Hey! It's me again! I wasn't going to put up another chapter this quickly, but free periods in school (mixed with all the amazing encouragement I've gotten!) can do wonders. No, really, thank you all so much. I never expected so many people to be interested! So, here's the second chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it.

Oh yes, Gruvia is hinted at in this chapter, along with other characters shipping NaLu. Because it's absolutely obvious that they are fated. *my story, my shipping!*

~~~ooo~~~

"Luce?" Natsu stepped a bit closer, eyes squinted slightly with a mix of surprise and tenderness. "Is it really you?"

"Y-yeah," Lucy stuttered before catching herself. "Who else would it be?"

"Well, heck, I don't know. Maybe I'm just really drunk, because I haven't seen you in months, not since..."

"Since the incident?" Lucy asked quietly.

"Yeah."

Lucy took a deep breath and clenched her fists. "What really happened?"

Natsu's eyes darkened. "There's a story, Luce, but not one for anybody who wasn't there," he warned to his former audience. "Come on, I know somewhere more private."

"I always knew they'd end up like this," Levy sighed, smiling. "Oh, to be young and in love and denying it so obviously everybody else automatically knows."

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy sat down on the first thing she saw and watched Natsu intently. She had a feeling the story was going to change a lot, for better or for worse, and she wanted to have this image of the Dragon Slayer to look back on.

Just in case it was the 'worse' option.

Natsu glanced over at Lucy, smiling. "You ready to hear the story?"

"Of course!" Lucy said. At the back of her mind, the Sorcerer Weekly article loomed. But that could wait until she'd done a bit of reconnaissance on Natsu for her own purposes.

"Okay, then, Luce. Do you remember the party, or were you too wasted?" he asked, smirking. Lucy flushed, nodding. "Do you remember the firework that nearly burned Juvia?" Natsu asked. Lucy didn't, but she wasn't about to let Natsu see that.

"Of course I do," she said with confidence. Natsu broke into raucous laughter.

"No, you don't. There was no fireworks, and Juvia was off with Gray the whole time like usual!" he managed between bursts of mirth. Lucy berated herself internally. Number one rule of journalism: don't lie unless you can pull it off!

"I'll catch you up. For the party itself, you didn't miss much. Although...there was this really awesome fruit-throwing contest. You would not believe how far Gray launched it with some sort of pressurized ice cannon, it was amazing." Natsu smiled, reminiscing. Lucy loudly cleared her throat.

"Natsu, I'm here to learn about that night and next day's morning, not Gray's pressurized ice cannons," she reprimanded.

"Oh. Yeah. So, back on topic of 'the incident', nothing really important happened during the party, except you and your insistence on drinking so much tequila punch." He drew himself up like he had just gotten to the good part of the story, and Lucy leaned forward, holding her breath.

"And?"

Natsu flashed a cocksure smile. "And I had to walk you home. Everything that's worth knowing about that night happened then."

Lucy was almost trembling with excitement. "What happened? Did I say anything? About what? Did anybody else hear?"

Natsu laughed, this time so hard that fire sparked at the back of his throat.

"Luce, I know you're doing an article on me, but you could at least try to be a bit inconspicuous about it, couldn't you?" he asked, still chuckling.

~~~ooo~~~

Lucy gaped at the young Dragon Slayer. She wanted to try to say something, but the only words that formed in her throat were: "Was I really so obvious?"

"Yeah; the way you look around, focus on the smallest things, even the way you ask questions. I can see you're super enthusiastic about journalism, and don't take this like I'm trying to stop you," Natsu paused, and Lucy held her breath, "but if you want anything about me-both for Sorcerer Weekly and about that night-you're going to have to earn it!"

Lucy's heart dropped. Natsu was exceedingly stubborn; there was no way she'd get anything if the Dragon Slayer didn't want her to get it.

Natsu must have noticed her disappointed expression, because he patted her on the back.

"Cheer up, I never said I'd never give it to you. You just have to earn it first." He pulled out a brightly coloured scarf, tied in knots. "This is the first game! I'll get someone to hide this, and whoever finds it first gets to choose the information given." He winked. "You'll want to be careful with this once you find it," he added, "it's important!"

~~~ooo~~~

Ooh, Natsu, mysterious obscure suggestions? Ahaha, I know how it all ends! ~Benefits of Being a Writer~

I kept getting autocorrected whenever I put words in italics. What does anybody have against italics?

Well, I've been through an entire chapter without thanking the people who inspired me to write again so soon. You all know who you are, and I thank each and every one of you.

*holds out hands meekly for reviews to help me*