sea shells | natsu dragneel

chapter thirty five

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I feel anger seep into my heart as the other boys nod their heads in agreement- the girls around me slowly tensing up with fury. This was not going well; first Erza and Juvia were mad, but now they've angered all of the females from Fairy Tail.

•∞•

"Don't you talk to us like that," Cana growls, and the tension rises, threatening to spill over the rim of the cup. 

"When you're being foolish, I feel inclined to do so," Freed shoots back, and I wince as I can almost envision it before me. 

A tall, glass of murky water- each word that Freed speaks a drop of pollution, darkening the water. And before you know it, the water cascades over the sides, pulling the weight to one side, and smashing into one thousand pieces against the table. 

And then everything went by in a blur. 

There was an explosion of shouting- Fairy Tail threw themselves at each other in a fray of rage and violence. The fight happened right in front of my eyes, and I stared numbly ahead, not believing what I was seeing. I wasn't the only one though, as I met Natsu's ashy dark eyes, then Laxus', then Mira's. 

We both nodded at each other- understanding in each other's eyes. We both had a job to do, and our own business would come second. That's what we thought when I put an arm around Mira, and he around Laxus. That's what we thought when we tugged them upwards, and lead them in opposite directions. 

Mira sobbed. Laxus was expressionless- as if he was paralyzed. 

I could still hear my comrade's thundering voices as I limped away with Mira, who hid her red face in the crook of my neck. 

Then, as if this day couldn't get any worse, it started to rain. 

For the first time since coming here, it rained. 

And not just a little bit. 

We were more than just soaking wet when we arrived at her place- rain streaming off our bodies like small waterfalls. 

"Th- there are towels in the bathroom," she hiccupped, peeling off her pink shrug. 

I nod, slipping into the bathroom. It was so Mira, like everything in the house- bright wallpaper and a colourful, polka-dotted shower curtain hung on one side, and hundreds of make-up bags were stacked on a shelf along with towels, brushes, and shampoo. It was a girls paradise, I think, as I walk back to her living room. 

I wrap a towel around her hair and her shoulders. 

"That didn't get us anywhere, did it?" I murmur, gently patting the fluffy fabric on her head. "we all kind of lost control." 

"I... I kind of want to be alone for a while," she muttered, and even though the words could be considered rude, they didn't faze me. I kept patting, smiled, and understood. 

"Of course you do," I whisper. "I'm going to heat something up for you first, okay? Then I'll be out the door, and I'll text the other girls that you need some time by yourself." 

Mira managed a small, grateful smile, and I did heat up some leftover soup in the fridge. When she was changed in something warm, I borrowed an umbrella and stood on the edge of the threshold of her door. 

"If you need anything, call," I advise, the last words we were going to speak today. And with that, I ducked under my pink umbrella and glided into the thunderstorm

I shiver. The rain attacks the pink plastic with brute force, large puddles already forming among the sides of the road. The water soaks through my shoes, and by the time I had reached 145a, I couldn't feel my toes anymore. 

I jam the key into the door with shaking fingers, it creaking open as I shuffle into the narrow hallway. 

I look up, to find someone sitting on my couch. 

Natsu. 

"Sorry for intruding," he mumbles, voice unearthly soft. 

I frown slightly, but not in disapproval. "how did you get in?" 

"The window," he replies, not meeting my eyes, staring straight ahead. I shrug off my coat. My shirt, wet with water, was(to my slight embarrassment) see-through, but Natsu still didn't look my way. 

"I'm going to change real quick." 

He nods, and when I came back wearing sweatpants and a fluffy hoodie, he was still staring straight ahead. 

"Everything is suddenly so hard when friends fight, don't you think?" I say softly, placing myself beside him, our legs brushing against each other. 

"Yeah," Natsu whispers and leans his head on my shoulder. His soft hair brushes against my cheek, and I copy the movement. By the time it was night and we were both asleep, our hands were tightly intertwined. 

* 

Bang. Bang. Bang. 

Mira shivered, despite the fact that she was now dry from head to toe. She didn't know who was banging on her door, neither did she want to know. The thunderstorm was getting worse by the second- its sounds of rain and lightning filling up the space in her living room. 

Bang. Bang. Bang. 

"Go away," she croaks, burying her face in her favourite, baby pink blanket. She didn't want to see anyone right now. 

Bang. Bang. Bang. 

"Fine," the white-haired woman groaned, slipping off the couch. 

Wrapping her blanket tightly around herself, she shuffled towards the door, moving as fast as possible with her legs tied together. Reaching out, she wraps her fingers around the ice-cold handle of the door and pulls. 

She freezes- and this time, not because of the cold. 

But because a panting, dripping wet Laxus is standing on her porch. His chest goes up and down as he gulps down heavy breaths, and he lightly shivers as rain pours down his body. 

"C- can we t- talk?" he breathes, trying not to make his teeth chatter. But Mira notices, as she always does. 

She nods once and opens the door wider for him to come in.