96 Days…

Lucy let out a sigh, crossing off another day on her calendar. 96 days left.

Slowly she pulled on her clothes, barely glancing around her home. She had kept it clean, just the way her mother had always done when she was alive, and she silently prayed that when her father came home, he wouldn't be too mad with her.

She silently left her home, locking it carefully before she left, mentally preparing herself for yet another long day at Fairy Tail Academy. She ignored the cat-calls and wolf-whistles of men more than double her age as she stepped through the gates, head down as she walked to her first period.

But she still attracted the attention of the other students. "Look, there she is."

"What a slut."

"Wonder if she'll give me a lap dance for half-price?"

"I heard she slept with 5 of the seniors. In one night!"

"No way! Gross!"

"Wouldn't put it past her."

Lucy inwardly shuddered, cursing her luck. She had made mistakes, but she had pushed them behind her. Everyone else seemed adamant to keep spreading the lies and rumors, eagerly trying to see if they could break her.

96 days. 96 days. She silently chanted in her head as she entered the building, barely noticing where her feet were carrying her, merely trusting them to get her there.

Someone slammed into her, and Lucy watched as her bag spilled its contents onto the floor. "Watch where you're going, slut." A boy said as he and the other jocks walked outside, trampling all over her notebooks and papers.

Lucy bit back the tears as she gathered up her things from the floor, her eyes falling on the remains of her story. It was ripped almost completely down the middle, and Lucy let out a small scornful laugh. It was ironic- looking at that paper she had poured her heart and soul into, it was like her own heart was ripped, her mother's words disregarded so easily.

She collected the last paper, stuffing it hurriedly into her bag as she continued to her locker. She ignored the sticky note on the door as she opened the locker, only to grab it and crumple the offending piece of paper.

Her locker had the normal notes in it, the ones that asked why she was still here, why she just didn't kill herself, if some boy could get blown out back during lunch. She knew the words in the notes by heart, even if she never opened them. She merely tossed them into the nearest garbage can as she walked by, repeating the words in her head. "96 days."

She got to her first period with no problems, surprisingly. She had almost expected another jock to slam into her again, or shove her against a wall and ask for some 'one-on-one' time. She sat at her seat in the front of the class, pulling out her notebook and beginning to write.

Just as the characters in her story began to take life in her mind's eye, the teacher's ruler slammed down on her desk. "Lucy. We're starting class now, maybe you'd like to join us?"

Lucy winced as she flipped to a new page, ignoring the laughs and chuckles from her classmates. She wrote a 96 on the top of the paper and circled it, saying her mantra in her head as she did.

About halfway through class, the teacher's phone rang, and the teacher raised her eyebrows as she crossed the room to answer it. There was a quiet exchange of words, and then the teacher hung up the phone. "Lucy, you're supposed to go to the office right now."

There was a chorus of laughter, followed by "Ooooh. Someone's in trouble!" "Think she'll get spanked?" "She'll probably like it!"

The teacher ran her nails across the chalkboard, eyes flashing angrily as the room fell into silence. "Lucy. Now. Hop to it."

Lucy quickly shoved her notebook into her backpack and left the room, the snickering still ringing in her ears. Silently, she wondered if she was in trouble, but her breathing eased up when the secretary directed her to the counselor's rooms.

She entered the quiet room, eyes scanning for another person. The lone person in the room was leaning casually in his chair, and his eyes shifted towards her.

Lucy's heartbeat picked up instantly- he screamed delinquent, she could tell from his pink hair and the air of cool he seemed to exude. He had the build of an athlete, but she could tell he was definitely more agile than most of the football players. She sat down a good distance from him, eyes fixed on her hands, cursing her stupidity almost instantly the second she sat down. This kid wouldn't be any different than the rest, he'd probably poke fun at her or ask if she really knew how to make a man come in under 30 seconds.

She heard a movement, and she looked up in time to see the pink-haired boy looking at her curiously as he stood up, moving closer to her. After a minute, he spoke. "Hi."

Lucy glanced down at her hands hurriedly. "Hi."

The boy leaned back in his chair, smiling. "Well, this sucks."

Lucy glanced at him, almost certain she knew the answer. "What sucks?"

The boy gestured around the room. "This. I mean, I could be beating the crap out of my friend Gray during P.E., but no." He frowned. "I was looking forward to playing soccer today."

Lucy blinked in surprise, waiting for the suck, not blow comment to be made. "I guess so. I'm just glad to be out of class."

The pink-haired boy's grin seemed to grow even larger. "So am I, now." Lucy's heart skipped a beat, and she wondered what he meant by that. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. What's your name?"

Lucy bit her lip, not wanting to say her name, just in case Natsu panicked and called her out on the rumors. Oddly, his name was familiar to her too, bu she decided to take a chance and tell him her name. After all, she had been wrong about everything she had expected out of his mouth. "I'm-"

"Lucy Heartfilia?" A voice called, and Lucy saw the recognition flit through Natsu's eyes.

She jumped up, smiling politely at him. "I guess I'll see you around." She said quickly, hurrying away to her counselor's room, knowing full well his eyes were fixed on her.

She sat down quickly in the open chair in the counselor's room, and the white-haired woman smiled at her happily. "Morning Lucy."

Lucy forced a smile. "Morning Mirajane."

Mirajane started tapping away at her keyboard. "So, I've called you here today to talk about college." She glanced at the blonde. "You are going to go?"

Lucy looked at the ground. "I… I wasn't thinking about it really."

Mirajane pursed her lips, glancing at her computer screen. "Well, you definitely have the grades to get into any college you want. A 4.4 is nothing to laugh at." She beamed at the girl. "Also, congrats on the AP tests from last year. I heard you scored a 5 on two of the AP tests you took last year."

Lucy looked down, blushing. "Thanks."

Mirajane opened a desk drawer, shuffling some papers. "Actually, since you haven't really looked at colleges, I should give you this." She pulled out a large stack of papers. "These are all from colleges asking about you, and wondering if you'd be interested in applying there." Mirajane shuffled through the papers, pulling out one especially thick folder. "This one I thought would interest you most, it seems like a nice school, but it is across the country practically."

Lucy took the folder, noting the title of the college. "Zodiac College?" She asked, and Mirajane nodded. Lucy sighed. "Well, thanks a ton Mirajane. I'll look at some colleges."

Mirajane watched as Lucy took the stack of paperwork, and she smiled at the girl. "And Lucy?" When the blonde looked up, Mirajane couldn't help but feel a piece of her heart go out to the girl. "Things do get better after high school."

Lucy looked away, nodding as she walked out of Mirajane's office. She was secretly glad Mirajane made all of the students who saw her call her by her first name, demanding that being called Ms. Strauss made her feel old. It made her feel like she at least had a friend at school, even if she was paid to act like that to all the students.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she slammed into someone. "Sorry." She said as she looked up, and to her horror (and, oddly, delight) Natsu was staring at her, grinning.

"Hey Lucy." He said. "You done with your meeting?"

Lucy nodded, and she inwardly cringed. She wouldn't be able to escape his questions if he started asking them now.

Natsu grinned. "Awesome. What's your next class?"

Lucy glanced at the clock. "It's History." She pulled a face. "Maybe I should go back and ask Mirajane if I could help her somehow."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "With who?"

Lucy sighed. "Mr. Connell. He's funny, but he likes the Old West too much."

Natsu laughed. "You're in my class then!"

Lucy glanced at him. "How come I've never seen you there before?"

Natsu shrugged. "I always skip. I just go on the days when we have tests, or after school." Suddenly, he smirked. "Hey, how about you skip with me?"

Lucy felt her eyes widen. She was certain now, Natsu WAS a delinquent, but what really surprised her was the fact he had invited her to skip. With him. As in he wanted her around.

After a minute, Natsu shifted uncomfortably. "Look, you don't have to if you-"

Lucy cut him off. "Sure, I'll go with you." She said, smiling.

Natsu grinned. "Awesome! Let's go!"

As Natsu dragged Lucy off of the school grounds and to his car, Lucy couldn't help but grin. She could be a bad kid for one class period. Besides… her main tormentors were in that class with her.

As she sat in the passenger seat of Natsu's fire red Mustang and he pulled out of the school parking lot, she glanced at him. "Where are we going?"

Natsu smirked. "You'll see." He said, pulling out at an incredible speed.

Within 5 minutes, Lucy felt sick from a combination of fear for her life as they sped along and an odd combination of worry about skipping school and happiness from hanging around with such a handsome devil like Natsu. He finally pulled into a parking lot, and Lucy glanced out the window. "The Animal Shelter?"

Natsu looked down, and Lucy faintly caught a blush crossing across the delinquent's face. "Lucy, I need a favor."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Is this why we're here?"

Natsu nodded. "See, I have this cat… He likes to explore, and I totally didn't notice when he didn't come back. But the other day, I even got him a salmon from the store to tempt him out of hiding, but I couldn't find him."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you go in then?"

Natsu frowned. "Happy is a very friendly cat, and when I went in to see if he was here, I found out he's being adopted. And since I don't have paperwork for him, I have no ownership." He looked at Lucy pleadingly. "I need you to distract the secretary so I can slip in the back and liberate him."

Lucy snorted. "I'll help, but only since you helped me get out of History."

Natsu practically beamed. "Thanks a ton Luce!"

Lucy shook her head as she climbed out of the car, making her way into the animal shelter. The woman behind the counter glanced up as Lucy entered, smiling. "Hello! Can I help you?"

Lucy nodded. "I was thinking about getting a dog."

The woman let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I thought you might have come about a cat." She shook her head. "Someone else is supposed to come in with a litter of kittens later today, and to be honest, we don't have the room." She stood up, dusting off her pants. "If you'll follow me…"

Lucy saw Natsu sneak in behind her, giving her a thumbs up as he made his way towards a door marked 'Cats' stealthily. Lucy ended up being attracted to a small dog that the woman said was most likely a mixed breed, with a white coat and a oddly shaped pointed nose. She remembered her mother saying something about a dog she had once owned that matched that description, and, before Lucy knew it, she was walking outside with the dog in her arms.

Natsu was leaning against his car, a smile on his face. "Mission accomplished!" He said, indicating the cat in the backseat. He looked at the dog, a frown forming on his face. "What is that?"

Lucy frowned. "It's a dog."

"What kind of dog looks like a snowman?"

Lucy's frown deepened. "What kind of cat is blue?"

"…. Touche. What's the dog's name?"

Lucy climbed into the passenger's seat, petting the happy white dog. "Plue."

"What kind of name is Plue?"

The cat in the back meowed, and Lucy could've sworn it sounded like the cat said, "Aye!"

Lucy looked down at the dog, smiling sadly at him. "My mom had a dog like him when she was my age, and his name was Plue."

Natsu snorted. "Still a weird name."

"Coming from the man who named his cat Happy?"

Natsu pulled a shocked face. "Happy is an awesome name! He's a happy cat, so his name should be happy!"

The cat meowed in that mysterious way. "Aye!"

Natsu pulled out of the parking lot. "So… What's your family like?"

Lucy kept her eyes on the dog in her lap. "Well, I had a mom, and I have a father. No siblings. I never liked my dad as much as I loved my mom."

"Had?"

The sad smile flitted across Lucy's face again. "She died in July a few years ago."

Natsu stiffened slightly, glancing over at her. "I'm sorry. What about your dad?"

Lucy stared out the window, and she resisted the urge to rub her arms. "He's not really around much, busy with his company for the most part."

Natsu looked at her. "What company?"

Lucy sighed, knowing that Natsu was about to have a heart attack. "Heart Enterprises."

She turned in time to see Natsu's jaw drop. "You're kidding. You aren't THAT Lucy Heartfilia?"

Lucy smiled at him. "The one and only." Natsu seemed to shocked to continue the conversation, so she changed the subject. "How about you? What's your family like?"

The question seemed to snap Natsu out of his daze, and he turned his gaze back to the road. "I have family, but I don't know my parents. I have a foster father and mother, and an adoptive sister named Wendy. She going to go to our high school next year, and she's excited about that. Mum is just upset I'm not going to be sticking around home next year, but Dad says that I should."

Lucy eyed him. "Going off to college?"

Natsu shook his head. "I want to see the world before I grow old and tired." He grinned. "Dad did that after high school. He met Mum while he was doing that, and he has such awesome stories from his adventures."

Lucy smiled, but a part of her heart burned at the thought of losing what was possibly the only friend she had had after such a long time. "You going to take Happy?"

Natsu snorted, like the answer was obvious. "Of course! I couldn't go anywhere without the little guy!" He said as he reached behind him, scratching the cat's chin.

Lucy glanced back, offering her hand to the cat, and Natsu looked at her. "Be careful- he doesn't really…" He looked at his cat, who was delicately licking Lucy's fingers. "…Like new people…"

Lucy smiled, and for the first time it was genuine, not forced. "I'm glad he likes me."

They spent the day together, and Lucy felt herself falling more and more for the ridiculous pinkette. Wherever they went, trouble seemed to follow the boy and his cat, further confirming Lucy's idea of delinquent. But for the first time since her mother's death the smiles on her face weren't forced and when he dropped her off in front of her house, Lucy didn't feel completely heartbroken about the thoughts of the next day.

She opened her front door, glad she had convinced Natsu to stop at the pet store, even if Happy ran off to the cat food aisle and somehow managed to open and eat almost 15 cans of cat food before someone noticed. Plue wandered around the floor, exploring the room eagerly as she put away the dog food. "You'll sleep with me, alright Plue?"

The little dog yapped happily, and went to the door. He whined, and Lucy smiled as she put on the dog's new collar, complete with tag and her phone number. She clipped a leash, grabbing a plastic bag. "Alright then Plue!"

It was outside that Lucy's smile disappeared, and she began to hear the voices that normally followed her as she walked her dog.

"That's that Heartfilia girl."

"I heard she sleeps around."

"What must her father think?"

"If my daughter was ever like that girl, I would slap her across the face so hard…"

Lucy bit back the tears that sprung up in her eyes, and Plue looked up at her, and she saw a certain look of worry in his eyes. She patted his head, smiling. "It's alright Plue."

There was a crash somewhere behind her, and she couldn't help but pale as she looked back, noticing the men that were suffering from stupendous nosebleeds, as well as the scandalous looks from the women. Despite her embarrassment, she continued on, using her bangs to cover up her eyes.

She finally finished the walk, dropping Plue's 'present' in her garbage can as she passed, missing the red car in her driveway.

"Hey Luce."

Lucy's head snapped up, and she looked at the pinkette leaning against his car. She rapidly blinked back her tears, pulling on a fake smile. "Hey Natsu. What brings you around for a second time?"

Natsu held out a bag. "You left this one bag in the back. Some fancy dog food. Sorry if Happy kind of ate some…" He frowned, looking at Lucy closely. "Hey Lucy… Were you crying?"

Lucy gave him her best fake smile. "No, I just got something in my eye. Dust probably."

Natsu gave her a look that said he knew, but he grinned. "Alright. See you tomorrow Luce!"

She waved him off before turning back to her home. To her surprise, Lucy found the front door unlocked, and her breath hitched in her throat. She looked down at Plue with a small smile.

"Dad's home."

Sup!

This is my first story like this, let alone a NaLu fic.

There's a couple more chapters, but it's not TOO terribly long... I think.

Hmm.

Anyways!

Constructive critiscsism (spelling fails lolz) welcome and needed! So please! RNR!