A Star Removed from the Sky

Four Weeks

How long does it take to break a heart? Beyond mere emotions, beyond recovery: to drive a person to the brink of destruction, when they lose all hope and fall apart? What does it take to destroy someone from the inside, to physically damage their heart?

For Lucy Heartfilia, it was four weeks.

Four weeks of solitude, with no mention of her name from any of her friends, without even a simple hello. Four weeks without a glance her way, everyone's eyes seemed to pass through her. Her words never reached her friends, and her touches were shrugged away, like they were just gusts of wind against their skin. Day after day, week after week, of being completely invisible to everyone around her, like she was a ghost.

Lucy had endured four heartbreaking weeks of being forgotten by everyone she cared about... Her friends... Her family... Everyone in her life she held dear to her. And the worst part was that she didn't know why.

Four weeks ago to the day, everything was fine. She was a beloved member of Fairy Tail, a proud member of Team Natsu, and was perfectly happy with her life. She had everything she'd ever wanted: friends so close they were like family and a place of her own to return to. Of course, she'd learned to share her apartment due to the nature of her friends, so she had someone to go home to as well. She could count on someone being there, especially her two best friends who followed the "make yourself at home" phrase quite literally.

She'd return home and find that Natsu and Happy had set up a board-game for them all to play, with snacks and cushions on the ground, or would be asleep on her floor or bed mumbling about waiting for her in their sleep. Sometimes, she'd come home to the two having attempted to cook something for her in the kitchen, leaving a mess behind and greeting her with a smile and a meal she could never identify through its burned outer layer. It had started as an annoyance, but before she even realized, it had gotten to the point where she didn't feel at home unless they were there with her.

It felt like they were a small family. Natsu would fall asleep on her bed, and she'd simply hop in next to him, which proved to be a great way to fight the cold of winter. Happy would sleep at their feet and tease Lucy whenever she awoke to Natsu snuggled next to her. The teasing had died off a bit recently; it felt more and more like it was natural. Whenever he did tease, she'd pull him over to them and make him sleep between them, which Happy didn't seem to mind after a while. He was always sitting on Lucy's lap and giving her hugs, which Lucy loved. She didn't used to be a cuddly person, but now she felt most at peace hugging Happy and Natsu.

They had developed a daily routine with the three of them. In the morning they'd wake up, starting with Lucy and Happy and followed by Natsu, once he could smell whatever breakfast Lucy prepared. Happy was easy, all he wanted was a fish, and Lucy had started keeping a stash in her fridge. Natsu would eat anything as long as there was enough to settle his huge appetite. At first Lucy had been worried about her food bill, but Natsu had started adding his own money since it was no longer just for her, but for "the three of them". The statement had made her blush and smile widely. He'd said they would be together forever, and she found herself looking forward to their future more and more every day.

After breakfast, they'd walk to the guild together, to eat more and talk with all their friends. They all laughed whenever Natsu got beaten by Erza for causing a scene, or when Gray would be tackled by Juvia whenever he even glanced at another female. Lucy had a smile on her face every day, she couldn't be happier. Not only did she have the family she always wanted, she had someone who walked her home with a smile on his face and a talking cat to tease her about her ability to trip over any rock on the sidewalk. She and Natsu had been growing even closer than they were before, which seemed impossible. But lately, there had been a spark, one that made her heart race when he put his arm around her shoulder. A spark that made her snuggle towards him when they fell asleep, and made her smile when she woke up to his arm slung across her waist in the morning.