Chapter 3: Midnight Meetings

"Alright Ladies! Let's go!" Lucy clasped her hands together, walking around the group of male students currently setting the volleyball repeatedly on the sandy beach, rotating from one side of the net to the other. She continued to observe, her legs twitching in anticipation before finally joining them in their formation to set the ball over the net. After a few minutes of the warm up, she finally allowed them a short break, "You have five minutes, get a drink of water, and then partner up."

"Damn this stupid heat," Gray, the raven-haired co-captain of the boys teams walked up to where they had placed their belongings earlier, and pulled out a bottle of water. He turned to Natsu before taking a drink, "She's really taking this year seriously."

"Yeah. She's never had us practice this hard before," Natsu took a drink of his own water, dehydrated from the warm up. Had it been in a gym or on the court, it would have been far easier. Lucy was right, they really needed to raise their stamina. "But then again, Luce has always taken volleyball seriously, just not this much." He lifted the bottle once more to his lips before his gaze moved to the blonde female currently yelling at a few guys who apparently were lagging on their jumps, and smiled.

"Oi, flamebrain, check it out, the girls are doing pretty well aren't they?" Gray nudged the pink-haired teen and pointed to the other court just a few meters from where they stood. Lisanna was standing on one side of the net and Mirajane on the other, while the girls formed lines a few feet from them. The sisters were throwing volleyballs in the air, while those in line took turns spiking and running after the ball. "They have some pretty strong spikes...and some really nice asses." The two snickered, clearly loving the view from where they stood.

Lucy walked up to the two and smacked them on the head, "I did not take you here with us just so you can check out the girls! Partner up perverts!" Laughs and chuckles were heard from the other guys, but stopped the moment Lucy sent them a threatening glare.

As soon as the guys were partnered, a devious smirked curled on her lips, making them suddenly nervous. "Gentlemen, you will be playing leapfrog with your partner, seeing as your jumps have drastically diminished. Now, you're all about six footers, it shouldn't be too hard. One of you will bend and touch your toes, while the other will jump over you."

Natsu, along with a few others, had their jaws drop. Jumping over Gray at that height was just ridiculous. Then his eyes flickered to Laxus and Gajeel, suddenly, he did not feel so bad. Taking those guys' weight into consideration, it would be a lot harder for them to jump over the other. Just imagining them was enough to make him laugh inwardly.

"I'll show you an example," Lucy motioned for Natsu to walk up to her, which he complied to. He bent to touch his toes, while the rest watched as Lucy placed her palms on his back, and gracefully pushed herself up to jump over him, landing on his other side. He had to admit, he was afraid that at some point during that jump, she was going to hit his head with her leg. "See now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Now, you will change positions every two minutes...begin."

The boys groaned, but proceeded to do as they were told. This was different from the practices they had the years prior. It was always, practice games against each other, and unleash their power and brute force during the games that actually mattered. Maybe that was the reason why their coach was fired, but they did not complain. And now, they suddenly missed him. Practicing with the girls was just brutal, especially with Lucy as their new coach.

It was around five thirty in the afternoon by the time the two teams finished their practice, Lucy had put them through hell. Well, for the boys that is. She had them run up and down the steps by the pier and then jump on the steps, one by one. A full thirty minutes of running by the shoreline, and then back to jumping on the steps. And although the girls had done the exact same thing, they appeared less beaten than the boys. In fact, it almost seemed as if they had more energy than when they first started.

Now they understood. This was what led them to victory the past two years. A great deal of physical and mental training, enough to even overwhelm the boys team, who also had their victories. But compared to the girls, they looked weak, and if being coached by Lucy meant getting stronger, they would put up with the physical pain with no complaints.

Natsu sat on the stone bench, waiting for Lucy to finish packing her belongings, the others already making their way home. It has always been like this for the past six years. Together, always by each other's side. Along the way, they made new companions, but still, it's always been just the two of them, and he wanted it to stay that way.

He stood up, placing his bag over his shoulder, "Ready, Luce?" He gave her a toothy grin, and she smiled in return and gave him a nod. "Man, I'm beat. I didn't think this was how you practiced for the past two years, Luce."

"Maybe if you just worked out a little over summer, you wouldn't be so fatigued after just a few hours of practice. You guys have it easier, only every two days. The girls have a game soon and we can't slack off." Lucy sighed, and placed her bag on the hand that Natsu held out for her. "Thanks, Natsu." She leaned against him as they walked, the pink-haired male placing an arm over her shoulders.

"Are you forgetting I'm still here?!" The two paused in their tracks and turned to find Laxus glaring half heartedly at Natsu. He marched towards them, his legs slightly shaking from the workout, and pushed them apart, taking Lucy's bag from him as well. "Don't get too close to my sister, bastard!"

"Oi!" Natsu, who was also slightly weak from the practice, returned a full on glare. "She's my best friend. It's only normal. What? Do you have a sister complex?"

The male blonde ignored Natsu's comment, and proceeded to take his sister back home. He just couldn't trust any male around her, that is, aside from himself and Rufus. "Rest up, pinky. You're gunna need it if you wanna win again this year. Doesn't look like your legs can take much more standing."

Natsu continued to glare, but knew he was right. His legs were beginning to cramp and he was sore. He took a seat at the bench, once again, looking up at the sky that turned from blue, to orange, and to an even darker blue. People were leaving the beach and heading home, but he was contented to sitting for a while.

He hadn't realized he fell asleep until he felt someone poking him. Natsu slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to his dimly lit surroundings. He was still at the beach, the lamps on the sidewalk turned on to provide some source of light, but there was someone seated beside him. He turned his head, recognizing the all too familiar silver hair and blue eyes and pink lips that gave him a warm smile.

Sitting straight back up, Natsu stretched and let out a long yawn, his back aching from sleeping on the uncomfortable stone bench. "H...hey Lisanna. What are you doing here out so late?"

The younger of the Strauss sisters shrugged, a tint of pink on her cheeks, "I was out running when I saw you here. I didn't want you to catch a cold so I decided to wake you. I'm sorry."

Natsu chuckled, "It's fine. Thanks for waking me. I probably would have caught a fever if I stayed here any longer." He stood up, as did Lisanna. "Well, I should head home. I'll see ya tomorrow?"

"W...well, I'll walk with you. My house is in the same direction anyways," Lisanna was not entirely sure what to do at the moment. She always felt nervous and slightly giddy around him.

Natsu was rather surprised but shrugged his shoulders, "Sure," and began making their way to their respected homes.

Sting jumped in the air, his hands gracefully letting go of the ball, but with enough force to make it through the hoop. It was almost midnight, but he was restless and needed to move. He would have spent his time practicing for volleyball, but it was a bit difficult to play by himself. It's been two hours since he left his home for some fresh air, though, he wasn't exactly sure what was making him so antsy, but a little workout relieved him of that feeling.

He still had a hard time getting used to the new city.

He held the ball in his hand and began to dribble at a moderate rhythm, but a flash of gold caught the corner of his eyes causing him to stop. He turned his gaze to the wired fence surrounding the court to find Lucy, on the other side, stopping from her jog. She was in her spandex shorts and a blue tank top, her body glistening with sweat, headphones in her ears. It amazed him that she did not look the least bit tired, especially since she always seemed to have the busiest schedule.

He began to walk towards her, but she was still oblivious to him, probably too engrossed in her thoughts or the music she was listening to. He stopped a few feet from her, the fence the only thing keeping them separated. When she did turn, a surprised look crossed her face. She took off her headphones, and continued to look at him, "Uh..." She was at a loss for words, a faint blush tinting her cheeks that glowed beneath the moonlight. "What are you doing here?...In the middle of the night?..."

Sting raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting her to scream and yell at him, but she just stood there staring at him with her chocolate brown orbs that he had to turn away from. "What? I can't come here to practice? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to go out for a run, so I did. I don't usually see anybody here at this time." The blonde female turned away and tightened her ponytail. She looked out into the distance as if debating on whether or not she should leave. He could see her slightly move, probably uncomfortable that she was talking to him.

"Who the hell runs this late at night?" Sting looked up, also feeling a little awkward. He scratched the back of his head, "Wait there, I'll walk you home."

Lucy was about to protest, but he was already gone. In another minute, he was in front of her, a smirk plastered on his face. "Consider yourself lucky, blondie. It's not every– uh night that the great Sting Eucliffe walks a girl home."

"I didn't ask for you to walk me home!" The female blonde snapped at him, "I'm completely capable of taking care of—"

Before Lucy could finish, she felt herself be pushed against the fence. Frightened for once, she looked up to meet two, deep blue eyes. His right arm was on her left, while the other was holding her by the waist.

"Are you still sure you can take care of yourself?" Sting whispered in her ear, a small shiver running up her spine.

Unable to move, Lucy could only continue look at him, her lips parted in shock. She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks as the realization of the close proximity of Sting's face to hers dawned on her. "Wha—? Y...you! Don't you e...ever d...do that!" She quickly pushed him off her, glaring at the annoying smirk that curled on his lips.

"Shall we then?"

"Hey, you seem really good at basketball, does that mean you're going to be in Sabertooth's basketball team too?" Lucy placed her arms behind her back. She would admit that she was somewhat curious about the blonde male.

She did not receive a reply, causing her to pout in annoyance. Fine, he won't talk, neither will I. Hmph!

It was awkward, and the feeling alone was enough to make Lucy want to run and just escape his rather overwhelming presence. However, he was the enemy and there was no chance in hell she was going to be frightened of some stupid pervert who was a little too touchy not too long ago. Of all the people she could run into, it just had to be him.

"You know, you're very interesting, Heartfilia." His blunt statement had the volleyball team captain blushing. "I hope you don't think too much on this request, but if you don't mind, I would love to be able to have a nice chat with you every once in a while without being interrupted by your pink haired friend."

Lucy's brows furrowed in confusion. Surely the way they talked now should be enough for him. "Wha—"

Before she could finish her question, the sound of her name echoing from the distance could be heard. Sting quickly dismissed himself and walked back from where they came from as Natsu and Lisanna approached the female blonde. They did not seem to have seen the Sabertooth student, as they approached closer.

"Luce, why are you out so late? Didn't I tell you before that it's dangerous running in the middle of the night?" Natsu, leaving Lisanna a few feet behind, ran up to her, and pulled her in for an embrace.

"I know that now," Lucy quietly murmured to herself, the events earlier flashing in her mind. "Anyways, why are you guys out here so late?" She looked over his shoulder, and greeted her fellow team member with a smile.

Lisanna placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "I found your idiotic best friend asleep at the beach! Talk about irresponsible." Now that Lucy was around, she managed to compose herself without stuttering at Natsu like an idiot. Really, it was a bit of a relief that the two never saw each other as more than just best friends, at least it was comforting for Lisanna. "Let's head home."

Lucy jumped into the warmth of her bed, pulling free of her clothes and undergarments only to have a small piece of paper fall out of her clothes. She quickly unfolded it:

Hey Blondie,

I have practice tomorrow around four in the afternoon. If you'd like to come watch, you're free to do so. We can have coffee afterwards.

See you then,

Sting E.

Lucy blushed. Was it a date?! Until realization dawned on her and a loud shriek had the whole neighborhood awake. "How— How...When did he put this in my bra?!"

I hope you all enjoyed that chapter.

I'm sorry for the long wait, as I have been busy with my job and everything, as well as preparing for college. Not to mention I had a really terrible writer's block. I hope you all understand.

Anyways,

It would very much be appreciated if you reviewed! Reviews inspire me!

Thank you!