A/N: This one is a HECK of a lot longer than the first one, haha. I hope you enjoy!
"Ah, time for a break!"
Lucy sighed as she flopped onto her bed. Moving was exhausting, and she wasn't even done. Several more boxes were sitting against the wall and her mother would be bringing even more in a couple days. How the heck had she accumulated so much stuff over the years!?
She didn't even know where she was going to put it all. Campus housing had filled up quickly, but luckily she and her best friend of high school had found an apartment with rent they could afford. It was bigger than they'd actually have in a dorm, but for an apartment, it was still on the small side. It was definitely meant for one person, having only a main living area with a kitchenette, one tiny bedroom, and one tiny bathroom, but they'd make do. She was excited to live with Levy. It meant they could share bills and she'd be able to spend even more time with her best friend, even though it also meant she had less space for her vast amount of crap.
Levy had dropped some of her stuff off at the apartment already, but she wouldn't be moving in until tomorrow. She was eager to, of course, excited for their first semester of college to start, but she still had stuff to do back home.
Lucy turned on her still sheet-less mattress to look out the window. It was a nice day. It had been so hot lately, normal for August, but the slightly cooler weather today oded to the coming fall.
Her apartment was on the second floor and overlooked a local park. The park wasn't anything special, although it housed a large cherry blossom tree that was the scene of at least one spring festival and was known as a couples' spot. Even now, she could spy a couple with a picnic underneath the trees branches. It wasn't flowering right now (that was an April event), but the quickly shriveling buds were still a cheery pink.
Lucy looked over the people at the park. It hadn't changed much since the last time she'd watched. There were still a lot of kids on the playground and running around the open field, enjoying the last of their summer break. There were some adults, too, like the aforementioned couple at the tree and a few parents watching over their younger children, but for the most part it seemed to be children.
Well, there were a few adults walking or jogging on the path the last time she'd checked, but nothing had stood out to her.
But now as she looked over the people on the path?
A bright pink head of hair was bobbing along as it ran the path. Something about whoever the hair belonged to interested her.
She moved closer to the window and nearly pressed her face against the glass trying to look.
The hair was a boy's, she could tell, a boy that seemed like he might be her age. Those were the only details she could tell from her distance, though. He still intrigued her, but Lucy just shrugged and crawled back off her bed. She still had boxes to unpack.
oOo
"Do you have anymore books, Lu?"
"Another stack, I'll bring them in!"
"Don't bother! I'll come grab them!"
Levy had arrived to their small apartment now, currently setting up bookshelves in the living room with her boyfriend. Gajeel was a year older than the two, but hadn't done anything but work retail between high school and now. He'd hated his job at Walmart and it only fed into his almost constant bad attitude, and so Levy forced him to do something else with his life. She hadn't expected him to come to Magnolia with her, but he'd found a welding apprenticeship program at a local company. He'd never tried welding or really anything of the like before and so he didn't know whether he'd enjoy it, but he wasn't completely opposed to it (it had to be better than retail, after all). Not to mention he wanted to be in the same city Levy would be going to university at. As far as Lucy knew, they hadn't said anything about 'love' to each other (Levy would be freaking out to Lucy if that had happened), but Lucy knew they really were in love.
The apprenticeship would even pay a pretty penny for what it was, and Gajeel had found a decent apartment he'd be able to afford on that. Lucy supposed that might help with the crampedness of she and Levy's apartment. Levy had already admitted she'd probably spend a lot of time at her boyfriend's place.
Lucy refused to think about the implications of that.
The eighteen-year-old yawned. They'd been moving furniture into the apartment all morning, which, surprise surprise, was exhausting. Her bed was looking quite inviting at the moment.
Her eyes flicked to the still-curtainless window. The park looked much the same as it had yesterday.
Which apparently included the pink-haired boy, she suddenly realized.
The bright pink spikes were bobbing along the sidewalk again. Lucy was ridiculously fascinated by him, especially now that she'd seen him a second time. Something made her want to meet him and find out who he was. She was mesmerized as she watched him run, following the squiggly path over and over. Lucy didn't know how long she'd watched the boy.
"Lucy!" Levy's voice suddenly cut through her haze.
"Huh?" Lucy turned around to see Levy, apparently coming in to grab Lucy's last set of books, staring at her confused.
"What the heck were you so hypnotized by out the window?"
Lucy shook her head to try and forget about the boy before shrugging to her roommate.
oOo
"Sweetie, where do you want these ones?"
"Mom, you're here!"
Lucy left the bedroom to meet her mom at the door, directing her to set the final boxes down by the couch. Layla Heartfilia didn't give Lucy a chance to breathe between setting the boxes down and pulling her daughter in for a hug.
"It's been so different not having you at the house," she remarked.
Lucy laughed. "It's been weird not being home for me, too. But can I ask a question?"
"Hm?"
"What the hell is Plue doing here?" Lucy giggled and separated from her mother to pick up her fluffy white yorkie, shivering and silently staring at his owner.
Layla gave a chuckle. "He missed you, too. I figured you could take him out to play one last time before you officially moved away from home."
Lucy smiled, still petting her dog. "Thanks, Mom, but where the heck am I supposed to take him?"
"Didn't you mention a park right behind the building?"
Lucy gave a dumbfounded look to her mother. Duh! How had she forgotten about that? She'd been so eerily drawn to the pink-haired runner in it since she moved in and had seen him there every day!
This was the perfect chance to get a closer look at him.
Not that she didn't also want to spend time with her yorkie.
"Mom, does there happen to be a frisbee in the car?"
oOo
Lucy was nervous as she walked her dog to the park, clutching the frisbee she'd managed to find to her chest.
Would she talk to him? The pink-haired man, that is.
How does one just talk to people?
How would she even start the conversation?
"Hi, I've been staring at you run from my window."
No. No way. Not a chance.
No way in hell would she ever tell a random guy she'd been watching him run.
It didn't take long between arriving to the park and spotting the mystery jogger. He was still here today! As fate would have it, of course, she spotted him from the back, and so she still didn't have a face to apply to her thoughts of him. Although what she could see...
Well, she hadn't failed to notice how attractive the view looked.
Lucy blushed furiously as she acknowledged the passing thought. She was being creepy! No creeping out over the cute guy, Lucy! You're just here to play with Plue!
And so she tried not to stare after him as she approached an empty spot on the field to start throwing the frisbee around at. Unhooking the leash from Plue and putting it in her bag, Lucy made sure she had the dog's attention with the frisbee and then threw it.
It didn't fly all too far; Plue was a small dog and didn't exactly have the ability to chase after a long-thrown frisbee. He still didn't manage to catch it. Plue never had though. He'd always picked it up off the ground, ever since they'd gotten him. But they still had fun.
Lucy really did try not to look at the pink-haired boy, but after she'd thrown the frisbee and it ended up near him, she caught a look at his face, smiling at her tiny dog.
As far as she could tell, he was just as cute from the front as he was from the back.
Lucy, you're being creepy again!
She pushed her thoughts of the boy aside again in favor of spending time with her dog. She threw the frisbee again, looking to where it would land.
And it would land right where the runner was standing still on the sidewalk.
Shit.
"Hey! Hey, you!" Lucy shouted, running towards him. What a way to meet the guy she'd been so drawn towards.
The frisbee was approaching him quickly. Surely he'd notice it and move out of the way, right? Right!?
Lucy couldn't believe she was about the hit a cute guy in the head with a frisbee.
He still didn't hear her. Lucy realized he had earbuds in and she frantically began waving her arms, hoping to get his attention, which luckily did. He gave her a confused wave before taking his earbuds out.
"What!?" he shouted towards her.
Lucy wanted to scream. The frisbee was right there! How stupid did someone have to be not to notice it!? "DUCK, YOU IDIOT!"
Too late. It thwacked him right in the middle of his forehead and he stumbled to the ground, scraping his elbow on the concrete in the process.
"Crap, are you okay!?" Lucy asked, blushing in embarrassment as she lifted his elbow to inspect the bleeding skin.
The boy chuckled on the ground, rubbing at the now-red spot on his forehead. "Heh, should be fine," he replied as he sat up.
"What the hell were you doing, just standing there!?" she reprimanded, looking in her purse for Kleenexes to clean his elbow with. "Why'd you stop running!?"
The boy laughed more heartily this time. God, his laugh is as cute as he is! Lucy thought involuntarily, bringing more pink tinge to her cheeks. The boy picked up the frisbee and handed it to her while saying, "Sorry, wasn't paying attention, I guess."
Wait, he shouldn't be apologizing! She was the one who'd hit him! "Well- sorry for whacking you in the head with a frisbee," she stuttered. Giving a shout of "Aha!" as she pulled her tissues out finally, Lucy took one and pressed it to his still-bleeding elbow.
Lucy still hadn't looked at his face properly, she realized suddenly. She chanced a glance up to his face just as he flicked his eyes to hers.
She felt the world freeze around her as her heart grew warm in her chest. They were a beautiful hazel that spoke of danger and adventure but also held a softness that revealed kindness and compassion. She saw his pupils dilate as they stared into each other's eyes. If Lucy had been wondering about him before, she was furiously curious now. She had to get to know him. She had to learn his name. She had to find out what he was like.
And just as Lucy started opening her mouth to say... she didn't actually know what, Plue came up between them, yapping up at her while wagging his bottom, forcing her to yank her gaze away from the boy.
Plue. She'd forgotten about him. Lucy supposed she was lucky he hadn't darted off somewhere, but truthfully she never had to worry about that. He was a good dog.
"So..." she heard the boy start.
So... what? What was he going to say? There were a lot of thing she wanted him to say.
"You were watching me run?"
Shit. That hadn't been one of them.
Lucy felt her entire face grow hot with a fiercer blush than the one she already had and heard a squeal from her mouth as she hastily stood up, fidgeting with the tissue she suddenly realized was still in her hand. Great, the guy she was quickly forming a crush on had realized she was creep. She prayed to God that he just kill her now, just have the ground swallow her up and erase her existence. "So, I'll be going now!" she squeaked out as she moved to leave.
"Natsu!" the boy suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" Natsu? What the hell is a natsu? Wait, was that his name!? Lucy smiled softly as she realized that he might've been as entranced by her as she was by him.
"My- my name," he confirmed. "It's Natsu!"
"Natsu..." Lucy adored the way it felt to say his name, her heart clenching. "Lucy. Mine's Lucy," she told him, crouching down and holding her hand out for him to take.
"Lucy..." If she like saying his name, hearing him say hers was a thousand times more cause for the heart fluttering wildly in her chest. He took her hand, and Lucy was quick to notice how nice it felt with hers, like they're hands were made to fit together. She stood up, helping Natsu do the same. The cord to his earbuds were yanked out of the phone, and Lucy's face flushed at the line that came out before Natsu was able to shut it off and shove it in his pocket.
"Falling too fast to prepare for this."
Thank you for reading!