Students passed by, keeping their distance. They paid little to no attention to the new kid but they already knew to stay away. It must have been something in his aura or the way he dressed. It had always been like that since he could remember. He was the loner, the outcast, the weirdo. He was Laxus.
Laxus trudged up the stairs towards the entrance of the high school. New year, new school. How many times had he repeated this process? He'd attended so many schools in the past few years he'd already lost count. It wasn't his fault, most of the time. What would you expect from a military family? It was drilled (hehe) into his head not to put roots down anywhere. Laxus walked through the students and increased the volume on his headphones to drown out the crowd.
In typical high school fashion, the principal's office was located right off of the front entrance. Laxus entered and stated his purpose to the bored office worker without bothering to remove his headphones. He sat in a chair and waited. How many times had he sat in these same chairs in other schools? The chairs were always the same. Cheap red plastic ripping at the seams, contrasting with faded metal arms that were always too cold to the touch. Laxus relaxed into the chair and closed his eyes in wait.
After what felt like an eternity had passed, Laxus opened his eyes. He was met with two big, chocolate brown eyes that were staring at him expectantly. Those brown eyes belonged to a petite girl with long blonde hair. Her hair was wild, pieces were sticking up creating a makeshift halo around her head. She seemed to glow in the dull office.
Laxus pulled off his headphones and looked at the girl. "Can I help you?" He asked.
"If you're name is Laxus Dreyar, you sure can." The girl replied bubbly.
"I am...:" Laxus hesitated. What did this girl want with him?
"Perfect!" She cheered and pulled him up to his feet. She was surprisingly strong, pulling him out of the office with ease. "I'll be showing you around to your classes. Principal Makarov is quite busy so he appointed me to do his dirty work. Uh… not that you're dirty work or anything." She giggled to herself, casting a side glance at Laxus who was following behind.
"Right…" Laxus said, pulling his headphones back onto his head.
"My name is Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia! I welcome you to Magnolia High. It's really not all that special, but it's home." She beamed at him.
Laxus let his headphones hang around his neck. Lucy began babbling about some history of Magnolia High, he found her voice easy to listen to. It was soft and melodic. She didn't seem to be afraid of him like most other students were. She didn't seem to notice anything different about him. He wasn't used to another person his age talking so freely with him, let alone a girl. But she was probably like this with everyone, he thought. Lucy stopped in her tracks causing Laxus to run smack into her, he grunted in surprise.
"Shh," Lucy hushed him. "Follow me."
Lucy started towards a pair of doors in full stealth mode. She tiptoed quietly, exaggerating her movements. She looked through the door window and snickered to herself quietly. She turned towards Laxus and beckoned him forward, pointing to the window. Laxus approached the window and peered through. At first it appeared to be an empty classroom but then he spotted the janitor dancing with his broom. He could hear Brush Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark playing through the door. Lucy was cracking up beside Laxus, causing him to to crack a smile.
"Our janitor loves to dance. I always catch him mid-tango." She laughed, walking away from the door and pulled Laxus along with her.
"He's got good music taste." Laxus stated.
"Oh yeah? You like rock and roll?' She asked him.
"It's all I listen to." He replied.
Lucy smiled and led him to his first class. The high school wasn't too large, it was all one story. The classrooms were organized by subject, so it was easy to remember where to go. Lucy had informed him of some insider information on each of his teachers. Lucy lead him to his current class and wished him luck.
"I'll see you at lunch!" She called to him as she skipped back to the office.
Lunch? She was actually planning on seeing him again? Laxus wrinkled his brow in confusion. He wasn't used to having someone go out of their way to be so nice to him. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and entered the classroom.
Twenty pairs of eyes followed him as he walked in the classroom and up to the teacher. The whispers started before he reached the man in the front of the classroom. They were expected, but they never got easier to endure. The teacher welcomed Laxus and pointed him to his new desk. This teacher spared him of the embarrassment of introducing himself to the class, Laxus could only hope the others will be as kind.
The whispering stopped as he walked to his desk. No one dared to make eye contact as he moved through the rows. This was the treatment he expected from his peers. It's what he had grown accustomed to. The bubbly blonde faded from his thoughts as quickly as she had entered, being replaced with facts about Fiore's history.
His first class at Magnolia high passed by without a problem. Laxus found it ironic that his first class in this new town was focused on its history. It's not like it mattered to him anyways. Hundreds of other history classes clashed in his mind. Was it Bosco or Fiore that went to war with the Alvarez Empire? His father would be disappointed in how jumbled the history of the world was in his mind. After attending so many different high schools, it all started to mix together.
The bell signaled the end of class and his peers rushed out of the classroom. The blond waited for the classroom to empty before he decided to leave and fight his way through the hallways. Headphones on, Laxus navigated to the cafeteria and made his way towards the back. He slid his backpack off onto an empty table and plopped down in a chair. He pulled out today's lunch and ate in peace. No one bothered to join him once they saw the headphones. They screamed their message loud and clear: Leave. Me. Alone.
A tray slid into Laxus' vision. Apparently the headphones weren't as effective as he'd hoped. Just as he was about to object to the intrusion, Lucy sat down across from him. She beamed at him and took a bite of her cafeteria pizza. Lucy didn't try to start a conversation with him so Laxus didn't remove his headphones. They sat there silence, eating their lunches separately. Lucy looked so content eating her lunch in silence. With how chatty she had been that morning, Laxus was surprised.
He didn't mind her company, which was something he wasn't used to. She might be a little out there but she seemed to take an interest in him, and Laxus wasn't going to object. He didn't want to find out what Lucy was like when she was told no. The girl finished her lunch quickly as if she hadn't eaten in days. It's no wonder why she wasn't talking. She didn't have enough time for words between bites. Just as quickly she arrived, she was gone again leaving Laxus to eat his lunch in confusion.
As he sat there wondering why Lucy had joined him in the first place, she sat back down, this time in the chair directly next to him. She gave him the same look from this morning in the office. It was a look that said "take those headphones off or so help me." It was same look he got from his teachers on a daily basis. That look was the one thing that stayed consistent through each different school. He slid his headphones off so they hung around his neck.
"What are you listening to?" Lucy asked him.
"Bohemian Rhapsody." He answered as he turned up the volume on his phone so she could hear.
Lucy leaned in closer to hear properly. "Ah, a classic." she mused.
She began to quietly sing along with Freddie Mercury, matching his tone perfectly. Laxus stared down at the blonde in surprise, her voice was angelic. It was like nothing he'd ever heard before. Even the king of vocals, Freddie Mercury, couldn't compare to the ethereal voice coming from the girl sitting beside him. Lucy knew every word. When the song finished, Laxus was speechless. This tiny ball of energy just sang one of the world's best vocalists under the table.
"That's one of my favorite songs to sing," Lucy smiled at him. "Looks like it's time to go to class!" With that she jumped up and ran off without another word, leaving Laxus confused for the second time in thirty minutes.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Laxus went through the remainder of the school day without a hitch. Nobody paid him much attention, not like he thought they would in the first place. It was just how he prefered it, or so he told himself. He walked down the packed hallways, headphones on as usual. Time to go home, Laxus was eager to trade the packed hallways of the high school for the empty house that was awaiting his arrival. Being a military kid had it's perks, at least that's what he kept telling himself. Laxus was alone most of the time and had been for as long as he could remember.
A chilly wind greeted Laxus as he left the high school. It hadn't yet snowed during this winter season which, from what he heard, was very odd for Magnolia. It was only January, so mother nature had plenty of time to make it happen. Laxus wasn't a fan of the snow especially because he usually had to walk to and from school in it. Snow or not, right now Laxus was glad he had his fur trimmed coat to battle the harsh bite of the wind.
About a block away from the school, Laxus felt a tug on his coat. He spun around defensively ready to take care of the crazy person who dared touch him. Beside him was a red nosed Lucy who looked as though she ran the whole way just to catch up with him. Her rapid breaths came out in small puffs of smoke in the frigid air. Laxus pulled off his headphones so he could hear what she was saying.
"Hey! I had been calling your name for minutes. You sure do walk fast." She smiled up at him.
"Sorry, headphones." Laxus replied.
"You walk home too? I'm heading this way. Do you mind if I join you?" Lucy asked him.
This girl really doesn't quit, does she? Laxus thought to himself. He shrugged and started walking again. Lucy took that as a yes and followed after him. It didn't take long for Lucy to start talking up a storm. She didn't talk about anything in particular but Laxus didn't mind. He enjoyed listening to her speak. Her voice had a soothing quality that Laxus had never experienced before. Well, he'd never actually experienced anyone holding enough interest in him to talk to him for longer than ten seconds.
Laxus listened as Lucy talked all the way to her house. She only lived a few blocks away. He couldn't decide if that would be a blessing or a curse but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.
"I'll see you tomorrow!" Lucy called to Laxus as she ran up the steps to her porch. With a quick wave she entered her house.
He slipped on his headphones and continued on his way. Laxus was smiling to himself as he walked away. That girl… was something. She definitely made a lasting first impression. It was as though he had been hit by a typhoon of blonde hair and kindness. His first day at Magnolia High didn't turn out anything like he had imagined it would.