It was the day of the auction.
Lucy woke up early so that the girls could prep her for her day of festivities, dates and dancing. They'd thrown her into the shower bright and early, tugging her out of the steaming water once she began to fall asleep; they wrapped her in a towel and plunked her down in a chair. Juvia worked and putting her hair in big curlers, blow-drying the curls to hold them in place throughout the long day; Cana began to work on Lucy's nails, filing and digging out the dirt from underneath them, to her dismay. Levy and Erza worked on Lucy's makeup, coating her face in foundation, contouring and blushing her cheeks, powdering her to perfection. They gave her a perfect classic eyeliner and a cute nude-pink lip, doing her up until she looked like perfection. She tugged on her floral dress and they all gasped in awe, showering her with compliments. Then, they went off, headed back to their hotel room to get themselves all done up for the day as well.
Lucy stared at herself nervously in her mirror, glancing at her reflection uneasily. She felt a little weird, being all done up like this. A couple months ago, this had been her normal, but lately...she'd been far happier in her sweats and hoodies, hair in a ponytail or bun, no makeup. Now, like this, she looked like a stranger.
Lucy sighed, turning to look at her closet. Her eyes landed on something that had fallen to the floor; she reached down and grabbed it, intending to hang it back up. But the fabric was familiar in her hands and she frowned down at it, unsure of what it was.
She held it up, and the dress shook out, revealing itself. It was the ugly brown dress she'd worn to the dance in grade eight. It had long, lacy sleeves like a grandma would wear; the skirt had fallen in an awkward place between her knees and her feet, and the neckline crawled up far too high to be attractive in a modern age.
But, still. It screamed out to her, screamed out about the memories, the ones that were achingly similar to what she felt right now. And she knew she girls would kill her once they saw her, but she couldn't help it.
She tugged the form-fitting floral dress off and put the ugly brown dress on.
And it was like she was back in grade eight, hopelessly in love with her best friend who had the hots for someone else. And her heart ached because she was so sorry for doing this to herself yet again. She was sorry she was so weak and she was sorry she didn't protect herself better and she wished she could go back in time and never love Natsu because loving him was just pain and heartbreak.
But he was her best friend and was clearly involved with someone else and she loved him so much that she couldn't even be upset because he'd looked so happy.
The dress fit her differently, now. She'd grown—her body had changed. She had hips, now. Boobs. She was quite a bit curvier than before, and the dress clearly demonstrated that. It didn't look half bad, actually. Still a little vintage, still a little grandma-ish, but okay.
Lucy reached up and ripped at the neckline, pulling off the lace that was choking her. It ripped down along the seam on her chest, revealing a little bit of cleavage. She smiled at herself in the mirror, pleased with the results.
The dress fit nicely, and didn't look as old and ugly. In fact, she quite liked it. A mixture of the old and the new, combining to make something...nice. Lucy didn't mind this sort of combination. She felt like herself, like she belonged in this dress.
So, she headed off, nervous about the entire day before her.
Meanwhile, across the gap, a certain pink haired boy was just as nervous. It was just about time for him to head off to school, and he was sitting on his bed, looking down into his lap, looking over everything, hoping he had all he needed.
His fingers reached down and fiddled with the wads of cash in his lap, counting them over and over again. His fingertips were calloused and cracked and bloody and his eyes fucking stung because he was so goddamn exhausted but he didn't care, because this was the day.
He'd worked every day after school that entire week, desperate to save up enough cash to have a decent bet for Lucy. Not that he thought betting on her for a date was a decent thing to do—he felt a little scummy having to buy time with her, like she was an object—but he couldn't stand the idea of her going on a date with a single other person. He'd already watched her go out on a date with Gray, and that had nearly killed him. To think someone else might win her date, to think that maybe even Gray would take her out again....well, that didn't sit well with Natsu.
So, he'd figured the only thing he could do was bet on her. At the start of this week, he'd had approximately thirteen dollars in his wallet—not exactly prime betting material. He wouldn't win the date with Lucy with thirteen dollars.
So, he'd asked Lisanna if her parents would hire him after school. They had the biggest house in town and had a major plot of land that was filled with landscaping—orchards, berries, flowers, veggies, everything. He'd begged the girl to ask her parents to hire him. She'd asked why, and he'd told her the truth: he was in love with Lucy and had to win the date with her at the auction. Lisanna had laughed and said it was no problem, that her parents would be more than willing.
Thirteen bucks an hour, and Natsu could work as long as he wanted after school. So, he did. He worked from three till eleven every night that week. He'd broken his back digging up dirt and planting flowers and trimming their shrubs to perfection. He'd moved rocks and he'd cut trees and he'd watered their entire orchard, which took nine fucking years practically. And he'd come every night and he'd fall asleep right there, in his grubby, dirty clothes, but he didn't mind because he had to save up enough.
Thirteen bucks an hour, eight hours a day after school, five days in a row. Five hundred and twenty dollars. Add on his initial thirteen dollars, and he officially had five hundred and thirty three dollars.
He prayed that it was enough.
Lisanna and her parents had taken him out for dinner the night before as a treat, since he'd worked so hard and made their yard look so impressive. He'd accepted—what, was he supposed to say no to his boss?
But he'd seen Lucy and she'd left all of a sudden and she looked upset, and he swore he was going to come home and make sure she was okay but he had to clean up the Strauss' garden because he had to save up enough to bet on Lucy. By the time he'd come home, she'd already be fast asleep, preparing for the auction.
But now he was sitting on his bed making sure he had all of his money, making sure he had every single penny because he couldn't leave anything behind.
There a movement in his window and his eyes snapped up and Lucy was there. His heart melted on the spot and he watched her as she spun, looking at herself in the mirror. She was all done up, but was wearing an older dress—he recognized it now; it was in fact the one dress she owned a couple years ago. She straightened out the brown dress and wiped her lips, taking off a bit of the lipstick and then nodded at herself in her mirror, okay with what she saw, and then turned and left her room, never noticing Natsu's presence.
He didn't realize his jaw had dropped until he'd forgotten to swallow and drool spilled down his chin.
She was so pretty, and his heart ached. He clutched the money in his hand and grabbed his bag, dashing out the door, desperate to get the day going.
Both of them had sweaty palms, searching in the crowds for each other, as the school's festivities began. There were no classes—there was a bake sale and fair in the gymnasium and activities in every single classroom run by the faculty. Lucy was taken away by the principal, who rounded up all of the girls who were up for sale at the auction; they were hauled backstage and were told their cues, where to stand when they were put on stage, on display for all potential buyers.
Natsu spent the entire day going from activity to activity, looking for her, grumbling as he was forced to paint or draw or do stupid activities in each room. All he wanted to do was find her, be beside her. He'd missed her so much and he was so sore and tired and she was the only thing that would make it better.
But he didn't find her and the day progressed and the auction was starting soon. Everyone was ushered to the gym and it was packed and sweaty in there, but Natsu didn't care. He shoved his way to the front of the gym, hands clamped around the money in his hand.
The lights turned off and kids gasped; the spotlight hit the stage.
It was starting. Natsu clung to his money, heart hammering and stomach flopping nervously.
He had to win.