"I'm Lucy." Right when their hands met a group of bikers pulled up to the curb next to them and revved their engines obnoxiously.

"Eh, what'd you say? Your name's Loony?"

"No, it's Lucy!" The bikers dismounted and were already talking loudly to another group of people on the curb.

"Alright, whatever you say Loony." He was wearing the most irritating grin the girl had ever seen.

She stomped her foot and glared at him, "My name is LUCY! Now are we getting food or what? I don't feel like standing on the curb all night!"

"Haha oh right…I don't have a lot of time anyway, Gray said he'd cover for me but he can't keep Erza busy for too long…" Natsu shuddered when he said the name. "Follow me, I hope you like Thai!"

They walked around the corner and down the block to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The shiny yellow sign outside boasted: "the spiciest food in Magnolia". Natsu ordered for the two of them since Lucy had never eaten from a place like this before. After she paid they sat down in a plastic booth and Lucy nearly choked on her first bite of the curry Natsu had ordered for her.

"Wow they weren't kidding about spicy!" she spluttered after gulping down half a glass of water.

"Ah sorry…I ordered my usual, I guess I should have told them to go easy on the heat since you're a newbie. I can get you something else?"

"Don't worry about it…I think most of my taste buds were just burned off so the rest should go down easier." Chuckling, she took another bite. She still needed the assistance of water but now that she knew what to expect she was able to appreciate the flavor. "You were right, it is really good. I'll have to come here again."

He seemed pleased when she said that and he had absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, ruffling his hair.

A cute gesture, she thought.

Finally being in a place with decent lighting, Lucy was able to properly survey her new acquaintance. She'd already noted his hair (which was not pink, dammit it's salmon!) and tan complexion. He was average height, about a head taller than herself, with a lean build and nicely developed muscles. It was hard not to stare at them thanks to the sleeveless shirt he was wearing. After watching him fight earlier she honestly wasn't surprised.

I guess working security at a popular bar keeps you pretty fit.

She assumed he spent a lot of time outdoors and he had more than a few scars, most notably a large one on the right side of his neck.

After a few moments of contentedly chewing her food, Lucy decided she wanted to get to know him better.

And not just because he's smoking hot, he helped me out after all; he seems like a really nice guy. She told herself.

A few things she learned from their short meal was that he'd been working at Fairy Tail since he was a teen. Starting out as a bus boy he'd quickly proven himself worthy of filling out other various positions such as bartender, bouncer, disc-jockey…apparently anything that didn't involve an open flame or electricity.

"I started a fire once and they've never let me back in the kitchen since. Erza almost skinned me alive…even though it was a total accident." He explained with a sheepish grin. "I don't really mind though, cooking food is boring but eating it is a whole different story." After a short pause he asked, "What about you? Didn't you say you only just got here?"

"Me?" Lucy squeaked. She hadn't prepared herself for any personal questions. "Well…umm…"

"Wait, let me guess. You ran away from home because you want to be a famous actress!" Exclaimed Natsu. When Lucy didn't answer he continued. "No...how about singer? Model?" While flattered at his assumptions, Lucy only stared at him in amusement, enjoying the guessing game. "Uhh…race car driver?" After a few more guesses that included occupations ranging from food truck operator to circus performer, Lucy finally stopped him.

"Actually I have no idea what I want to do. I came here hoping that some experience would help me realize my dreams. A small town girl only has so many options…" Not entirely true. Her last name could open all kinds of doors; Lucy didn't want that though. Even if her father had encouraged her to follow her dreams, instead of forcing her into a marriage, there were very few people that would refuse a Heartfilia.

"Hey, I just got a great idea! I'll help you get a job at Fairy Tail! You'll fit right in; we're like one big family!"

Lucy blushed. It was a kind offer but…"I've never had a real job before…I don't have the first clue about bartending or waiting tables…"

"So? Everyone has to start somewhere. You said you wanted experience right? Then come with me!" Natsu stood and tossed their empty food cartons in the trash bin. Lucy felt a huge smile spread across her face at his enthusiasm.

I'm so glad I didn't stay in my room all night.

Lucy followed Natsu back out into the nightlife of Magnolia. In the short time it took for them to eat the streets had calmed down slightly. Only a few people remained outside the large brown building where they were headed. Lucy could practically see the walls reverberating with the sounds of ear-shattering music coming from just inside the double doors. Underneath an awning, she spotted the dark-haired man from earlier smoking a cigarette.

"Took you long enough, dumbass. Get lost on your way back?" He sneered. In addition to Fairy Tail's standard uniform he was wearing a metal necklace that resembled a sword, a chain attached to the belt loops on his pants and an intimidating tattoo snaked up his right arm. Before Natsu could reply, he looked over to Lucy. "So did Bora give you brain damage when he knocked you over? That's the only reason I can think of why anyone would want to hang out with Pinky here."

Lucy laughed. These two were obviously rivals or something. She didn't get a chance to answer though because right at that moment a very large man with spiky white hair burst through the doors and launched another man into the street.

"Puking at the bar is not manly! You'll come back when you're sober and apologize to Mira!"

"Yeah you tell 'em Elfman!" Natsu slapped the large man on the back and gave him a high-five before trying to spar with the man himself.

Lucy turned to the man next to her and asked, "Is it always like this? I mean today is a Wednesday right?"

"It's actually Thursday if you want to get technical, but yeah most of the time. Last call is two A.M at most places, but some bars are open twenty-four hours. The Thunder Gods are playing tonight and they're kinda a big deal here at Fairy Tail so everyone came out to see 'em. I'm Gray by the way." He put his cigarette out in an ashtray and shook Lucy's hand while she introduced herself.

A moment later they both heard a yelp and turned to look back at the scuffle happening a few feet away. The man named Elfman had Natsu, whose face was turning purple, in a head lock. After an intense struggle, he raised his hands in surrender and was released. The two men then shook hands and the winner went back inside the bar with a big grin while Natsu was left panting on the ground.

After he recovered, Natsu turned back to the two standing near the door, "Yo Gray, where's Gildarts? I need to see about getting my new friend a job."

Gray studied Lucy for a moment. "A job? Here? You look like you should be working at a mall or something."

Lucy didn't like the tone he used so she puffed out her cheeks and glared. "Looks can be deceiving!"

"Yeah don't forget she chased Bora half way 'round the block. I bet if I hadn't gotten to him first Lucy here woulda curb-stomped his ass!" Natsu gave her a thumbs-up complimented by a toothy-grin.

"I guess I can believe that. That look on your face right now is pretty scary." Lucy continued to glare as Gray turned to Natsu and shrugged, "last I saw Gildarts he was hovering around Cana at the bar."

With that, Lucy was pulled through the double doors by her wrist and promptly assumed she'd been forced into another dimension. The place was huge and filled to the brim with sweaty bodies; she could feel the bass of the music resonating in every atom of her body. Towards the back of the room she could see a long bar in front of a fully stocked wall full of bottles, people were lined up calling out the names of the bartenders hoping to catch their favor and order a drink. Tables and chairs were scattered haphazardly throughout the edges of the large room where more people were sitting with their food. The largest crowd had gathered in front of the stage and were either cheering on the band or moving in tune to the music. There was an open second-floor where several people were attempting to sit on the railing and occasionally someone would get jostled and spill their drink on an unsuspecting person below them which caused more shouting to be added to deafening din.

On the stage stood four people; the front man of the band, who was tall, muscular and blond was jumping up and down to the rhythm of the music and singing loudly into the microphone while twirling his guitar, a woman with flowing brown hair and wearing a green crop top paired with a matching mini skirt was situated behind a keyboard stand and singing backup vocals, to her left brandishing a bass-guitar was a slim fellow with waist-length light-green hair and finally the drummer, a dark-haired man with broad shoulders and a facial tattoo seemed to enjoy wagging his tongue at the audience. Behind them on the stage was a large black banner that read "The Thunder Gods" in spiky gold script and was embellished with lightning bolts.

While Lucy tried to absorb all these details Natsu continued to haul her through the crowd. Finally reaching the bar he said, "Wait right here Lucy, I'm gonna go find my boss! Hey Mira can you get my friend a drink?" Lucy could barely understand him as he tried to make himself heard above the general ruckus caused by the electrified horde of people behind them.

At Natsu's request, a beautiful barista with long white hair approached the newcomer from the other side of the bar. "I'm Mirajane but you can call me Mira. It's lovely to meet you, Natsu's friend! What can I get for you?" She was wearing a sweet smile but Lucy saw a mischievous glint in her eyes when she'd said the words 'Natsu' and 'friend'.

"Umm what would you recommend?" Lucy had never actually had the chance to order from a bar before; every time she'd drank it usually had been from bottles stolen by Yukino out of her parents' liquor cabinet.

"Hmm I bet you'd like something sweet; I know just the thing!" And with a wink, Mira whisked away to other end of the bar. A few minutes later, she returned with a chilled glass topped with raspberries. The light pink liquid immediately brought to mind Natsu's hair and Lucy glanced up to see Mira smiling widely.

She took a sip and exclaimed, "Oh wow that's really good, thank you!" Mira gave her another wink and waved to someone approaching Lucy from behind.

"There you are Natsu! I thought you might have forgotten about your pretty friend here." The young man was seemingly oblivious to the emphasized word as he put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and directed her attention to another, much older man.

"No way Mira! Here Lucy I want you to meet Gildarts, my boss. Gildarts this is Lucy!"

Lucy smiled and shook the offered hand of the man in front of her. He looked to be in his mid-forties with slicked-back shoulder length orange hair and was yet another tall and muscular example of all the new guys she'd seen so far that night.

Do they have a rule around here about muscle definition? Like a sign that says, "You must be under this percent of body fat to work here." or something...

Her thoughts were interrupted with a series of gruff questions.

"So you want a job, eh? Ever tend a bar before?"

"Er…n-no…"

"What about waiting tables?"

"Umm…I…"

"Well you're certainly not security material…can you cook?" When Lucy shook her head he fixed her with an intimidating stare. "Have you ever even had a job before?"

"N-no…b-but I…uh…I-I'm a fast learner! I'll work very hard…I p-promise!" Lucy blushed profusely at her stammers.

After a few moments of silence and more staring, the man's face split into a wide grin. "Well then you're hired girly!" He laughed loudly and patted her shoulder in a rough manner. "I had you good and scared just now didn't I? You looked like you might pee yourself in that dress!" He continued laughing obnoxiously; Lucy didn't see what was so funny and decided to ignore the man's rudeness.

"Thank you so much, you won't regret it!" She gave him her sweetest smile.

"No I'm sure I won't…" Gildarts gave her another appraising glance and said, "You heard me Mira! Get Blondie here a uniform, she starts training Friday."

Natsu whooped loudly and pumped his fist in the air, "Yosh! Told ya Luce, you're gonna love it!"

Mira was grinning next to him, "Welcome to Fairy Tail!"