Lucy had always wanted to live a beautiful romance like the ones she read about in her books, but she never thought it would actually happen. Natsu Dragneel, the infamous member of Fairy Tail, was the one responsible for her constant heart attacks and reddening of the cheeks. She had fallen in love with her partner and best friend, only to lose him at the end. It had always been apparent to Lucy that her feelings were one-sided, but it wasn't until the return of a certain white-haired mage that she realized that her relationship with Natsu would only be that of partners and friends. It wasn't like Lisanna was a bad person or that Lucy hated her for spending more time with Natsu than she did now a days. Quite the contrary, she was glad someone dear to Natsu had returned and the young mage had ended up being a great friend to Lucy. She had even gone as far as to say that she supported Lucy's relationship with Natsu.

Of course Lucy had blushed like crazy and denied her feelings. However, Lucy couldn't help but be jealous of Lissana for spending the past few weeks with team Natsu in her place as they caught up on all of the missed years. Slowly, the feeling of abandonment began to grow inside of Lucy. She knew her friends weren't ignoring her, but she still felt left out. It wasn't until Lucy accidentally walked in on Lisanna confessing her feelings for Natsu that Lucy felt as if she had been stabbed in the back. Of course, taking advantage of the fact that she hadn't been seen, Lucy turned around and ran out of the guild's library.

"Lucy?" Erza called as she saw a flash of golden hair before her friend disappeared from the guild.

"What's wrong with me?" Lucy asked as tears streamed down her face. "Why am I acting like this?" She was back in the comfort of her apartment and to prevent any unwanted intrusions, she went as far as locking her window and closing her curtains. "Ugh! I can't believe I'm acting so childish!" Lucy laughed at herself as she wiped at her tears. "Maybe a bath will help me calm down," she said to herself as she made her way to her bathroom and locked herself inside.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried from outside her window as he attempted to open it and failed. "Eh? Why would Lucy lock her window?" Natsu asked to himself as he tried to hear if Lucy was inside of her apartment. Silence filled his ears as he waited for a sound. Anything that would tell him that Lucy was inside. Suddenly he heard the sound of her bathroom door click open as she hummed a song to herself.

"Oi! Lucy!" Lucy was surprised at the sound of Natsu's voice as she heard him try to open her window. "Lucy, open up!" Natsu whined as Lucy blushed.

"No way!" she yelled as she clung the towel closer to her body even though she knew he couldn't see her. "I'm changing! Why would I let in you while I'm changing?!" Lucy quickly turned around and reached inside her closet for the nearest clothes she could grab.

"What's wrong Luce? It's not the first time I've seen you naked," Natsu stated bluntly.

Lucy flushed a deep red and cursed at Natsu before changing.

"It's about time," Natsu said as Lucy slammed her window open and pulled him inside her room. Natsu let out a small "Oof" as he landed on her bed. Lucy quickly climbed on top of him, locking him in between her legs. It wasn't until he saw Lucy's red face after punching him in the chest that he realized she wasn't angry, but embarrassed?! "What's wrong Luce?" Natsu asked as he suddenly became very aware of the position they were in.

"Wha-What's wrong?!" Lucy shrieked as she punched Natsu again. "You can't just yell outside of my window that you've seen me naked before! What will people think?!" Lucy cried as her face became redder.

Natsu sighed awkwardly at Lucy's weak punches. "Um, Luce-" he started as he looked away with a faint pink dusting his cheeks that Lucy was too upset to notice.

"What?!" she cried mid-punch as she tried to calm down.

"Can you get off me?" Natsu said in a low voice.

"Lucy looked down at their position and let out a bloody scream as she jumped off of Natsu and ran to the nearest corner. "I'm so sorry!" she cried as she covered her face, which at this point, could rival Erza's scarlet hair.

"Geez Luce, you really are being a weirdo today." Natsu flashed Lucy one of his usual grins and Lucy couldn't help but feel a jab at her heart as she remembered what she saw.

With a sigh, Lucy took a deep breath and calmed down. "What do you want Natsu? I'm tired and I'm not really in a mood to spend the day yelling at you."

"Oh yeah!" Natsu cried as he lightly tapped his open palm with his fist. "I came to tell you about the mission we're going on tomorrow, you wanna come? We haven't gone on a mission together in so long time~" Natsu pouted as Lucy tensed.

"Together?" Lucy unconsciously repeated.

"Yeah, together, as in just the two of us. Like the old days. What do you say?"

"Um..." Lucy wanted to turn him down after an image of Lisanna popped into her mind, but she needed the rent money. "What about the rest of team Natsu?" Lucy asked as she tried to get out of it just being the two of them.

"They're busy with another mission." Natsu grinned as Lucy sighed in defeat.

"Fine," she sighed as she walked over to her bed and laid down next to Natsu. She was too emotionally drained to care about her failed love life to notice that Natsu was watching her.

"You're acting weird today," Natsu muttered.

Lucy's eyes burst open as she turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about." Lucy said as she felt her cheeks get warm.

"See! That's what I mean, you haven't looked me in the eye since I got here." Natsu sounded somewhat hurt but gave her a warm smile. "Just remember that I'm here for you, okay? I'll listen to whatever has been bothering you."

"Natsu..." Lucy said as she sat up and felt her heart break. I could tell him... But what about Lisanna? Lucy shook her head and took Natsu's hand...

Lucy couldn't help but slam her head repeatedly against the table as she heard Natsu slam the guild doors open. I couldn't do it. Why couldn't I do it?! Oh right, because one of my friends loves him too... Why. Does. This. Have. To. Happen. To. Me?!

"Uh, Lucy?" Natsu asked as the blond looked up at him with a bright smile as blood ran down her face. "Lucy?!" Natsu cried as the girl gave him a confused look before realizing that her face had become warm and wet.

"Ah, I got carried away..." Lucy trailed off as she grabbed a napkin and slowly made her way to the bathroom.

"Natsu!" Lisanna cried as she ran up to him and greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, hey Lisanna," Natsu smiled as they were joined by the rest of Team Natsu.

"What's up with Lucy?" Erza asked as she noticed her friend leave a small trail of blood before closing the bathroom door.

"I don't know. She's being weirder than usual lately. She was slamming her face on the table while muttering to herself when I got here. And last night, it was like she needed to tell me something but instead she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her only to Lucy kick me out of her apartment." Everyone laughed as Natsu looked at them in confusion.

"Did you break into her apartment again?" Lisanna asked with a laugh.

"What? No, all I did was say that it wasn't the first time I had seen her naked before. Then she threw her window open and pulled me in." Gray was crying as he laughed on the floor.

"Natsu, did you yell that from outside her window?" Lisanna asked nervously. He nodded and that made even Erza facepalm.

"That explains it," Erza said as Natsu frowned and caught sight of Lucy as she walked out of the bathroom with a tissue to her nose. She smiled and waved at them in an attempt to act normal. However, the celestial mage held a frustrated and tired look on her face as she joined them.

"Are you okay?" Lisanna asked with worry as Lucy nodded.

"I'm fine, I just, had a hard time sleeping is all." Lucy yawned as if to make her point and the group simply shrugged it off. Natsu, however, studied her tired form. "So where are you guys off to?" Lucy asked as she sat down at the table with everyone else. She was painfully aware of how close Natsu and Lisanna were sitting. No matter how hard she tried, Lisanna's confession kept popping into her mind.

"We're off to help take down some bandits on the outskirts of Crocus," Erza said as she smiled. Lucy knew that last time they were in Crocus, Erza had found a cake shop that she had refused to leave. That smile was a small foreshadowing of the troubles awaiting the others when it would be time to leave.

Lucy felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered Erza's angry face the last time she tried to get her to leave the shop and she let out a nervous laugh. "Don't go too crazy with the cake this time," Lucy said nervously.

"When have I ever gone crazy for cake?" Erza asked in obliviousness.

"Nevermind," Lucy sighed as everyone else laughed.

"So where are you two off to?" Gray asked as he casually leaned back on the couch.

With him sitting next to Lucy, her face quickly flushed red as she yelled at Gray. "G-Gray! You're clothes!"

"Wha- Oh shit, where did they go?!" Gray cried as he jumped up. Lucy's face flushed redder as she tried to avoid seeing the now naked Gray scramble to find his clothes. Natsu couldn't help but feel strange about the facial expressions Lucy was making with Gray near her.

"Lucy-" he started as Juvia ran over to Gray and handed him clothes.

"Hey Juvia!" Lucy said as she waved to the water mage.

"Hey Lucy," Juvia smiled as she handed the last of Gray's clothing to him. "What are you up to?"

"Just talking before heading out on a mission. What about you?"

"I'm about to leave with Gajeel on a mission. We're heading to the outskirts of Magnolia to find a special flower a customer needs for a potion." Juvia smiled warmly as she met Gray's eyes.

"Hey Juvia," Lisanna asked out of curiosity. "When did you stop calling Lucy your love rival?"

"Now that you mention it," Erza said as she thought back on the past few weeks. "When did you stop?"

"When Lucy told me something that made me realize she wasn't a love rival." Juvia smiled down at Lucy who had now gone from red, to redder.

"Juvia~!" Lucy cried as she covered her face with both hands. Juvia laughed at Lucy as everyone joined in. Only Natsu looked at the pair in confusion. What could Lucy have have said?

"Anyways," Lucy said loud enough for everyone to hear. "Where are we going Natsu?"

"Oh yeah, we're going to a circus. They wanted a fire wizard and a girl who could be a part of the show. I figured it was easy money for your rent."

"Wow, that sounds like fun!" Lucy cried as she was filled with excitement. "How much are they paying?"

"Two million."

"What?!" Lucy cried as Natsu jumped up and grabbed Lucy's hand.

"Come on, it's time to go!" Natsu grinned as they ran through the guild doors.

"And they're off!" Lisanna laughed as everyone joined. "The original team Natsu sure has a lot of fun, nee?"

"That's how it's always been," Gray said as they grabbed their things and left as well.

Hey, it's Black! Here is another story I started last year before graduation and didn't upload. I'm hoping to update TLADP soon so please forgive my procrastination! I hope you enjoy this story as well. Let me know what you thought of it or if you have suggestions, let me hear them. Thank you!

-Black