Lucy Heartfilia

Beep... Beep... Beep…

"Lucy… where are you?"

"I'm here, Wendy. I'm right here."

"Lucy… I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Wendy. Your sister is here. After this, we can go home. We finished recording, so we can finally see Mommy and Daddy again very soon. It'll be okay."

"Big sis…"

"Just hold on, okay? They'll come soon!"

"Lu… cy…"

Beep—

"Wendy? Wake up! Wendy!"

"Wake up!" I hear someone say. "Lucy! Get up already!"

"Huh?" I say. I rub my eyes. It is the owner of the orphanage, Makarov.

"It's time to go to school!" he says. "Hurry up!"

"Okay, okay, Gramps," I grumble. He leaves my room with an exaggerated sigh. I grab my uniform and quickly change into it. I was dreaming of that time again. My chest feels heavy. I shake my head and slap my cheeks. I shouldn't think about it. More like, I do not have time to think! I am almost late for school!

I grab my bag and run down the stairs. The Gramps and the kids are already at the table, eating.

"Morning Lucy!" one of the kids say. "You're finally up!"

"Morning Romeo," I quickly reply. I sit on the table and force all the food Gramps made into my stomach.

"Hey!" the person sitting next to me shouts. "If you eat that fast, you'll get a stomach ache."

I glare at him. "Shut up, kid. We're going to be late! Hurry up, or I'll leave without you."

He groans. "You call me kid, but I'm only a month younger than you. And my name is Sting, not kid."

"A kid is a kid!" I shout back, sticking my tongue at him.

Suddenly, Gramps slams his chopsticks on the table, clattering the dishes. "Geez, you two!" he shouts. "Stop arguing and eat!"

Sting and I exchange glares and then politely nod to Gramps. I mentally groan. It's always Sting's fault that we get in trouble with Gramps. We quickly finish eating and thank him for the food. Then we run out the door. If we start running now, we may make it in time.

Well, I guess I should give a brief introduction on who I am. My name is Lucy Heartfilia. This idiot running beside me is Sting Eucliffe. We are orphans, living in Fairy Tail Orphanage. It is a very comforting place. Everyone in the orphanage treats each other as family. Most of the kids are around five to ten in age. Sting and I are the oldest, sixteen-years-old. Well, Sting has been in the orphanage longer than me, though.

"Whew, we're here," Sting says. "Just in time."

I look around. For some reason, there are crowds around our school. Security guards dressed in black suits are keeping the students from going wild. I see tall men holding huge cameras with a reporter standing in front of it. Is that a news broadcasting station? "What's going on?" I say, bewildered.

"Ah," Sting says. "There was this rumor that this famous celebrity was going to attend our school." He scratches his head and grabs my hand. "Not that I care about celebrities anyway. Let's go to class."

I feel a lump in my throat. I have an uneasy feeling, but I try to ignore it. There is only a minute until school starts, so Sting and I have to go as soon as possible. We run through the crowd and throw our homeroom door open. Two minutes late. Argh, it was all because of that crowd! Why are there so many people anyway? Is that celebrity that famous?

"It's the late couple!" one of my classmates laugh. "Late again?"

"Aw, look!" a female classmate exclaims. "They're even holding hands again!"

That's right. In our class, our classmates call us the late couple. We're always coming to class late, and for some reason, people like assuming that we are dating just because we live together. But none of that is true. Sting is just family to me.

"It's not like that!" Sting denies, letting go of my hand. His face is as red as a tomato. Why is he so embarrassed all the time?

"Idiot," I hiss. "The more you deny it, the more people are going to assume things!"

"Now, now, you late couple," I hear someone say behind me. I turn around. It is my homeroom teacher. Oh great. Even she is assuming our relationship? "I need to start class and introduce our new student, so hurry up and take your seats! Don't waste my time!"

"Yes, Ms. Alberona," Sting and I say with a groan. We hurry to our seats as Ms. Alberona takes roll call.

"Anyway," she says. "Today we are going to have a new student join us. I'm sure that all of you know who he is."

"Oh my gosh!" I hear a girl next to me exclaim. "Don't tell me he is going to be in our class! Lucky!"

He? Maybe it was that celebrity from earlier. Suddenly, I feel irritated. It was all that stupid celebrity's fault that Sting and I were late and called the late couple, again. Ugh, what luck to have him in our class.

Sting groans. "It's going to be a great year," he says in a sarcastic tone.

"You took the words out of my mouth," I reply.

"Please come in," Ms. Alberona says.

The door opens.

I see someone with pink salmon hair walk inside.

I freeze.

No way.

The same hairstyle. The same slanted jet black eyes. The same confident look in his face.

The girls around me begin to scream. They hug each other excitedly. "It's him! It's him!" they exclaim, fangirling. "Oh my gosh! He's so hot in person!"

"Class!" Ms. Alberona says. "Please be quiet!"

Instantly, everyone goes silent and looks to the front.

My heart pounds loudly. I can barely hear anything since it won't stop beating. I try to keep my head down, hiding my face, but I can't help but stare at him.

"Hey!" the pink transfer says. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. I won't be here often because of my acting career, but I—"

His jet black eyes meet my brown eyes. We made eye contact. I can't move. He doesn't move either. I can't even dart my eyes away. I try to stop myself from shaking, but I can not help but be afraid. I try to keep my head down lower. Tears are building up. Memories fill my mind again. Memories that I have always tried to forget. Why is this happening to me now? It has been almost seven years, yet… why?

"Lu… cy," Natsu says, pronouncing every syllable of my name slowly. My chest feels heavy. I know that voice. I haven't heard it in so long. He takes a step toward my direction. I feel my heart jump. He recognizes me.

Crap.

Suddenly, he runs over to me, embracing my tiny body in his big arms. "Lucy!" he cries. I can feel his warm tears soak into my uniform. "Lucy! You idiot! Where have you been? I've been searching for you everywhere! You're an idiot! A real idiot!"

I grit my teeth. I want to cry. I want to wrap my arms around him too. But… I can't.

I push him away, almost instantly. "You got the wrong person," I say. "Please don't get so close to me."

"You're Lucy, right?" Natsu says, refusing to let me go. I try to push him away again, but this time, he keeps his grip around me even tighter. He is too strong.

"It's me, Natsu!" he says. "Remember? I was in that movie, Sabertooth, with you! I played Henry, remember?"

No, no. I don't want to remember. Stop. Please stop it!

"We were co-stars!" he says. "With… Wendy."

"No!" I scream without thinking. Natsu immediately lets go of me. The class stares at us, seeing the scene that we are creating.

"G-Get away from me!" I say, stuttering.

Natsu grabs my wrist. "No!" he shouts. "I won't let you go this time. I've been searching for you for nearly seven years! Do you really expect me to let you go again?"

"Eh?" I hear a girl whisper. "Co-star? Was Lucy an actor in the past?"

"I don't know," I hear a guy say. "Hold on, I'll google it."

No… No! People are going to find out! I begin to shake harder. I am afraid. I am so afraid.

"Natsu Dragneel," I hear Ms. Alberona say. "Can we leave personal chats for later? I need to start class now."

Slowly, his grip on my wrist loosens. "S-Sorry," he says.

"The seat behind Lucy is open," she says. "Sit there."

Natsu goes behind me and takes his seat. Ms. Alberona begins class.

"I know it's you," I hear Natsu whisper behind me. "I can't be mistaken. I just can't."

I gulp. Why out of all schools is Natsu Dragneel here? My childhood is going to be revealed because of him. I won't even be able to hide it from Sting or the rest of the orphanage any longer. It may even go viral.

"Lucy?" I hear Sting whisper beside me. "You okay?"

I smile at him. "Yeah. Thanks… Sting." He was always caring like this. Sometimes, even though I am older than him, he feels more like an older brother to me. But most of the time, he acts like a kid.

He blushes a little, running his hand through his hair, a habit when he is flustered. "N-No problem."

As Ms. Alberona is teaching, my classmates are secretly on their phones. I pray that they aren't searching up what Natsu just said, but even I know there is no avoiding it.

"Look!" I hear a girl whisper. "It's true! Lucy was a child actress!"

"Woah, holy crap," I hear someone else say. "But why is her last name different? The movie credits say that her name is Lucy Marvell."

"A stage name?"

"I don't know! But it seems that she was pretty famous—"

"Class!" Ms. Alberona shouts. "Please be quiet!"

Lucy Marvell… That was my old name. Whenever I hear it, I cringe. I force myself not to think about it. It will be okay. Just forget about it, me. Forget about it. Forget… about it.

Suddenly, I feel something gently put on my face. It is soft. Is this a handkerchief? It is soaking up my tears.

"If you're going to cry, at least don't make a mess on your notes," I hear a familiar voice say. I feel comforted when I hear that voice. It is Sting again. He always acts so maturely during these situations.

"Thanks, Sting," I say, taking the fabric.

"Lunch break!" Ms. Alberona says, leaving the classroom.

Instantly, all my classmates gather around Natsu and me.

"Hey, Lucy!" a guy says, holding up his phone. "Is this you?"

I look at the image. It is a screenshot of the movie that I was in as a child. My eyes widen. I don't want to see it.

"Lucy, is it true you used to be an actor?"

"Natsu, what are your relations to Lucy?"

"Hey, Lucy!"

"Natsu!"

I stand from my seat and push through the crowd, running. My peaceful life… This is all Natsu's fault. Why? Why did he have to come back to me? I've been hiding for all these years. Why does he still remember me? I'm not famous anymore. Always I have been hiding from the acting world. Even in school plays, I pretend to be sick.

I open the door to the school's rooftop. It is a restricted area, so no one will find me here. I take out Sting's handkerchief and dab my eyes with it. I need to stop crying.

"Lucy," I hear someone say.

I turn around. "Natsu."

"What are you doing here?" he says.
"How did you know I was here?" I retort.

He laughs. "Well, back when we were training to be actors, whenever you were down, you would hide on the roof, remember?"

I groan. Why does he know me so well? But him remembering so much about me… makes me a bit happy.

"Lucy," he says, sounding serious. "Why did you quit acting? You were always so passionate about it."

"I—" I stare at the ground. "It's none of your business, Natsu."

"Is it because of Wendy?"

I freeze. Why is he mentioning her?

Natsu steps toward me, grabbing my shoulders. "Why?" he shouts. "We promised each other!" He begins to cry, shaking me. "We promised we'd become famous together. We promised that we would be the best, that we would make it to Hollywood."

"That was a long time ago," I say. "Grow up."

"I kept my promise," he says. "I thought that if I became famous, maybe one day, we would meet again. I thought you were trying too! That's why I worked so hard! But here you were doing nothing!"

I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I have no excuse for my actions. "I… I'm sorry," I say.

His grip on my shoulders gets tighter. "I kept telling you this in the past, and I'm telling you this now," he says. He stares into my eyes. "Wendy's death wasn't your fault, Lucy. So come back. Come back, Lucy."

I bite my tongue. Stop. Stop it. Don't talk about her. Please. I am tempted to cry again, but I can't show my weak side.

"Wendy would want you back too," he says.

He tries to hug me, but I push him away. "I'm not going to act anymore," I say. "I can't do it."

"Why?" he says desperately. "Why? You have natural talent, so why?"

"Why are you so persistent?" I say. I take a step back, but he takes another step forward. Why does he keep following me like this? Eventually, I hit a wall. Natsu traps me with his arms, not allowing me to escape.

Suddenly, he bends toward me, putting his lips over mine. Time seems to stop for a moment. Am I processing this correctly?

Slowly, his lips come off.

"Lucy, I love you."

My eyes widen. Did he just confess to me? And my first kiss…

"I love you," he says. "I loved you ever since we were kids. So come back."

My past feelings come back. I want to tell him I love him. I want to tell him that I want to come back. I want to be an actress again. But then I remember. Wendy.

Natsu bends toward me again, attempting to kiss me again. I am tempted to go in for the kiss, but I push him away with all my strength.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I don't feel the same way."

I try to run away, but he grabs my wrist.

"It's because of Wendy," he says. "It's because of her, isn't it? It's because of her you can't return my feelings or come back as an actress, right? I keep telling you! It's not your fault she's gone."

"Let go of me," I say. If he is any closer to me like this, I might break.

"Come back," he says. "Return to my side."

"Lucy?" I hear a different voice say.

Natsu and I turn around. It is Sting.

Sting instantly runs to my side, standing between Natsu and me. He grabs Natsu's hand on my wrist, throwing it off. "What are you doing to her?" he yells angrily. "Celebrity actor or not, if you do anything to her, I won't forgive you."

Natsu squints his eyes, glaring at Sting. "Who are you?" he says.

"Who are you to get close to Lucy like this?" Sting says.

I grab onto Sting's shirt. I can feel myself trembling. "Sting, it's fine," I say. I pull his sleeve. "Let's just go."

"Lucy…" Sting says. He takes my hand and nods. "Alright." He looks back at Natsu and scowls at him again. "But next time he touches you, I won't forgive him."

He then pulls me away. His grip on my hand is tight. I have never seen him this angry in my life, even though we have been together for so long.

"Lucy!" I hear Natsu shout. I resist the temptation to turn back. "What happened to Wendy… It's not your fault! And you aren't alone! You have me."

Sting leads me to the back of the school. Natsu and I seem to be the talk of the school now. Rumors spread fast. Sting is still holding my hand tightly.

"Who is Wendy?" Sting asks. "And… how do you know that actor?"

I stare at the ground. He knows the answers to his questions, but I know that he doesn't want to believe it. So he is asking me. With our situation, I do not think I can keep it secret from him anymore. I rather he hears my explanation than listen to rumors by other students.

"I was adopted when I was a one-year-old at Fairy Tail Orphanage," I say. "The family that adopted me was the Marvells. And… just like that, I had a sister. Her name was Wendy, one year younger than me."

I begin to cry. Memories that I have always tried to forget fill my head again. But this time, I try to accept it. Sting hugs me tight. I allow my tears to soak into his uniform. He really is the only one who I will allow to see this part of me.

"I'll tell you everything," I say. "Everything about Wendy and Natsu."

- End of Chapter 1 -

Hi, guys! This is my newest story! I hope you all enjoy it! As usual, I do not own the cover image. However, if you do know the writer, I would love it if you told me so I could give her/him credit.

Because it is summer, I will be updating this story two to three times a week. Thank you!

~ Metallic Snow