Let Me Teach You

♥ ch. 10 ♥

Traveling into a labyrinth is endless. You're trapped until you can find your way out. Sometimes, finding your way out isn't as easy as it seems. The maze goes on forever, there's no stopping it. The exit seems to be nonexistent. There's no way out until you find it, but will you ever find it?

Lucy and Natsu decided to skip class for the day and stay in. After the past events, class was the last thing Lucy wanted to do. Her head was still aching, it was hard for her to think or process anything. Lucy sat on Natsu's couch in his apartment, curled up in the corner, staring off into space.

Natsu's apartment was really empty like Gray's. He obviously didn't care about decoration either. There were a few portrait frames, but Lucy didn't recognize some of the people. There was a picture of Natsu with a little girl with long blue hair, maybe a sister? Natsu also had a few pictures of him, Gray, and Erza together.

In the kitchen, Natsu was making her ramen to help her head. He thought that warm foods would help her head stop aching and throbbing. He couldn't keep her off his mind no matter how he tried. Whatever he did, Lucy was there. If he took a shower, he could see her dancing in the rain. He went outside, he saw her prancing around picking flowers. He looked at flowers, all he could see was her endless beauty.

Natsu had two bowls of ramen in his hands. He handed one to Lucy and kept one for himself. He quietly sat down next to Lucy, trying not to disrupt her. They ate in complete silence. Lucy enjoyed how quiet it was, but Natsu was wishing that music was blasting, but he knew that wouldn't help her.

After they ate, they gently set the bowls down on the wooden coffee table in front of them. Lucy couldn't help but keep her gaze off the picture of Natsu and a man who looked like his father. Natsu looked young in the picture, maybe four or five years old. The man had red-orange hair like fire.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said, looking away from the picture. Natsu's eyes widened at her statement, but soon went back to their original size.

"Don't be sorry," he stated, leaning back on the couch. Lucy leaned over and placed her hand on his forehead on a wound he received when fighting Loke. His skin was burning hot, but Lucy didn't mind.

"I caused this," she said, gently caressing it with her thumb. It stung for Natsu, but her touch made all the pain go away.

"It's not your fault, don't blame yourself." He said as Lucy drew her hand back into her lap. Natsu wished that Lucy would stay close to him, but he knew that she needed her personal space.

"Words won't work," she informed him, rubbing the palm of her hand on his black couch. It was rough but soft, Lucy could tell that the couch was barely used.

"How are you holding up?" Natsu asked as he fiddled his thumbs. First Erza asked her that question, now Natsu. She felt loved knowing that others worried about her.

"I've already fallen," she stated, curling back into the corner. She covered her face with her sweater and warmed her cheeks up. A small frown formed on Natsu's face. He wanted to help her, but he had no clue how to. He never met someone as broken as Lucy.

"Can I do anything to help?" He asked. He didn't know what to do, so he assumed asking her flat-out would give him his answer. Lucy shook her head no.

"Nothing will work except for time," she said in a muffled voice since her sweater was covering her pink lips. Her lips looked soft and precious, Natsu wanted to protect them and her with everything he had. He hated seeing Lucy upset. Whenever he saw her sad, all he could think of was seeing her galavanting around town, picking flowers as she went along.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" He asked, hoping to raise her spirits. He knew that Lucy loved the outdoors, so maybe some fresh air would help. But Lucy shook her head no and cuddled herself back into the couch.