Natsu POV
It's been four days since the practice we had on Erza's house.
I'm waiting on the front gate for her to come out but it's been 2 hours!
I made sure that I look at all the students passing to not miss her.
But I just can't find her!
This is so frustrating!
Damn it, Lucy!
Where is she?
We only get to see each other at home.
Ehem. Her house rather.
Practice sessions.
During school.
I haven't seen her practicing her part of the play at all either, whenever we have practice.
It's killing me not to see her, even for a few hours.
This girl is seriously driving me insane!
"Where the hell is she?" I mumbled to myself.
I took my phone out from my pocket and dialed Romeo's number.
Fifth ring and Romeo answers.
"Natsu-nii, anything I could help you with?" Romeo asked.
"Just want to ask, is Lucy there?" I asked straightforwardly.
"Whoa! Not beating around the bush today, Natsu-nii? This is new." He teased.
Yes.
I've been calling Romeo everyday asking for Lucy.
"Please. Can you be a little angel as to tell me where Lucy might be?" I started sweetly.
"She won't tell me where she goes and she's not even telling mom!" I exploded violently.
Romeo laughed whole-heartedly.
"You really couldn't handle an hour without her, could you?" he provoked.
Yes.
Romeo knows how I feel about Lucy.
"HOURS. Romeo, it's HOURS!" I exclaimed frustratingly.
"My, how desperate." He giggled.
I felt a nerve pop.
"Is the play you guys had to present for Halloween, not over yet?" he inquired.
"It's still this Saturday. Why?" I asked.
"In that case, you won't be seeing her till Saturday!" he teased.
"ROMEO!" I detonated and he laughed louder.
"Alright. Knowing Lucy-nee, she doesn't like to play the violin in front of people. She has stage fright, remember? She used to only play it especially for one person. My cousin. So, she's still adjusting." Romeo explained.
No.
He wouldn't tell me anything about him.
He says that has to come directly from Lucy.
"Natsu-nii, I don't know where she's at right now... Hmm... Do you know any place she would feel secure and calm? I'd bet that's where she is right now. She likes to play instruments, when no one is around. Since the day my cousin left, she only plays the violin in front of me or if she found a place peaceful or quiet." Romeo reasoned.
I thought of a place that Romeo described.
Just like lightning struck, an idea popped up and I found the ideal place.
"Thanks Romeo! I think I know where she is! I owe you one!" I happily exclaimed.
"No biggie. Now, go get her!" he cheered.
"You didn't even have to ask!" I felt myself smile widely and hung up the phone.
I rushed towards my car and went straight to the park.
I ran through the mini forest and that's where I saw the girl that I was looking for.
She was holding her violin.
Her hair dancing with the wind.
She started playing at the instrument.
I found myself captivated by every streak.
I finally calmed down seeing her safe and sound.
Sound.
Flowing all over the place.
Her music filled with passion.
The song conveying how she feels.
My heart's rhythm is uncontrollably fast.
The reverberations she created, sets my mind on fire.
How can she only play this talent of hers for him?
Is there any chance that I could still capture her heart?
How can she be so willing to wait for someone who left her?
The melody suddenly stopped then I looked up to her and she was holding my gaze.
Oh shoot.
I've been discovered.
Her face flushed as the idea of someone watching her, sunk her mind.
How adorable.
"KYAA! THE HELL, NATSU?" she shrieked and I smiled sheepishly at her.
"Sorry. I was going bananas looking for you." I admitted.
"So. That's why I tried to look for you here." I added lowly.
I watched her face turned from perplexed to an affectionate look.
"Did I make you worry?" she asked gently and I nodded slowly then turned my gaze away from her.
"Sorry. It's just that I couldn't stop worrying or calm down, when I couldn't see you." I confessed as I look up the sky.
I hear footsteps approaching me, and I refuse to look down to see her face.
I felt a pair of small arms on my neck and I could smell her heavenly scent in front me.
I turned to see her hugging me while tiptoeing since she couldn't reach me.
I wrapped my arms around her waist to support her and everything finally felt perfect.
She released herself from the hug and smiled tenderly.
"Sorry for making you worry." She says guiltily.
"It's okay. Now, I know that you're safe." I say flashing her a lopsided grin.
"Can you play for me?" I asked cautiously.
She looked like she was debating with herself and she sighed in defeat.
"Why the hell not?" she smiled lightheartedly.
I felt dragons roaring and trying to break free from my stomach.
She took my hand and let me sit on the grassy field as she positioned her violin on her neck gracefully.
Her expression turned serious and she closed her eyes.
I grabbed my phone and took several pictures of her before she played.
She stroke every note perfectly.
I always thought that she was just too confident enough to train with us.
Turns out, even a perfection like her needs practice from time to time.
What amazes me more, was the fact that she memorized her piece.
With the last stroke, I couldn't help but give her a standing ovation which made her blush.
"Thanks Natsu, for hearing it out." She whispered softly and I beamed brightly at her.
"I'd listen to it anytime!" I say grinning from ear to ear.
What she didn't know was I recorded her piece.
-Time skip: Saturday-
For the first time after a long time, I stayed at my real home.
I miss Lucy!
Zeref-nii called me, letting me know that Dad will be staying with us before Christmas.
Nii-san wanted to bond the whole day yesterday, so we did.
I looked at my watch and noticed that I only have 2 hours to prepare for the Halloween party.
I stood up, excited to see my Lucy once again and prepared for the party.
Looking completely satisfied, I walked out of the house wearing a devil costume then boarded my car.
I went straight to school since Lucy texted me to meet up in school for the practice.
I marched towards the music room and found my Lucy's not here yet.
Erza reserved the music room for our group.
Erza, Gajeel and Levy were there, but there were no sign of droopy eyes and my best friend.
When students try to get materials from the room, Erza would allow them 5 minutes to fetch whatever they needed and shut the door closed after.
I sat with them annoyed.
If I only knew, I would have fetched her at her home!
I started to look around the music room as we wait for the remaining members.
Erza surprised me by wearing a fairy costume.
Gajeel wore a mummy outfit
Levy sported a witch get-up.
Erza begun panicking as Gray and Lucy aren't here for the rehearsal yet.
Gray finally walked in with a zombie costume and I laughed.
"Gray, you didn't need any costume for that!" I teased, earning a death glare from him.
"Okay, let's practice while waiting for Lucy. I'm sure she can handle her piece just fine." Erza ordered.
"Levy and Gajeel, you both have your princess and other costumes prepared, right?" Erza asked and they both nodded.
"Wear them. Now." Erza commanded.
"H-Hai!" they both jolted in unison.
We were now practicing our pieces and we only have 45 minutes left before we perform.
Just where the hell are you, Lucy?
I tried texting her but she wouldn't reply.
When we were about to reach the part where Lucy performs, we heard a knock on the door.
I walked towards the door since I was the closest.
Must be the students, needing access to the music room.
Wrong.
An angel was panting before me.
Her hair down to her waist.
She was holding a violin.
No glasses.
She was wearing a pure white Grecian dress that lands to her feet.
There were golden bangles on both her arms.
A golden choker on her neck.
The flower wreath I initially gave her replaced by fresh flowers.
White sandals exposing her tidy nails.
Pure white feathered wings on her back, that fits her perfectly.
"G-Gomen... Minna... I took so... long..." she wheezed.
Everyone was frozen on their spot.
"Sorry, mom insisted on making me wear this. Does it look bad?" She whispered at me anxiously.
Are you kidding me?
How can she think that she looks bad, wearing an angel outfit?
The first ones to recover was me, Levy and Erza.
"Are you kidding me? This is... stunning!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Lu-chan, you look gorgeous!" Levy chan squealed.
"I have to agree! This look is just... striking!" Erza praised with a brilliant smile.
Lucy looks at me and smiled soothingly, completing her angelic look.
I was stunned, once more, due to her divine smile.
The two who were turned into stone a while ago, had finally found their voices.
"Lucy?" Stripper breathed then when I turned to look at him, his eyes were filled with adoration.
"Bunny girl?" he whispered in disbelief, but certainly eyeing her from head to toe.
I soundlessly walked directly to both of them and smacked their heads off their body, snapping them out of it.
"Like what you see, boys?" I hissed silently with malice and Erza and Levy shot them a deadly glare, then they both turned the other way.
"Mine." I whispered devilishly, making them flinch then they nod in understanding.
I gave Lucy a warm smile.
"It fits you perfectly, Lucy!" I commended.
"Thanks!" she smiled happily and went straight to her position with the violin.
"Now that everyone's here, we can now practice with ease!" Erza clapped victoriously and Lucy just sat by the piano then watched us silently rehearse.
Right after rehearsing with the others, I looked at her and she gave me a warm smile to encourage me to practice my part a bit more.
Lucy silently trudge towards Levy, whispering something that made Levy run out of the room to look for something.
I inaudibly watched her concentrate while her eyes closed, then she linked her hands together like she was praying.
I looked at my watch and realized we only have 5 more minutes for the play.
Levy finally walked in breathless and we all turned to look at her.
She looked at Lucy while smiling and ran towards her then whispered something.
Lucy looked worried first, but with some words of encouragement from Levy, she nods her head with determination.
Then it was our time to shine.
We walked silently towards the stage.
Before we entered the stage people were rowdy and loud, but once we stepped out to the spotlight it turned completely silent.
Our team was confused on the sudden silence, I looked at Erza and she returned the same look of confusion then shrugged.
That's when the buzzing came in.
"Isn't that the girl we saw with a little boy the other day?" someone gasped from the crowd.
"I'm positive that's her! Who could ever forget someone who has the same exact angelic face!" someone responded.
"So beautiful!" someone says dreamily.
Of course.
I looked at Lucy blushing.
The whole school finally learning about her real look.
Tsk.
I really wanted to have Lucy for myself.
It can't be help, though.
As if she could escape mom's wrath, if she refused to wear it.
I'm actually surprised that she was able to keep up the disguise for 3 years.
As long as she's known as a Vermilion, no one would dare touch her.
Although, being a Heartfilia would be better.
Everything would probably change after this, but I'll make sure to stay beside her and protect her.
Erza faked a cough and introduced our members one by one.
When she pointed at Lucy and introduced her, everyone fell silent and couldn't believe it.
Then a sudden outburst from the crowd began out of nowhere.
"Date me!" someone screamed.
"No. Me!" another yelled.
"Be my friend!" someone roared.
I felt my blood boil in fury and rage as they kept their outburst going.
I automatically showed them an evil aura, which caused some members of our group to shriek.
Erza composed herself rapidly and snarled towards the uncontrollable crowd.
"Are you going to make us perform or what?" she roared, causing the massive crowd's noise to die down in an instant.
Wow.
Erza nodded and all of us went to our position.
I'm in charge of moving the props after the intro.
Lucy helped out on the change of costumes.
Erza and I began playing our instruments for the intro and for the background music.
Gray started to narrate the story.
"A princess from a faraway kingdom in Fiore was sealed by her father, the king, in a castle."
Levy went out with her princess costume and sat on our castle prop then sang briefly looking exhausted.
"She was held imprisoned on the castle for so many years and on one particular morning, she got fed up on being stuck inside the castle for too long. She sneakily went out of the castle to explore the town. Wearing a disguise, she wandered through town and met a man on a cafe. The man looks very uninterested as she went inside his shop. She orders some milkshake and he refuses to speak with her."
Gajeel with his white apron stood on the café and grumpily gives Levy some fake milkshake.
I took a picture of him discreetly.
"Over time, the princess feelings for the silent man grew and grew. The man grew fond of the mysterious girl's existence and started to smile at her. Until he got used to her being there always, chatting with him lively, despite the fact that he never responded to her. On one fateful day, the princess stopped visiting him."
Gajeel grouchily wiped the fake glasses with a scowl on his face as he waits by the counter.
"The princess can no longer escape the castle as his father finally learned that she sneaks out of the castle every day. She was devastated that she could no longer see the man, despite giving her some cold glares, she finally managed to make him smile on several occasion. The day came that the king found out that her daughter is growing sick and she refuses to speak to anyone. The king never meant for her to be unhappy. He knows that his daughter goes through town to visit a special place, but he ever knew where it was. He tried to speak to her, but she refuses to talk. The king snapped and asked everyone in town to visit the castle in one day, holding a simple ball."
Levy changed to a ball gown and sighed in the center, and sang about how she wanted to meet the man.
"The king invites the princess by his throne so that she'd be able to view the friend she had been visiting for a while when she was free. The princess sighed in defeat as she knows that the man will never come. She just started to join the crowd in the hall then the music started."
Lucy positioned herself near her violin.
What shocked everyone was that Levy stealthily threw Erza a cloth and placed a blindfold on Lucy.
Erza went straight to her piano.
Lucy positioned her bow on her violin beside Erza, waiting for a signal to start.
They were both hit by the spotlight
As if on cue, both started playing in perfect synchrony.
(A/N: The song/instrumental is posted on the multimedia page.)
"The princess danced with several people she has no knowledge about. But she enjoyed it. She was enjoying the dance until she found a familiar man by the door. The man she was looking for. He slowly approached her and smiled at her gently. She was mesmerized by the way he looks at her and asked her hand for the dance. They've glided throughout the floor. Everyone was giving them space to dance and they were left in the middle, staring into each other's eyes.They were twirling and dancing gracefully like they've never danced before. Finding each other fit on each other's arms. They never averted their eyes off each other even until the song ended. When the song stopped, he tells her that he loved her ever since he laid his eyes on her and kissed her."
Gajeel, who was dressed in a tuxedo, did exactly what the narrator says throughout the entire play. He asked Levy's hand for a dance. He placed his hands on her waist and their hands clasped on the other. He twirled her around and danced then enjoyed themselves being completely absorbed to the music. They then followed the narrators order to look in each other's eyes and blushed like hell.
"From the very first time I saw you. I've loved you." He grumbled while blushing.
"What?" The crowd thundered, making him repeat himself.
"The moment my eyes laid on you, I've never stopped loving you." Gajeel repeated, while his cheeks flush, a little bit higher but not too audible enough for everyone to hear.
"WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!" The crowd boomed making him snap.
"GOD DAMN IT! I SAID I LOVED HER FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT MY EYES SAW HER! THERE? HAPPY?" he roared and realized what he just said and his cheeks burned crimson red.
The crowd went wild and hooted while giving him a series of 'Aww' and whistles for encouragement.
Gajeel and Levy stared at each other's eyes and everyone waited in anticipation for the last step.
The kiss.
Levy turned bright red as Gajeel leaned on her slightly, blushing himself, and kissed her...
Cheek.
"What the hell kind of kiss was that?" someone complained from the crowd and they all agreed.
Gajeel looked at them threateningly.
"A KISS IS A KISS, IDIOTS!" he roared and everyone laughed.
"The king found the love in both his daughter's eyes and the man she was dancing with and allowed him to settle with her. He learned, eventually, that the man his princess was dancing with came from another kingdom. He found out that he was the prince who ran away when he learnt that he was to wed his daughter, not knowing who she was. That's why he kept his little princess locked up in the palace to wait for the prince to come home and marry her when the time comes. The two kingdoms merrily united due to the union of both the locked up princess and her ran away prince. The end."
Everyone gave us a standing ovation and we gave ourselves a group hug.
I ruffled Lucy's hair and she chuckled completing, yet again, her outfit for the night.
"You were outstanding! You really memorized your piece!" I complimented.
"Thanks Natsu!" she chirped.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Erza chuckled.
"Yeah!" All of us cheered.