How long does it take to break a heart? Beyond mere emotions, beyond recovery: to drive a person to the brink of destruction, when they lose all hope and fall apart? What does it take to destroy someone from the inside, to physically damage their heart?

For Lucy Heartfilia, it was four weeks.

Four weeks of solitude, with no mention of her name from any of her friends, without even a simple hello. Four weeks without a glance her way, everyone's eyes seemed to pass through her. Her words never reached her friends, and her touches were shrugged away, like they were just gusts of wind against their skin. Day after day, week after week, of being completely invisible to everyone around her, like she was a ghost.

Lucy had endured four heartbreaking weeks of being forgotten by everyone she cared about… Her friends… Her family… Everyone in her life she held dear to her. And the worst part was that she didn't know why.

Four weeks ago to the day, everything was fine. She was a beloved member of Fairy Tail, a proud member of Team Natsu, and was perfectly happy with her life. She had everything she'd ever wanted: friends so close they were like family and a place of her own to return to. Of course, she'd learned to share her apartment due to the nature of her friends, so she had someone to go home to as well. She could count on someone being there, especially her two best friends who followed the "make yourself at home" phrase quite literally.

She'd return home and find that Natsu and Happy had set up a board-game for them all to play, with snacks and cushions on the ground, or would be asleep on her floor or bed mumbling about waiting for her in their sleep. Sometimes, she'd come home to the two having attempted to cook something for her in the kitchen, leaving a mess behind and greeting her with a smile and a meal she could never identify through its burned outer layer. It had started as an annoyance, but before she even realized, it had gotten to the point where she didn't feel at home unless they were there with her.

It felt like they were a small family. Natsu would fall asleep on her bed, and she'd simply hop in next to him, which proved to be a great way to fight the cold of winter. Happy would sleep at their feet and tease Lucy whenever she awoke to Natsu snuggled next to her. The teasing had died off a bit recently; it felt more and more like it was natural. Whenever he did tease, she'd pull him over to them and make him sleep between them, which Happy didn't seem to mind after a while. He was always sitting on Lucy's lap and giving her hugs, which Lucy loved. She didn't used to be a cuddly person, but now she felt most at peace hugging Happy and Natsu.

They had developed a daily routine with the three of them. In the morning they'd wake up, starting with Lucy and Happy and followed by Natsu, once he could smell whatever breakfast Lucy prepared. Happy was easy, all he wanted was a fish, and Lucy had started keeping a stash in her fridge. Natsu would eat anything as long as there was enough to settle his huge appetite. At first Lucy had been worried about her food bill, but Natsu had started adding his own money since it was no longer just for her, but for "the three of them". The statement had made her blush and smile widely. He'd said they would be together forever, and she found herself looking forward to their future more and more every day.

After breakfast, they'd walk to the guild together, to eat more and talk with all their friends. They all laughed whenever Natsu got beaten by Erza for causing a scene, or when Gray would be tackled by Juvia whenever he even glanced at another female. Lucy had a smile on her face every day, she couldn't be happier. Not only did she have the family she always wanted, she had someone who walked her home with a smile on his face and a talking cat to tease her about her ability to trip over any rock on the sidewalk. She and Natsu had been growing even closer than they were before, which seemed impossible. But lately, there had been a spark, one that made her heart race when he put his arm around her shoulder. A spark that made her snuggle towards him when they fell asleep, and made her smile when she woke up to his arm slung across her waist in the morning.

A spark like that, she was no fool as to what it was. Lucy had thought she was crazy, starting to fall for this foolish friend of hers. It was scary, what if he only saw her as a friend? What if they couldn't work as a couple? It was enough to make her less happy about her feelings and more wary of them.

But after a while, she started to think that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the only one who got goosebumps whenever their skin touched. Natsu had started to seek physical touch, making sure their arms would brush together when they walked, or that he sat close enough at the guild tables for their legs to touch. He'd visit her every day and stay the night almost every time he did, on her bed most often. He would look at her with a serious look, as if contemplating what she meant to him, if he was allowed to feel anything for her. Lucy had started to drop hints that it was fine, that she cared for him more than anyone else, and it seemed as though he was starting to realize there was something more growing between them.

It was such a surprise to think that Natsu would understand romance in the least, but he wasn't as dense as everyone thought he was. He was very in tune with his emotions and he could pick up on other's emotions well when he put his mind to it. Beyond his simple nature, he was easily the most caring person in Fairy Tail; his heart was big enough for everyone.

Right before everything had gone to hell in Lucy's life, he'd told her that there was something he wanted to tell her after their mission; he'd said that it was important. Lucy's heart had skipped a beat, "Finally! I can convey these feelings to him!" Her thoughts brought a smile to her face. Before Natsu left her house that morning, as he whispered into her ear about their future discussion, he had lightly kissed her cheek and then jumped from her window to run home to pack for their mission. Lucy had danced around her room until she left to go on the mission with her team.

"After this mission, we can finally be…"

But that discussion never came.

Now… he never looked at her, never spoke to her, never even thought about her. He hadn't visited her apartment in weeks, and that spark between them, the one that had burned so bright, had faded away to nothing. Or at least for him it had. For Lucy, her heart ached every time she saw him smile, wishing she could've been the reason that he was laughing. She desperately wanted to run up to him and scream how much she loved him, how much she missed him with all her heart. It would be futile however, because she didn't exist to him anymore.

It broke her heart not being able to do anything to change this situation. The strangers on the street could see her, her spirits still knew who she was and so did her landlady, but no one who she was friends did. She'd reached out to other guilds, to the friends she'd made from Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale, to any guild she could. But anyone she had previously known as a friend had forgotten her.

She was starting to go crazy, and her heart couldn't handle much more of watching her previous life continue without her. The grief she felt had kept her from searching for what caused this, that and the fact that she had hoped it was some sort of joke the guild had decided to pull on her. She'd stand in the middle of the guild screaming, sobbing on the floor in front of everyone, but they never acknowledged her. Why? Why her, why when she was the happiest she'd ever been in her life?

Four weeks ago, Lucy and her friends had returned from a successful mission, cleansing a town from a dark mage who had been practicing illegal magic. The man had been handed away to the Magic Council in cuffs, never to use magic again. The team had returned home completely fine, with them each going their separate ways as they usually did. Natsu and Happy had said they needed to go home and put their portion of the reward into their safe, letting Lucy have her apartment to herself. But the next day when Lucy came to the guild, it was as though she never existed.

Now, Lucy sat on the floor in the darkest corner of her beloved guild. A potted plant by her side was her only company, but even it seemed to have been forgotten. Its leaves were beginning to wilt, turning from vibrant green to sickly yellow. Lucy had watered it for a while but had realized quickly that there was no saving it. It was dying from the roots up, rotting from beneath the dirt, spreading to each leaf that had once been so strong. Now, the leaves fell from even the slightest breeze or touch, piling on the floor and the dirt in the pot.

Lucy watched everyone talk as they normally did, socializing with smiles on their faces, perfectly fine without her being there. Cana and Mira were talking at the bar, laughing as Cana's words became slurs of the tongue only distinguishable to someone familiar with drunk talk. Levy and Gajeel stood in the corner of the guild, flirting as though no one else was around. Happy sat next to Charle encouraging her to accept the delicious fish he had caught earlier that morning. Each particular group of friends smiled and continued conversations with one another. And proudly laughing the loudest out of anyone in the guild was Natsu, as he challenged everyone in the guild to a fight.

Gray stood up to answer the challenge but was shot a harsh glare from Erza and quickly returned to his seat. Lisanna laughed from the bar with her sister as Elfman shouted from across the room that he was too manly for such a petty fight. (Everyone was surprised until they realized he was too busy holding Evergreen's hand underneath the table so he wouldn't get up to fight). Natsu began to laugh even harder as no one answered his declare of war.

"Ha! I'm the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail! Everyone fears me!" The wide smile on his face and his cocky laugh were immediately destroyed as Master slapped him across the guildhall and into a wall, taking out a pillar on the way.

"Stop being so noisy! And quit destroying things!" Master yelled.

"I didn't destroy anything until you made me!" Natsu yelled in retaliation as he jumped up to fight. He was thrown to the ground by Erza, and suddenly, the guild hall was quiet and peaceful again.

"Don't disrespect our master like that you buffoon." Erza shook her head as she walked back to her seat at the table.

"A-Aye…" Natsu whispered as he recovered from the blow that had thrown him to the floor, leaving a crater in the floor boards.

The laughter that echoed around the guild normally would have made Lucy smile, but lately, it had only made her sigh. It hurt so badly that she'd begun to feel a physical pain in her chest. It hurt every day, when she was stubbornly sat at the guild hoping things would go back to how they were, or when she was crying in her apartment waiting for Natsu to climb in and hold her until she felt better. The tears seemed to be the only thing that would help her fall asleep, into nightmares of being forgotten that carried over when she woke up. Her heart felt weaker and weaker as each day passed, like it was actually breaking in her chest. Her physical health had become as weak as her mental health, and she didn't know how much longer she could stay in this situation. The pain would leave her numb for a bit, but then come back again even stronger, an inescapable trap within her own brain. She couldn't turn to anyone, not even her spirits had an answer for what was going on, and her magic power had weakened to the point where she rarely had enough strength to even summon them. Even Plue couldn't stay around long before her power would drain.

Today Natsu had been extra cute, and while she couldn't help but smile a bit when he whined about how no one treated him kindly as he sulked a bit at a table, the more he made her heart beat, the more the pain made her clutch at her chest in an effort to soothe the pain she felt inside.

Lucy looked down at the pink guild mark on her hand, the only thing she had left indicating she had ever been a part of this family. She stood up from her spot on the floor, her head rushing so much she almost fell over. She leaned against the wall for a minute while her vision cleared up, and then slowly began to walk to the table which Natsu sat at by himself.

He was absentmindedly swirling a drink in his hands, lost in his thoughts. He sat thinking deeply about something. Lucy slid into the booth next to him, staring at his face from the side, taking in every detail. His pink hair was spiked wildly as always because he never tried to style it, or even comb it for that matter. His eyebrows were drawn in concentration, creating small wrinkles on his forehead. His dark eyes were watching the liquid in his drink as it swirled in small circles in his glass. His lips were drawn in a tight line, his head angled downward to see his drink. Lucy's eyes traveled lower, to his scarf that covered a scar upon his neck which he'd given to himself. She loved his beloved white scarf he never took off, except to give to Lucy when she was cold. She reached out to touch it, the scarf she loved to wear because it smelled like him. He wore his usual outfit, his vest and poofy, white pants with his black sandals. She could see every breath he took as his abs rippled each time he inhaled.

She reached out to put her hand on his cheek, but he didn't even flinch. She could feel his warmth on her hand, the warmth that soothed her mind and made her feel at home. She stroked the skin on his cheek, the skin she'd learned was softer than it looked, but was firm across the muscles he'd gained from smiling every day. She wanted to just hug him, to feel his warmth all around her, to hide away in his arms and let his warmth burn away all her worries. But she couldn't. She could only use her memories of how his arms felt around her and feel the warmth on her hand to add to her memories. She closed her eyes trying to recreate the feeling, and for just a second, she didn't hurt anymore.

She opened her eyes again and saw Natsu still sitting there, unaware Lucy was even near him. She gave a sad smile, rubbing her thumb across his cheek. She leaned in close to his ear and lightly whispered, "I love you. And I miss you."

She pulled away to see if there was any reaction, but he only rubbed his ear against his shoulder like there was an itch. Her smile became even more sad, and she felt as though she were going to cry again. She leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek, and another to the corner of his lips. She leaned her nose against his cheek. She couldn't help but think about if they would have been more by now, if she could hold his hand under the table or lean on his shoulder while they flirted in their own little world.

"Oh Natsu… even if you were just calling me a weirdo or teasing me, I'd do anything just to talk to you again. I'll see you tomorrow." Lucy pulled away from him and scooted out of the booth.

She walked to the doors of the guildhall and turned around to see everyone. "Goodbye everyone, see you tomorrow." She turned around and grabbed the door handle. "Hopefully next time you'll actually see me…" She mumbled this under her breath and held her palm to her heart when she felt the familiar twitch of pain in her chest.

As she shut the door, Natsu looked up, the noise drawing him from his thoughts. He shrugged it off, assuming it was the wind. He knocked back his drink and trailed back to his thoughts. "Why do I feel so lonely lately? Like something's missing… I just wanna make this feeling go away…" He decided to get rid of the thoughts by throwing a chair at Gray, instantly starting a fight across the entire guild.

Lucy was leaving the guild a lot earlier than usual, but today was just too much. The sun shined proudly overhead as she made her way back to her apartment, passing by strangers who would move away from her, reminding her she was indeed alive and visible. The walk home always felt short because her mind was usually racing, but today it felt like every step was a chore. She wanted some fresh air, so she took a detour to Magnolia Park to try and clear her head.

She strolled through the park, leisurely walking around while she tried to cheer herself up, when she saw someone she knew, a familiar head of white hair. Yukino? What was she doing here when Sabertooth was miles away? Lucy figured she shouldn't even try to talk to her, but there was still a small sliver of hope that just maybe, this "curse" would be over.

She walked over to the fellow celestial mage who was slowly walking down a path with her head down. "Yukino!"

To Lucy's extreme surprise, Yukino actually looked up at her, a look of pure confusion on her face. "Lucy? But you shouldn't be able to…"

Lucy was so delighted that one of her friends had spoken to her that she immediately ran to Yukino and gave her a hug. "Oh my gosh you're the first person I've talked to in weeks! Thank you so much! Wait, does this mean it's over? I have to go back to the guild!" Lucy started to turn around to run back to Fairy Tail when Yukino grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to face her.

"Lucy… you can see me? You actually see me?" Yukino looked ready to cry from happiness, and Lucy gave her a look of confusion.

"Can I see you? Of course I can… why… wait you've been invisible too?" Lucy was in complete shock as Yukino nodded silently, her eyes trailing to the ground.

"Wait, for how long? Do you know why this is happening?" Lucy started bombarding Yukino with questions but was answered with tears falling down the girl's face.

"I-I don't know why this happened… about a month ago I was talking to Sting and Rogue when suddenly they completely ignored me in the conversation we were having. I thought it was just a joke, so I let them talk for a while but then I tried to grab Sting's shoulder and he didn't even register I touched him. I shook his shoulder and he thought he was having a muscle spasm. I screamed to my guildmates, but they just stood there, as if I wasn't even there. I tried to find help, but nobody responded to me except for random people on the street. And then once they got acquainted with me the same thing happened with them. I thought… I thought I was alone… you've been experiencing the same thing?" Yukino looked into Lucy's eyes and watched her facial expression turn solemn.

"Yes… all my guildmates, all my friends, even from other guilds, seem to have forgotten me. Like you said, they don't hear or see me and when I touch them, they think it's the wind or something else. I haven't been able to find anyone who can explain what is going on… but since I can talk to you maybe that means it's over! Come on, let's go to my guild!" Lucy had a genuine smile on her face as she dragged Yukino by the hand back to Fairy Tail.

Lucy ran through the doors, slamming them open and successfully gaining the attention of everyone inside. "Everyone it's me! And I brought Yukino!"

Erza was the first to speak up, "Master, I think we need to replace the doors, they've been opening and closing frequently over the last few weeks. Someone could get hurt."

Master scratched his head a bit. "We just had them replaced but alright. The last thing we need is someone getting caught up in the doors slamming."

"Maybe the guild is haunted… by a ghost that's not the First Master!" Gajeel grabbed Levy's shoulders and made her jump.

"Gajeel! That's not funny!" She pouted. He simply gave his typical "Gi-hee" laugh while they continued to flirt. Everyone rolled their eyes at their continued display of affection.

"A ghost? That's so cool!" Natsu jumped up and joined into the conversation.

"Don't be silly, it's just the wind has been acting up lately. Then again, has anyone else felt like someone has been watching us lately? I swear I feel like there's someone right in front of me somedays." Mira piped in, washing a glass while they talked.

"Big sis please don't say that! What if it's the ghost of someone we beat at some point trying to get revenge?" Lisanna looked frightened, looking around to see if anything strange was happening.

"I'll just beat them again! Bring it on ghost!" Natsu ran to the doors, sniffing around, unaware that the "ghost" was only a few feet in front of him.

"Guys… you still don't remember me?" Lucy dropped Yukino's hand and reached out towards Natsu, who was sniffing the air, inadvertently leading him directly to her. She tried to grab his hand, but he moved away, walking behind her to the door.

"There's a smell here, it's very feminine and… kind of familiar." He mumbled to the last part, but no one heard.

"Alright flame-brain, what girl did you kill being an idiot?" Gray snickered from his seat, his shirt having disappeared in the chaos.

"Shut up ice prick! I didn't kill anyone!" Natsu, now distracted from the smell, ran over to go butt heads with Gray.

"So, they don't remember you or me then. I'm so sorry Lucy…" Yukino watched as Lucy's arm fell back to her side. But just as soon as it had fallen it rose back up to her chest, the pain in her chest becoming more apparent.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Yukino ran to her side holding her shoulder while the conversation about ghosts continued in front of them.

"I'm okay… it just hurts so bad… they don't even remember I exist…" Lucy fell to the floor crying, bringing Yukino down with her.

Yukino rubbed her back while she cried, looking up to see the rambunctious guild acting as they normally did. She knew exactly how Lucy felt… this was exactly what she was going through with her own guild. Her eyes trailed to the source of the loudest voice in the guild, a pink haired dragon slayer who was alternating between punching the air in search of ghosts and punching Gray. She knew how close he and Lucy were, no wonder it hurt her so badly when he couldn't recognize her.

"Lucy… we should leave here for now. You need some rest and I need some company; being here will only make it worse on you. Do you mind if we go to your house?" Yukino smiled softly, tears hiding behind her eyes.

"It's an apartment, but there's enough room for two. Three even." Lucy said the last part with a sad tone, which Yukino quickly picked up on.

"Let's go then Lucy!" Yukino pulled the blonde to her feet, a smile on her face, the first genuine smile she'd had in a while.

So that's chapter one! Please let me know if this is good, whether you're an old reader or a new reader, I would really appreciate it. I personally like this so much better. See you next chapter!