AN: Heads up, Lucy may be a bit OOC in this story in the sense that she is very impatient on finding her soulmate haha. I know in the anime/manga she is patient and doesn't really look for a relationship at all but in this story she is a bit impatient haha!
Chapter 3
Lucy woke up the next morning feeling drained. After leaving the bar, the blonde wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and sleep. Levy was having none of it however. Lucy was bombarded with texts from her petite friend, all focused around one thing: her newfound soulmate. While she knew she was being bitter, the girl couldn't help but feel envious towards her friend. Nonetheless, she stayed up talking to her best friend, giving her advice on what to do. It seemed simple enough though she had no experience in the matter. How hard could it be though? They should just talk and get to know each other and then start a relationship! It's that simple, right?
Apparently it wasn't. Thus, the blonde entered her class with a sigh as Levy hurried her to their desks.
"Lu-chan, you and Juvia have to come with me to Fairy Tail after school!" the petite girl exclaimed.
"Fairy Tail?" Lucy questioned.
"The bar from yesterday! I have to see Gajeel again! We're freaking soulmates!"
"Juvia would love to go. It would give Juvia a chance to see her lovely Gray-sama!" their other friend chimed in.
"C'mon, Lu-chan! Come with us!"
"Fine," Lucy said, already growing exhausted from the conversation. While she was excited about her new tattoo a mere two days ago, all the girl could feel towards it now was resent. Part of her wanted to burn it away or cover it with another tattoo so she could forget all about it.
After school, the three girls waited once again for their friends to walk them back to Fairy Tail. Lucy stayed by Loke, feeling comforted by the fact that he hadn't found his soulmate either and apparently wasn't rushing to find one. After all, he was a well-known player throughout Magnolia. He probably didn't want to be tied down.
"What has you so upset, Princess?" the orange-haired boy asked.
"It's nothing, Loke," Lucy fibbed.
"You can't lie to me, Lucy. I can read you like an open book."
"Since when do you read?"
Loke scowled at the blonde but couldn't fight against the smile dancing on his lips. The group quickly arrived and made their way to the corner table. Everyone from yesterday was already sitting there, either eating or just idly chatting.
"Hello everyone," Lucy greeted shyly. She sat next to Levy, who sat next to Gajeel. Loke followed and sat on the other side of the blonde.
"Yo, Luce!" Natsu greeted in return. "Still upset about not finding your soulmate?"
"S-Shut up."
"So that's what you're upset about?" Loke asked. At this point everyone at the table was listening to the conversation.
"I-I can't help it! I've always been curious as to who my soulmate is and I want to meet him now! I've been single my whole life. Hell, I've never even gone on a simple date because I was waiting to find my soulmate! But where is he? Oh that's right. NOT HERE."
Everyone at the table was silent after the girl's outburst. After all, half of them had only met her yesterday and were unsure as to what to say. Others were afraid that if they said something she would attack. There were a few awkward coughs until finally somebody spoke up.
"I'll take you on a date," Loke said with complete seriousness.
"W-What?" Lucy asked in complete shock.
The boy shrugged and replied, "I'll take you on a date. I mean, why not? You're attractive, I'm attractive. We've been friends since we were kids. Why not give it a shot?"
"B-Because we're friends! That would be weird, wouldn't it?"
"I say go for it, Lu-chan," Levy chimed in. "It's not like you guys are getting married or anything. It's just a date."
"B-But our tattoos! They're different! He has a ring tattoo and I have a flaming key! That means we aren't soulmates!"
Loke slung an arm over her shoulder. "Well, Princess, your soulmate isn't here and you are obviously dying to gain some experience in the dating world. And I happen to be the king of dates. Let me entertain you for one night."
"F-Fine."
The group continued to talk once again now that Lucy's troubles were out of the way. The blonde could feel someone staring at her and found Natsu gaping at her wide eyed. She could even see something akin to a blush spread across his cheeks. Their gazes were locked to each other until he finally looked away. Lucy shrugged it off and began to think of her date coming up.
While Loke certainly was attractive and one of her closest friends, Lucy never held those types of feelings for him. Yet, the idea of finally going on a date with a boy excited her and knowing Loke, he was probably just doing it to make her feel better. Now when her soulmate decides to come into her life, she'll have more experience and she'll be ready.
It was nearing eight o'clock as Lucy found herself trying on multiple dresses. She only stayed at Fairy Tail for a quick hour to help calm Levy's nerves. After that, she decided to go home and prepare for her date with Loke. None of her dresses seemed good enough for her first date, but the blonde wasn't about to go shop for a new dress. Thus, she settled for a knee length flowy dress. It was mint green and fit her body well. She only had about ten minutes left until her date was supposed to arrive. They were going to go out to eat at a new restaurant that opened in Magnolia. Something simple much to Lucy's relief.
Finally, Lucy heard a knock at the door and hurried to open it. Loke smiled at her and held his arm out to her. Smiling gratefully, she accepted his arm and the two walked toward the restaurant that she hoped wasn't too far. She was wearing heels after all.
To her relief, the walk was short and they quickly arrived at the quaint restaurant. Loke told the seater about their reservation and was brought to a booth near the back. The lights were dimmed and there was soft music playing, probably to help the mood. The two childhood friends talked easily. It didn't feel like a date at all more like two friends getting dinner together. Yet Lucy didn't mind.
"Really, Loke? You had to come here and make me work?" a voice rang from beside them.
Lucy turned to find Natsu dressed in a nice suit along with his scarf. There was a scowl plastered to his face as he glared at the orange-headed boy.
"Wait, do you work here?" Lucy questioned.
"Sadly," Natsu answered, handing the two their menus. "You just had to complain about being single, didn't ya, Luce?"
The blonde stuck her tongue out and replied, "You better be nice to me or else you aren't getting a good tip!"
Natsu laughed and walked away, probably into the kitchen.
"So, Lucy," Loke began, looking over his menu, "what do you want to eat?"
"I don't know, it all looks pretty good. I think I want the shrimp and fettucine alfredo!"
"You always did crave pasta. I think I'm going to get a steak."
Lucy raised a brow. "Isn't that a little expensive?"
Loke smiled and answered, "Yeah, but don't worry about it. You were clearly having a rough day and I wanted to help you out."
"You're a great friend, Loke. Even though you're a player."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"What do you guys wanna eat?" Natsu asked as he suddenly appeared by the two. They gave him their orders. "You want pasta? That's lame, Luce. You should try our spicy chicken wings! They're the best!"
"Yeah, yeah. I don't like spicy food, waiter," Lucy teased, shooing him away.
Natsu stared quizzically at her and mumbled, "How do you have that tattoo?"
Lucy was about to question him but the pink-haired boy already turned around and left. Shrugging it off, the blonde returned to her date with her childhood friend. Once Natsu delivered their meals, the two went to work at eating it. Loke finished his steak quickly, Lucy still nibbling on her pasta. That was when she caught her date staring at a cute, pink-haired girl across the room.
"Go," Lucy said with a smile.
Loke looked back at her, shocked that he was caught looking at another girl. "No, this is our date. I want to cheer you up."
Lucy giggled and said, "Don't worry about me anymore. You already did cheer me up. I have delicious food to eat so go now before I catch you drooling."
The orange-haired teen smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair before finally leaving to go talk to the girl that caught his attention. Lucy watched with curiosity. At first the girl was nervous, but eventually she and Loke were talking with ease. The blonde released a heavy sigh and turned her attention back to her food.
"Where's your date?" a familiar voice asked.
"Shouldn't you be working, Natsu?" Lucy asked in return. The pink-haired boy shrugged, prompting the blonde to continue. "He's over there flirting with some girl."
Natsu followed Lucy's pointed finger and found Loke sitting in a booth with a pink-haired girl. He immediately recognized her as Aries from his school.
"That's Loke for you," he finally said. He then slid into the seat across from her.
"Aren't you gonna get in trouble?"
Natsu shrugged once again. "It's my break time. Let me have some of that!" The boy grabbed Lucy's fork and twirled some of the noodles around it. Ignoring the blonde's protests, he shoved the creamy pasta into his mouth.
"Hey, that's mine!" Lucy shouted, reaching over the table to snatch her fork away. "Weren't you the one that said getting pasta was lame?"
Natsu laughed seeing the blonde's pout and replied, "Only because there's better food you could've ordered."
"Whatever. You just love annoying me."
"I guess I do."
The two laughed. Since Lucy was in a giving mood, she pushed her plate to the middle of the table. Grabbing a fork from another table, she handed it to her new friend.
"I'm only sharing with you because it's your break time," she said.
"Thanks, Luce!" the boy replied, ruffling her hair.
The two chowed down while engaging in conversations. Lucy had to scold him more than once because he was talking with his mouth full. The blonde swore she had never seen such terrible table etiquette until that day.
"So why haven't I seen you at school?" Natsu asked, eating the last bite of Lucy's pasta.
"I go to Fiore Academy. It's an all-girls school," she answered.
"Sounds fancy."
"It's actually kind of boring sometimes. It feels like a routine now. Levy-chan and Juvia are the only good things about that school."
"Really? It'd be cool if you went to my school and had classes with me."
A faint blush crept to Lucy's cheeks though she didn't know why. "Y-Yeah."
"I'm sure you get good grades. I could copy your homework."
Lucy reached over the table and playfully hit the chuckling boy. They continued to talk for what seemed like ages. Finally, Loke walked up to them and announced it was time to leave.
"Aww, but Lucy and I were having fun!" Natsu said with a pout.
"How about I come over to Fairy Tail tomorrow?" Lucy proposed with a smile. The pink-haired boy immediately perked up.
"Deal. See you tomorrow, Luce!"
With that, Lucy and Loke left the restaurant and were out on the streets of Magnolia.
"So how was that for your first date?" the boy questioned.
"It was pretty fun!" Lucy answered truthfully.
"Wasn't bad for a first date at all."
AN: What a cute date between Lucy and "Loke" though it was really a date with Natsu. ;) I started writing a Nashi story, and so far I'm really loving it! Part of me would rather write that story instead of this one but if everyone would rather continue reading this story instead I'll focus on this one and wait to post my Nashi story! Let me know what you guys would prefer!
Soul Eater Maka: Yes they did! :D
Snavej: Thank youuuuuu. :)
Rose Tiger: Yes she is! :D Eventually.
Humbleblossom: Thank you so much! :)
SoulHorse: Thank you! :D
Alexa60765: Well now you know who finds out first! :D
Kaito1412: Thank you so much :)
Musicalocelot: Oh really? You don't typically like high school AUs? :O That's the complete opposite of me! I prefer the high school AUs! :) Which makes your review a great compliment because you actually like my story! :D So thank you so much!
HeyItsLey: Thank you so much! :D And I give cliffhangers because they are exciting and I love the reactions I get! :D
MirrorFlame: Oh shoot I didn't really include his reaction! I should definitely add a short little filler on that! :D
BloodRedRubies: You aren't the only one that asked about Gajeel's reaction so I will definitely add a short filler chapter about the two! :D Thank you for the review!