AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! This story just suddenly came to me. I was huge fan of Disney and it was a huge chunk of my childhood (Did anyone else think that Snow White looked as creepy as hell?) so I decided to make a story based on Aladdin but in the modern day. I told my sister about it. She wasn't really a big fan of it. So we kinda made a bet. If people likes this story, then she'll own me candy(I'm kinda crazy about candy. Some people need coffee, I need candy) So yeah, if it turns out good, I'll keep updating. I might just leave it as a one-shot though. Please excuse the grammar errors.
xxxxxxxxxx
"Stupid cat," Lucy grumbled as she made her way around the dusty basement. She hadn't been down here in ages. The space was huge and crowded with all sorts of junk.
"Happy!" Lucy called out. The damn cat stole her favorite pair of heels. Lucy had spent an entire half hour chasing the cat around, barely catching a glance of him before he scurried down the basement.
It wasn't the kind of creepy looking basement that looked as if it came straight out of horror movie to her relief. The last thing she wanted was an axe wielding murderer to pop out. Light filtered through the many small windows, lighting up the dust flowing around the air.
"I'm so going to murder that cat," Lucy muttered. She was attending a party tonight and her outfit wouldn't look complete without her heels. If he chewed up the heels...
Ugh, Lucy thought. This place was practically a maze. There were a number of hiding spots behind the numerous shelves and boxes. I'm never going to find Happy at this point, she thought.
A yowl and a large crash startled her. Happy appeared, racing along the ground and jumped onto Lucy's arm.
"There you are!" Lucy cheered, then frowned. "Where are my shoes?" Happy just stared at her with wide opened eyes.
She sighed and walked to the place of the crash. It was a huge mess. A shelf was toppled over and all sorts of bizarre trinkets were spilled all over the floor.
Lucy groaned. Mrs. Spetto and the others were going to kill her because of this mess. A glint of metal in the sunlight caught her attention. Lucy moved towards it and picked it up. Happy hissed at it and leaped out of her arms.
She coughed at the plume of dust it sent off. Lucy studied it. It was an oil lamp? Not the regular kind people can buy in a store that were used in camping trips either. It was a genie lamp that she occasionally see's or reads about in a movie or book. There were words on it. She squinted, trying to make out what it said. Lucy yanked her sleeves and rubbed it on the surface of the lamp to read the words clearer.
Next thing she knew was that she dropped the lamp in surprise and was lying on the ground after a huge plume of smoke appeared. Lucy coughed and waved her hand in front of her trying to clear the smoke.
A young looking man that couldn't have been older then 18 stood next to the fallen lamp. He had pink hair and harem pants with a vest that barely covered his upper body. He had tan skin and onyx eyes with a strong set of jawlines. He had a scaly looking white scarf wrapped his neck. He was actually really good looking.
He gazed at Lucy. "Hi," he said cheerily. "What's up?"
Lucy screamed and ran out the basement. Oh god, Oh god, Oh god! Lucy thought panicking. There was an intruder in the mansion! She mentally cursed at herself. This is what she get by going into the basement. She should've know that it was where everything went wrong seeing as how she had read so many horror novels. He's gonna murder us all!, Lucy screamed mentally. Happy had followed her out of the basement and was now racing along Lucy.
Her feet had a mind of its own and carried her to her room. Lucy raced into her room and slammed the door shut. She had to warn everyone! She had to-
"What are you getting so panicked about?" a voice asked from her bed. There sat the pink headed boy from the basement looking at her curiously.
Lucy screamed again and threw whatever she could get her hands on at him.
"Woah!" He exclaimed as a bedside lamp flew by him. "Will you stop throwing things at me? Geez, I never had an master as violent as you are!" He frowned for a second thinking and then shook his head. "Never mind. There was this sultan who owned me in the past that liked beheading people for fun."
Lucy grabbed a baseball bat. "Who are you?!" she snarled.
"Duh, I'm the genie of the lamp! You summoned me, right?"
Lucy frowned bewildered. Genie of the lamp? He's crazy, Lucy thought. And what does he mean by master?
"You're crazy. If you are a genie, then why aren't you blue?" Lucy questioned.
"What?! I have no idea what you're talking about," the 'genie' sighed. "Look if you don't believe me, I can show you." He snapped his finger and Happy, who was peacefully resting on Lucy's pile of clothes in the corner suddenly had sprouted blue fur and wings. He meowed in delight and took off flying around the room.
"What did you do to Happy?! Turn him back!" Lucy yelled at the genie.
He stared at her. "Seriously? I show you magic and you react by screaming at me to turn the cat back?"
"His name is Happy! And he's already annoying without wings! I'll never be able to catch him if he steals my shoes now. Besides what will the maids say if they saw a blue cat with wings flying around?" Lucy said defensively.
She had to argue with everything she got in the past to convince her father to let her keep Happy. Lucy was not going to lose him even as annoying as the cat can be sometimes.
The genie snorted. "Nah. I like him better this way." Happy landed on the genie's lap, his wings disappearing. He purred as the pink haired boy scratched him.
Lucy's head spun. The reality of the situation was settling inside her brain. Everything felt like it was going to explode. "So," Lucy managed to get out, "You're a real genie, huh? You grant wishes and stuff."
He nodded. "Yep. I'm the genie of the lamp." He scowled and said scornfully adding to the introduction, "At your service."
"You have three wishes. You may not wish for me to get someone to fall in love with you, kill anyone, bring someone back from the dead, or wish for more wishes. Once all your wishes are granted, I will move on to the next master," the genie said boredly.
Lucy glanced awarely at him. She moved closer and studied him closely. She testily took her bat and poked him.
"Ow! What was that for?!" he glared at her.
"Just making sure you're real," Lucy muttered, her head spinning.
"Oh, yeah!" the genie exclaimed. He held up the magic genie lamp that he had appeared out of and tossed it at Lucy. "Keep it close to you at all times, ya know, since you're the one who summoned me and all."
Lucy eyed him. "You don't look ghostly." In fact, he looked like a regular human.
"Duh. That's because I'm not a ghost. I'm a genie. G-E-N-I-E."
"Ok, I get it," Lucy grumbled. Was it just her or was he really annoying? Her mind kept flashing back to the movie Aladdin she watched when she was young. Lucy giggled seeing as how she was seeing a genie in real life. He looked nothing like the big, blue, and supernatural looking genie in the movie.
"What the hell is a genie doing in my basement anyway?"
The genie shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe someone brought the lamp and just stowed me away. That does happen occasionally. You can find genies in some antique stores, trapped to a certain object, if you're lucky."
Lucy frowned. "Trapped?"
He sighed. "Yeah. We're chained to an object so we can't go out and cause too many trouble. The person who releases them, if only temporary, gets three wishes. After that, they return to being confined by their prison."
Lucy blinked and nodded slowly, trying to process all this.
"Don't you have a name? It's tiring calling you genie all the time," Lucy asked.
He frowned, his forehead scrunching. "Well, no. It's been a long time. My name just faded away pass these centuries, I guess."
Lucy noticed the sadness and loneliness in his eyes. He tried to hide it with a large smile. She felt sympathy for him.
"In that case, I'll call you Natsu!" Lucy smiled largely at him.
He scowled. "I'm not a pet where you can go around naming."
Lucy's eyes widened. That hadn't been her intention.
"Oh no, that's not it," she explained hurriedly. "Everyone deserves to be recognized. It's no different for you," Lucy smiled shyly. "It means summer in Japanese. I thought it suited your personality."
The genie's body langauge relaxed. "You humans are inferior to have to be named. Genies are beings of power. Everyone recognizes us, not just by a name."
"I didn't," Lucy pointed out smugly.
Natsu sighed. "I guess it's okay. You are my master and I have to put up with you."
Lucy smiled widely. A knock came at Lucy's door, startling her. "Princess? Is everything okay?" One of the maid questioned. "I heard a scream. May I enter?"
Lucy whipped around and hissed at Natsu to hide. She opened the door and smiled at the maid, one of her friend Virgo.
"Everything's okay! I just, um, stubbed my toe! Um, yeah that's it!" Lucy laughed nervously. Virgo frowned and looked behind her.
Oh no, Oh no, Oh no, Lucy thought. Much to her relief, the genie had disappeared from her room. The only thing weird was the fact that Happy was still blue.
"Why is the cat blue?" Virgo asked.
"Oh, it's nothing! Just wanted to find a new look that will suit him,"
Luckily, Virgo nodded and did't seem too suspicious. "Do you wish to punish me, Princess?"
"No, it's okay," Lucy smiled. "Just need some time alone." After Virgo had left, she sighed in relief and sunk to the floor.
The genie, Natsu appeared again and whistled. "You are horrible at lying but wow, you're rich! Are the daughter of a sultan? Was that girl one of your servants?"
Lucy stared confused. "No! I'm Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude Heartfilia, the CEO of Heartfilia Konzern. And Virgo's not my servant, she's my friend!" Normally, Lucy hated to play the my father is rich card but he was really getting on her nerves.
Now Natsu was the one looking confused.
"Look, I have to go to a party tonight and I'm not dealing with this I'm a genie! crap until after I get home. I'm going to change," Lucy said tiredly. Perhaps if she hadn't been as rich as hell, getting three wishes would have been way more exciting and tempting. After getting everything a person could want in a lifetime, all Lucy really wanted was to live a normal life with her friends where she didn't have to sneak out or ask permission for every meeting with them.
"Can you stay here and try not to alarm my father and the maids?" Lucy asked.
"Is that a wish?"
"No! Just a request. Please," Lucy said. If her father found a strange, admittedly good looking boy(or genie, whatever) in her room, he would freak. She would be grounded for all eternity.
Natsu shrugged. "Whatever, being stuck in a lamp for hundreds of years does get tiring. Besides, your bed chamber is huge!" Indeed it was. There was a mini playground, a patch of garden, a huge bathroom that consists of a hot tub(and a waterfall), even a game room.
"Great!" Lucy said in relief. She really wanted to meet up with her friends. Now was her chance.
xxxxxxxxxx
"Hey Levy! Hey, Lisanna!" Lucy called out to her two best friends. The party was taking place at the Strauss family's house. Lucy could already see people gathering outside and partying inside the house.
"I'm not late, am I?" she asked.
"Nope," Lisanna said. "Mira is just starting the party."
Levy frowned, noticing the haggardness in Lucy's eyes. "What's wrong Lu-Lu? You look like you just seen a ghost."
Not a ghost, a freaking genie, Lucy thought. "Its okay. I'm just a bit tired," she lied.
Her friends frowned, not completely convinced.
Lisanna lightened up. "You look gorgeous, by the way."
"Thanks," Lucy smiled. She wore a simple blue sundress that wasn't showing much leg or skin but emphasized her amazing figure. A jangle of golden colored bracelet adorned both of her wrists. A pretty gold necklace that once belonged to her mother rested on her neck. She wore simple brown sandals as seeing how she still couldn't find the pair of heel that Happy stole.
They went inside. It was really loud with the booming music and chattering. Lucy spotted the rest of her friends resting on the couch. Gajeel, Juvia, Mirajane, Elfman, Jellal, Evergreen, Cana and Loke all waved at her.
Mirajane, the eldest sister of Elfman and Lisanna, smiled at Lucy. "How are you enjoying the party so far?"
"It's great!" Lucy beamed. It was really rare that her father let her get out of the house. He had been distant since her mother passed away 7 years ago when Lucy was ten.
They chatted for a while about random stuff and what they would do during summer vacation, seeing how school was ending in a few days. Lucy opened her mouth to speak again when a wave of muttering and silence washed over the crowd of people at the party. She turned her gaze to the door like everyone else did. There stood Natsu, looking bewildered and staring around him.
What the hell is he doing here? Lucy thought exasperatedly.
Mira got up and smiled at him. "Hello. Are you lost?"
Someone snickered. "You looking for the circus?" they called out. Lucy smacked herself on the head. He was still wearing the old fashioned outfit he had on when he appeared out of the lamp.
Natsu merely looked at the person who called out. "No, I'm looking for Lucy." All eyes turned to her. She felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.
Mira squealed. "Lucy! You didn't tell me you got a boyfriend!"
"Mira! He's not my boyfriend! Stop jumping to conclusions!" Lucy said hurriedly. "He's, um, a family friend!"
"What's a boyfriend?" Natsu asked confused.
"He's, uh, also from a foreign country. So you know, he might not know all the english terms or be too accustomed to our culture," Lucy said making up a response to Mira.
Loke sighed thankfully. "Thank god. We all know you're taken," Loke winked. Lucy rolled her eyes and flicked her fingers at Loke's forehead playfully. He might be a flirt but he was still one of Lucy's most trusted friends.
With the corner of her eyes she spotted all the girls at the party eyeing Natsu with interest. This was bad. In their eyes, he was like a mysterious hottie that suddenly appeared from a foreign country. The thin vest he was wearing revealed his lean and well toned muscular body. Lucy wasn't blind enough not to notice.
Lucy gripped Natsu's arm and led him away.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" she growled.
"Eh, got bored," Natsu shrugged. Lucy wanted to slap her head in frustration.
"At least have the decency to change into some normal clothes! This is the 21st century!"
"I know right," Natsu marveled. "Everything has changed. For one, the houses. They use to pack mud and dirt together to make somewhere to live." He frowned and added, "And the girls these days are flaunting their bare skin everywhere. They're the ones who have no decency."
Lucy sighed. "I thought I asked you to stay home."
"That wasn't a wish. That means I didn't have to obey," Natsu said, smirking.
Lucy furiously opened her mouth to speak before she was interrupted by her friends.
"Come on Lucy!" Cana said slurred, no doubt drunk. "Show us your new friend!" She winked. "Unless you're busy-"
"No, Cana!" Lucy said blushing. "We just had to talk!"
Cana nodded. "Taking the relationship slowly, huh?"
Lucy sighed. This was hopeless.
"Guys, this is a friend of mine, Natsu," Lucy introduced. Natsu's eyebrows rose at the 'friend' part but nevertheless he nodded.
"Hi."
Gajeel snorted. "That's it? You're clearly not worthy of our Lucy. What's with the stupid looking pink hair anyway?"
"Gajeel!" Levy scolded.
Natsu's eyes twitched. Oh no, Lucy thought. She didn't know what Natsu was capable of but if he was powerful enough to be able to grant 3 wishes, then there was no doubt that he can smite Gajeel on the spot.
"What did you say, you piece of tin can!? You're the stupid one. Who puts bolts of metal on their face anyway? I mean, you're already ugly but-"
Gajeel snarled. "You wanna fight?!"
"As if you know how," Natsu smirked.
He growled and leapt at Natsu, both of them trading punches. A crowd gathered and was cheering them on. Lucy and the others hurried and try to stop them.
Lucy grabbed Natsu's arm and laughed nervously. "Haha, I should go home now. It's getting late."
She dragged Natsu behind her furiously.
"What's with you?! You would think that a hundred year old genie would be more mature then to pick a fight wherever he goes!" Lucy cried indignantly. She was annoyed. It was one of the rare occasion that she gets to go out but the stupid genie just had to ruin it.
"I'm actually more then three hundred years old. Besides that rusted piece of metal was really annoying me," Natsu complained.
Lucy sighed. This was going to be harder then she expected.
"So, I'm stuck with you," Lucy asked.
"Yup. Well, until you used up your wishes anyway," he said happily.
Great. As annoying as the genie is, three wishes sounded tempting. Lucy was human after all.
"I'm kinda starving. Can we get something eat?" Natsu asked. "I heard someone talk about a 'hotdog'. And as disgusting as cooking up a dog is, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse."
This was definitely going to be harder then Lucy thought.