That Thing About Love

A week after her first day at the university, Lucy already felt the stress and responsibilities studying and living on her own brought along. Cooking, cleaning up, going grocery shop... all by herself. And it felt lonely, without all the maids and servants of her old mansion. But it felt nice too, nevertheless. Independence was one of the many things she had dreamed of a long time ago. And now she had it.

She opened her fridge and took out the ingredients she need to cook banana bread, her favourite. Humming to the song she last listened on her iPod, she remembered when her mom used to do the same: sang while cooked -she had a great voice- for her, since Lucy wasn't capable of studying with an empty stomach. Lucy smiled softly at the memories, and pushed them in the back of her mind before tears could reach her eyes.

When Lucy finished it, she sat at her table and continued her studies about Creative Literature as she ate. It was a bright Saturday afternoon and her first weekend at college, and she spent it watching two episodes of Games of Thrones after breakfast and the rest of the day in the same way she was now. She sure missed her summer marathons of her favorite series.

Forty five minutes later, her phone vibrated. Putting papers away, she grabbed it and read the text.

'Hey Lucy, wanna go to Fairy Tail tonight?' It was Levy, the closest person Lucy had so far. Sure, she had met others, like Gajeel -soon-to-be Levy's boyfriend-, Erza Scarlet -the intimidating yet sweet red haired-, Jet and Droy -Levy's followers and friends- and many others. Lucy felt comfortable with them, they sure made her laugh with their weirdness.

'Fairy Tail?' Lucy texted back. The answer came back too quickly.

'You know I forget you're new here. It's a great bar. All of us are going, you should too. To know the city. It'll be nice!' Levy wrote. This girl knew to convince others.

Lucy gulped the last slice of the bread and sighed. Sure, she wanted to go out with all of them, but she had so much homework already. After telling the blue-haired this, Lucy met a new side of her friend.

'You're not staying all night alone. Lu, even I am going and I am not a party person at all. But this bar is magical, and even more if you come with friends. I know you met them only a few days ago, but I assure you, you're not regretting this. And if you still refuse, I'm gonna go to your apartment and bring Erza with me. You don't want to see her mad, now do you?'

Lucy shook her head. 'Fine, I'll go.'

'Great! I'm gonna pick you up at eight, okay?'

After agreeing, Lucy checked the clock. 6:30 p.m. Well, shit. Lucy picked up her study stuff and put it all in her room. She left the dirty plate in the sink to wash it up after she came home and went to her bathroom to take a shower.

With the hot water pouring her body, it was difficult for her to know the time that had passed. After the stressing day, she felt how her muscles relaxed and sighed in pleasure.

When she came out, the clock marked 7:20. She was running out of time. Checking her wardrobe to know what to wear, she realized she had no idea what type of bar Fairy Tail was and what she should wear. Cursing for not asking earlier, she went to her small living room with the towel still wrapped around her body and picked up her phone again. Expressing her doubts to Levy, the blue-haired said;

'I'll be with you in ten, girls emergencies need precise answers'

Smiling, Lucy thew a extra big hoodie that reached above her knees she had bought a year ago for comfort.

In exact ten minutes, her bell ring sounded and she opened the door to find a smiling Levy at the other side. Her close to be friend was wearing a cute, dazzling teal-green dress, boasting an ornate cut out-detailed neckline adorned with rows of shimmering brassy beads. Her hair was tied up with a lace, and her eyes had black eyeliner while her mouth was bright red. Simply put, Levy was stunning tonight.

"Levy!" Lucy exclaimed. "You look beautiful!"

Levy chuckled, but Lucy didn't miss the red of her cheeks. "Thanks Lu," she said. Her brown eyes then turned serious. "Let's get you dressed!"

"Sorry for making you come earlier," Lucy said as they walked towards her small room.

Levy waved it off with her hand. "It's nothing, really," she said. "Gajeel was getting insupportable anyways,"

Lucy looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. "What? DO YOU LIVE WITH GAJEEL?" she freaked out. She sure didn't expect it. Lucy thought they weren't dating yet.

Levy's cheeks heated up considerably. "Wait, no!" she clarified. "I just had to pick him up too because his car's broken!"

"So you were with him, in your car, all this time, alone?" Lucy asked. Now that she knew what was really happening, she just wanted to tease her a little.

But Levy was beyond flustered now. Her cheeks seemed two mature tomatoes, her mouth gasping and her eyes opened in disbelief. "I-We-You're wrong! Gajeel and I would never..." she stopped when Lucy couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing. The blonde was practically rolling in the floor, hugging her stomach.

When Lucy calmed down, she saw Levy puffing out her cheeks, her hands on her hips and her annoyed frown. But her eyes were a little amused and a lot embarrassed. Lucy stood up and grinned towards Levy.

"I was just joking," Lucy tried, bitting her lip to supress another round of laughter.

"I know," Levy sighed. "I hate you,"

"I love you, Levy" Lucy said. It didn't seem like she just met seven days ago. She felt as she was talking to her all-life best friend.

Levy shook her head and opened the wardrobre, starting to watch the clothes. "We should continue with the task at hand, Gajeel's gonna get mad if we're not there by eight."

Lucy sat in her bed and smiled. "Admit I got you there. I've known you guys for days, but it's so obvious you're head over heels for each other."

"Luuuucy," Levy whined, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." Lucy lifted her hands in surrender, but she didn't miss how the blush didn't disappear.

"Ooh, what about this?" Levy said after some minutes, holding in her hands a blue plain spaghetti strap chiffon top and Rag & Bone's black denim mini skirt. "You'll look really sexy, and there are quite handsome guys in Fairy Tail,"

Lucy chuckled. "If you say so," she got up and grabbed the outfit from Levy's hand, eyeing it. "Black heels will do it, right?" she said.

Levy nodded. "You're gonna break some hearts tonight," she joked. Lucy laughed along her.

"Look who's talking," Levy rolled her eyes at it.

"Well, I'm gonna wait in the car for you to get ready. Maybe Gajeel's friend is there, and I don't want them to break my precious car. It's the dark blue one!" Levy called as she exited the apartment, leaving Lucy by her own again.

Checking the clock, she noticed she had only twenty minutes to get ready. She hurried up in getting dressed with the clothes Levy picked. Once ready, she applied dark eyeliner to her chocolate eyes, light blue mask and cherry red lipstick. She let her blonde hair down.

Lucy grabbed her phone, jacket and wallet, before checking herself one last time in the mirror. Well, Levy was right when she said she would look good on it. She felt comfortable and sexy, if she may say. It wasn't vanity, but in the environment she grew up, she learnt to appreciate her own looks. It meant everything in that world.

Lucy shook her head, pushing her thoughts away before they consumed her. It was past, and past it would stay.

She walked down the aisle up the elevator. She lived in floor ten of the building, though she wanted a lower one at first, but they were all occupied. The doors opened and...

Fuck.

It was Lucy's first thought when she saw the mean employee of the coffee shop near her house and college, the one who treated her nastily and shamelessly stared at her boobs. Normal people didn't remember who attended them in a shop last week, but it was impossible for Lucy to forget his face, his eyes, his pink hair and that scar in his neck.

He wore a V-neck white shirt with a black leather jacket thrown carelessly over his broad shoulders, jeans and militar boots. He was leaning against the wall, his muscular arms crossed in his chest. He had a bored expression until he saw her.

Surprisingly, he seemed to remember her too. The moment his eyes laid on hers, his opened in surprise and Lucy could swear his mouth opened one centimeter before shutting close again.

Lucy wasn't sure how much time passed until he spat, "Are you gonna get in here or not?"

She snapped back to reality with his rudeness, and remembering the way he treated her the first time, she frowned and walked into the elevator with the little dignity she still had left. She stood the furthest she could from him, crossing her arms under her cleavage, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

"There's no need to be so rude," she said once he pressed the button and the doors closed. Probably not her smartest move, but she couldn't help it.

Natsu hissed. Oh yeah, that was his name, Lucy remembered. It was a long ride until ground floor, and the horrible music that resonated didn't help the situation at all. Seriously, she would complain about it with the owner.

Still, she couldn't believe he lived in the same apartment building of her. In all week, she hadn't seen him, nor in college or here. She didn't visit the coffee shop again either, though she desired to ate that chocolate cake again. Maybe their week's schedules don't let them see each other? Nevertheless, the shock was still there.

About five floors down, Lucy noted Natsu's penetrating eyes into her. It made her uncomfortable. She shifted the weight on her feet, but two floors lower, he still watched her attentively. Clenching her fist, she turned around at him and saw, in fact, his eyes fixed on her. It made her hesitate for a moment, but she glared at him nonetheless.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Well, you have the biggest ch-" Natsu sweatdropped under Lucy's hard glaze. "-eeks I've ever seen."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. She wasn't a fool and he was a very bad liar, but she gave him credits for the quick back up.

The doors opened and they got out at the same time. Both decided to ignore the brush of their shoulders. They both walked hurriedly towards the main doors, almost in unison. They were dangerously walking towards the same direction...

Lucy spotted the dark blue car, and Levy and Gajeel inside. There wasn't any friend she didn't recognize. Levy was sitting in the conductor's seat with Gajeel on the copilot one, and they seemed to be arguing something. Long forgotten the pink haired male, Lucy reached out her hand to open the backseat door and...

Her hand got covered with another one, much more big, calloused and warm.

Lucy turned her head to the left with wide eyes, and saw what she sure didn't expect.

Natsu.

He was right at her side, looking at her with equal shocked expression. Lucy noticed he had not retired his hand off hers.

"The fuck..." he said quietly, yet loud enough for Lucy to hear. Or maybe it was because they were just at three inches away, their breaths mixing with one another's.

Infinite seconds later, Natsu put his hands in his pocket, leaving Lucy's one exposed to the wind. She shivered, not really sure if it was for the cold.

"Levy's friend?" Natsu asked.

"Gajeel's friend?" Lucy asked at the same time. They both stared at each other, incredulous.

"Hey, idiots, get your ass in!" they heard Gajeel's shout from inside the car, snapping them out of their trance.

Lucy's eyes went to Levy, who had an amused gaze directed at her. So, that's why she had so much information about him. Natsu was Gajeel's friend and Gajeel was Levy's soon-to-be-boyfriend. Now it all made sense. Still... It shocked her. Natsu was never there when the group of friends reunited at lunch or in some break. And from what she remembered, she hadn't heard Natsu's name in their conversations. Maybe he was the one the boys referred as 'Flame Ass', 'Flame Brain', 'Stupid Idiot', 'Pyro Freak' and many other nicknames.

Natsu let her get into the car first, which surprised her even more. He climbed on after, closing the door behind him. Sitting next to him, so close, felt so strange.

"Okay!" Levy exclaimed from her seat, too eagerly. "Next stop, Fairy Tail!"

A/N= Hi! I hope you liked it, I made it extra long for you! Thank you so, so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! You guys rock! Forgive my bad grammar and OOCness, but this is an AU so I think it's not bad. What do you think will happen in Fairy Tail? See you soon, thanks again, and enjoy!