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Stellar Mistakes
By : Rhov
Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail
Views: 14748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I make money from this fanfic.
Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter 8
Encouragement
It was the second week, and after their Tuesday meeting, Loke held Lucy in his office while the rest of the team left. Being alone with him was nerve-racking. She knew he would never attempt to do something here at work, but she wondered, if he actually did offer for anything more, what would she do?
"I looked at the proposal you turned in today," he said, pulling out the papers she had written up, with ideas and potential storyboards. "From what I gleaned, it's confined to facts about how amazing the Grand Magic Games are."
"That's right," she said, already hearing the displeasure in his voice but hoping she could make her case for the storyboards. "I think it's mainly the festivities and cheer that attract people to the Olympics, so I tried to convey that."
Her concept for the commercial was ENERGY. She used prominent athletes who had the potential to win the gold and focused on showing how incredible they were.
"Okay," he said ambivalently as he flipped through the papers. "There's something to that. You're capturing what the GMG are at face value and expressing how incredible it is. That's good … but that's not what I want from you."
Lucy had been in that field of work long enough to know that that's not what I want from you was a polite way of saying the proposal she submitted sucked. Although it felt like a stab to the heart after she had worked on this for a whole week, she knew it was vital for this project to capture precisely the right theme. Loke chose her because he believed she could do this. She had to do better than something basic and good enough.
"Try thinking about it from another angle," he suggested. "I have faith in you. You can do it." With that, he gave back the documents she had submitted. She supposed that was kinder than just throwing them in the trash.
"Another angle? Such as?"
"Thinking about that is your job."
True. He had given her a hint and some encouragement. Now it was up to her to pull it off. He might have an idea of his own about another angle for the campaign, but he wanted her to come up with something fresh, something unique. That was the whole point of being a team.
She did not have time to sulk. She had to trust her talent, since he was trusting her with a mission this important.
She took the papers from him. "I'm sorry. I'll work on a new idea."
"You don't need to apologize. This is a very good storyboard, and if it was an ordinary account, you would've gotten an okay right away for something of this high quality. However, we're competing with other agencies here. We need something beyond good. We need jaw-dropping."
Oh, so she didn't totally suck, it was just that the GMG account was so important, she had to push past her normal limits of creativity. They had to win it at all cost, and they were up against Sabertooth.
"I know," she said firmly. "It has to be beyond what everyone is expecting."
"That's right. I'll know when you have it because I'll be picking my jaw up off the ground and wiping the drool off."
That made her chuckle and dissipated some of the gloom. She firmed up her resolve. "I won't disappoint you, sir."
"I know you won't, Miss Heartfilia."
Something about those words and the gleam in his eyes made her heart suddenly flutter. She bowed and left the room before she could succumb to that moment of weakness.
In the days to come, while sitting at her desk, all she thought about was the commercial. She jotted down ideas into a little notebook, until she had three whole pages of listed concepts. She began to cross one after another off as she ignored ideas that were average, and she tried to push the commercial theme into a new direction.
Once again, she was the only one left in the office. Lately, she had been catching the last train, but she realized she had missed even that. It hardly mattered to her. That day, Lucy felt invigorated, totally in the zone. The late hour meant nothing, not when she felt this creative.
She needed a little break and decided to buy a drink from the vending machine. Another angle. Another angle. The ideas she had before all focused on the athletes, showing off the power and energy of the GMG matches.
"I'm looking at the event too directly," she said to herself as she went to the break room. "I should be thinking about … what? How it changes the athletes? No, that's still focusing on just them. What do I want to say?"
"Hey, weirdo!"
A canned coffee appeared in front of her nose from behind, and Lucy jolted around to see a huge grin and bright pink hair.
"Natsu! You're still here?"
"Look who's talking. You've been working overtime every day lately."
"Yeah, my proposals aren't getting approved. I turn in a new one every few days, but nothing works."
"I liked that last one."
"Thanks," she muttered, smiling that at least someone liked it, "but getting the okay on a proposal for the GMG isn't easy. I couldn't argue with any of the pointers I've been given. In other words, deep in my heart, I knew I wasn't satisfied with the proposals myself."
He patted her head like he used to do when they were children. "You really are focused when it comes to your work. Still, you're really taking a beating on this one." He teasingly poked her on the forehead. "Work that brain of yours, Lucy. Think you can pull it off?"
She chuckled and swiped his hand away. "I just have to do my very best and see how far I can go. I'm getting personal direction from Mr. Leo himself, after all."
"Hey, that's right, you wanted to work here because you were inspired by one of his commercials." He playfully nudged her shoulder with his fist. "Sounds like someone has an impure motive."
"It's totally pure," she insisted with a pout.
"I know you're not pure. There was that guy your sophomore year—"
"Oh, hush!"
"And prom night."
"That was purely a rumor and you know it!"
"And then that guy you dated in college."
"We broke up on good terms."
"Yeah, but your roommate used to complain about how loud you two were in bed. Not pure then, not pure now. You came to Fairy Tail chasing after another man. I should feel jealous that you weren't simply chasing after me."
"Natsu!"
"If you want to impress Mr. Leo, you have to flirt in his language, and that's with creativity."
"I don't flirt with anyone I work with," she insisted.
"I know, not even me. How boring!"
She scowled at him, but she knew it was just his way of encouraging her. Natsu was allowed to tease her like this since they had known each other for so long. "You're a jerk."
"And you're a weirdo."
"Thanks for the coffee."
"Someone's gotta look out for you. Will you be here a bit longer? I also have some work to finish up. I can take you home."
"Don't try anything weird."
Natsu laughed at the idea. "When have I ever done that?"
Never, and that was why she trusted Natsu so much. "Then don't throw up on me. You're weak to transportation."
"Sh-shut up!" he muttered with a pout that made her laugh like when they were children.
They stayed even later into the night to complete some work. Finally, they knew they needed to leave. Natsu hailed a cab, took Lucy home, and somehow managed not to vomit on the ride there. He needed a rest before taking another ride, so he stayed for a while and helped her with walking Plue. They chatted, and he kept an eye on the dark surroundings while she cleaned up after the dog. Then when she was settled in for the night, Natsu patted her on the back with a final word of encouragement before heading on home himself.
Lucy was glad to have Natsu there. He was a year older than her, yet he had risen through Fairy Tail far faster than her. He was the devil of the sales department with his sights set on the highest ranks in Fairy Tail. Lucy watched him leave in a cab and knew deep in her heart that Natsu was going to go somewhere in his career and in his life (if he did not puke to death one day from carsickness) while she was happy where she was, writing and playing with Plue.
Natsu and Loke were similar in that respect, two men with ambition, and she deeply respected them both.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Stellar Mistakes	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 14748 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I make money from this fanfic.

Stellar Mistakes