In Pursuit of Perfection | Nalu | Collab with ofthefeels

| Chapter 25 |

Better Together by Fifth Harmony

| Previously on Chapter 24 |

"I'll always be with you, no matter the distance. I'm so proud of the person you've grown to be," Mother said, smiling. "We love you very much." I clung to their words, savoring each one as long as possible.

Then, they disappeared, puffy white clouds in their place.

I looked down at Father's grave, the words, Jude Heartfilia, lover of ballet, art, and family written on the tombstone. He was in a better place now, maybe somewhere up there with Mother. I took in a deep breath, my heart lighter. I wiped the last traces of tears away.

This time, I wouldn't.

I wouldn't let him down.

| Chapter 25 |

I won't let you down. I won't, Father. I won't. I promise. I can't.

"Lucy? Lucy!" A voice called out to her.

Lucy blinked. "W-what? I'm sorry."

"We're rehearsing the Chesire Cat Leap from scene four again," Igneel said. "Please pay attention."

"Sorry." Focus, Lucy, focus. She took a deep breath and positioned herself. Igneel pressed the play button on the radio and the music started, forcing her legs to move. Her heart quickened as she ran forward, Natsu reaching for her. She leapt into the air, her hand missing his face by inches as she formed a split. He caught her in time and scooped her up—

"Stop," he said. Natsu let her down, trying to catch her eye but she kept it firmly on the floor. Igneel sighed. "It's still not smooth enough." He began pacing back and forth. "If you two can't nail it, I'll have to take it out and replace it with something easier."

"But Dad, we can do it!" Natsu said. "Just give us a little more time." Figure out your flaws.

He shook his head. "There is no more time. The show is in a week." Accept them.

"We'll try harder. Come on, Dad. Please?" And only then—

"What do you think, Lucy?" he asked, snapping her back to reality.

"I—um, well..." she said, thinking frantically. "Like Natsu said, I-I think we can do it."

"I have an idea," Mr. Gowan said, joining in on the conversation. "Do you remember what I said when I introduced myself a few weeks ago?" They nodded. "Ballet is about trust, and the Chesire Cat Leap is the perfect example of how trust plays a huge role in the move. Both of you must have complete trust in each other for it to work. Now, please try that again. This time, have faith in one another."

Natsu nodded, and she took a deep breath.

"You gotta trust me, Lucy," he said, his voice urgent.

"I do," she said.

He shook his head. "Not enough."

"What am I supposed to do then?" she asked, frustrated.

He turned to face her. "I trust you. Completely."

"I know."

"Do you?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Why didn't the words come out? Natsu was one of her closest friends—maybe even someone more—but it was as if her tongue had a mind of its own.

"I know that you have other things on your mind, but I need you to focus on this. You have to trust me, Lucy."

She swallowed. If I say it, Father, I need you to make this happen. "I trust you."

"You don't have any doubt?"

"No."

"Do you think we can do this?"

"Yes."

"I won't let you fall."

A grin eased its way into her lips. "You better not."

"Can we start?" Igneel asked.

"Yes, sir," she said, as they took a few steps back and steadied themselves. The music started again, and she ran forward. A surge of confidence bursted in her chest, and as she met Natsu's gaze, his eyes telling her all she needed to hear, she leapt into the air, her legs forming a split. His hands caught her by the waist, and he lifted her up, both breathing heavily. Thank you, Father.

Prince Siegfried slowly let Odette down and brought her close to him, offering movements of condolence for his mistake, but she slipped from his reach and pirouetted away, sorrow echoing in her movements. He followed her as she stretched her leg into an arabesque, then he turned her around on pointe. She let him take her hand, wrapping it around her chest so that they had a moment of silence, intertwined in each other's arms.

Igneel pressed the pause button, and they turned back to Natsu and Lucy. "Yes! Now that's what I'm looking for."

"I'm impressed as always. You two learn very quickly and work wonderfully together," Mr. Gowan said, exchanging smiles with Igneel. "I'm anticipating for a magical evening."

***

"I have few announcements before we leave," Igneel said to a crowd bubbling with excitement. "First, we've already started selling tickets, and the sales have been better than expected. There will be plenty of people there: journalists, reporters, directors from other schools, important contributors to the program, et cetera." Whispers broke out among the crowd.

"Are you prepared to accept another role?" Levy joked, poking Lucy.

"Probably not. I think I'm going to stay in Juilliard to polish up my skills," she said. I'm in pursuit of perfection.

"That's good, no one else is leaving either," said Erza.

"Secondly, we'll be having full rehearsals everyday from six to twelve starting this Wednesday, so don't be late," he said, ignoring the groans. "Costume fittings will begin on Friday, and our first performance will be at seven next Saturday!" Cheers erupted from audience. "That's it, have a nice day, everyone!"

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| Author's Note - @ofthefeels |

Hello! Hope you guys are having a nice day ^.^ Merry Christmas!

What do you think of the chapter? Do you think Lucy is handling her father's death well? Do you think she'll be able to reach perfection? Do you think anything else is going to go wrong as the show day gets closer? Comment your thoughts below, we'd love to hear!

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[P.S. Sorry for the late update, we had some technical difficulties!]