Love in the End

Chapter 4

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PREVIOUS:
I laid down in my new bed and gotten comfortable under the covers. Today was one I won't forget. I almost died, I was rescued, met some wonderful people, put someone in her place, and almost kissed the guy that had saved me. I don't know what to say about any of it, but what I do know is that I'm going to have to do my best to survive from now on. And with that last thought, I drifted off to sleep.
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NATSU'S POV

After Lucy left, I was back to being alone. I starred at the moon and the trees that runs for miles in front of the mansion, thinking about what just happened. For some reason I just felt this connection with Lucy that I haven't felt before. 

 Hopefully Lisanna won't get in the way of whatever this is. I know how she feels about me and all, but how many times can I tell her that I don't feel the same for her? 

I know that I've only known Lucy for a day, but something about her makes me feel this need to protect her. Too stay by her side. I just feel something with her that I haven't with anyone else. 

Compared to Lisanna, Lucy seems so kind and helpful. The second that she met us (after I saved her life) she didn't hesitate to help Levy and the others bring Gray and I back to the mansion. She even stood up to Lisanna for her too. 

Lisanna has never done that. All she ever does is insult people and tries to put them down. She isn't helpful to anyone not even her own sister. 

I'm not sure why the comparison between them even came to me, it just did.

I can't help as my thoughts start to run rapid in my head. The thought of Lucy especially. Without even thinking about it, I left the balcony and headed over to the one person I don't usually ask for help from.

"Yo, Elsa?" I said walking over to his table that's also had Juvia and Wendy sitting at it.

"What's up pyro?" He replied not even looking in my direction.

" We gotta talk. Now!" I said putting an emphasis on the 'now' part. 

He turned around to look at me as if he thought I was going to start another fight or something. Once he saw the look of seriousness on my face, he nodded  getting up from his seat and walked out the room with me and in to the hall behind the bar. 

"What's  got you so serious?"

" I need some advice and before you say anything stupid, just know that I'm in no mood for the jokes right now."

"Okay." He said now seeming both confused and interested in what I was going to say.

I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for the conversation ahead of me. "It's about Lucy."

"Lucy? Lucy? You mean that blonde that you rescued earlier today?"

" Yeah, that one."

" What about her?" He asked. 

" For some reason, I feeling this weird sort of connection with her."

"What do you mean?" His confusion now evident as he raised his brow crossing both his arms.

"I don't know how to explain it. It's just .... I feel close to her, like I need to protect her almost. Like we just understand each other and I need to stick by her." 

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know man." I say running my hand through my hair. "It's just ... we were up on the balcony right? And we were just talking, then all of a sudden we're staring at each other and I'm feeling the need to kiss her, and next thing I know I'm leaning in and so is she. Then she just pulls away and leaves. But after she left, all I can think about is her." I finished as he just stared at me not saying a word.

He starts to scratch the back of his neck and folding his arms as he tries to process my words. A minute goes by with the two of us just standing there not knowing what to say next. 

As he starts rock back and forth, still trying to get his thought together, I lean against the wall waiting for some kind of response. 

"Well man it sounds like you're into her." He said.

"Seriously? All that time you spent thinking, that's what you came up with?" I said annoyed.

He puts his hands up in defense. "Aye man, I'm just going based off of what you said."

"I just met the girl today, how could I have feelings for her?" 

"Well think about it this way." He began. "You said that when you're around her you get this feeling telling you that you need to stay by her side, like you need to protect her, right?" 

"Yeah. So?" I asked confused at where he was going with this.

"You did also say that when you were alone, you looked at each other and something told you to kiss her. And that you couldn't get her off of your mind." 

After hearing Gray explain himself, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was right. It made sense too. Even though I had just met this girl today, she was making me feel things that I hadn't experienced before. And I did want to kiss her earlier too. 

"Ah shit." I said putting my face in my hands, shaking my head. I couldn't believe that I actually had feelings for someone I'd just met, like in one of those cheesy romcoms I use to make fun of. 

"Look Natsu," Gray said placing a hand on my shoulder. " Not that it's big a deal or anything, but I say just see where this goes. Who knows you may like where you end up." 

"I can't be in to her man. It's not safe." 

"Why?" He asked. 

"Gray, there are fucking zombies. And not cool zombies like from the movies we use to watch as kids, but literal fucking zombies! If we're not careful we could get killed!" I said. 

"Natsu, I get it, believe me I do." He said leaning against the wall next to me. " We've all lost people that we cared about. You, Wendy, Gajeel, and I all our lost our parents. Juvia too. Mira, Lisanna, and Levy all lost their brothers. Bixslow lost his best friend. And the list goes on. And who knows who Lucy lost or how long she's been out there alone. But even though we've lost all those people, doesn't mean that we can just give up. Hell man we just turned 18 a while ago. Normally this would be the time that we start going to parties and getting shit faced, but things are different now. " 

He sighed. "Look my point is, you can't just shut yourself off cause you're afraid of what might happen. I mean look at Juvia and I. I'm scared every time we go out on a run. I'm scared that something will happen to her and I can't do anything to stop it. But I can't live the rest of my life in fear. And neither can you man. You owe it to yourself to find out where this goes." 

"Yeah, you're probably right." 

"And hell, if you don't get anywhere with her, then there's always Lisanna." We chuckled at the comment. 

" Thanks man." I say dabbing him up. 

" What are friends for?" And with that he walked back to his seat. 

I watched as I saw him kiss Juvia causing Wendy to gag at the site. Afterwards they started to laugh at something Juvia had said. They looked pretty happy even with everything we have to deal with outside the mansion walls. 

I started thinking about Lucy again as I contemplated over Gray's words. He was right, I couldn't live the rest of my life in fear and I did owe it to myself to see where things went with her. And man, was I ready to find out.