Previously...

"Lucy?"

"Yes?"

"Sing."

Chapter 22 || Sing: Until My Voice Reaches Your Ears Again

She wasn't sure what she was doing, or why she decided to step back into the life she had left behind. Somehow a simple one-worded order stirred her up. She hadn't felt like that in months. Not since she first went on tour and met the person she had almost considered to be: "The One." Funny enough, she didn't want to hide anymore. She loved to sing and nobody was going to deny her that right; not even herself. After Sting had told her to sing she felt like everything else had been pushed out the window. She was left with a single path to her goals and she rushed out on it. Where it led her first? Mirajane Strauss. Lucy knew Mira definitely did want to come back to management so soon, and wanted to enjoy her free time off with her Freed, and yet she knew Mira would not leave her behind. Right?

"No," she said sweetly with a tilt of her head. Lucy's eyes widened with her mouth agape. It was safe to assume that Lucy wasn't the only one who changed over a couple of months.

"Really Mira? I mean, why? You love your job!"

"Listen Lucy... After staying here for some time I've began to think of other career opportunities you know. I'm almost about to sign a contract of a big group that's coming from Barcelona to the states."

"Seriously? You're going to take Raven Tail over us? Over me?" Lucy couldn't believe her friend would not want to help her, but she could believe that her friend, who worked in management, was going to sign some popular group on the rise. It was a business after all...

"Lucy," Mira said and shook her head. "You know I want the best for you and..." Lucy frowned, honing a look of distain. "Lucy I..." Lucy just stared. "Jesus Christ," Mira said pinching the bridge of her nose and smiling. "The things I do for my friends. Alright Lucy! I've got your back, now where do I sign?"

Lucy smiled and pulled out a hidden contract in her bag, and pointed at the line with fine print under it: Signature. Mira was Lucy's and Lucy was Mira's again. "I want to perform as soon as possible!" Lucy exclaimed. Mira thought for a second as she signed the paper, then put the pen up to face and started to click it in contemplation.

"I mean, you're still popular, but not freshly popular. Your fans have obviously gone down over the previous months with you being inactive only in the music industry, but on social media as well. And remember what I told you? Social media..."

"...is the ultimate platform of notoriety, yes I remember."

"Good, so that means we need to get you back on social media and back in the studio. It would go faster if you do a collab with someone on a song. Someone popular, obviously, but also someone you can look good with... Hmm, let me see." Mira went to go dig into her brief case filled with folders that were in return filled with papers. These papers were filled with records kept on people, business ventures, people she had managed previously and currently, portfolios, all previous and current bookings, and pretty much anything else she deemed necessary to keep. Mira was well organized and Lucy took note to ask Mira for tips on how not to date a guy who almost became a father of a scheming witch's child. Lucy clenched her teeth before dropping the thought. She needed to remove him from her mind. For good.

"Alright this is a good one," Mira said, pulling out a portfolio of some guy. "He goes by the name of Sugarboy."

"Sugarboy?"

"Sugarboy," Mira said. "He's a sort of underground rapper but not very good at that type of scene. Still, there's promise for him. I also want you to collab with this guy, Hibiki Lates." Mira slid over a second portfolio.

Hibiki Lates was not a newbie in the industry. Experienced enough that even Lucy knew him by his name. Still her isn't very active with his music and has only released two albums. He was a good singer and Lucy would be glad to work with him.

"He's in the process of making a third album, and I want you to not only feature on it, but perform with him on stage."

Lucy nodded. "Okay when do we start?"

"Alright we're going start the track from the beginning alright?" This was the tenth time they had started the track over. It was normal to record and record the track, but Hibiki just kept messing up. They hadn't even got to recording the last parts of the song due to him either forgetting the lyrics, he's off beat, or he doesn't hit the right notes. All of which the producers "kindly" pointed out to him, along with the fact that Hibiki Lates was one difficult son-of-a-bitch to work with.

"Do you want to be more than a friend? Do ya...?"

"..."

"Hey-" Hibiki realized his mistake as soon as he even uttered a syllable. He missed his mark. The timing was off now. He cursed under his breath.

"Stop the track," the producers said. Mirajane looked at him uneasily as if she knew the punishment to come for messing up. Again. "What the hell are you doing Hibiki?" The producer asked. "We've stopped the track over twelve times now without even getting through the whole song! Not even once! You're missing beats, timings off, notes missed or not hit. What the fuck do you think this is? A game?" The producer was beyond angry and looking to her left, Lucy could tell Hibiki was somewhere between angry or disappointed. At the producers or himself, she'd never never know. Not until he stormed out the recording studio. Mira shot Lucy and look, and she followed suit. She ran after the agitated Hibiki.

"Hey! Wait!" She yelled after him. He was basically marching down the street into oncoming traffic with no hesitation. If she didn't know better, she thought he wanted to kill himself with how bold he was acting right now.

"Stop following me," he said simply. In the middle of traffic.

"Too late for that don't you think?" Lucy jogged after him until they were finally across the street and she grabbed his forearm. To which he whipped his head around and yanked his arm back. Glaring at her, he sized her up before relaxing.

"Look, I'm sorry but I can't do it. I haven't sung in a while and obviously I can't anymore."

"I don't think that's it at all, it's just that you need a little practice as all," Lucy said taking breaths in between. She was truly out of shape from all that time she spent in the house.

"Practice?" Hibiki repeated. Lucy nodded, standing up straight and unnecessarily dusting off little dress with her hands. She put her hands on her hips before looking around. When she found a nearby cafe she dragging him off to it. It was almost nearly empty except for the workers, who definitely noticed her. After a couple signings, answering questions, taking pictures and what not, she was able to sit down with Hibiki.

"Alright so as a child we did these practices all the time. You've got to identify the counts within a song. Usually you can tell by the percussion in the songs, but not all the time so you've got listen out." Lucy pulled out her phone and shuffled through her playlist, first finding a slow song. She looked at him before patting her against the table to further represent the count measurements. "Listen," she said. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."

"Two, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight."

"Three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...stop" Lucy smiled. "What we just did is we identified the time and recited three counts of eight in that song. You did good. Now do these songs with me," she said. They continued with each song Lucy played. The songs host faster and faster each time. When Lucy felt Habiki was comfortable enough with the exercise, she played a familiar song. He froze almost but relaxed. She looked at him expectantly. "This time you've got to do it yourself," she said. Habiki counted perfectly and when it came to his part, Lucy stopped him.

"Did I do it wrong?"

"No not all, it was perfect. But remember that's the time you need to count to be able to come in on time during the recording, and ultimately on stage." Habiki nodded but their work wasn't done yet. "Now I think it's your nervousness which is making you hit the wrong notes, and maybe some technical issues you may have forgotten. First, we need to warm up!" She swallowed some water from the bottle she had opened somewhere during the first exercise. "Okay repeat after me. Ma, may, me, moe, moo."

"Ma, may, me, moe, moo. I remember it," Habiki said. He then begin to sing out the syllables.

"Now go higher each time," Lucy said. They continued this exercise before going on to lip trills and siren noises. It obviously was being recorded by the workers, which stirred Lucy a bit, but there were more important things at hand. She grabbed Hibiki after they were done and they left, saying thank you to the workers for temporarily closing their cafe. In Lucy's mind, it wasn't doing that well in business anyway. It had been forty minutes since they had left the studio. When they returned, the producers were recording a track for another artist. Lucy froze where she stood.

Nastu Dragneel was recording his track.

Habiki entered the studio but Lucy backed away, before turning her head. Too bad he had already noticed her at the door before she turned around. Mira put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear, yet Lucy couldn't focus on the words being said to her. Her heart was beating too fast and she felt her lips part to help her breathe more steadily. The effect he had on her was some type of amazing force. She didn't know why it had to be him, but she just deemed herself a fool in love an idiot. Turning around, Lucy entered the studio. She had to suck it up. Work over her personal life is how she needed to live to survive. She heard look at her and then close his eyes as he sung notes into the mic. It was beautiful and a lot of memories came back to her regrettably. She began to wonder how it would have played out if they weren't torn apart not only by Lisanna and the lies, but themselves... by her. By the time she stopped reminiscing, the producer was calling her and Habiki to the booth to record for what he said would be the last time for Habiki to prove himself. Lucy squeezed his hand as he stood next to her and they made their into the recording space. She put the headphones over her ears and pulled the mic to her. She had to record two songs. One solo and the other with Hibiki.

"Sound check..."

"Ready."

"Recording."

Credit: Into You (Piano Acoustic Ver.) | Ariana Grande

I'm so into you, I can barely breathe

And all I wanna do is to fall in deep

But close ain't close enough 'til we cross the line, hey yeah

So name a game to play, and I'll roll a dice, hey

Oh, baby, look what you started

The temperature's rising in here

Is this gonna happen?

Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move

(woo, oh, oh, oh)

Before I make a move

(woo, oh, oh, oh)

So, baby, come light me up, and maybe I'll let you on it

A little bit dangerous, but, baby, that's how I want it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

Got everyone watchin' us, so, baby, let's keep it secret

A little bit scandalous, but, baby, don't let them see it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you, oh yeah

This could take some time, hey

I made too many mistakes

Better get this right, right, baby

Oh, baby, look what you started

The temperature's rising in here

Is this gonna happen?

Been waiting and waiting for you to make a move

(woo, oh, oh, oh)

Before I make a move

(woo, oh, oh, oh)

So, baby, come light me up, and maybe I'll let you on it

A little bit dangerous, but, baby, that's how I want it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

Got everyone watchin' us, so, baby, let's keep it secret

A little bit scandalous, but, baby, don't let them see it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

Tell me what you came here for?

'Cause I can't, I can't wait no more

I'm on the edge with no control

And I need, I need you to know,

You to know, oh

So, baby, come light me up, and maybe I'll let you on it

A little bit dangerous, but, baby, that's how I want it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

Got everyone watchin' us, so, baby, let's keep it secret

A little bit scandalous, but, baby, don't let them see it

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

So come light me up, so come light me up my, baby

A little dangerous, a little dangerous my, baby

A little less conversation and a little more "touch my body"

'Cause I'm so into you, into you, into you

When she finished and opened her eyes she saw all eyes on her. Hibiki looked at her in awe as he'd never heard her sing live. Even though she got praise from the producers and editors, she could only stare as Natsu watched her with hard to read eyes. They were dark eyes that watched her.

"I'm ready to record the next track," Lucy said, shifting her eyes at the ground. She looked at Hibiki and selfishly hoped that he wouldn't mess up and embarrass her in front of Natsu.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Recording."

Credit: Do it Again | Pia Mia ft Tyga + Chris Brown

Bye, baby, they ain't fly, baby

Looking at the whip frame, that's a nice 'Cedez

You should throw it to me, like Tom Brady

With the long blonde hair, that's Marcia Brady

I'm all about your Lately Chelsea High handler, handle her

Got your legs racing hard on vacation

No exaggeration, said you amazing

Moving too fast, can't pace it

Hey, boy, when I first met you

Thought it was special

I told you that

Hey, boy, up at Two Lover's Point,

When I kissed you I meant it

I wanna go back (I don't wanna go)

Wanna go back (but if you wanna go)

Can we go back (can we take it back) (I'll make it happen though)

Boy, can we go back (let's do it soon, boo)

It was nice to, nice to know ya, let's do it again

How we did it on a one night stand

Boy, I wanna be more than a friend to ya

Nice to, nice to know ya, let's do it again

How we did it on a one night stand

Boy, I wanna be more than a friend to ya

Let's do it again

Hey, baby, are you sure that you want it

All caught up in the moment? (let me know now)

Oh, baby, it got a little crazy on the first night

So I'ma have to do you better than the first time

I'm lovin' how you scratchin' and you grittin' your teeth

I'm lovin' how that booty shake when it's on me

You gotta nigga blowing up your caller ID

Guess it was all a set up, you got me

I wanna go back (one more time)

Wanna go back (let's do it again)

Can we go back (can you take me, baby)

Boy, can we go back

When the song was finished, it was Lucy's turn to look at Hibiki in awe. The song was good and he hit the right notes. It was amazing and she didn't hesitate to engulf him in a big embrace. She was thankful that he didn't embarrass her, but more so thankful that he succeeded. It was a weird feeling that she'd care a lot about his success. He was a man that really tried his best at what he did, and maybe he even reminded her of herself when she was under the guidance of her father. Even when she first started to sing, she made mistakes a lot of the time. She was pressured and pushed, but it paid off in the end. She was happy for him as she saw herself in him. And then she concluded that she, Lucy Heartfilia, is a selfish woman.

And she was fine with that.

Then it was that she realized, that because she's selfish, she drove Natsu away. She wanted him but when someone else got in the way, she rebuked him and told him to be gone. Her emotions ran wild. Instead of trying to work things out, and trying to deal with the accident of her sister properly, she chose to throw it all away. She left singing behind because she selfishly wanted to focus on herself. This was fine right? Her feelings matter too, but what about the millions of people she left behind? The same people sending messages to her on social media claiming she had saved their lives. That because of her music and her passion, she was able to steer people's thoughts out of the depths of a depression even greater than she had ever known, or felt. And she left them because she was selfish. That was the time Lucy wanted to cry and throw a tantrum. How could she abandon so many people that depended on her. Empty promises she gave to people started to haunt in her in a split second. The promises may have been said on a whim, but we're constantly weighing her down. She knew she had let a lot of people down. And in that moment she even realized how similar she was becoming to her father. So what would she do with herself now? Now that she's contemplated the earth and the universe, what would she do? Apologize? How could she do that with her pride still present after self realization...? But before she could even finish, the lights were being turned off and Natsu was goner again. She let a blessing go again.

But that's how she wanted it before right?

A concert at a local stadium was booked for Lucy. Unfortunately she was stuck being basically the opening for Natsu. This was all a publicity stunt of course, but she felt degraded. She was more experienced than he was, and she didn't open for anyone. Anyone!

And yet she had to.

So now that she was done giving what should have been the performance of her life, was just an opening act. Still she was thankful she could make a move in the industry at least. It was shifting from here on out. She knew that and it made her happy to improve. Her father would definitely be proud of her, but she'd make sure he would never had the satisfaction of calling her his daughter ever again. He could fucking die. Hibiki was jumping for joy meanwhile. This was the most exciting thing he had ever encountered, and it was amazing to see someone who was usually so calm and collected (maybe even broody), to be jumping around in joy. Lucy gave him a big hug before he kissed her passionately and continued to jump around. Lucy laughed and they both jumped around. No, the kiss didn't NOT mean nothing, but it wasn't anything romantic at all. Lucy knew they'd be good friends from here on out. Unbeknownst to her... they weren't alone. A cliche that Natsu would end up right there at that exact moment, but it happened just like fate would have it.

Natsu made a noise before averting his eyes and heading over to the box of donuts on the counter top.

A/N: :)))))