The next day Lucy woke up with a muscular arm snaked around her waist, and the alarm blaring. She moaned and slammed her palm into the snooze button. She was dreading school; her friends would want to know every detail about the trip. Despite the fact that they would all freak out, especially Mira, she needed to tell somebody what happened. Lucy no longer understood her and Natsu, she kept telling herself that the intense feelings she had were only a figment of her imagination. She was terrified they were only there because she had to be with Natsu. She pulled herself out the warm covers, not liking having to remove Natsu's arm. He twitched a little as if he could tell she were gone.

Lucy put her mouth right next to his ear and screamed, "Rise and shine jackass!"

Natsu jumped up and fell off the bed, leaving Lucy hunched over in laughter. He got up with a grumpy look then blushed really hard. Lucy looked down at herself to see her small tank top slipping off her shoulder and her tight sleeping shorts reveled much too skin. Her face burned and she walked awkwardly downstairs to the kitchen, hearing Natsu mumble something about a "cold shower."

After she shoved breakfast into her mouth she took a shower in the bathroom downstairs then quickly got into uniform.

Hopping on one foot while trying to put on her shoes she yelled, "Natsu, we're going to be late if you don't hurry."

He came sprinting down the stairs with his white scarf in one hand and snatched an apple with the other. Without saying a word they both ran to the bus stop down the street and waited. Lucy couldn't believe it was only May! She had another month before she graduated and wouldn't turn 18 until February. Did she really want to go through with that? Yes, she tried to convince herself, of course I do. Before she could get into deeper thought the bus came to a stop with a screech. She hadn't even seen it coming. She silently followed Natsu onto the bus. After 20 minutes of a motion sick moron next to her she was glad to be at school. Until Natsu grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bus. Despite her best efforts Natsu wouldn't let her go until they reached his locker.

"What the hell Natsu," she whispered, noticing the weird looks the two of them were getting.

"Sorry," he mumbled and walked away.

Lucy sighed and was going to walk to class when she became corned by her friends, who had most likely seen everything. Mira pulled Lucy into the same classroom where Lucy had announced her engagement and shut the door behind the rest of the girls. Immediately the dreaded talking started.

"You do like him!"

"How was Rio?"

"Does Natsu like you now?"

Lucy's cheeks became tinted with pink.

"Did you kiss him?"

Her face exploded into a deep red.

"You did!" Cana screamed.

Lucy nodded her head a little and Mira fainted. Before they got the wrong idea about her and Natsu she thought she would explain.

"Guys, I…we… Natsu and I still aren't dating or anything!" She continued, "He kissed me and I pushed him away; he can't kiss me like that just because we are going to get married. It's like he doesn't care that we were supposed to fall in love!" She finished the story and the girls looked at her in surprise.

Mira had woken up and said, "Two things; first, you practically just said you guys fell in love. Two, what does it matter that it was arranged? You didn't fake your feelings, and Natsu definitely didn't. He kissed you. You think he would do that just because you guys are in an arranged marriage? And you said you kissed him back! Is that not proof?"

Lucy was dumbfounded. Mira was right. "B-but…I don't want to let myself fall in love with him and then turn 18. Then we can divorce and…and I… I don't want to risk falling for somebody who will leave me the second he gets the chance." Seeing her friend's faces of surprise she added, "Plus it's Natsu so…yeah."

Lucy looked at Levy noticing she hadn't spoken though the whole story.

"Baka!" Levy yelled. Lucy sure as hell wasn't expecting that…

"Did you not just hear what Mira said? You think Natsu would kiss you then decide he would leave you? Seriously? You totally like him so go tell him!"

Lucy couldn't help but stare; Levy never yelled. She really meant what she had said.

She sighed and said, defeated, "You guys are right…but…you guys know that I slapped him just two days ago. I feel like I would confuse him if I just proclaimed I had a sudden change of heart. I think I'll wait. Just for a little while."

Truthfully Lucy wanted to put off telling Natsu for as long as possible.

"So you do love him?" Erza asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-yeah, I d-do. I guess."

"I'll just wait a week, okay?"

They all agreed and ran to their classes before they were late. Lucy had forgotten she spent every class with Natsu and was his partner for first hour. She had walked into class and sat by Natsu. Why was he out of breath? He was looking at her funny too. She looked over at Gajeel, Gray and Laxus and they all whipped their heads to look away from Lucy. Something was up.

….

Natsu had already called his friends on four way calling and told them what he had done, not wanting to see their faces when he told them. He was surprised when they just laughed.

"We figured something like that would happen. You idiot."

Natsu always loved Gray's comments.

"Hey Laxus, you owe me ten bucks!" Gajeel said.

"Uggg I know, I know."

Natsu yelled into the phone, "You guys were betting on me!?"

They all laughed at him again and Natsu grumpily hung up. When he arrived at school he dragged Lucy inside just to hold her hand. He was getting desperate. He needed to be with her, to hold her, to tell everybody that Lucy was his. He apologized and walked away until he saw Lucy's friends turn the corner and drag her into a classroom, probably to question her. Oh yes, he wanted to hear this. He placed his head against the extremely thin door and listened.

"You do like him!"

"How was Rio?"

"Does Natsu like you now?"

Natsu wanted to hear the answer to that.

"Did you kiss him?"

He felt a burst of guilt at that last one.

"You did!" Cana screamed.

"Guys, I…we… Natsu and I still aren't dating or anything!"Lucy said, "He kissed me and I pushed him away; he can't kiss me like that just because we are going to get married. It's like he doesn't care that we were supposed to fall in love!" She finished the story. Natsu was shocked. She thought that?

One girl said, "Two things; first, you practically just said you guys fell in love. Two, what does it matter that it was arranged? You didn't fake your feelings, and Natsu definitely didn't. He kissed you. You think he would do that just because you guys are in an arranged marriage? And you said you kissed him back! Is that not proof?"

He liked that girl. She had just voiced his own thoughts. He really did like Lucy, not because they were forced to marry but because she was amazing and he felt stupid he never realized it before.

Lucy started talking again. "B-but…I don't want to let myself fall in love with him and then turn 18. Then we can divorce and…and I… I don't want to risk falling for somebody who will leave me the second he gets the chance." She added, "Plus it's Natsu so…yeah."

Natsu couldn't move. She wanted to be with him then? She was just scared? Now that night in Rio made sense. She was just afraid. Lucy didn't really hate him.

"Baka!" someone yelled. "Did you not just hear what Mira said? You think Natsu would kiss you then decide he would leave you? Seriously? You totally like him so go tell him!"

Yes Lucy, tell me! He thought.

Lucy sighed and said, defeated, "You guys are right…but…you guys know that I slapped him just two days ago. I feel like I would confuse him if I just proclaimed I had a sudden change of heart. I think I'll wait. Just for a little while."

Confused? Sure. But he wouldn't care. Natsu just wanted her and he wanted her now.

"So you do love him?" Another girl asked.

"Y-yeah, I d-do. I guess."

Natsu wanted to break down the door and hug her right now.

"I'll just wait a week, okay?"

A week? Natsu didn't think he could wait that long. He realized as he heard the girls getting up that he needed to go before they caught him. He sprinted own a few hallways and into class, slamming into his seat, panting a little.

Lucy walked in and looked at him like she knew. Instead she just brushed it off and took out her binder. He sighed inwardly with relief and looked at Lucy again. She looked up and saw him staring at her and blushed. Did she ever stop blushing? She might as well be red with all the blushing she had been doing. It was cute.

"What's up Luce?" He asked and tilted his head to the side a little. It was funny seeing her look at him like that. It was obvious she thought he looked cute like that. He did try.

"N-nothing." She mumbled.

He chuckled a little and forced himself to endure this week. Just one week, he told himself. Then Lucy was his. Still he couldn't help but want to drag her out of class and kiss her senseless right now. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on anything but Lucy.

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