The Flat Friends (ROOM MATES BOOK 2)

chapter 18 - the after effects

Just for a moment, everything seemed to be okay?

Yeah, right.

It wasn't until the all too familiar feeling of a throbbing head made its appearance that Natsu and Lucy's serene moment was broken.

She'd mumbled his name as his lips pulled away from hers and she tried to focus on his hazy eyes staring back at her. His grip tightened, hand in hand; and this time she knew Natsu was feeling it too.

Black dots speckled her vision. It was nothing new, nothing she hadn't really expected (although she'd begged for it not to happen at the back of her mind) - but this time it was so much more crushing. Look how far they had got... and now it was restarting again and everything was going to be lost.

"Lucy." She heard his voice, strangled in struggle. Her sight was a blur by now and she could barely see a salmon blur ahead of her. "We're gonna escape this." Was the last thing she heard before all feeling of his hands in hers slowly faded and she was encompassed by darkness.

Blacked out.

-

There was something about this restart that changed Lucy.

She woke up smothered in the familiar scent of Mavis as she hugged her too tight. It made her feel sick, and it crushed her that something so homely and nostalgic was doing the opposite of what it should be. She didn't feel at home, and she didn't at all feel nostalgic.

The usual words - 'Lucy please don't leave me!' - left Mavis' lips as she detangled her arms from Lucy. Though the words seemed to hold no meaning to Lucy anymore. No longer did they tug at her heart; the slither of doubt that always managed to wrap itself around Lucy's desire to go - going - gone.

It was gone, whatever she'd previously related to this moment in time. Whatever feelings and emotions she endured; the worry of leaving home, the nervousness about making new friends and the continuous feeling of missing what she would leave behind. It was overwritten, overided, over! It was over.

All she could think about was Natsu. She had to see him. It was the only thing that managed to burn through her brain. Natsu.

"-nd then bring your bag downstairs."

Lucy had zoned out as she trudged up the familiar stairway into the bathroom. She didnt really need to listen to the voice of Mavis and Zeref echoeing in the background. Afterall, she could tell you exactly what they said word for word considering the amount of time she'd heard it.

Her mind was solely set on leaving as soon as possible. Natsu would be waiting for her in their dorm room, like he always had been.

The bathroom door shut with a click behind her as she made her way directly toward the mirror planted above the sink. A sigh escaped her lips as she studied her sunken, puffy eyes - no doubt from her crying with Natsu just moments earlier. But only now she felt miles away from him.

With a flick of her hand she swiped away any tears that had managed to escape again and patted her face with some cold water.

"You've got this Lucy." She pep talked her reflection in the mirror. "Get out of here and find Natsu." She ordered, and with that turned to head out the door and grab her bags.

•

The ride to Fairytail University felt longer than Lucy had ever experienced. Somehow she managed to hit every red light the road would present to her and - even with it being early morning - managed to get stuck in terrible traffic for an unnecessary amount of time.

She tsk'd.

"Time? What even is that anymore?" She mumbled to herself as she honked her horn toward a car in her way. She was really getting sick of these blatant obstacles that slowed her journey to Natsu.

When the traffic finally started moving Lucy felt her last shred of patience slip away. Her only goal in this existence was to find her way to Natsu as fast as possible. But to do that, she had to play everything out completely normal. Which for Lucy, felt like an impossible task.

Lucy sighed as her thumb tapped against the leather of her steering wheel. Her mind casting to everything she'd been through. She'd been bombarded with so much information she didnt know what to do with it.

A lonely thought breezed across her mind - something she couldn't seem to shake without an answer. If natsu has been aware this whole time... has anyone else? Natsu had said he didn't know, and even he himself had been too afraid to tell Lucy until now.

The blonde sighed, raking a frustrated hand through her hair. She could feel a headache forming and furrowed her brows.

"Stupid life." She cursed and changed her gears to head onto the motorway.

•

It was in a flurry that Lucy entered the University's doors. She rushed into the foyer with her belongings, wasting no time in having to come back later for her bags.

"Hey there! I'm Mira!" The usual greeting came from the white haired girl, sat at the desk with a smile upon her face. "I haven't-"

"Yeah you probably haven't seen me around here, I've just enrolled." Lucy spoke, taking the words right from Mira's mouth as she spoke - anything to shorten the process.

"Great! Well just hand me your papers and I'll get you your key!" Mira spoke after a laugh. Lucy couldnt help but ponder how such a natural laugh could seem so robotic to her now - the restarts had even began to ruin how she felt about her own friends.

She shook the thought from her head.

"Of course, here." Lucy replied, handing Mira the papers she had at the ready. Her foot tapped subconsciously against the floor - a jitter as she beckoned time to pass just a little faster.

It felt like 5 agonisingly long minutes later that Lucy had the key in hand, and denied Mira the chance for a tour around the dorms. As usual, Evergreen had come to take over the shift, leaving Mira with some free time. But by then, Lucy had shot out of the foyer and was heading right to her dorm room to find Natsu.

She was so close.

-♡-
WADDUP
Hi it's me I'm back
Get ready for some mo' chapters because I have an exciting storyline brewing