The Princess of Fairy Tail High

I wouldn't mind, since you're by my side.

The waves start to grow larger as the storm picks up. Dark, heavy clouds must have filled the sky, but I can't even tell because it's so dark. The rain is pouring so much it's a wonder our little rowboat doesn't fill with water. Lucy starts to panic, using her hands to try and paddle.

"Lucy, it's no use. The waves are huge, and your hands aren't going to help. If I wasn't so tired I'd get out and push the boat..."

She looks up at me with wild eyes. "We have no idea what's in the water! Don't do that! Help me paddle!" Grabbing my hands, she frantically uses them to paddle, oblivious to the object in my hand. I wrestle my wrists out of her grasp, but my phone is no longer in my hand. For the second time in the past five minutes, I look over the side of the boat feeling my hope sink deeper. The light of the still active flashlight lights up the dark water before sinking lower and flickering out. I watch it until I can't see it anymore, almost numb of all feeling.

"Oh Natsu, I'm so sorry!" Lucy seems to have sobered up from her panic. "I didn't realize you had your phone in your hand, I'll pay for another!"

"Don't worry about it. It's actually almost funny. The second phone I've lost to water damage this year."

Lucy lifts her head and looks at me with a mixture of horror and sympathy. "That's right, you told me you broke your phone..."

The phone I had before this one had been irreparably damaged when my troublemaker of a cat pushed it into his bath. I was so wrapped up in taking care of this animal that I lost track of time, and lost communication with a lot of my friends for about a week. I've never had a pet before, and it was exhausting! Not to mention the hundreds of places for a cat to hide in my house.

"I didn't have a way to speak to anyone that week, and during school I was just so tired..."

"During school..." Lucy trails off, her eyes clouding over as she gets lost in memories. "That's right. Natsu..."

The way Lucy said my voice just then breaks my heart. Suddenly I can hear the pain and struggling that she must have hidden from the rest of us. Her smile cracks and in that one breath of sound I can hear hundreds of emotions. Her cheeks are wet from the rain, but now I'm wondering if she's crying. Suddenly, the rain feels heavier than ever. Lucy... my Lucy has been hurting like this and I never knew.

"Lucy..." I reach over to wipe her cheek, but instantly become distracted by the land mass growing behind her.

Our little rowboat lands on that island I spotted a lot sooner than I thought it might. The thunderstorm and wind must have propelled us forward, and sure, maybe Lucy's frantic rowing helped. The second the boat hit the shore, I jumped off and lay on the sand. My sea sickness finally caught up with me, now that I wasn't shrouded in worry or other nerves. The heavy rain drums on the canopy above us, and the sand feels sweet under my fingertips. We couldn't have been on that boat for that long, but it certainly felt like forever. Somewhere behind me I can hear Lucy dragging the boat further inland, then collapsing next to me.

I sit up, brushing wet sand uncomfortably off my clothing, and scootch closer to the shivering Luce. Her teeth start chattering, and now that the rain isn't directly above us I can see clearly the tears that run down her cheeks.

"Lucy," I place my hands on her shoulders and sit so I'm facing her. "Lucy please look at me. I can't stand to hear you in pain. Tell me so I can make it go away! I'll fight it the way I fought the fire."

The thundering of the rain seems to drag the moment out forever. When Lucy does finally speak, her voice is raw.

"But you didn't fight the fire. You got trapped in it, and it was my fault. But that's not why I'm upset."