Lucy stared at herself in the mirror, slapping her cheeks lightly, "You can do this, Lucy." She looked over her white one piece and adjusted her swim cap. Lucy wasn't very athletic but, per Fairy Tail Academy's requirement, she had to join at least one "sport" team. She had a good chance of making the swim team, but that still did nothing to quiet her nerves. She had never "tried" out before and she didn't know what to expect. Well, at least she knew one friendly face there – Lyon. She hoped Gray would be there too but she didn't know who could be in attendance.

"First-years, come on in," a male voice called through the intercom.

Lucy shook her hands, trying to relieve some of the tension, and walked into the room.

XX

Erza was known by many names, but her favorite was Scarlett. It bore the weight of early memories – painful, happy, sorrowful memories. Where once she had associated her hair as red as the blood of those poor wretched enough to be forced into servitude, as the blood of those who died, and as the blood that ran down in liters on the stones of their prison, she now associated it with the warmth of love and friendship. Red symbolized courage and bravery. It took her many years and many friends to come to that perspective.

Erza glanced at her mirror and smiled. However, that wasn't her favorite reason. She had been given the name by a young blue haired boy while they were imprisoned. He called her Scarlett, Erza Scarlett. Erza wouldn't admit it if anybody asked, but she carefully brushed her hair everyday so it would draw his attention. There was some symbolism to it. She took care of what he loved dearly in the hopes that he would know she had forgiven him…but he refused to be with her.

Through the open windows of her shared room, she heard the birds chirping happily to one another. Even after all these years, the sound reassured her that she truly was off that horrid island. There had been no wildlife bigger than insects on that island. No game to attempt to catch to feed the children. No, they all starved equally.

A knock at her door disturb her thoughts. She put away her mirror and comb, and opened the door. It was Natsu.

"Erza," Natsu grinned, "Is Lucy here?"

Erza glanced at the clock; it read eight-thirty, "No, she's still at the swim try-outs."

Natsu cursed, "Damn, they already got their claws in her, huh?"

"If you wanted to recruit her for the gymnastics team, you should have done that weeks ago. Lyon made his move first," Erza patted his shoulder, walking past him and closing her door.

"I know," he replied, keeping in step with her, "but why didn't you ask her to join the fencing team?"

"Lucy expressed interest in the swim team before I had the chance to inquire about her athletic preferences," Erza explained.

Natsu placed his hands behind his head, "Yeah, Luce's not very athletic in the first place. She shoulda joined Levy's chess team. I think she woulda done well there with her brains and stuff."

Erza quirked an eyebrow at him; he surprisingly noticed a lot of Lucy's personality and intellect.

"It's not like you to be so observant."

"Yeah, and everyone expected me to join the wrestling team," He shrugged off the accusation.

"Which you did end up joining anyway."

They were at the building's exit and Erza had to meet Jellal for a meeting with the headmaster. She adjusted her sweater and was intent on leaving, but she turned back and said one, probably not very wise, thing, "If you're that concerned about Lucy, you should ask for her number."

Natsu grunted in response, but Erza noted the color in his cheeks. Natsu was dense, yes, but not as dense as everyone viewed him. She thought of Lisanna, but Natsu gaining another friend was not an issue. He needed someone like Lucy who he could be emotional with. He always bottled up his feelings and if Lucy was the friend with the corkscrew then Erza would encourage it.

XX

The meeting with the headmaster had been invigorating, even if Jellal was always tired out after dealing with their eccentric headmaster. Jellal and her walked to the student council house to go over their notes and game plan for the school festival. They always held private meetings like this before briefing the rest of the student council. It facilitated everything, but Erza was also delighted to spend one on one time with Jellal. Usually, they kept it strictly business with some quips here and there; however, during a brief moment of silence, Jellal asked, "Why did you abdicate being president?"

Erza looked up to find Jellal's dark blue eyes staring at her. She blinked, and carefully broached the subject, shuffling her papers, "I thought I'd rather be president for senior year."

"I see," Jellal replied, sounding vaguely disappointed as if he had expected something more.

It could have been the morning chat she had with Natsu, or maybe her strawberry milkshake being sweeter than usual, but Erza foolishly (or maybe not so foolishly) confessed.

"You're a natural born leader," she remembered the blue-haired boy, shaking, but nonetheless standing in front of them – speaking of freedom and hope. She continued, "Knowing how difficult last year had been for you, I thought that perhaps this could be medicinal for you. It would, at least, help you forget by doing something you love."

The boy in her memories smiled at her and held his hand out to her, beckoning her to take it. She was trembling, always trembling, but she took his hand and stood up. The others followed suit. They could do it if they stuck together. They could do it if they had one another.

Jellal had hung his head low, but before he could speak Erza butt in, "I think you've apologized enough to me. I forgive you. You just need to learn to forgive yourself."

"How?"

Erza knew what he spoke of; he spoke of the nightmares, of the constant guilt that ate away at their conscious, of dwelling in the past. Jellal's demons were his own, but Erza could certainly relate.

"You let others in. You allow your friends to help heal those wounds. Your scars you shall always bear, but you, you will learn how to deal with them."

Erza grasped his hand, "You will find many who will gladly let you cry on their shoulders. You just have to open the door."

She stood up – her heart in pain at his despair – and excused herself. She understood the solitude he needed. They had had many talks before and Erza only hoped he'd one day forgive himself as she had forgiven him.

Life was a bitch.

XX

Erza had been getting ready to go to bed when she received the text. It was a short, concise text.

Do you want to grab lunch tomorrow?

He spoke of neither their past or their previous conversation. He spoke of the future and Erza smiled.

Of course.

XX

Natsu had searched all day for Lucy, but she had been nowhere to be found! He grunted and kicked at a pebble.

"For a blondie, she sure knows how to hide in a crowd," he mumbled. He climbed up his favorite tree by the library. It was a habit of his whenever he sought to be alone. Gajeel was not a terrible roommate – heck, they even had some good times together. It seemed, however, that all of gramps' kids had their demons to fight. He was staring at the stars, not really sure of their names, because astrology had never been his strong suit. Although his father had tried to teach him on their journey about the stars and their stories, Natsu had never been able to remember.

They still comforted him. On the good days (which used to be most days) he could pull through the day knowing his dad and him were under the same sky.

"Natsu," Lucy's voice rang, "Can you come down?"

He started, almost falling backwards, but he had grabbed onto the branch to steady himself. He hadn't known others knew of his hideout. He peered down suspiciously and sure enough Lucy's blonde hair shone in the moonlight. Her brown eyes twinkled and her cheeks were flushed as though she had been running to find him as he had looked for her.

He almost jumped down before thinking better of it, "Why don't you come up here?" He was teasing her, of course, but to his surprise Lucy huffed and carefully began to climb the oak tree.

Natsu was dumbfounded; Lucy was not athletic and for her to not even protest…He chuckled.

She was almost at the branch and Natsu scooted over so she'd have a place to sit. Just as her hand reached for the branch, her foot slipped, and her eyes widened in panic. Out of instinct, Natsu caught her hand, hanging onto Lucy. A grunt escaped him, but he held on to her hand.

"Natsu," Lucy exhaled – the adrenaline catching her breath.

"I've got you," Natsu repeated, "I've got you."

Slowly, they worked together to pull her up onto the branch. Natsu pulled her up while Lucy used her legs to provide traction and force upward. Natsu held onto her hand as they both regained their breaths and the adrenaline subsided. He released her and made space between them, "You're full of surprises, Luce."

She laughed, "These days I hear it so often, I'm not surprised."

They sat by each other for a while until she spoke, "I heard you were looking for me."

"Yeah," Natsu scratched at the sudden itch at the back of his head, "I have something that belongs to you."

She looked at him, confused, "What…"

Natsu shushed her, "I don't kiss and tell."

"Wait," she scrunched up her face more, "I don't think that's the right usage for…"

"It isn't?!"

"No, pinkie," she laughed again, "It carries a sexual or amorous connotation!"

"Crap. Stupid Gray!" Natsu fumed, angry at himself for believing Gray's explanation of the phrase.

"I meant that I won't tell you now. I don't have it on me, but if you'd give me your number I'll text you tomorrow."

Lucy raised her eyebrows, "You want my number?"

It was clear she was the one teasing him now, but Natsu still felt his ears turn red, "It's not like that! See, I spent the entire day looking for you but I could never be at the right place and the right time! This will make things easier."

"Of course."

She asked for his phone and she typed out her contact information. She then said if that was all, she'd like to head out. She had an early day tomorrow and she really didn't want to go to bed late. They said good-night, and she made her way down the tree.

Natsu stared at Lucy's retreating form. They hadn't talk about their day. In actuality, their encounter had been brief, but Natsu felt a warmth for the girl. Lisanna had been his best friend and Natsu had never needed another, but he felt Lucy could be a best friend.

However, her hair had smelled of bleach.

And Gray had smelled of bleach. Maybe she didn't need another best friend.

Natsu shook his head and grinned. He wasn't going to lose to ice freak. Anyhow, a person could have more than one best friend.


Author's note: Not much happened here, however, I wanted to highlight Erza and Jellal a bit more. Also, I envisioned Natsu in gymnastics because...well, you can all imagine why. Thanks for the views/favorites/reviews! :D See you all around. I don't know what I'm doing, lmao, but I pretend to.