Chapter 12

"What are you doing here, Lisanna?" Natsu asked as Lisanna sat with him on the riverside.

"Hmm, just taking a stroll." the Animal Take-Over mage replied as she rested her head on Natsu's shoulder. The Salamander blushed as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Hmm..Natsu, can I ask you something?"Lisanna asked as she looked at him straight in the eyes.

"What is it?" Natsu absent-mindedly threw a pebble on the river.

"Have you ever liked someone?" she asked as she looked at him inrently.

"Liked someone?" Natsu thought but replied as soon as he can, "Yeah, I like everyone in Fairy Tail!" Natsu grinned.

Lisanna sweat-dropped, "I mean, someone that you liked as a member of the opposite sex... Not the 'friends like' but the 'romantic like'." she clarified and after a long pause, Lisanna said as she blushed, "I like you, Natsu... I like you...really."

She expected a rejection for deep inside, she knew that a certain Celestial Spirit might have had the Dragon Slayer's feelings even if the both of them are oblivious about it. That's why she didn't know what to feel when Natsu replied.

"I like you too, Lisanna." Natsu smiled. Lisanna, on the verge of tears, touched the left heart of his chest, finding his heart beats.

"Your heart beat..." she faked a chuckle, "It's not beating fast, you know." Lisanna reached for Natsu's hand and placed it on her chest. Natsu blushed at their position as the Animal Take Over mage, cleared her throat, "Do you feel it?" she asked with a blush.

"Y-Your heart's beating real fast..." Natsu stuttered.

"O-Of course, it should be. This just indicates that I like you, not as a friend but as a guy." Lisanna replied. She's on the verge of tears but she didn't want to cry because of her hopeless situation.

"You told me you like me," she continued, " But I know that it's really different than my feelings... Your heart is beating normally, though mine is beating rapidly..." a cry escaped her cheek.

"L-Lisan--" Natsu was interrupted by Lisanna. "You like Lucy..."she said as she yet again, touched Natsu's left chest. "See? Your heart is beating fast..nothing compared to when I confessed earlier." she tried to said so casually but failed when another tear escaped her closed eyes.

"Lisanna! I---" Natsu tried to reply but Lisanna put her pinky finger on Natsu's lips, sealing his words. She stood and dusted the back of her blue skirt, with both of her hands to free it from dust.

"You don't like me, Natsu. You like Lucy, and I have accepted that even from the first time I saw you two together." for the last time, Lisanna faked a smile as she walked away, " And, I forgot... Lucy came to the guild earlier and bid her goodbye to the guild. She's getting married, Natsu. Stop her." with that, she ran. "It hurts! It really hurts!!!" she screamed on her mind, now not minding the valley of tears that came to her.

Natsu just stood speechless, as he thought about the scene earlier. Lisanna liked her, and he liked Lucy... It seemed like he has solved his mind's puzzle.

"I like Lucy and I'll stop her marriage." those were the only thoughts of the lad, as he too, left the area with his firm resolve.