Csilla: As I was writing this, I don't know... I FUCKING FELL IN LOVE WITH FEM!GRAY...! I never like genderbent versions of males! Maybe I'll give it a chance but ONLY if fem!gray acts like a tsundere~ eue

LONG LIVE, TSUNDERE FEM!GRAY :D

( - - - - )

"Oi, are you ready yet princess?!" A snarl ripped from his tanned throat as Natsu stood in the foyer of his childhood friend, Gray who still had yet to appear dressed in the uniform.

They were going to be late to school on the first day of their freshman year; readjusting his briefcase-style bag in his hand before hurried footsteps drew his attention up the hallway just as his friend was leaving the kitchen. Offering a silent apology as she clasped her hands together and bowed before cautioning a glance at Natsu, who sighed in disbelief. He checked the time on his phone as the two stepped outside Gray's home before holding his bag out, "Take it,"

"Why?"

"You either take it or I drag your ass all the way to school,"

"What? Think I can't keep up with you, Mr. Soccer Star?!" Gray scoffed as she crossed her arms across her chest while her neighbors move about their business; the two often argued, despite being such great friends but it never really seemed to amount to anything to cause worry.

Natsu chuckled before pointing at his friend's chest, "With those things you call 'boobs', you can't keep up with them bouncing about..."

Gray's face reddened in embarrassment and taking that as a win in his favor, Natsu grabbed the girl's wrists and pulled them over his shoulder before lifting her up. Before the raven could argue, the rosette grinned: "Since I'm a soccer star, I can run faster" then made the dash to their school.

Wind blowing through her hair, Gray held onto her childhood friend with rosy cheeks and a smile; she would always avoid showing such a soft expression in front of the other. It wasn't long before the smile disappeared and the two were on school grounds in a whisper argument as the principal gave the welcoming speech.

"How is it my fault?!" Natsu hissed out as he glared over at his best friend, who immediately bit out quietly: "If you hadn't fucking ran like that, my hair wouldn't have-"

"Who cares?!"

"I do and maybe some hot guy would too!"

"Some blind guy would!"

Before Gray could respond with what would have been a lot louder than their battle of whispers, the speech ended and everyone around them were clapping. Following the crowd of students as they exited the gymnasium, Gray and Natsu walked together much like they had done throughout the years until the crowd lead them outside in front of several large bulletin boards displaying names and class numbers.

"Looks like the gangs all together once more," Gray smiled as she found their names along with their friends' names listed under the same class.

The rosette gave only a silent nod before nudging his childhood friend to move so other people behind them could find their names; the duo headed for their new classroom, greeting the friends that had already gathered there.

"Hey guys," Natsu greeted the small group with a wide grin, who immediately greeted the duo as they joined them.

"I can't believe we're all in the same class again, it'll be like last year~" Lucy smiled as she hugged them both; the raven's chest tugged - she had always been a little envious of the blonde, who was both feminine and a bit of a tomboy.

All the boys saw her as a girl despite the tomboyish qualities she presented when angered/determined - unlike Gray, who was seen as 'one of the guys', especially by Natsu. She had tried growing her hair out but after it started making her neck itch, the raven tied it up and as it continued to grow Gray switched it from a ponytail to pigtails. She thought last year on her birthday that her best friend had begun to change his opinion of her when he bought her cute hair ties. Unfortunately later he scoffed that his mom picked them out and forced him to give it to her; Gray continued to wear them despite that.

"So who are you taking to the welcome back dance?" Lucy nudge brought the young raven out of her stump; she could never blame the blonde - "I-I don't know..."

A devilish smirk spread across the other girl's features as she leaned in closer so only they could hear: "Natsu, right?"

The quick reddening of her pale features clearly screamed her answer as she stayed silent; Gray could only hope being Natsu's date instead of the usual 'picked for the sake of not going alone'. Lucy knew of her friend's luck with getting the idiot rosette to notice her as a girl instead of a childhood friend and she always did her best to help. She had actually spent the whole summer, trying to come up with new ideas and the one she wanted to try came to her when she voiced her frustrations out on her own childhood friend, Jellal.

"How about we try this approach," Lucy suggested before leaning in to whisper something into the lovesick raven's ear when she pulled away, Gray turned asking in a low voice: "What if that backfires?"

"Then it would seem our Natsu gained a new brain cell," Lucy giggled, earning a playful smack from the other; she couldn't argue with the fact that her childhood friend wasn't the brightest but that was one of the things that made Gray fall for her best friend!

The dance would be held at the end of the month, in one week from the first day of school - the raven girl had until then to begin Lucy's newest plan...

Day of the dance...

Gray had done a 'good job', according to the blonde, of doing her part in the plan; she was in her last class of the day, eyeing her childhood friend occasionally. And just like clockwork, after class Natsu pulled her aside and asked her just like he had done in years before: "Still need someone to take you the dance? Well since it pretty embarrassing for a girl to show up alone or not at all, I'll go with you? Alright,"

Here it was, time for step two: "A-Actually... I'm not going alone," biting the inside of her cheek, Gray found some courage to continue with more coldness, "Someone asked me and I told him 'yes' already," before turning on her heels and walking off as a bitter taste erupted in her mouth.

It wasn't a lie; someone had asked her and keeping to Lucy's plan, Gray reluctantly agreed. Every time she saw him, she felt bad that he was being used in hopes to get Natsu jealous. Heading out, she was met with an innocent smile and a wave - Lyon was the opposite of her rosette friend; she walked up to him, greeting him softly before the duo headed off. Cobalt eyes stared out, their owner still in the classroom on the first floor, as familiar raven locks swayed with each movement as Gray walked beside a white-haired teen.

"Tch," Natsu was pissed when he entered his house, kicking off his shoes he headed straight for his bedroom; swishing his curtains closed so he could avoid any happy look on his childhood friend's face when she entered her own bedroom, which was right across from his.

Who was this boy to take his childhood friend to some dance?

Wasn't he always the one who took her every year since they were kids?

Who the hell was this bastard anyways?

A rap at his window ripped him from his musing, opening the curtains he saw Gray, dressed in a skirt that undoubtedly belonged to Lucy and a plain light blue tank top; he stared at her until she spoke: "Just thought I'd pop in to say I was off,"

"...have fun," A monotone short string of words was all the rosette could muster at the moment and the raven nodded before leaving him to his thoughts once more.

Why was she dressing like that for him?!

A buzz from his blazer pulled him from his thoughts, sliding it open Natsu noticed it was a text from Loki: 'Ya know... if you take TOO long, she'll be swept away from you forever...'

Mouth pulled into a thin line, a vein throbbed in his forehead before he finally exploded: "DAMMIT! I know that!" then making a dash for the school. It would take him ten minutes at least on foot but just maybe he could... do something...?

Gasping, Natsu used a locker for support as he tried to regulate his breathing enough not to be exhaling so heavily; he stepped inside the decorated cafeteria, immediately catching sight of Lucy as she danced with Loki. He made it through the various dancing couples just as the music came to a stop and a new one began, sitting alone with the chatting white-haired teen was Gray. Determination flooded his system as he walked right up to her, onyx eyes seemed to catch sight of him as they drifted over to him. Standing before the raven, the rosette took no time to pull her right up from her seat and onto the dance floor; the moment they stopped, Gray found her voice: "N-Natsu...? Wha-What are you doing?"

/I used to think I deserved everything in this world/

Natsu kept silent as he danced with her just like he had in the previous years; the raven followed his lead, she had never seen the rosette like this before. Not wanting to get her hopes up, she simply listened to the music until it slowed and Natsu followed. He stood with his hands to his sides, still holding onto her wrist with a protective hold for a short moment before the vocals came back...

/Should've known better 'cause one time/

And he stepped closer, resting his head on her shoulder; with the close proximity, Gray barely heard the hush voice from her childhood friend as he asked: "Did you really want to be here with him?"

"What does it matter to you?" She retorted, a little frustrated with the random question from the other.

She felt the hold tense for a moment before going back to its gentle protective hold again, Natsu lifted his head a little before he muttered: "Why him, Gray? What's so great about that white-haired bastard?"

"Lyon's-"

"No!" The mixed emotions in his voice silenced her, their eyes met and what Natsu said next surprised them both: "Stay with me," just as the song changed to a slightly more upbeat slow song.

/The room's hush-hush and now's our moment/

Making the first move, Gray swayed softly side to side as she forced him to move with her: "Geez, you really can be a pain sometimes..." despite her coldness, cobalt eyes didn't miss the small smile that tug on her lips.

Meanwhile Loki sat down to the white-haired teen, who appeared ready to interfere and placed a hand on the other male's shoulder: "You've been dumped, buddy"

"Thanks captain obvious," softening his glare, "She really likes him, huh?"

"Yeah," Lucy sighed on the other side, "Sorry about using you like that,"

Lyon seemed to consider something before speaking, "Who am I to stand in the way of love?"

( - - - - )

Csilla: Does it seem like Natsu's personality does a 180 towards the end? Music was helping get the rest of this out! D:

Anyone who wants to know, the two songs were:

Safetysuit | One Time

He is We | All About Us (ft. Owl City)