Hey guys, I updated finally! Thanks to lucyglitter11 and GoldenRoseTanya for reviewing, following and favouriting :)

Chapter Two- Flames Burn Thrice

I wiped my sweaty face on my sleeve and shrugged my jacket off, now welcoming the cool, wintry air as I tied it around my waist. My bag was lying under the wooden bench instead of on it outside the changing room, and from the looks of it someone had kicked it aside while my class had been having Sports in the last period.

Sighing, I began to gather up my books, spare sheets of paper, a box of nachos, an MP3 player, a folded photo of a smiling girl…wait, nachos and a picture?

"This is not my bag!" I muttered under my breath, frowning down at the box of food. Then I realized; someone must be having the same canvas bag I have, and the same black color.

I looked around the silent changing room once, caught sight of only two gossiping girls inside, and then turned the bag to see if it had a name. I needed my own bag back, and I was sure this person had mine by mistake. No name was there; I clicked in frustration and then moved away from the changing rooms, back towards the grounds.

I was feeling hot after a heated game of basketball, and I'd had to return the balls back to the closet so I was naturally the last kid to come back and almost everyone had gone back.

Suddenly, I heard an exhilarated cry of triumph followed by the words; "What's wrong now, you scared?"

Walking around a few trees, I saw two boys standing metres away from each other, bruised and covered in cuts but glaring at each other.

Thinking for a minute, I grabbed the unknown bag up and began to quickly walk towards the school gates. There were some more shouts and sounds of guys fighting, and I didn't want to get involved.

I was almost there, and I had just reached out to push one of the long bars to get out, when a burning sensation met with my arm and I fell back in surprise.

Horrified, I looked at my left arm to see a gaping hole in the place of where a part of the fabric of my long sleeve had been, and there was a rapidly increasing, angry red mark on my skin. The bag fell to the ground beside me, but I was still at a loss as to how I got burnt just like that.

On instinct, I scrambled up to my feet and crossed the path to go hide behind one of the huge trees with brick seats around them. It was right in front of where I had seen those boys.

There was a tall, pale guy with blonde hair and arrogant face who was facing my tree, and another boy who had his back to me so I couldn't see his face, but he had…pink hair. And for some reason, it didn't look weird.

"You lost the bet, come on! Thirty punches Eucliffe, and you can't protest, remember?" the pink-haired boy laughed out.

"Like hell I won't protest! You think I'll sit here and let you beat me up?" the blonde, who I presumed was Eucliffe retorted, cracking his knuckles.

I was getting bored of their cries and frequent 'hit and dodge', when something happened that made my eyes go wide and my lips part.

Crackling and dancing in liveliness, was fire enclosed all around the other boy's held up fist. It was like his hand was on fire, like his fingers were the embers from which the flames had erupted, and the boy didn't let out a single cry of pain. Instead, he laughed and aimed straight for Eucliffe.

Now I was beginning to feel dizzy. This time, Eucliffe was on fire; there was some blinding white heat emanating from him which I could feel clearly in the cold weather, and then the image was slightly hazy as the boys collided with each other.

When my eyes adjusted again, there was a heaving Eucliffe crouching on the ground, only one eye open and shooting daggers up at his enemy while the other was squeezed tightly in pain.

"Next time, Dragneel." he barked, turning his head away.

The pink-haired guy ran a hand through his hair—his hand was no longer aflame—and replied; "Can't wait to beat you up again!"

Eucliffe grunted and raced away. I thought he was going to pass me, but he simply jumped on and ran over the school wall.

Shaken, I put a hand over my heart and turned away, momentarily forgetting about the remaining boy. The blonde had called him Dragneel…that was an unusual name.

"Who are you?" I gasped and whirled to my right at the sharp voice behind me.

Dragneel was taller than me, and he had a strong, tanned figure with spiky hair sticking out in every direction. His curious and suspicious onyx eyes were narrowed down at me at present, his locks covering his left eye stylishly.

And I temporarily forgot how to speak; "Uh…I…oh….bah…"

The boy stared at me for a second, before he cracked up. I was amazed; just a few awkward moments back he had been looking at me as if I had committed a crime, and now his serious face was replaced by a childish one as he rolled around in laughter when I couldn't form a comprehendible sentence.

My eyes twitched in irritation and I yelled, "What's wrong with you? It's impolite to laugh at a person like that, Pinky!"

Dragneel sobered up, moved away from the tree he had been leaning against and scowled at me.

"It's salmon, not pink! Blondie!" he added.

"Well, it sure looks like pink! Why did you dye it in the first place?"

"It's natural!"

"Oh yeah, I believe that."

"But it is!"

"Sure, and I'm the Queen of Fiore."

Dragneel stopped in surprise, and scratched his head. "You're a queen?"

I suppressed my laugh and said, "I was being sarcastic. Fiore doesn't have a queen, idiot!"

"Weirdo!"

"Pinky!"

"I told you, it's salmon!"

I was out of breath and we were back to square one with our verbal fight. I glanced at my watch to see it was almost four and I still hadn't found my bag which had my cell-phone in it.

But then a more pressing thought occurred to me, and I remembered why I was daring to talk to someone at school anyway. Fearfully, I stepped away from Dragneel.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I didn't answer.

Dragneel frowned at me and advanced towards me; "What's wrong?" he repeated, a little more firmly.

I didn't know how to start, so I blurted out without thinking—"Your hand…it was on fire…and you're not burnt…"

I was freaked out completely now; just what was this guy? Looking up, I saw him frozen, before he composed himself and looked into my eyes.

"I think you were hallucinating, girl." I felt sure that he thought I hadn't seen his shocked reaction at my words.

"No." I was surprised at my calm voice, but I continued. "No I was not. You did something with that other boy, and there was something wrong with him too!"

Dragneel was a good actor; I had to give him that. He smiled casually at me, and said; "Come on, is it possible for a person not to get burnt by fire? It must have been a trick of the light."

Okay, now his logic was running out. Pointing at the twilight sky, I said, "The sun was setting!"

"You're just annoying me now…what's your name again?" Dragneel asked abruptly.

I was in some sort of dilemma for a few seconds, before I replied decisively; "I'm Valora Raizel."

He blinked and moved a little towards the trees again, as I untied my jacket and put it on, feeling cold once more. But even then, there was some strange...heat radiating from Dragneel which I couldn't put my finger on.

"Val-what? What does that mean anyway?" It was lucky I remembered the meaning of those two names, because I had found them out after I came across the names in the first place.

"Valora—brave, and Raizel—rose." I answered. "But stop changing the subject. Explain that fire thing; was it a…trick? A game of some sort?"

"Yeah! A game, Eucliffe found it and it's so cool!" he pounced on the excuse at once, as if I couldn't understand. But I realized, that even if hypothetically it was true, how did Eucliffe go over the wall like some feline?

"And what about his gymnastics over the school wall?" I dead-panned.

Dragneel ran his hand through his locks again, and said, "He's cracked, that guy. And flexible, so I hardly bother when he jumps about all the time." Now that was just plain stupid; at least a more creative answer would've suited.

I rolled my eyes, still apprehensive of this guy, and decided to leave him alone and get back home already. Back to that prison of a palace as I called it.

"Oh hey, Valora! I'm Natsu, by the way. Natsu Dragneel." It was weird being called Valora, and Natsu may have been like Levy and not shied away from me, but I had decided not to take that risk. So I nodded at Natsu in acknowledgement.

"I'm going to find out about that fire thing, though." I muttered to myself, walking back near the gates, when Natsu shouted behind my back again.

"There's nothing to find out, I tell you!"

I stopped dead, and then slowly turned around. "How did you hear me?" I demanded, because honestly I was pretty far from him now.

He shrugged, and then looked over my shoulder. "I have sensitive ears—hey, is that my bag?" Natsu ran like a lightning bolt past me and tossed the black bag I had left onto his shoulder.

I went over to him, and said, "Well, do you know where my bag can be? It's the same as yours, so…"

"I had thought I left my bag behind the changing rooms…maybe there?" Oh very helpful, Natsu.

Thinking I might as well go search once, I took one step towards the gym again, but Natsu jogged past me again. "I'll get it!"

Uh-oh. Major uh-oh. My bag had my name on it! "No, it's alright!" I called, running after the boy. When I reached the gym and inside, he was holding my bag up with a questioning look on his face. "Is it this one?"

"Yeah," I panted, taking it from him. How in the world had it arrived here, when I clearly left it outside on the bench?

My phone was merrily ringing away inside, so I snatched it out and this time I actually walked out into the grounds and outside the school gates with a nod of thanks to Natsu.

"Lucy, what do you think you are doing? Where are you? How many times have I told you, it's not safe for you to be outside without Loke after evening for you?" my dad was shouting at me over the phone and I held it away from my ear.

This is was weird; he hardly talked to me or called me, because he would always be out somewhere, or shut himself in his room so I almost never met him which was good enough for me.

"I'm coming." I replied shortly, before switching the darn phone off. I glanced back towards the grounds again, and saw Natsu holding up two hands engulfed in fire with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Thrice now," I mumbled as I started to walk slowly towards my house. "Three times I have seen him making flames out of nothing."

So, I'll probably be updating pretty late, coz I have school work. and two more stories I'm writing, so see you! :)