Imaginary Chapter 15: Dancing Shoes

~0~

Age: 16

Juvia Lockster.

The girl painted in blue and sea.

When I met her during the early ages of preschool, she was a quiet and odd little girl. Half of the time she sat alone in the very corner of the classroom and played with her handmade dolls which were created by her own bare hands. I became friends with her at some point, though I had no idea how we started talking in the first place. It was good to have a friend like Juvia. She was a listener and was often silent when I was talking, but as we aged and our friendship strengthened, Juvia slowly began to grow more confident. Her parents decided to transfer her to a private school, which was on the other side of Magnolia so there was no way we were able to contact each other.

The night was quiet and the bakery started to empty out. It was then, a young woman stepped through the front door which rang with a high pitched 'ding!', and there stood Juvia. Now fairly tall and fit. Her skin was pale and the tips of her blue hair was curled right above her shoulders. She looked different and yet, she didn't seem to have changed at all.

"Lucy?" She said, as though unsure, but her eyes suddenly lit up and she quickly ran over to the counter I was at, "Thank goodness you're still here. Juvia thought your shift ended so Juvia wasn't sure if you were going to be still here."

I chuckled, "Actually, my shift ended about a minute ago. I'm just packing up."

Juvia paled and she bit on her lip as her eyes darted to the side, "Juvia isn't…disturbing you is she? Juvia can always come back another day-"

"No, no. It's fine! I have all the time in the world, we can sit and have some tea if you want—or coffee. I mean, it's really late, the least I can do is offer you a drink, right?" I shrugged and flashed a grin at her.

She nodded and we both took a seat at a table near the large window by the entrance. I placed two cups of tea between the both of us, in the middle sat a small basket of table bread, and I could tell Juvia was dying to taste them.

"You can eat those, you know?" I gestured the bread towards her. Juvia's eyes widened and her hand immediately shot out to grab a piece of bread and quickly bit on it, savouring the taste for at least a full minute.

"Sorry. Juvia's lesson went a bit longer than usual today." She mumbled with a mouthful of bread, and her cheeks were painted with a light tint of red.

"Oh, it's that guy again isn't it?" I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged her shoulder playfully, she slapped my hand away in playful annoyance and stuffed yet another bread, into her mouth.

"It's— not like that. He doesn't like Juvia that way."

"But Juvia likes him that way."

She opened her mouth, as though to retort, but quickly snapped it shut and continued to chew on the piece of bread.

"You know, you still haven't told me his name." I pointed out. Not only that but I had never seen him before. She talked about him, constantly, and yet he still remained so mysterious.

"Oh, Juvia is sure you'll find out eventually."

"How soon is eventually?"

"Eventually." She repeated. Juvia stared into space as though in deep thought. That was the thing about her, you never know what was going on in her head.

It was then, an idea suddenly struck to me. An idea that would surely get her to bring the mysterious guy along. Because there was no way a girl like her, would turn down such an offer—right?

"Say, Juvia." I said, and leaned in close with a smug smile on my lips, "Do you like to dance?"

She blinked, and continued to stare at me, intrigued by my words, "She thinks so."

"Do you like to wear pretty dresses while you dance with the guy you like?"

Her eyes widened and they danced with excitement, "Lucy, what is this about?"

"Well, the school that I'm going to is hosting a prom and it's going to start next week. So I was wondering if you would like to go with that guy? There's going to be food and music and dancing—trust me, it's going to be a lot of fun." I grinned as I said that. Though I wasn't completely sure about the last part, according to the what they said about last year's prom I supposed it was going to be just as good as long as we hired the same DJ, the same food and held it at the same place.

"Juvia…" She trailed off, a little hesitant but the excitement in her eyes never died. After a short moment, she released a sigh along with a smile. "Juvia decided she will go—and she'll invite the guy to go with her too. But, she's not sure if he'll want to go, especially with her." She murmured the last bit and sinked into her seat.

"I'm sure he'll want to go. Why wouldn't he? The only reason he wouldn't want to go would be if he didn't know how to dance."

"Actually, he knows how to dance and—he's pretty good at it." She blushed at the word pretty and fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat.

I raised a brow at her expression. Something was definitely going on between them and the anticipation to meet him only intensified.

"Do you have a dress, Juvia?"

She winked, "The prettiest."

For the rest of the night we continued to talk about our personal lives. She talked about her school and the guy she was teaching swimming, and I talked about my school and the bakery. And so, we chatted until the darkest hours of the night—in other words, we talked until she finished her table bread and the last person in the bakery had left the building. Before she left, we hugged again and I made her promise to go the prom next week and to make sure she was going to bring the guy too, because damn, did I want to know what he looked like.

When Juvia had left and the bakery went dark except for the space we occupied, I continued to stay seated in my seat. Out from the corner of my eye, I saw Natsu with his back facing me, he stood over a rack of magazines and he was reading an article about dragons and wizards.

"Hey Natsu, my shift just ended. Want some tea?"

He turned around and grinned that awesome grin again.

"Hell yeah."

He plopped on the seat across from me with grace, and quickly took hold of his cup, stretching it out towards me. I swallowed thickly when I felt his eyes burned against mine as I took hold of the teapot, my hands trembled and everything felt warm.

"The prom, huh?" He murmured, his chin tucked against the palm of his hand, he was staring out into space just like what Juvia was doing before, except he looked like he was having an epiphany.

"What about it?" I asked as I poured the tea into his cup and stopped right above the stain of brown.

"Are you going to go?"

I sighed and shrugged, "I don't know. I kind of want to go, yet at the same time, I don't want to."

"Because you don't have a date?"

"Well—" I paused. There was no point denying it. He knew me too well for me to lie. I sucked in a deep breath and nodded, "Because I don't have a date."

And that was that. He stayed silent and so did I, but unlike most of our silences, it felt weird. There was an odd tension that lingered around us and it had put me in an awkward position, I guess I could say the same to Natsu since he kept glancing out the window.

"Do you want to go?" His voice cut through the tension like a knife. My head shot up to find his eyes boring into mine. "I mean, like, go together to the prom?"

I blinked and looked at him strangely, "I thought you don't dance?" I mused.

"We don't need to. We can be those loners who stand by the punch table and point at all the lame dance movements and judge the DJ's taste in music. Personally, I think that's way better than dancing."

I felt the edges of my lips twitch into a smile. I had to admit, that did sound much better than dancing—not that I could dance or liked dancing, anyway.

"Yeah, why not." I nodded, "Let's do this."

"Right on." He pumped his fist into the air and grinned, "Oh but just to warn you, I look terrible in a tux."

"And I look terrible in a dress. So I guess we're on the same boat."

We laughed and clinked our cups before we drank it—well, at least I did.

I froze.

I stared at the cup in his hands, and how his reflection didn't show in the tea.

Biting my bottom lip, I asked, "Are you not going to drink that?"

Natsu's stare seemed to have hardened when I said that. His eyebrows furrowed as he chewed on his cheek while his eyes never left mine. He placed the cup down carefully onto his saucer.

"Luce," He started and my name sounded throaty and hoarse, "Are you okay?"

What kind of question was that?

"I'm fine? Natsu you still haven't answered my question."

He stilled, and his eyes closed while his breathing remained constant, then, they snapped open and I saw the fade in his eyes again. "You've been acting a bit strange lately—and by that I mean you've been acting like a weirdo."

"Natsu I don't-"

"Lucy, I can't eat or drink anything."

I blinked.

My heart pounded against my ears.

I couldn't breathe.

It was then, a wave of overwhelming realisation slammed against me. After all those months, all those moments I kept forgetting and I kept believing. All those times when we were together, whenever I asked him if he was going to drink it or eat it. I had forgotten the moments at the swing when he wouldn't drink his juice box or when he never ate sandwiches.

I forgot that he wasn't real.

"O-oh right, my bad." I chuckled, my voice cracking in the middle and I knew I was doing a terrible job at hiding my emotions. "I'm pretty stressed recently so I tend to—forget—sometimes. Strange, isn't it?"

He grabbed hold of my shoulders in a tight grip, his dark orbs burned.

"Lucy-"

"You're so real." I said quietly, "You are so, so real. Am I going crazy Natsu? Am I?"

He shook his head and his grip tightened by every word, "We're all crazy Luce. We live in a crazy world filled with crazy people."

"I know that, it's just that I'm crazier than others."

We sat there in silence. Two cups placed in the middle. One was empty while the other was full. It seemed to have run cold.

I looked outside to find the darkness of the night screaming at me. It was black. All black.

The door to the kitchen creaked open and out came Erza, dressed from top to bottom in fur and red. Her eyes squinted when she saw me, a hand was placed on her hip and her lips opened to mouth a gasp.

"Lucy? What are you doing here so late?" Her eyes darted to the cups, "Were you talking to someone?"

I looked at Natsu, then back at Erza.

"No."

Natsu's smile was bittersweet.

~0~

When we went to sleep, we exchanged no words. Happy was already curled comfortably at the edge of the bed. There was only us and a sleeping cat who gently snored.

I climbed into bed and wrapped myself in the covers and made sure I was sleeping facing the window, so I could see the sun shine when I woke up. Then, I felt an arm, his arm, and warm hands and rough fingers hugged my stomach. He was so close I could hear his quiet breathing.

We stayed in that position for the longest time, at least, until I fell asleep. My mind was constantly repeating the scenes from earlier. I reminded myself of Juvia, the prom, Natsu, his existence and even Erza. My heart was struggling like a caged animal.

I could feel his eyes. He wasn't asleep yet and I wasn't either. Together, we looked at the street outside. The night was dark but lovely at the same time. It was quiet for thinking, which was a good thing—I think.

I looked down at his arm and I noticed how we were positioned. Everything seemed to fit like a puzzle and it felt perfect.

~0~

The school was decorated in webs of vines and flowers. Hand drawn sparkles and stars were pasted across the walls of the hallways and the gym had an entire mural of them. From the ceilings hung various mythological creatures like unicorns, gryphons and fairies. I had to admit, the committee really outdid themselves and it was a massive improvement from the year before.

I stood in the middle of the gym as I surveyed the area. There were a few guys who were moving some furniture and props in while the girls quietly planned and decorated the gym. It was then I noticed, in the middle of the podium sat the crowns for prom King and Queen. They were made out of cheap plastic, but if you looked at it from afar, it actually looked like metal or gold. Nevertheless, the crowns actually looked quite appealing. Though I still didn't really understand the need for prom King and Queen as it would probably be the same people every year, or at least, the same people nominated every year.

"Lu-chan."

I spun around and found Levy walking towards me. In her arms she carried a stack of art materials, most likely for the decorations or the banners.

She sucked in a deep breath, "I have to tell you something."

I took a step closer. My ear was close and I felt my brain stacked with questions.

"He's coming." She mumbled, "Gajeel is coming."

I nodded, understanding the situation, "Alone?"

Levy shook her head and chewed on her lip,"He's going to bring her, as his date."

"Oh Levy." I hugged her, tight, and I could feel her hands gripping on the fabric of my clothes.

"I'm okay." She breathed out, "I'm okay."

"I know." I whispered as I soothed her hair. "You're coming right?"

She chuckled softly, "Of course I am. I'm not going to miss out on prom just because of my asshole of a crush." Then, a pause, and her head was tilted up to face me and a small playful smile painted her lips, "Are you going to bring anyone Lu-chan?"

"Well I—" I thought about Natsu, "No. I'm going alone."

"Weird. I thought someone would definitely ask you out."

"Keep dreaming Levy." I snorted and together, we walked towards where the other girls were. Cana, Mirajane and Erza were circled around a large banner that read: WELCOME TO YOUR FAIRY TAIL PRINCESSES AND PRINCES. I cringed at the pun they made but it seemed effective enough.

We knelt down beside them, a brush in each of our hands while Cana held onto a large bottle of glitter and a bottle of beer. Was she even sober?

"Cana, glitter please." Mirajane said.

"Kay." Cana mumbled and nearly dumped the whole bottle of glitter.

"Cana!" We screamed and quickly secured her and the bottle of glitter. Erza was quick to snatch the beer away from Cana's yearning fingers and she held it up, high in the air, as though mocking the poor girl who was getting pinned down.

"I told you not to drink." Erza hissed.

She shrugged, "Weeell I can't help it. You don't know what you're missing out on." Cana slurred and giggled, rubbing her cheeks with the remaining glitter on her hands.

Erza sighed and ordered Mirajane and Levy to clean her up and bring her to the infirmary. When they were gone, the red head turned to me, her arms folded and on her lips played an odd smile.

"I'm impressed Lucy. Everyone seems to enjoy your idea a lot, and so do I." She sat down and we continued to paint the letters, "I have a feeling this year's prom will be the best."

I couldn't help but to nod with a grin, "I think so too. The decorations and preparations seem to be going well and there's a surprising amount of people who said they're going to be attending."

Her eyes widened and she suddenly snapped her head over to me, "Speaking of attending, are you going Lucy?" Erza asked.

"I am," I paused and shrugged, "But sadly, I'm going alone."

"Glad to see that I'm not the only one that's part of the 'I-don't-have-a-date' club." We laughed and went back to refining the details.

For the rest of the hour, we sat in silence as we embraced the busy chatter from the committee and volunteers. I felt a feeling of happiness swirl inside me, a kind of feeling that I didn't want to stop.

I looked up to find an array of flowers and vines plastered across the gym, and it was as if I was really in my own little fairy tale.

~0~

The bakery was taking a break for a day and me, Natsu and Happy decided to go for a little adventure.

There was still a lot of things to learn about Magnolia, too little time for too many things. Like, how some flowers would bloom and some flowers would wither during the strangest seasons, or how there was at least twelve different interpretations of the town anthem.

I spent a ton of time trying to catch up with them. We talked about school and our memories from the past. I talked about fish and a cat named Charle with Happy, I talked about silly stuff with Natsu and listened with patience as he ranted about the colour of his hair.

It was until the riverbank near the harbour that we stopped and took a seat at a bench with a broken street light hovering over us.

"Let's do something fun." Happy said excitedly.

"No way Happy, we're totally worn out. " Natsu groaned and pushed the flying feline away from his face.

"It's so boring here! Can we at least get some fish? As much as I love your cakes Lucy, it's getting kind of old."

"Y-you're the one that's getting kind of old!" I retorted rather lamely.

Natsu raised a brow, "Wow, what a great comeback."

"I learn from the best."

"So?" Happy questioned in annoyance, "Are we going to get fish or not? The fish guy is probably gone by now and fishing hour is almost over! Come on Luuuuushhyy!"

I sighed, "Happy."

"Fine! Be that way! Let my poor stomach starve itself. You're both monsters!" Happy wailed and flew towards the apartment.

Natsu and I laughed as we watched the flying feline disappear. The sun was setting and shops were closing. Fishermen waved and running kids shouted "have a good day miss!" I inhaled the rich sent of Magnolia and basked in the warmth of the sun. Everything at that moment felt so right and quiet. I could just melt right there and then.

"You have too much hair." I heard Natsu softly murmur behind me.

He held my hair back from my face and danced his fingers in the tangled webs, a hum escaped his lips and a smile played against them. His fingers were rough, but soothing all at the same time and he smelled like the morning of Magnolia with a mixture of spice and coal. I squeezed his hand, once, just to let him know everything was going to be all right.

I tried to imagine he was real. I tried to believe the fingers in my hair and the hand that I was holding were in the flesh.

I closed my eyes and a feeling so warm and painful fluttered inside me.

And it felt so wrong and right all at the same time.

~0~

"I have to admit Luce, I have a pretty good taste in fashion."

"Oh shut up Natsu." I grumbled and I felt my face turn hot. It was then, a sudden thought struck to me. I went quiet and I shuffled uncomfortably in my spot, "The only reason why I agreed to let you choose my dress is because— well— I wasn't feeling well. I had a—uh—stomach ache! That's right."

"Uh huh, a stomach ache prevented you from choosing your own dress." He said obviously unconvinced. Then, he brought a box over and opened it before he threw me the very same pair of heels I wore during Natsu's so-called 'Birthday Surprise'. He shot his index finger out towards the heels in front of me and said, "Those, are going to look great on you."

I turned to the mirror beside me and I saw myself with my hair tied in a bun and a pink dress that went to my knees. It wasn't very revealing and it wasn't super short. I had to admit, it did look pretty good on me. Not bad Natsu.

It was finally prom night and I was nervous. Not because of what I was going to look like or if I end up tripping over the snack table, it was because I couldn't stop thinking of what the students will think of the theme, the arrangement, the decorations, the food, the music— I was pretty much a nervous wreck. The only reason why I was going was because I was part of the committee. I didn't need to dance so I wondered why Natsu wanted me to wear a dress. Though, I didn't mind that he was wearing a fancy suit that looked way too good on him. I didn't mind at all.

Suddenly, my dad erupted from his bedroom, thankfully sober. He looked at me with an odd look, he didn't seem angry or stressed, he seemed rather surprised.

"Hi dad." I greeted with a quaver in my voice.

For the longest moment, he was silent. Quiet with his lips drawn into a tight line. Soon the silence was over and his mouth opened to speak.

"Why are you dressed up?"

"It's prom night."

"Really?" He murmured and nodded his head. With a raise of what looked like a… thumbs up, he said the words that shocked me to the very core.

"Good luck Lucy."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and I tried to figure out if he was serious or drunk in the way that I couldn't tell. But for some reason, I knew he was dead serious. And that was what scared me. The fact that he was sober and saying those words after years of neglect—it was too good to be true.

"Thanks Dad."

And that was that.

He went back into his room and I stood there, in a pink dress and a pair of heels ready to concur the world with a smile and tears that threatened to fall.

"Are you ready Lucky Lucy? Are you ready for an adventure?" Natsu smirked and held his arm out.

I smiled back and took his arm into a tight hold, "I don't think I've ever been this ready. Shall we go?"

"We shall."

It didn't take long for us to arrive to school. At such a late hour, the subway was pretty empty and the streets seemed pretty abandoned as well. We looked at the building in front of us, it was glowing bright with fluorescent colours, a banner titled 'ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE KINGDOM OF FAIRY TAIL THERE WAS A PROM…" I chuckled at the words and Natsu merely scoffed. Student after student flooded in and I was surprised at how many showed were all dressed in stunning dresses and designer suits, some came in limos and some came in the same way we did. At that moment, I felt incredibly proud of the committee and how much effort they had put into the prom. Everyone was happy, everyone was having fun, it seemed almost magical.

Then, we entered the gym and that was when my jaw dropped at the sight.

It was amazing.

Vines and flowers were decorated across the walls, mythical creatures hung from the celling along with some colourful lights and balloons. The dance floor was filled with students and the entire committee was there. Erza and Mirajane were handling the snack table, Cana was dancing with a guy and Levy—

"Levy!" I cried out and ran towards my best friend who stood in the middle of the crowd, but I stopped. I blinked once, twice, just to make sure I was seeing things correctly. Levy dancing, but not by herself, she was dancing with Gajeel.

I widened my eyes in shock, but my mouth turned into a grin as I watched her laugh and twirl. Whatever happened between the two of them, what mattered at that moment was that they were having fun and Levy was okay. She turned and looked at me with a bright smile and mouthed out,

"Thank you."

Then, she turned back to her knight in shining armour and danced her heart out. I went back to Natsu who looked at me with a satisfied look and nodded before we headed over to the snack table. Mirajane was in charge of the punch and Erza was in charge of the food.

"Hey Lucy!" Mirajane gasped and surveyed my attire, "You look amazing."

"I could say the same about the both of you." I said towards the dresses they were both wearing. Mirajane wore a long white dress that ended at her ankles and Erza wore a black strapless dress that ended a little above her knees. The difference between the two of them was like night and day. Mirajane looked elegant and serene while Erza was dangerous and wild. Regardless, they both looked beautiful.

"I see you weren't kidding. You really did come alone." Erza mused.

For a moment I was caught off guard by her words, but they quickly registered to me and I looked at Natsu before I looked back at Erza. With my lips curved into a bright smile I gave Natsu's arm a soft squeeze. "I guess so."

"You know, I think the committee really outdid themselves this year." Mirajane beamed at the gym full of students and decorations.

Me and Erza nodded, "I'm pretty surprised we managed to do all this under such a tight budget." Erza added, "Everyone loves the theme. Well done Lucy."

I shook my head, "All this wouldn't be possible without your leadership. You managed to lead a whole team of teenagers to do all this! I'd say that's incredibly impressive Erza."

"Guys stop the talking and drink up!" Cana suddenly barged in with four cups of punch in her hands. I widened my eyes at how skilful she held them in her hands.

We laughed and took a cup each before we clinked our cups and drank the punch.

"I thought you only drink beer Cana." Mirajane asked the girl with wild brown webs.

Cana frowned, "Got confiscated by one of the committee nerds." She mumbled and bitterly drank the last bit of her punch.

"Serves you right." Erza scoffed.

"Hey, what did you just say to me Scarlett? Wanna say that a little louder?" Cana gritted and took one step towards Erza, their eyes glaring at one another.

I sweat dropped at the scene while Mirajane merely stood there with the same smile as always. Suddenly, I felt Natsu nudge my side and motioned me to look at the entrance. And there walked in Juvia Lockster, in a blue gown with blue shoes and blue everything. She was dripping with blue.

I quickly excused myself before I ran over to her. Her eyes widened once she saw me through the crowd and we both went in for a hug, I laughed and pulled back, still amazed at the amount of blue she had on.

"Juvia! You came!"

"Of course! Juvia won't ever miss an event like this, not in a million years." Her eyes went wide as she looked around the gym, her mouth opened in awe, "This is absolutely beautiful. How did the committee manage to make this place look so—magical?" She breathed out, mesmerised by the sight.

"Lots of paint and a lot of people." We laughed and made our way in.

I introduced her to a few people, main friends and the people who took part in the making of the prom. After we were done we settled by the snack table and stood there, talking and observing the dance floor while the sky turned dark and peaceful.

At some point Natsu had disappeared, but I figured he just went to make fun of the DJ or some shitty dancers. It was then, a thought suddenly struck to me. I totally forgot about the mysterious guy Juvia was always talking about.

"Hey Juvia, didn't you say you were going to come with a special someone?" I wiggled my eyebrows and nudged her arm suggestively.

"Oh!" She gasped, her eyes widened in realisation, "Juvia thinks he went to the bathroom. But he should've been back a while ago." She murmured, as though unsure.

I was beginning to doubt the guy she was talking about was even real or if he was even there. But knowing Juvia's character, she was a pretty genuine person. She wouldn't lie about something like this.

Before I could carry on the conversation, in the middle of the crowd stood Natsu. He stood still, unmoving, with a wide grin and faded eyes. His hand shot up and motioned me to come, move, it was time for an adventure.

Everything snapped into focus. I moved. The gym was loud and I could feel it vibrating all over. It was dark and the dance floor was a mess of bodies, hands all over each other, feet clashing into one another, it was dark yet the light was so blinding. The closer I went towards him the further he went. He kept repeating the same words and the grin never left his lips. My hands reached out to grab him, to signal him that I was there. To no avail, the bodies soon blocked me from his retreating figure and I felt myself sink in the crowd.

I pushed onward and I was suddenly out of the crowd. I blinked and I gasped for air, before I could even clear my thoughts, Natsu appeared once again but this time, he pushed open a door and exited into the outside. Without hesitation, I ran towards the door, out of breath, his voice still rang in the air, echoing across the room, the music and the laughter were muffled out.

I pushed open the door and I ran without knowing where I was going. My vision felt blurry and my heart pounded against my ears with the mixture of Natsu's voice. He was running in front of me. I didn't even know where I was or where I was going. And it was then, I was so close to him, I could reach him, just grab him—

"Natsu!"

Before I knew it, I felt myself engulfed in water.

It was then I realised, I had fallen into the school's swimming pool. I waved my arms around desperately, my feet kicked and all I could see were bubbles. Panic. Panic. Was all that was in my mind. Water was everywhere and I just wanted to get out.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and I was being hauled up. They weren't Natsu's arms, I was sure of that. My panic only increased at the sudden contact. I couldn't see their face, but I knew they were a male. My feet kicked and I screamed against the water.

With one quick pull, my head was out of the water and I breathed in a mouth full of air and coughed. My heart was still racing and my arms and legs had stopped fighting. Slowly, my head turned back and—

"Are you okay?"

Oh God.

Oh God.

This can't be true.

I realised with a wash of horror that that definitely wasn't in my head.

"Gray?" I breathed out, the words were stuck in my throat.

No. It can't be.

"Miss me?" He chuckled nervously. His voice—God—how long has it been? HIs voice was deep, smooth and he looked so much more mature. His features were sharp and his body was no longer thin and bony, but it was now muscular and fit.

Gray Fullbuster, was back.

I gulped, "I-I see y-you can swim now."

"Well, I've been taking swimming classes." He smiled lamely and shrugged before he hugged me tighter and we were still floating in the middle of the swimming pool.

"It's been so long Lucy." He whispered.

"I know Gray."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

I closed my eyes and I let the tears fall.

~0~

Gray Fullbuster stood there, body still wet and hair in a ruffled dripping mess. His fancy tux was drying on one of the sun beds and he was left half naked with a pair of saggy pants that hung by his hips. He was something like out of a modelling magazine: handsome, tall, muscular and his habit of stripping aged along with him.

The prom was still going and the music was still booming.

Natsu never appeared.

"I'm guessing you're Juvia's mystery date." I eyed him carefully. Of course he was the guy Juvia was head over heals with. Of fucking course. How could I have been so blind?

"She talked about me?" He raised a brow, "Well, congratulations miss Heartifilia you got it right. Here's your prize: satisfaction." He grinned wildly and made extravagant gestures with his hands. I bursted with laughter and nudged his side playfully, and we both ended up laughing for hours on end for no reason whatsoever.

Eventually, we stopped and calmed down. There was unspoken words dangling between us, questions and answers ghosted against our lips. But the thing was, we were totally fine with it. There were words that were better left unsaid. And at that moment, we were a team again.

Gray sighed as he looked at the structure of the school then back at me, "I can barely recognise anything now. Everything looked so different when we were younger. "

I hummed in agreement, "A lot of things can happen in 6 years. You know the guy who worked at the parlour near the harbour?"

"You mean the guy with the funny moustache?"

"Yep and guess what? He moved to Clover Town."

He looked at me, wide eyed, "No way. I thought he hated that place."

"That's what we all thought. Apparently, he loves it there."

"You know what we should do? Send him one of those ugly souvenirs from those cheap shops near the train station— they still have those right? We should get him a cup signed by the other less hairy guy that ran the meat shop across from him."

"And he can sign the cup in pink."

"And a picture of them photoshopped in wedding dresses."

"And a pattern of a four leaf clover."

"Oh my God, we're such geniuses."

"He'll be so mad, I can already imagine him smashing the cup to pieces." We laughed.

Soon, Gray's laughter died out and he frowned. His eyebrows drawn together and his eyes were shut, "Damn, I really missed a shit ton of things."

"Yeah."

We grew silent. The music was getting slower, calmer, sadder even. The night was dark and empty. I bet if I stared hard and long at it I could spot at least a few stars, the rare ones, that hung unseen and hidden in the blankets of darkness.

The canvas of night was waiting to be painted with discoveries and it seemed to call out to me and Gray and—

Natsu.

"How have you been doing?" Gray asked, his voice had gone slightly quiet.

"I've been," I paused, "surviving."

He shot me a look of concern, but only for a short moment, before his expression turned neutral. We stared at the swimming pool and the way our reflection wavered along the water. He tapped his foot for a lack of words and I started to hum.

"So," He started but paused and bit his bottom lip. He was nervous, hesitant. Then, he said towards my reflection, "How's Natsu?"

I knew he was going to ask that at some point and I wasn't caught off guard, in fact, I had been preparing for that moment for the longest time.

"He's still here."

"Here? Like, right now?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I'd like to meet him one day."

"I think you will."

It was odd. The fact that I was talking about someone that was—not really there, felt strange. It had been years since I last talked about Natsu, and the last person I talked to about him was Gray.

"I hope he hasn't forgotten about me." Gray mumbled with a fake pout.

I chuckled, "I don't think he ever will."

Prom was supposed to be a night for being young and falling in love, but mostly we wasted time watching the stars slowly appear.

~0~

Standing in front of my apartment was none other than Natsu Dragneel still dressed in a fancy suit and a rose in his pocket.

I eyed him warily. My dress was still wet and in my hand I held onto a pair of black heels. The moonlight painted part of his face in the way that I never thought would look so—fascinating. He wore a smile and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Natsu I met-"

He placed a finger on my lips. I merely stared at him, wondering what in the world was going to happen next. We stood there, outside the door to my apartment, the front lights weren't even on and the night was dead silent. Then, from behind him, he revealed a stereo and it came alive with a quick click of a button.

"Natsu," I said slowly, "What is this?"

"What do you think this is?" He grinned, "It's our very own prom."

"But we just came from prom."

"You didn't dance so it didn't count."

"Natsu-"

"This is our floor now." He took my hand into his. Our fingers were intertwined and his free hand took hold of my waist. Music filled the air and it was classy and slow. The hand on my hip guided me to the beat and the grin on his lips never left.

Eventually, I gave in and rested my chin on his shoulder and breathed in the moment. It felt so calm and good. Whatever I was going to tell him about Gray was completely buried into the back of my mind. It was only me and him, dancing under the dark sky.

"I thought you didn't dance?" I smirked.

"I thought you didn't either?" He smirked back.

"Touché."

Silence fell between us. His taste in music wasn't bad at all, in fact, it was pretty good. It wasn't anything upbeat like the songs at prom, they were the complete opposite.

There was a long moment. I could feel his eyes burning into the back of my head, and it caught my breath tight in my throat. He was, perhaps, the biggest mystery in the whole entire world. There was so much to learn about him, so much to discover and it was only a matter of time before he—

Disappeared.

I sighed, "This is nice."

"Glad you like it," He said and his grin brushed against my hair, "Sorry that there aren't any fancy lights or… fairies and unicorns."

I laughed, "Honestly, I feel like I'm in my own little fairy tale right now."

"Oh?" He mused, "Who am I? Am I your knight that rides on a white horse in cheap halloween armour?"

"Nope." I hummed into his neck and we continued to sway to the beat, "You're my fire breathing dragon."

"A dragon?" He laughed, "That's more like it."

And that was that.

The next song played and we continued to dance.

"By the way, where did you get the stereo?" I inquired.

Natsu chuckled nervously, "Hush, less talking and more dancing."

He squeezed my hand, once, as if to tell that everything was going to be all right.

And it was.

~0~

Author's note:

GRAY'S BACK OH MY GOD WOOOOOOOO now stop asking about gray your husbando is finally here.

Initially, I wanted him to return during her college years, but this idea sounded a lot better. Tada! Juvia's mystery student is finally revealed!

Okay, so I lied about updating a christmas chapter and I'm so sorry about that, but hey, here's a chapter with over 6000 words and Gray is back too! Also, this is the last chapter of Lucy's high school years. We'll be entering her college years very soon and I'm soooo excited! Drama, romance and angst awaits everyone!

Not to mention, I'm going to be posting a new NaLu story soon. so please check that out if you have the time! It's a medieval au where Lucy is a princess and Natsu is a knight assigned as her bodyguard. It's a lot less depressing than this story.

Reviews are cococoCOOOL!