Chapter One

The sound of shoes pounding against linoleum flooring can almost be soothing—almost, because at certain rates, it can serve as a guaranteed measure of tardiness. A flash of pink accompanied these footsteps as Natsu Dragneel rushed down the hall, aware that the sounds of his footsteps suggested that he was very late indeed. That was the other thing about linoleum flooring: it was loud, as if signaling every teacher in proximity to punish the source of the noise. Of course, Natsu was only worried about one teacher in particular, someone who often took a "hands on" approach to learning. The thought alone caused shivers down Natsu's spine, and he attempted to quicken his pace. Tightly gripping the straps around his shoulders, Natsu rounded a corner, bolting up the stairs so that he was in a perfect position to run through the classroom door; however, for some reason, the boy came to a complete stop, and he stared, as if transfixed, at the sight before him. Of course, this reaction was only natural, because there she was; her presence, as usual, demanded all of Natsu's attention. The girl stood there for a few moments, seemingly aware that the hallway's fluorescent lights gave her an almost angelic glow. Perhaps he was being hopeful, but he couldn't help but notice how her wide, blue eyes lit up as she saw him.

"Natsu," She chirped, "What're you doing?"

"H-hey, Lisanna," He replied, "I'm just—just…"

"Heading to class?" She suggested.

"Yeah, that's it!"

She laughed, "Well, you better hurry up. Mr. Clive will be upset with you if you're late again, and I want him in a good mood for our art project. Maybe he'll actually let us use 'the good stuff' this time."

"What? Eraser board markers on poster board not cutting it?"

"Not even close. I just want to use that tub of fuchsia paint in the art room. It's so pretty, like the perfect color!" She suddenly stopped, "And, I'm sorry. I'm holding you up."

"No, you're fine." Natsu said, following Lisanna up the staircase. He added under his breath, "More than fine."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing. So—uh- what're you doing? I mean, you're usually not late."

"No, I had a dentist appointment," She giggled, tucking her short, white hair behind her ear. "See, I have a doctor's note and everything."

"Doctor's note, huh? I should get me one of those." Natsu said offhandedly, and Lisanna gave a genuine laugh.

"You're so funny, Natsu. I was actually just talking to Mira the other day about the time we were kids and dressed you up like a girl, and you got in a fight with the mailman-"

"Yeah?" Natsu replied hesitantly, desperately hoping she would forget the rest of the story.

"And the dog pulled your skirt down-"

"Uh-huh-"

"Then it dragged you down the street-" She was laughing so hard at this point that the pair physically stopped.

"Yeah, I remember." Natsu groaned, "Mira was one evil babysitter."

"I'm sorry, Natsu," Lisanna said between laughs, "I know that wasn't you're favorite day, but we did have some pretty good times when we were kids, huh?"

"Yeah, we did." Natsu smiled, turning to look directly into Lisanna's eyes. She looked up at him with a smile. This was it, his moment. He knew it! "Lisanna, I-"

"That's why we decided you're an honorary Strauss sister." She said walking towards the classroom.

"I- What?!" Natsu replied, following her down the hall.

"Well, you're more like a brother to me, but Elfman said there could only be one 'man in the house.' You know how he gets, so you're a Strauss sister." She smiled, scampering off into the classroom. Natsu, on the other hand, stood frozen in the doorway.

It might have been several minutes or, more likely, a few, long days before his legs began to work again, and he slowly- painfully made his way to his desk. Fortunately, his tardiness was so commonplace that no one gave him a second glance as he settled in; although, the blonde girl who sat behind him narrowed her eyes in either concern or judgment, but Natsu decided it really didn't matter. He narrowed his eyes in retaliation, and she narrowed her eyes further. As this spectacle continued, Natsu felt a wave of familiarity rush over him, yet at the same time, this recognition was barely there. From what he knew, she was an "exemplary student," and wasn't she supposed to be winning some sort of award? Yeah, he remembered the teachers saying that. If rumors were to be trusted, this girl was also very wealthy; however, despite these few nuances he somehow recalled, Natsu couldn't place her name. What was it? Looney? Loopy? Luigi?

"Lucy! Natsu!" Mr. Clive yelled, and the pair quickly straightened in their seats, "Sorry to interrupt your little game, but why don't you be actual productive members of society and grab the supplies we need for the posters."

This wasn't a question, and the looks on both of the students' faces suggested that they understood this fact. They turned to each other hesitantly before lifting themselves out of their seats. Mr. Clive, seemingly perturbed by their sluggishness in the task, began to slap a heavy book in his hand- An action that prompted Natsu to sprint out of the classroom, and the classroom erupted into giggles. Lucy, on the other hand, simply quickened her pace, trying to avoid Mr. Clive's piercing gaze. She finally allowed herself to release a breath she wasn't aware she was holding as she entered the hallway; however, Natsu was nowhere in sight. Lucy deduced that he was already in the art room; it was that, or he possibly left the school completely. The girl decided she wouldn't be surprised either way. Regardless, she walked to the supply room, only to find it in complete disarray.

"You think this is enough?" A voice asked, slightly startling the blonde and it took her a few moments to make out the slightest bit of pink sticking out of a pile of supplies.

"You're planning on bringing all of this?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Sure, why not?"

"Because we'll need a bulldozer to get it out." Lucy exclaimed, and this response prompted Natsu to drop all of the supplies he was holding, causing an even bigger mess in the room. Lucy's eye's twitched at the sight.

"Hey, what's with you? First you give me weird looks, then my supplies aren't good enough-"

"Wait wait wait! I was not giving you weird looks."

"Yeah… in class… just now—" Natsu explained, " The whole glaring contest thing."

"You started that!"

"What? No way! You started that!" Natsu replied, "I walked into class like usual, and you were just staring at me-"

"I was?" Lucy responded; however, comprehension suddenly dawned on her face, "Oh, that- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare or anything. I was- You were—" The blonde appeared to struggle to find the right words, "You just looked so sad."

Natsu raised his eyebrows at this answer, simply because it was not at all what he had been expecting; that is, no one else had even given the boy a second glance as he walked into the classroom, except for, apparently, this blonde girl. For some reason, this alone gave him a strange feeling; however, after a few moments of silence, Lucy suddenly smiled at him, intensifying this feeling even further.

"Maybe we could bring this all back to class." She said, as she picked items up from the floor, "Shake things up a bit."

Natsu gave her a small smile, "We could even rent a bulldozer."

To his surprise, the blonde actually laughed; a sound that he immediately decided he liked.
"Just shovel tons of art supplies into the classroom? Could you imagine Mr. Clive's face?"

"You kids are going to kill me." Natsu said, imitating their teacher's voice.

"Wow, that's actually spot on."

"If there's one thing I do good, it's impressions." Natsu grinned, "Of Gildarts that is—Well, just that one line."

"That's it? That's your whole act? 'You kids are going to kill me.'"

Natsu laughed at Lucy's impersonation of Gildarts, "It comes in handy."

"I'm sure." She smiled, staring absentmindedly at the mess before them, "Hey, why don't we split this up, and then we'll each only do half of the work."

"What?" Natsu replied, slightly taken aback at the sudden change in subject.

"The supplies," She explained, "For class. I'll grab the poster board, scissors, and construction paper. You can get the markers, rulers, and glue. Yeah, we'll need a least twenty-seven of each." She then added, almost too enthusiastically, "You see, dividing the work will result in higher efficiency."

"Yeah, I see," Natsu said uncertainly, scratching the back of his head, "I forgot you're supposed to be really smart or something."

Lucy hesitated slightly before answering, "Or something- Uh—the markers are over there, by the way… By all the paint and stuff."

"Yeah, I know," Natsu replied, confused by her slight change in tone. He easily shrugged this off, however, as he walked to the other side of the room, surveying the area for his assigned supplies. It wasn't long before he had three haphazard piles spread across the floor, adding to the mess, but he figured that this canceled it out somehow. Pleased with his work, Natsu headed towards Lucy, ready to brag for 'beating' her by finishing his work first; however, the ever so subtle glint of an aluminum lid caught his eye. He followed this glare up to the top shelf of a cabinet; there stood a rather large can, opened slightly so that the vivid color of the paint imprinted on the lid stood out against the metal background. And suddenly, it hit Natsu all at once as the image of certain white haired girl entered his mind.

"Hey, fuchsia is like a bright pink color, right?" Natsu called out to Lucy; she looked up from her work in confusion.

"It's kind of more of a purplish red, why—what are you doing?!" She exclaimed as Natsu lifted himself onto the counter top. He reached up to the top shelf, finding that he only grazed the bottom of the paint can.

"Get down from there!" Lucy shouted, pulling on the back of the boy's shirt, "You're going to hurt yourself!"

"I'm just gonna get this." Natsu stated, still straining to reach his target.

"C'mon! We don't need that!"

"I need that!" He said, turning to push her hand away; however, she simply gripped his shirt tighter, so that he was crouching precariously on the ledge.

"This isn't funny!"

"Just let go—Argh!" Natsu exclaimed; the paint can, now halfway off the shelf, suddenly fell altogether, and in what appeared to be slow motion, the paint showered the two students below in the vivid color. At the same time, Natsu, distracted by the spectacle, lost his balance, and he tumbled down onto the blonde, causing the pair to fall down in a heap.

"I—Uhh-" Natsu sputtered out as he looked down at her; her face expressed only shock. As she looked down to see the remains of her ruined uniform, however, this shock was quickly replaced with anger. Natsu, realizing this, attempted to lift himself off of her.

"You…" She said darkly, and a split second later, she tackled him, assaulting him with a series of punches. Fortunately, Natsu dodged those aimed at his face, but after a few minutes, his arms and shoulders were already feeling bruised. Acting quickly, Natsu grabbed her wrists, and he used this momentum to turn her over, effectively pinning her down.

"Get off of me!"

"Calm down-"

"Natsu! Lucy! What's going on here?!" Mr. Clive exclaimed; he looked incredulously at the room covered in fuchsia paint. His eyes widened when they reached the pair of students lying in, what he presumed to be, a compromising position. "Were you two making out?"

"God, no!" Lucy said, taking this moment to free herself and punch Natsu in the stomach. He attempted to grab her wrists again; however, his quickly turned into a rather pathetic slapping of arms.

"Oh, so you were fighting?" Mr. Clive sighed, "That is just so much worse."

"He started it!"

"No, she attacked me!"

"No way-"

"Argh!"

Natsu and Lucy appeared to have forgotten Mr. Clive's presence altogether as they continued to physically and verbally fight with one another, and the teacher watched as they rolled around on the floor, covering themselves completely in the paint. After a few failed attempts to regain their attention, Mr. Clive simply pinched the bridge of his nose, "You kids are going to kill me."

AN: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I will be posting the next soon!