Safe and Sound | Nalu

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Eight: Croissant
---

"The more you move, the longer this'll take, Erza," Juvia groaned impatiently as the scarlet haired girl squirmed in her chair in front of the vanity, her right eyelid closed so Juvia could attempt to apply eye-liner on her. The girls had decided on meeting at Erza's house, being the closest to the school. Surprisingly enough, they were able to set up everything they needed to get ready even with the space constraints of just being in her bedroom.

Lisanna laughed, having been the one to help Erza curl her hair. It wasn't that Erza didn't care for her looks, it was more of she had no hands-on experience with anything the others were doing. So when Lucy showed her three shades of lipstick, her face scrunched up as she said, "Does it matter?"

The girls let out exasperated sighs. "She's hopeless," Levy laughed as Lucy applied a pale pink lipgloss across her lips, smiling as she pushed her bangs behind her ears, craning her neck from left to right to try and see the updo of her hair, poking at locks pulled and shaped to look almost like a messy yet formal bun. To the right side of the bun was a tiny silvery bow clipped in.

"The boys will be here in..." Lisanna checked her phone to see the time, right as the doorbell began ringing. "Negative zero minutes. Fantastic! Okay, you guys finish up with Erza, I will get the door. Do not-I repeat-do not come downstairs until you hear my cue."

The ivory haired girl hurried out, cursing under her breath for having to shift her dress to squeeze out, rushing down the hallway out of sight from the others. Juvia huffed as she stepped back and cheered, finishing the final touches for Erza. She double-checked everyone's makeup, nodding in approval as she peeked her head out the door. "Lisanna, we're coming down!"

"Wait wait wait wait wait-ah screw it. You can come down," Her voice echoed from downstairs.

Levy and Juvia were the first ones to exit Erza's room. As Erza got up to head to the door, she looked back, seeing Lucy fiddling with her necklace. "Everything okay?"

Lucy's head snapped up as she looked at the scarlet haired girl, her shoulders sagging a bit as she nodded slowly and sighed. "Yeah...yeah, I think I'm just-I think I'm just freaking out a little."

"What are you freaking out about?" Erza let out a soft chuckle as she moved closer to the blonde.

She shrugged softly as she murmured, "I guess I'm just worried things won't go well tonight. I just want him to be happy."

"Natsu?"

Lucy nodded as she crossed her arms together, her hands clutching her elbows tightly.

Erza smiled. "He's happy wherever he is as long as he's with you. I'm not one to tell you what to do, but you should stop worrying so much."

The blonde chewed on her lip anxiously, sighing as she nodded. "I know."

"Lucy."

She slowly looked at the scarlet-haired girl with a worried look in her eyes.

"You love him, right?"

"I-" Lucy blinked, feeling her shoulders begin to relax. "I do. I do love him."

"Natsu loves you too. And, you know, with everything that's happened in the past, he just needs you to be there for him. He's struggling with fixing the pieces of his life that have been broken for a long time, and you-when you came...it seemed like you were the one that would give him the pieces that would finally make him whole again." Erza showed her an expression of reassurance and seriousness. "Be there for him."