{NATSU'S POV}
The week can't go by fast enough. Whenever I try to talk to Lucy alone, she always has some excuse, or she's surrounded by girls.

She's become pretty popular. Lucy's the only other person one who got a 100% on the science test, and I hear she's doing great in her other classes as well. Some people are even saying that she might be as smart, if not smarter, as me.

But there's only one person I'll acknowledge as smarter than me. The girl from my past. The girl who might actually be Lucy.

"This time. This time, for sure." I mutter under my breath as I get dressed for Mira's party. I'm going to ask Lucy if she's the girl from my past.

The doorbell rings, and I answer to find Gray, Gajeel, and Jellal. We exchange greetings, Jellal breaks up the fight between me and Gray, and we all leave. The four of us are some of the first to arrive. Eventually, more and more people start coming, and the party gets boisterous.

Eventually, I spot Erza's group. Sure enough, Lucy is with them, and she looks stunning in a modest but shapely red dress and heels. She's even not wearing her glasses.

It's beginning to get stuffy inside, with all the lights, shouting, and pulsing music, so I squeeze my way to the back door. Now in the big backyard, I see that a lot of my other teammates had the same idea I did. We meet up by the pool, where the water glows light blue in the dark.

The swim team champ, Juvia, is in her swimsuit by the pool, and she must have convinced the other girls to join her, because Erza, Levy, and Lucy have all changed too. The sight of Lucy in a bikini makes my mouth go dry.

"Oh, Gray-sama?" Juvia smirks and walks over. Gray facepalms. Those two have known each other for a long time, and the '-sama' thing is a running joke between them.

I don't know the story behind how Juvia started calling Gray that, but I think it had something to do with a party and maid cosplay. I blame Mira.

"Can you stop that?" Gray groans.

"No way, Gray-sama! That would spoil Juvia's fun." Juvia smiles sweetly. The others walk over too.

"Yo, Shrimp." Gajeel greets Levy with a pat on the head, making his new girlfriend pout.

"That's not my name!" She complains. I take the chance to pull Lucy to the side, closer to the house, where the sound from within can hide our words.

"What are you doing?" She asks, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Sorry." I laugh sheepishly, scratching the back of my head. "We need to talk."

"About..." Lucy prods. It might be my imagination, but I see a spark of hope in her eyes.

I take a deep breath. "Are you—"

"Natsu!" Lisanna calls from somewhere inside, cutting me off. I seeing her waving at me as she weaves through the crowd, in a revealing little white dress. I swallow my irritation and smile.

"Hey Lisanna." I manage. As soon as she reaches me, she loops her arm around mine.

"I'm fashionably late." She declares. I sweat drop.

"Isn't this your house though?" I point out as I gently untangle her arm from mine.

"Aww, don't be such a stickler!" She complains, and tries to take my hand. I back away.

"Sorry Lis, but I have to talk to Lucy." I gesture to her. Lisanna sends her a sour look. Lucy's face in downcast, and her hair covers her eyes.

"No." She mutters.

"Huh?" I frown.

"No, that's okay." Lucy looks up, and a fake smile is plastered on her face. The hope I saw is definitely gone from her eyes. "It wasn't important, right? You should just spend time with your girlfriend."

Lisanna positively preens when Lucy calls her that, but I feel like I barfed a little in my mouth. I don't want Lucy of all people to think that I'm dating someone else.

"We'll talk later." I tell Lucy as Lisanna drags me away. She nods, but not very enthusiastically. Lucy whispers something that I can't hear because of the chatter of the people around me and the beat of the loud music surrounding me.

{LUCY'S POV}
"That's a promise, okay?" I whisper as Lisanna drags Natsu away. I can't believe I said that stupid thing about Lisanna being his girlfriend. I can't believe he forgot about me.

Maybe he hasn't forgotten. I can hope, can't I? He did try to talk to me before I callously pushed him away just now. But I couldn't help it.

After all this time, simply seeing him is enough to make my heart go wild, and it hurt to see him smile at another girl with the same toothy grin he used to give me. Lisanna definitely likes him too, so maybe he'll be better off if I don't force myself on him.

I stare at my pinky finger. Such a childish promise, between two kids who had no idea what true love really is, and I'm still pining for the guy after he's long since moved on from me.

I sigh, and walk back to the girls. Juvia has pulled Gray into the pool with her, and he's yelling at her for getting his clothes all wet. Gajeel is still making fun of Levy-chan, who's mad that he won't get her name right. Erza and Jellal stand awkwardly by each other, both blushing.

I giggle. They're all so cute together. Mira has also appeared, and she looks like she's in bliss. Must be something about her being the school's Shipping Queen or something like that.

Levy-chan sees me and walks over. "Hey, Lu-chan, where'd you go?"

I tell her how Natsu pulled me aside, but Lisanna interrupted us before he could say anything.

Levy-chan frowns. "Be careful Lu-chan. Everyone knows that Lisanna really likes Natsu, and she can be mean in order to get what she wants."

"Thanks, Levy-chan." I remember her evil look at me when Natsu tried to send her away so he could talk to me. It sends chills down my spine.

It might be for my own safety that I have to give up on Natsu. It doesn't really matter. He's forgotten me. He's broken our promise.