Hey! I'm back from the dead! Just so that everyone isn't confused, I have started this story over, and this is the first chapter :3. No confusion. Big, big, big, bIGG thank you to everyone who reviewed and helped me decide whether I should start over or not. It was helpful :3. ANyway, sorry to make you wait so long (I should learn to not to write 4 stories at a time,) and I hope this is a good chappie :3.

xx

"Do I have to?" Lucy whimpered to her mother, her bottom lip jutted out in a small pout. Layla Heartfilia looked over to her daughter from her position in the drivers seat and gave Lucy a large smile.

"C'mon Lucy! It'll be fun! You'll get to meet a lot of other kids like you, maybe even make some friends!" Layla stated cheerfully, trying to make her daughter feel the same. Lucy scoffed, rolling her eyes to look at the parking lot outside of her window. She made a large point of crossing her arms over her chest and not looking at her mother.

"By other kids like me, you mean unsociable cancer freaks who most likely won't live to see next year? Sorry, Mom, not in the mood." Lucy muttered, keeping her eyes on the empty parking lot. Layla sighed and rubbed her temples in order to get rid of her forming headache. She had this conversation with her daughter more times than she'd like to admit, (and at the same time, she hadn't spoke with Lucy about it enough,) and had desperately wished Lucy could think positively. But ever since the day she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Lucy was everything but optimistic.

"Lucy, the doctor said it would be good for you. Just do one session, okay? That's all I ask." Lucy sighed dramatically before opening the car door and stepping into the cool fall air, lugging her oxygen container behind her. "Okay," Lucy murmured, her eyes still far away from her mother's, "One session."

.~*~.~*~.

Everyone trickled into the church's basement, the ten or so teenagers walking or wheeling in. They all took a quick glance at the snack table before taking their seat in a circle around a carpet which held a large picture of Jesus. "Welcome, everyone, to the literal heart of Jesus." Said their support group leader, Gildarts, to the awkward group of teenagers before him.

It was Lucy's second day at the support group, (Her mother said one session, Lucy should've known that meant at least 5,) and Gildarts was already repeating his tragic story. He had been playing video games in his parent's basement one day when he felt a sudden pain in his groin. His parents rushed him to the hospital, but by then he had already passed out. And when he woke up, he was left with the inability to make children. And now look at where he was; 30 and still living in his parent's basement, talking to depressed kids about their life as past or current cancer patient. And Lucy's mother said that cancer can do good things for people.

The group had finally reached their little 'intermission', so Lucy went up to the snack table. As she picked up one of the many cookies lining the orange table cloth, she felt the same feeling she had felt the entire session: Someone was staring at her. Lucy swallowed and tried to not feel self conscious, but that was nearly impossible when she could literally feel that heat of someones stare behind her head. She bit down on her lip and turned around. Her eyes met the dark stare of a man about her age. The man she had accidently run into on her way down to the basement.

Now, there are expectations of hot guys, and reality of hot guys, and this man staring at her, with a small smirk resting on his beautifully carved face, was easily the expectation of a hot guy. His pink hair stuck in several directions in the sexiest way Lucy had ever seen, and he had sharp, onyx eyes that were dancing with humor.

Lucy's face instantly heated up, but she refused to look away. This was a staring contest, and those were Lucy's specialty. Continuing to keep eye contact with the pink haired teen, she sat back down in her seat around the 'literal heart of Jesus.' Gildarts started talking to the group once more, but both the blonde and the pinkette ignored him and kept their eyes locked on each other.

The boy was the first to look away, but his smirk remained on his face. Lucy mentally congratulated herself, after all, she had won.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Gildarts asked the pink haired teen. He stood up, a grin replacing his smirk. "I-" He started, in a playful, amazing voice that Lucy found very sexy, "am Natsu, pleasure to meet you all," Natsu took a mock bow, and when he rose, his eyes were back on Lucy.

"Why don't you tell us why you're here, Natsu," Gildarts stated. Natsu grinned before tearing his eyes away from Lucy and resting on a black haired male that had been to the last session; Gray was his name, Lucy remembered. He had thin glasses and one of his eyes always seemed unfocused. Gray constantly wore beanies over his shiny black hair and had a small scowl that a lot of girls would swoon over, but Lucy didn't really find all that attractive.

"Other than have this idiot here force me to come with him," Natsu said, a grin taking up his entire face as he brought his sharp eyes to his pant leg. He lifted up the cuff to reveal a prosthetic leg, nothing more than a silver pole attached to his shoe, "Got this baby a few years ago after being diagnosed osteosarcoma, and now I am cancer free." He looked back up at everyone, a smile still evident on his face.

"Do you have any fears?"

"Oblivion," Natsu replies immediately, "I want to somehow make my mark on the world, y'know? Be remembered."

"That's a stupid fear," Lucy muttered, her eyes downcast, but she an aura about her that suggested irritation. "There will come a time when there are no more humans, and there is no more earth, and there will be no one to remember you. Even if you make your 'mark on the world,' now, it will one day become irrelevant. We will all fall into oblivion, so might as well face it instead of fearing it." Everyone stared at Lucy for a second. That was the most they had ever heard come out of her mouth, and it was surprising. Gildarts was the first to interject the silence.

"Thank you for your insight, Lucy." Natsu grinned and sat down, interest obviously evident in his eyes.

"Our prayers are with you, Natsu."

.~*~.~*~.

Lucy sat outside, ignoring the fierce bite of the fall air as she waited for her mom to pick her up. And she felt it again. Natsu's stare. She turned to face him, and sure enough, there he was, looking at her with that same sexy humor. Lucy rolled her eyes, but smiled slightly. She began to walk towards him, with each step his smirk growing into a wider grin.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked. Natsu broke out into a full out grin, but still had the taunting laughter dancing in his eyes. "The pleasure of looking at beautiful people doesn't come around often, so when it does, you should embrace it. I learned that a long time ago." Against her will, Lucy's face felt as if it had been engulfed in flames, and she couldn't find any words.

"I-I wouldn't call myself beautiful…"

"I would," Natsu said with a grin, "You kind of look like Vendetta from V for Vendetta." Lucy looked up at him with a single eyebrow raised. "V… for Vendetta?" Natsu stared at her for a beat before throwing his arms in the air.

"yOU'VE NEVER SEEN V FOR VENDETTA?" Lucy jumped from his sudden outburst, her shoulders hunched in surprise.

"N-No-"

"It's a classic! You have not lived,-" Natsu paused, realizing he didn't know the blonde's name. "What's your name?" He asked.

"Lucy-"

"No, your full name," He interjected, his eyes locked on hers. Lucy raised an eyebrow, but continued cautiously.

"Lucy May Heartfi-" She stopped herself. Natsu looked at her strangely for a second, but then grinned.

"Well then, Lucy May, you have not lived, and I suggest that you should come over to my place and watch it." Lucy nearly choked on her spit. Come over to his 'place'? After he had learned her name not even a minute ago?

"And how do I know you're not some ax murderer?" Lucy questioned, still recovering from her small gagging session. Natsu let out a small chuckle and then grinned at her. Oh the grin.

"Do I look like an ax murderer to you?" He asked, his grin gone and in its place was an amused smirk. Lucy bit down on her lip and allowed two personalities to continue to fight in her mind. There was her better judgment, who stated that though he may not be an ax murderer, there is still the very large possibility that he was a rapist, or a kidnapper, or a psychopath, or something. But the other opinion, her happy, laidback side was all over the idea of going to an extremely hot boys house to watch a movie. Her better judgement was winning.

She was just about to tell Natsu she couldn't, when he slipped a cigarette box out of his pocket. Lucy watched with wide eyes as he pulled out a cigarette and popped it in his mouth. Anger built up in Lucy, and she could feel her face flush in rage.

"How could you smoke?!" Lucy shrieked. Natsu looked up from his cigarette, which was hanging casually in between his teeth. "Do you understand what it feels like to not breath? To be constantly gasping for air because your lungs don't have enough oxygen?!" She hissed, "Because it really sucks. And I really thought you were okay."

"Lucy May." Natsu said, his face completely expressionless.

"What?" She shot at him angrily.

"I haven't lit the cigarette, nor do I plan to." Lucy froze, and studied him. He was correct, his cigarette was unlit and there was not a lighter to be seen. But still, why did he have a cigarette.

As if reading her mind, Natsu continued. "It's a metaphor, Lucy May, you put the killing thing between your teeth," Natsu took two fingers and slipped the cigarette out of his mouth, "but you don't give it the power to do the killing."

Just then, Lucy's mom's car rolled up beside the two. Layla rolled down the window and looked at them when she noticed the cigarette Natsu was holding. Fear struck in her eyes, but Natsu just grinned and waved with his cigarette hand.

Lucy smiled and glanced at Natsu, and then back at her mother.

"You can go home mom," Lucy said with a grin, "Natsu's taking me to his place to see a movie."