LIT3930H: What Makes a Fairy Tail?

by Cheoelm

Lucy is in her second year of college with her best friend Levy when they rescue a certain pink-haired boy from a fight. Little does Lucy know, he's going to be the one to change her life completely and show her what she's been missing out on. (More characters will come as the story progresses. Sorry for the horrible summary, I really need to work on them...)

Chapter 1

Have you ever had the feeling that something was missing in your life? Some sense of adventure and wonder? How some people, whom you never knew before, could integrate themselves into your life so well that once they're gone, you can feel the void they left?

That's how it felt after that first month of my sophomore year of college. It seemed that everything changed when I met that crazy kid with the pink hair and how he never seemed to leave my side since the first day of classes. Normally I would be upset about this and wouldn't want someone around me 24/7, but with Natsu it was different. He made the most trivial and mundane things seem wonderful and I felt more alive with him around. He became a staple in my everyday routine that when he didn't show up that morning to walk me to class, I started to worry about him.

I'm getting ahead of myself though and I should probably backtrack to that fateful day.

"Good afternoon everyone and welcome to LIT3930H or What Makes a Fairy Tale?. I'll be your professor for the semester, Macao Conbolt. You can call me either Prof. Conbolt, Dr. Conbolt, Hey You Over There, or even Macao," the professor rattled on while some students paid attention to what he was saying or others played on their phones.

"The purpose of this class is to delve into classic fairy tales and see how far they've come in the modern world. By the end of the class, you should be able to integrate fairy tale study into the "real world" and see how they have impacted society as a whole," Macao handed a stack of papers to a girl in the front row, "Now I want you to take one of these and guard it with your life. This is the syllabus and it will highlight everything that will be covered in the class. It also shows all of the assignments and their due dates, so none of you can say that you didn't know about something when you've had ample warning.

"Now let's go ahead and do the roll call to see who all is here. If there is another name you would like to be called, tell me now and I'll try to remember that for future classes..." Professor Macao said as he took out a folder and started calling off the names.

Levy sat beside me at the back of the class, twirling her hair around a finger and seeming bored with everything.

"Lu-chan," she whined while I winced at the nickname, "you should really be paying attention. The professor may call your name and think you aren't here if you don't respond."

I shot her a look and whispered back, "I doubt I'll miss my name being called. He's still on the C's, so I have a ways to go." I know Levy worries about me because I'm always writing and seemingly have my head in the clouds but I can't be blamed for that. It started when I lost my mother just last spring. I was in a bad spot and nothing seemed to get through to me. My father took her loss extremely hard as well and because of that, we drifted our separate ways. Only Levy seemed to understand what I needed and brought me back to reality. I didn't even want to continue to go to university to be a writer. Levy had to practically drag me back to classes and force me to do the registration process after that spring.

"Dragneel. Natsu Dragneel?" the professor called. "Hmm.. Seems like he isn't here."

I noticed Levy perk up when she noticed that this student was missing. "What's wrong Levy?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing important. I just realized that I've had two classes with this guy and he hasn't been in either of them," she murmured as Macao continued to take the attendance. "You would think he would come to the classes though. I mean, we do pay a lot towards tuition..."

"Unless he's on scholarships and isn't worried about that at all," I countered as I raised my hand when my name was called. "And why do you care? It's not like you know the guy or something."

"That's true, but I just think it's odd. Plus I'm being observational. Don't you know all great writers need to hone that skill if they want to make it?" Levy teased as her name was called and she raised her hand.

It was a little odd though. Why would someone enroll in classes only to not come to them? I know my dad would flip if I tried to duck out of classes, especially on the first day.

As if he'd care... I thought bitterly as I took a syllabus that seemed to have made its way to me. I noticed Levy was shooting me glances out of the corner of her eye, so I sat up a little taller in my chair and tried to pay attention to the lecture. Just one day at a time Lucy. Just one day at a time.

"Ne ne, I love first day of classes," Levy said as we walked out of the main school building and into the winter afternoon. "We get out a little early and there isn't much to be done."

The professor had let us go early seeing how it was the first day of the winter semester and he said that we should enjoy the rare opportunity. We decided that we were going to go back to the apartment and binge watch something on Netflix considering we both had the next day off from classes. It sounded like a wonderful idea until...

"HEY! Move it!" a guy shouted at us as he went running by, nearly bowling into me.

"Where's the fire?" Levy shouted back as a few other guys followed after him. "Do you think we should go see what's up?" she asked me in question.

There wasn't anything else going on, so I nodded my head and we both started jogging after the small group of guys. When we had caught up to them, we saw that there was a ring of students around a pair of figures.

"What's going on?" I asked the closet person to me.

"Huh? Oh, there's a fight between some sophomore and senior," she answered as she allowed us to wedge ourselves into the group.

Really? A fight on campus? What is this, middle school? I mused as I caught sight of the two figures. One of them looked like a mountain compared to the other one. He stood at about 6'6" and had a long mane of black hair that was pushed back from his face by a bandana. When I caught a better glimpse of him, I noticed that he had piercings up and down his eyebrows and nose, and it looked like one in the center of his lower lip. He had this vicious look on his face, like he was a wild animal itching for a fight. The smaller of the two figures looked like a twig compared to the first. But I would have to say the most noticeable feature about him was his hair. He had light pink hair that stood up every which way, yet somehow looked neat. He had an amused smirk and a mischievous glint in his eyes. He didn't seem at all concerned that he was almost half the size of his opponent and that he probably had no chance of emerging from the fight victorious.

I watched as the two circled one another, sizing the other up and looking for an opening. The crowd was growing restless as well and was calling out to the pair to just fight already.

"Do you think they're actually going to fight one another, or just circle each other?" I asked Levy as she watched the two men as well.

"I dunno, but it is rather interesting to say the least. I wonder what sparked this confrontation."

"That's easy," the girl who had let us in the circle piped up. "The pink haired one had run into the bigger one and refused to say, "Sorry" when the big guy demanded him to. If you ask me, that's a little childish to start a fight over."

At that moment, the smaller opponent launched himself at the bigger guy with his right arm raised, ready for a punch. His opponent nimbly stepped aside and knocked him across the back, causing him to stumble a few feet.

"Man, watch what you're doing Gajeel!" he shouted as he regained his footing and turned back around. "I thought we said we would go easy on each other."

"You said you wanted to go easy on me, Salamander, not that I would go easy on you," the student named Gajeel answered. "I plan on giving these nice people a good show." He smirked as he charged towards the small guy and clipped him across the jaw when he was too slow to dodge completely.

"Besides, you're the one that needs to be taught a lesson. You should respect your elders and apologize to them when you run into them," he continued as he tried punching Salamander again but was blocked by s chop across the arm.

"The way I see it, you should move out of the way when you hear someone running, not stand there like a fricking tree," Salamander retorted as he took a swing at Gajeel and got him in the cheek.

I watched the two go back and forth with their blows and noticed that as the fight went on, more and more students wandered off. It seemed like they weren't really fighting for real, even if Salamander looked a little banged up and was bleeding from the eyebrow. I think Levy had had enough of the fight as well when suddenly Salamander took a blow straight to the nose and went down on his knees.

"Ahh!" I exclaimed as I watched him try to get back up on his feet, but failed miserably. Gajeel stood over him and I didn't knowing he would go for the finishing blow or if he would let his opponent be. He seemed to be thinking of finishing him when he looked up and caught sight of Levy and I.

"Geehee, want me to finish him off ladies?" he asked us as he grabbed him by the white scarf Salamander wore.

I saw Levy was rooted to the spot and it seemed like we were the deciding factor of this fight. For some reason that's still unknown to me, I shot forward and slapped Gajeel's hand away.

"Don't you think you've caused enough damage?!" I shouted at him as I kneeled down to the small figure. "What gives you the right to fight someone who's clearly outmatched?"

I gingerly touched the pink haired boy's shoulder and he looked up at me. At that moment, I could see the gratitude of me saving him flash across his eyes, but underneath that I could see contempt. Maybe he hadn't wanted me to step in like that; I thought as I crouched down and tried to get one of his arms over my shoulder.

At that moment, Levy trotted over to us and she grabbed his other arm and slung it across her shoulders as well. "Yeah, why don't you pick on someone your own size!" she retorted to big guy and looked worriedly at the smaller one in between us.

"Heh, he's the one that started it pipsqueak, but I'll let him be for now. Seems he learned his lesson," Gajeel said as he started walking away from us.

I looked over at Levy and we both got the same idea to take the guy back to our apartment to check him over. We made our way to the student parking lot and Levy fished her keys out of her jacket pocket. She managed to get the rear passenger door opened and with a little of tricky maneuvering, we laid Salamander across the back seat. When he was in, we both climbed into the front and took off.

I kept glancing at him as we drove through town and saw that he was still bleeding profusely from the cut above his eye. I rummaged around in Levy's glove compartment and managed to find some napkins from a fast food joint. I turned around in my seat and held them out to him.

"Here, put these above your eye," I said he took them from me. "I don't think Levy would appreciate you getting blood all over her seat."

Levy made a noise of affirmation and looked in the rear view mirror. "So, did you really start that fight with that guy?"

"Hmm..." was the only response they got from the boy in the back. Lucy saw him sit up a little higher on the seat and glance out the window.

She decided another tactic to get him to talk. "Is your name really Salamander? Seems odd if you ask me."

"Yeah! What is your name really?" Levy asked as she sped up through a yellow light. She noticed Lucy stiffen up a bit and had to suppress a small smile.

The rosy haired boy just looked at Lucy and shook his head slowly. "Of course it isn't. Who in their right mind would name a child after a lizard?" he bemused as a small grin crept across his face. "What's your name? I know the girl with the blue hair is Levy supposedly," he glanced at the back of Levy's head, "yet I haven't caught yours."

"Lucy. Now that you know our names, what's yours?"

He smirked at me. "Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

I heard Levy take in a breath of air. "So you're the guy that hasn't been in classes today! At least now we know why, right Lu-chan?"

"Yeah, I guess so," was all I could answer as I realized we had pulled into the parking lot for our apartment complex. "Looks like we made it."

Levy parked her car in her assigned spot and turned the car off. She whipped around in her seat and looked straight at Natsu. "Ok, first things first: we're going to take you inside and get you cleaned up. That's a nasty cut you have above your eye and I would hate to see it get infected." Natsu rolled his eyes at this statement. "Next, you're going to tell us exactly what happened and why that big guy was itching to beat you to a bloody pulp."

I had to admit I was curious myself as I gathered my bag and opened the car door. I rummaged around to find my keys and started walking towards the building to open the door. I glanced back when I heard an "Oof!" come from the car and saw Natsu had fallen out of the backseat when Levy opened the driver side door. We probably should have sat him up better, I thought as I unlocked the main door and held it open for them.

Levy walked up, dragging Natsu by the wrist and started heading for the staircase to the second floor. I followed after them and decided I would check the mail in the morning considering there were pressing matters to attend to. When I got to the second floor, Levy had already opened our door and had it propped open by the door stop. I stepped into the small apartment and set my bag down on the kitchen table. Natsu was already sitting at it and I could hear my roommate rummaging around in our bathroom for the first aid kit.

"Umm, would you like something to drink? All we have is water and milk unfortunately," I asked as I walked towards the small kitchen. I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck and glanced back.

"Water's fine with me," he answered as he raked a hand through his hair. As I was about to get him his water, Levy walked in with the kit and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

She sat down next to him and motioned for him to turn his chair towards her. He complied and had this bored look on his face, like he's done this so many times before. Levy opened the kit and looked through it, probably for something to clean up the blood. I handed her a wash cloth that I had grabbed from the sink and she murmured a thanks to me as she leaned forward to touch Natsu's face.

He reared back, as if in pain and just gave her this scowl. "Well, if you weren't picking fights, you wouldn't be here suffering this treatment," she chided as she wiped off the blood to get a better look at the damage. "Good news for you, it isn't deep so you won't need stitches. But I'm still going to disinfect it and put a bandaid on it."

"Whatever," was his response as she opened the bottle of peroxide and put some on a cotton ball from the kit. She dabbed at the cut for a few seconds, and then waved her hand in front of it to get it to dry. I had returned to the kitchen inlet to get Natsu some water and some aspirin and walked back to the table, holding out the supplies. I saw that Levy had picked out a bright pink Hello Kitty bandaid to use and stuck it to his eyebrow.

"There, good as new," she said as she got up and threw away the used cotton ball and packed up the kit. "Just don't get into any more fights and we won't have to patch you up again."

She walked back to the bathroom and I sat down across from the stranger and just looked him over. "Why did you run into that guy and then not apologize?"

Natsu looked at me and took a swig of water while popping the pills into his mouth. "I didn't run into him as he said. He was a dick to this other guy and I decided to step in. I had everything under control until someone shouted there was a fight and a crowd showed up." He glanced at me and cocked his head to the side. "Why did you step in and save me? I didn't need the help, but I am grateful for that."

I thought about it for a second and couldn't really come up with a good enough answer. "I don't like to see people get picked on I guess," I sheepishly responded as I heard Levy walk back into the room.

Natsu seemed to have accepted this answer and got up from the kitchen table. He wandered into our living room area and glanced around. I followed after him and noticed that Levy was standing in the hallway that leads to the bedrooms and bathroom. She gave me this quick glance and walked back to her room, leaving our guest up to me.

He sat down on our couch and gave me this expectant look. I walked towards him and sat down on the other end. "So what were you ladies going to do before you came to my rescue?"

I grabbed the remote from the side table and turned on the TV and blu-ray player. "Well, we were going to watch some Netflix and probably order a pizza. Would you like to join us?" I asked him hesitantly, glancing over at him.

Natsu seemed to have considered the offer for a moment before he suddenly stood up and made his way to the front door. "As tempting as that sounds, I have plans and I should get out of here. Thanks for helping me out, patching me up, and the water. It's been a pleasure," he said as he opened the door. "Thanks nurse Levy!" he shouted as he let himself out and the door latched behind him.

Levy came out of her room and just looked at me, with a dumbstruck look on her face. I was sure I was mirroring her and just shrugged my shoulders. "That was odd," she mused as she headed back to her room. "If you want, I'll order the pizza and you can pick something out for us to watch."

"Sure," was all I could manage as I looked the spot Natsu had just occupied and shook my head. Little did I know that today would be the first of many words days I would have with Natsu Dragneel and that he would turn my life upside down.