approaching land where Romeo was being fussed over by his parents with loud shouting and her friends and mother calling out for her.
Lucy flailed around, trying to find her footing on the ocean floor but Natsu hissed at her, moving his arm down where he held onto her by her torso and the other scooping her legs up above the water. "Hold still, will you?!" He shouted as she clutched onto the wet fabric that was his shirt before the two stumbled and fell to the ground. Natsu rolled so she could fall on top of his chest instead of the sand and the two panted harshly while trying to recover.
Lying on the hot sand breathing hard, he looked up at the clear blue sky as he felt Lucy pressed against him, her head on his chest as she whimpered and cried. The voices of her mother and friends rang in his ear but he couldn't take his eyes away from the red-faced blonde who was sobbing against his chest, looking like a wreck.
He could only wrap his arms around her trembling shoulders as he cursed, throwing his head back against the sand.
"You idiot."
—X—
With the sun falling below the horizon and night engulfing the world, everyone had come back to the campsite to get ready for their evening. After almost experiencing death itself, Lucy was quick to decide she was done swimming for the day. Or for a while for that matter. She had no idea how hard it would be to try and save someone and she honestly gives those lifeguards some major props for doing this. Especially the beach lifeguards.
After Natsu had saved her and held her as she sobbed her eyes out after the traumatic experience, she felt so embarrassed that she nearly booked it out of there.
She couldn't believe Natsu had to watch her almost drown and then save her and then have her cry her eyes out like a little baby on his chest.
Even if his arms felt nice wrapped around her, Lucy found herself feeling incredibly uncomfortable and flustered about the whole thing and decided to avoid him the rest of the afternoon.
It wasn't hard since Romeo was being fussed over and so was she so she was surrounded by her mom and friends and then of course the Dragneel's who were so quick to thank her for trying to save their little Romeo.
Even though Lucy felt like she did nothing but make the situation worse, they claimed they saw her trying and that was all that mattered.
Now with Grandine sitting beside her son and spoon feeding him hot soup, the night had winded down to a peaceful evening. Grandine looked worryingly at Romeo who was shivering and whimpered over time as Igneel came over and placed a blanket over his shoulders. The others were scattered cooking dinner as Lucy was also draped in a thick blanket, watching how everyone else helped out while she was forced to stay still and recover.
Natsu was working up the barbecue when Lisanna came over, sitting down next to the male to earn a glance her way.
"Wow, this looks very good! You're such a great cook, Natsu!" She praised happily but Natsu simply ignored her, flipping over vegetables and meat as it cooked over time.
Grandine could only huff in annoyance at the sight, glancing over at her youngest son before an idea sprouted into her mind. "Hey, Natsu?" She said in a sweet sing-song voice making her son and Lisanna both look over at the older woman. "Honey, would you please go get Lucy some hot chocolate and or hot soup? I think she would like some. She kind of looks cold." She looked over to the blonde who was huddled by the fire, wrapped like a cacoon.
Seeing how the two also turned to look at her, Lisanna was first to offer. "I'll do it!"
"Oh dear, you don't have to! You can grill the meat if you truly wish to help out," she grinned at the stunned looking student before she looked right at the rosy-haired one. "Natsu, could you please?"
"E—eh?" Lisanna squeaked in surprise and confusion as Natsu gave his mother a hard stare but she only smiled.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry!"
Huffing in annoyance, Natsu pulled his gloves off and put down his tools before leaving to go grab something warm for the blonde.
Completely oblivious to what was going on just to the right of her, Lucy shivered slightly before letting out a small huff, trying to come closer to the fire without burning herself. Even though she was just inches away from the blazing fire, shivers still rushed down her spine and she could feel goosebumps trail up her skin.
She could already feel it inside of her that she was going to catch a cold. She overworked her body and swallowed enough salt water to last her a lifetime which probably was why her body was being so weak.
She could see Levy and Cana wave at her from the camp stove across from her, a small smile pulled on her lips as she waved right back. Her attention was taken when she felt yet another blanket wrap around her small figure.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Layla asked as Lucy flashed a reassuring smile. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"I'm fine, mama," she offered a smile as she looked over at her mother. "I scared you didn't I?"
"Of course you did!" She shouted in a scolding manner as her eyes turned glossy. "I was so scared... my heart is still beating fast in my chest." She said in pure agony as she pressed her palm against her chest making Lucy frown and look at her mother.
Layla hung her head as if she was the reason why she was drowning and Lucy could see the wobble of her chin, small sniffles escaping her lips. Lucy reached over to grab her hand that was on her lap, trying to comfort the older blonde who was wiping away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "I was stuck in the sand with Igneel... playing around and not paying attention to my surroundings and you almost drowned, Lucy!"
"It's okay, mama, I'm safe now."
"Okay?! It's not okay! I almost lost you!" Layla nearly shouted and Lucy frowned, seeing how she was now full on sobbing again. It took her so long to calm her after she was pulled out of the waters and the last thing Lucy wanted was her mother to sob her eyes out for another two hours.
"Mama…"
"I could only watch from the sand as you cried for help and waved your arms around... at that moment, I swear I thought I was in hell, witnessing my one and only daughter drown in the ocean."
Feeling the hot sting of her own tears, Lucy scooted closer to her mother to wrap her arms around her own, leaning her head against her trembling shoulder.
"God, Lucy, I lost your father... I don't need to lose you, too." Layla said as she gently grasped her hand in hers and kissed her palms, trying to stop crying as Lucy felt her heart break inside her chest.
The crackle from the fire and the crickets chirping in the air was the only thing that was heard between them, the occasional sniff from mother and daughter. Lucy just held onto her, comforting and reassuring her that she was there and she was safe while Layla gave her palm a squeeze.
The soft sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention and the two blondes turned around to see Natsu standing there awkwardly, holding a mug in his hands. Lucy felt her cheeks flame at the sight of him and she pulled away from her mother as she began to wipe at her face and fix herself up.
"Oh, Natsu, we didn't hear you, sorry about that."
"No, no... it's okay, take your time." Natsu reassured, but Layla was quick to stand from her seat. "I just came to see how Lucy was doing…" His eyes darted over to her and Lucy quickly looked away, dipping her chin down to hide her blush. "Do you want to drink some hot chocolate?"
Lucy was surprised to see Natsu offering her anything and even saying he came to see how she was doing. She blinked stupidly at the mug he held out towards her before she turned to look at her mother who giggled and smiled at her. It only made her feel even more embarrassed as she took the mug from his hands and brought it to her lips, avoiding eye contact with either party.
Offering a smile, Layla went over and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder. Tears brimmed her chocolate orbs once again and Natsu blinked in her direction. "Thank you, Natsu... Thank you for saving her. Who knows what would have happened if you weren't there?"
"It was no problem at all." He smiled softly as Layla smiled back.
"In return, I'll make you a breathtaking dinner."
"Deal!"
"Great, I'll give you two some time to talk. I'm going to see how the girls are doing." She said before giving Lucy one last look. The younger blonde narrowed her eyes, looking away from the suggestive look her mother was tossing her way before she was walking away to help with dinner.
As soon as her mother was out of ear-shot distance, Natsu turned to face her and his signature scowl came back on his face. "For a girl who can't swim... you sure have some guts, don't you?"
Lucy gawked at him, cradling the mug between her hands as she sat there hunched over the fire. "Well... what else was I supposed to do? No matter how loud I screamed nobody could hear me..." She said in a huff as she slowly blew on her mug while Natsu scoffed and sat himself down where Layla was seated earlier. Still having that scowl, he gave her a hard look.
"You're a troublemaker... a black cat who gives off misfortune wherever she goes." He started making her frown and look down at her lap as he gave her a scolding. "Ever since I met you... I haven't had one peaceful day."
"That, again? Will you give it a rest? I'm sick..." She said as he scoffed.
"Sick? You're not sick at all!"
Not wanting to argue with the manic, Lucy merely huffed and pouted, glaring into her mug of hot chocolate. He was acting as if she wanted to do all this and wanted to create such a mess when in reality misfortune just followed her around. And this was the thanks she gets for saving Romeo?
"But," he said after a moment of silence between them. "thanks for saving Romeo."
Turning her head to look right at Natsu, he wasn't even looking in her direction. His head was tilted up and his eyes were pinned up on the starry night sky instead.
It gave her a moment of peace and a moment to take him in, seeing how his long neck stretched and connected up to his incredibly handsome face. Not that long ago, she knew what it was like to be pressed up against him and have his arms around her and she knew she wasn't going to forget that anytime soon. She had never been in a situation like that before where a man held her against their body and maybe because it was the first time for her, she felt immense butterflies.
There was no way it was because it was Natsu, it was only because she was going through Stockholm syndrome. He did save her.
"Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
"Forgiven?" He scoffed, turning to look at her. "You could have died and all you care about is being forgiven?" He snapped once again making her wince and frown once more, looking down at her mug.
"You're only screaming because you were worried." She muttered under her breath making him laugh.
"Worried?! Lucy Heartfillia—!"
"Don't scream at a sick person!"
"You're not sick!"
Even though Natsu could be an asshole to her and said some harsh things to her, Lucy was beginning to notice that it was just his personality.
"Thank you, Natsu," she spoke softly into her mug, keeping her eyes casted down at the crackling fire. "Without you, who knows what would have happened? I'm grateful that you came when you did."
She could see a teeny tiny part of him cracking and as she gave him a smile with her cheeks dusted rosy red, she could only notice the way the tips of his ears glowed red while he scowled and twisted his head away.
"Don't mention it…"