- honeydew ,,

I.

Chapter 1: The Blonde Beauty.

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I sighed, gathering my music sheets, neatly setting them into my folder and walking out of the music room. The hallway was easily crowded, as it was passing time for most students to get to their next class. I bumped shoulders with someone, and all my belongings clumsily fell from my hands and onto the floor.

I knelt down, not without grumbling some curses under my breath,
re-collecting my items in a pile. That is, until I brushed fingers with a creamy, pale toned hand. My eyes trailed up from the hand, only to be met with big, brown eyes and blonde hair. She stared at my dull eyes, as if getting lost in them. Which, slightly confused me.

"S-Sorry for bumping into you. . ." She mumbled, handing me my books before running off into the crowd of other students that enroll here.

I watched her run frantically down the hall, her long, blonde hair sashaying side to side down her back, before she took a sharp left and disappeared from sight. I felt an arm be tossed over my shoulder. "Oi, Flame Brain. Whatcha' doin' just standin' around, eh?" I groaned, shaking his arm off my shoulder. "Nothing. Lets just. . . Get to the café. . ." I mumbled before lazily walking the opposite direction down the hallway.

Gray shrugged before jogging up to me, and nudging me in my side, rambling on about girls and such.

I, however, was stuck thinking about the one I had run into earlier. Which, I'm not sure why, because girls have never had this much effect on me. But somehow, she did.

---

Gray and I entered the Strauss Café. Here, many students from Fairytail Music Academy come here to hang out or do school work. Maybe even throw parties, but it's rare for that to ever happen. My friends and I come here often, and we are close to some of the owners of the place.

We seated ourselves at a booth in the far corner of the café, the one where we always sit at. "Natsu, Gray!" A voice called from across the café, grabbing peoples attention, including our own. It was Erza, Jellal, and Gajeel. I groaned, slouching further into the seat and buried my face in the menu.

The trio took a seat across from us, making me slightly look up from the menu, before hiding again. Erza had exchanged worried glances with everyone, without my consent, but soon shrugged the thought off before diving into their menus. "Hi, everyone!" Someone cheered from the end of the table. My eyes drifted upwards and met with hers. "Lisanna.." I mumbled.

A blur of a distant memory filled my mind. It sent me off guard, and i shook my head to rid of the thought. An uneasy feeling was sent throughout my veins, from slightly even remembering. I hated it.

She smiled innocently down at me, and an icy shiver was sent up the back of my spine.

I slid out of the booth and walked away and seated myself at a different table, no words added; unable to convert my thoughts into sentences, let alone words.

Erza and the others looked at me with small concern, but placed their orders in advance; Lisanna's pen scribbling against the small notepad she held in her small and delicate fingers. "I'll be right back with those coffees and pastries." She smiled and spun around, walking towards the back of the café. My dark eyes followed her until she disappeared behind the door that lead to the kitchen.

The others had indulged themselves back into their small talk, seeming to leave me be.

I sat back into my seat and buried my face into my muffler, looking out of the window. The scenery was beautiful. The leaves were painted an orange and red, turning so delicate and brittle, where if you were to pick one up and squeeze it in your hand, it'd fall into millions of pieces with just the touch of your palm. The air is becoming crisp, and heavier clothing is being called into store.

Fall is my favorite time of year. I'm honestly not so sure why. It could be the way the leaves crunch under people's feet when they walk, or the small, warm clouds of condensation that blow out of your mouth and into the cool air. The feeling of sitting by a warm fireplace at night while sipping a cup of coffee, wrapped in a blanket on the floor; The hot fire burning your face from being so close. Or, even the feeling of playing the guitar or piano, the soft music floating into the air and drowning me into a world of bliss.

I had missed fall so much. But now it was back, ready to pull me away and trap me into a world of heaven.

Just thinking about it excited me, bringing a tingling sensation to my toes as they began to bounce around in my sneakers. I had unknowingly ordered a coffee as well, and one of the employees had set the mug on the table in front of me. I thanked her and wrapped my hands around the warm clay, and took a sip.

My eyes trailed around the shop, looking at whom had arrived in the time being here. That is until my eyes landed on a single blonde haired girl, with those same big, brown eyes from earlier. She was writing, what seemed to be, music. She'd tap her pencil on the table or her chin every now and then, or she'd move her fingers elegantly around the table with closed eyes and a content smile spread lightly across her face, as if she were to be sitting at a piano and playing a song. Her eyes would pop open, and she'd begin scribbling notes onto the paper, and the process repeated.

I couldn't help but watch her peaceful, elegant processes play into action. The way she looked so content, made me envy her already. Her eyes trailed over from the papers to meet my own. We stared for a few moments, which felt like an eternity before I melted under her eye contact and turned away, a light blush spread across my cheeks. However, she continued to study my expression, movements, and every detail on my face. I returned eye contact, and gave her a small smile.

A few girls walked into the shop, pulling the blonde beauty out of the booth as the girl scrambled around to collect her papers before being dragged out of the shop. My eyes trailed to the table she'd been sitting at, and I noticed she had left a folder sitting atop the table. I watched the door, waiting for the girl to come running back in and retrieving it, but after awhile; she never did. I turned to face the window again, but jerked my head in the same direction once more when I heard the jingle of the bell above the door ring.

There she was. Trotting to her previous table. She snatched the folder, and walked to the door, put her hand on the knob, but never opened it. I slightly tilted my head, watching her movements intently. She turned and looked at me, flashing me with a big, bright smile and a wave before running back out of the café.

My heart was beating unbelievably fast, and my cheeks were still tinted red. "Oi! Flame Brain! Ya comin'?" Gray exclaimed from behind, tearing me from my current state I was in. Burying my face in my muffler to hide the blush, I nodded and stood up, following the group out of the warmth and into the crisp, dry air of October.

~~~

Next chapter:
The sound of our music ❀