It's a shoujo type of thing. :) Just read it.
Standard disclaimers apply.
"Oh no-" A blonde girl racing through the streets gasped,
"I can't be... late... for my first day." She stopped at the crossing point and caught her breath.
"Huh?" She suddenly gasped in wonder as a black limousine passed by and a slow motion scene took place. She met eyes with a certain blue-haired boy. A boy she hadn't seen since they were just little kids, before the things that happened happened...
She shook her head thinking she was just seeing things but she followed the limousine with her eyes until it was too far away and the light had turned green. She continued running quickly but her thoughts slowed her down and she kept wondering, were her eyes right?
Meanwhile...
"Dude, what's wrong?" A boy with dark obsidian hair and even darker obsidian eyes in a limousine shook his friend.
"Huh? What?" Another blue-haired boy woke up from his thoughts.
"You've been frozen in thought... I think, for the past 10 minutes." The boy said non-nonchalantly as he looked out the window.
"Really?" The other boy said in fake shock.
"Yeah, since we passed the stoplight. Something happen?" His friend asked him again.
"As if you care," The blue-haired boy said jokingly, trying to steer the conversation in another direction,
"We're here." He added as the valet opened the car door and he stepped out.
"Here, Gray-sama." A servant handed the blue-haired boy his bag.
"Thanks." He stepped to the sidewalk.
"Here, Sasuke-sama." The servant handed the other obsidian-haired boy his bag.
"Thanks." He stepped to the sidewalk and joined Gray as they walked into the academy and as their car drove off.
"Let's go." Gray said as they walked in the school.
The lobby glittered with three big diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and it glimmered with the perfectly polished antique vases, glass tables and silver, red velvet seats that decorated every corner. Two spiral staircases was the center piece of the spacious area leading to the second floor. At first glance, to a commoner this would look like the lobby of a six star hotel with the exception of the elevators and reception area but to the people who came here regularly, it was simply the plain lobby of Nikanshite High School or Nika High for the students.
"Ohayou Gray-kun! Sasuke-sama!" A bunch of sophomore girls greeted them lovingly.
"Ohayou." Gray smiled back politely. He looked at Sasuke who didn't even smile.
"Don't be rude." He tapped his friend's shoulder.
"I'm not." Sasuke said without a care.
"Then why didn't you say good morning back?" Gray asked, losing the annoyance in his tone.
"Don't you know me?" Sasuke faced Gray as they walked up the stairs.
Gray looked at his friend with a face that asked what.
"I'm not the talkative type." Sasuke smiled as he entered their classroom with Gray following him, laughing.
Another meanwhile...
"Finally made it!" The blonde girl stopped at the gates of the prestigious Nika High and caught her breath.
She started walking slowly as she dusted off her skirt and top.
Whoa.
She stared in wonder at the huge shiny room right in front of her with her jaw slightly dropped.
She couldn't believe that this was the school her father sent her to. Yeah, they were flthy rich and honestly, their house was nicer than this but she had never seen such a glamorous school. She was home schooled in her elementary days and this was her first time to be sent to a real high school. She couldn't believe it.
"Ugh. Move." A group of girls glared at her as she noticed that she was standing at the center of the entrance.
"Sorry." She bowed her head in apology but they just flipped their hair and walked away.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes when they were far enough.
"Ms. Heartfilia?" A mature voice called out to her. She turned around and saw a blonde lady with a big chest wearing a very respectful attire. This was the principal, she assumed.
"Yes?" She answered gracefully.
"Hi. I'm Tsunade the principal and this is Erza the Student Council President." The woman said before a girl with long, perfect velvet hair came and greeted her.
"Hi. I'm Erza Scarlet." The girl smiled and held out her hand.
"Hi. I'm Lucy... Heartfilia." She shook the girl's hand.
"She will lead you to your room and I'll call you in a short while to tell you about the school and your schedule but for now, please head to you classrooms. Welcome to Nikanshite High, Ms. Heartfilia." The kindly woman smiled and walked off gracefully.
"So, let's go." Erza turned to the younger one beside her.
"O-okay." Lucy followed her up the staircase, which by the way took her breath away as well.
"Here you are. This is your room. It's 2S." Erza smiled after they stopped at a white door with a shiny green frame that differed from the other brown wooden ones they passed.
"Thanks." Lucy bowed her head as she looked at the mosaic glass.
"Just so you know. S is the top class. It's the best section for each level where only the most intelligent or the ones with the richest and most distinguished parents are placed. Every transfer student is placed in an S Class to test their skills. So, to stay in S you have to prove yourself and maintain your grades so you won't get transferred to a lower section. Okay?" The president smile.
"Okay. Thanks again." Lucy smiled.
"Sure." Erza smiled back as Lucy was about to enter and she was about to walk away,
"Oh, an one more thing." A thought suddenly made her smile.
"Yeah?" Lucy asked attentively.
"Try not to get carried away. S is a tricky place filled with mind games and..." She stopped and laughed away her thoughts,
"Just watch your back." Erza smiled then left.
What did she mean by that?, Lucy asked herself.
She shrugged away her question and opened the door nervously.
When the door opened everyone, including the teacher turned their heads toward her which didn't help calm her at all.
"Hi, I'm-" She began but was cut off by the teacher.
"Lucy Heartfilia correct?" The teacher smiled.
"Yes." Lucy answered looking at the teacher. Honestly, she had a hard time believing that he actually was a teacher. He wore an attire any normal teacher would wear; slacks, a polo shirt and a blazer but something about the whole look didn't seem right. Maybe it was the restricted muscles underneath his clothing that screamed for air or maybe it was his face that looked way too young for a teacher.
"Ms.?" The teacher snapped her out of her thoughts.
"S-sorry." She woke up and subtly looked around, she didn't want to make any sudden eye contact with anyone.
"Welcome to Class 2S. My name is Kakashi Hatake. There's an empty seat at the back. Please." The teacher smiled and motioned for her to sit.
She gave him a piece of paper with her information before sitting down.
"Everyone, your new classmate is Lucy. Lucy-" Kakashi started reading the information before he was interrupted by the new student herself.
"Yes?" He called out to the blonde girl raising her hand. She stood up and went forward.
"Please don't mention my last name." She whispered shyly to the teacher.
"Very well." He nodded without even asking why. He looked like he knew exactly why she didn't want her last name to be spread around...
"Lucy. Please give her a warm welcome." Kakashi pointed to the blonde girl's seat and a majority of heads turned.
She bowed her head as her face blushed furiously. Lucy didn't really like attention although she's very good at effortlessly getting a lot of it, all she wants is to blend in and not be hated or even liked. She'd blame it on the whole home school thing but she didn't want to.
"Huh?" Lucy silently wondered aloud as a group of girls at the front left corner of the room started whispering things to each other while others started stealing glances and glares.
"Ignore them." She head a silent voice right beside her say.
"Huh?" She repeated and looked to her left where a boy with blue hair and even bluer eyes slouched.
"This place is filled with idiots. Some stupider than others." He said without a care.
"Uhh... thanks for the advice." Lucy smiled politely.
"Oh. So I'm an idiot too huh? Thanks." A blonde boy sitting in front of Lucy turned around.
"Yes." Her obsidian-haired seatmate replied straightly.
"Grr. You're the idiot here." The blonde boy stuck out his tongue like a five-year-old at the seemingly uncaring boy with the dark obsidian eyes.
"Hi." The blonde boy suddenly turned his attention to Lucy,
"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you!" He flashed her a big, genuine smile that seemed like a ray of sunshine.
"Oh. H-hi. I'm Lucy." She smiled out of natural politeness,
"Uhmm, just out of curiosity, are you always this friendly with everyone?" Lucy asked in amusement. She never really had much interaction with people her age. She grew up surrounded by her father's (old) business associates that were kind to her and gave her gifts just for the sake of their business ties with her father. She was surrounded by old dudes in monkey suits that always treated her like the little kid she was and lavished her with unnecessary girfts.
But there was one kid.
At this sudden thought Lucy's heart skipped a beat.
He was exactly like her. He lived at the nearest villa. They met because he was the son of one of her father's business associates. It was Lucy's 7th birthday and she never forgot every moment ever since.
Flashback...
"Father, is all this really necessary?" Lucy asked her father as a maid tied the bow around her frilly dress.
"Yes. It's your birthday anyway. Shouldn't you be thankful for this party?" Her father said coldly, finished tying his necktie then started heading for the door,
"Kurina, have her out in five minutes for the presentation." He addressed the maid right before he shut the door.
"There, Lucy-sama. You look beautiful." Kurina, Lucy's servant, admired her little hime-sama at the mirror after finishing her dress,
"What's wrong, Lucy-sama?" She kneeled down after seeing a small frown on the sad girl's face.
"I'm okay Kuri-chan." She smiled the broken smile she always did everytime anyone asked her if something was wrong.
"Kurina-sempai!" Another servant called from outside, that was Lucy's que.
"All right. Smile Lucy-sama. Good luck." Kurina looked at her young mistress with genuine pity and natural maternal love. Ever since Lucy's mother died it was Kurina who was always taking care of Lucy. Truthfully, the young heir was closer to her than she was to her father.
So, Lucy did as she rehearsed. After walking down the stairs and being greeted by almost everyone she stood by the gift table without anyone her age in sight.
"Here darling, give it to her." A mother instructed her son,
"It is her birthday gift." She continued.
The 7 year old boy blushed furiously out of embarrassment.
"But mother I-" He shyly protested.
"Please, dear. I think she'll like it. Plus your father and I have matters to deal with. Go ahead." Tha mother caressed his young son's cheek then walked away with her husband.
The little boy decided to get this over with and ran quickly to the celebrant standing by the gift table.
"U-Uhmm..." The boy's determination fell down and he stuttered as his obsidian eyes met with chocolate orbs.
"Hi! Is that for me?" Lucy smiled happily. Happy because she finally met someone her age. At that moment she felt less alone.
"Y-yes." The boy handed her the gift and she took it and placed it on the gift table.
It was a small box that probably contained some expensive jewelry, the young blonde assumed.
"What's your name?" Lucy secretly built up the courage to ask the young boy this question just as he was about to walk away.
"G-Gray. Gray Fullbuster."The blue-haired boy said with home-grown etiquette way too much for a normal boy his age.
"No need for formalities. I'm Lucy." She smiled brightly at her new found friend.
They had a fun day. They roamed around the mansion and the courtyards and ate cakes and opened gifts. Nobody was watching and it was sad but nobody really cared.
At the end of the day, someone who once was nobody to her suddenly felt like everything.
"Do you really have to go? I mean, can't you spend the night?" Lucy flashed a big hopeful smile as the stars twinkled and the party ended.
"I'm sorry, dear. We have a flight to catch tomorrow." Gray's mom bent down and apologized to the little birthday girl who understood completely and tried to swallow the fact that she was going to be alone again.
"I'm sorry, Luce. I promise I'll-" Little Gray started but was cut off by his friend.
"Luce?" She asked, this being the first time anyone has called her something other than her real name or her real name with a honorific.
"Y-yeah. Lucy's a bit lengthy for me." Gray smiled brightly. Lucy did too, she stared at his face for a moment and swore she saw hope and happiness, a luxury she was never given.
"Is it okay if I call you Luce?" Gray followed up with caution.
"I love it." The little blonde girl smiled genuinely for the first time in a long while.
"Well, I hope I'll see you soon Luce." He smiled.
"Yeah." She smiled.
And for a moment they just stood still, preparing to go back into a world of business suits and poker faces.
"Here." Lucy walked forward to the boy as she took off something from her neck,
"I want you to have this." She smiled sweetly as she reached for his small hand and opened it, enclosing a shiny pendant with a ruby stuck to the center in it.
"B-but-" Gray started to protest, he knew this was something of top importance and high value to the Heartfilias.
"I have the feeling that it's going to be a long time before we see each other again," Lucy said words a bit too mature for her age,
"So, this is an identifier. So I'll know it's you. In case you turn into a monkey or something." The little girl said as her head floated in a world of childish fantasy,
"Don't lose it." She suddenly snapped at the boy.
"I don't think that's possible." The boy chuckled,
"Here." He said as he stuck the necklace into his pocket and pulled up his sleeve revealing a shiny charm bracelet with yellow butterflies made of topaz dangling from the sides. He took it off and handed it to her the same way she did. She resisted all the same and he insisted all the same.
"Always wear that. Don't ever lose it." The boy said seriously.
"I don't think that's possible." Lucy repeated her friend's words.
They stood there. Quietly. A minute of wordless conversation passed the two heirs.
"Come on, Gray. We have to go home." The boy's mother called out and he ran and got into their car, looking back as they drove away.
Lucy's eyes followed the black vehicle wishing it didn't have to go. Wishing they didn't have to go.
"Lucy-sama. Please come inside now. It's getting chilly." A servant wrapped a coat around the little girl and escorted her back into the house.
She followed obediently just like before. But her mind was in a totally different place.
I have to see him again. That was the only thought that filled the little girl's mind ever since.
I have to see her again. That was the only thought that filled the little boy's mind ever since.
End of Flashback
"Yeah." She heard the blonde's response just as she snapped out of her thoughts.
"It's annoying. He's annoying." The blue haired boy turned to her once more.
"Shut up, Sasuke." Naruto's words suddenly became a bit more serious.
"Sasuke?" Lucy turned to her seatmate.
Come to think of it, she never caught his name before.
"Sasuke Uchiha." He confirmed his name.
"Uchiha..." Lucy tried to remember a name that really did ring a bell.
"I think my dad has a business with your dad." Sasuke helped her.
"Oh yeah." She smiled suddenly remembering.
"Keep it down. Of all times, you choose now to be talkative?" Another voice nearby caught Lucy's attention and for some reason she still couldn't comprehend her head almost automatically turned to her bracelet...
It was a voice definitely coming from Sasuke's side.
"I choose the people I talk to." Sasuke said plainly, not even looking at his subject.
"Right. Like a total stranger." The voice said in and outrageous amount of sarcasm then he saw a figure lean forward and look at her.
"What?" Sasuke looked at his seatmate now.
"Well, she is pretty." The boy said, completely ignoring Sasuke.
"Hi, I'm-" He was about to introduce himself when Kakashi suddenly called him.
"Would you like to answer my question?" Their teacher said with a bit too much formality.
The boy stood up and answered the question expertly.
"That is correct. Next time, try to keep it down." Kakashi warned them and continued teaching.
Ring!
The bell sounded. The bell for the 10-minute break before the next class.
Everyone started standing up and in a few minutes the room was empty except for Sasuke calmly picking up his bag and Lucy frantically arranging her things.
"Hey, where's your locker at?" Sasuke asked, seemingly out of politeness.
"Uhmm..." Lucy slung her bag on one shoulder and carried her books in one hand,
"West Wing, 204S?" She asked, automatically asking for directions.
"Hey. Mine's 212S. I'll walk you. Come on." He said as he headed for the door naturally expecting Lucy to follow.
"Thanks a lot." She said haggardly as she struggled to keep her books balanced.
Sasuke snickered and picked up more than half of the books she held and carried them himself.
"Thanks." Lucy smiled in ease.
"Sure. Come on." Sasuke said as they exited the classroom.
As they walked to their lockers, which was a bit of a long way from their classroom, some people started staring and whispering things as the new girl and the resident quiet boy walked down the halls.
"Here we are. 204S." Sasuke said as they stopped to a white locker with green linings, something that looked quite similar to their door with the exception of the glass.
"Thanks a lot." Lucy smiled gratefully as she opened her locker and dumped her things inside. She took the burden from Sasuke's arms as well and started arranging them in the locker as neatly as she could.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" Lucy broke the almost-icy air.
"Yeah?" Sasuke asked as he leaned against the lockers with his hands in his pocket, his stature looking totally relaxed.
"Why were people staring and... you know?" Lucy asked, not looking at Sasuke as she continued making a fuss in her locker.
"Hmph." Sasuke smiled in an unpaintable reason,
"You'll figure that out soon." He said.
"Come on." Lucy tried to convince him.
"This school's pretty big on reputations. Be careful, you might get one yourself." That was all Sasuke said leaving Lucy unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing,
"See you in English." Sasuke finished and with that he walked off.
"See you." Lucy said to the air as she was finishing the arrangements in her locker, after a while she let out a satisfied sigh.
"That looks good." She complimented herself then collected the things she needed for the next class.
"Hey." A voice suddenly greeted her as a figure stood behind her locker door.
She looked to see who it was, only to be greeted by the face of Sasuke's unknown seatmate.
"He's not usually this nice 'ya know. In fact, he's never nice at all." The boy with obsidian hair darker than Sasuke's and blue eyes as dark as the night sky laughed.
"Oh." Lucy smiled politely.
Who was this guy?
"Sorry. I didn't get to introduce myself." The boy laughed at his own mistake.
"Yep, you didn't. So, who are you?" Lucy closed her locker and smiled.
"I'm Gray. Gray Fullbuster." The boy smiled a friend's old smile. As if he knew exactly what Lucy was thinking.
He looked at her with knowing eyes and she returned the glance.
Right then and there, her eyes fell on his neck and his on her hand to see if the necklace or the bracelet was still there.
And they were right.
The necklace was hidden under his uniform and the bracelet dangled from her arm.
"Gray." She repeated his name in happiness and shock.
"Lucy." He repeated her name in happiness.