With every step that brought her closer, my heart beated faster and faster.

She actually came. What will she say? Does she like me too?

The moment we came face to face finally arrived. She looked beautiful, but her face was solemn. This made me even more anxious.

"Hi, Natsu." She said.

"Hey." I replied back. "You look... really pretty tonight."

"Thanks." She said while looking down. We waited in silence until Lucy spoke again. "Natsu, look... I'm sorry."

Those words struck me harder than Lauxas's lightning. My heart sank as my eyes followed it to the ground.

Lucy continued. "It's just that... I don't really feel that way about you. You're a really nice guy, but it would be weird if we're teammates while dating. I hope you understand."

I bit my lip, trying to contain myself. The very first time I truly fell in love with someone, and not just anyone, it was Lucy, my loyal, close friend who always stayed by my side, rejected me.

When she was finished with everything she had to say, she turned around and started walking, but I stopped her by reaching out to her by the wrist once more. She looked back at me with surprise. I didn't want to let her go yet. Not until I have said all the things I wanted to say.

"I promise... that I'll always protect you, and that I'll be there whenever you need me."

Lucy sighed. "You already do that now." She stated.

"Then what's wrong?" I inquired.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just don't think it'll work out between us."

"Is it... because I always break into your house without permission?" I asked. "Is it because I always mess with your stuff, or is it my eating habits, or is it because I make jokes around you a lot?"

"Natsu, what are you going on about?" She asked in confusion and somewhat in fear.

I wanted to know what was wrong with me; what she didn't like about me. "Is there something about me that bothers you? Please, just tell me what's wrong and I can change." I said most sincerely. I would willingly change or make sacrifices to be closer to Lucy.

The blond looked at me in disbelief, then turned her gaze away from me. "I could never ask you to do something like that! I'm sorry, Natsu. Just... please... forgive me." She then yanked her hand back and began running away. I wanted to go after her, but after hearing the sound of her voice and seeing the trail of tears flying from her eyes, that was when I realized: what have I done?

I caused all these emotions on Lucy. I made her sad, and now I made things awkward between us. Our relationship may never be the same again. I turned around and punched the tree with my iron fist. I was so frustrated with myself. If only I kept my feelings to myself, then Lucy and I would still be best friends. We had a great friendship going on and I threw it all away, and for what?

I was mad. Not just because of messing up our relationship, but also the fact and humiliation of being rejected for the first time.

I wanted to date Lucy more than anything, but because I care about her so much, the only thing that mattered to me now was her happiness.

"Natsu?" That familiar voice called out to me. I calmed down and removed my knuckles from the wooden trunk, facing towards Lucy. She didn't look sad anymore, but now I couldn't tell what she was feeling. Why did she come back? Did she want to apologize? Maybe she suddenly changed her mind and wanted to go out with me. No, that wouldn't be right. I didn't want to force her to go out with me, nor did I want her to date me out of pity.

"Hey, Lucy." I said quietly.

Lucy pulled back the threads of her hair behind her ear. "Look, Natsu, what I said about earlier..." Before I let her finish, I walked up to her and without warning, I pulled her in an embrace. I could feel her body stiffen as she was taken aback by my sudden actions. I carefully held on tighter, and took the liberty of holding the back of her head with my hand. I just wanted to hold her like this just one time.

"It's okay," I whispered. Lucy didn't say anything, allowing me to continue. "It's best if we just stay friends." I broke us apart so that I could see her reaction. She was blushing, but also looked confused. "Is it okay... If you just forget what I said? Pretend that this never happened?" I tried my best to smile.

Lucy then started to form tears in her eyes, but immediately wiped them away as she formed a smile herself. "Sure. No problem. I'm glad we can still be friends."

Lucy. Although you may not feel the same way, my feelings towards you will never change. As long as I am with you, that is enough for me.

"Yeah. Me too."

To be continued...

Okay, before you start pulling out your pitchforks and torches, keep in mind that the above says "to be continued," which means there's still more to the story. I just wanted to leave something for you guys while I'm working on my others stories. This one shot will be about 4-5 parts. So what do you guys think about my first Fairy Tail Fanfic? Let me know on the comment section, and I'll be updating the rest of the story AND new chapters for MAB real soon.
H.A.G.S.! (Have A Great Summer!)