Chapter 13: Practice Makes Perfect

In a semi-circle assembled chairs, students from class 3-A were practicing their lines as Erza ran the whole story with them. The play director asked each participating student to stand in the middle of the room and throw their lines with their scene partners. The redhead appears to live up to her name of a strong-willed girl, as no one attempts to be a nuisance while practicing. All except Natsu.

As Natsu and Levy delivered their lines, Erza gave them pointers on how they should express it and encouraged them to project how it would be shown in the play. Lucy, on the other hand, sat quietly in her seat as she tried to listen and watch. But as soon as Natsu stood in the middle, her mind wandered off to her memories of last weekend.

"So, where did you guys find me?"

"Natsu found you—" Levy starts but is immediately cut off by the pinkette.

"In a storage room, the old one in the Vermillion Building. Jiji-Ken found the girls that tied you up. He was cleaning at that time when he heard them. He just didn't realize that these girls were doing something wrong,"

"You looked for me?" she asks softly, feeling grateful for the pinkette.

Natsu paused for a second before looking away and stepping back, "Um, Jiji-ken thought he heard someone shouting and figured that it could be you,"

"I was blindfolded when those girls dragged me. I had no idea where we were,"

Erza and Gray shouted simultaneously as they ran up to Natsu and Sting, who started punching each other. Lucy's eyes widened as she stared at the commotion happening outside the clinic. She then notices another of her friends, Lisanna, intervening and helping Erza stop Natsu from fighting with Sting.

She steps out of the clinic when suddenly she freezes in her place. Lisanna was caressing Natsu's face more intimately than she remembered them doing. They were talking among themselves when she heard Erza.

"Hold on, what's going on with you two?"

Lisanna turned to look at Erza while Natsu suddenly locked his gaze on her. He had a surprised expression as he realized that she was staring at him back.

"Oh, haven't you heard? I said yes to Natsu already," Lisanna answered, beaming as she entwined her hand with Natsu's and lifted it to show to everyone. "Natsu's my boyfriend now,"

Lucy could feel her heart prick at Lisanna's words. She knew this was happening, and she knew it would hurt. But she didn't realize how much. As Natsu attempts to step toward her, Levy quickly blocks her view of the pinkette and encourages her to get in.

"Lu-chan, you have to rest inside," Levy turns her around and returns to her bed.

"Hey, you okay?" a squeeze of her hand suddenly snapped her out of her recollection, and she saw Sting staring at her worriedly.

"Oh, yeah," she tried to smile, but it barely reached her eyes, "I just remember something,"

Sting didn't look convinced and leaned even closer, "Are you sure? Do you need anything?"

"I'm fine, Sting," Lucy said, tapping his hand over hers, "Thanks for checking up on me,"

"Okay…" Sting leaned back in his chair, but the furrow in his brow didn't lessen, "Just tell me if you need anything,"

Lucy nods her head, smiling appreciatively to the blonde. She notices the same worriedness he has had since that weekend. It hadn't lessened since then. And if there was one thing he was more comfortable showing, it was his care for her, even if Natsu stared at him hard.

"Sting! You're up!" Erza suddenly called, snapping the two out of their conversation.

"Good luck," Lucy mumbled to him before he stood up.

As Sting walked up to the middle, she expected Natsu to return to his seat. But to her disappointment, the pinkette turned away and left the room.

She suddenly thought to herself, I haven't thanked him for saving me…

The auditorium was chaos. As soon as classes ended, the 3-A class headed to the auditorium to start preparing for the play. The design team, led by their class artist, Kenji, started delegating designs to his team. The audio and lights team tried to familiarize themselves with the equipment in the auditorium. Lastly, the costumes team worked with the design team and co-director to get the right design for the costumes of the actors.

As everyone was busy doing their tasks, Erza encouraged her actors to start memorizing lines and think about how they were going to deliver them, just as they had practiced in the morning. However, as a way to help the actors get more comfortable with their characters, Erza decided to have a brief adlib acting workshop session with them.

"Adlib?" Akio questioned out loud, crossing his arms, "What for? We have scripts,"

"I know, I made it," Erza rolls her eyes, "The point of this exercise is to help you get familiar with your character as if you are that character. This is only for practice. I am not saying we are ditching the script because we need to follow the script, obviously,"

"What is Erza trying to say, guys," Jellal suddenly intervenes as he notices the annoyance on Erza's face, "You guys need to work on the acting part as if it's really you. There is a chance that you will act awkwardly because acting may not be everyone's cup of tea. So, to get familiar with the task, this is your warm-up session before actually acting the scenes out,"

Some of the guys groaned in displeasure, which Erza knew from the beginning. Sighing in relief, she glanced at Jellal and gave him a grateful look. He knew how hard she was trying not to snap out because of how much she was a perfectionist when it came to theater.

"Okay, so let's start with our conflicting characters, the sorcerer and queen of fairies. Akio and Jian?" Erza glanced at the students, who stood in attention, "Let's start with you two,"

Soon enough, everybody got to work and did what they had to do. Erza paid close attention to the actors while Jellal appointed himself to check up on the other teams. The duo had good chemistry when working together, enabling them to be productive. After all, they were both student leaders and knew how each of them worked.

As Erza puts on her director hat, she ultimately committed herself to providing feedback to the student actors. She would point out things to improve and call out students who were paying no attention. In other words, Natsu.

"Natsu!" Erza calls for the nth time, almost with a growl, "Say your lines clearer! How will the audience hear you?"

"But there's no audience—"

"Zap it!" Erza cuts off with a death glare, "And you, Sting!"

"What?" Sting defensively stood in attention when Erza directed her glare at him, "I'm saying my lines properly,"

"I know! But can you say it less angry?!" Erza then looks away, rolling her eyes as Sting gapes at her, "You both had just met. And as two princes from different kingdoms, your first instinct is to work together, not fight."

Everyone on stage switched glances between the two boys, who surprisingly had a rigid body stance as if they were ready to fight.

Levy and Juvia, standing on the side, couldn't help but widen their eyes at the redhead's words. Levy then leans to her friend, "Oh, I don't think Erza realizes what she's saying to the two,"

Juvia sniggers, "Do you think Erza-san forgot about them punching each other?"

"I don't think so," Levy then looked at the trio again, "Sting still has that bruise on under his eye,"

"And Natsu-san, on his jaw," Juvia and Levy then sigh in exasperation.

Scene after scene, they were finally in the scene where the two princes were about to confess to the princess. Erza gathered her actors in the middle of the stage while the others were sitting on the floor, taking a break.

"Alright!" Erza claps her hands, "Lucy, Natsu, and Sting. This is the scene where both of the princes are going to confess to Princess Ayana. Basically, you both fell for the princess, and Lucy, here, is conflicted." She then spared a glance at the blonde, who fidgeted in her spot.

"Lucas will be the first to confess to Ayana when he finds a way for them to be alone in the library,"

Lucy and Sting nod in understanding before they move around to get settled in their stance on how they would be in that scene. After that, Sting opened his script and immediately searched for the page of that particular scene. But Erza called his attention again.

"Uh, Sting. So, since this is an adlib session, I was hoping that you'd do the whole confession dialogue as an adlib,"

"What?" Sting astonishingly bellows before looking at Lucy. They both turned red at the idea of confessing in front of people. "But Scarlet, there is a script right here. A good script, if I may say,"

"I know, I made it," Erza grins before she shakes her head, "But no, I want the scene to be raw. Something coming out of your heart,"

"Erza…" Lucy sweetly calls, as if a warning, "You might want to tone it down," she says, gritting her teeth.

Erza chuckles at the blonde and brushes off her glare, "It's fine! It's just an exercise for today. But who knows?" she shrugs her shoulders.

"So, Sting? Ready?"

"Uh, no," Sting furiously shook his head.

Erza groaned, rolling her eyes, "Just imagine, how did you confess to Lucy?"

Everyone on the stage, even the design team, suddenly became silent and started cooing, making Lucy and Sting blush madly.

"Erza!" Lucy bellowed.

"What?" Erza questioned, shaking her shoulders, "I'm assuming everyone here knows that Sting is asking you out,"

"Scarlet!" Lucy shouts again as students on stage give another round of teasing.

"Anyways!" Erza ignores the blonde's glare and focuses on Sting, "So? You don't have to say the exact words you said to Lucy, but just the gist of it. You know, to give us the feel of that confession to your love,"

Sting stood quietly as his face became beet red. This was not how he imagined he'd retell the story of confessing to Lucy. He never thought of telling anybody how he did it. But left with no choice, he had to say at least some words, even if not the exact ones. Just the feels, he said to himself.

"Fine…" Sting sighs defeatedly before he walks up to Lucy. As they stood close, Sting focused his attention on Lucy's brown eyes. Instantly, he was enamored with her, and a soft smile appeared on his lips.

"Lucy—" Lucy shook her head, cutting off the boy, who quickly caught up to his mistake. "Sorry, I mean, Ayana…"

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at his embarrassed smile.

"Princess Ayana," Sting restarts and gazes at her for a long time before he continues, "I know we had just met and became friends recently. But I can't help but realize that I cherish every moment I have with you. I like seeing you smile because you're like the sun that brightens my day. You make my heart race every time you look at me and give that bright smile—"

A loud clapping was then heard, distracting everyone from listening. Erza was about to retort when she saw Natsu was the one clapping.

"Great job, man. Can I now do it?" Natsu looked at Erza with a raised brow.

Left stunned at the pissed look of the pinkette, Erza wanted to tease the man but was too speechless to comment. Instead, she nods her head.

Levy and Juvia, sitting at the side, looked at each other and mentally gossiped about the way Natsu acted. The two girls then looked at Lucy, who happened to glance at them, too, for clarification. But the two blunette just shrugged their shoulders, completely taken aback as well.

When Natsu takes the place of Sting, Lucy suddenly swallows down the lump in her throat. She felt her heartbeat a little faster, and it even quickened more when she realized that Natsu had been staring at her the whole time.

"Hi," Lucy whispered unsurely.

"Hey," Natsu tries to smile to cover up his nervousness.

"So, Natsu," Erza calls, "Same as Sting, deliver your confession in an adlib way. Imagine how you confessed to Lisanna,"

Everyone on stage echoed an 'oh' in surprise at the news, making Natsu widen his eyes at the redhead. Erza stared back at the pinkette and shrugged her shoulders, "What? The whole school is bound to know that you and Lisanna are a couple now,"

"Scarlet," Natsu threatened, but the redhead was not fazed.

"What? Are you still keeping it a secret?" Erza questioned sarcastically, tilting her head.

Natsu then turns to look at her, ready to argue, and suddenly, Jellal steps in front of the pinkette.

"Alright, Dragneel, calm down," Jellal said before turning to look at Erza, "Prez? I think we should have a break,"

Erza heaved exhaustedly and then nodded her head, "Alright, everyone, take 15," and then she walked out of the auditorium. Jellal followed after her once he gave a timid smile at the pinkette.

Right when Erza left the hall, Levy and Juvia walked up to Lucy and Natsu. The two blunette knew that it was out of Erza's character to bring personal issues into their work. But in some way, they understood where she was coming from.

"Hey, Natsu," Levy then stands next to the pinkette, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Natsu stared at the auditorium doors, questioning why Erza had spoken like that.

"We're saying sorry on behalf of Erza," Levy says, tapping the man's shoulder, "It's really unlike her to say something like that. So, I hope you don't take it against her,"

"Yeah, don't worry, I'm not angry or anything. I'm just stunned that this is the place she chose to open up her annoyance with me about my relationship with Lisanna," he then looked at Lucy, who obviously took a step back from him.

"I probably should address the elephant in the room," Natsu muttered, keeping his eyes on the blonde. She was deliberately keeping her eyes on her fumbling hands.

"Maybe when we're all together," Levy suggested, earning a nod from the others, "We definitely have questions about how it happened. But for now, we'll pin on that issue,"

Levy then glances at the fidgeting blonde, "Where's Sting, Lu-chan?"

"Huh, what?" Lucy snaps, looking up at her friend.

"Sting? Where is he?" Levy then looked around, only to find his presence gone.

"Oh, he probably refilled his tumbler outside,"

"Speaking of tumblers, Juvia is refilling her water, too. Do you want to come?" Juvia offered before turning away. Lucy and Natsu shook their heads as they said that they were good. And so Levy and Juvia left the two, fully aware that the two probably needed alone time to talk it out first.

When Natsu and Lucy were left by themselves, they took a seat at their previous spot on the stage. They were silent for a moment, just watching others roam around while they waited for Erza to return.

Natsu had been meaning to talk to Lucy alone, but given the time and situation, they could never get that alone time like before. This was the closest time to having a private conversation with his best friend.

"So, Luce—"

"Natsu—"

Natsu and Lucy spoke at the same time, cutting each other. When they looked at one another, they chuckled at their in-sync timing. Natsu nods his head and offers his hand, "Ladies first,"

"Right…" Lucy huffs a laugh before she gathers her courage once more, "I uh…I just wanted to say thank you,"

"Thank you?" Natsu confusingly repeats, looking at the blonde.

"For saving me last Saturday," She said, looking at the pinkette in his black-orb eyes. She then breaks her gaze and redirects her attention instead to her twiddling hands, "I wasn't able to thank you last time. A lot of things happened—revelations came out, and a lot of punching—so I kind of got distracted and forgot to thank you,"

Natsu was mum and just stared at the blonde. Hearing her say it somehow pinched his heart, and he couldn't shake off the feeling that everything she was saying was not right. It wasn't right that she had to thank him, as if she owed him to do that. He'd save her every single day if he needed to.

"Luce, you don't have to thank me. I'll always be there for you, even if you don't ask me to,"

Lucy suddenly looks up at him, stunned at his words. Her chest clenches at his words, and suddenly, her eyes sting, threatening tears to pool up.

"Luce, you'll always be important to me. I'll always look for you," Natsu shakes his head in disbelief, "I can't imagine my day without seeing you."

A soft sob suddenly escapes Lucy, making her cover it up by coughing. She then looked the other way as she tried to control her raging emotions.

"You have Lisanna now," she said, looking at Natsu. "She should be the most important person to you. She should be the one you'll always look for, always the one that you can't imagine not seeing. I'm grateful that I'm your best friend, but she's your girlfriend,"

Natsu exhaled deeply, leaning back against the wall as if he were depleted. "I know that. And I have to be a better boyfriend to her,"

Lucy suddenly purses her lips and nods her head. She then looked away and stood up as she knew that her tears were bound to fall.

"Luce, where you going?" Natsu was suddenly alarmed at her sudden movement.

"Bathroom," Lucy simply replies before walking away and running out of the auditorium.

As soon as Lucy was out of the auditorium and running in the corridor, she suddenly tumbled as her knees became weak. She grabbed onto the wall for support as she tried to stop herself from falling. Her sobs finally spill out, and tears run down her cheeks.

She let herself lean against the wall and slowly slipped down to sit on the floor. She covered her mouth with her two hands, muffling the sound of her cries.

"Lucy, you've got to stop crying," she muttered to herself, trying to get hold of her sobs. She harshly wipes her tears off of her cheeks with her hands, "You shouldn't be crying over this. You and Natsu were just friends. You knew that it had always been a one-sided thing. You can't cry over this just because he's got a girlfriend now,"

Lucy gives another round of weeping, and she immediately covers her face with her hands, knowing well that her tears will not stop for a moment. She ducks her head in her crossed arms as she pulls her legs up. She hid herself for a moment, trying to collect her wit.

As she heaved a heavy sigh, she pulled her head back and stared at the opposite wall to her.

"Lucy…" she lets out a shaky breath, "You are Natsu and Lisanna's friend. You should be happy for them. You should be happy for Natsu. You are his best friend. And the right to do and feel is be happy for them,"

A tear rolled down her cheek once more, but she quickly brushed it off and exhaled deeply. When she felt strong enough, she pushed herself off the ground and fixed herself. She pulled out her hair tie on her wrist and immediately gathered her golden locks, tying it up high for a high ponytail. When she felt that she had collected herself well, she walked back into the auditorium.

To be continued…