I'm really glad you all liked the last chapter and didn't think it was too sudden!

Amyskywalker, what would the fun be without Lisanna going crazy jealous?

Rina Nina, Thank you! I try my best to update as soon as I can!

Cat Goliath, Mavis was the first headmaster of the both schools (when they were once one school) and Poluchka is the current one (now that the schools are separated). Makarov is the current headmaster of the boys' school. Thanks! I tried to make Hughes's scene as heartbreaking as possible…and touching!

I really wish I could reply to all your reviews, but I'm sure those of you reading my note want the story to start… I'm sorry I ramble so much…^ (Thank you to those constant reviewers – Novi Eucliffe, Ariri Dragneel, GoldenRoseTanya, Rina Nina, me ga mawaru, amyskywalker, dog's paw burning in ash, and more!)

Chapter 10: New Faces

"Bye Lucy," Hughes said as he hugged her. Natsu stood to the side, observing their last goodbyes carefully; he absolutely wanted no funny business, or so he said. Mary was next to envelope her in her arms, and Coco nearly suffocated the blonde.

"Bye, you guys, come back soon, alright?" Lucy sniffed, determined not to cry. Her three childhood friends smiled, exchanged a few words with her, and slowly walked to the terminal.

Hughes turned back suddenly, "Hey, Salmon Breath!"

Natsu looked up, annoyed.

"Don't make her cry, got it?"

Salmon Top rolled his eyes, crossing his arms, and yelled back, "Got it!"

Once they were gone, Lucy turned to her boyfriend. Yes, boyfriend. For a few days now, she could hardly believe it herself. Now as she observed him pouting, she was definitely sure that she was dating him.

"You didn't have to come, you know."

"Well, yeah, but," Natsu said, and scratched his head, "my friend Reedus is dropping off Wendy's cat and my cat."

"You have a cat?" Lucy asked him incredulously. Salom Top hardly looked like one to properly take care of an animal, and the look she gave him said it all.

"YES, I have a cat, his name's Happy, and," the salmon haired boy passed for a moment, then spoke in a hurry, "Lisanna and I found him." Then on a brighter note, "He's blue."

"You're kidding."

"No, seriously, he is. He's in love with Wendy's cat, Carla."

The blonde smiled gently at the information he was giving her. Abruptly, he whirled around and started to walk briskly. Carefully, he led her through the maze of people. Longingly, she looked at his hand; they had not tried holding hands yet, and the blonde was hit in the face by a scarf of a passerby as she thought about this. She struggled to stay beside Natsu and they were so close that her hand kept on hitting his.

Natsu turned to look at her, "You hand keeps on bumping into mine."

"Is it really?"

Salmon Top did the unexpected and grabbed her hand; mischievously, he smiled, "I guess I'll have to hold onto it then."

Lucy blushed, and her face felt as hot as a stove. Finally they reached a terminal, where a very noticeable man with red hair, and a painting set was just coming out. He was thin and in his other hand were two pet carriers; it was apparent that he was having trouble holding onto them as he stumbled and juggled the items between both hands.

"Reedus!" Natsu called and the skinny man made his way towards him. His hand slipped out of Lucy's as he exchanged back pats with the old friend. Gently, the man named Reedus gave over one of the two pet carriers over to Salmon Top, careful to not drop his painting supplies. Then, politely, he tipped his hat to Lucy, "Hello."

He walked away.

"Isn't he going to stay with you?" the blonde asked in confusion, pointing to the departing back of the man.

"Yep."

"Then why-?"

"I told him I was going to be busy," Natsu answered setting down his carrier. He was examining the latch on the gate, trying to figure out how to open it.

"Busy? Doing what?"

Salmon Top sighed as if the blonde was completely hopeless, then looked up at her with his face slightly red. "Today's going to be a date, of course…me and you."

Lucy blushed severely, sure that she was going to explode like a volcano. "Oh."

"Anyways, this is Happy." He said, mumbling slightly and a blue cat came crawling out. He sported a little green backpack on his back and upon seeing Natsu, leapt on him, mewing happily. The blonde automatically thought it was cute and she crouched over to pet him. But the little animal turned away arrogantly at her request to stroke it.

"Heh, heh," Natsu laughed nervously, "He does that."

Lucy rolled her eyes and brought out a bag of dried fish; Happy immediately accepted her.

"Why do you have dried fish?"

"Why not?"

A short distance away, a brown cat hissed at the sight of a blue one. This cat wore a blue vest and was looking irritated. Next to him on the bench they were sitting on was a girl cat, green and dressed in a frog's costume. She sat there happily while her friend glared at the blue he-cat several yards away from him. Suddenly, a face blocked his view. The face's eyes were blue, his hair was blonde, and he had a scar just above his right eye, running diagonally. He wore a vest over his white t-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. He was staring right into Lector's face while pocketing his passport. On the passport, in neatly typed letters was STING EUCLIFFE.

Next to him stood an impassive man dressed in a black sweatshirt and jeans; his eye color was a shocking red, a natural color that he had been born with. His hair was black and his bangs were brushed to the right side, hiding his right eye. It was messy, as if he had not bothered to comb it. He too, was putting away his passport, which read in typed, capitalized letters ROGUE CHENEY. The black-haired man, apparently named Rogue, bent down to pick up the green cat.

"We're here, Frosch," he said to the happy little animal, who was rubbing its soft little head against his cheek.

"So this is Fiore, huh?" Sting asked, rubbing his chin, and petting Lector. The brown mammal purred, and the blonde boy laughed. Both guys were about sixteen, lean, and muscular. Sting was more well-toned than Rogue was; in fact, both of them were quite different, but for as long as they could remember, the two partners had been called "twins".

Lector yawned and scratched at Sting's hand, who stood up, and scratched his head a bit. "Lisanna's supposed to have been here, by now."

"Are you really going to do this?" Rogue asked emotionlessly, setting Frosch down on the bench again. Then, he turned around to stare at his friend with his red, intense eyes.

"Yeah," Sting said, "It could be fun. You want to try to?"

"Not interested. Sting, you might just get yourself into a whole lot of trouble."

"Like what?"

"What if you accidently fall for her?"

"Naw," Sting replied, "fall for Lisanna? Why, do you like her or somethin'?"

"Not interested."

"Then leave me alone."

Rogue kneeled down to pet his cat again before he sighed. Once Sting made up his mind, there was no use in changing it.

"Sting! Rogue!" a white haired girl called. She was only standing ten feet away from them, but had been predisposed to shouting out to them. She looked to her right, worriedly. The blue cat from before was not there anymore. Sighing in relief, she smiled brightly to both boys as they approached her. Lisanna had tried her best to look cute, but casual; her solution had been a pink tank top and bright blue shorts.

"Hey," the blonde boy greeted with no formality whatsoever.

Lisanna grinned at him. Swiftly, she slipped her arm through his, signaling for him to start walking. Lector got up, stretched, and followed. Behind them, Rogue picked up Frosch and observed the two; their plan was so obvious, he doubted it would even work on Natsu Dragneel. But, oh well, maybe he was an idiot?

"Here you go," Natsu said, handing over one of the two melting ice cream cones he had been holding. The blonde, seated upon a bench, took it without much enthusiasm; hurriedly, she licked the dripping rolls of the sweet frozen dairy before they fell onto her clothes. The two of them were in the park, attempting to have a pleasant date outdoors.

"What took you so long?" she asked Salmon Top, nibbling on the cone. The salmon-haired boy thought for a moment, letting his ice cream make a mess all over his hand. He took a seat.

"I got distracted by some stray dogs."

Happy mewed discontentedly at his confession, apparently not pleased that his partner should be chasing after dogs when his back was turned. The blue cat, who was on the ground, jumped up onto the bench, and started to lick his owner's hands. Natsu smiled gently, and stuck out his palm to let him do so. Lucy observed this for a few seconds before leaning back against her seat and drinking her soupy dessert. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something familiar looking and tilted her head to get a better look. What she saw made her gasp, and Natsu looked up instantly, concerned.

"What?"

Without uttering a word, Lucy pulled him down and behind the bench so that they were hidden from view. Happy followed, determined to clean up Salmon Top's hands completely. In front of them, a white haired girl walked into view, clinging onto a blonde guy. A brown cat dressed in an open blue vest trotted after them, lifting its paws high into the air, as if it owned the whole place. In addition, a black-haired boy trailed after them, cradling a cat dressed up in a pink frog costume in his arms (really, how weird could this place's cats get?).

"Lisanna…" Lucy whispered, but she couldn't figure out who the guy next to her was. Besides being blonde, he had blue eyes and a scar above his right one. The boy following them was dressed in all black and had red eyes – just like Gajeel.

Immediately, the blonde felt uneasy; if Lisanna was caught up in a relationship, what would she do if Natsu was jealous? Carefully, she looked at the boy from the corner of her eyes, nervous on how he had reacted. To her surprise, he was looking her, appearing rather crestfallen and disappointed. Lucy felt her heart sink a little. He was bothered by this after all. But, the salmon-haired boy sighed sorrowfully, stunning her a bit.

"You think I still have feelings for her, don't you?" he asked, resting his head on his shoulder; he was in a crouching position, so that his feet were the only anatomical area of his body holding him up.

The blonde averted her gaze as he hit the bulls-eye. Salmon Top sighed heavily again, rocked himself backwards, and sat on his rear end; Lucy almost fell as he grabbed her hands and forced her to look at him.

"Lucy, I love you…sure, I HAVE liked Lisanna for the longest time, and I'm uneasy about her dating another guy, but without a doubt, the one I have feelings for is you." As he said the words, his face reddened, turning several shades of red. Lucy smiled gently, her ears feeling abnormally fifty degrees hotter.

"Oh Salmon Top, you are SO cheesy."

He gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "Only because you make me be that way."

Lucy laughed in slight embarrassment, and didn't know how to react next. Happy had the answer. He began to scratch at her thigh, his pitiful little eyes begging for more dried fish.

"I'll do get some more fish."

"Wait, you have MORE?"

"Have a problem with that Salmon Top?"

"Nope, none at all."

Unknown to them, Lisanna was surveying the whole thing from the side of the park, hidden from view. She scowled deeply, not pleased at all. Lucy...whatever her last name was…that sneaky little brat…

Next to her, Sting had fallen unusually quiet. Curiously, she looked up at him. His breathing had gone shallow and his eyes sparkled. "She's really pretty, isn't she?"

The white-haired girl kicked him in the shins. He muffled his cry of pain, and peered at her with a contemptuous gaze.

"You're supposed to be saying I'M beautiful, got it, DARLING?"

Sighing (this day had been rather full of those), the blonde boy slipped his hand into hers, and looked the other way, neither embarrassed nor nervous. He had been completely captivated by that blonde girl. For a moment, he had seen her smile…and then that stupid salmon dude blocked his way. Sting Eucliffe pouted.

Lisanna Strauss smiled. This would be the best plan yet…to make Natsu hers…

Sorry this chapter was so short! I'll try to make the next one LONGER! I hope you enjoyed this one though!