Lucy POV
Pain. Searing, burning, stabbing pain. Everywhere.
Bright lights flashing. People talking.
Beeping. Beeping. Beeping.
I moaned, the pain in my abdomen and legs becoming too much. My eyelids tried to flutter open while I listened to the sounds of the people around me.
Finally finding my body, I attempted to sit up, moving my arms on the cold surface to brace myself. Unbearable pain ripped through my lower half as I contracted my abdominal muscles. A scream escaped from my raw and bloody throat. I fell back onto the metal sheet, flashbacks of the pain, the metal table, the tools, reappearing in my mind. Panic set in.
I screamed louder, trying to flail and get away. That was it. I hadn't escaped. I hadn't done enough. All my sacrifice and all I had done was buy time.
"Natsu!" I yelled, the taste of blood potent in my mouth.
Every movement tore me in two horrible pieces, the stabbing sensation sending pulses to my head, shooting adrenaline into the places I could reach.
"Natsu!" I screamed again, just hoping he could hear my attempts to reach him. He had to. He was the only one who could save me.
The sounds of the voices, although still muffled, got louder and more panicked. The beeping intensified as I yelled and yelped in pain.
Suddenly, there was a sharp prick in my arm, right as I managed to open my eyes and I found myself in an all white room, lying beneath large lights, surrounded by people in scrubs and masks, covered in blood.
The prick soothed, a cool liquid running through my veins. The pain subsided, the screaming stopped, all my muscles began to relax. Still though, I wanted Natsu.
I needed Natsu.
I could feel sleep tugging on my body yet again, only this time, it was peaceful and calming. My breathing went back to normal and I turned my head, feeling unconsciousness pull me under.
"Natsu..." I breathed out, as the darkness consumed me.
Gray POV
My sweet sleep was interrupted by the sounds of rustling coming from the darkness in front of me. Quiet footsteps followed by some rustling and then, the sounds of a key sliding into my lock. With silent movements, I snuck to the light and flipped the switch, catching my blue haired guest trying to get out. At two in the morning.
"Juvia, go back to bed. It's late. We can go back to your place in the morning," I groaned out, my voice still deep from exhaustion.
"Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama, but Juvia won't take Gray-sama's bed any longer so Gray-sama can get rest, too. Juvia can find her way home and then go to the hospital in the morning to see love rival and Natsu," she continued fumbling with the key, obviously still not even remotely rested enough to think straight.
"I can see from here you're not ready to be walking around. What if you get ambushed on the way home? How are you going to handle that without any magic power, whatsoever?"
"Juvia is fine, Gray-sama. Please lock Juvia out once she leave so Gray-sama can sleep safely just like Juvia will once she gets home."
"You've been trying to get in my bed for years, so just enjoy and go back to sleep. We all need rest to recover just how much magic we used to recover Lucy." I had made my way over to her and rested my hand groggily on top of hers, removing the key from her hands with soft, delicate fingers. Reluctantly, she released the key and stepped away from the door, eyes glued to the floor underneath her.
I sighed, placing the key back on it's hook beside the door and made my way to the kitchen, still not anywhere close to being awake, "Are you hungry? You're welcome to anything in here."
Silence.
With another sigh, I plopped onto the couch and patted the seat next to me, "What's wrong? It's not like you to be this down. Even when you literally passed out on the walk back, you were still talking."
She looked up at this, her blue eyes dull and blank, still in her clothes from the first day this whole thing began.
I stood up again when she didn't move and made my way to the closet, opening it up to find a large t-shirt. I spoke and tossed her the shirt, "Here, take this, go take a shower, calm down, and then we'll eat something and go back to bed, okay?"
She nodded, and headed into bathroom while I went into the kitchen and began making some soup, the only thing I knew how to make.
It took all of ten minutes and then she came out, dressed in my shirt that went down to her knees. A sense of pride swelled in my chest, seeing her in my shirt.
My arm extended, gesturing to the soup, and she sat, eating the soup in silence, while I stood, leaning against my fridge, admiring the blue haired beauty at my table.
She glanced up at me, "Shouldn't Gray-sama be eating as well?"
"Nah," I shook my head, "I'm not that hungry and I didn't feel like making two pots of soup."
Without another word, the water mage continued to eat her soup, still oddly quiet.
A quiet ringing from the living room caught my attention and I made my way to the couch, finding my phone that had been buried in the couch cushions. I picked it up, not bothering to look at the caller ID. Who else would be calling this late? "Hello?"
The voice that spoke from the other side was feminine and small, also obviously tired though, "Gray? It's Levy."
"Yeah. What's up?"
"It's Lucy."
Levy POV
The light slumber I managed to grasp was pulled away from me with a light tap on my forehead. I jerked up, blinking, and found none other than the burly iron dragon slayer, with hair even more untamed then when I left. Groaning, my body uncurled itself from it's awkward position in the chair, while my eyes flickered around the room to find a clock.
"What time is it?" I yawned, noticing the dark outside the windows.
"Almost two a.m. but I couldn't handle being the only one awake anymore," Gajeel grunted, plopping down in the chair beside me.
Glancing across the small area, I found a sleeping Lisanna, curled up just like I had been, sleeping soundly. Well, at least one of us was getting some amount of good sleep.
"You couldn't wait for me to get at least four hours?" my voice whined out, turning to face the piercings that covered his face.
He gave his signature laugh, but continued staring straight ahead, "Lucy's bound to be out soon anyway. At least that's what Natsu said at midnight before he finally fell asleep. Apparently he could feel her awake for a second. He said she was scared and trying to get to him."
I nodded, "How'd he take... ya know... talking about the stuff?"
Gajeel grinned and laughed quietly again, "Fine. He knew more than I thought he would. Guess all those years at the popular table did something for him. I'll tell you what though, the kid didn't dissapoint all those girls he's been with."
I stuck my tongue out in disgust, fake puking all the while. "I take it you don't have much experience?"
"Nope," I stated, shaking my head and popping the "p".
Awkward silence filled the room. "Do you?" I finally asked.
He looked at me, eyebrows raised, eyes full of shock. After a few moments, he recovered, going back to staring at the wall. "I was in a dark school for the majority of my teenage life. And on top of that, I was Principal's favorite. He pretty much let me do whatever and gave me anything I wanted."
"Oh," was all I could respond with. Disappointment filled my heart. What must he think of me then? Just an innocent little bookworm who knows nothing about anything in that department?
"It's not bad being in your shoes though. In fact," he glanced at me, "I'd rather be like you. Everything is numb to me now. Even having the talk with that pyro head didn't phase me."
I scoffed, "Wonder what your mate will think."
At that moment, Gajeel and I both looked at each other, and for once I didn't just see scorn and terror in them, but those crimson eyes held...
"Are you all friends of Lucy Heartfilia?" a nurse came through the door of the waiting room, ripping me from my seat.
"Yes, ma'am, we are," I spoke for all three of us, even Lisanna who had just been shaken awake and now groggily stared at the door.
"She's alright. She woke up during the procedures for a brief minute so we gave her some pain medication and put her back to sleep. She's stable, although she'll probably be recovering for weeks. We're about to move her to a room," the woman spoke and I could still see traces of blood on her uniform.
I was about to turn back to our small group when the nurse spoke once more, "Oh, when she woke up, she was screaming for somebody named 'Natsu'. Just thought I'd let you know."
Nodding, she left the room, telling us she'd be back to take us to Lucy. I turned back to Gajeel, eyes wide.
Gajeel simply humphed, "Well, the little bastard wasn't making it up."
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Only a few chapters left. Sorry for making everyone else play the waiting game waiting for chapters.
But hey, school starts soon. Woo.
~MelodyElaine