Spoken {Sequel to Unspoken} ON HOLD

chapter seven

Lucy

Natsu held me tight, and I felt safe. It was a huge relief to get it all out rather than holding it in. I couldn't do it in front of Mum and Laxus. Well I could. They would always listen, but I didn't want to make any of it harder for them.

I took a deep breath and pulled away from him. It was time to be strong again. If I was with anyone else I would have pulled it together much sooner, but Natsu always could drag my true emotions out of me.

"Sorry," I mumbled and swept my tears from under my eyes. Thankfully, I had waterproof mascara on, but I had cried a lot – no doubt I looked like a panda.

Natsu kept one of his arms around me. I liked that too much.

"Don't be sorry. You're not the one that has to be sorry. Not ever."

I managed a smile.

"You okay now?"

"Yes." I smoothed down my hair, hoping that would be enough to make me look human again. "We should get back inside."

Natsu shook his head. "No, we shouldn't. You want to talk." He was right to be confident. I did want to talk about it. A few years ago talking was the last thing I wanted but with time, I realised ignoring the problem didn't make it disappear.

"There's a crappy little cafe down the road, we can go there."

"Crappy cafe? That's not very gentlemanly. If that's what you say to the ladies then no wonder you haven't had any since—"

"Yeah, alright. Very funny," he replied.

I grinned. My happiness was almost overwhelming. I loved being near him again, talking, joking around, and knowing that there hadn't been anyone since me.

"Let's go. I could really do with a coffee."

"How crappy is this café then? I'm not going to get food poisoning am I?" I asked as we walked along the street.

"That depends."

I raised my eyebrows. "On?"

"Whether you're eating anything or not."

"Okay that will be a not."

"Good choice."

Natsu held the dull red door open, and I walked inside. He wasn't joking; it was crappy. The patchy magnolia paint had started peeling off the walls, and the white blinds were turning a light yellow. Four rows of dated metal tables and chairs stretched from one side of the room to the other. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to sit down.

"Want a hot chocolate?" Natsu asked, leading me to a table in the corner. Most tables were empty. Only a few people were dotted around, sipping tea and coffee from chipped mugs.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked him. I had no problem with going somewhere cheap and cheerful, but I at least wanted to drink from a clean cup.

"I've been here before, and it's not done me any harm."

I arched my eyebrow sceptically. Natsu shook his head and pointed to the chair.

"Sit and behave."

I did as he said and watched him walk to the counter to order. I couldn't believe how lucky I was that we were friends again. Being back was hard but Natsu made it so much easier.

He returned to the table and sat opposite me. His face turned serious, and I knew the messing around and teasing had stopped for now.

"So... how are you really feeling about it all?"