Reuniting Hearts💕[ NaLu Fanfiction ]

20: Absence

"Sting..."

I pressed my lips together. Without any thought, I returned the jacket to him and planned on going back inside the mall. Natsu won their match. He sacrificed his arm just so this guy wouldn't come near me again. And he agreed to that deal! So what is he doing now?

Before I could walk away, he grabbed my arm and made me face him. I gave him a glare, but he didn't give a damn. Instead, his eyes remained cold.

"Let's talk."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Sting, you and Natsu have a deal, right? Now be a man and fulfill your promise--"

He rolled his eyes. "Our deal is not to date you, not to talk to you."

"B-But..."

"Come on, Lucy. Please give me time. It's really important."

And he dragged me with him even without my response. I just followed him. I'm all tired. Aside from I'm hungry, it's like all my energy is drained because of disappointment for my supposed date. I don't want to drain it more by fighting him when it's obvious he didn't have any plan on backing down.

We stopped in front of a restaurant. I gulped, my stomach growling. Sting raised an eyebrow when I glanced at him, making my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Shaking his head, pulled me with him inside and sat on a table next to a glass wall.

He immediately called for a waiter and gave our order. This bastard. He didn't even ask me what dish I wanted to eat!

"What?" He asked after noticing my glare. I only looked away, clicking my tongue.

Silence enveloped us as we waited for the food. And after a long while waiting for it, it finally arrived and I didn't think twice about digging in. I didn't even care about his opinion. I just want to fill up my stomach.

"Geez. For sure you're not a beggar who doesn't have enough money to buy food, no?" He asked in sarcasm, eating with class. "You're rich enough to buy the whole Fairy Tail University--"

"Can you just shut up? We're eating."

"Don't talk when your mouth is full," he retorted, smirking. He's getting on my nerves, swear.

We ate in silence. I could see him taking glances at me from the corner of my eyes. When I finally snapped, I reached for the glass of water and sipped a bit before glaring at him.

"What do you want?"

He chuckled. "Is that the right way to say thank you?"

"Thank you," I deadpanned. "Now what?"

He only shook his head, but I could sense him turning serious as his smirk faded. "Let's talk about our marriage."

I choked. I tapped my chest aggressively while reaching for the glass of water. We're going to talk about what?! What the hell. Is this guy high or what?

"Stop joking about marriage. It's not funny."

"I wish I was just joking, though," he leaned against his seat and massaged his temple. Frustration was etched on his face. He let out a heavy sigh before leaning on the table again. "Look, this isn't just a simple game, okay?"

Me?! "Do I look like I'm the one playing here?!" I exclaimed in irritation. "I really don't know what you're talking about!"

His eyebrows furrowed and looked at me as if I was the dumbest person he'd ever met. I want to grab his eyeballs. "Our parents just set us up in an arranged marriage, Lucy. How come you didn't know?"

Oh, wow. So my father already made a move, huh. And seriously? Of all people, it has to be Sting. It's not good. Especially if Natsu learned about this. I should keep this a secret even to my friends. And it's not like Sting liked to be in this situation, anyway. I remember my mom telling me that my supposed fiancé is willing to work with me just to cancel this wedding.