A quick disclaimer that Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail!

The Game.

"Don't you guys feel a little bored?" Lucy Heartfilia asked, crumpling up her napkin and stuffing it in her empty chip bag. The blonde alto saxophone player was beginning to grow tired of the usual marching band competition routine. Every Saturday it was report to school at this time and load the buses at that time, then perform at this time and eat dinner after, and there was still awards and the ride back home. When it came down to it, Lucy loved being a part of the Magnolia High School Royal Fairy Marching Band—it was like her second family, and it brought her so much joy. However, Lucy began finding herself a little bored with the whole thing, like she needed a little more spice in her marching band life.

"Actually, I think we're feeling a little hungry," her friend Gray said, gesturing to his burger and chips, which earned him an eye roll from his blonde friend. Gray Fullbuster played the euphonium and despite his somewhat quiet demeanor, the boy knew how to be loud on his instrument and rowdy with his friends.

"I'm serious, guys. I don't know what it is, but I just feel like things are really boring lately…" the girl said with a pout forming on her chapped lips.

Maybe it was the lack of romance in her life. She was already a senior in high school and still hadn't been in a serious relationship. Her preference for reading romance stories also could have been a factor.

The group's dinner was interrupted when their friend Levy McGarden ran up to the table. The petite marimba player had a cheeky grin pulling on her lips and a rosy blush painting her cheeks. Her light blue hair fell in messy waves around her face, almost hiding her blush in the low light.

"Guys! You won't believe what just happened! Okay, so do you see the guy over there—in line for the kettle corn stand?" Levy asked, pointing at a slightly burly guy with long black hair that was pulled into a pony tail. He was wearing a muscle tee and looked like he would play the tuba with the muscles he had, but he also could have just liked to work out. "His name is Gajeel—he's in the Crocus High School Marching Band, y'know, the school that has the show about conspiracy theories!"

"Yo, that show was amazing! But, what about this Gajeel guy?" Their friend Elfman Strauss asked. He was a bass drum player in the Magnolia band.

"Well…" the blush on Levy's cheeks deepened, "we kinda-sorta were talking while we were in line for funnel cake, and we kinda-sorta exchanged phone numbers," she said while waving her cell phone and the rest of the girls in their group started to tease Levy and prod her with questions about Gajeel.

Meanwhile, Gray pondered on what Levy had just told them. A playful and mischievous glint flashed in his eyes when he was struck with an idea. If Lucy was so bored, he thought, then maybe a game would do the trick. While the girls kept bombarding Levy about her new friend, Gary seized the opportunity to share his idea with the rest of the guys. Elfman liked the idea, but didn't want to join in on the game. Jellal, the blue-haired snare drum player, also had the same mindset as Elfman. It seemed the two battery members wished to avoid any and all issues that Gray's game could cause for them in regards to their girlfriends. Elfman had been dating one of the color guard captains—Evergreen—for a good while, and Jellal had been with their band's drum major—Erza—since their freshman year. Despite the girls' differences, though, they were both known to harbor rather cutthroat attitudes, and everyone knew not to bring out that side from either of them. Aside from Elfman and Jellal, however, the bachelors of their friend group like Loke the trumpet player and Gray himself were eager to start the game.

"So, guys, I have an idea. Since Lucy's been so bored as of late, I think we should play a little game, then she won't be so damn bored." Gray said after getting his friends' attention. He continued, "The game is to see, out of the people that play, who can get the most phone numbers by the end of awards—and it has to be people outside of our band," he finished pointedly.

"I like it! But it's not even fair—Loke's playboy ass has this game in the bag!" Lucy whined and pouted at Loke's smug grin. Lucy was always told that trumpet players were cocky and conceited, but she never really believed it. However, Loke proved her wrong with his enormous ego and overly flirty personality.

"Well, then I guess you'll just have to work hard at getting those numbers so you can beat me," Loke joined in, a confident smile still plastered on his face.

It wasn't long before everyone was done with their food, and they still had about a half left until it was time to head into the stands for awards. As they ate, the group arranged basic rules for the game, like not causing a ruckus that would tarnish their band's name. It was then decided that Lucy, Gray, Loke, and their friend Cana would be the ones to play the game. Cana was a french horn player in their band. Initially there were only three players in the game, but Cana joined them at the last minute after she returned from getting herself a smoothie in a pineapple.

"Okay, guys, remember you have until the end of awards to get as many numbers as possible—and our people are off limits," Jellal reminded the game's participants. Then the four band members went their separate ways, but not straying too far from the concessions or the area designated for the Royal Fairy band.

Lucy headed for the nearest trashcan first to toss her trash from dinner. She walked about and started up conversations with boys from different bands, succeeding in collecting five phone numbers. Lucy felt confident in her progress with the game so far, but was more than certain that Loke would have well over ten phone numbers in his possession by the time awards ended. The blonde saxophone player checked the time to see she had slightly less than ten minutes until she had to report back to her band's designated area so they could head up into the stands before awards started.

As she wrapped up another conversation with a blonde tenor drum player from Crocus High School, Lucy managed to get a sixth phone number. Satisfied with herself, Lucy stopped by the concessions stand to buy few packs of Swinkles: Salsagheti candy to indulge in later.

In the stands, Lucy found herself sitting in the top row of the bleachers at an aisle seat with Levy in front of her. There was another band sitting across the aisle from them, but the seats on the other side of Lucy were empty, so the saxophone player resorted to asking a girl in the next row down what band school they were from. Upon discovering that it was the Crocus High School band, Lucy took the chance to tease her blue-haired friend about her new acquaintance.

The girls were bickering back and forth about the matter when a rowdy pair of boys leading a line of people made their way up the stairs and sat down in the empty seats across from Lucy and Levy.

"G-Gajeel?" Levy gasped in shock as a blush coated her cheeks once more. Lucy's eyes widened slightly as she turned to study the boys next to them, realizing that one of them was actually the boy Levy had pointed out earlier when they were eating. It seemed Gajeel was also surprised to see Levy again so quickly considering how he had the faintest hints of pink on his cheeks.

Upon further study, Lucy gulped rather heavily as she eyed the boy next to Gajeel. He wasn't as big as his friend, but was still a pretty average size, and—she noted—muscular as well. His messy pink hair was all over the place , but still somewhat tamed by a scaly white scarf that was tied around his head. His eyes were a dark, almost obsidian color—much darker than Lucy's simple brown eyes—and she could spot what seemed like a scar peeking out from the collar of his snug shirt. He was still wearing his under armor but was wearing a slightly baggy Crocus High School Band sweater over it, along with some black gym shorts, long black socks, and marching shoes. It seemed to Lucy like he would play a low brass instrument like Gray, but he also could've been in percussion.

"Yo, Gaj, is this the girl you were bragging about?" the pink-haired boy asked, which made Levy's and Gajeel's blushes darken.

"Yeah… but I don't know who her friend is—"

"Um, hi! I'm Levy, and this is my best friend—Lucy." The bluenette introduced herself and her friend to the pink-haired boy. "It's—It's nice to see you again, Gajeel," Levy continued, a dark blush still evident on her cheeks.

However, Lucy also had a bit of a blush on her cheeks. She came to the decision that Gajeel's friend was hot, and of all the boys she'd seen that night, she didn't want any of their phone numbers as badly as she wanted his—but not for some silly game. No, Lucy was attracted to this boy and she wanted to get to know him, be his friend, and maybe even more.

Levy and Gajeel fell into their own groove, sparking up a conversation before awards started, leaving Lucy and the boy on their own. Lucy knew she wanted to start something with this boy, but she felt too awkward to even say hello!

"So, uh, Lucy, was it? I'm Natsu—but you can call me, well… Natsu," the boy introduced himself to Lucy, scratching his cheek in hopes of covering his blush. He had taken noticed of how the blonde had been checking him out earlier. Natsu was used to getting weird looks because of his hair so he didn't pay it any mind. However, as time dragged on, he felt as if he were being pulled into her—like a ship to a whirlpool. Except this whirlpool was really pretty with her blonde hair and brown eyes.

Oh, her eyes. I mean, lots of people have brown eyes, but I've never felt so—so captivated just by someone's eyes, he thought.

"Well, Natsu, I saw your school's show. It was really amazing—I mean, conspiracies?! That's so cool!" Lucy responded, somehow moving past her internal awkward-ness, trying to spark up a conversation. Given it wasn't the first chat she'd tried to initiate that night, but to her it was the only one that mattered.

Fortunately, Lucy and Natsu bonded rather quickly, talking about band, the classes they each took, and about their personal lives. Lucy had found that Natsu actually played tenor saxophone, and that Gajeel was his cousins. It was also mentioned that the two boys were moving to Magnolia, and they would be transferring to Magnolia High School after marching season ended—which also meant that he would be in the same section as Lucy in the future.

It warmed her insides to know she'd be able to see Natsu again. Knowing that they would meet once again reduced the sadness Lucy and Natsu both felt when awards ended and it came time to leave.

"I guess this is where we part ways—for now, of course… since you're moving and all," Lucy babbled as she twiddled her thumbs. She had lots of fun that night—it definitely wasn't as boring as the past competitions she'd been to that season. But truth be told, Lucy still didn't want to leave her seat next to the pink-haired saxophone player.

"I guess so…" Natsu reluctantly agreed. He was so happy to have made a new friend at his future school, but there was a deeper attraction that Natsu felt for Lucy, and he didn't want to her leave—even if they'd see each other in less than a month.

"Hey, um, do you want to trade phone numbers? Y'know, keep in contact about school and life and stuff…" Lucy proposed.

Natsu's eyes lit up at the suggestion—he hadn't thought about staying in touch over the phone!

"YES! Uh, I mean, yeah. That'd be cool," he said as she patted down his pockets for his phone. When he didn't feel it he checked his duffel bag, but he still came up empty. "I, uh, think I might've left my phone in the uniform cabinet," Natsu told Lucy with a chuckle.

"Way to go, champ," the blonde laughed. "Here, give me your arm," she demanded as she dug into her backpack and pulled out a black pen.

After writing her name and number down on the back of his upper arm, Lucy put her pen away and pulled out her phone to add Natsu's contact. She knew it would've been simpler to just add his contact and send him a text, but Lucy couldn't pass up the chance to have Natsu stand in front of a mirror and struggle to copy down her number into his phone from his reflection.

Soon after, though, the two saxophone players said their farewells and left the competition site with their bands.

Back in the school bus, Lucy and her friends went over the results of the game they had been playing. Gray had gathered five phone numbers, Cana got seven, and Loke raked in a whopping thirteen numbers. In actuality, it could be said that Lucy also got seven phone numbers, but she left it at six because Natsu was a different case. She wasn't aiming to get a number that she'd never look at again from Natsu. She wanted a friendship—and hopefully something more—from that boy with the pink hair and dark eyes.

Phone numbers might have been the aim of the game, but the only number Lucy cared for was Natsu's—and not because of some silly game.

So, this is my first fic. The idea came to me after something that happened in real life, and I've always wanted to put the Fairy Tail characters into a marching band au, so there's that too. Anyways, I know it's not a super long fic, but I hope you enjoyed The Game. :)