. Nine in the Afternoon .
"Into a place where thoughts can bloom,
Into a room where it's nine in the afternoon,
And we know that it could be,
And we know that it should,
And you know that you feel it, too,
'Cause it's nine the afternoon."
~ "Nine in the Afternoon" by Panic! at the Disco
As she stretched her arms over her head, enjoying the luxurious feeling that came afterwards, Lucy Heartfilia wondered why she was so miserable. It was delightful, she knew, feeling as if her muscles had been stretched to the limit and then simply melted. She sank into the comfortable leather armchair that sat in the corner of her living room, enjoying the sunlight that streamed in through the massive windows that decorated the side of her condo, bathing her in a warm golden light of late afternoon.
Most days, she would have been bothered by the size of it all, about the windows, about the furniture. She most certainly would have been bothered by the unopened envelope on her kitchen bar, meant for her while holding the chicken scratch of someone she didn't want to see ever again.
But the late fall day was too nice and warm - the last of the nice days, she guessed, before winter hit, and Lucy didn't really want to get up and deal with everything after a long day at the Heartfilia Bakery she'd opened only six months prior. She certainly enjoyed owning and working at the bakery, but it was tiresome when two of her teenage workers were out "sick" and it was a busy Wednesday.
"I should shower," Lucy muttered to herself drowsily, yawning as she pushed aside her misery. She thought of the warm water and grimaced, wrinkling her nose. She reeked of sweat and baked goods, but hot showers were horrible when the humidity outside was signaling rain. Everything just stuck to her skin. But she felt gross, and knew it needed to be done.
With a groan, Lucy hauled herself to her feet. The leather of her armchair stuck to her skin like velcro, and she grimaced as it peeled away. She removed her shirt with one swift movement, shivering when something washed through her.
Lips pressed to the back of her neck, warm arms wrapped around her waist, happiness practically radiating as much as heat did from the figure behind her-
Lucy spun around on her heel, her dark eyes snapping this way and that as she looked for the figure she could have sworn had been there. The shock was quickly replaced with confusion when she realized she was alone. Lucy furrowed her brow and ran her fingers through her thick mop of blonde hair, which turned to gold beneath the afternoon light. Shaking her head, Lucy huffed, her misery returning tenfold without an explanation to back it up.
It was as if, she knew, she was missing something. Something big. She felt as if she should have been somewhere else, shouting a name she couldn't't quite think of at the moment. She could almost smell the clean air, feel the sun on her skin, warmer than it was now. She could taste smoke on the tip of her tongue as warmth surrounded her from every angle, wrapping around her like some kind of entrapping web.
And then it was gone and she was miserable and cold and alone.
Lucy huffed and shook off that misery, but the coldness remained despite her attempt.
Then again, she mused as she went to go and turn on the hot water for her shower, I'm always cold now a days.
Rewritten as of April 8th, 2018!
I said longer chapters. I think it'll depend on the chapter until I get past the rewriting. Lol.