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‑ˏˋ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ˊˎ‑
𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐎'𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 once he saw me, and I'm sure my eyes did the same thing. The two of us just stood there, frozen in absolute shock and confusion. Why was Romeo here? And why was he shooting a gun of all things? None of it made any sense to me. But I wasn't able to dwell over it for long. Romeo rose his arms quickly, pointing the barrel of the shotgun in my direction.
"What are you doing here, Natsu?" he asked.
I held my hands in front of me, hoping to God that he wouldn't pull that trigger. "I could ask you the same question."
"Don't you dare!" Romeo yelled, shaking the gun. His eyes had narrowed slightly, and his jaw was clenched to the point where he was shaking. "You don't get to mock me, judge me, or ridicule me."
"I'm not ― "
"Shut up!"
Clamping my mouth shut, I just stood there. Romeo was always a good kid; whether he was helping you with your groceries or just talking to you, he was always smiling and laughing. He was never selfish and he never troubled anyone with his problems. However, now that I thought about it, maybe that was the problem.
"Romeo ― "
He glared at me. "What?"
Taking a deep breath, I took a step closer to him. "Are you okay?"
He stopped, his entire expression falling away into a blank stare. He lowered his hands ― the gun ― and just stared at me. I returned his gaze, the hair on the back of my neck standing and my palms clammy. For some unknown reason, I knew there was something more to this whole shooting endeavor. It wasn't like Romeo to take action for no apparent reason.
There has to be something else. There just has to be.
"What kind of question is that?" His voice was steady, but... it wasn't his voice. And the more I studied his face, the more I realized that his eyes weren't blank: they were calm. Everything about him was deathly calm, and it had me taking two steps back.
"I'm not okay, Natsu." His eye twitched as the corner of his mouth slowly turned upwards. "But why would you care? You never cared about me; not one bit. You always spent your time with Lisanna or Erza or Gray or anyone else. But not me." He took a step forward, his eyes welling up with tears. "The only time you ever paid attention to me was when you had to."
I shook my head slightly. "Romeo ― "
"I'm not finished!" He yelled, raising his gun again. "I thought that if I got rid of Lisanna that you wouldn't ignore me anymore! But then my plans were screwed up when you were arrested. I didn't try to frame you for Lisanna's death ― I can promise you that ― but I screwed up. But even if you had been arrested, I figured you would be released once they found out that you had nothing to do with it. Those cops were fucking idiots!"
Romeo laughed once, and it was then that the pieces started to piece themselves together. I hadn't run after Lisanna's killer that night, but they did bump into me. They had been smaller than me, though I had been more focused on Lisanna. I could feel the backs of my eyes stinging and my hands clenched into fists.
"Why?" I was choking on my tears, but I refused to let them fall. "Why did you do it?"
"I couldn't exactly go up to you and ask for your attention, could I? How many times do you hear that someone goes up to their role model and asks them for their attention?"
Wait, role model?
I looked up at Romeo, blinking. He huffed out a laugh. "Are you kidding me, Natsu? You never noticed me trying to make you proud of me? I don't have any siblings and my old man is just a waste of space. But don't take my word for it. He's said so himself." He let out a shaky breath. "You know, the only real reason I even tried playing basketball was to make you proud. You were the best basketball player in high school, and I was so excited when I got to watch you play.
"The way you would never back down when faced with a larger opponent" ― he smiled full-heartedly, looking down at the floor ― "you were unstoppable. And for the longest time, I wanted to become just like you. You were my hero, Natsu. You were the person I could look to if I ever needed something."
"But then Lisanna," I sighed.
Romeo looked back up at me, his smile falling away and his eyes hardening. "The very first time you met Lisanna, you distanced yourself from everyone. From me, Erza, Gray ― the only person you ever paid attention to was Lisanna. Isn't that right, Lucy?"
Hearing Lucy's name and seeing Romeo look elsewhere, I whirled around to see the said blonde with tears in her eyes. Her hand clutched her shirt and she was shaking her head.
"Romeo, please," she pleaded. "You don't have to do this. There has to be another way."
He shook his head, staring straight at me. "I'm sorry, Lucy. None of this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for him. If you're going to blame someone, blame Natsu."
My eyes widened when he moved the gun. Instead of pointing at me, an invisible red dot was trained on Lucy. I tried to take a step toward her, but I cursed under my breath once I realized my body was frozen. I could only stare at Lucy, her eyes wide with terror and fear.
Come on! Move!
My heart was about to beat out of my ribcage, my head pounding as the memories resurfaced. Shaking my head, I refused to be overtaken by them. It wasn't Lisanna's life in danger anymore; it was Lucy. And I had to be in the present to protect her. I needed to move, but my body didn't want to. I had to jump in front of her, but my legs were frozen.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I wish it could have been different."
Romeo's soft voice had my tears falling, and the gunshot rang out in my ears. Clenching my eyes shut, I pleaded for a miracle. I pleaded for strength. I pleaded for courage. I pleaded for reality to be altered. I pleaded for everything and anything. I pleaded.
And I pleaded with everything I had for that one more second.
