Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not belong to me.

A/N: Sorry for any grammatical error. English is not my first language.


CHAPTER 1

It was the start of the school term.

Most of the students were early on the first day of school. And they sure were in such a high spirits. It was understandable since they were meeting their friends again after the long break. They were happily chatting with their friends, mostly updating each other on what they were doing during the holiday.

A male student with a mop of pink hair was seen walking pass the school gate with a bag pack slung across his back. He too couldn't wait to see his friends again after the break. During the school break, he and his father had gone travelling around the world so he couldn't hang out with his friends. Travelling to see the world sure was exhilarating experience but he missed his friends too. He was frantically looking around the school yard, hoping to see familiar faces, but none of his friends were there. Hoping to catch them up in the class, he walked towards the school building heading in the direction of the classroom.

"Oi, Natsu!"

Natsu Dragneel stopped on his track and turned around to see one of his best friends, waving at him with an excited expression. Natsu grinned and waved back at the black haired male. "Yo Gray," he greeted. "Nice to see you man," he said once Gray was near him.

"Nice to see you too Natsu," Gray replied as they gave each other a manly hug. "I see you've got even taller now."

Natsu just grinned at him. "And I see you're fully clothed for once," he said jokingly towards the raven haired man.

"Shut up," Gray said with a laugh and they proceeded to the class.

"So where are the others?" Natsu asked. He couldn't wait to see the rest of his friends, particularly the red haired one. He couldn't wait to see her.

"You mean Erza?" Gray asked knowingly with a mischievous face, laughing when he saw the blush and annoyance on Natsu's face. "Seriously flame-brain, just confess to her already," his best friend urged him with a chuckle.

"Shut it stripper," Natsu hissed with a scowl on his face.

Erza Scarlet, the unique girl who had a special place in his heart. They were childhood friends, much like Gray and him. In fact, he was neighbors with the sweet girl. They lived next to each other and his room was in fact next to hers. Most nights, they would open their window and talked to each other before they went to sleep. It was their thing.

"By the way, we are all in the same class this year," Gray kindly informed. "You, me, Lucy, Juvia, and Erza of course. I already promised Juvia to sit next to her so if you want to sit next to Erza, you better hurry and tells her before somebody else does," Gray said.

Natus didn't comment on that but he knew that Gray was right.

They were finally at the classroom. Thankfully, the class was not full yet and most of the seat was not taken. His eyes roamed around the room and he finally spotted the red head chatting with Lucy at the back of the room. Natsu involuntarily scowled. She was sitting next to Lucy, so he thought that he missed the chance to sit next to her already.

He and Gray approached them nonetheless.

"Hey ladies," Natsu greeted when he reached them. He saw Erza turned in his direction, and he could swear that his heart stopped beating when he saw the bright look on her face.

"Natsu," she uttered excitedly and her face light up even more when she smiled at him. She was more beautiful than the last time he saw her. "When did you reach home? I saw no lights coming from your house this morning."

"Late last night," he replied. "And dad went to work early this morning and I woke up late, no wonder you didn't notice anything."

Erza nodded at him. "Well, I'm glad that you're finally here. I miss you," she said and his heart soared at the thought that she missed him too. "And I can't wait to hear all the stories about your travel," she uttered excitedly.

"I'll tell you later," Natsu said. He couldn't wait to hang out with her later today.

"Natsu, how come you only greet Erza and not me? I'm sitting right here you know," Lucy exclaimed with a pout on her face.

Natsu laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "I'm sorry Lucy. Nice to see you," he said with a smile.

Lucy gave him an evil smirk. "Hmph, it is expected of course. You wouldn't notice anything when Erza is around," she said, her eyes glinting with mischief.

Erza glanced at the blonde haired girl with a confuse expression. "What are you talking about Lucy?" Erza asked with a matching tone. Seriously, everyone could guess that he had a thing for her but she was so dense in this department that she didn't even notice his feeling. Maybe it was because they were friends since kids, so she thought nothing of it when he treated her differently than other girl. Hell, he didn't even communicate much with other girls except for the one in his close knit group.

"It's nothing Erza. Lucy was just joking around," Natsu answered before Lucy make the situation worse. He gave a glare at Lucy, silently telling her to keep her mouth shut. The other girl only shrugged her shoulder and blew her tongue at him when Erza was not looking.

"So Lucy, are you sitting here with Erza?" Gray interjected. Natsu looked over at Gray and saw the raven haired man smirking at him. Natsu shot him a grateful smile. Trust Gray with his subtle way to alleviate an impending fight that was going to erupt from him and Lucy, and ask the question he was dying to know the answer to.

"Nope," Lucy denied.

Natsu was happy to hear that. He still had his chance to sit next to Erza this time.

"I'm sitting with Mira this year," she informed as she stood up from her seat. "Besides, I have a feeling that this seat is reserved for Natsu," she said cheekily with an evil laugh.

Natsu's face became red at the insinuation while Gray only sighed heavily at his friend's antic and Erza just looked between the three of them in confusion.

.

.

Natsu waited patiently for Erza at the school gate as his eyes never wavered from her form as she was talking to Loke from different class. He didn't know that Erza knew the orange haired man. He wondered what had happen during his absence for Erza to converse happily with the resident playboy. Erza was well liked by other student but she rarely interacted with the opposite gender aside from him and Gray. Well, it was thanks to him that male student was afraid to approach her in the first place. They were best friends and in the same class as him since middle school. So they were always together wherever they went to.

Natsu being the protective and possessive man he was, often helped in creating distance between her and man who had an interest in her. He glared at any man who as much as looked at her twice and when some bloke was too dense to notice the murderous glare he sent them, he resorted to a verbal threats and told them to keep their distance away. Hell, some people even thought that he and Erza were dating, and that too helped in keeping unwanted attention away from Erza because everyone knew better than to mess with Natsu Dragneel's girl.

He was being selfish and he knew it but he couldn't help himself. He really did loved her.

He didn't know when exactly that he started to fall for Erza. But he knew that it could be track back to when they were still kids.

Perhaps it started with a hug.

The hug.

They were five when she moved next door. The house next to him was vacant for so long and when his mother said new tenant would be moving in soon, he was ecstatic. Especially when his mother said that the one moving in was a man with a young child. He couldn't wait to see the new neighbors because only then he would have someone to play with him. He thought the child was a male and he was disappointed when he realized it was a girl during the first time meeting.

It was still fresh on his mind. The memory on the first time he met Erza Scarlet when they both were five years old.

"Natsu, meet Grandpa Rob and little Erza," his mother ushered him as he stood there gaping at the image of the cute little girl with bob cut scarlet hair and big brown eyes.

"She's a girl," he exclaimed looking at the shy girl who hide behind his grandpa's leg, clutching the material of his pants while she peered at him curiously behind it. He was disappointed to see that the child was a girl when he thought otherwise. Gone was his plan to play with his new neighbor for the day. He didn't like girls. Girls were always crying and they were annoying.

"Of course she's a girl," his father said, gently pushing him forward. "Go on, introduce yourself."

Natsu frowned but complied with his father's wishes. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. Nice to meet you Grandpa Rob and Erza," he greeted bowing a little to the two guests.

Erza moved to stand beside his Grandpa and greeted back. "I'm Erza Scarlet. Nice to meet you too," she said shyly with a blush adorning her face.

"Aww, isn't she cute," his mother gushed out as she went to hug the little girl. Jealousy surged through him at the display. He could already see that his mother was quite taken with the cherubic looking Erza. "You and Natsu are going to be the best friend," his mother exclaimed much to Natsu's horror.

Natsu smiled sadly when he remembered those old days in the past. Starting from that day, he made it his life mission to make Erza's day a living hell whenever she came over. His mother always invited her to his house to play with him and every time he always bullied her and often sent her home crying to her grandpa. He could still remember how furious his mother and father was with him when they learnt that. He still remembered the lecture he got for making the sweet little Erza cried.

His mother really adored cute little Erza back then. Now that he thought about it, she really was cute with her shoulder length scarlet hair, big brown eyes and chubby puffy cheek. Oh yeah, he always pinched those chubby cheek of hers when they were little, leaving her with teary eyes and sniffles before she went back to her Grandpa Rob. She never complained to her grandpa though. That only made him bullied her more.

He treated her like that for almost a year.

They attended the kindergarten together and he also bullied her there. He always got a scold from the teacher because of his behavior. Other student saw his treatment on Erza and began picking on her too, making her cried her eyes out.

He was furious when he learnt that. No one was allowed to pick on Erza except him and he sent his point across to other students. No one dared to defy him and eventually, everyone ignored the both of them and left them alone. Erza didn't tell his grandpa about this for even if he bullied her, he was still everything she got in that place.

Then one day the accident happened, the accident that cost his mother's life.

He had a trip to the museum that day so he got home very late. It was already 6 pm when the bus stopped in front of his house. He was hungry so he couldn't wait to find out what his mom had cooked for the dinner. He exited the bus and headed to his house with springs in his steps but then, he was confused when he saw many people coming in and out of the house wearing black.

"Natsu," he heard Erza's voice calling out to him and he glanced back towards her with his brow furrowed. He saw her eyes widened and there was a look of sympathy in her eyes.

He ignored her and raced back to his house. He pushed the door opened and looked for his mom and dad. He found his dad sitting in the living room with his head down.

"Dad," he called out. His dad looked up to him and Natsu could see the tears in his eyes. His dad got up, went to him and enveloped him in a crushing hug. Natsu was getting nervous. "Dad, what's going on? Where's mom?" He asked.

"Natsu, I have something to tell you," his dad said slowly as he scooped Natsu up into his arm. He brought Natsu to the back room. Natsu saw some people in the room and when they saw the two of them, they parted ways so that he and his dad could go through.

Natsu's eyes widened when he saw his mother lying in a black casket. Of course, his five year old mind couldn't comprehend what his mother was doing there. "What's mom doing sleeping in there?" He asked innocently.

"Natsu, you see mom has gone to a better place. So it's going to be just you and me from now on," his dad said. "This is the last day we get to see mom."

Natsu looked at him on confusion. "What are you talking about dad? Mom is here with us," he said.

"She left us Natsu," his dad said brokenly.

"What do you mean she left us? She's here, sleeping!" Natsu yelled. He was scared now. His dad was acting strange and his mom was acting strange also. She didn't even stir from his yelling when she didn't like it when he yelled in the house. "Mom!" He called out. "Why doesn't she wake up dad?" He asked his dad. Hearing no answer from his dad, Natsu get down and went to the casket.

"Natsu."

"Mom," he called his mother. He shook her hand to wake her up like he always did but she didn't even stir. He felt his mother's hand. It was cold to the touch and dread filled him. "Mom, wake up," he said again urgently.

His dad went to him again and got a hold of his shoulder. "Natsu, mom's gone Natsu. She died," his dad whispered with a sad tone.

Natsu's eyes widened and his hands shook at those words. Died? Died like Erza's parents? They were no longer with her, so she had to live with her grandpa instead. Was that how it was going to be with him? Was it the reason why Erza looked at him with pity in her eyes earlier? "No!" Natsu yelled. He couldn't live without his mother. "You're lying! Mom is sleeping dad," Natsu yelled, crying as he shook his mom harder. "Please mom wake up. I promise not to bully Erza again and do everything you say," he pleaded. But his mom just laid there in peace no matter how much he pleaded for her to wake up. He bawled his eyes out and it was getting uncontrollable. He could hear people around him whispering about the poor little child.

His dad trying to peel him from his mother's side but Natsu tightened his hold on her. "No! Let me go. I want to stay with mom!" He refused to let his mother go, but his dad succeeded in tearing him away. Natsu was kicking and crying for his dad to put down when his dad brought him out of the room. He didn't know what had happen after that for suddenly he was out of the room and there was no whispering and no people in black in his field of vision.

"I'm sorry Natsu," he heard his dad said softly to him as he enveloped him in his larger arm. "But you have to be strong now. We both have to."

Natsu didn't notice when his dad left the room. He kept on crying and crying because his mother was gone and he would never see her again.

The faint smell of strawberry intruded on his senses and he looked up to see the red haired girl peering at him from behind the door. Her eyes were gleaming with tears as she looked at him with a sad expression. Natsu stopped crying but he couldn't control the sob that escaped his lips. He hated for her to see him cried because he always told her crying made her weak. And she was weak because she was a crybaby.

He looked away from her and tried to keep his emotion under control but his tears kept falling down his cheek. He angrily brushed them off with his sleeves but his small body was still wrecked with sob.

"Natsu," he heard her whispered softly. He looked at her with anger in his eyes. Did she come here to taunt him? To rub it in his face how weak he was because he cried?

But then, unexpected thing happened.

He saw her coming to him and the next thing he knew, he felt her warm body engulfing him in a tight hug. "It's okay to cry Natsu," he heard the whisper of her voice. "It doesn't mean that you're weak. It means how much you love your mom," she said. Natsu felt another fresh batch of tears rolled down his cheek at what she said." It's going to be okay Natsu," she continued saying to him. "It will hurt at first but at least she's in a better place now."

Natsu didn't care for his look anymore. Erza was so understanding and kind to him even though all he did was hurt her. He openly cried in her warm embrace and he found himself returning the gesture as he clung to her for dear life. Both of them cried that day and it was the start of a beautiful friendship for the both of them.

"Natsu!"

Natsu was startled out of his memory when he heard his name being called. He saw Erza was staring at him with worry.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "I've been calling your name for a few times now."

"Sorry. I've been thinking of something," he said lamely.

Then, his eyes noticed the orange haired man standing next to her. His face instantly was drawn to a frown. He glared daggers at Loke but the other man merely raised an eyebrow at him in confusion.

So he's the dense type huh, Natsu mentally said. His mind instantly began to plan numerous threats he could practice on the playboy.

"Goodbye Loke," he heard Erza said to the man in front of him.

Loke smirked handsomely at her and said. "Goodbye beautiful," he bid his goodbye before he walked out of there with a wave.

Okay, that guy really gets on my nerve, Natsu narrowed his eyes at the retreating figure of the playboy as his mind went crazy plotting the demise of one orange haired high school student.

"Let's go Natsu."

All thought of incarcerating the playboy went out of his head as he felt the smooth skin of her hands on his as she began dragging him towards home. Their hands were clasped together and Natsu felt his cheek warming at the sensation. His heart was beating fast in his chest and he couldn't have happier even if it was just a small gesture from her part.

.

.

To be continued