Chapter 1
Of course Lucy had heard of the new student. He was the topic of every conversation for the past week. But to think it was him? To be honest, she was a bit disappointed. She had been expecting some classy, sexy, well-rounded, rich guy.
With his spiky black hair and dark, slanted eyes, he wasn't bad looking. In fact, now that she got a better look, he was actually pretty attractive. But no. No way would she ever have interest in a guy that had the balls to strip in a mall.
"I saw him this morning," whispered Cana Alberona, a senior at the high school. "He's so hot." She and Mickey Chickentinger giggled flirtatiously as he strutted past them in the hallway. Out of the corner of her eye, she even saw Juvia Lockser, who rarely spoke, gawking at him, her cheeks bright pink.
But he didn't look at any of them. Instead, he was staring fixedly at Lucy. He caught her eye and winked. Lucy felt her own cheeks redden, but she turned her head away before anyone could notice.
a.a.a.
As Lucy shoved her Algebra textbook into her locker, right before lunch, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped her head around and nearly choked on the sip of water she had just taken.
The new guy stood behind her and thrust out his hand. "I'm Gray."
"O-oh," Lucy stammered. "I'm Lucy." Why was he talking to her?
He casually leaned against one of the lockers and gave a long stare at her. Lucy looked away, feeling a little uncomfortable and self-conscious. "Well," Gray started after a long pause. "Nice to meet you, Lucy."
"Uh, yeah." was all she could think to say. Just then, she noticed Levy piling out of her Language Arts classroom. She stopped and stared at Gray and Lucy, her mouth falling open. But then a coy smile played at the corners of her mouth.
"I have to go." Lucy blurted and scuttled away from Gray. But she didn't get very far before a hand tugged at her sleeve.
"Luce!" Levy squealed. "You never told me that you and stripper boy had a thing going!"
"We don't." Lucy groaned in frustration. "Didn't I already tell you that he was so wrong for me?"
Levy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I saw what I saw."