LOVE & LUCKY 🌹 Layla's Daughter ✓「1st Place in FFFA」

26: Trust me

"This is my turf. Get out of here."

Lucy apologetically scoots out of the area and ends up getting exposed again. She had nowhere else to run to, so she went back in and pleaded to the stranger. "Look, I don't have much time. Just let me stay here until the coast is clear for me. Please."

At the mention of please, it somehow seemed to work for the latter. At least that's what she thought. She was instantly out of his side and thus, revealing herself to the hallway again.

"Lucy..?" Natsu wasn't as near as she had heard him call her by her name. She saw him across the hall, skipping in speaking with the principal and was already making his way towards the blond. The first instinct was to stay frozen, still contemplating whether or not she should run and hide from him or actually let herself be confronted by him. "Where have you been? Your Aunt and I have been worried sick of you." It was too late when he reached the line in front of her.

Lucy dared not to move or look at him in the eye. The man noticed the action and tried to approach her calmly, mostly by touching her on the head. But she flinched just a bit, the scenarios she had seen of him flashing back again inside her head. "N-No, don't touch me!"

"I-I'm sorry," Natsu looked at her so worriedly, not knowing what she went through before in her past; something so grave it drove her Aunt to search for her herself instead of telling him the story. Then again, both of them had only recently met and it's quite understandable to be untrusted. "Look, I know what happened in your past-"

"Y-You. . .k-know?"

"N-No, your aunt just mentioned the trauma, but I swear she left me alone and refused to tell the whole story."

Lucy didn't reply after that. She started rubbing herself on her arms, and nobody knew it wasn't because of the cold weather, rather she was shivering in fear of the old memories of that night again. Lucy, herself, didn't know what triggered it for her to do so. For now, she needs somewhere she can breathe in, somewhere she can be alone.

"I-I have to go."

"Wait, Lucy, your aunt has been looking for you, can't you just go straight home?"

"No! I don't want to go back there."

"But-"

"You don't know anything, Natsu."

"That's why I'm here to listen to you. Please tell me what's wrong and we can figure it out together. I promise it will be our secret."

"Please don't do this to me. You shouldn't even be here." You should be with Lisanna, she told herself. Natsu was reaching out to touch her hand; uknowingly, Lucy didn't flinch this time.

His hand went up to touch her cheek and tried to make her look through his eyes. Tears were threatening to fall to her cheek and he whispered, "It's OK, you're OK with me. You can cry right here, right now. Just," Natsu pulled Lucy into the tightest hug she had ever received from someone else. She buried her face unconsciously to his chest and let them escape. Natsu didn't care being the center of attention through the halls and just wanted to keep her safe; hopefully, get her home to her aunt.

💄

Soon enough, Lucy was inside the cab next to Natsu, who was holding on to her hand while he tried to distract himself by looking out through the window. Meanwhile, Lucy was unable to grasp the situation that she was being taken back to her home again. She just wanted to take everything slowly and into perspective: Lucy is alone and vulnerable at the moment and Natsu is right beside her, keeping her company. She looked at him and her heart was starting up again to make her feel the butterfly fluttering in her stomach.