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‑ˏˋ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 ˊˎ‑
𝐘𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 a very exciting day for Romeo and the rest of his basketball team: they had won with an overwhelming victory. I silently thanked every God I knew, knowing that there was no way I would have been able to throw Romeo a pity party. I was trying to get back on Romeo's good side; not deeper in the dangerous territory.
But it seemed as if everyone thought it was an excellent plan, and Gajeel, Levy, and Juvia all said that they would be attending this weekend. All that I left to do was call or text the rest of our group to find out if they felt the same. Luckily for me, each of them agreed.
"Hey, Natsu?"
I turned away from the shelf at Lucy's call. "What is it?"
She was looking at two different packages of paper plates, a cheek puffed out in her decision-making. Glancing over her shoulder, she gestured to the packages. "Which one's more 'basketball victory party' worthy?"
"Trust your judgment. You'll only tell me I'm wrong, right?" I said with a smile.
There was always one reason Lucy hosted most of the group's get-togethers: her freakish attentiveness to every detail. Her eyes were always sharp for piecing events together, and her insane knack for always knowing how to contact people she didn't personally know scared me. But nevertheless, I needed her help; because everything I had picked out wasn't, as she put it, "basketball victory party-worthy."
So, instead of grabbing anything off the shelves, I was leaning against the basket, looking at the store's merchandise.
Lucy smacked me upside the head at my remark, smoothly dropping a package of plates in the basket. "Sorry, Natsu. Your big head was in the way." She smiled as she walked away.
Curious, I looked in the basket at which plates she picked. I was relieved I hadn't said anything after all, for I wouldn't have picked the ones she did. Instead of questioning her choice ― which no one ever did when it came to these things ― I followed loosely behind her, trying not to run her over with the wobbly basket.
"Okay," Lucy said to herself, twirling a pen in her hand while looking at her list. "We still need a banner for Wendy."
"I thought this was for Romeo," I asked.
Lucy looked up at me. "Wendy's going to decorate the banner. She said she would have some free time later on to work on it."
That makes a lot more sense.
Before I could say anything else, Lucy had already vanished into another aisle. I shook my head as I wheeled the cart idly down a random aisle. There was honestly no point in trying to keep up with the whirlwind of a party planner ― not when she was chin-deep in planning the said event. It wouldn't be too hard to find her, though; we were two of the very few people in the Dollar Tree.
Although, I couldn't help but get a tad bit worried without her in my eyesight. "Marco?" I called, hoping she was close enough to answer.
"Polo."
The returning response was muttered and from the next aisle over. I let out a breath of unnecessary nerves, hurrying back down the way I just came. Rounding the corner, Lucy stood there with an oversized pair of glasses resting on her nose. I hummed, pointing at the orange glasses. "New look?"
"You're lucky these are breakable," she simply stated, taking them off to put them in the basket. I grabbed them between my fingers, inspecting the cheap piece of plastic. I cleared my throat, catching the blonde's attention.
"Are these for you or Romeo?"
"Romeo." She had gone back to that list of hers, absentmindedly explaining, "We can use a permanent marker to draw basketball lines on them."
And she was gone yet again.
Honestly, I've never seen anyone like this when it came to a small party, but at the rate Lucy was going, we might as invite the entire town of Magnolia. I really hoped she knew all of this was coming out of my wallet, not hers. Just because this place was the Dollar Tree didn't mean anything; dollars add up fast, and they always leave my savings easier than they come in.
"Marco," I called out.
"Polo."
I jumped when Lucy's response came from right behind me. I pinched her arm, earning a yelp. "Quit scaring me, woman. Geez."
She just giggled, tossing something else in the basket. Somehow ― don't ask me how the heck I did this ― I grabbed her secretive list from her hands, pounding away before she could punch me in the nose. Lucy was one of the whackiest when it came to keeping her lists for her eyes and her eyes only. She claimed they were the secret behind her success or something like that. I always zoned out when she went into her lecture mode.
"Give me my list, Natsu." She stomped her foot childishly, yet a huge grin was breaking over her expression. Ignoring her, I scanned the piece of paper. We weren't even halfway done.
"And just who's going to pay for all of this, missy?" I questioned, shaking the paper in the air. This is what I missed most of all, I think. Spending time with the people who I care about most and wasting time away ― living in the moment rather than the past.
I smiled at the thought, but that sliver of a second had Lucy yanking her list back from my hand. She blew a raspberry at me as she hugged the paper to her chest, a huge smile on her face. Growing serious, she pushed the cart forward. "My lists are mostly brainstorming and just options if I change my mind. I've become very forgetful lately."
I just hummed skeptically, earning an elbow in the side. "You're so cruel," I groaned.
Instead of replying, she hurried past me to hoist herself up on the end of the cart. She pressed her lips together in a silent question, to which I replied by pushing the basket onward. Only when pigs fly will I ever tell her she's a lot heavier than when we were freshmen.
I had barely taken a step when the first gunshot rang through the air.
