Unity

9

Lucy has me confused. I don't even understand her anymore. The way she acts around me . . . it makes me cringe. She's not good at flirting. I do think it's a dare, though. I mean, her and Loke have gotten along pretty quickly. I honestly don't know what else to say. I can't really think at the moment. So, maybe later?

Natsu Dragneel

Natsu bit at his fingernails as he sat on the couch, staring at his open, halfway annotated book, which he stayed up doing the night before since he couldn't get his mind off things. It was Sunday, and the events that happened on Friday were strange. Lucy kissing him on the cheek? Was that some kind of friendly gesture girl's do nowadays or what? Natsu didn't really think of Lucy more than a friend. In fact, he didn't really think of anyone more than a friend. He loved everyone equally.

He didn't feel a spark when she did it . . .

Was he supposed to?

Lucy had declared that she were to take him out for dinner the night before, along with Gray and Loke. Natsu could say that he and Loke eventually became friends, because the night before, Loke somehow received his number and started texting him.

"Ugh . . . I'm too tired for this!" Natsu shouted at himself. Wendy, Gajeel, and Zeref weren't home. They had to run some errands before it got too late because Natsu had burned dinner. To be honest, he wasn't even hungry anymore.

The rosette stood up from the couch, looking at the clock to see what the time was. Around eight. He would take a nap—or go to sleep—and see what the next day had in store for him. He tossed his book onto the coffee table and sprawled his body across the couch.

Not only three minutes later was he snoring.

•••

Natsu woke up on the couch at one in the morning. His head hurt badly, and he sat up too quickly. He groaned in pain, staring at the clock and mumbling why he was even up. The rosette got up from his spot, turning on his phone and hissing at the brightness. He immediately turned on the flashlight and turned his phone off.

It was pouring outside. Thunder could be heard in the distance, and it was probably what woke him up. Natsu grumbled curse words, stepping on top of pillows that were on the floor from the couches. He made his way to the stairs when he heard a noise in the kitchen. Stopping at his spot, he turned the flashlight to the room, looking around the kitchen.

He refused to step in there.

Natsu took another step towards the stairs when another noise frightened him, making him bolt up the stairs to his room. Locking his door, he jumped onto his bed and bundled up in his covers. He kept the flashlight facing the door, and he froze in complete silence.

The noise wasn't there. Maybe it was Zeref, or Wendy and Gajeel. Natsu decided to check.

The rosette gripped onto his phone and crept to his door. He slowly turned the doorknob and peeked out the door. Zeref's door, Wendy and Gajeel's door, and the bathroom door was in sight, along with the stairs leading the the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Natsu gulped as lightning struck, lighting up the house for a mere second. He then left his room and walked across the hallway, opening Zeref's bedroom door. He was asleep, snoring loudly as possible. Natsu closed his door and moved towards the guest room. He cracked the door open slightly knowing that Wendy was a light sleeper and woke up at everything.

Gajeel was asleep on the floor, while Wendy was sitting up in bed. Her eyes were halfway open, and she stared at Natsu curiously. The rosette smiled at her.

"Natsu?"

"Shh! Go back to sleep. I'm only checking," Natsu whispered, making Wendy nod. The girl then rubbed her eyes, yawned, and collapsed back in the bed, curling up into a ball slowly. Natsu sighed, and closed the door. He then turned around, seeing that the bathroom light was on. He immediately shut it off and closed the door. Taking a deep breath, he turned his flashlight down the stairs.