"I just don't want to go home for Christmas break alone again, you know?" Lucy said, resting her head on her hand.

She was sitting at their table, after pacing around while complaining for a good ten minutes. He took a break from packing to look over his shoulder and see her, looking out the window with a seemingly miserable expression on her face, as if trying to get his pity.

Lucy was exaggerating. She did that, sometimes.

Natsu rolled his eyes and turned back around, a smile on his face while he continued putting clothes away. "Listen, Luce. You're single, it's not that big of a deal."

"That's what you think!" she said, a little too loudly, "Last year, Asuka had a boyfriend. Asuka! My six year old niece!" she sighed, before continuing, "Michelle is the worst. She brought back her girlfriend and boyfriend last year, and her teasing was plain cruel…"

This reminded Natsu of the one time he did meet Lucy's cousin, Michelle. She was sweet, but did seem like a tease.

"I don't know, Lucy. You could ask someone to pretend to date you for a few weeks."

Lucy nodded. "I thought of that, but, who could I ask?"

"Well…" Natsu thought for a while, "There's me and Gray, but he's coming with me to dad's, so I guess that's not happening."

"Definitely not."

"Loke?"

Lucy snorted. "He'll embarrass us too much; no."

"...Cana?"

"Her dad's dragging her somewhere."

Natsu sighed, defeated. That was their entire friend group, minus Erza and Mirajane, and he knew those two would be going somewhere together.

Suddenly, it hit him.

He snapped his fingers while turning around to face his friend. "Juvia! Gray told me she's staying here, so there's no way she's going somewhere."

He grinned triumphantly at Lucy, while she looked confused.

"Juvia?" she repeated the name, silently.

Juvia was Gray's best friend; they'd known each other for the longest time. Lucy and Juvia weren't close at all, really, they'd just occasionally see each other during big group gatherings. Juvia was a sweet, quiet girl. She didn't really say much.

Lucy didn't think Juvia would accept, but after all, what other choice did she have?

"Where is she?"

Later, after texting Gray, she knocked on his and Juvia's apartment door. She fumbled with her hair, nervously, while waiting for him to answer the door.

He opened it, two suitcases in hand, and smiled at her. "Hi, Lucy. I'm going to Natsu's, we're leaving in 30 minute," he pointed to a door to his left, "Juvia's in there."

Lucy nodded, trying not to let her worry show.

"Bye, Juvia!" he shouted to the room.

"Bye, Gray! Have fun!"Juvia's said, her voice muffled by the door.

"Good luck." Gray whispered.

"Thanks," Lucy whispered back, "I'll be back soon."

She stood in the living room until she couldn't hear Gray's footsteps going down the stairs, then she cautiously knocked on Juvia's bedroom door.

"Come in!" she answered.

Lucy walked into the room, leaving the door open behind her. Lucy found the room charming; there was a desk covered with books, a chair, a large window, and a bed full of different colored pillows.

Juvia was sitting crossed legged on the bed, typing furiously on a laptop. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, and her blue hair was tied into a ponytail that lay on her right shoulder. She looked busy, and Lucy didn't want to bother her, but it was a little too late for that.

Lucy cleared her throat, awkwardly, and Juvia looked up. Her features immediately softened.

"Hey, Lucy. Gray told me you were coming," she said, while closing her laptop.

Lucy wasn't sure whether she should sit down on the sofa chair in the corner of the small room, or just stand around. She ended up doing the latter.

"So, what's up?" Juvia asked.

"Well…" Lucy really had no idea how to explain this, "I'm travelling back home for the winter break."

Juvia nodded, urging her to carry on.

"And I… Um… I need someone to pretend to be my partner, and everyone is going somewhere, and you're the only person left that I can think of." Lucy spat out, far too quickly.

She mentally kicked herself. Great job, Lucy! she told herself sarcastically, You really couldn't have put it in a worst way! She closed her eyes, hoping the floor would swallow her whole.

To her surprise, she heard Juvia say, "Sure."

"Wait, really?" she asked in disbelief.

Juvia laughed quietly. "Why not? I don't really understand why you need to pretend to be dating someone, but anything beats being here alone for two weeks."

Lucy smiled, trying to stop herself from hugging the other girl. "Oh my god, thank you so much Juvia-"

"I'll do it on one condition, though."

Lucy sighed, it was too good to be true. "What is it?"

"Well, I've already done most of my work for the vacation this weekend," Juvia said, looking down at the pile of books surrounding her, "but I seem to be struggling a lot with the essay I have to write in English. I've heard that a certain someone is excelling in English..." she said with a smile.

Lucy gasped dramatically. "Juvia! I would have never thought you would cheat!"

Juvia laughed, and Lucy instantly loved that sound. "Okay, but seriously, what do you say, Lucy?"

Lucy pondered about it. She didn't really feel like writing another essay, but she'd already done hers, and it seemed like the only way to convince Juvia. "Okay, fine, I'll do it."

She got up to leave, then abruptly turned around to face Juvia again. "Oh, by the way, we're leaving tomorrow at noon."

Juvia looked around, already mentally deciding what to take. "How are we travelling?"

"By train. I'll come pick you up at around… Eleven thirty, maybe?" Lucy asked.

"That works for me."

They awkwardly stared at each other, before Lucy started stammering. "Well, uh, I guess I'll get going then."

Juvia's small smile dropped. "Oh… Alright, then," she said, disappointedly.

Lucy started walking towards the door. "See you tomorrow, then," she paused, "Hey, Juvia… Thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

actual mermaid (23:09): Gray

actual mermaid (23:09): Do you think this was a bad idea?

ice ice baby (23:09): nah

ice ice baby (23:10): youre getting an essay done for you + youre getting free food and all that jazz

ice ice baby (23:10): and all you have to do is pretend to be lucys girlfriend

ice ice baby (23:10): although youll probably have to kiss and stuff but shes cute so i dont think it'll be a problem

actual mermaid (23:10): Shit

actual mermaid (23:11): I hadn't even thought of that

actual mermaid (23:11): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

ice ice baby (23:11): juv

ice ice baby (23:11): what were you expecting from 'fake dating'

actual mermaid (23:11): IDK

ice ice baby (23:11): *s i g h*

ice ice baby (23:11): itll be fine

ice ice baby (23:11): just try not to fall in love

actual mermaid (23:11): Oh haha

actual mermaid (23:11): Hilarious

Juvia groaned, leaving her phone to charge. She was finding sleep impossible, and counting sheep never helped her.

Her bags were done, even though she had no idea where they were going, as Lucy had not mentioned it (she supposed she could text her, but, she didn't want to bother her). She wasn't worried about the trip, really, but more about what was going to happen when they arrived. Juvia wanted to help Lucy, but she hadn't dated many people, and she certainly never had to pretend to be dating anyone.

She spent hours scrolling through social media on her phone, and just staring at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep. At some point, she wondered how Lucy's family was. Lucy was such a kind, cheerful person, it only seemed natural she would have a loving family. Juvia couldn't help but think about any sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles Lucy could have. She wondered if they looked like her. She thought about Lucy's smile, that she'd only seen on a few occasions, and she couldn't imagine anyone else smiling like that.

And that's how Juvia fell asleep; thinking about Lucy.

The next morning, Lucy knocked on Juvia's door. After a few minutes with no answer, she let herself in.

She'd been up for a few hours, packing her bags (she'd left them to the last minute: she asked herself whether living with Natsu was changing her), and making phone calls. First, her dad, to let him know that she was bringing another person. After that, she called Michelle, partly because she wanted to talk to her cousin, mostly to show off.

"So, Lulu…" Michelle teased, "Another year of being single, hmm?"

"I can't believe you're still using that nickname. And actually, no."

Michelle screeched into the phone, making Lucy jump. "Lucy! Tell me everything! Where did you two meet?"

Lucy giggled, despite wanting to be angry. "Michelle, you're acting like I've been single my entire life."

"Well, it's been a while. Aw, man, I'm going to miss teasing you…" Michelle mused, sadly, causing Lucy to laugh again. "Still, tell me!"

Lucy leaned against her kitchen counter. "Well, her name is Juvia, we met through a mutual friend…" That part was true, at least.

"Go on."

"And we hit it off straight away." That part, on the other hand, was a lie.

"Aw! How long have you known each other?"

"Uh, since the beginning of the school year." They hadn't really talked until yesterday, but Michelle didn't need to know that.

"Oh, that's lovely! So, is she cute?"

"Yeah, she really is." Lucy definitely didn't need to lie about that; as far as she was could tell, everyone and their mother could tell that Juvia was stunning.

"And what about-" Michelle's voice was abruptly cut off by someone shouting. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming! Sorry, Lulu, we're travelling soon, and you know how Lisbet is."

"It's fine, I can tell you everything when we meet up." And once I've gotten time to make everything up, she added to herself.

"Bye bye for now, Lulu!" Michelle exclaimed cheerfully.

"Bye, and please stop calling me that."

"In your dreams, Lulu."

Lucy snapped out of her daydreaming and looked around the living room, but Juvia was nowhere to be seen.

After calling out for her a few time, Lucy gingerly and slowly opened the door to Juvia's room, only to see that the girl was fast asleep.

Juvia's bags were done, Lucy could see them on the floor next to the bed, but the girl was sleeping through her alarm; her phone was playing a song that Lucy didn't recognize.

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, trying to decide how to wake her up. Juvia didn't look exactly gracious when she was sleeping (then again, who did?); even though she was facing away from Lucy, she could she that Juvia was snoring lightly, and there was a trail of drool on her cheek, but she also noticed that her hair looked magnificent. Long, blue, wavy locks were spread out on the pillow, and Lucy had to admit she was a little jealous; her hair was always a tangly mess when she woke up.

She almost reached out to caress Juvia's hair, before realizing what she was doing. Instead, she started gently prodding Juvia's arm, in hopes of getting her to wake up. Juvia didn't, though, and instead turned around and laid down in Lucy's lap. "Five more minutes," she groaned.

Lucy froze, unsure what to do. She could feel her cheeks getting warmer by the second, and her finger was left awkwardly hanging in the air.

At this point, Juvia had woken up a little, and immediately sensed that something was wrong. She slowly turned her head to look up, and saw Lucy's scarlet face. She stared for a few moments before screaming and scrambling off her.

She'd also turned into a blushing mess, and apologized profoundly. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! I hadn't realized! This is so embarrassing… I'm so sorry! Did I do anything else? I'm sorry!"

Lucy tried laughing it off. "Don't worry! It's fine."

After a few more minutes, Juvia looked at the watch on her wrist and screamed again. "We're late! I ruined everything, I'm so sor-"

"Juvia, stop apologizing, it's fine!" Lucy calmed her down, "I came to tell you that I was wrong about the time; we still have some time."

Juvia exhaled deeply and laid back down, covering her face with the blanket. "Thank goodness."

Lucy chuckled, while shaking her head. "You should probably start getting ready, though."

"Probably."

Lucy stood up and stretched her arms. "Well, I'll leave you for now. There's a coffee shop a few blocks away, come meet me there, if you want."

"What, like a date?" Juvia answered, without much thought.

"Sure."

Juvia's eyes shot open, but she couldn't actually see anything.

"Might as well get used to fake dating, right?"

Oh.

Right.

HUUUUGE THANKS TO MY DEAR FRIEND EMMY WHO HELPE WITH THIS FIC (and the title!), PLEASE GO SEND HER SOME LOVE ON LUCYHEARTFILIAVEVO ON TUMBLR (•̀ᴗ•́)و
Anyway, yeah, hope you'll enjoy this!