A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another new story! First, I'd like to thank my friend Aky-san for helping write this chapter and for giving the idea. I couldn't wait to post it once she sent it to me! Do me a favor and go check out some of her stories if you haven't already!

Anyway hope you guys enjoy it!

Summery: If this were a movie, I'd be the kid in the background and she would be the star. We come from two different worlds, and we never really get along. But somehow I always end up saving her… I guess you could call me a 'soldier of justice'.

Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail.

Natsu's POV

This wasn't some sort of cliché anime, and I was in no way the main character. Sure, I may have pink hair that stands out, but that is the only thing that's different about me. I'm not some sort of super popular jock that changes girlfriends every two weeks, or some closet freak with a bad case of paranoia. I don't sit at the back of the classroom next to the window, and I don't have a huge circle of friends that would kill a gang leader for me. In fact, I have like two people that I can call my comrades, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't even kill a fly for me.

But she on the other hand, was the lead role of any movie ever made. Her hair was long and blonde, her body was freshly off the runway stage, and her aura shouted "yes, I am better than you". People literally flocked around her, asked her to take selfies together and fought to sit next to her in the cafeteria. Her grades were top notch compared to mine, which were average. She was part of the cheerleading squad and her group of friends held at least 10 girls.

But, much to everyone's surprise, I actually like the fact that I don't stand out. In the world of main roles I am an extra and I loved it. I appreciated the fact that nobody yelled after me in the halls, nobody bullied me for being too smart, and nobody made me play on the basketball team for being too handsome. Instead, I blended with my surroundings and most of the time, people ignored me. I ignored back. It was a wonderful concept I had developed over the years and I am comfortable. I didn't have any plans for some sort of 'new debut', and I always stayed the same. That sort of lifestyle suited me most.

So that's why I had to wonder… how the hell did I end up in a situation like this?

I used to avoid doing this sort of thing at all costs, but the teacher made me do it. We were in the middle of our Geography class when she said she'd forgotten the world map inside the classroom we used for storing various supplies used during classes. She told me to go get it because I sat close to the door of the classroom. A stupid reason, but still. So I paced the silent halls of the school, wondering if I should just go out the gates and never come back. It was tempting, but I needed to stay in school and make something out of myself or whatever.

The second I approached the classroom I thought I heard some sort of sound. Like there was someone talking in there. I stood stiff for a while and waited to hear another voice, but no such thing happened. Convinced that I had imagined the whole thing, I opened the door as quietly as I could, and froze.

She was in there. I had to take a step back due to my confusion, and just stood staring like a maniac. She was sitting on one of the old chairs and crying her eyes out, while some tall guy stared out of the window. He had dark-blonde hair and glasses. I didn't remember seeing him around much, but then again I didn't remember half of the people in this school. He might as well be in my class and I won't know him.

I was thinking about the best way to easily slip out of view and get the hell out of there, when he turned around like he'd sensed my presence in the air. She didn't say anything. I don't even think she noticed me until he shouted, "Now look what you've done!" She raised her head from her hands, her mascara running down her cheeks and her eyes puffy, and looked at me for the first time ever.

Even though I felt awkward for intruding at such an emotional moment, even though the guy was staring at me like I'd murdered his ancestors, and even though I just wanted to take the damn map and go, I still managed to remember every detail about the way she looked at me. It felt like she'd somehow stopped time to burn her image into my memory before the clock started moving again. I wanted to say that I felt some sort of connection at that very moment, but even I was aware of how stupid it would sound. So instead I kept quiet and waited for another reaction.

And I got it. The dude at the window dashed past me and left in a hurry, but not before saying, "I'll be waiting for your call". So now it was just us. I tried to play it off like I didn't care about what happened, and to be honest I wasn't really all that interested. As far as I was concerned, the two of us lived in different worlds. Nothing I would ever say would make any sense in the realm she was living in, and vice versa. We just managed to coexist in two different dimensions that overlapped and allowed us to visually acknowledge the other's presence. But that was it. Nothing more. Like two parallel lines that can always see each other, and always stay close on the same route, but never ever touch.

I walked past her slouched figure like I didn't even see her crying her eyes out just a second ago, and pretended not to care about what was going on as I took the map that was propped up on the wall. It was rolled up into a cylinder, so it was easy to hold. I skipped over the countless items scattered around the room and was almost out of the door without any problems, when I heard her start crying again. I am not the kind of person that takes an interest in another's life, but there was something vulnerable about the way she was sobbing that made me turn around and look at her. Her shoulders were shaking and she didn't seem like she was going to stop any time soon.

I felt like ages passed before I dared make a move towards her. She didn't see me approach thanks to the water streaming down her eyes, so she was certainly surprised when she saw my hand on her shoulder. I could feel the weight of her gaze on me as I looked upwards to hide the blush on my cheeks. I'm not the type of guy who ever consoles people. If I ever saw my friends cry I retreated to a safe distance and threw chocolate at them, shouting "there, there! It's going to be okay!"

So needless to say, I wasn't handling the situation well. Actually, I think I made it even worse because she didn't say anything and kept staring at me with a confused expression. But hey, at least she stopped crying am I right?

"Who are you?"

Countless of replies sprung to the front of my mouth but I didn't dare speak any of them. I didn't want to start a needless conversation with a person who won't remember my name the very next day. The situation was already awkward enough as it is, so I decided that I just needed to escape and never look back.

I smiled, retreating my hand to a safe distance before heading for the door, "I am a soldier of justice."

Since the only two friends I actually had were either my cat Happy, or my thirty-year-old neighbor Gildarts, I always ate lunch alone. I was back in school the very next day without feeling that anything had been different since the incident at the storage room happened. The crowds of students were still annoying, the walls were still gray, and the cafeteria food was still terrible. It wasn't like one small occurrence like that would change my school-life forever. This wasn't a fantasy manga and I was in no way the lead protagonist.

I sat down at one of the empty tables, watching the school jocks from a distance. The cheerleaders were crowded around the salad bar, filling their plates with cucumber slices and genetically modified tomatoes. I looked down at my tray, adorned with a plate of ingredients for the build-it-yourself sandwich. I had put like six pieces of bread that would be enough for three sandwiches. Needless to say I was a nasty eater. I could scarf down five helpings of lasagna and I wouldn't even bat an eye. I was too busy trying to position the lettuce on top of the cheap rubber-like bologna, to notice what was going on.

"Can I sit?"

I had to blink in her face like ten times before I was sure that she was actually real. I was honestly thinking that yesterday's shenanigans would have no impact on my daily life whatsoever, and yet here she was. I couldn't even reply, but she took it as a sign to sit right across from me and set her tray down.

One small piece of bread topped with butter and cheese. One paper cup with orange juice. One small portion of salad on the side. Fucking four chocolate pudding cups. I tried not to cringe.

"I didn't catch your name," she started.

"I didn't throw it." I bit back my tongue for answering so rudely. But she just smiled.

"Of course. You're a soldier of justice after all." She said, and I looked around for some missing piece where she should be fitting into currently.

"Um, don't you have somewhere to be?"

She blinked in confusion, bending her head slightly to her left side. "You mean, right now?" My silence was taken as a yes, and she continued, "Well, my friends are sitting over there—" a small gesture towards her right "—but I wanted to talk to you. See how you're doing and… all that."

I narrowed my eyes, already irritated by every word that dared come out of her foul mouth. "Alright blondie, listen here and listen good. I'm not going to say anything about what I saw the other day, so you can stick your finger back into your mouth and go join your little friends. You don't have to play pretend and be nice to me just because you're afraid I'll tell on you."

My words seemed to hit the mark, and she looked more surprised than anyone I've ever seen. Crap, I let my sharp tongue out again. I was thinking of how to fix things, when she smiled again.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that." Lies. "I just wanted to um," she looked down at her food as though the answer was written in the cheese, "It's nothing. Well, I have to get going now." And she got up as quickly as she sat down, making her way back to the 'popular kids' table. I sighed in a mixture of confusion and relief.

And least that's settled with.

I fumbled with the keys in my hand trying to push the door open with by elbow since I was too busy trying not to spill the groceries from my bags. I was greeted by an absence of sound while I sat the bags down on the coffee table in the living room. The crevice of the door widened considerably, a small blue body squeezing through the opening, meowing at me in greeting.

My cat Happy is probably the only thing in my life that I would never change. Even though its small trails of fur on my sofa sometimes irritated me, or the random meowing at a random object confused me; I would still not trade this cat for the world. The vet explained its blue fur as some sort of congenital disorder in the pigmentation. I just nodded and tried remembering the big words he used so I could check them out in a dictionary later. I remembered none of them and I have no dictionary, but at least I knew he was a special cat.

The little guy played around my legs for a while, before finding me completely boring and scurrying off to the couch. I poured a bit of milk in its small bowl by the fridge, but it seemed too interested in the ball of yarn on the couch to pay any attention to it. I sighed, putting the carton back in the refrigerator, and curled up on the sofa next to my best friend.

I woke up well rested the next day, contrary to my classmates who'd apparently gone on some sort of party and posted pictures of it on social media. Since I don't log into my account as much, I didn't even notice that they'd invited me as well. But I wouldn't have gone either way.

I like being on the outside of the main frame. When you're watching a movie with the two main characters lashing out at each other in the front view, I am probably the background character just passing by on the street. I am never in the lead role and I have no problem with that. It makes my life so much easier. I can make all the mistakes I want and it will not cause an uproar, contrary to the fact that even a single bad hair day of one of the popular girls will probably be spoken of for weeks to come.

I walked to school, trying not to think about the fact that I'd left Happy all alone back home with nobody to take care of him. I was so absorbed in my fantasies of it escaping or a burglar walking in or the house catching on fire or something, that I hadn't noticed her standing in front of me until I almost smacked her on the head.

I nodded in her direction, feeling that it was only natural for me to acknowledge her in some way, when she stepped in front of me again. Her head was slightly tiled to the side and she had a big smile plastered on her face. Correction: she had a big fake smile plastered on her face.

"Good morning, you!" She grinned, walking in step with me when she noticed that I didn't stop walking.

"You don't even know my name," I started, already tired from dealing with her in the morning. "I think I already told you that I'm not interested in this fake friendship thing you're trying to pull. And also—" I cocked my head from one side to the other, showing her the gaping students, "—everyone is staring at us." She didn't seem phased by the glances and whispers tossed our way.

"So what? I'm used to being stared at." The way she said it told me that she'd been in the spotlight for quite a long time now. But I'm not one of them. I was the extra. I'm not used to being stared at and I don't think I ever will be. "And also," my attention shifted back to her, "I just want five minutes of your time."

Considering the fact that I was early to school and classes were to start in seven minutes, and the fact that I was probably just going to sit quietly at my desk either way, I trailed after her despite the glances tossed at our direction.

We walked towards the back of the school, her leading the way, and me following closely behind. When we were a safe distance away from curious ears, she leaned towards me, her eyes widening in a pleading manner only girls could make. "Alright, let's not beat around the bush. You saw something I didn't want you to see."

"I didn't see anything," I started, but even I could tell how fake it all sounded when I was clearly there. She raised her eyebrow as though asking if I was really going to feign ignorance, and waved it all away with her hand.

"It doesn't matter. Look, what I'm trying to propose here is a fake-dating fiasco. It doesn't even have to be dating. It can be fake-friendship. Long story short, the guy you saw me with just dumped me out of nowhere and I want to get back at him." I almost cringed at how much at all sounded like some chick-flick. I could almost hear the fake laughter of an audience at a sitcom. She just had to be kidding me.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to be you pretend friend so he thinks I like you? Never in a million years."

Hey eyes narrowed, and she stepped even closer, the tension rising at an alarming rate. Her smile dropped down in rapid speed. "Listen here you transparent piece of trash, I'm proposing you a deal of a lifetime. Instead of being the blend-in-the-background nobody you so obviously are, you could rise to the top with me. You could actually be someone."

The sharpness of her words caught me off guard and I tried not looking so surprised by her drastic turn of character. So even she could be nasty if she needed to, huh…

"You're taking an awful lot of time to think about a decision that should be pretty easy." She said, and I finally felt like I had it with her. I was ready to turn away and leave, when an idea struck me.

I felt my lips widen in a daring grin, "Alright. I'll do it of you agree to my terms as well." My own devilish side rose to the occasion, "I get to treat you the way I want and you can't protest."

She was skeptical at first, but then she caved and raised her brow in question, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I get to talk to you the way I want to and treat you the way I want to and you can't protest." My words held no hidden meaning but they were calculated to the max. If she wanted to play dirty it was fine by me. I was born to play dirty. I may have acted like an innocent will-not-hurt-you type of guy, but I wasn't the one to be taken advantage of.

"Fine." she said, after a moment of thinking. She was clearly not afraid of me. "But I get to break up with you."

"Deal." I said, raising my shoulders. She smiled in favor of her answered wishes, and turned to go back to school, but not before shouting "We start now," behind her shoulder.

The minute I saw her walk into the cafeteria I knew she had been looking around for me. The mixture of excitement and relief in her eyes gave it away. She waved from across the room, before going to get some food. I sat at an empty table, and she joined me only minutes later. I had to admit that eating lunch with a pretty girl had its charms as well. But I hated the stares. Everyone was interested. I guess privacy is one of the things I need to give up in order for me to have my fun.

"How's your lunch, honey?" She asked, and even more heads turned our way. People were itching to see who her next target was. She wasn't famous for having a lot of boyfriends, but she did have a few.

I didn't even know the name of the one who supposedly broke up with her though. But I could clearly see him staring from the other side of the cafeteria.

"It's missing some ketchup, babe," I caressed her right cheek with my hand, before my voice hardened, "Now go and get me some."

The hall fell dead silent and she stared at me like she'd seen a ghost. Things were finally clearing up for her. This is what it was going to be like from then on.

She forced out a smile, and actually got up to get the ketchup. Murmurs and gasps escaped the gaping students while she returned, and so far I was pleased with the outcome. I knew she would do it. She wouldn't want her little reputation to break now, would she? She knew very well that the others will talk about it even more if she started yelling at me and I yelled back. She needed this and needed it bad.

She started eating, trying to put what I'd said behind her. But I didn't let her.

"Anyway babe, that book you got me yesterday is fucking disgusting." she gawked at me, "Go and return it."

Her lips twitched, "But dear," she almost choked on the word, "Why don't you give it a shot?"

"I did." A glint of mischief flashed in my eyes, "It's almost a bigger disappointment than you are."

The place exploded with whistles and laughter, and she clenched her fist to try and not kill me on the spot.

We continued eating like that, with attempts of small talk from her and drastic shut-downs from me. I guessed that she regretted sitting there at least fifty times before the bell rang. A nasty glare was shot my way, and she got up.

"Come on," she pulled me up, "walk me to the classroom."

"Do it yourself." I said, and turned to leave. When I was at the door, I turned to sneer at the dumbstruck expression on her face. "Oh, and I'll be waiting for you at my place tonight at ten." Everyone stared. "Put on those black panties I love so much."

Mic drop.

She obviously evaded me in the halls because she knew what would be coming at her if we were to meet. I noticed her hide behind lockers and people for the sole purpose of not running into me.

We met at the end of the day though, in front of the school gate. She marched my way when she noticed that there weren't a lot of people around.

"What the hell was that, huh?" she jammed her finger in my chest, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I couldn't help but smile, "I told you I would treat you the way I want to."

She bit back all the rude remarks she had because she obviously didn't want to make it any worse than it already was. The tension in the air dropped down, and she seemed to relax a bit. She wasn't pleased with the outcome, but it worked in her favor. I got to play and stop my streak of boredom, and she got to get revenge on her ex. The only thing I didn't get was why she needed to get revenge.

"Are you going to tell me what happened between you and your charming ex boyfriend?" I asked, watching her roll her eyes at the mention of that jerk.

"He dumped me."

"Why?" I asked, and even though she probably thought I was faking it, I was actually genuinely interested.

"Apparently, I'm too clingy." She looked down at the pavement, "Because I wanted him to answer when I text him and not go out with other girls." Her eyes found mine and I was terrified by the honesty that lay beneath them, "Is that too much to ask? For him to be faithful to me only?"

I expected anything but this. This was the last thing on my mind. I thought she would be sarcastic and maybe refuse to answer, but she'd given me the answer I'd asked for. My mouth opened and closed at random, not sure at what I'm supposed to say after something like that.

"Well, well, well; what do we have here?" We turned towards the guy in question, walking up to us with a group of his friends. I stared down at his smug expression, other students turning their attention towards us. So he was the one who made her cry when I accidentally walked in on them.

Her didn't spare a glance towards her, but he more than studied me.

"I feel bad for you bro," he started, even going as far as to place his hand on my shoulder. "You put her in her place today, I saw that. That's the right way to treat her, though. I was being too nice with her." She stepped behind me, and her hands clutched my right arm. I could feel her trembling even though she was doing her best to act tough.

The ex turned toward her, shaking his head, "But she's going to leave you soon enough though. That what you should expect from a slut like that."

I said nothing.

His smirk widened at my silence because he sensed I wasn't the type to meddle with their shit.

He reached his hand and cupped her chin, bringing her head up to face him by force. "A fucking whore is all she is."

I broke out a smile of my own.

"Listen here you little shit," I pushed his hand away from her, and she stood back behind me. "I can take anything you dish out as long as you don't insult what belongs to me okay?"

The surprise on his face hid behind the cracking of his knuckles, as he balled his hands into fists.

My voice was loud and clear, "She's mine. And when you mess with something of mine, I hit back. I hit back hard. So why don't you round up your posse over there and go do your homework, okay?"

I stepped closer, clutching the collar of his shirt, "You have a three-second head start before I start hunting you down."

He looked like he wanted to punch me, but there were teachers a few feet away from us and he decided against it. He looked toward his friends as though asking them to do something.

"One." I started, and he bore holes in my skull with his stare.

"Two." His friends patted him on the shoulder and he decided that knocking me out cold was not worth detention. They left in a matter of seconds.

The students that had stared at us started whispering, probably wondering who the hell I was. It's not everyday you get to see someone rise from the ashes like I did. And just yesterday I was a normal kid. And just yesterday I thought I had my dark side under control. I guess I didn't. It had to come out sooner or later.

I had almost forgotten she was there. She stepped out from behind me and stared at me wide eyed.

She reached out her hand, and I accepted it. "I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She was still dazed from the whole thing.

"I know." I said, "Natsu Dragneel."

"I didn't know." She mumbled, staring down at our hands.

"Well then, my newly appointed girlfriend," She looked at me, "What else do I have to do to get your number?"

And for the first time, Lucy really smiled.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you guys think!