Hello guys ;) I am so pleased that everyone liked the first chapter of this story so thanks to all those people who reviewed, favorited and/or followed :)

By the way, I may change from Nalu to Rolu or GraLu or back to Nalu later in the story, depending on my mood, but mostly Nalu, so don't worry ;P

Shout out to lucyglitter11, who has supported my every story (and loads of other things besides stories) ;)


Two

In the morning Allen knocked on my door and I was conveniently snapped out of my wonderful dream which centered mainly around my crush as I woke up and groggily asked him to come in.

I was still half tangled in my sheets as he sat down on the edge of the four poster bed I always wanted. The air got unnaturally chilly at night in Magnolia and me being the careful person I was, left the windows open through the night.

I know, I'm proud of me too.

Anyway, Allen said, "You're finally up, Sleeping Beauty." I wonder if Sleeping Beauty ever woke up in a baggy T-shirt and boxer shorts with messed up blonde hair clinging to her sleepy eyes.

"Say what?" I muttered. "How long did I sleep?"

"Long enough to miss school…" Allen informed me, half sternly. "But you have jet lag and we couldn't scream you awake, so Layla told me to let you sleep."

Missed school?

Hey, don't judge me, back off a few inches, okay? I don't generally complain about it, but you know, I did become rather popular unexpectedly yesterday. Let me bask in the fame as long as I can.

"So…" I started.

"So, you get a day off. Now come on, you gotta get up right now!" Allen got up, slamming his hands together.

I sighed. I didn't mind him, but he was not…I detested the idea of thinking of him as my dad.

He noticed my expression and then said softly, "You'll like it here, Lucy," I wish everyone would stop repeating that. "I—know it's hard, but I'll try my best. Even Ad and Zane, I promise you."

A lump formed in my throat as he reached forward to embrace me lightly. It still went weird but hey, the least I could do was co-operate.

"Thanks Al—I mean, Dad." I mumbled against his shoulder.

"You got it," he released me and then smirked. "I won't be kicking you out that soon Lucy, you don't have to worry."

I laughed.

So, yeah, hope you liked the father daughter mushiness and cuteness and all. You're welcome. I'll cut to the part in the noon when the house was like deserted—so much for everyone trying their best—and I was bored like hell.

Technically, there were no ground rules about going to the river, so maybe forgetting to lock the house as I went and roaming around like a tank-top-with-dirty-shorts-in-desperate-need-for-clothes attired female didn't exactly term as sneaking out.

I sat on the brink for a while, running my hands through the soft current. The water was cold and nice, and if I stood in it, I would go around calf deep.

Don't get me wrong. I am a pro at sneaking out to meet Levy and the gang at the café or follow one of Alec's constant impression of there being something 'deadly wrong' about some dude in school in the dead of night, or, if needed, kick the butt of someone annoying me.

The only problem was, with a sweltering thirty seven degrees in Magnolia, all I could think about was not getting fried into a miniature Lucy fry with extra blonde hair.

So don't blame me if, after Mirajane had gotten over at school, called me on the home telephone and asked me to meet them, and I accidentally :

a) forgot to lock the house behind me

b) conveniently left the phone hanging on the table, set apart from its hold, so there was no accessible way to the house anymore, as no one else (or their cell phones) was at home.

Heh. Oops. It happens, you know?


Yeah, okay. You're all 'How's Magnolia, Lucy?', I expect.

Well. Thanks for asking. Magnolia is big and it's hot. Matter solved.

Fine! Technically, my reflex fussy reaction towards being made to settle down into an unknown town with shrouds over corners unknown aside, it was a pretty place. Downtown turned out to be this huge cheerful place, with a colorful splash of some house or shop or wreath of flowers which seemed to be galore in this new place in every direction.

There were all those cool pavement cafes and pizzerias with a fab look to the forest a few miles off from the upper, open windows. In the middle of the two stone pavements on either side, there was huge stretch of marble and green-with-random-flowers where you could actually hang if you weren't insane enough to want to burst an artery in the heat.

And Mirajane had conveniently forgot to mention the part where the rest of the group would also be there.

Dude, back off.

My point is, Mira was the sweet and friendly one. Kudos, Strauss girl. But her sister, and the others weren't exactly that way….so what, the new girl can't get shy just because she's wearing black boots in the sun?

At any rate, I actually began to settle down as we talked once we were inside the air conditioning of the pizzeria. The flow was natural, with Gray making one joke after another. Lisanna, Mira's sister, believe it or not, turned out to be the person I chatted with the most. Same music, same problem with brothers, same dislike for shopping—oh bless this girl.

"Why didn't you come? Mira thought you were sick or something, because you didn't answer the first time we called.'

"Oh," I said, fingering my Coke. "I was outside, by the river."

That awkward moment where everyone stares at you and you realize how lame you are followed.

"We got a nature lover," Gray teased. He had spiky black hair with ocean blue eyes, which had this gleam of mischief passing through them every other second. Mira and Lisanna had same light blue eyes; just the younger girl had short hair.

Cana—well let's just say she had the figure, the dark brown hair, the grey eyes, the tan and the humour and the hold for alcohol any girl would kill for. Oh and er, Laxus…um, hmm. Blonde, weird scars all over, angry looking, doesn't talk. Yeah, that's about right.

"Uh no, I was bored, so I went to see the river."

"Honey," Gray winked at me. "Normal people play with their PS4, Xbox, watch TV, or eat out when they're bored. Not sit beside by the water."

Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Ignore him," she helped me out. "I do, and it always helps."

"So why didn't you come?" Laxus grunted. He mostly grunted to me.

"I had jet lag, I guess. My stepfather couldn't scream me awake," I quoted.

There was this obviousaw-she-has-a-stepfather-let's-change-topics hush over us, as Cana hurried onto what kind of boys I liked. I never got to answer because at that moment the pizzas arrived and to hell with talk.

There was, however, a point where Gray accidentally started to talk with his mouth full of pepperoni and extra cheese pizza and a great hunk of saliva coated cheese fell on the guy behind him.

Who, by the way, looked like a pro wrestler, I might add.

I'll save you the gory details.

Kidding, kidding. Sheesh.

There was a missing limb though.

Sorry, I'll stop.

Watching Gray, Laxus, Mira, Cana and Lisanna, I suddenly had this odd feeling of really, truly belonging here. It would all be, well, natural someday.

Damn, did I miss Levy.

It was around six when Mira had stopped asking me, aghast, why I did not prefer Mango to Vera Moda, no matter how much I tried to explain I found no difference in both brands.

They were dresses. They looked good. I didn't have money to buy them.

There. Solved.

My almost boisterous mood, after I had traded numbers with everyone in the group and tolerated the "You don't have a cell phone?! Teen, much?", dissipated as I walked through the front door of the lit house of Allen and the jocks.

Sorry, Allen and Adam and Zane.

Mom caught me first, and boy did I get it good. I mean, come on, second day here, and already my stepbrothers are watching me get scolded for leaving the house unlocked for three straight hours and freaking both my parents out by leaving the phone inaccessible.

Believe it or not, it was Allen who cut in calmly. "It's alright, Layla," he whispered in her ear. "She didn't do a crime."

Then to me he said, "But next time Lucy, do remember there are stuff in this house that can be stolen." And then he winked at me which meant the worst was over.

"Yeah, sorry Allen," I said. Then my Mom dirty glared me and I said hurriedly, "Dad! I meant sorry dad."

Adam was bored already, so he switched to texting again. Zane shuffled up to me as I trudged up the stairs and to my front door and said, "I could lend you Black Ops, if you'll feel better."

I ruffled his hair which he hated. "Nah, thanks, Zane."

Okay, fine. Brothers are alright, I guess. Whatever.


On Wednesday, when I was back in Jadeites High School (JHS), I had my first Biology lesson. Lisanna happened to be a grade lower, sadly, but Can turned out to be there with me.

As I walked towards the paneled-with-big-man's-stuff room, she greeted me at the door and then stopped short with a light gasp.

"What?!" I demanded. I half expected Zeref to stand at the back of the classroom and go all, "Yes, Ms. Heartfilia. Detention for getting a cheap bag and not a Gucci."

But Cana—who was dressed in this pretty summery printed white dress looking way too good on a hottie like her—grabbed my right arm and tugged towards the doorway again.

"That's him!" she whispered excitedly. My blonde hair, which I had tied up in a messy, unattractive bun today began to come loose as she pawed at my shoulders and caught the loose strands.

"Who's him?" I said exasperatedly. Dude, I came for a Biology class. Let's go, snap and done, hup, hup!

Cana pointed subtly towards this totally nonchalant boy with messed up rosy hair and a angled face with cast down, I'm sure, onyx eyes.

"Natsu?" I asked her. "What about him?"

She looked at me as I was insane. "What about him?" She echoed. "Oh of course, you're new, I forgot. Well he's the best football player, he's already won us the two championships, he's a burning 100 degree C, and he's single."

"Uh huh."

She was clearly mad at my lack of interest until I added, "Well, he asked me out."

"He what?!"

At the precisely peaceful moment between two girls, the teacher walked in. His eyes narrowed at Cana Alberona, as she blushed in embarrassment at her outburst.

Miraculously, this dude was not another Zeref. He simply glared at the two of us until I found it safe to turn and sit—right beside Natsu.

Back in my hometown, one girl gushing to another about the boy she swooned over and the other one informing her that the boy asked her out would have resulted in an immediate 'I saw him first, bitch!'

Cana was all sunflowers and daisies. "Lucy, go for it!" she pumped her fist excitedly. Apparently in this town, the friend getting the boy had the same reaction, and I couldn't help but find a new admiration for this girl.

How, well, pure.

So anyway, I nudged the bored—and looking good, since hot boys usually do when they have a bored, absent look—Natsu Dragneel with my fingers.

He looked up at my touch and then shifted to a vaguely reminiscent expression. Then he went all, "Yeah?"

I swear I could've punched him right there.

"Natsu," I gave a soft smile, speaking as coolly as possible, regretting my hairstyle. "Wanna hang with us at lunch today?"

"I'm sorry, uh…Luna, right?"

Oh heavens above.

"Lucy," I smiled through gritted teeth. "It's Lucy, Natsu."

Somehow, I liked the way I said his name. Na-tsu. Natsu. NA-tsu. Natsu.

I know, I'm hopeless.

"Yes, Lucy!" Natsu gave me a half grin, though he was clearly thinking of something else, obvious from his distracted eyes.

"So, do you want to?"

"I don't mind," He said, and I felt like one of those gushing girls after the jocks and the jock turned out to be one of those you know, good-from-inside-sick-of-popularity ones and agreed politely.

My Biology book and sheet were propped up against the chair in front as I carefully copied the diagram we had been assigned, but after a few minutes I looked up at Natsu again. "So," I started lamely again. "Are we still on? This Friday, I mean."

"What about Friday?"

Give me a baseball bat. I hit pretty well.

"You know, uh, that day in the car? You wanted to um, go out on Friday night?"

Natsu hardly looked confused now, but his expression and his next words clearly stated… "Did I?"

…that he had hoped I would forget.

"Yes you did," I said patiently. Okay fine, not patiently, but I was close enough.

"Oh," he gave me an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Luna—er, Lucy, but I have plans that day. I forgot about it that day."

One thing which I have notice into every boy who turns you down is that they can never think of a proper excuse and always come up with the 'I have plans' in the heat of the moment.

Not that I have ever asked out, but I have been a witness to one too many turn downs.

"But thanks, for that day," he said again, trying to make amends.

I didn't speak to him anymore. I know, childish, but honestly, you save someone's life and they ask you out as a thank you and then ditch you at the last moment? Ouch.

But then, I got asked out by a totally hot guy on my first day at Jadeites. What had I been thinking?

Later, Cana said, "I'm going to beat his ass to the ground," and I put a restraining order on her.

"I thought you had the hots for him," I winked at her.

She glared at me with her sharp grey eyes. "Heh. I think I saw why I shouldn't, today."

Laden with a towering pile of homework—I mean, dude, it's the second day!—I reached home to find Adam and Zane had come home with Crab and left me with no ride again.

"Guys, please remember I don't have a ride back home without that crock!" I complained as I dumped my bag down. I had hitched a ride with Gray sadly, and spending a car ride and listening to his nonsensical jokes and just-for-fun flirting was not fun.

Free advice when it comes to riding with Gray: Don't.

My stepbrothers, on a normal cue, would have sought that moment as the ideal time to say sorry. Instead, calling Crab a crock pissed Adam off.

"Don't call her that," he said in a flat out monotone. That's how he usually spoke, all drained of energy and anger, yet the irritation in his voice was clear.

And by the way, I might add, I really have this urge to kick Adam when he calls Crab her. Even at the wedding I had liked Zane better, but damn Adam!

"Well." I said. "What should call that lump of metal?"

That did it. Adam lunged forward to grab my arm and probably give me a lesson on how crocks and Crab were like Adam and sensible, but I punched him in the gut before he did that.

Uh, reflex reaction. "Sorry," I said, horrified, as the older brother bent double. "I just, got used to it, I guess."

"You punch every boy?!" he demanded, trying to straighten up and recover.

The awkward silence that followed was broken by Zane; "Cool!" He exclaimed. "Wicked cool!"

"Wicked all right," Adam grumbled. Then he addressed me with a dirty look. "Fine, we'll remember to pick you up tomorrow."

"It's just that, we're not used to you being around sis, so," Zane explained.

I had a total weird feeling when Zane said sis. Technically, stepsister, not sis.

"Right," I coughed, a slow blush creeping up my cheeks in embarrassment. "Call me Lucy," I mumbled to the ground as I hefted my bag up and made my way to the stairs.

Only to crash back down the stairs and land on the floor again.