~Gajeel~
“Wake up, Gajeel!” Natsu snapped, kicking me off the sofa.
“What the hell?!” I growled, getting to my feet as he cackled like an idiot.
“We’re meeting Gray, Bixlow, and Elfman for burgers in an hour, so get dressed,” he said, heading towards the kitchen with Happy on his heels.
“You couldn’t have just told me that?” I grumbled, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a green T-shirt.
“Alright,” Natsu grinned, waiting for me to put on my boots once he had returned, “I fed Happy. You ready?”
“Yeah,” I grunted, following him to his car.
We rode in silence for a few minutes, listening to the radio. When he suddenly shut it off, I frowned over at him. “So,” he began, and I immediately knew where he was going.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I grumbled, regretting I had ever told him about my damned countdown clock.
“It’s at zero, Gajeel,” he said, “and you don’t remember when it got there. That also means you don’t remember your soulmate—and she probably doesn’t remember you. What if there’s a girl out there walking around with her clock at zero, thinking she’s all alone? Don’t you think she deserves to know you’re her soulmate?”
I crossed my arms. “That doesn’t matter, because it’s been almost ten years. She’s long gone by now; I’ll never find her.”Besides, I’m not sure I really to find her.Finding my real soulmate would mean leaving Levy, and I couldn’t do that. At least not until she finds her soulmate.
Natsu frowned as if he were in thought, so I sighed. “What is it, Salamander?”
“Well, what if there was a way of finding her?” He asked. “Since the countdown clocks are linked together, maybe there’s a way of tracking the clock linked to yours.”
“Sounds pretty far-fetched,” I snorted.
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “I could ask dad about it if you want?” Natsu’s father, Igneel Dragneel, worked for the government, monitoring the countdown clocks and making sure they were running correctly.
“It’s fine,” I told him. “I’ve lived with it this way for my entire life, so it’s not a big deal. Just leave it alone.”
Natsu sighed. “Whatever you say.”
“Whose dumb idea was it to get burgers in the middle of the day, anyways?” I asked, knowing that changing the subject to food would distract him from me and my clock..
“Elfman,” Natsu chuckled, “He called this morning and said he was in the mood for some man food, and told me to get your lazy ass out of bed and meet him there. Gray and Bixlow had already agreed, so I figured we might as well go too.”
“His soulmate’s probably there,” I commented, dryly. “Why else would he want to go so damned badly?”
“Probably,” he nodded. “Bixlow’s going to have a field day if she is.”
“That almost makes it worth waking up so early,” I snickered.
“It’s noon,” Natsu frowned.
“It’s Saturday,” I retorted. “That’s too damn early on a Saturday.”
He rolled his eyes and parked the car. “Well, come on, then.”
“’Bout time you two got here,” Gray called, waving us over to the table where he, Elfman, and Bixlow were sitting.
“Not everyone wakes up at the crack of down,” I growled, shoving him over as I scooted into the large circle-booth.
