I don't even know if I will publish this, but if I do... Hi everyone! This idea came to me earlier today and I decided to express it on the internet. By the way, just to inform you ahead of time - there are some parts in this story that don't necessarily add up with Natsu's character... Actually, a lot. Nevertheless, I hope you find it an at least - interesting - story? The title won't make much sense until later on, so stick with me for now (or for a little while at least?).

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. - DARN

Sudden Stop

Chapter One

The time on my phone read 7:16 AM. "Looks like I'll be late again." I mumbled as I shoved my phone into my pocket. Not like my parents would care. Well - parent. I was only 7 when my mother died. She was a kind person - she brought smiles to everyone she met. When I was younger, I remember wanting to be like her. But times have changed, and now I'm 16. I live with my father, Igneel, though It's not like he's much of one anyways. Any money he gets from his stay-at-home job either goes towards my education, or his alcohol. He didn't always drink, at least - until mom died. He hasn't been the same ever since. I don't think he's moved on from the fact that she'll never come home. I don't see why he doesn't spend all his money on alcohol. I mean, It's not like he cares about my education anyways - it was mom who did that. I guess this is his way of keeping her 'alive'.
I checked my phone again, 7:23 - 'definitely late' I thought to myself. I don't think anyone would care anyways. I was known as the 'bad' guy in the school. The guy that was always late, barely passed classes, and never payed any attention in class. It wasn't always this way. At the beginning of the year, everyone thought of me as a normal guy. Well - until I broke a kid's nose for making fun of my mother. I smirked at the memory. Gray Fullbuster, one of the more popular guys in the school. I've hated him ever since. I mean, you can get away with talking trash about me or my dad - heck, even I would talk trash about my dad - but I won't let you get away with doing that stuff to my mother. She was too nice to be disrespected like that. Since that day, people have always kept their distance from me - I guess they didn't want to end up like the 'stripper'. I won't say it doesn't get lonely at times though, believe me - it does. With a dad that almost never pays attention to you, and peers that steer away from you - you're almost always alone. Out of everyone that's experienced loneliness, arguably, I'd say I've had it the worst.
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It was 7:41 when I'd finally gotten to school. I walked into my 1st period and sat down in the seat - thankfully the teacher was running extremely late (something about leaving his keys in his house and having to call one of the other teachers for a ride) - so my absence was unnoticed. My class was located on the 2nd floor of FT Highschool - room 203. My first class was English, one of my least favorite subjects - not that any of them were enjoyable, of course. I sat in my desk at the far corner of the classroom and looked out the window on my left. The window was large and stretched across a majority of the upper-left side of the classroom. Not only did I get a great view from my spot, but I was also close to the heaters, which were located directly below the windows. I guess that's something to be thankful for. After all, coming into a cold classroom in the middle of Winter is one of the most unpleasant things in the world. I'd know - that was the case for my Algebra class last year.

Like always, the other students in my class would usually stick to the opposite side of the room - as far away from me as possible. I was slouched forward in my desk, arm bent upward, supporting my chin when the teacher walked into the class. Glancing at the clock, I'd noticed there were only 23 minutes left in the class. "Sorry I'm late guys! I had a few problems this morning when leaving for work." I couldn't keep from snickering. The only thing that ran through my mind was, 'a few? You've missed 2/3 of the class period.' This of course, led to a few confused stares pointed in my direction. "Ah, nevertheless," Mr. Gildarts kept talking, "we have a new student joining us today." This sparked my curiosity. 'A new student? Things are getting more interesting.' I thought. "Lucy, would you mind introducing yourself?" A blonde haired girl stood up from her chair and walked to the front of the classroom. When she turned around to face the class, I immediately noticed her eyes - not the usual dull brown you'd see on other people. Her eyes had a rich chocolate-like color - and were far from dull. Not only were her eyes beautiful, everything from her head to her toes and everything in between gave off the same atmosphere. "Hi. I'm Lucy Heartfillia, I've just moved here fr~~" I was mesmerized by her voice. It was the softest most delicate voice I'd ever heard. Never in my life had I met someone that just by hearing their name - my heart would go crazy. In a way, Lucy reminded me of my mother. She seemed kind and the way she bit her lip when she was nervous fit her so perfectly. After she had sat back down and our heavily shortened class began, I found myself paying more attention to Lucy than the teacher. I mean, It's not like I'd pay attention to the teacher anyways - but it was different from my normal way of doing things, and I liked it. I liked Lucy.

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I had found out a lot that day, apparently Lucy was in 6 out of my 8 classes. At lunch, I saw her hanging out with another girl. Although this one had blue hair and wasn't my type. However, I assumed she moved here with Lucy, since I hadn't seen her in school before and they seemed to get along so well. I overheard little bits and pieces of their conversation, but never really grasped much of what they were talking about. All I really learned was that they were both into reading and have been best friends since they were 4. I guess It's cool she likes books, must mean she's pretty smart.

After school, I saw her walk out the front doors and start on her way down the sidewalk. I noticed she was walking in the same direction I usually did and I nearly slammed the front doors open when I sprinted out of the building to catch up with her. I got about 3 feet away from her when she stopped and turned around. I tried to stop, but the ice made it difficult and in the end - I ended up tackling her. 'Not the best first impression' I thought. The position we were in made both me and her blush, though hers was a lot more fierce than mine. I quickly stood and helped her up. "Thanks," she said shyly. "N-No problem." I stuttered, 'shit, why am I so nervous?' I thought. I couldn't stop myself from rubbing the back of my neck - It's kind of a habit. Though, it usually only happens when I'm nervous. "So, why were you running anyways? You know there's ice everywhere, right? It's the middle of December!" My brain quickly thought of an excuse, but my mouth refused to follow through with it. "I saw you walking in the same direction I usually do. I was wanted to catch up and see if you'd walk home with me." As soon as I'd said it, I'd cursed my mouth for betraying me. A million times over I regretted saying it - and I was unfortunately unable to stop the blush that crept onto my cheeks. It was light, but anyone with eyes could see it was there. "You wanted to walk home with me? Do I even know you?" her face was caught in a mix between confusion and curiosity. "I'm in most of your classes, I'm surprised you haven't noticed me." That fact alone kinda hurt. I mean, how do you miss someone that is in that many of your classes? I continued to speak, "You seemed like a nice person and since - like I said before, you were walking in the same direction I usually do - I figured why not." She stood in silence for a few seconds before a smile crept onto her face. "You're weird. But sure, you don't seem like a bad guy." I'm... Weird? and did she just say yes? That took a few to process, but when it finally did a couldn't stop the smirk that appeared on my face. 'She said yes.' I thought, 'this couldn't get any better!'.

During our walk, we found out more about each other and became friends. Of course, I didn't get to tell her everything because soon enough - we were at her apartment building and I had to wave goodbye. It had been a long time since I had been happy. Ever since my mom died actually. I blamed it partly on everyone avoiding me, and mostly on a dad that didn't care if his son came home or not. But because of Lucy, for the first time in a long while - I smiled. I actually felt happy. Before I knew it, I was at home. However, the happy feeling surprisingly hadn't subsided. I took off my black hoodie and threw it on the couch before removing my white sneakers and setting them by the door. On my way up the stairs to my room, I reflected on my day at school. It wasn't the normal, boring routine. I got to meet Lucy - who I currently couldn't get out of my mind. I sat down on my bed and leaned back, now looking at the ceiling - I'm in love with Lucy Heartfillia.

Sorry for not uploading anything in a while! It's been a busy week and instead of working on Diseased (don't worry, I haven't forgot about it!) I decided I would start a new story (NaLu, of course). Just so you guys know, I've never wrote anything like this before, so please don't judge too harshly. Though, I would love to hear some feedback on the story, so please be sure to leave a review! By the way, I have plans for this story later on (the title is a hint), any guesses as to what I might do? I wanna hear what you think! See you around!