"Lucy!" a cheerful voice echoed from the other side of the station.

"Levy!" Lucy cheered once she spotted her in the distance.

She excitedly ran towards her, jumping into her arms and a warm bear hug. Levy let her suitcase fall and held her tightly, both ignoring the judging stares they were being given by other arrivals.

"I missed you so much!" Lucy wailed into her hair.

They had a significant height difference– Levy was about a head shorter than Lucy– so hugging always felt like a mother and child's embrace. But it worked for them; the bluenette liked burying her face into her chest, and the blonde enjoyed resting her chin on her head, so they didn't mind.

"I've missed you too!" Levy smiled when she pulled away.

Her eyes enlarged with concern when she saw her best friend's face, thick tears trickling down her cheeks.

"A-are you crying?!" she asked, stunned. "What's wr– hey, it's okay..."

She pulled her in again, rubbing her back as she let her sob, shushing her quietly.

"It's just that," Lucy explained in between sniffles. "I never realised how lonely I've been feeling until now, and it's all surfacing."

She could admit that she'd been feeling overwhelmed since finding out her co-star was Natsu, and the events that transpired after, but she never actually noticed how isolated she'd been feeling until that very moment.

"Oh, Lucy," Levy cooed, chuckling as she shook her head in endearment. "Well, I'm here now."

It was the middle of summer, marking the end of the school year for students and time off for their teachers. So, Levy had travelled from Magnolia to visit her best friend in the capital.

Her apartment was big enough, so Lucy decided that she should stay with her the whole time. And Crocus had enough attractions, so they'd never run out of activities while she was here.

They took the scenic route home, so the tourist in Levy could admire all of Crocus's sights and scenery on their way to Lucy's apartment.

When they reached said apartment building, she let out a dramatic gasp.

"This is where you live?!" she exclaimed.

Lucy shrugged in response. She was used to the sight by now.

Levy skipped excitedly to the main doors. Before she could reach them, a man opened them and walked out. She failed to stop herself in time, bumping into him.

She looked up, a pair of dark eyes looking back down at her. She blushed under his gaze and thought she saw his cheeks turn slightly pink too.

"Sorry," she mumbled, apologetically.

Lucy gasped. "Gajeel! I'm so sorry, I forgot we had a session today!"

Levy blinked at the man. So he was the infamous personal trainer? She had to admit, he was a lot different than how she imagined him.

The way Lucy had described him, she practically envisioned some hideous, viscous beast. This man was far from it. He looked... attractive, definitely not hideous. She had yet to decide about the viscous beast part.

"Anyway," Lucy continued. "Could we please cancel today, please please?" she clasped her hands together and pleaded.

Gajeel cleared his throat and returned his attention to Lucy, who was confidently rambling about how she would work ten, no, a hundred times harder in their next session. He looked back to her short friend, who was silently watching in anticipation.

He sighed, defeated.

"Fine," he told her. The blonde celebrated with a fist pump.

He smirked, continuing his path after giving her friend a friendly wink, holding in a laugh at how colour immediately rose to her cheeks.

"He's so different to how you describe him," Levy mentioned, once he was out of earshot.

"You're right. He was nicer than usual, today," she brushed it off.

It was noon by the time they dropped Levy's belongings in her apartment, so they decided to leave for lunch.

When they stepped out of the elevator, Lucy spotted Alice, in casual clothing rather than her usual formal attire, leaving the building. She called to her and waved her arms, grabbing her attention.

"Hi Alice," she greeted, once they'd caught up to her. "This is my friend, Levy."

"Nice to meet you! I've heard a lot about you," Levy smiled.

"Likewise!" Alice beamed, reaching out to shake her hand.

"We were just heading out to lunch. Care to join us?"

"Sure!"

★ ★ ★

They were having lunch at the same café Erza had introduced Lucy to weeks earlier. Don't get her wrong, she just really enjoyed their food. It wasn't as if she was addicted or anything...

Levy and Alice had gotten along surprisingly quickly. They seemed to share a similar dynamic, they were both smart cookies who lived on teasing the blonde.

She rolled her eyes at them fondly as they cackled with laughter, Alice struggling to sip her pink lemonade as Levy told her one of their embarrassing teenage stories.

She spotted a familiar face a few tables away. She rubbed her eyes in annoyance. Since her delightful reunion with her co-star, it seemed as if the entire world was cosplaying as the human dragon fruit. She was surprised when he was still there. It really was Natsu.

He was seated at a round table with a girl, laughing at something she was saying. From what Lucy could see, she was short in height and had dark, indigo hair that flowed down her back.

"Isn't that Natsu?" Levy required, following Lucy's eyes. "Who's that with him?"

Lucy gulped. "His... girlfriend?" she ignored how the sentence felt bitter in her mouth.

"No way," Alice waved off, nonchalantly. "He doesn't have a girlfriend. He likes Lucy." She took a sip of her lemonade.

Lucy almost choked in disbelief. "W-what?"

"It's obvious. No?" Alice replied. "I see you two every day, and it's clear by the way he acts."

"You've most definitely got the wrong idea," Lucy laughed nervously.

"Yeah, I don't think it's his girlfriend," Levy agreed. "She looks a little too young."

They turned around before he could catch them looking, continuing their previous conversation.

As they were finishing their food, two women approached them.

"Lucy," one of them greeted. "Fancy seeing you here!"

It was Erza, along with Mirajane. Lucy introduced everybody before Mira spoke up.

"What are you girls up to after lunch?" she asked.

"We didn't have any plans, why?" Levy responded.

"Perfect!" Erza smiled. "We were thinking of going shopping. Want to come?"

"Sounds like fun!" Alice grinned.

"Count us in," Lucy agreed.

Crocus had the largest, busiest malls in the country. It sprawled over several acres, with multiple buildings ranging from clothing and stationery stores to expensive restaurants and a beautiful angel fountain in the middle of the ground floor entrance.

The group was standing in the middle of a clothing store, 'Sleek'. As shoppers stepped through the glass doors, they were greeted by a wave of soft music and the enticing scent of freshly laundered fabrics.

Inside, the store exuded an air of sophistication and style, with rows of clothing racks neatly arranged throughout the space.

Levy was holding a bright teal summer dress, with lemons patterned all over it, up against her body. Alice clapped in delight.

"That would look perfect on you!" she complimented.

"Even more so with this," Erza held up a small bucket hat with a matching pattern.

"I have an idea!" it was as if a lightbulb appeared over Mira's head. "We should create outfits for each other, everyone picks a different accessory.

"I like that," Lucy agreed excitedly.

Erza was the first one up. The rest of the group rushed through the store in different directions, each gathering a different piece of clothing or accessory. They patiently waited as she changed into their planned outfit.

She pushed open the curtain and walked out of the dresser with a straight face. She was wearing a short, blue dress. It fit her perfectly, and would've looked amazing, if it weren't for the red and lime polka-dotted sweatpants she was wearing underneath.

On her head was a round, brown hat, which weirdly resembled a coconut. Around her neck was a rainbow boa scarf, with two straps around her shoulders holding a pair of fairy wings on her back. On her feet were long, silver combat boots that cuffed the sweatpants at her knees.

The group fell silent as they failed to muffle their snickers, holding their bellies in quiet laughter.

"Very funny, girls," Erza said monotonously.

"Oh my!" a voice from behind them caught their attention.

Erza groaned. "Why now...?"

"Why, Erza! What a provocative outfit you're wearing," Evergreen said haughtily. "Are you planning to go somewhere dressed like that?"

"Let it all out," Erza sighed as the rest of the girls laughed along with her.

Evergreen pulled her phone out. "I need to get a picture–"

Erza snatched the phone out of her handpro and threw her into the dressing stall. A few minutes later, after the group had picked her outfit, Evergreen walked out with a dead look on her face.

Erza smirked proudly as the rest of the group gave up hiding their laughs, erupting in laughter.

They were blinded by a white flash, followed by the sound of the click of a camera.

They turned to the source, a man dressed in black sweats and a face mask. He quickly ran to try and hide behind a clothing rack.

Lucy raised her brow, and Levy grimaced, rubbing the goosebumps on her arm. The rest of the group shrugged and carried on as normal.

"Paparazzi are so obvious these days," Mira commented, putting a t-shirt back on its hanger.

"Tell me about it," Evergreen replied.

Erza nodded in agreement and the other three followed, deciding to leave him be.

"Speaking of photos..." Mira pointed at an object in the corner of the store, where there was a small photo booth.

They piled into the booth, which was quite obviously not big enough for their group of six. They squeezed themselves in anyway, clumsily posing away with every click of the camera.

Lucy couldn't fight her sneeze in time, and the shock of it knocked Mirajane out of balance, who then tripped over Evergreen's foot, pulling Alice down with her. They spilled out of the booth like a waterfall, their high-pitched screams gaining them an audience of the rest of the customers.

It was chaos as they messily tried to get up, groaning in pain as they did as all their limbs had tangled together like yarn.

A young woman in uniform approached them with an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, but you guys are going to have to leave..."

"Sorry," the girls said in unison.

When they were out, there was an awkward silence as they walked. They all felt too embarrassed from the previous events to say anything.

Alice finally spoke up. "There's always 'Fiore Women'!"

The silence broke as they giggled, making their way to the next store.

★ ★ ★

"My feet..." Lucy groaned as she leapt face-first onto her bed, letting her face drown in the sheets.

Levy was humming calmly in the bathroom as she showered, grateful to relax after the eventful day finally.

Lucy flipped herself onto her back, pulling out the photo strip from their photo booth shoot out of her pocket.

She laughed as the memories immediately came back to her. She hopped up happily, grabbing her purse from her bedside table and pulling out her wallet. She stuck the photo inside, a remembrance of today.

She wasn't so lonely anymore.

★ ★ ★

wrote this after my girls day out ^^