Why. Why did she leave him? Why did she think that she was better off without him? She was his world; his one true reason to live. Without her, his life was meaningless. His heart ached. It longed for her tender touch. Her gentle whispers. Her sweet kisses. He felt empty. His life had now been shrouded in darkness. Dark without her brilliant light. He was alone. Engulfed by sadness and sorrow.
Natsu was staring out the window blankly. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore. He couldn't find the motivation to work, or for that matter to do anything at all. He closed his eyes and nestled his face into his scarf. He soon felt hot tears running their well traced path down his face. These tears had followed him since the day she left.
Natsu stood up. He stumbled across her room towards the door. She was everywhere. He had to escape.
Natsu slumped out of the apartment, not bothering to close the door behind him. As he walked down the stairs, he heard a faint voice call out to him. He looked up, full of hope, but it was only his imagination. He continued on his way, feeling sadder than he was before.
He found his way out of the building into the cold, dark street. It was empty, illuminated only by the lonely street lamp under which they had shared their first kiss. He turned away, fighting back tears that threatened to fall once again. He took off, starting at a walk and building into a run. He had no destination, but he had to get away. She was everywhere.
As he ran through the streets of Magnolia, eerie flashbacks danced across his eyes. He saw them walking through the park back on their first date. He saw them eating in a café, celebrating a successful mission. He then heard the faint voice once again, but this time when he turned around, she was standing there with a smile on her face.
"Where have you been?" she asked with a giggle in her tone. "I've been waiting for you."
He couldn't believe his eyes. She couldn't be here. Maybe his tiredness had finally caught up to him. But it was so real.
"You know we have a pending mission," Lucy said. "We really need the money. We can't afford to miss the next payment on our rent."
He just stared at her with blank eyes absorbing the fact that she was right in front of him. He blindly reached out a hand to caress her cheek. But his hand swiped right through her. She wasn't really there. It was a memory just mixed up in reality. He turned away, not wanting to bear the pain of her presence any longer. It hurt too much. Against his better judgement, he looked back once more only to find that she had disappeared into the darkness along with everything else. He fell to his knees in a fit of tears.
"Natsu?" he heard someone call out to him. He rose in hope of the impossible, but he was let down like he always was to find it was only Erza, the Guild Master, concern etched on her face. He started away, but she grabbed his arm. Her grip was firm, yet sympathetic. Natsu scoffed.
"I know it's har-"she began, but Natsu interrupted with a tone full of fury.
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" he spat at her. "You don't understand the pain and suffering my heart has endured for the past twenty-nine days. MY LIFE HAS BEEN HELL!"
Erza recoiled at his sudden outburst. She did not yell, or even get angry. She just looked at him, for deep inside her, she understood where he came from. Suddenly, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in for a tight, calming embrace. Natsu struggled for a moment, but soon gave in to the warm gesture. He began to cry. Erza slowly rubbed his back consolingly.
"It hurts. I know. It feels like there's no light in the world and everything is numb and grey," she said soothingly into the ear of his trembling body. "But you need to move on and live your life. That's what she-" He interrupted her again.
