words i didn't say / nalu

four

-- natsu dragneel --

i wake up with a splitting headache for some odd reason. i got headaches a lot, especially when i was younger, but never in the mornings.

someone's banging on my door too. i cover my ears with the pillow, hoping it'll drown out the knocking.

"get up, flamebrain!"

it's gray. i don't know why he calls me that, but he's been doing it for ages now. i usually just retaliate by calling him a stripper or something, however i'm not in the mood for it this morning.

he opens the door and sees me curled up on the bed, squishing the pillow either side of my head to cover my ears. i let go of the pillow and groan.

"will you be quieter?"

"no. what's up with you?"

"headache." i sigh, sitting up.

"you did drink quite a bit last night." he studies my expression - one of pure confusion. "don't you remember? gajeel brought that alcohol."

it starts to come back to me now. sting and jellal managed to convince me to come out of my room to drink with them. gajeel snuck in alcohol from his dad's liquor cabinet and wanted to use it up quickly before anyone else found out.

they could have at least waited until the weekend. now i have to go to class feeling like utter shit.

"anyway, erza planned for us to go to breakfast together. hurry up and get ready or she'll scold you for being late."

gray leaves the room and i flop back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. all the little dots and patterns make me feel sick just looking at them.

there's some medicine and stuff that igneel packed for me in my suitcase before i left. he knows about my headaches, and though they became less frequent over time, he couldn't help but worry.

sometimes i think he just feels sorry for me. it was his own flesh and blood, his brother, that caused me a great deal of trauma after all.

i go over to my suitcase, and it's practically empty by now since i unpacked most of my stuff on moving in day. i zip open one of the pockets, and there sits a small box of advil. i chug it down along with some water from a half-empty water bottle that sits on my nightstand. now all i have to do it wait for it to kick in.

the time on my phone says 6:47am, which is definitely too early for me. most days i'd sleep in until the very last minute. school starts at 8:30, and it takes around twenty minutes for me just to get ready, so i've got over an hour's worth of lost sleep time.

from what i saw when gray woke me up, i can only assume he's already dressed. sometimes he just likes to wake up early for no reason, and that i just can't understand. what a freak.

gajeel's probably coming too. by the looks of it, it's only our table group, which excludes sting and rogue. that must explain why i can still hear him snoring in his room.

after showering, i get dressed in my uniform. it's your standard school uniform, with the school's logo printed on the tie and breast pocket of the blazer.

i've always hated wearing these clothes. they can barely cover up my neck scar.

once i'm dressed, i get all my school shit ready and put my id into my pocket along with my phone and wallet. when i come out of my room with one strap of my backpack on my shoulder, gajeel and gray sit on the sofas in the lounge, scrolling through their phones.

"finally." gajeel sighs, slinging his bag onto his shoulder. "you take ages."

"no i don't. you just can't tell the time."