Disclaimer: Okay… I don't own FairyTail in any way, shape, or form nor do I wish to. I gladly leave that in the hands of Mashima, whom—in my opinion—is doing a fantabulous job. ^_^

Lucy placed her chin in the crook her arms which lay crossed atop the cool surface of one of the many tables in Fairy Tail and sighed. The guild was full of the usual antics: Natsu and Gray throwing fists and subconsciously destroying everything in their path; Elfman announcing very loudly, how manly fighting is; Cana chugging barrel after barrel of liquor while chastising Gray about his unfortunate stripping habit; Freed drooling over "how awesome Laxus is", you know, that usual. And as per usual, Lucy was sitting there at the table spectating the entire thing with glazed eyes. Lucky for Natsu and Gray, Erza was nowhere to be seen.

Then suddenly, as if reading her mind, Erza, along with Master Makarov, came strolling up on to the stage looking mildly smug. Well master Makarov that is. Erza on the other hand shot Gray and Natsu a death glare putting an immediate halt to their brawl.

"My children as you all know", Makarov began, listening as conversations faded into silence "The time has come for our annual Fairy Tail Guild Endurance Test!" Cheers and over dramatic sighs erupted from the guild members.

"Like all the years we've ever done this, all members must participate or face the punishment along with the loser of this contest!" He stared the crowd down waiting for any objections, none came.

"Alrighty then, I take this silence as your agreement so let's get this thing started!...Oh! And I forgot to add, this test you can navigate partners, anybody you choose, so you may end up with several different partners throughout the duration of this test." he clarified.

"Wait, activities?" Cana spoke irritatedly from her seat at the bar. "As in more than one endurance test? Why all the extra stuff? We usually only have one task like a race or something!"

"Because it's much more challenging this way." Erza answered nonchalantly, Makarov nodding his head in agreement.

"Any more complaints?"

Lucy sighed again. They were just trying to keep everyone busy so the guild wouldn't get destroyed every twenty seconds by Natsu's ceaseless fighting. Although she couldn't stop the excited racing of her heart.

After ushering everyone out the door-evidently, no one wanted to face the punishment that awaited at the end of the test-Makarov led the entire guild to where the first activity was set up. In the center of a clearing, was a long stage strung with tons of flashy lights and ribbon. On the stage, wooden podiums wide enough to fit two people were lined up all the way to the edge, each equipped with a little red buzzer. Another taller podium was placed off to the side, without a buzzer, most likely for whomever would be hosting the activity. Just by looking at the set-up Lucy already knew what game they were about to play.

"Trivia?" She said to no one in particular. Makarov nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep. Endurance of the brain. And everyone has to participate!" He announced sternly glaring at a deflated Natsu. Knowledge not being one of his top characteristics, Lucy felt a bit bad for him. Okay, maybe a lot. But regardless of her sympathy, she still approached Levy before anyone else could.

"Of course I'll be your partner Lu-chan!" She exclaimed linking her arm through Lucy's before she had a chance to even get the question out. "You're the smartest girl here besides myself! And I refuse to end up getting whatever punishment the Master has laid out." She added shivering. Lucy nodded.

" Uhn! I think we have this one in the bag!"

Almost immediately the crowd began shuffling, everyone searching for a partner that would at least win them a few questions. After everyone had their team ready they filed onto the stage and into the podiums where they anxiously waited for Master Makarov to prepare the questions.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled into the tense silence in an attempt to motivate himself. It failed.

Clearing his throat, Makarov read out the first question. "Okay, question one: What is Natsu's favorite food?"

"Oh, that one's easy!" Natsu and Lucy shouted at the same time, but unfortunately for Natsu who had forgotten the rules, Lucy actually hit the button. He'd forgotten about that part.

"Fire." Lucy answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Correct! That's a point for team one!" Makarov declared.

"Next question: What is the name of the current princess of Fiore?" Levy smacked the button with lightning speed.

"That would be Princess Hisui."

"Correct! Another point for team one!"

"What's 3,763 minus 54?"

"3,709!" Shouted Lucy.

"Correct! Point!"

"How many species of lizards are there?"

"Around 5,000!" Gray shouted after slamming his button so hard it almost broke.

"What? I read it in a magazine once."

"Correct! Point!"

"How many dragon slayers are there total?"

"Seven!" Natsu hollered after his teammate remembered to hit the button for him.

"Correct! Point!"

The game progressed like that until Lucy and Levy won with a total of fifty-two points.

"How'd you even know how many books were published in the last year?" Lucy inquired as she and Levy walked off the stage and awaited further directions.

"Well I kept tabs on all of them to see if there were any potential buys, I needed to add some new books to my shelves, you know? Last year I got twelve more books! It was a good year for me!"

Lucy beamed seeing her friend gush over her new books.

"Oh! I just so happened to find this really good romance book that you would love, and seeing how much of a hopeless romantic you are, I thought I'd let you take a look at it. It will have to be later though because I don't have it with me now." She explained sounding a bit disappointed.

Lucy would hold her to her word, but for now she needed to stay as far away from romantic novels as possible. Lately she'd been misinterpreting a lot of situations with Natsu due to her over-active imagination. She couldn't handle the embarrassment any more. She put her own novel on hold because of it.

Looking up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky, she allowed herself to ponder over what the next challenge might be. Hopefully today wouldn't be too long.