Fairy High: Welcome to the Chaos

So, the next couple of chapters should be shorter, but I was getting used to the website this time round.

1st Fanfic that I've actually put anywhere. Constructive criticism welcome, but be nice, please.

Obviously, I don't own any of the Fairy Tail characters.

Chapter 1:

Lucy wandered down the street, her mouth agape as she attempted to take in all the sights at once. So many shops and cafes! So much colour! Everything just looked so friendly. She'd arrived in the city of Magnolia the night before so she hadn't been able to see anything before she somehow managed to get to her new apartment and collapse on the bed. But today was a new day. She'd picked her outfit carefully this morning: royal blue, pleated mini skirt; blue and white tank top; and comfortable black boots. Her blonde hair was let to flow free today. Lucy was determined to see as much of it as possible before starting school the next day. School! She nearly squealed in excitement. New life, new school, independence! She didn't know how she'd convinced her father to let her attend a public school in a town away from home. Ok, she did know, she hadn't left him a lot of choice. But still; it was an amazing feat. She was so lost in thought that she wasn't paying attention to the uneven path, and promptly tripped.

"Woah, there! Careful, sweets!"

Lucy looked up. She'd tripped into a guy. New life, new school, new boys! And this one was cute! Short cut, chestnut brown hair, and deep pools of amber in place of eyes… Okay, snap out of it, Lucy. She was letting her inner romantic and novelist get carried away.

"S-sorry!" She stammered, jumping back. She'd just been staring. A blush started to colour her cheeks.

"No worries!" He said with a laugh. "You looked distracted. New around here? I haven't seen your pretty face before. I'm Evan, by the way."

Lucy stopped blushing. Cheesy pickup lines? Was she really going to run with that? Yeah, she was. She smiled. "I'm Lucy! Mhm, just arrived last night."

"No kiddin'? Well then, want to join me for lunch and then I can show you around?" Evan held out his hand as he said this, clearly not expecting a refusal.

Lucy hesitated for a second. Her instincts were trying to yell at her from the back of her mind that he was a stranger and not trustworthy, but most of her brain was drowning it out. This is just like in a romance novel! This may be the best day ever! She quelled her worries and smiled at the boy again, starting to reach forward to put her hand in his.

"Su-"

"Look out!" Lucy snatched her hand back and looked around trying the find the source of the intruding sound. Who would dare interrupt her perfect day? She would give them a taste of her- What the hell was that? A large cat streaked past, between her and Evan, its short hair apparently dyed an unnerving blue. She then spotted the source of the voice. A guy was running towards them, clearly chasing said cat. Wait, what? Lucy did a double take. Pink hair? Who the hell dyes their cat blue and their own hair pink?

"Sorry!" Exclaimed the new pink-haired guy, laughing as he followed the cat's direct path; right through the middle of the two stunned strangers.

Lucy's gaze followed the boy as he kept going, headed after the apparently run-away cat. What she hadn't expected was before he had gone more than three metres, he spun. He didn't even break stride, and it only lasted for a brief few seconds, but he turned to face her, looked her dead in the eye… and grinned. A whole-hearted grin that reached all the way to his eyes. Lucy didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't that. I… I suppose he wasn't that bad looking either. She thought to herself. His messy cherry blossom coloured hair was spiked up in all directions. His orange T-shirt, black, unbuttoned vest and loose black jeans gave off an air of casual confidence. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. What are you thinking? He's clearly a nutjob. You're letting your inner novelist go off again. Satisfied with that belief, she nodded to herself before looking back at Evan. Only to catch the last of his furious expression aimed at the back of their intruder. It was very quickly taken over by his calm, flirtatious look as he looked back at her. Seriously? It wasn't that big of a deal. She knew she hadn't meant to see that scary face and was instantly worried that this guy was bad news.

"Well, that was an odd interruption" Evan grinned at her. "So, lunch?"

Just lunch shouldn't hurt. And she did sort of need a guide. "Oh, right! Yes! Lead the way!" She clasped her hands in front of her. She was hoping it just looked cute and innocent rather than giving away the fact that she didn't want to hold his hand.

Lunch had been one of the worst dates Lucy had ever experienced. Not that she had much experience, but she knew this wasn't how they were supposed to go. Evan had barely stopped talking about how amazing he was. When he did refer to her, it had been constant stupid pet names like 'babe' and 'hot stuff', making her cringe every time. His incessant egotism had been coupled with inappropriate, uncomfortably sexual remarks. Hitting on her? He was acting like sleeping with her was a forgone conclusion. She couldn't stand it.

And now here they were. Standing off to the side of a reasonably empty street not far from the café, with Lucy trying to talk her way out of any more interaction with the guy she had now decided was a creep. Should have listened to my instincts, she admonished herself. Evan was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Look, I'm sorry Evan, but I've decided I don't need a tour guide today after all. I know my way around this area now and I'll probably just head home." Lucy tried again.

"What the hell, babe? Fine, I'll walk you home and keep you company there"

Lucy was starting to just get angry by this point. "Please, don't call me 'babe'. And no, thank you. I haven't exactly decided what I'm going to do, but I would like to be by myself for the rest of the day." Not good. She was watching his face, and even through her anger, she could see him snapping.

"Listen, girl, I've helped you out and bought you lunch, and offered to be your stupid your guide for the afternoon. You owe me." He reached out quickly and grabbed her arm. Lucy winced. It hurt. He was gripping too tightly.

"Let me go…" She nearly whispered. Anger was giving way to fear. She wasn't completely useless at looking after herself, but she didn't think she could get out of this easily. Besides, she'd never had to actually defend herself.

"Not a chance, babe. If I can't come home with you then-" Thump. Slam.

Lucy gasped, throwing her hand over her mouth, wide eyed. Her harasser had been interrupted by a fist in his face, breaking his grip on her arm and throwing him to the ground. She looked at her defendant with surprise.

It was the pink-haired boy from earlier that day. And he looked furious.

Evan, on the other hand, looked terrified. He tried to compose himself. "Who the hell are you?" He asked, indignant. The newcomer just growled, and glared. Then he spoke, his voice unnaturally calm, making it all the more menacing; "I suggest you start running." Evan didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and bolted past his attacker, disappearing around a corner a few seconds later.

Lucy was still looking at this guy who stepped in on her behalf. At least, that's what she was hoping had happened. She still had no idea what he wanted and he was sort of frightening. She jumped as he turned to look at her. His dark eyes hard and serious as he looked at her intently.

"Th-Thank you…" Lucy stammered, hoping it was the correct response.

His eyes suddenly softened and he looked concerned. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?" He suddenly questioned her.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean… He may have bruised my arm but it's not serious and I'm okay. Thank you." Lucy was calming down. This guy clearly didn't mean her harm. He really had come to defend her, after all. And she was more than grateful. "Can I… I mean… I have to repay you somehow!" Lucy was rushing her sentences, unsure how to react. Then she stopped. The boy was looking surprised and slightly… embarrassed?

"Oh… um. No, that's ok. You don't need to do that." He muttered, smiling a little.

Growl. Lucy jumped again, nerves still on edge. What was that? Wait, was that his stomach? He looked even more embarrassed. Bingo. She nearly giggled.

"Come on! I'll buy you a meal. Anything you like. It's the least I could do. Oh, and I'm Lucy!"

After a moment's hesitation, the boy grinned. It was like the one she'd seen him flash earlier, full of sincerity, and it was aimed directly at her. "I can't say no to free food! I'm Natsu."

Twenty minutes later, Lucy caught herself thinking about how this was the second time she was finding herself in a café with a cute guy in one day, as she watched Natsu enthusiastically devour a large steak. This time round is so much better, she mused. He wasn't nearly as scary as she'd thought earlier. Though he was nearly as weird as her initial impression. But he smiled a lot and called her by her name, asked her questions and let her ramble on while he managed to look interested. "And so tomorrow I start school at Fairy Tail High! And I'm so excited!" She had been explaining why she was in the city and how she'd managed to get into the unfortunate situation that he'd stumbled upon.

Natsu just nodded in between bites. He was listening, but he had been starving. He had barely eaten all day because he'd been out chasing Happy, his cat, and hadn't had any money to buy lunch. He'd been wandering back home when he'd seen a guy with a tight grip on the arm of the girl he'd seen earlier that day, who looked scared. He hadn't really thought about it, just stepped in and punched him. Then the girl had offered him food. He'd honestly been surprised at how nice she'd been. He was initially worried she might have been scared of him, but she'd gotten over than pretty quickly. Now she was happily chatting as he munched on the biggest steak he could buy. She had insisted that she would pay for whatever he wanted to eat, no matter what, so he'd given in to his hunger.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Lucy broke into his reflection of the day. He swallowed the food in his mouth. "Yeah?"

"Why were you chasing around a blue cat earlier today?"

"Oh, that was my cat, Happy. He got out of the house this morning and so I was trying to catch him and bring him home." He paused. "The blue dye doesn't hurt him. I think he actually likes looking different." He'd been yelled at about this before by random girls, and he didn't really understand why.

Lucy giggled. "Where is he now?"

Natsu scowled. "Dunno. He got away. He'd probably gone home. Only reason I was chasing him at all is because my sister worries when he gets out." This statement seemed to amuse Lucy because she giggled again.

Natsu had finished his meal and was looking at Lucy as she looked thoughtfully off into the distance. Suddenly she sighed. "I suppose I should head home. It's starting to get dark."

He looked at her for a moment longer. She was doing well at hiding it, but he could see fear returning to her eyes. He nodded to himself. It wouldn't matter if he was a little late home.

"I'll walk you home."

Lucy looked at him, mouth open. "Are you sure? I don't want to be an inconvenience. You don't have to."

He looked back at her with slight confusion. "You're scared that creep might still be around. I'll walk you home so you're safe."

You're still gaping, idiot. Lucy quickly shut her mouth. What was with this guy? How is he so sweet? And after he'd punched some guy. It was true, she was scared. She thought she'd hidden it pretty well, yet he'd instantly known and then he'd said it so 'matter of fact'ly. Plus, his offer was nearly statement. Still, she wasn't going to turn it down.

"That would be nice. Thank you. Again." Seemed he'd be helping her out again. Not that she minded too much.

Lucy sighed as she sat on her bed. She'd showered and changed into her pyjamas, and now was just about ready to pass out from exhaustion. It had been a long and eventful day. The walk home with Natsu had been nice. He'd let her talk his ear off, but had also chatted about the city; pointing out things and making suggestions on sights to see. Yeah, today had been scary, but it had ended well. She'd even managed to get him to swap phone numbers on the doorstep to her apartment complex. You know, for safety reasons. She smiled happily to herself as she snuggled into her blankets. Tomorrow, school would start. She hoped it wouldn't be as exciting as today. But I hope everyone is as nice as Natsu, was her last thought as she drifted off to sleep.