Fairy Tail Eeveelution

Chapter 44: Send Off

I called Eevee back to me, and she sat on my shoulder with a smile. The whole guild came rushing down from the bleachers, crowding all of us and cheering. I became overwhelmed by the attention, and took a few steps back in defense. "Thank you everyone, thanks!"

Everyone was crowding Ash as well, and he looked like he was loving the attention. I stared at him in seriousness as he smiled with Pikachu in his arms. He answered everyone's questions without losing it.

"Ellie?" Lucy asked next to me. "What's the matter?" I looked up at her, and grinned widely.

"Nothing!" I told her. "Just feeling a bit like the champion, that's all."

"Ah, I get it." She blinked in understanding. "Well bear with it until we get back to the guild!"

"Sure, but..." I looked back at Ash. "I do need to wish Ash a good battle." I started to walk toward him, and he noticed me in wonder. Everyone backed away to watch us. I held out my hand. "I gotta say, Ash..." I smiled at him. "You really gave me the best battle I've ever had. Thank you for that."

He smiled then, chuckling. He took my hand with a strong grip. "You bet. It was the same for me too."

"Party at the guild to celebrate!" Natsu yelled. "Let's eat until we can't eat no more!" The guild agreed with a loud cheer.

I giggled, and waited until they all turned around to start back toward the guild hall. I lost my smile, and leaned forward to whisper into Ash's ear. He blushed from my sudden move. "We need to talk. All of us trainers. It's important."

"Guys!" Lucy called to us as the other trainers came down to us. I stood upright again to look at her. "You coming?"

I nodded. "Give us a few minutes! We have to talk about what happened in the battle as trainers."

Lucy lost her smile. "You sure you don't want us to wait for you?"

"Nah, we'll catch up! Don't worry, we'll be quick." She seemed a little hurt, but complied when Natsu called to her from outside. She turned and jogged out of the arena.

I sighed, closing my eyes. "Okay then...now that we're alone."

"What's wrong, Ellie?" Serena asked.

I kept my head lowered in sadness. "When you guys go home..." I started, feeling my heart burst with pain. "I have to come with you. And...Fairy Tail has to forget everything about us."

~~~

We came back to the guild with fake smiles on our faces. "Who's ready to party like a champion?!" I screamed as loud as I could. The whole guild exploded with cheers.

"Let's party till we drop dead!" Lucy yelled back.

"Time for me to get sooo wasted!" Cana held up her drink like it was something special.

"No drinking in front of the kids!" Papa yelled at her.

"Aww, come on Master." Cana already was gulping down her booze. "It's a cause for celebration!"

He sighed. "There's no stopping you, is there?" Cana just laughed out loud, as drunk as usual. I sighed myself.

"Well...have fun you guys. I gotta...talk to Natsu, okay?" I stared at him, my heart skipping a beat from his laughing smile.

"Yeah," Serena replied. "Let's go, guys." They proceeded to mingle with the guild members as I walked toward Natsu, feeling my chest explode with hurt.