Pink Lemonade

Spilled Lemonade

(Lucy POV - A few hours earlier...)

I feel awful. 

My stomach is doing flips as I dunk a dish in the murky water in the sink. Why does it have to be this way? Why does my family have to hate his?  It's not fair. Natsu even came in to buy me chocolates. 

If I had been going, I would have been getting a manicure. Scrubbing glasses in the sink is going to get them even more damaged. My fingernails are rough just like my heart. And my heart is being scrubbed in the sink as well.

"Lucy!" Yells my brother in law. 

"Yeah?!"

"We need you to help serve food!"

"Kay! I'll be there in a sec!"

I drop the glasses in the sink-water and rush over to help serving. Working at Heartfelt Lemonade takes a lot, but eventually you'll make it. I remember a time when I was around 14 and I was starting to work here. I didn't really like that I had been born into the family business, but my mom, Layla, made it a little easier for me. She gave me probably the most easiest job of Heartfelt Lemonade you could have. Decorating glasses of lemonade. 

Each day I would complain of how the sugar coating wasn't sticking to the glasses and how once the fruit was stuck to the side of the glass that the juice dripped down the side of the glass. Finally, they'd had enough of me. 

They sent me off to an orphanage to work in the rotting, smelly, ugly kitchen with a lady that never washed her greasy (I'm pretty sure lice infested) head. At least it was in a hairnet. She was really mean, but not as mean as the headmistress. 

I remember a time when I actually got in trouble for not drying off a bowl completely. The guy's bowl slipped right out of his hands. But even though it wasn't really my fault, I stood up for him because I, well, he was kinda cute. Plus he had all sorts of scratches and bruises on his body. I think he had gotten several beatings for stupid things like giving the birds his dry oatmeal because they were so skinny or letting other people take showers before he did and he ended up missing it. 

So I felt bad. And I took the beating for it. That slap on my cheek was red for months and stung like a bee. I learned my lesson I guess. After my mom figured out that the headmistress had beat kids for their doing, she tried to close them down. But she couldn't. That's the part that still gets me. Those poor kids. 

I grab a few glasses of lemonade and go to the table that has ordered them. But just as I do, I see a boy running through the streets with a couple items. He has all of them protected from the rain using an umbrella. But he has no cover at all. And that's when I see a tuft of pink hair. 

Natsu. 

But why? 

I drop my glasses and luckily they don't shatter but the lemonade leaks from them. It gets quiet in the lemonade place. "Lucy?! What's wrong with you?"

"Oh! Sorry!" 

I feel my heart cracking. I shoot to the ground and pick up my mess. 

I race into the back with shaky fingers then drop the glasses into the sink and scrub them at full speed. Another staff/family member gives the table coupons for the inconvenience and apologizes. 

Michelle runs over. "Lucy? You okay?" "Yeah. Just a little girl that skinned her knee. I was surprised." "Well be more careful." I nod. "Okay." I stand there, my world is completely silent. Everything seeps inside me until I can't handle anything anymore. And a tear rolls down my face, gently.

So, instead of washing the dishes, instead of doing what I'm told to do, I run off down the streets wearing my apron. I can't handle it anymore. I'm so sorry family, I can't respect you anymore.

My feet pound on the sidewalk. 

My hair flies in the wind.

But I keep on running. 

I get to Tenrou Hill and I start the climb. I grip dirt in my hands, getting it behind my fingernails. My favorite boots get dirty, but I don't care. I just want to get to the top of this hill. And I want to see Natsu, Natsu Dragneel.

When my hand reaches the top, I feel a wave of relief. The coolness of the moonlight shines upon my hands, feeling a sensation dancing across my hand. I pull myself up slowly taking caution with every tug. 

Then I lift open my eyes and wipe them with my forefinger to remove the dirt and water. And when I do, I see Natsu laying on the shining ground, worry covering his face. He has goosebumps too. Well, I'm sure that's normal considering that the wind up here is blowing like crazy nonstop. I get to my feet and suck in the wonderful pleasure of what I see before me. 

The clouds dance calmly at my feet. And above that, I see the stars. Is this what the stars look like? Bright, shiny, gleaming orbs of beautiful light. It like I'm in a dream. The wind picks up my hair, slowly dragging my locks with it. 

I plop down onto the ground a few feet from Natsu and observe the items that surround him. The flowers are beautiful, and they smell of  cherry blossoms straight from a Sakura tree. I open the box of chocolate and eat a few. I think they've become my favorites. This has made my day. 

It was complete now as I lay down on the soft grass and stare up at the sky. I softly kiss Natsu and look at the moon before my eyes drift off into the dark. 

Thank you, Natsu.