A Racer and A Thug

Our Little Secret

Lucy's POV

I don't really know what compelled me to lead Natsu all the way to one of my utmost secret places. Well, it's not really secret since so many people come here. But no one in my little gangster community knows about this little hobby of mine, so I consider that secret enough.

"This is called Extalia Park. You may have heard of it," I said, looking at the pink haired racer. He nodded that, indeed, he had heard of such a place.

"But I've never been here," He stated.

"Well, let me give you the grand tour then." I grabbed his wrist and proceeded to enter the park. I had hoped that a few cats were around, they were stalking the area in all hours of the day and it would be rare to not see one.

We made it to the center, more or less, of the park. You can always tell it's the center of the park because there's a cliche looking fountain that couples like to take pictures next too and other people, mostly kids, toss pennies or other coins to make wishes. So the fountain is filled with pennies, nickels, and sometimes the average pop tab. But it was always cleaned out every now and then and the coins would be sent to charity of whoever needed it. I've made my fair share of wishes, when I was smaller of course, but quickly grew out of it once none of my wishes were even acknowledged.

"This is the fountain, lots of kids and young couples hang here. You can throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish too," I explained in, more or less, simple terms.

"What are we doing here?" I heard Natsu ask, his voice clearly showing his uneasiness. I don't know why the guy is freaking out, he's with, probably, the safest person in the whole city.

"Like I said," I started. "it's a little secret of mine. Well I guess now it's not a secret since you know."

It seemed that the racer still hadn't picked up on what I was saying because he asked, "What secret?"

I would've gotten annoyed, but I found myself slightly laughing. Surprisingly. "This park is my secret." I turned away from him to look at the fountain, the sun had started to disappear and it's light only produced a low red glow off to the west, which was right in front of me. "I come here every now and then and...." I found that I couldn't finish my sentence cause I just realized how embarrassing this would be. Oh well, no backing out now. "I like to think about things." I really had no idea how to put into words about what I did here. I just went here, thought about my past and future and would pet a cat or two. I mentally winced and waiting in agonizing silence for a snicker, chuckle, or any indication that Natsu would laugh. But the noise never came. Instead, I only received a response.

"I never knew that...." his voice was quiet and didn't hold any sign that he was nervous at all.

"Well it's not something I like to openly talk about," I replied. "I mean, who wants to hear that most feared gangster, in Edolas city, likes to hang out at a park with a bunch of cats?" I crossed my arms as I continued. "Yeah that'll surely strike fear in the hearts of my enemies."

"Uh...yeah I guess so..."

It was quiet for a few minutes as we both paid attention to the sounds of the water running throughout the three layered fountain. It sprouted from the top, filled the first layer until it pooled over, and trickled into the second layer. It repeated this process and reached the third layer, the largest, and filled the small wading pool almost to the brim, save for the thick ring around it so people could sit.

By this time, the sun was gone, as was the moon, which created the perfect night for star gazing. This was another hobby of mine, the place was far enough from the city that you can see stars, but I wasn't about to share that with Natsu just yet. Instead I looked up and mentally started mapping the sky. Picking out the more hard and discreet ones, rather than the popular ones, was a something I liked to challenge myself at. It was pretty peaceful, there seemed to be no awkward atmosphere between us and only the feeling of content. Or it could just be me. For all I know, Mr. Racer over there was mentally freaking out.