Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.
Lucky Lucy
“Okay, see you guys later at Fairy Tail Taproom at 9pm,” mumbled Lucy as she finished typing the text. Oh! She remembered something at the last minute before adding on to the text, “If I don’t score tonight, that is ;)”. She giggled as she pressed ‘send’. Her mobile let out a little ‘ding’ as the message was successfully sent out to her best friends in their group chat. She threw her phone unceremoniously onto her bed as she lifted her arms in a huge stretch. It was currently 4.30pm, and she had about an hour to get ready before she needed to leave her home to meet her date for the night.
Lucy was a 23-year old blonde, with large, beautiful brown eyes and a body to-die-for. She was blessed with a well-endowed chest, and sported curves in all the right places. She knew she had the looks, and empowered with that knowledge, Lucy carried an attractive air of confidence in her everyday life. To top it all off, she wasn’t just a vase for show, and actually possessed the intelligence to make it into one of the top universities in the country. It definitely helped that she had a tight-knitted group of friends with whom she had spent the last decade of her life with – her ‘dream team’.
Consisting of 3 other members, Natsu, Erza, Gray and Lucy met 10 years ago when they were 13, and they had just begun middle school in Magnolia. They were in the same class, and Lucy had happened to be sitting next to Erza. They were each other’s first friends, and their personalities complemented each other very well. While Lucy was a radiant star, shining and happy-go-lucky, Erza was the stable, older sister that was always dependable for help and advice of all sorts. She kept Lucy grounded, giving her reality checks when she needed it, and encouragement when things got demoralising. On the other hand, Lucy helped Erza to see the lighter side of things, and always managed to find positivity in the midst of any difficulty.
Natsu came into the picture when he got caught trying to copy Lucy’s homework, thinking they were out for lunch. Erza gave him a good earful, and Lucy simply laughed, offering to help him with his homework if he joined them for their after-class study sessions. He had jumped at that opportunity, because otherwise he was certain he would flunk school in no time. He was attracted to Lucy’s bright smile and chirpiness, and with the two of them being so sprightly, it was no surprise that they often got into trouble (courtesy of Natsu’s bad influence on Lucy). After a certain point in time, Erza gave up trying to control her two childish friends.
Finally, Gray, the last of the Dream Team, got inducted into the group when he got into a huge fight with Natsu. Being two hot-headed males with egos much larger than their brains, a simple disagreement over whether a foul was committed during a soccer match blew up into a full-blown fist fight. They were obviously punished with detention after class, during which Erza and Lucy had snuck into the detention room to cheer Natsu up. When Lucy spotted Gray, she recognized him as the boy who was always sleeping in a corner in class, getting caught for taking his shirt off and complaining that the classroom was too warm, even when it was winter and everyone was bundled up in warm clothes. She found him very interesting and had always wondered why he never hung out with anyone. She decided to befriend him, and get him to join their group – “for Natsu’s sake, since he’s the only guy!” according to her. Natsu would certainly beg to differ.
Gray had tried to resist initially, but with Lucy dragging him to lunch everyday, he had no choice but to give in after 2 weeks. Truth be told, he did enjoy their companionship, and it helped to detract from the monotony of school. From then on, every time Lucy got into trouble because of Natsu’s antics, Gray would step up to take the blame instead, becoming Lucy’s guardian angel and Natsu’s love-hate brother from another mother. Erza was relieved that at least someone else possessed some semblance of common sense, apart from her, in the group.
Over the years, as they graduated middle school, finished high school and moved on to university, they were inseparable. Although they were separated into different classes, and chose different majors along the way, they made sure to always pick the same schools, and met up regularly to catch up. They were never out of touch with anybody’s lives, and the gang always knew about one another’s milestones. They lent listening ears and shoulders to cry on, drank and partied hard together, celebrated and rejoiced on happy occasions, and covered each other’s backs when someone got hurt. They were way more than friends – definitely a family, that nobody else could replace.
If there was a flaw that the group had to point out about Lucy, it would definitely be her nature of always giving others the benefit of the doubt first. They wouldn’t deny that she was a smart girl, but she could be incredibly dumb when it came to being street smart. Her kind heart and ability to always see some light in the dark sometimes became a weakness, resulting in her being taken advantage of by people around her. That was how she always ended up the person drawing the short end of the stick – doing more than was required, putting in more effort than others around her, and getting the least out of things. And also, this was how she always attracted the bad guys.
‘Tonight’s going to be great. Dan is different,’ Lucy thought to herself happily as she rummaged through her wardrobe, in search of something to wear. Her last relationship had ended slightly more than a year ago, with a guy named Loke. He was a handsome, charismatic young man, and was her first official boyfriend. He possessed a silver tongue, and had a way with words that inevitably won Lucy’s heart. Unfortunately, his looks and glib tongue were a hit with plenty of other girls as well, and Loke was a man that enjoyed attention. After a year and a half of trying to make the relationship work, Lucy decided to call it quits because she couldn’t stand seeing Loke openly flirting with other girls while dating her. It was only “harmless flirting”, as he termed it, which she also believed for the duration of their relationship because she had so much trust in him. However, one day, Levy, one of Lucy’s good friends from another class, took a screenshot of a pick-up text that Loke had sent her, and that was the last straw.
Okay, it was actually Erza who drafted the break-up text and Gray who deleted his contact from her phone and social media, while Natsu downed shots with Lucy, but that was the end of that chapter. Lucy was single, available and soon-to-be ready to mingle!
Since then though… let’s just say Lucy hasn’t had much luck in the boy department despite her attractiveness and fun personality. She had taken to using online dating apps, but let’s face it, quite a significant number of the guys on those platforms are terrible choices for a boyfriend. Fast-forward 10 months of male chauvinistic pigs, bad conversations, failed first-dates and traumatizing dick pics, Lucy was on the verge of deleting every single dating app she had installed on her phone, and considering swearing off dating when she matched Dan Straight.
Dan was funny, with a similar sense of humour as Lucy, and was a great conversationalist. He also led an interesting life – he was an indie singer in a band called Legion, and they regularly travelled to neighbouring cities for gigs. Because of that, despite texting for the last 3 months, they’ve only ever met once, which was a month ago. Their first date went fantastic, and Lucy was over the moon, positively bouncing with unconcealed joy when she updated her group about Dan. While the rest were definitely happy for her, they did have some reservations – considering Lucy’s track record and the fact that the dude’s a popular singer. That being said, they didn’t want to be a wet blanket, and were supportive of the budding relationship that Lucy shared with him.
Finally, tonight was going to be their second date. Dan was back in town after touring for the past month, and he was going to be based in Magnolia for the next 4 months, working on a new album. Lucy couldn’t wait to see him and make their relationship official, so they could make the most of the next 4 months together!
The plan for the evening was to have dinner at a seafood restaurant by the pier, and to enjoy the beautiful sunset that Magnolia was famous for. If time allowed, they would head to the nearby waterfront park for the weekly evening live singing. She couldn’t stay too late as she had a pre-arranged drinking session with her gang, but she did pre-empt them that she would ditch them if things got hot and heavy. After all, she hadn’t seen the man in a month, and she wanted to seal the deal - both literally and figuratively!
Lucy’s hands grabbed hold of two dresses, and pulled them out from her wardrobe. One was tight figure-hugging floral midi dress, and the other was a low-cut kimono wrap mini dress. She knew exactly what to wear to flatter her curves, and she wanted Dan’s jaw to drop the minute he sees her – and to realise how badly he wanted to make her his. She brought both dresses to her full-length mirror, holding them side by side in front of her body. Staring at her reflection, she giggled and blushed slightly as she imagined Dan’s face lighting up in awe as she sashayed towards him.
After a few minutes, she decided on the kimono wrap mini dress. Besides the fact that it showed off her luscious cleavage nicely, it was also a dress that was easy to take off… should anything exciting happen that night. She quickly changed into her choice of outfit, and got started on her make-up and hair.
At 5.30pm on the dot, Lucy put on her black heels and stepped out of the house. It would take roughly 30 minutes by train to get to the pier from her apartment, so she had just enough time. Humming softly to herself, she had almost arrived at the train station when she received a text.
“Hey Lucy, hope you remembered my pants! I really need it for tomorrow,” read a text from Erza. "OH SHIT!" Lucy gasped as she realized she had forgotten to bring out the leggings that Erza wanted to borrow. Erza was a part-time fitness instructor, and she was called in to teach some last-minute private classes over the weekend. Erza had ran out of activewear and wanted to borrow one of Lucy’s gym leggings.
Lucy quickly u-turned and started making her way back to her apartment. She sighed heavily as she realized that she would have to take a cab in order to be on time for her date with Dan, but that was entirely her fault. She sent a hasty reply to Erza reassuring her that she had it, before she brisk-walked as quickly as she could in her heels.
‘Okay, I think that’s everything,’ Lucy checked her bag for a final time, patting the gym leggings, before locking the door behind her. ‘I hope a cab comes by soon!’ Thankfully, she saw a yellow cab coming her way, and she stretched out a hand to flag it down.
Getting in and giving the driver her destination, she took out her phone to check the time. It was 5.50pm. ‘Oh no, I’m going to be late!’ Lucy’s eyebrows furrowed as she opened her chat with Dan to drop him a text to let him know. They had a reservation and she didn’t want the restaurant to give up the table to someone else. “Hi Dan! I’m so sorry, but I’m going to be slightly late. Can you help to claim the table first? Can’t wait to see you!” she smiled to herself as she sent the text out. She settled back against the car seat as she looked out the window, watching the buildings and people pass by.
Suddenly, she sat up ramrod straight. A feeling of dread took hold in her stomach, and her previous good mood evaporated instantly. Her cab was currently stationary at a red light, and her eyes were locked on a particular someone. Someone that looked uncannily like Dan Straight.
Her taxi was currently stopped in front of a mid-tier hotel, which was common around the vicinity since the waterfront was quite a popular choice for tourists to stay. However, Lucy saw Dan walk out of the building, and he wasn’t alone. He had his left arm wrapped tightly around a busty young female. His brown hair was tousled, and the top few buttons of his shirt were left unbuttoned. They looked like a couple, and just then – Dan stopped walking, bending down to capture the young female’s lips in a deep kiss. Even from where she was in the cab, Lucy could tell it was a full-blown kiss with tongues and all, and she watched as one of his hands snaked down to grab the girl’s ass and give it a squeeze.
At this point in time, Lucy was just staring in disbelief, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Dan then straightened, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet, before taking out a thin stack of 50-dollar bills and handing it over to the girl. She took the wad of bills, placed her hand on his chest saying something, before turning to walk away. Dan smiled lazily as he took out his phone. Nobody needed it to be spelt out to understand the transaction that had just taken place.
Just then, Lucy’s phone vibrated with a ‘ding’. She took it out, and read the text that had just come in, from Dan: “Hey babe, can’t wait to see you too, I’ve missed you so much. I’ll grab the table first, take your time. Don’t make me wait too long ;)”.
Lucy glared at her phone. She couldn’t believe the audacity of the jerk. Her breathing got heavier as anger simmered within her, and she looked back out the car to see said man walking towards the pier casually. What was it about her that attracted all these dickheads? Was she never going to find someone who would truly love and treasure her? Her mind was blank – all she could think of was how much she hated Dan, and how much she hated men. Forget it, she didn’t need anyone. She was her own strong, independent woman, and she had had enough of all these stupid fuckboys.
But first things first – should she still meet him? On impulse, she almost told the cab driver to turn back around, but then she realized that Dan didn’t know what she saw. She decided she was going to meet Dan at the restaurant, put on a sweet front, and then ruin his night. She nodded to herself as she typed out an angry text to her friends. “Guess what guys? I’m swearing off dating forever. I officially hate men. I need to get drunk tonight – let me know if any of you guys can make it earlier than 9. I’ll probably be there in 45 minutes.” Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned.
Gray’s eyebrows rose as he read Lucy’s latest text in the group chat. His eyes darted to the clock on his wall to check the time, and noted that it was only 6pm. They weren’t supposed to meet for drinks until 3 hours later, but the last person he expected to push their meeting earlier was suggesting they meet in 45 minutes. Well, he had nothing to do anyway, and was just about to put on a movie to while his time away. He sent a quick reply, before heading to the bathroom for a shower. “I’ll be there in 45.”
Gray was a handsome 23-year old, sporting a head of forever-tousled navy hair, with matching deep navy eyes. While he wasn’t the tallest guy out there, he was decently tall – a whole head taller than Lucy. He had broad shoulders and a lean, muscled body that he maintained by engaging in sports regularly. He often played soccer with Natsu and other friends from university, and he liked going for jogs around his place. Gray hummed a soft tune to himself as he soaped himself absentmindedly. He was genuinely curious as to why Lucy would send such a text, tonight of all nights, especially. The whole group knew how excited she was to meet her latest guy, Dan, and now that it was finally happening, he couldn’t fathom what might have possibly happened – before their date even commenced. He let out a small smile as he imagined Lucy’s angry face – one that he had seen a multitude of times over the last decade of knowing her. Perhaps it was true that both Lucy and him truly had no luck in the relationship department.
Despite his good looks and good-natured personality, Gray was single and available. He broke up with his last girlfriend, Juvia, 8 months ago, due to a LDR that the both of them were not ready to commit to. Alright – it was mostly him that decided to call it quits, but he was actually doing his ex-girlfriend a favour. He knew that he wasn’t going to marry her no matter how long they dated, and he had only decided to give the relationship a shot because she had been infatuated with him for a whole year. The relationship had lasted 2 years, and it was relatively nice for the first year. However, during the second year, the honeymoon effect wore off and Juvia started becoming more possessive and controlling, which made Gray feel extremely suffocated. Finally, when Juvia found out that she got accepted to a Master’s Program abroad, Gray decided that it was time to break it off with her, so that she can find a better man who can make her truly happy.
Since then, he had been enjoying singlehood, with no strings attached. He did try to get to know other girls – from dating apps, bars and friends of friends, but for some reason, he always attracted the weirdos. Well… for example, there was Cana, an alcoholic; Bisca, who seemed like she had some violent tendencies; Evergreen, a self-obsessed bimbo; and Mirajane, who was scarily motherly and too ready to have a baby. He gave off a slight shiver as he remembered all these failed attempts at meeting a suitable girl. No way – he was way happier single! Having good friends by his side was more than enough for him – his bonds with Natsu, Erza and Lucy were unshakeable and irreplaceable.
Also, it helped that Lucy was single too – she was gorgeous, hot, and got him like nobody else. Although the other two were also his best friends, he and Lucy had a special friendship. They were each other’s first confidantes, and they would know immediately what the other was thinking even without words. From the first day he met her, he already felt like she would be the most special to him, and he always protected her, putting her needs first. In fact, people who didn’t know them would assume they were a couple, judging by how close the two always were! If you asked him, he would definitely say Lucy was his ideal type, and he might have a little thing for her… but he had never once considered trying to date her, because he would never do anything to jeopardize the group’s dynamics.
Gray stepped out of the shower and dried himself, wrapping the towel around his waist loosely. He went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a white collared shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans. Putting his clothes on in front of his mirror, he flexed his abs a little, grinning slightly at his toned physique. Nothing wrong with some self-appreciation, right?
He checked the time: 6.20pm. He had ten minutes to dry his hair before heading out to meet Lucy at Fairy Tail Taproom. Picking up his phone, he saw new messages that had come in from Erza and Natsu both – they would all be there at 6.45pm. He smiled – he had expected nothing less from his group of friends. They always had each other’s backs.
“Hi there! We have a reservation for 4 at 9pm under Erza Scarlet, but do you think we could get a table now? Preferably outside, with a view,” Erza asked sweetly, smiling at the young waiter standing outside Fairy Tail Taproom, who was on seating duty. He blushed slightly as he smiled a wide smile back at the red-haired lady, before checking the reservation book in front of him. He took a quick look into the restaurant, and nodded excitedly, replying, “Yes! We have the perfect table for you, ma’am! Please follow me.”
Erza and Natsu followed the boy into the Irish-themed bar, where he led them out onto the balcony seating area, which overlooked a beautiful park. It was a cool evening, with a light breeze blowing, making it perfect for enjoying some drinks. The boy pulled out a chair for Erza, who winked at him before taking her seat. Natsu took the seat next to Erza, groaning loudly. “I am absolutely starving! That ice prick and Lucy had better get here soon before I die of hunger,” he complained.
“Stop whining – are you five?” Erza rolled her eyes at the pink-haired young man beside her. Natsu complaining of hunger was nothing new, it was as though he was permanently going through puberty. “They’ll be here soon, let’s order some finger food first.” Natsu perked up upon hearing that, and quickly reached for a menu. Before he even flipped it open, the chair opposite him was dragged out, and a tall man in a white collared shirt sat down opposite him.
“Oi.” Gray tipped his head towards Erza and Natsu, in his usual way of greeting. Erza nodded back, but Natsu frowned. “You’re late, Ice Princess!” he stated accusingly.
Gray merely shrugged, answering, “Don’t miss me so much, Squinty Eyes.” They exchanged a quick fist bump after.
“I wonder what’s up with Lucy,” Erza mused, as she watched the exchange between the two boys. They had a special love-hate relationship that nobody else could understand. “She was so hyped up about meeting Dan, I was sure she was gonna ditch.”
Natsu nodded. “Yeah, she was going on and on about how she had a really good feeling about this dude and all. I mean, we knew it was going to be difficult since he’s a musician and travels so often, but I dunno, I thought it had some potential.”
Gray looked thoughtful. He was as clueless and curious as the others, but he didn’t want to speculate too much. After all, Lucy was going to be here soon – he would wait to hear her side of the story from her directly.
Just then, they heard the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor of the bar. As Erza and Natsu’s backs were facing the entrance to the balcony, they didn’t pay too much heed. Gray however, saw Lucy enter the bar with a dazzling smile at the young waiter from earlier. He watched as she followed the boy, her eyes lighting up when she spotted them. She gave a quick wave to him, and turned to say something to the boy, before leaving him and heading over to their table quickly. Gray couldn’t take his eyes off Lucy – she looked so good in her kimono wrap mini dress, with her black heels accentuating her slim legs.
He gave her a soft smile when she walked up to them, placing a hand on his shoulder as she pulled the chair out beside him, and taking a seat. “Hey guys,” she said breathlessly. “Sorry I’m a little late!”
“LUCE! What took you so long? I’m starving!” Natsu whined loudly with a wide grin adorning his face. “You look hot by the way,” he winked.
Lucy grinned back. “Thanks babe,” she blew him an air kiss. “You guys haven’t ordered? So sorry – let’s order our food now!”
The group took a couple of minutes to flip through the menu before waving a waitress over to take their orders. Once they were done with deciding their food and drinks, they settled back to make conversation.
Lucy sighed as she leaned back in her chair, looking over at Gray and giving him a smile. He raised his eyebrows at her, before commenting, “I agree with Natsu – you look great. I’m sure you dolled up for another reason though, besides to meet us.”
Erza leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her on the table. “Yes Lucy, so what’s up? Isn’t it too early to miss a chance at scoring? And why are we meeting three hours early?” she asked.
There was a short pause, before Lucy erupted. “YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED. I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE THE NERVE OF THE GUY. Guess what? I caught Dan after he had fun with a hooker,” she spat, with extra emphasis on the last word. “A HOOKER! BEFORE OUR DATE! THE NERVE!”
The other three sat there in shocked silence. “What?” Erza asked incredulously. “A hooker?”
“Yes. A hooker. Seriously, why does this always happen to me…” Lucy groaned in frustration. “I was on my way to meet him, walking to the train station when Erza reminded me to bring her pants. I realized I forgot, so I rushed home to take it, and decided to take a cab to the waterfront, since I wouldn’t make it on time if I took the train. And wow, while on the cab, at a red light outside Magnolia Bay Hotel, I saw him coming out of the hotel with this big-boobed girl. I saw him KISS HER, GRAB HER ASS, and then take out his wallet to PAY HER,” she relayed angrily. Before anyone could react, she continued, “And that’s not the best part. The best part, was that after he paid her and she walked off, he had the nerve to TEXT ME, telling me how much he missed me, and asking me to NOT MAKE HIM WAIT TOO LONG!” Lucy almost yelled the last part in her fury.
Gray’s eyes widened in anger and disbelief. They all had their reservations about Dan, the charismatic musician, but he didn’t expect him to be THIS big of a douchebag. To a certain extent though, he was glad that Dan had shown his true colours (or that Lucy had caught his true colours) before they got too serious. The last thing they wanted was for Lucy to get played and her heart broken. He placed a calm hand on her arm despite his inner anger, and voiced his thoughts. “He doesn’t deserve you, Lucy. But at least now you know how big of an asshole he is, and you managed to avoid associating with scum.”
Erza nodded in agreement. “I’m so sorry Lucy, that really sucks. And you guys seemed to have a good thing going too. But I agree with Gray – I’d rather you see this side of him now before you guys end up dating, and potentially even catch some STD from him,” she huffed in disgust.
Natsu however, had a deep frown on his face, and his fists were clenched. He was super pissed on Lucy’s behalf – how dare anyone play up his best friend like that? He slammed the table harshly with one fist, growling, “Tell me where the bastard is. I’m going to beat up his pretty boy face! Let’s see how he gets hookers after that!” His words were so loud that guests seated at the neighbouring tables looked over, wondering what in the world they could be talking about. Erza quickly shushed him.
“Don’t be stupid, Natsu!”
“What?! Aren’t you guys angry for Lucy? This guy obviously has no respect for her,” Natsu persisted.
“Of course we’re angry for her! Who do you think we are? But beating the bastard up is not going to help Lucy,” Gray retorted angrily. Natsu only let out a disgruntled grunt in response. He knew that Gray was right.
“But Lucy… what did you do after you saw him with the hooker? The waterfront isn’t that far from Fairy Tail – why did it take you 45 minutes to get here?” Erza asked warily. They all knew Lucy had a bit of a scary streak in her when someone really rubbed her the wrong way.
Lucy felt a warm feeling blossom within her when she saw that her friends were so angry and indignant on her behalf. When she heard Erza ask her question, an evil smile spread across her face. “Well I couldn’t just let him go like that, could I?” Lucy drawled. “I went to meet him at the waterfront anyway.”
“WHAT?!” Natsu barked out. “WHY?!”
“Because I wanted to teach him a lesson. I went to the waterfront, and saw a female busker packing up after her set. So I asked her if she wanted to earn a quick buck, and asked her to meet Dan in my place. I told her I’ll give her $50 if she walked into the restaurant, go up to Dan, splash wine at him and give him a slap. I also told her to pretend to be his wife, and accuse him of finding hookers outside while he left her alone with their 2 children at home.” Lucy grinned proudly. She was obviously very happy with herself. “Oh I offered her another $50 more if she revealed his identity as the indie singer too. That should help boost his ‘fame’,” she gestured some air apostrophes with her hands.
Natsu whistled as he stared at Lucy in wonder. He was super impressed with her ploy. Sure, it did cost her $100, but boy did she succeed in doing a dirty deed without even getting her hands dirty. This girl was a genius!
Gray was equally impressed. He didn’t think Lucy would resort to such underhanded means, but Dan deserved it. He smirked, imagining the humiliation Dan must have gone through. He only wished he had been there to see Dan’s face!
“Shit Lucy, that’s awesome! Now that’s a well-spent $100,” praised Erza. “I think we all wish we were there to see his stupid face get slapped!” she laughed. “But are you alright? How are you feeling?”
Lucy sighed. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed. “Disappointed and sad, of course. I really thought I had struck gold this time,” she scoffed. “We got along so well, shared the same humour, and had similar interests. I honestly thought we had a fighting chance at something, you know?” she said sadly. “Maybe I’m just not destined to ever find someone.”
Gray felt his heart clench. He could hear the sad longing in Lucy’s voice, and it made his heart ache. At the same time, he was angry that she let herself be so affected by a guy that was trash, and he was also angry that she couldn’t see that she was worth much more.
“You don’t need a man, Lucy. You’re so much better than any of these scumbags on those stupid dating apps. You can do so much better than trash, and I bet there’s someone out there who would treat you like treasure, that you just haven’t met yet,” Gray said, his frustration evident in his tone and facial expression.
Natsu and Erza looked over at him in surprise. He was never a vocal person, and for him to go on such a tirade out of the blue was very out of character. Natsu however, had a knowing glint in his eyes.
Lucy was equally startled. He had always been protective of her but never actually got angry over such things. “Uh, Gray…” she bit her lower lip, her deep chocolate orbs searching his questioningly. “I’m fine, Gray. You don’t have to get angry.” Lucy placed a gentle hand on his arm.
He sighed. Just then, their food and drinks arrived, distracting the group from the exchange that had just taken place. “Never mind, the food’s here. Forget it and let’s eat. I’m starving.”
“Well it’s about time! I’ve lost 10kg already!” Natsu clapped his hands together in glee. Lucy and Erza just rolled their eyes at him and his childish antics.
As they dished out the food and started tucking in, the waitress who had taken their food orders earlier came over with the young waiter from the door. This time, she was carrying a large spin-the-wheel in her hands. The four of them looked up in curiosity, unsure what was happening.
The young waiter smiled and explained, “Hi there! Today’s Fairy Tail Taproom’s 5th anniversary, and to thank our customers for their support over the years, every table gets a chance to spin the wheel! There are attractive prizes to be won, and you also stand a chance to win the grand prize of a 2-day 1-night island getaway for two! May I ask who’s to be the lucky person to spin the wheel?” he gestured excitedly at the wheel in his colleague’s hands, waiting for the group to answer.
Erza’s eyes lit up when she heard the mention of the 2-day 1-night island getaway. She loved participating in giveaways and lucky draws, and this one sounded very enticing! She looked at Lucy eagerly and said, “Lucy! You spin the wheel. Tonight you’re our guest-of-honour and you’ve always been the luckiest among us!”
Gray nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Lucy, you spin the wheel. Maybe your bad luck with men might pay off in this lucky wheel, eh?” he teased.
Lucy sent a mock glare Gray’s way, but broke into a smile right after. “Alright! I’m going to win the island getaway, you guys just wait!” She stood up from her seat, and walked towards the waitress. Taking in a deep breath, she placed her hand on one of the wheel’s spokes, and gave it a moderately hard spin. All of them watched as the wheel spun, the various prizes on it mixing together in a psychedelic mishmash of colours. To be honest, they were really just trying their luck and didn’t expect to win anything. The wheel started to slow after ten seconds, and they waited as the needle passed through the voucher prize, the free buckets of beer, the free side dish, an empty slot, to finally land on… THE ISLAND GETAWAY PRIZE.
Lucy’s jaw dropped in utter shock. “OH MY GOSH?!”
“CONGRATULATIONS, MISS! You have just won the grand prize of the 2-day 1-night island getaway for two!” the young waiter exclaimed in excitement. “You’re the grand winner of the Fairy Tail Taproom 5th Anniversary Giveaway!”
Erza let out a shriek and jumped up from her seat. “LUCY! You are indeed a lucky star! I can’t believe you just won a free island staycation?! That’s so freakin’ awesome!”
“NO WAY LUCE! Take me along with you! I want to go on a free getaway!” Natsu joined in the commotion with loud yell. Gray simply shook his head in disbelief at Lucy’s incredible luck. He was speechless – he had never seen anyone win a grand prize like this before, and had always thought such things were a scam.
They finally calmed themselves down after a good five minutes of chattering away in euphoria over the lucky win, and Lucy and Erza returned to their seats. The young waiter had run into the restaurant to grab the pair of tickets, and was now back at their table to explain the terms and conditions of the free island getaway.
Lucy had won a 2-day 1-night island getaway for the coming weekend to nearby Tenrou Island, which was a 2-hour boat ride from mainland Magnolia. The prize consisted of two return ferry tickets, one night’s stay at a luxurious beachfront resort in a private villa with a continental buffet breakfast, a complimentary 1-hour massage for two, and a romantic welcome dinner on the beach. It sounded like an amazing treat… for a couple, that is. Unfortunately, Lucy was not part of a couple.
“Okay… this is great but I literally have nobody to go with. And it’s not like I can take you guys with me, because it’s only for two. Also, it’s for this weekend, which starts tomorrow,” Lucy complained. “How am I supposed to find anyone on such short notice?”
Erza looked at Lucy thoughtfully. “You don’t have to consider me, because I’m definitely not available. I need to teach my classes. I don’t believe you’re free either right, Natsu?”
Natsu scratched his head, trying to remember his weekend schedule off the top of his head. “Yeah I’ve got soccer training that I can’t miss, and I can’t leave Happy in the house alone without a cat-sitter.” Natsu had recently gotten a cute little kitten as a pet.
“That just leaves you, Gray. Since both Natsu and I aren’t free, if Gray’s available then why not the two of you go on that island vacay? It’s free and I think it’ll be fun to let your hair down, especially after what happened with Dan. Go and party your heart out, and get over that jerk,” said Erza.
Lucy turned to look at Gray. She raised her eyebrows at him and asked, “So? Are you free this weekend?”
“Hmm, let me think.” Gray furrowed his brows as he took a couple of moments to run through his weekend plans in his head. It seemed like he had nothing much on, and had originally planned to chill the weekend away in his home with Netflix. Well, a free island getaway definitely sounded better than spending 48 hours lying on the couch, wasting his life away in front of the television. Also, he had never gone on a holiday with just Lucy before – it was always the four of them – so he was curious as to how it’ll be like. “Yeah, actually I’m free. I guess we could go together then – no point letting this rare prize go to waste, eh?” he smirked.
Lucy grinned back at him, punching him lightly in his shoulder. “YES! Island getaway, here we come!”
Later that night, after hours of chatter, drinking and laughter, Natsu and Gray took a toilet break and were walking back from the restroom. Halfway back, Natsu placed a hand on Gray’s shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. Gray looked back questioningly. Natsu let his hand fall, and said, “Hey Gray, I hope you use this chance well.”
Gray frowned, not understanding what Natsu was saying. “Use this chance well? What chance? To do what?”
“I know how you feel about Lucy, and so does Erza. We’ve known you guys for so many years, and have been through literally everything with you both. I can tell you like Lucy, and this is the best chance for you to tell her how you feel. So she’ll stop looking for more idiots like Dan.”
Gray stood there in silence, taking in Natsu’s words. He couldn’t deny what Natsu had just said. Of course he had feelings for Lucy – that was precisely why he had gotten angry with her earlier on. When he said that there was a man out there who would treat her like treasure, he had a distinct feeling he was picturing himself. It was something he had never told anyone – couldn’t, tell anyone, for fear of ruining the friendship. But now, Natsu seemed to be giving him his blessing, and he was also saying that Erza had similarly known it all along. Was this really going to be the chance he needed?
“I’ll… try,” Gray replied hesitantly. He had his doubts… but Natsu was right. The way his heart ached earlier was a sign that he has had enough, and it was time to take the wheel.
Natsu grinned and slapped Gray on the back, hard. “That’s ma man, the Ice Princess!” he stuck his tongue out at Gray childishly as Gray scowled, making a gesture to punch his pink-haired friend.