Chapter 9: Close Confessions

hello again

yes, I did update again, and not two years later

I'm not gonna update too often thought, I don't wanna get burned out again

but anyway, enjoy :)

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I felt Luce stiffen slightly at my words and I mentally prepared myself for her to run away, but she didn't.

Instead, she took one of my hands in hers and laced our fingers together, making no move to leave. I continued. "It happened during freshman year, around the time I got my learners to start driving. I had been behind the wheel a few times already, so my mom wanted me to drive her and my sister Wendy to go get dinner."

Tears began to fall from my eyes and Luce tightened her hold on my hand for support, her thumb rubbing small circles into my skin. "I remember Wendy kept saying pizza over and over again in the backseat and my mom was laughing, telling her we'll get her pizza first and we would get sushi. Then the light turned green."

I was full on shaking at this point, my voice was trembling and I started stuttering over my words as I relived the accident in my imagination. "And as we were crossing the intersection, a truck slammed into the passenger's side."

Lucy took a sharp breath but continued to hold on to me, my only lifeline at the moment. "I heard Wendy scream as she was thrown to the opposite side of the car. Turns out she didn't have her seatbelt on, which I should've checked before I started driving. My mom died instantly. According to the police, her head hit the window right on her temple and fractured her skull, and she felt no pain. Wendy died in surgery later that night."

I wiped the tears from my eyes as I started sobbing. "It's all my fault." I whispered.

Lucy threw her arms around me tightly. "It is not your fault, and it was never your fault. You did not kill your sister or your Mom, the truck driver did. I promise you."

"I miss them so much."

Her hands made circular motions on my back. "I know."

We sat there for a while, even after I stopped crying and I wanted to stay in her arms forever. I'm probably supposed to be the one cradling her but fuck the patriarchy.

Lucy moved back a little, her hands stull on my shoulders. "How're you so warm?"

I chuckled. "Fast metabolism, so I expel a lot of heat."

"Ooh expel; big words."

"Hush."

She giggled and my cheeks warmed. "Well, now it's my turn to tell you my darkest secrets."

"Luce, you don't have to-"

She shook her head. "I want to. Besides, how else are we gonna be best friends?" She teased.

A grin broke out on my face, but my heart tinged with disappointment. It felt like I had just been friend-zoned, but I know I haven't really expressed how I feel about her very clearly.

Maybe I'll get my chance tonight.

Lucy shifted on her knees and stretched her legs out in front of her. Leaning on her hands behind her, she looked up towards the sky, her skin glowed under the moonlight and her eyes sparkled with the stars.

Fuck, she's beautiful.

"My mom died during childbirth, so I never met her."

My eyes snapped up to hers and widened, heart swelling with sadness. I never knew my dad, but that was more so by choice of my mom.

"Sting was born first, which is probably why he's so overprotective of me; he has this delusion that he's older than me when he really isn't. But anyway, he was delivered normally, in a normal hospital room with a bunch of nurses and doctors, but then she had some complications.

"I was a breached baby; my legs came first instead of my head, and apparently the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck and I wasn't able to be pushed out, so they took us to surgery.

"I was born a few minutes later, but when they wheeled me out in an incubator my mom was still on the table, and she bled out soon after."

Tears fell from her eyes but her facial expression stayed the same and I immediately grabbed her hand between mine, rubbing circles in her palm.

"My dad always blamed me after that, and Sting was put on a pedestal. Whenever Sting did something wrong, I got punished for being a bad influence, no matter how hard Sting tried to keep our dad off my case."

I gulped. "Did he…"

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and she sighed. "He hit me few times when I was little, but he's hardly around anymore; always busy with his business."

My eyebrows scrunched in frustration. "It's not your fault, and he's a prick for doing all of that to you."

She looked at me with a smile. "I know, Natsu. It was my mother's time to go. He just has a hard time believing that."

"Fuck him and fuck what he thinks. You're the most amazing and beautiful person I know, inside and out."

Her arms immediately threw themselves around my next and we tumbled back on the grass, causing her to make an adorable "kiya" sound. We both started giggling uncontrollably, me stopping to look how her eyes closed as she laughed. When she opened them, we locked eyes and time stood still.

We laid there for a while, staring at each other. The love in her eyes was undeniable and I knew that she felt the same way I did. I just hoped mine did the same.

Luce reached up and planted her lips on my cheek, a feather like touch that made me sigh at the feeling of her soft lips. They stayed there for a few seconds before she slowly pulled back, her nose slight caressing mine, and stopped right at the tip of my nose as she opened her eyes.

"Lucy, I'm in-"

"Not now, Natsu. It's too soon." Her voice was slightly husky and it made the urge to kiss her a lot stronger.

"Well, will you let me take you on a date?"

A smile crept on her face. "How about next Friday?"

I nodded a little too enthusiastically, our noses brushing against each other. Smirking inwardly, I slowly leaned forward and she gasped in anticipation. My lips grazed her cheek as I whispered in her ear.

"And when you let me kiss you -and you definitely will- you'll never want to stop."

Love has never quite felt like this.

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this definitely isn't written in the style of the story, but I think it's appropriate considering how important the moment is

I wanna thank all of you who are continuing reading this, and for all of the new people that followed and favorited ;)

leave a review and tell me what you think, and I'll see you soon :)