Hey, guys! Sorry about waiting so long to update, I had school to attend to, and it took up a lot of my time. Of course, that isn't any excuse to not let you know at least, but I hope you can forgive me (If you're still reading...) I finally have a new chapter so...

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Lucy POV

I looked at Natsu from the back seat as he talked to Mom about school. We were on the highway, and we were waiting for the green light to turn green so we could go. When Mom picked us up, she said that we were going out to have fun, so I suppose the whole doctor's appointment was rescheduled.

"Yeah, it feels a bit weird, already being in my last year of high school." Natsu proclaimed, stretching in the passenger seat as best as he could. "But I'm so glad to get it over with!"

Mom chuckled. "But aren't you going to college?"

His eyes widened. "Oh my god, you're right. Damn it!" Mom laughed at him. She really liked Natsu, and was always asking if he was coming over for dinner.

"So what are you going to do after college? Do you have anything you want to pursue?"

Natsu scratched his head. "Not really, I guess. I mean, I have my art, but I'm not sure about it."

"Oh, you're an artist? I didn't know!"

"Yeah, but its only a hobby of mine. Not sure if I wanna turn it into a career."

Mom turned to him. "Well, I'm sure your art is amazing, Natsu."

"Thanks, Mrs. Heartfilia."

"Mom, the light's green."

She turned left, and after a while of driving, we arrived at the mall. After we parked the car and walked inside, we spent the next half hour walking around and looking at clothes and other things like backpacks and furniture and tableware. Then we grabbed some ice cream and took a little break.

"So, sweetie, how is Cheerleading going?" Mom asked as we watched other people walk around.

I shrugged. "It's going good. We're getting ready for the game next Saturday."

"That must be nice."

"I suppose. We're learning a dance routine for the half time, though some of the girls won't be there to perform at the game."

"Wait, what game?" Natsu asked, turning to me.

"The game on Saturday. We're playing against Lamia Scale."

"Oh, really? Well, Gray isn't gonna be too happy."

I tilted my head. "Really? Why?"

"Well, Gray and a guy named Lyon don't get along very well. They're rivals, and they've known each other since they were little."

"Then why don't they go to the same school?"

"Because they hate each other's guts."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? That's all? I thought it would be something a bit more serious, like they were part of enemy gangs."

"Well, if they saw each other, they could destroy half of the school."

My jaw dropped. "What?!"

"Hey honey, I'll be right back." Mom stood up.

"What? Where are you going?"

"There's a sale down there, and I want to check it out. I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay." We watched her walk away to check out whatever sale she was talking about, then sat there in silence. It felt so awkward, being around him. My heart was racing, I was sweating, and I felt so short of breath. What is wrong with me? I asked myself, taking a lick of ice cream to do something. This is Natsu we're talking about; am I really gonna get nervous around him?

"Hey," he said suddenly. Out of surprise, I squeaked, "What?"

"I gotta take a leak. I'll be back." He stood up and started walking away, done with his ice cream.

"Natsu, wait! Don't just…" I trailed off as he disappeared into the nearest bathroom. "…Leave me."

I sighed, sipping some of my melted ice cream. "Great. Just great. That jerk left me by myself."

"Yeah, he's a jerk, isn't he, leaving a pretty girl alone." An unfamiliar voice said behind me. I turned to see who it was. Two boys were standing there, smirking at me. One had bright red, curly hair and freckles, and the other was wearing a bandana.

Bandana boy said, "Hey, the name's Tyler, and this is Mike. It seems that your boyfriend left you all alone. How about you ditch him and hang out with us?"

Natsu wasn't my boyfriend, but they didn't need to know that. "Sorry," I apologized, plastering a smile on my face. "But I'm fine. He'll come back, so you should leave."

"Oh come on, don't be shy. We wanna have some fun." Suddenly those smiles became dark, and I could tell by the look in their eyes that it was the type of fun that I didn't want to engage in.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'll just stay here." I tried to politely reject them again, but just like in the movies, they didn't know how to take a hint.

"Come on, we don't bite. And we promise you won't regret it." Tyler grabbed and started pulling me with him. I struggled to break his grip. "And I told you, I don't want to go with you!"

"Come on now, don't be—AAAGHH!"

Suddenly he was yelling, and he let go of my hand. I looked to see why he was screaming, and saw Natsu there, twisting Tyler's arm behind his back. Mike was on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning.

Natsu seemed to be angry, but not in his expression, you could tell by the way the air felt, which sounded stupid but was true. It felt heated, like when you're close to a fire.

"Don't touch Lucy, do you understand?" He said slowly. "She's my girl, and you don't mess with my girl."

"Hey, we were just talking," Tyler started to say, but gasped in pain as Natsu twisted his arm some more.

Natsu calmly said, "Next time you try to force a girl to do what you want, I will make sure that you can never use this arm properly again. Do you understand me?"

When Tyler grunted, "Yes," Natsu released him and walked up to me. As soon as he walked past him, Tyler turned and pulled something out of his pocket. It wasn't until it glinted in the sunlight that I realized what it was. No! He's gonna stab Natsu with a knife! As he lunged towards Natsu, I opened my mouth to yell.

Suddenly Natsu spun around and caught Tyler's wrist, simultaneously swinging his elbow and hitting Tyler in the face. There was a loud crack and Tyler staggered back, holding his nose as it started bleeding.

A small crowd was forming, and I was afraid that there would be a full-on fight. But, the only thing Natsu said to him was, "Leave," and Tyler obliged, stumbling off while his friend Mike followed.

Natsu gave the knife to an officer that ran up to us and explained the whole thing, then pointed the direction in which the boys went, and the officer and his partner went to find them. The pink-haired boy turned to me. "Are you okay, Lucy?"

I rubbed my arms, feeling shook. "I'm okay; just a little rattled."

"Sorry about all that. If I had stayed, they would've left you alone and walked on."

"And attack some other helpless girl? I at least had you, but I dont think their next target would've had somebody to protect her."

He scratched his head. "I suppose."

"Yeah. And you were really fast." I replayed the whole scene of Natsu disarming him again. Such speed, and he seemed to do the whole thing without any effort, like it was second nature for him. I could only imagine him fighting someone for real. He'd beat the other person, and possibly only be a little winded.

He shrugged. "Well, Gramps taught me all I know about fighting, and so did Erza, Gray, Gajeel, and lots of other people. He's the best fighter that you would ever know." He grinned at that last statement.

He looked so happy and proud of his grandfather, I couldn't help but smile back. A few minutes later, Mom joined up with us again, and when we told her what happened she freaked out.

"I should've been here with you. If I had been, they would've left you alone. I'm so sorry honey! I won't leave you alone ever again," Mom exclaimed, guilt evident in her face, and I smiled. "Don't worry about it, it's fine. And Natsu was there to protect me."

She turned to Natsu and gave him a big hug. "I'm so grateful to you, Natsu. Thank you for protecting my daughter; I don't know what I would've done if something happened to her."

Natsu smiled, blushing a little. "Well, it was nothing Mrs. Heartfilia. I'd do anything to protect Lucy." I blushed. What did that mean? Did he mean as a friend, or something more?

Mom's smile turned a little smug, like she knew some secret that we didn't know. Oh god, what is Mom thinking now? Whatever it was, I felt like it couldn't be good.

"Well, I suppose we can keep looking around, if you guys are still up for it."

"Okay." We continued to walk around, going into stores when Mom saw something she liked, and playing at the arcade, Natsu winning all the games we played. After the arcade, we went to the food court and got some food. Natsu ate two whole pizzas on his own, while I was only able to eat three slices. When we were done eating, we walked out. As we did, I heard someone call my name.

I looked around, and saw Juvia running up to us. "Lucy," she said again, smiling as she came up to me. "Juvia—I am so happy to see you."

I smiled back at her. "Hey Juvia. Are you here to get something?"

"Yes. I was shopping for some new fabric, and saw you walking around. I was hoping to give this to you at your house, but seeing you here really works out." She held out a big shopping bag for me, and I took it. "You didn't have to get me anything, Juvia."

"Oh, Juvia made it." I looked at her, and she smiled. She really was such a sweet girl. My smile grew. "Thank you, Juvia. You shouldn't have."

She blushed and shrugged her shoulders, sheepishly looking at the ground. "It was nothing. It was least I could do to repay your kindness."

"You're Juvia?" Juvia turned to Mom as she said, "Lucy never told me how cute you are."

Juvia blushed even more. "Thank you, Mrs. Heartfilia. I wish I were as beautiful as you."

"Oh, thank you sweetheart," Mom gushed. "It's nice to know that my daughter has such sweet friends."

Juvia and Mom started talking and Natsu sidled up to me. "What's in the bag?" he asked, and I shrugged. I opened the bag and pulled out the packing paper, handing it to Natsu to hold as I looked inside.

"You know, you should come over for dinner sometime—" Mom, Juvia and Natsu jumped when I yelled, quickly grabbing the packing paper and throwing it back into the bag, closing it. They all stared at me for a few seconds.

Mom finally asked, "Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Just fine and dandy, mom," I squeaked, my face burning.

"Okay then. Well, Juvia, if you don't mind, would you like to join us? I'd like to talk with you some more."

Juvia nodded. " Of course, I would like that!" They started walking off, chatting about sewing, and Natsu looked at me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Really? Because that scream was something else."

"I really am fine."

"Okay." I could tell he didn't believe me, but we didn't say anything else, just followed after Mom and Juvia.

I plopped down onto my bed and sighed. After hanging out at the mall some more, we noticed it was getting late, so we dropped Juvia and Natsu off at their house. Before Natsu got out of the car, he handed me a little box and said to open it up when I got home. I tried to ask him what it was but he was already running to his house. I sighed. I guess I was gonna have to open it.

I grabbed the box Natsu gave me and stared at it for a second. Was it a gift, or a prank he was pulling on me? Geez, hanging out with them making me suspicious of everything. I stared at it for a few more seconds, then sighed again. Well, if I wanted to know what it was, then I was gonna have to open it up.

Slowly opening the lid, I peeked inside. And what I saw made me gasp.

I picked up a pocket watch pendant. On the front were roman numerals etched into it and a circular opening in the middle showing the inside, the minute and hour hand. On the inside were the numbers one to twelve for the hours of the day, and on the back there was an engraving of sunflowers. I looked into the box to see if there was any note, and there was. I picked it up and unfolded the paper, reading it. Here's a present. I know how you like antiques and all. It isn't the best thing I could find, but when I saw it, I immediately thought of you, so I bought it. I hope you like it. -Natsu.

There was a knock at my door, and I turned to see Mom standing there. "What's that, sweetie?"

"The thing Natsu gave me."

She walked up and looked at it. "Oh, how cute. You know, he is such a sweet and friendly boy. And nice too."

"Yeah, he is." She looked at me. "Honey, what's wrong? Your face is red."

I touched my face, and my cheeks were warm. How red was I? "I'm fine, I'm fine," I waved off her concern. "Have you made dinner already?"

"No, I have not. I need to go do that. I'll call you when it's ready." She kissed my cheek and walked out of my room. As soon as she was gone, I flopped onto my bed, the pendant in my hand. I grabbed my pillow, buried my face in it, and I squealed. When I was done, I threw my pillow to the side, and stared at the ceiling, my cheeks still warm. I thought about the gift Natsu gave me, and the encounter with the boys at the mall.

She's my girl, and you don't mess with my girl. I closed my eyes. Even though he probably said that to get the boys to leave me alone, for a split second, I wanted that to be true. I groaned and covered my face. Did that I mean I liked him?

I stretched, my arms hitting the bag Juvia gave me. I looked at it for a few seconds, then sat up and pulled it to me, bringing out what was inside. Inside were two handmade dolls of Natsu, one larger than the other. I grabbed the smaller one and looked into it's button eyes. They were a dark green, just like the colors of his eyes, and the color of the hair was accurate.

Sighing, I hugged the doll to me and said to my room, "I like Natsu." As soon as I said it out loud I realized that I had liked him for a while now. Even though I told myself before that I didn't like him, it was painstakingly obvious that I did. Levy was right, and I didn't like that she was right.

I liked Natsu. I wondered if everyone else knew, since Levy figured it out so quickly. I did make it pretty easy for the others to know, so they most likely knew. Did that mean Natsu might know? The thought of him knowing I had a crush on him made me blush, but the embarrassment went away just as quickly. He's pretty clueless. There's no way he could know. But I still felt a bit nervous about it. How was I supposed to act around him now that I knew I liked him?

I sighed again. What am I gonna do now?

Well, finally she admits it, huh? I hope this wasn't too quick for you guys, and if you want to read all the chapters again so you can remember what the heck is going on (I'm really sorry about the long wait) then you can do that.

Thanks for reading, and Tootaloo!