how to become a wildfire

trust

trust \ ˈtrəst

noun
: one in which confidence is placed

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i
august
eight years ago

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Summer in Magnolia is unbearably hot. The sun is relentless, beating down through the window of Natsu's dad's shitty car. There's no AC, so Ellie has the window rolled down, but the hot, dry air isn't doing much to mitigate the heat.

"This car is a piece of shit," Erza comments from the back seat. Her feet are up on the console between Natsu and Ellie, and she's holding a chilled can of pop against her cheek.

Natsu snorts, looking at her in the rearview mirror. "At least I have a car," he says, tapping on the steering wheel to the beat of whatever song is playing.

"Yeah, a car that's so ancient it still has a tape deck," Ellie teases, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Stray pieces of hair stick to her face, curling in the heat, and the back of her neck itches. She can't wait to cut it all off.

Natsu nudges Erza's feet aside and grabs his can of coke, tipping his head back as he takes a long drink. Ellie tries not to stare at the curve of Natsu's jaw or the pink of his tongue as he licks his lips. His hair is wild and his skin is tanned, and there's a light dusting of freckles up his arms and across his cheeks.

Ellie wants to touch them, wants to trace patterns between each freckle and kiss Natsu's lips. She thinks about him a lot more than she should, even though it's hopeless. They've been friends for years and it would be weird. Plus, Ellie is pretty sure Natsu is only into boys, and even though Ellie is—

"Yo, Earth to El?" Natsu waves his hand in front of Ellie's face and she blinks a few times, shaking her head. "You alive in there?"

"Yeah, sorry," Ellie says, batting his hand away. "It's just too fucking hot."

She would have been cooler in the dress she'd worn to church this morning – the red one with the white flowers that her mom likes. But dresses don't feel right, and as soon as they'd left town, she'd swapped it out for cutoff jeans and an old t-shirt of Natsu's that he'd left at her house at a sleepover last summer. It doesn't smell like him anymore, but it's still Ellie's favorite shirt.

"It's awesome," Natsu protests. He's always loved the heat, which Ellie doesn't really mind because it means she gets to see him shirtless a lot. "You guys gonna come swimming? Laxus said the lake's okay this year."

"Maybe," Ellie says, thinking of the bikini shoved in the bottom of her bag in the trunk and making a face. "You gonna try to drown me again?"

Natsu snorts. "Don't act like you didn't start that," he says, turning to look at Ellie over the rim of his sunglasses. "You can't pretend you're innocent."

"I can try," Ellie replies, sticking her tongue out at Natsu. "Besides, it was Erza's idea."

Erza laughs, reaching forward and tugging at Ellie's ponytail, but she doesn't deny the accusation. Ellie grumbles, grabbing one of Erza's feet and raising her eyebrow with the threat of tickling.

"Don't you dare," Erza says, giving Ellie a half-hearted glare. Natsu tucks his coke back into the console and then leans over, using Erza's legs as an armrest as he keeps his eyes on the dusty road.

Ellie sighs happily, looking out the window again and letting the hot air wash over her. The tape deck changes to their favorite song and Natsu cranks it up, tapping out the beat on Erza's calf as they all begin to sing along.