Hello! This if my first Fairy Tail fanfiction, so I hope you guys like it.

I wrote this using my personal feelings and random inspiration, so I just wanted to say that this is for anyone who's ever had a crush and wanted to do something about it

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does

Today was the day.

Lucy was going to do it, really she was.

She was going to confess to Natsu Dragneel.

It was the last day of her high school career and so far everything was progressing way smoother than Lucy had expected. In fact it was almost going exactly according to the plan she had mapped out in her head. There had only been one moment so far when she felt like she was dying on the inside. And that had been first block - chemistry...

Lucy swore she might have cried.

After a few days of dwelling on what she'd say to him, Natsu just didn't show up to first period on the last day of school, and a sinking feeling began to well up in her stomach. What if he doesn't come to school today? Flashed through her head. What will I do then? I can't confess and there's no other time to do it…

Then suddenly, halfway through the period a startling bang drew everyone's attention to the front of the classroom. In the doorway stood Gray, a boy known for his stripping habit, and beside him, there he was, Natsu, with a relaxed smile.

"Late as always boys," the chemistry teacher, Gildarts, chided. The older man shook his head, a mix of amusement and disbelief on his face. "You couldn't even get your act together for the last day of high school?" His tone was playful.

"Sorry we're late," Gray apologized as he approached the teacher. Jabbing a finger in Natsu's direction he added, "Flamebrain slept through his alarm again, so I had to get him up."

Gildarts let out a deep laugh before saying, "'Course it was Natsu."

"Hey-" Natsu shouted in indignation before getting cut off.

"Just sit down boys," the teacher instructed. "It's too early to go and start a fight." Gildarts turned back to the book he had been reading earlier.

With a pout on his face, Natsu made his way over to his seat just behind Lucy.

Honestly, the seating arrangements for the year had been a curse. At the beginning of the year Lucy had wished for Natsu to be her table partner, but ended up getting Gray – who she didn't mind, but his habit for losing his clothes occasionally got on her nerves.

And then there was the fact that sitting in frontof him gave Lucy no chance to so much as casually glance in his direction. She had to completely turn around to look at him, and the only time she could do that was when she was passing papers back to him. It had been a tough year…

As Natsu laid his head down on the black table top he muttered, "It's not my fault my alarm's broken. Anyhow, it's the last day of school, why am I even here?"

Laughing quietly Lucy turned, so she was facing him. "Just be glad you didn't get caught by Erza."

Natsu lifted his head from his resting position so he could hear what Lucy had said, only to shudder at the name of the student council president.

He was about to reply to her, much to Lucy's excitement, only to be cut off by Gajeel who sat at the lab table to the right of Natsu, "Geehee, she would have beat your ass Dragneel."

Flinging his chair backwards and slamming his palms against the lab table as he stood up, Natsu shouted, "You wanna go Metal Head? 'Cause I'm all fired up!"

And thus first block ended with Natsu, Gajeel and Gray (who had somehow been roped into the argument) shouting at each other, while the other students just watched the spectacle with either amusement or annoyance.

At lunch, Lucy didn't feel like eating. In fact she felt like going home and forgetting her plan completely.

"If you don't feel up to it Lucy-san, then don't push yourself," Wendy consoled.

Bringing her legs to her chest the blonde let out a glum sigh. At the moment she was sitting outside with her seven closest friends, who were eating lunch while simultaneously trying to help the distraught girl make a decision.

"I just… I don't want him to think I'm joking. I mean… I don't know him that well and well, the same goes for him… Wouldn't you be weirded out if someone you barely knew just confessed to you out of the blue? Maybe it would be better if I… if I just didn't confess…"

"And then what Lucy?" A surprisingly adamant Mirajane replied. "Go to college, and regret that you never told the person you've been crushing on for the past three and a half years that you liked them?"

What Mira was saying was true, Lucy could definitely see herself regretting not confessing and knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to get over her crush on Natsu easily. His intense charcoal eyes, the laugh that always made her smile, that friendly grin he gave everyone and his somewhat childish behavior were all characteristics of his she was drawn to.

At first when she had moved to Magnolia and started working at the restaurant Fairy Tail as a waitress to get away from home, she hadn't noticed him. But when it became apparent that Fairy Tail was a hot spot for high schoolers, even during the week, the pink-haired boy started popping up at a lot of her tables.

She soon learned that he pretty much visited on a daily basis and without her permission, cupid's arrow pierced her heart – she couldn't stop thinking about him.

Then when school first rolled around she not only found out his name and that he was in her Freshman biology class, but realized he was the type of person she was supposed to avoid. He was loud, he was rough, and he was rebellious – all things her father frowned upon, but she couldn't get over how she felt.

"Mira, that's a little harsh," Erza intervened, bringing Lucy out of her deep train of thought.

"Actually Erza-san… Juvia has to agree with Mira-san on this one. Juvia thinks that Lucy-san will feel better if she get this off her chest. If you're truly honest about how you feel, Juvia thinks your true feeling will reach Natsu-san."

"I've never been one for romance," Cana added, pausing for a few seconds with a look of thoughtful confusion, "But it can't hurt to try girlie."

The warning bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

When Lucy did not reply or make a move to go, Erza cleared her throat and added, "And if he does reject you I can always beat-"

Levy tried to stop the scarlet-haired class-president, "Erza! You don't want to say-"

But to the surprise of the girls, Lucy began to laugh. "You guys are the best."

After stifling her laughter Lucy packed away her uneaten lunch and stood up with a determined look in her eyes. "And you're right, I'm going to confess. I don't want to end my senior year by regretting not doing this. And you know what? After this I'll probably never see him again anyway."

Slinging her bag over her shoulder Lucy shouted, "Thanks guys," as she ran off to her next class.

The last two classes of the day had been replaced by one of Magnolia High's oldest traditions, crossing over the threshold of the school. The tradition happened to be fairly easy, but it took a relatively large amount of time considering the number students in the graduating class.

And once the entire class had walked under the archway with the words Magnolia High inscribed in it, many relaxed and fell into casual conversation with their peers and family alike.

For a brief moment Lucy disappointedly thought, would've been nice if he had come, but then she lightly slapped her cheeks to get out of the negative mindset. Focus! Dad not coming to see the senior ceremony isn't anything new.

After taking a deep breath and pushing those thoughts away, Lucy opened her eyes and started her search for Natsu.

His wild, pink hair was easy to spot from a distance. Natsu was standing off on his own staring at the large magnolia tree that grew right outside the school's gate. His hands were in his pockets and his back was to the crowd that had accumulated outside of the archway.

Lucy felt a pat on her back, which propelled her forward and heard a quiet, "Good luck Lu-chan."

As she moved towards the pink-haired boy, Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see Levy giving her two thumbs up for encouragement.

"Alright, I can do this," Lucy muttered to herself. "Just tell him how you feel."

Once the blonde got within hearing distance from Natsu she timidly called out, "Natsu?"

Eyes still glued to the tree Natsu replied with a disinterested, "Hm?" When he turned to face the speaker he looked a bit melancholy and his eyebrows were furrowed.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh Luigi, it's you!" Immediately the pinkette's tone of voice changed and his expression lightened up.

With a nervous grin Lucy replied, "Its Lucy."

"Hm… really? And here I was thinking you were named after some video game character," Natsu joked. "Anyway what do you wanna talk about Luce?"

Somewhat taken aback by his comment, Lucy took a second to calm herself down. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and then said firmly, "I like you."

Wanting to gauge his reaction the blonde opened her eyes and glanced up at Natsu, who was a good couple inches taller than her. His charcoal color eyes looked puzzled, like he hadn't fully comprehended what she had said.

She took another breath and looking him straight in the eye continued speaking, "I know it may sound like this came out of nowhere, but I really just wanted you to know... that I like you. I can't really explain why, but… I get butterflies in my stomach just from talking to you and I can feel my pulse racing... When I see your smile it brightens my day. And sometimes during the year it just hurt keeping these feelings bottled up..."

Natsu's eyes had widened and at some point his jaw had dropped.

"It's not that I want you to start liking me or start worrying about me, since after this we're going to college and all, but I wanted you to know that you're a great guy." Lucy smiled softly; her nerves long gone now having gotten most of what she had wanted to say off her chest. "You're funny, you're curious and you're especially kind. You're openly passionate about your feelings and you take risks, things I don't do, but I wish I could. And for those reasons, and so many others I… I like you."

Lucy let out a breath of relief. Her eyes were shining and an unwavering smile made its way onto her face.

"I like you Natsu Dragneel!"

Whelp, hope you like my story! If you have any thoughts please review!

-The Jade Empress

(Also, quick note, I posted this on my tumblr: mylifeislikeafairytail as well, so if you see it on there that's me!)