notes: I wish you all a happy new year. :) yay for the new year! cheers to my first new story for the year!

"Lu, please, let's go together. It's New Years!" Levy begged as she hovered over the blonde who was sitting on the couch just staring at the television not even bothering to respond. "You have to go!" She tried once more but was only greeted with the sounds of the television behind her. "Lu, you've been stuck here for a while and it's starting to become very bad. You never left the house ever since you saw Natsu—!"

"Don't," Lucy spoke up for the first time Levy started speaking. "say it." She spat out before grabbing the remote to turn the television off and stand up. She started to walk away making Levy reach out and grab her arm to stop her, the look of worry crossing her features.

"Lu, please come. Maybe you'll meet somebody else and maybe this party will make you forget about it. Erza won't be happy if she doesn't see you there, either."

"I don't care, I'm not going. Have fun going, though. I think I'm going to sleep."

"No, you're not!" The blue-haired woman shouted as she ran over to the room that belonged to her best friend to cover it with her small body. "You're going and that's final!"

"Levy, I honestly don't want to go. Please, can't you give me a break—?"

"I have," she pointed out. "I have been giving you a break. Ever since that Christmas party, I have. I let you mope around, I let you sleep and eat all day, and I even let you stay home the entire time and I decided it's been going on long enough. You are going to that party and I won't take no for an answer."

Pressing her lip into a tight line, Lucy only stared at the fierce looking Levy as if the look would break her. But no matter how long she stared and tried to change her mind, she wouldn't budge and it made the blonde groan and cover her face with her palms.

"If I attend this stupid new year party will you stop bugging me then?"

"As long as you want."

Biting down on her lip in thoughts, Lucy fought with herself for a while before she allowed a sigh to fly out of her lips.

"Fine, I guess I'll go—"

"Yay! I promise I'll let you forget all about Natsu!"

"Can we please stop talking about him," She narrowed her eyes as Levy slapped her palm against her mouth.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "C'mon, let's go get you dressed up. How long has it been since you showered?!"

"Almost a week."

"You're disgusting!"

—X—

Wearing a pink and white gown with a matching white mask, Lucy was all prepared for the masquerade new year party her friend decided to throw. She had her hair up in a beautiful curly bun and she couldn't believe it was her in the mirror when she looked. Masks really do hide ones identity. She all thought that was some bullshit since how can a simple mask that merely covers ones eyes make it hard for one to identify somebody? But looking at herself and Levy, she barely recognized herself.

Levy even looked different with her orange gown and matching mask. If it wasn't for them getting ready together, she wouldn't have even known it was her.

"Why did Erza even decide to have a masquerade new year party?"

"I don't know, you know how Erza is," the blue-haired woman said as she applied a coating of lipgloss. "but I think it's going to be fun."

Letting out a sigh, Lucy only looked at herself one more time with her pocket mirror before looking up at the hotel where Erza decided to hold her party.

Whenever the scarlet woman threw a party, she went all out. Renting out hotels or country clubs, whenever or whatever it was, the woman liked to make it big. She was just one of those party people her parent's warned her about.

When it started to get late, people all around started to come and they all wore beautiful dresses and suits, masks covering their identity making it hard for Lucy to even see if anyone she knew came to the party.

"Levy, I'm going to head inside and see if I can find Erza, okay?"

"Okay! I'm just going to wait for Gajeel," the blue-haired woman said happily making Lucy nod before heading inside the hotel.

She was guided to a room by the side of the lobby where she already saw multiple people crowding by. Erza seemed to be at the front of the door, conveniently, and Lucy felt so much better knowing she didn't have to go around searching for the host. She approached the scarlet-haired woman who wore a black gown with a matching black mask covering her beautiful face.

She only knew that was Erza since she was the only one who had scarlet hair and the only one who would match black and black.

"Erza," the blonde spoke up catching the woman's attention. She looked over and saw the blonde, squinting and staring at her, trying to figure her out. "it's me, Lucy."

"Lucy!" The woman cried out as soon as the name slipped out of her mouth. She went on over to where she was, enveloping her into a bear hug and squeezing the air out of the woman. "I missed you, I am so glad you are here, I didn't think you would make it!"

"Well I was kind of forced to."

"How are you? Are you well? How's the... uh, y'know, coming along?"

"It's fine," she let out a breath. "I'm fine. I mean, I think I am."

"Don't worry, Lucy. I showed him a piece of my mind." She placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling proudly to have her friend offer a smaller smile. "Come on, why don't we grab a drink and have some fun? We can forget all about that idiot for a while—come, I have all of your favorites."

Unable to say no to the woman, Lucy allowed a soft smile to appear and allowed to be taken to the food table where rows of her favorite food scattered.

—X—

"Lucy, I'm going to have to go and start the countdown. Do you think you can hang by yourself for a bit?" Erza asked as the two ladies drank wine and hovered around the corner. Lucy, who was in the middle of drinking, pulled her glass away and offered a smile.

"Of course, go do your thing, Erza. It's eleven fifty seven and you don't want it to pass."

"Thanks, I'll be right back." She said before she disappeared into the crowd of people.

It left Lucy standing there by herself yet again as she sipped on her wine and observed the area.

There were many people everywhere, wearing masks and yet having an amazing time. They all seemed to know each other or they were all strangers, getting to each other. She didn't know what was stopping her but she didn't want to speak to anybody but stand against the corner and be a wallflower. It made her at ease and she wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone, anyways.

Taking another sip of her glass, Lucy realized she just finished her drink and let out a sigh, walking over to one of the table to pop open a bottle of champagne.

And at that moment, she heard Erza's voice through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for attending my masquerade New Years party." She spoke up making everyone cheer in response. "Now, it's eleven fifty eight and in one minute, the count down is going to start! Can we please have the clock up?" She turned towards the wall where it projected the sixty second timer. Right next to it was the time, indicating when it would start and when it would exactly be New Years.

While Erza was speaking, Lucy merely drank and stared, wondering how the new year would be for her.

Would she finally be able to grab a good year? Find a boyfriend? Get married?

Thinking about boyfriends, it brought a bad taste in her mouth and she put down her glass of unfinished champagne, the blonde wrapping her arms around herself to shiver in discomfort.

"Now the count down will begin!" Erza's voice echoed through her ears as Lucy watched, pressing her lips into a tight line.

Her brown orbs watched as the timer went down, coming closer to where the clock will strike twelve o'clock to indicate it was January first, the official new year. Voices of the people around her excitedly counted down as the timer struck zero and a loud bang appeared, scaring her half to death.

Confetti flew everywhere and got in her hair as she noticed couples all sharing a good luck kiss for the new year.

It made her sick to her stomach and she took a step back to walk away from all the face sucking but ended up bumping into somebody, a yelp flying out of her lips as she heard liquid splatter on the floor. She quickly turned around, a light blush painting her cheeks in embarrassment.

"O—oh, I'm so sorry—"

"No, no, it's fine," the voice of a male interrupted her apology, a slight rasp in it. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Oh! I even got your shirt dirty," Lucy gasped as she noticed the large red stain on his clean white dress shirt. "I am terribly sorry, please, allow me to—"

"No, really, you're fine," he tried to laugh but the rasp in his voice made it sound like a choke. "I tend to do this a lot."

"Are you sure? I mean, it was my fault—"

"I mean, if you really want to make it up... I think I can think of something you could do." His eyes flickered to the couples around him still kissing.

Lucy seemed to get the idea and her eyes widened, her cheeks flushing a bright red. She didn't know what to do since a part of her was still attached to her ex-boyfriend of three years but then again, it was a new year and she had to start fresh. This was the perfect opportunity for her to begin her new year and if she was lucky, with this stranger who was actually trying to chat her up and kiss her, she could be the new boyfriend in her life.

She was in her mid-twenties, she wasn't going to get any younger. And moping around for a guy who clearly did her bad wasn't going to help either.

Offering a smile towards the masked stranger, she started to lean in without realizing and the male leaned in as well. Soon, she felt a warm pressure press against her plump lips and it send a spark down her spine, the two pulling away to gaze at one another for a brief moment. But the separation was quick as the two came together once more, pressing their lips against each other more fiercely and with more passion, their lips moving in sync as if they were made for each other. One of his hands snuck around and wrapped itself around the small of her back as her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

He was incredibly warm and she didn't know what it was but this stranger actually brought comfort to her.

"Now for all the couples out there stealing a kiss," Erza's voice echoed around as the couples pulled away. "lets start the new year fresh with a new face! Everyone, please take your masks off to reveal your identity!"

Lucy's heart raced as the two gazed at each other, nervous about their identify. But slowly and carefully, both of them peeled of their masks and they looked up at their naked faces, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Na... Natsu?"

"Lucy..."

And suddenly, Lucy felt sick again as the memories of that Christmas party flashed before her eye. Her boyfriend of three years swearing he had no more feelings for his ex-girlfriend who was also attending the party, the two having a blast, her leaving for the bathroom, and her coming back to see her boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend sharing a kiss under the mistletoe. It broke her into two and she never left the house for five days till Levy forced her to attend Erza's stupid masquerade.

Now, she was facing one of her biggest fears, again.

"Lucy, please, wait—"He started to reach out towards her but she only threw her mask at him, catching him by surprise. When he looked up again, he lost her in the sea of people, his dark eyes desperately darting from person's face to face. When he did find her once more, he found her exiting out from the room, his body moving without him realizing. "Wait, Lucy!"

He fought himself out of the crowd as he shoved and pushed, eventually throwing himself out of the party to look around in a fury, his heart racing in his chest.

"Lucy?! Lucy! Where are you, fuck!" He cried out as he threw his top hat off, running his fingers through his odd-colored locks. "Lucy!"

He turned towards the exit of the hotel and ran out, looking around as he panted, his breath clearly visible from the cold. His obsidian eyes darted from place to place before he noticed a blonde about to enter a taxi, his long legs making it's way over to where she was to grab her arm and stop her from leaving.

The familiar brown orbs that he loves so much looked in his direction, the look of hurt flashing across her eyes making his chest squeeze painfully.

"Lucy, please don't go. Let's talk this out—"

"There's nothing to talk about," she forced out, coming out as a sob. "let go of me."

"Please, Lucy, I—I need to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to you, please let me go." She said as tears started to fall making his heart split into two. "P—please... my taxi driver is waiting."

Still holding onto her arm tightly, he pulled her away from the door and closed the door shut making her cry out in response. He leaned in towards the open window and offered an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, we wouldn't be needing a taxi right now. Thank you," he said as the man gave him the look and an encouraging fist bump before driving away. Natsu watched it till it disappeared and his attention was finally brought back to the woman beside him when she wrench herself free from his grip.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She almost screamed as the tears continued to fall. "That was my ride home!"

"I'll take you home," he offered, taking a step towards her but she only took another step back. "please, Lucy, let me explain about what happened—"

"I don't want to hear it! I want you to stay away from me, Natsu Dragneel, and I mean it! I don't ever want to see you again!"

"Lucy, don't say that," he pleaded as he took another step towards her but she took another one back as well. "Luce—"

"Don't," Lucy strangled out, swallowing thickly to hold her trembling hands up to his face. "please, just—just go—"

"I love you," he cut her off. "so much—"

"No, you don't," she shook her head as her curls bounced around and her tears streamed down her face.

"But I do," he argued, taking another step towards her as she kept moving back, holding her hands up. "Lucy, please—"

"Natsu," she said, the name sounding almost poisonous in her mouth. "please, I don't think I can do this... just please leave, I just—I need to—I need to go home and I really don't have time for you right now..." she turned around to find Levy so she can drive her home but when she was about to talk away, she felt the familiar warm grip around her arm again. "Natsu—"She tried to snap at him again but when she felt the arms of the man she loved so much wrap around her, the shout never came out but rather than a strangled gasp.

"Please," he sobbed into her back making her tense and her eyes widen. "please... please just listen to me... please."

Listening to the man cry into her shoulder, Lucy knew she should listen to him... she knew he was hurt, too. This man never cried in front of her before—he was one of the strongest guys she knew and she's known him for a long, long time and she's never seen him shed a tear. But... why was he crying now? Was he really this hurt as well?

Biting down on her quivering bottom lip, Lucy took in a deep breath and stared down at her feet. "Okay... I'll listen."

Pulling away from the blonde, he wiped the tears away from his wet eyes and sniffled, looking at his ex-girlfriend who was staring at him with a huge frown on her face.

"Lucy," he started, swallowing thickly. "you know I love you... so much... I—I didn't mean to—we, I—it—"

"Just," she raised her hand up to his face to stop his sputtering. "just tell me... do you love her?"

"No!" Natsu shook his head, his locks jumping around with the motions. "I love you. Nobody else but you. She and I are history, Luce. It just happened—we were under the mistletoe, she was drunk, and she asked me to kiss her one last time and I only meant it to be on her cheek but she moved her head at that moment and that was when you walked back in and saw us—I swear on everything I have, it wasn't supposed to go like that and I don't love anybody else in the world but you." He reached forward to grab her trembling hands in his. "Please, believe me. You know I would never do anything like that to you." He stared into her eyes, trying to show her that he was serious and sincere.

When Lucy noticed how serious he was, she started to cry again making him become alert, his arms flying everywhere.

"What—why are you crying?! Was it—was it something I said?"

"Y—You idiot!" She sobbed, her entire figure shaking as she hit his shoulder in fury. "I was... I was so hurt! I was so hurt... I couldn't breath... I didn't eat... I couldn't sleep and I didn't take a shower for days! I was home all day, thinking about you and how much my heart hurt..." She furiously tried to wipe the hot tears away as Natsu watched. "I thought you didn't want me anymore... I thought you were living a happy life with that girl... I thought you were so happy... and I thought you hated me—!"

Reaching forward to grab her, he smashed his lips against hers to kiss the pain and misunderstanding away, holding her close and dear as if he didn't want her to let her go, again.

"Don't ever," he said in-between kisses. "think I would ever hate you." He pressed his lips against hers tightly, holding her even closer to the point she was flush against his body. "I love you," he said against her lips, gazing down at her eyes that he loved so much.

"I... I love you, too." She pulled away to bury her face against his chest. "I love you so much."

Holding the woman he kept most dear to against his chest tightly, Natsu couldn't think of a better way to spend the new year with.

notes: I actually got the inspiration watching Regular Show on Cartoonnetwork.
notes2: pretty good for a new story to start the new year off with. :3
notes3: leave a review for me to start my new year off great and luck to my future stories that will be published during the years! x