Here is the new chapter. It is a bit late because I am currently on a 2 week vacation, but I did bring my laptop. I will try my best to update across these next 2 weeks. I do not know how other authors update, whether or not they write ahead and then update sequentially, but I like to write a chapter one at a time, each one before I post it. That way I can give my utmost attention to editing the chapter and making it better than it was (editing often takes me up to 4-5 hours). On another note this is probably the penultimate chapter of the first run-through of Natsu's pov. Lucy is probably next again. Also if any of you are wondering why I changed the cover image for this story, I simply thought that it would better represent the theme, nothing else. Lastly thank you for the 100 reviews and nearly 3,000 views!

I own nothing.

Affiance by Association

Natsu exited his Health classroom and looked right first and then left, spotting what he desired. The classroom he was just in was on the fourth floor and he was frantically trying to get to the lunchroom, a voracious appetite starting to build within him. The hallway he stepped out into was rapidly filling with people as if the classrooms all suddenly had a leak in them; they created a sort of disjointed train, always moving but never together.

The starving boy knew he needed to get the grand stairwell that was at the end of all the main halls on each floor; it connected each of them to the cafeteria on the second floor. Natsu jostled quickly towards the stairwell and joined the growing line of students wanting to get to lunch. Filing within the line, it started to move slowly, as the sheer amount of people on the stairs was already in excess. Finding himself stopping in a random position on the stairs more than once, Natsu took out his syllabus to check his schedule. He found that the lunch period, which was fifth for everyone, lasted about an hour, and that more than being just for lunch, it was a time of leisure for students. They were allowed to freely roam the school during the hour, doing homework, make-up tests, or basically anything they pleased. He grinned when he read that last part; it gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted in that hour.

Natsu leaned onto the railings as he walked, his hand already resting there. He peered down into the hole of space created by the twisting steps, gazing at different peopleFinally after walking 3 sets of intertwining staircases, the lunchroom was in his sight. The wait had been aggravating, the mass of bodies surrounding him had jarred and jostled his body the whole way there. He had used the time to observe other people, but was very careful not to catch their eye; there was nothing more mortifying than having someone catch you blatantly staring at them. He saw hair of different colors, bodies of different sizes, faces of different structures, each of those three variables changing ever so slightly from one person to the next, creating something unique. Having swiveled his head when he was almost upon the bottom of the steps, Natsu again glimpsed some of the girls he had seen near the entrance that morning, the ones he had assumed played lacrosse. This time he saw Wendy with one of them, but did not call out, as she would not recognize him with the hoodie on. Her face was turned just enough so that he could see it, and she was having a lively conversation with a girl who had blonde hair and also had her back turned towards him. "Damn it" Natsu thought. He was curious to see the blonde girl's face, as he had not gotten a glimpse of it in the morning either; he was interested in what kinds of people Wendy made friends with. Especially since she seemed to be rather enjoying herself. Beside her stood a very short girl, with a grumpy look on her face, who had snow white hair. It was strange, she didn't look at all like she should to be in high school, much less a teenager. Hearing a "MOVE", Natsu hastily turned forward again, breaking out of his thoughts.

The staircase ended and he hopped off the last one, earning a grumble from the girl in front of him. Entering the lunchroom, he saw a potpourri of students drifting about doing a number of different things. Some were eating, some were playing; some were working, some were slacking. It was a very big room, the ceiling nearly reached up to 50 feet, where banners parading the school's many accomplishments hung; they ranged from theater to golfing. Containing almost 50 tables with around 100 seats each, the lunchroom was very spacious, nicely accommodating the huge student population at the school. The cafeteria was contiguous to the back end of the courtyard, which Natsu could see thanks to the huge windows adorning the wall. He could make out some students sitting outside too, basking in the glow of the sun and enjoying their meals. He didn't get why any normal person (he was an exception) would want to sit in the hot sun, but, to each their own.

The numerous amount of students in the room created that familiar sound of mass conversation that is often present when humans get together anywhere, it was fascinating to him because he could hear many of the conversations via his highly sensitive hearing. Natsu could not stand there forever and observe however, as there were people behind him clamoring to get food too. Off to his left, along the edge of the cafeteria, were the food stations. Each one was a little open-entranced room that one would enter, and go through a buffet of sorts, except it was not self-serving. There were five of them to be exact: one for vegans, one for barbecue, one for deli, one for variety, and one exclusively for pizza. Natsu's mouth watered as all the smells of the room wafted together to interfuse, filling his sense of smell with a cornucopia of ambrosian fragrance. He could not wait to get over there and stuff his face until he exploded; Wendy was always musing (out loud of course) why he wasn't obese, to which he always friskily answered back, having many retorts in reserve. "She's just jealous" he would reason.

The putrid smell of the bathroom perturbed him a little as he walked past it, intent on getting to the food, but he tried hard not to let it bother him. Natsu placed himself in the variety line, their menu simply stated that a unique dish would be served everyday, giving away no secrets. This station seemed to be the least popular one, as the line was rather short. Among the people in the line, Natsu thought he saw a tuft of light blue hair on one of them, when suddenly-

"OOOOH Crab! YESSS! Thank god they're serving crab today!" The people who were around the owner of the voice spared him a strange look before going back to their own business. Natsu squinted his eyes and saw Happy gleefully accept his meal from the lunch-lady and then watched him almost prance to the check-out lady where he payed for the food. Natsu chuckled at the boy's callowness, yet he ironically had the same reaction as Happy when the enticing aroma of crab entered his nostrils. For the umpteenth time that day he inwardly thanked the younger boy for the hoodie, as people were giving him strange looks as well. However they simply shook their heads again, grouping him with Happy in their minds, and went back to their own food, saving Natsu from any further embarrassment. After becoming aware of his near-unconscious outburst, Natsu diffidently made his way over to the cash-register, clutching his food tray rather tightly.

While telling the lunch-lady at the register to "hurry up" earned him a scowl, it was worth it as he clambered out of the food station and back into the lunchroom, scanning it for Happy. He twisted and turned his head every which way, but it was to no avail; he just could not spot such a small person among all these bigger people. Hoodie or not, Natsu was beginning to look like a moron just standing there, so he resigned himself to just go and find Wendy when he heard a voice shout over the raucous noise of the cafeteria, "NATSU, over here!"

He followed the trail of the voice to the edge of the cafeteria, near the exit that he knew would take one back to the main hall. He frowned in confusion as he made his way over to Happy, who simply beckoned him to follow him through the exit when he got near enough. As they walked along the path that Natsu could tell would indefinitely lead to the lobby, he struck up a conversation with his new friend to try and alleviate his concerns, "So Happy, where are we going, because I would have expected someone like you to eat in the cafeteria."

Happy smiled at his curiousness, "Well, I actually do most of the time. Usually I sit with a friend of mine, the one I was telling you about before by the way. She has lots of other friends who are all girls actually. Anyway, today they weren't there yet in the lunchroom when I got there and I felt like eating outside, so I was about to head out when I saw you."

"Won't your friend get worried about you though?" Natsu inquired worriedly.

"I hope she doesn't and I really needed a break from them anyway. They're always squishing my cheeks together and telling me how cuuute I am while trying to constantly hug me, it honestly gets pretty annoying." Happy pouted while rolling his eyes. "I mean, the other day I was pretty much forced to sit on one of their laps for the whole hour while they tried to spoon-feed me; I can feed myself thank you very much!. And don't get me started on the constant cuddling, it's like they think I'm a cat or something." he shuddered, looking very much like what he wished the girls would stop calling him.

Natsu laughed, "Maybe that's why so many people were bullying you; they went mad with jealousy. Seems like a lot of guys like the girls you hang out with."

Happy blushed a bit at the joke, but regained his wits quickly enough, "Well I bet you would liiiiiike one of the girls I hang out with too if you saw them." he countered as he rolled his tongue. He wanted to make Natsu blush just like he had moments prior but to his disappointment Natsu simply scoffed.

"People in high school are too weird and immature to be obsessing about their love lives and "who likes who?" if you ask me."

"But you're weird and immature too."

"That's beside the point" Natsu started unperturbed, using his hands for emphasis while he walked and talked, "I mean, what's the point of going out with someone if you're probably gonna break up with them anyway. It's like a trial-run for divorce pretty much. I think the only reason you should ever date someone in high school, is if you know that they're going to marry you. But, since that's impossible, you really shouldn't date in high school, it's a waste of time in my opinion. People should concentrate on more important stuff at this age, like eating for example. They can love later." he finished. Any concepts of relationships or love were foreign to Natsu, who, due to his chronic lack of friends, never developed the need to act on any hormonal urges he might have ever had. He lacked the social knowledge of what a "crush" was or what it meant to "like someone" due in part to his obliviousness on the matter and also because the events of his past caused him to ridicule any couples he ever saw or heard of, deeming them foolish. His only exposure to a couple had ended rather badly and the only thing he had inferred from that situation was that relationships were unhealthy for the mind and body due to the excess of feelings and stress it might engender within a person. The only things he knew about relationships were the obvious ones, and he had to guess most of those for himself (the rest were halfheartedly explained by Wendy while she was crying after they had watched a chick flick one night). Natsu's knowledge on the subject was severely limited and biased due to the lack of exposure he received. Acts such as holding hands puzzled him, "Why do they need to touch each other when they're right next to each other?", he was somewhat sickened by kissing, "It looks like they're trying to eat their faces off!", and to cap it off, he did not even know what sex was, "Why do all these TV shows have a bunch of scenes where the guy and the girl are all hot and heavy with each other? They seem to cut it off when it starts to get serious anyway." He assumed that people were labeled as a "couple" when they decided to partake in an auxiliary marriage of some sort that was doomed to fail. The only love he contained was for Wendy and maybe too for Happy soon, and that was very different from the type that Happy was talking about.

"Maybe you just haven't met the right person yet." Happy countered to Natsu, too stubborn to admit defeat just yet, though he fidgeted under the heat of the older boy's argument. Natsu was about to reply back in kind when he got distracted by a flash of red off to his right. There was a painting on the wall that they were walking along, near the entrance to the art studio. It depicted a fiery red dragon on top of a mountain peak, brilliant flames spewing from its mouth skyward, as if in victory. "OOOOOH" Natsu curtailed his conversation with Happy in favor of bounding over to the painting and fawning over it, his eyes as big as saucers. As Happy watched his new friend squeal and grovel over the realism of the painting with amiable childishness, he hung his head and accepted sorry defeat, "Maybe he really doesn't like anyone."

After Natsu was done worshiping the paintings, the twosome continued their descent upon the path that would lead to the lobby. Natsu knew they had reached their destination when they rounded the corner of the main hallway into the lobby. Together they walked over to the entrance and pushed it open, where harsh sunlight met their extemporary eyes. They were both blinded for a few seconds, but weathered through the irritation to proceed forward.

There were not that many people out in the front courtyard that day, the spacious vista was a haven for the burning rays of the sun, so most people decided not to eat there when it was sunny out; it was like stepping into a furnace. The normally student-laden fountain was barren, and there were only a few people milling about. Happy led Natsu over to an average sized magnolia tree off in the left corner of the courtyard, near the exit. It's leaves were already beginning to turn yellow, but someone clearly hadn't informed the sun that Autumn was upon Magnolia, because it was shining as bright as ever. Thankfully, the tree offered a good amount of shade compared to the rest of the area. Natsu and Happy entered the periphery of the shade as one would into water, wading into the intangible substance and feeling the relief one usually felt when entering a pool for the first time. They both sighed as they let their joints and muscles relax, feeling euphoric. Natsu tiredly slumped against the surprisingly smooth bark of the tree, while beads of sweat started to pour down his tanned face. Happy did the same as he put his tray in front of him and began to inspect his crab, trying to formulate the best way to attack it.

Natsu noticed this and tried his luck, "Soooo, are you gonna eat that, because if you can't I would be more than happy to take it off of your hands." he put on a pleading face while he finished, rubbing his stomach for added effect.

Happy gave him an incredulous look before stabbing the crab with his fork and shoving it into his mouth, "Hey, it's not my fault that someone thought it was a good idea to eat their crab on the way here." and he started to moan while chewing the crab, emphasizing Natsu's mistake.

"Ugh, you're sooo mean." Natsu complained while inwardly cursing himself; he had not been able to resist the enticing allure of the crab when he had gobbled it up whole right after scoping out the paintings. It was just too tempting. He would have gone back to get more food, but he did not have enough money to pay for more than one meal a day. When things got desperate, he and Wendy usually just packed a measly lunch for themselves, but it was never enough to satiate their hunger. Natsu hastily switched the subject from food, not wanting to hurt his poor stomach anymore.

He asked Happy what kind of courses that he was taking, to which the younger boy replied with great alacrity. While he was talking animatedly, Natsu sat there sluggishly, his limbs no better than jello. The day had been very taxing and it was only halfway done. He inwardly groaned, so desperately wanting the weekend to come. Natsu was just about to ask Happy to list out his grades when he remembered something, "Oh yeah I forgot to ask you this morning, is your academic partner really going to be a high schooler, because you're like 5 to 7 years younger than the rest of us?"

Happy shook his head firmly, "No, no, I'm actually a special case, since there's such an age gap between me and them, there is only one student who would be able to partner up with me." and for some inexplicable reason, after he said this he ducked his eyes under his bangs and blushed deeply.

Natsu absentmindedly scratched an annoying itch on his back while pondering Happy's predicament, "Ok, so what you're telling me is that there's only one person who can be your partner right?" Happy nodded in affirmation, "Then who is it?"

Still blushing Happy fumbled his fingers in his lap, eyeing his unfinished crab, "Well, she's also a student here of course, and, like me, she was able to skip a lot of grades earlier on. Us two are actually the only people this young at Magnolia High. Her name's Carla." he finished shyly. Natsu however was too focused on the still uneaten crab to make note of Happy's mortified state, and as soon as the smaller boy had taken his eyes off of it to say Carla's name, Natsu pounced, gobbling up the poor crab whole, as he had been eyeing it the entire time.

"HEY! I wasn't done with that yet!" Happy insisted, indignant at his friend's actions, trying to reach into Natsu's mouth.

Natsu chortled while chewing, "You snooze, you lose. Let this be an important life lesson, never take your eye off of your food, you still lack training in that department" and he started to laugh again at his own wit. Happy had a grumpy scowl on his face, not finding the joke funny at all. He was about to say something smart when he remembered something important. He had forgotten to tell Natsu the names of his friends at lunch. While berating himself for it, he started to say something, "By the way Natsu, forget the crab, I-"

His sentence was stopped midway when a shadow fell upon his body. Natsu noticed him stop and looked up to where happy's eyes were now pointing, and he saw a hulking student who looked like he had been held back quite a few times. Natsu thought this because the guy had a goatee, his brown hair cropped under his chin in three separate points. It shockingly accentuated his spiky hair and crescent-moon earrings. Natsu sensed Happy gulping with trepidation, and his guard was immediately raised. He did not move however; movement was a sign of agitation and apprehension to any and all enemies, be it a playground ruffian or an elite fighter. Happy's breathing had started to become labored. The two of them sat there, staring at the newcomer who gazed back at them with arrogant, almost lazy, brown eyes. He smirked, "You're lucky that there's a witness here today kid," he gestured slightly to Natsu with a gruff voice and leaned in close to Happy's face to stress his words, "else I would be wiping the floor with you right now. You better remember my request soon kid, or else"he threatened menacingly.

Still smiling a bit with a wicked grin, he backed up from Happy's terrified face and turned around, jaunting away to his destination, as if Natsu and Happy were just a simple pit-stop on his "epic journey of life". Happy's breath slowly turned back to normal as he took deep breaths to calm himself. Natsu's cheerful demeanor had quickly gained much more gravity, "Happy, who exactly was that?"

The frightened boy answered with a shaky breath, "Azuma; one of the football players. He used to bully me a lot. Same reason as Bora actually and because I was an easy target to show off with. I've been trying my best recently to avoid any trouble like that, but I guess he's not one to give up so easily."

Natsu tilted his head in thought, "You know, it's weird that all these guys you say that have been bullying you happen to be on the football team."

"Yeah, I wonder why?" Happy pondered looking up at the leaves in thought, but neither of them came up with anything. For all their smarts in school, at the end of the day both of them were simple-minded idiots to the highest degree. The duo shook themselves simultaneously and then each knocked his head a bit, trying to think of something. It was really a marvel how alike they were, as if they had been together their whole lives. Natsu eventually just turned his attention back to the other problem.

"Well, if that Azuma guy, or whatever the hell he's called, stood there for another moment I would have handled it." he said determinedly, with a fierce glare in his eye, and for some reason Happy though he saw a flicker of red there, but he passed it off as a trick of the light when it did not reappear.

Happy shuddered a bit and turned again to look at Natsu, "By handled, you do mean what happened to Bora right?"

"Weeeell, it doesn't have to be that, it could be something else." Natsu countered carefully, putting his hands up in mock defense. Happy though, wasn't finished with his light interrogation, curiosity inundating his brain with the courage to speak about the events of that morning.

"Actually, what you did to Bora was very strange, one second I was getting ready for him to hit me, the next thing I know, he's lying on the ground, knocked out. I guess I should be more thankful, but I really can't help wondering how you did it, because I didn't even see you move, you just came out of nowhere."

Natsu removed the hood of the hoodie to slightly expose his blue-dyed pink hair and leaned his head further back against the tree. He was not too sure on how to answer Happy's inquiry. He liked the younger boy very much for sure, feeling very comfortable in his presence for some reason. But, he was not yet ready to reveal his past and his closely guarded secret yet. Happy needed to fully first gain his trust first, which was already near the point where Natsu could believe in the younger boy to keep his secrets for him; he had made that much of an impression on Natsu. However, it was only the first of hopefully many days of friendship to come and it was not yet the right time to entrust his past to another person. Natsu decided to be truthful with Happy, "I honestly can't answer that right now; a lot of stuff has happened to me in the past to shape who I am today, and there are some parts you're better off not knowing. But you trust me on this, I will tell you one day; that day is just not today, so don't feel too bad." he ended defiantly while looking up at the clouds, envying their place in the universe. He unconsciously patted Happy on the head, who arched to his touch.

Happy nodded and smiled, content with his new friend's answer. He didn't know what had happened to Natsu, but found himself worrying over the older boy for some reason; it just felt natural and innate. Happy languidly shifted his body closer to Natsu and leaned against his shoulder resting his eyelids a bit (he had woken up at he 5:30 that morning after all; stupid clock), a bit annoyed when Natsu started to shape his hair into peculiar designs, but he didn't mind too much; it was bittersweet. The two just sat there, basking in the warmth of the sun now that they were somewhat shielded by the bastion of shadow created by the tree. Happy faintly heard a ringing sound and frowned, but he did not move, too comfortable on Natsu's soft yet firm shoulder to move. Natsu however, did not notice the sound, too busy trying to give Happy a Mohawk.

Without opening his eyes Happy softly spoke, "Hey... Natsu, the bell probably rang a minute ago.. we're gonna be late."

"...Shit."

I was surprised like only one of you caught the Macbeth reference in that last chapter. I wonder if any of you can guess what I am doing with the weather (inspired by Frankenstein). Also quick question, should I have Layla Heartfilia be dead or alive? Please leave a review with your opinion, else I'm gonna make her alive. Finally there was question by a guest I think about the time frame in this story, and it is still the first Friday of the first week of school.

UPDATE- I am currently in the process of editing chapter 1-3 because I realized that the style of the writing really changed from chapter 4 and onward.