Chapter 7

"Do you by any chance... like Natsu?"

Hearing those words, it felt like something had just shot through her body. Embarrassment? Shock? Realization?

Does she?

"O-Of course not!" What are you talking about Gray?!" Lucy blurted out.

"Really?" he questioned with raised eyebrows.

"I-I mean, I like him as a friend! A really good friend! Definitely not in that way!" she seemed to be getting more and more nervous as she spoke.

Gray sighed. "Well, that's a pity. Anyway, I have to head back to class. See you around."

Lucy wanted to stop Gray to ask him about his weird question but he turned around and walked off with his hands in his pockets before she could do anything. That short encounter left her flustered and she began questioning herself.

Do I?

Images of Natsu and herself started flashing through her mind. How they ran in the rain together, how Natsu gave her Valentine's day chocolate. She could feel her face heating up. How much of a dork he is, how he makes her laugh, how he's always so dense and disappointing her to the point she doesn't even wanna think about it.

"That's impossible! Liking Natsu? Nah, not gonna happen- achoo!" she sneezed again.

"and this cold isn't getting better either."

She blew her nose into a piece of toilet paper and walked back to her classroom.


Lucy scribbled on her notebook quickly to catch up with the lesson but something was distracting her. She felt really cold and it was making her uncomfortable. Small droplets of cold sweat starting forming on her forehead, she wiped them away with a quick swipe of her left hand.

Is it just me or the weather's getting really chilly?

"Remember to complete all your assignments! I'll be looking forward to punishing anyone who doesn't. See you kids tomorrow!" Mr. Gildarts flashed a toothy grin despite his words, he was really trying to scare us.

"Yes sir..." the class reluctantly responded.

Everyone got up to pack their bags and leave, so did Lucy. Just as she stood up, she felt her head spin and her vision blur. She stumbled and leaned towards her table for support.

What was that? She closed her eyes as her head throbbed. She didn't feel very good.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" Loke placed his hand on her shoulder with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine, I think I'm just too tired." Lucy assured him.

"You should go home to rest, Lu-chan. You've been pushing yourself really hard for school."

"Well, that's just me Levy!" Lucy joked.

Levy shook her head and laughed at her blonde friend who was still in the mood to joke around even in that condition.

"I guess I'll be heading home then! See you guys tomorrow!"

"Have a safe trip home, Lu-chan!"

When Lucy reached the classroom door, her head started spinning again. She held onto the doorknob to keep her balance but she felt all the muscles in her body weaken and she lost control of them. Before she knew it, she was on the floor.

"Lucy!"

"Lu-chan!"

She heard her friends calling out to her from a distance and footsteps running towards her. Her vision started getting blurry and she lost consciousness.


Lucy fluttered her eyelids open only to find herself back in her bedroom. She got up from her bed and noticed a sticky note placed on her bedside table.

You're down with a fever Lu-chan! Sheesh you should've just stayed at home if you were not feeling
well! You're gonna keep making us worry this way! I'm sorry I can't stay to take care of you
but I made you some hot soup,
it's in a pot in the kitchen. Please rest and get well soon!

-Levy

She smiled to herself as she read the note, internally thanking her blue-haired friend. She slowly stood up from her bed and dragged her feet to the kitchen, still feeling very weak as she clutched onto the walls. Just then, the doorbell rang. Lucy made her way as quickly as she could to the door and opened it, getting a surprise from a certain someone.

"Yo Luce!"

"N-Natsu?!"

"I heard from Levy about what happened. Seriously Luce?! You should take better care of yourself, fainting in school like that is bad." Natsu lectured her.

"Excuse me Mister, I ran in the rain with you and you still laughed at me for catching a cold this morning- achoo!" she sneezed before she could finish her sentence.

"See, even your cold is telling you to not talk so much."

Lucy pouted and let Natsu into her apartment. "So why are you here?"

"To take care of you, of course."

"Take care of me?!" Lucy was in shock.

"Yeah cause' if I don't, who will? Plue? I don't think so."

"I can take care of myself, Natsu." she sighed.

"No you can't, you need to rest. Just depend on me for now, will you?" he sounded like he was pleading for a moment.

"Alright..."

Natsu carried Lucy to her bed and helped get Levy's hot soup for her to drink. For the first time, Natsu seemed very... reliable. Helping her beat up creepy stalkers was one thing, but Lucy has never seen such a soft side to Natsu. He patiently checked her temperature every now and then, told her lame jokes to keep her mind off this fever, carefully helping her to walk wherever she wanted and most importantly, always having that huge grin on his face. It made her feel all tingly for some reason. She grasped on her blanket tightly as shivers were sent throughout her entire body. Natsu noticed her shaking underneath her covers.

"Do you feel cold Luce?"

"Yea... really cold."

"Do you have any extra blankets lying around?"

Lucy shook her head sadly.

"I guess I have no choice then."

Natsu walked to Lucy bed and got into the bed with her, startling Lucy.

"W-W-Wh-What are y-you-" she couldn't even place her words properly.

"This would oughta keep you warm." he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his body.

Lucy didn't say anything. Well, she was too shocked to. Her entire face was crimson red by now and she couldn't process her thoughts. To think that Natsu would actually hug her to keep her warm, woah hello. She could feel heat radiating from his body even with just a slight touch and his breathe on her neck, which made her have goosebumps. He was literally a human heater. She had to admit that it felt really comfortable and it was kind of surreal. She had never imagined getting so close to this pink-haired teen, to the extent of sleeping in the same bed. That thought made her even more flustered. She wondered if Natsu felt the same way. Lucy titled her head up a little to take a look at Natsu but he only pulled her closer, preventing her head from moving.

"Sleep, okay?" he whispered.

She nodded slightly and buried her head into his chest as she closed her eyes, soon drifting off into dreamland. Little did she know that Natsu was already blushing from ear to ear, but he didn't want her to see it. He didn't even know why he was doing this. Million of thoughts ran through his head as he held Lucy in his arms. Why was he acting like that? Lucy made him feel protective, even when she wasn't in any danger. He was just constantly worried for her safety and wellbeing. All these questions made him frustrated. This dense teen was too oblivious to figure anything out.

He lay on the bed with Lucy for 10 minutes before checking up on her, she was already in deep sleep. Natsu slowly unwrapped his arms and let go of her like she was some fragile glass. He adjusted her blanket on her to make sure she wouldn't get chilled while sleeping. He sat by the side of her bed, a little unwilling to leave, but it was already 9pm. He couldn't possibly have a sleepover at her house, he was afraid he would just wake her up from his horrendously loud snoring and sleep talking. Natsu gazed at Lucy as she peacefully slept. Small pieces of blonde hair from her bangs covered her face and he brushed it aside and tucked it behind her ear to reveal Lucy's angel-like face. He could probably stare at her forever. Natsu wasn't very much in his head and he just leaned in without thinking, gently kissing her forehead. He quickly pulled away when she twitched a little, afraid of waking her up. He smiled to himself, Lucy seemed almost like a child, someone he wanted to take care of.

"Goodnight, Luce."

With that, he left her apartment.


Lucy woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. Her fever was down and her nose wasn't running anymore, thanks to the care that her precious friends gave her. She thought back to what happened last night, the warmth of Natsu's body against her's, him hugging her ever so tightly. It made her smile like an idiot and her heart beat faster.

No Lucy, snap out of it. She lightly knocked her head to clear her mind. Realizing that it was still a school day, Lucy reluctantly dragged herself out of bed to prepare for school. While brushing her teeth, her phone lit up. She immediately checked her phone and turns out she received tons of messages from her friends.

"Lu-chan, has your fever gone down? I'm so worried! And make sure you finish all my soup! :("

"Are you alright Lucy? I'm so sorry for not taking enough care of you and it's all my fault! I'm willing to share some of my strawberry cheesecake to make you feel better :"

"Hey bunny girl, Levy's so worried about you. You better get well soon."

"Yo Lucy! You really scared me when you fainted yesterday. I hope you're all better now! ;)"

"Hey Lucy, how ya feeling? Seriously, flame brain should've done a better job sheltering you from the rain. Anyway, get better fast!"

"I hope you've recovered by now Lucy! Erza keeps blaming herself for what happened I don't even know why D:"

And the last message that really caught her attention.

"Yo Luce! How ya feeling today? I hope you're all fired up! I left a cold medicine and some snacks in your kitchen in case you were hungry. Remember to eat all of them or I'll get mad! Oh and I helped you entertain Plue for awhile too. He was really sad because you were sick! Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing you in school later on! If you need any help just give me a call :D"

Lucy giggled at Natsu's dorkiness and her heart warmed at how caring he was. She held her phone on her chest for awhile before replying all of them. She felt so loved by all of her friends, it made her grateful and she couldn't ask for more. Lucy then took a quick shower, put on her uniform and headed off to school.


"Hi everyone!" Lucy called as she walked into the classroom.

"LUUU-CHAAAAN!" Levy ran towards Lucy and pounced on her. "I was so worried about you!" she sobbed a little.

"Come on, Levy. I'm fine now, aren't I?" Lucy comforted her blue-haired friend and patted her head.

"I'm so glad you're alright Lucy." Erza wiped away a shiny tear that formed at the corner of her eye. Lucy wondered if her friends were always this emotional.

"When you fainted, I almost had a heart attack." Loke placed his hand on his chest.

"Well thanks to Levy and Natsu, I'm completely back in shape now!" Lucy said as she walked to her seat and sat down.

"Natsu?" Erza asked. It was as if an imaginary question mark formed on the heads of her 3 friends.

Oh snap. Now I have to explain everything.

"Oh uhm... Natsu kind of visited me yesterday and took care of me, that's all!" Yeah, that's all. She laughed nervously.

"I see, who knew Natsu could be so caring?" Erza smiled.

"Thank god he was there for you Lu-chan!"

"Yeah, thank god." There was a slight hint of jealousy in Loke's tone, Lucy noticed. And for some reason she felt a little guilty for mentioning Natsu.

"A-Anyway! Thank you guys for caring so much about me, I really appreciate it."

"No problem Lucy!"

It was time for their break and they headed for the cafeteria to eat with the others. As they approached the table where Natsu and the rest were seated at, Lucy noticed that an unfamiliar girl was seated there as well. She had long wavy brown hair that cascaded so perfectly down her back and gorgeous purple eyes. As Lucy got closer to the table, she and this girl made eye contact. The girl smiled at her and Lucy smiled back.

"Lucy you're back!" Gray welcomed her. They all took a seat as the rest welcomed them as well.

"Are you all fired up now?" Natsu asked with his usual grin.

"I sure am!" Lucy laughed.

"By the way Lucy, there's someone we'd like to introduce you to." Gray shifted his eyes to the brown-haired girl. "This is Cana."

"Nice to meet you Lucy! I've heard a lot about you from these boys." she held out her hand in Lucy's direction.

"Nice to meet you too Cana!" Lucy greeted and shook Cana's hand in response. "I don't see you in school a lot."

"She rarely attends classes cause' she's always having hangovers from drinking too much the previous night. I guess today is one of those rare days." Gray explained.

"Come on, Gray. One can never drink too much booze!" she slapped Gray on the back, causing him to groan.

"How do you not get a beer belly from all that drinking?" Natsu asked.

"That's cause' you suck, Natsu."

"That didn't make any sense!"

Lucy noticed Cana's interaction with Natsu and Gray. The 3 of them seemed really close with one another, which made her kinda envious, but not in bad way. Lucy's confused stare caught Cana's attention, causing her to suggest an idea out of the blue.

"Hey Lucy, are you free tonight?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I was thinking if you'd like to meet me at The Fairy Bar at 8, just the 2 of us. I'd like to talk to you more and get to know you better." Cana winked at Lucy.

"S-Sure!" Lucy was surprised by Cana's friendliness.

"Woah there, no invite for us?" Natsu crossed his arms.

"Nah, it's gonna be just me and Lucy."

"Oh fine." Natsu pouted.


Lucy walked into The Fairy Bar, it was crowded as usual. She looked around the place for Cana and she saw the brown-haired girl waving at her.

"Lucy! Over here!" Cana was seated at one of the corners. Lucy ran over to her and took a seat as well.

"I'm sorry I'm a little late!" She apologized.

"It's alright. Besides, as long as there is booze, I'm all entertained!" she picked up a barrel of booze and drank straight from it, startling Lucy.

"C-Cana, I don't think it's very good to drink straight from the barrel..." Lucy tried to stop her.

"It's fine Lucy! I'm used to it!" Cana took another big gulp of booze from the barrel.

Lucy was completely speechless as she realized that she and Cana were worlds apart in terms of drinking. She simply ordered a glass of orange juice to quench her thirst despite Cana's constant pleading for her to try some booze. She didn't want the same thing to happen again.

"So Lucy, I've heard a lot about you from Natsu and Gray. They're always talking about you!"

Lucy blushed and said," R-Really? Are you, Natsu and Gray very close?"

"Sure we are. We're all childhood friends! We grew up in the same town so we always played together when we were kids."

"I see. That's really nice, having close friends that you've known for such a long time."

"But you're very close to Natsu too right? You two hang out a lot, according to Gray." Cana leaned towards Lucy curiously.

"I-I guess so. We're pretty good friends!" What did that idiot tell her?!

"Have you ever wanted to know more about Natsu?"

That made Lucy question herself. She's never really asked Natsu about himself, in fact she didn't know much about him. That made her a little guilty, not showing much concern for her friend's past or whatsoever. "I'd love to know more about him!"

"Well you see, Natsu's had a pretty complicated past. It breaks my heart too to talk about it." Cana's eyes seemed to have sadness in them. Lucy raised a brow. She nodded her head, beckoning for Cana to continue.

"The 3 of us grew up in Clover Town, our parents were neighbors so they would let their kids play together. That's how we met. We became close really quickly. I was the mellow one, Gray was the cold one and Natsu was the one with a goofy and fiery personality. I wonder how we even clicked! It was a really joyful childhood. Natsu constantly told us about his dad, Igneel, about how much he loved him and how proud he was of him. Natsu lost his mom at birth, so Igneel single-handedly raised him up. He was always working really hard to support the family, but he would never forget to spend time with Natsu. He was a great man to me. But one day, Igneel got into an accident at work... and passed away."

Hearing that pulled on Lucy's heart strings, tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Natsu was devastated. He lost his only family member left and he was only 8 years old. I can't imagine how he felt." Cana's expression hardened. "Gray and I tried our best to comfort him, but he always ended up secluding himself at home. He didn't talk or come into contact with anybody. For all I know, he was crying himself to sleep every night. Soon after, his aunt took him in and raised him as her own. But I guess Natsu never felt the same since Igneel was gone. He became a really gloomy person, completely different from who he was before. He never mixed around with the other kids anymore, he would sit in the corner of class all the time and head home straight after school. Gray and I couldn't bear to watch him like that, but whenever we tried to help him, he would brush it off."

Lucy stared down at the floor. "I never knew that Natsu had such a depressing past. It makes me feel bad for not ever being concerned about it. And to think he's the cheerful person he is now..."

"That's all thanks to Lisanna."

"L-Lisanna?"

"When we were 10, the Strauss siblings moved into our town and Lisanna attended the same school as us. She noticed Natsu always being an outcast and she tried making friends with him. He ignored her the first few times like how he did with everybody else, but eventually gave in due to her persistence and started talking to her. Needless to say, the 2 of them got closer and for the first time in 2 years, I finally saw a smile on Natsu's face. I never expected that this girl would be able to change Natsu back to the way he is, I guess she gave him a new light in his life. Natsu started talking to me and Gray more again too. Soon, the 4 of us became best of friends."

Lucy listened intently and smiled as she heard the happier part of it.

"Lisanna was a smart kid, scoring straight As in all her tests. She soon earned a scholarship and went to study abroad. Natsu didn't want her to leave, after all he's always had a little crush on her."

Lucy's eyes widened at that sentence. Natsu likes Lisanna? Her heart ached a little. But why?

"But he didn't have a choice. He had a hard time dealing with her leaving and they didn't keep in touch due to her busy schedules. Natsu, Gray and I soon went our separate ways too. We moved to different towns and enrolled into different high schools, with Gray getting into Fairy Tail High. Natsu and his aunt moved to Hargeon and he attended a high school there. As for me, I enrolled into Quatro Cerberus Academy but it was full of guys and I couldn't stand it! So I transferred into Fairy Tail High after awhile. Little did I know, Natsu transferred here as well. He moved out from his aunt's place and started living on his own here in Magnolia. That's how the 3 of us reunited."

"So you and Natsu transferred in while I was abroad, no wonder I didn't get to meet you guys!"

"That's right!" Cana giggled. "But I'm glad that I still got to meet you now."

Lucy blushed at Cana's comment, but she realized something. "Wait, so Lisanna transferred into Fairy Tail High too right?"

"Yeah, a few months after we did. Natsu was so happy to see her again, so were Gray and I. But who knew that she'd change so much in just 2 years?" Cana sighed. That last sentence made Lucy confused.

"What happened to her?" Lucy asked.

"She became a bitch." Lucy flinched at Cana's harsh words. "Gray and I noticed how different she was and even though Gray was okay with, I definitely wasn't. As for Natsu, he was probably too hopelessly in love with her and only saw her good side. Fast forward another few months, they started dating. I was completely against that idea but Gray stopped me from saying anything, I guess if Natsu was happy we shouldn't interfere. Gray really supported their relationship, until that happened."

"That?" Before Lucy could get an answer, something came flying towards them and crashing into their table. Someone threw Ichiya in their direction, he was probably going around sniffing people and pissed someone off. It caused Lucy to yelp and fall back on her chair.

"WHO THREW THIS THING HERE?!" Cana slammed her fists on the table.

"I'm not a thing!" Ichiya commented. Cana lifted 2 barrels of booze and threw them to the other side of the bar. Needless to say, another brawl started again. Lucy sighed at the childishness of all those people, but found it really amusing as well. She enjoyed this lively atmosphere. Well, until a chair got thrown in her face.

"Why do I have to get caught up in this?" Lucy sobbed.

That night, Cana and Lucy talked about a lot of things and Lucy managed to find out so much more about Natsu. What he likes, what he doesn't like and his little quirks and habits which she could probably use against him in the future. In no time at all, Cana and Lucy got really close. They were similar in many ways, except the booze part. Cana got so drunk she fainted so her drinking partner, Macao, offered to take her home since he knows where she lives. Lucy on the other hand, made it back to her apartment herself and was welcomed warmly by Plue.

"Natsu and Lisanna huh?" Lucy said to herself as she sat down on her couch. Her chest felt heavy and she couldn't get her mind off what Cana told her.

"Natsu always had a little crush on Lisanna."

"He was too hopelessly in love with her."

Why did Natsu say that he never really liked Lisanna? Why did he lie? Who is Lisanna to him? They're not dating anymore, so does he still like her? Why does he act that way around her? Why am I so affected by all of this?

She had no idea why, but her heart was aching like crazy. She clenched her fists and placed them on her chest. Stop it Lucy. For a moment there, maybe just for a second, she thought that maybe, just maybe, Natsu liked her. So many maybes. But that was probably not the case. Natsu has always been so friendly and helpful to everyone, he was close to all of his friends and he didn't treat any of them indifferently. What was she thinking? She felt... hurt. But why? She couldn't possibly like him... right?

"You can't like him Lucy. Suppress your feelings, or you're gonna get hurt." she teared.


Hi readers ! This is the longest chapter I have written so far and hopefully I can keep up with the consistency, or maybe make it even longer. Once again, lots of Nalu fluff and oh my god my heart was aching while writing this ! It's like I can feel Lucy.

Exams are around the corner and there's so much stress right now ! But writing fanfics really is a stress reliever : I'm trying to come up with more drama so it'll be more interesting and I know there are a lot of holes in the story now but questions will soon be answered in the upcoming chapters :-) like what did Lisanna do to Natsu blah blah. But for now, have fun guessing :D

Stay tuned for the next chapter !