It had been a few days since Natsu had his meeting with the principal. Nothing much happened in the days following the meeting. Natsu carried on as he did most of the school days. Unfortunately Sean had come back keeping Natsu from seeing Lucy again. It wasn't so much that Sean prevented him from seeing her it's just that Natsu couldn't stand the sight of seeing him cozy up with her. The mere thought of it made him nauseated. But he knew that he would get his chance to see her soon enough.

It was lunchtime again, and everyone met up at the regular table to eat together everyone with the exception of Natsu and Leo. Leo was like Natsu in that he utterly despised Sean. He didn't necessarily hate Sean because of his relationship with Lucy, like Natsu, he hated Sean because of his aggressive attitude towards him. Though even without the two of them everyone else carried on with their lives.

"I don't get it Leo," Natsu said shaking his head as the two of them were walking through the main courtyard back to the boy's dorm, "I don't get why Lucy dates such a prick.

"Well it wasn't exactly her first choice either," Leo told him. Leo walked with his hands in his pocket nonchalantly as he always did. He continued to wear his sunglasses, although Natsu began to wonder if he ever took them off.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked.

"Hey Leo," a group of girls chirped as the passed by the two girls.

"Hey girls," Leo said winking at them with a seductive grin on his face. Natsu just sighed and rolled his eyes as he watched his friend act all flirty with other girls. It was nothing new for him Leo had always been that way. He just found it kind of ridiculous that Leo acted like this everywhere he went.

"What?" Leo asked cocking an eyebrow as he saw Natsu's grimace expression. Though Leo probably could take a guess as to why. After all most people he hung out with usually had the same response every time he was flirty.

"I said 'What do you mean?'" Natsu reiterated.

"Oh that," Leo said remembering their conversation. "Well you know that Lucy's family is incredibly wealthy—"

"What?" Natsu interrupted his face shot up in surprise.

"Yeah Lucy's family is loaded you didn't know that?" Leo said his face was just as confused as Natsu's.

"No I didn't," Natsu said shaking his head.

"You've been friends with her for so long and you never knew she came from a wealthy family?" Leo asked still a little perplexed.

"Well I never even went to her house once as a kid so I wouldn't know," Natsu told him. He thought about the many times with Lucy when they were children. Not once had he ever gone to her house. When they were kids they usually met up at the beach or after school. He hadn't even met Lucy's father, then again it was never something he paid that much attention to.

"But you do know about the Heartfilia though right?" Leo asked. He seemed skeptical of Natsu. Nearly everyone in the town had heard of the Heartfilia family. He wondered how someone who was as close of a friend to Lucy didn't know about her family.

"Yeah but why is that so important?" Natsu said shrugging. He never went into Lucy's personal life. He never went into any of his friend's personal lives. He hadn't really cared too much before.

"Because Lucy's father is one of the richest businessmen in the region," Leo said shaking his head. "Everyone around here knows the Heartfilia name."

"But so what if she's a Heartfilia?" Natsu grunted. "What does that have to do with her dating Sean?"

"Sean also comes from a wealthy family," Leo told him, a serious look crossed his face. "Sean's father is another wealthy businessmen who has been doing deals with Lucy's father for some time now." Natsu stopped, the two boys were in front of the boy's dorm but he wanted to hear the rest of the story. He was clung onto every word that Leo said.

Lucy's father was the richest man not only in the town, but quite possibly the entire region. Sean's father was the second richest man though his fortune was pretty close. It was safe to say that without a doubt both Sean and Lucy's families were the elite of the town.

"What kind of deals?" Natsu asked his face stern. He didn't like the sound of what he was hearing.

"Well both Sean and Lucy's fathers are incredibly rich successful businessmen that both own major corporations," Leo continued. "If Lucy and Sean were to get married that would mean that both those corporations could legally combine and from there on the rest is just details."

"Those fucking bastards!" Natsu cursed under his breathe. He couldn't believe that Lucy's own father would do something so low. He's pretty much just selling his own daughter to increase his own wealth. The thought of it made him enraged.

Natsu couldn't believe that Lucy's own father was pretty much just marketing her as though she were some piece of meat. He could understand Sean that guy was a prick and he felt bad for whatever woman would marry him, but he couldn't stand the thought of Lucy being sold off. Natsu had never even met Lucy's father but he had a sudden urge to punch him out for even thinking of doing this to Lucy.

"Calm down Natsu," Leo sighed. He could see the rage building up in Natsu's eyes and body. "I don't think Lucy is thinking about marriage right now, heck I doubt she'll even go through with it."

"Huh?" Natsu said cocking an eyebrow.

"Lucy's not going to marry some jerk because her father told her too," Leo said giving Natsu a reassuring grin. "You should know her better than that."

"You're right Leo," Natsu sighed but he was more relieved now. "I know Lucy probably won't marry him, but why is she still dating him?"

To Natsu it just sounded more like wishful thinking. He hoped that Lucy would break off her relationship with that dick, but he didn't know if perhaps she really was serious about dating him. He hated to think about it but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was nothing he could do. It scared him, not because he believed he was going to lose her, it was because he felt so powerless. He knew that he had no control or say in the situation and it made him feel weak. He wanted to save her, he wanted to protect her but maybe he couldn't.

"I don't know," Leo shrugged, "probably to make her father happy but I don't really know." The two waited outside Natsu continued to think about Lucy as Leo flashed some flirty smiles to girls who passed by. Even though Natsu saw Leo act like himself he didn't have it in him to give his friend crap about it. He wanted to get his mind off of it, but couldn't.

Natsu continued to watch as Leo exchange flirty smiles with the girls across the way. Leo seemed eager to go over and get a little more "acquainted" with them, but he fought the urge. He and Natsu were waiting for Gray and Gajeel to appear so that they could go eat some lunch outside of campus. Natsu and Gajeel usually ate off campus since it was faster and Leo already knew the main reason why Natsu did it was because he couldn't stand Sean. Thankfully Natsu never saw him in the dorm otherwise things would turn ugly real fast.

It was Gray's idea that the four boys should all get lunch together that day. He felt like he needed some time away from Juvia who was as latched onto him as a leech. He thought he go eat with Natsu and Gajeel, but realized he could barely stand the two of them together as it was so he invited Leo to ease any tension. Gray and Leo were close friends and he figured that Leo would have no problems joining them for an off campus meal.

"So we ready to go?" Gajeel asked as he and Gray walked up to Natsu and Leo.

"Yeah," Leo said, not averting his eyes from a group of girls sitting under one of the nearby trees. They all giggled as Leo winked at them. The other three boys moaned in annoyance.

"So where are we eating?" Gray asked as the four boys made their way to the main gate.

"There's this really good Mexican joint on the main street," Natsu said.

"Sounds good," Gray sighed. "As long as I can get some time away from Juvia."

"Uh your girl friend draining you again Gray?" Natsu teased as they passed by the main gate.

"Shut up," Gray grumbled. Natsu just laughed. He really did enjoy teasing Gray it was something of a hobby for him. Gray did get easily quirked by it though today he just seemed too tired to actually care all that much.

The four boys made their way passed the gate and across the grassy knoll. Natsu and Leo continued to talk, but they turned their discussion away from Lucy and were talking more about Leo's job as a prefect. Gajeel and Gray remained silent as they usually did. For Natsu it seemed to create a weird atmosphere, but having to have lived with those guys he could say he was used to it.

As they walked down the street Natsu caught a familiar trios walking down the street in the other direction. He nudged Gray on his shoulder, "Hey isn't that Jet, Droy and Levy?" Natsu asked as he watched the three friends.

"Yeah it is," Gray said he sounded like he was also interested in seeing the trio. Though Gray decided to join Natsu and Gajeel for lunch for the first time that day he knew all too well that students just didn't leave the campus. Than again that was just something that was beaten into everyone's head. He definitely knew it, but even though it was an unwritten rule most students abided by it. "I wonder what they're doing out here?"

"Huh? What are you two talking about?" Gajeel grumbled as he turned to see. "Oh those guys?" Gajeel chuckled to himself. "Perhaps they realized that it was safer for them to go off of campus now after I kicked some of those local kid's asses."

"What do you mean you kicked the local kid's asses?" Natsu growled.

"Exactly what I mean Pinky," Gajeel said stepping towards him, their foreheads nearly touched. The two of them exchanged fierce scowls. "I took out about three of them. You could barely manage one by yourself!"

"Ha! I took on three guys at the same time!" Natsu jeered. "You just managed to beat a couple of scrubs easily before interjecting into my fight!"

"You wanna go right now?" Gajeel growled raising his fist.

"You bet I do," Natsu said as a wide grin rose across his face.

"Ladies, ladies please," Leo said interjecting between the two of them, "you're both ugly. And as a prefect I can't allow you guys to start a fight here no matter how entertaining it would be to watch."

"Great you two are acting like a bunch of children again," Gray sighed yet he kept his eyes on the trio down the road.

"Oh shut it," Gajeel grumbled. "Anyways I'm hungry so let's keep going." He continued to make his way up the street with Natsu following suit. Behind them Gray stood there and continued to watch the other three. Leo began to follow Natsu and Gajeel but turned around when he noticed that Gray wasn't following himself.

"What's wrong Gray?" Leo asked eyeing the other three carefully.

"Nothing really," Gray exhaled as he shrugged. "I just don't get why those three are wondering about off campus. I mean don't they know it's dangerous?"

"Well we're wondering outside of campus aren't we?" Leo said in a joking manner. He placed his hand on Gray's shoulders hoping to ease some of the tension from his friend.

"Well I mean I get that we can wonder around since we can take care of ourselves, but—"

"Don't worry Levy has Jet and Droy to watch after her," Leo said reassuringly. "She'll be fine as long as she has those two with her."

"Yeah but Jet and Droy are weak. They'll get their asses kicked if any of the local kids catch them."

Leo was a little more serious now. But from the looks of it the area was clear. Generally local kids came out near the beach and he didn't see anyone. He figured that maybe the three others would be okay at least he hoped they would be okay.

"Hey what's taking you guys so long?" Natsu shouted at them. He and Gajeel had made there way further up the street before noticing the other boys were still behind them.

"We're coming," Leo shouted back as he made his way. Gray hesitated at first but decided to continue on with his friends. He still didn't like the idea of Levy and the other two wondering around off campus.

As the group of friends continued to walk up the street they noticed a group of about a dozen boys that were approaching them. Natsu recognized who they were; Teboo and the other boys he and Gajeel fought on the first day of school. Though there were other boys he hadn't seen before.

"I wonder what they want?" Gajeel said as he watched the other boys. His face was serious but ultimately he wasn't threatened by their presence.

"Maybe another ass whooping," Natsu said excitedly. He was eager to see what was happened.

Gray and Leo seemed to remain calm despite the approaching local boys. They weren't familiar with any of those boys but they weren't fazed at all. The four of them just watched as the group approached them.

"Well, well, well if it isn't Natsu," Teboo said stopping only a few feet away from the four boys. Natsu gritted his teeth as he heard Teboo say his name. He didn't like the boy but he didn't hated that he knew his name.

"What do you want?" Natsu barked.

"Just move along boys," Leo said as he stepped between Natsu and Teboo. He didn't want a brawl to break out anytime soon. He knew that they should just to try to avoid conflict at this point.

"Why don't you try and make us jerkoff," Teboo hissed as he took a step closer. Natsu and Gajeel responded by edging forward themselves. Leo remained unfazed by the threat, and he wasn't going to do anything that could start a fight.

"Now, now, now," a voice said from behind Teboo. An older boy made his way to the front, once Leo saw him his eyes shot up. "Calm down Teboo can't you see they don't want to fight?" Damian said as he stepped forward pushing Teboo back.

"Damian?" Leo hissed in surprise. A scowl crossed his face as he stared at the other boy.

"Oh hello there Leo," Damian greeted a friendly smile on his face. "How are you doing?"

"What do you want Damian?" Leo demanded.

"We were just on our way to get something to eat," Damian answered. "I hope that's okay with you guys." Damian kept his demeanor as he always did. He stood up as a professional and almost appeared that he wanted to have a peaceful transaction between himself and Leo. But Natsu could see the look in his eyes that just made his stomach knot up.

"We don't want any trouble Damian," Leo said his eyes leering over the group.

"And neither do we," Damin said holding his hands up as though insulted that Leo could accuse him of wanting to start trouble.

"Well I wouldn't mind fucking up Natsu and metal head over there," Teboo hissed under his breath. "I think I need we need to return the favor for what they did to us a couple of weeks ago."

"Now, now Teboo play nice," Damian said.

"If you want another ass beating I'll be happy to oblige you," Gajeel chuckled.

"What was that?" Teboo yelled taking a step forward. Damian immediately step in front of him and held him back.

"That's enough Teboo," Damian said as he pushed the boy back. "Cant' we all just get along?"

"How about this we'll go back to our campus and you guys go back to yours'? Deal?" Leo said.

"Oh come now Leo," Damian said in a melodramatic tone. "I think we can all enjoy the ourselves don't you? I mean it's a bright sunny day, we're near the beach, why can't we just have some fun?"

"Let's go guys," Leo said as he turned to walk away. Gray placed his hands in his pockets and followed Leo. As the other two boys began to walk away both Natsu and Gajeel were reluctant to follow. Neither of them wanted to back away from what they believed to be a potential fight. They eyed each other wondering if they should stay and accept whatever challenge might be presented to them.

"Natsu! Gajeel! Let's go!" Leo ordered. Again they hesitated not wanting to back off.

"That's right run away," one of the local boys taunted. Gajeel's eyes lit up as he was about to rush forward. He didn't care what the odds were he didn't like it when people thought of him as a coward. Natsu stepped in his way grabbing him. Though he also wanted to fight he knew that it was probably best for them not to.

All of sudden a loud scream echoed. Gray, Natsu, Leo and Gajeel turned around to see Levy being chased by two teenaged boys down the street. She was in a panic and Jet and Droy were nowhere in sight.

"Damian?" Leo barked as he turned to face the other boy. Damian shrugged pretending to be ignorant of what was going on while the other boys began to chuckle.

"Crap," Leo said as he, Natsu, Gajeel and Gray began to sprint after Levy.

"Well if I didn't know any better I would say that they're looking to pick a fight wouldn't you Teboo?" Damian asked rubbing his chin. He turned to face the other boy and nodded his head.

"Al right," Teboo said excitedly as he and his group began to chase after Natsu and the others.

Natsu turned to see Teboo and the other local kids following after them. "Shit," he cursed under his breath. "Gajeel look."

Gajeel turned around to see for himself. "Fuck those bastards!"

"What should we do?" Natsu asked as they continued to run after Gray and Leo. "Leo!" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah?" Leo asked not turning around to look at Natsu. They hadn't gotten far and already they were coming back up to the grassy knoll. But they also saw Jet and Droy running that way too from the other direction with two other local kids pursuing them.

"They're following us! Teboo and his friends!" Natsu yelled back.

'Shit!' Leo thought to himself. They were definitely going to be out numbered now. He hoped that Levy managed to outrun the boys following her and make it safely back to campus, but he figured that was only wishful thinking. Levy was small and she couldn't really run fast. He just hoped that if they hadn't caught her yet, not until they could get there to help her.

"Just keep running after Levy!" Leo told them. You'll get to fight those assholes once we make sure she's safe!"

"Hold her down Yomazu," the boy standing over Levy ordered. She struggled to break free but wasn't able to. The boy holding her down was far too strong. She kicked and she screamed but it didn't look like anyone was going to save her. Tears began to rush out of her eyes as she watched in horror.

"Hurry up Kawazu," the other boy said as he struggled to keep the flailing girl pinned to the ground. She may have been small but she still had some fight in her. "She's really starting to strain me out."

"Don't worry I'm going to teach this bitch a lesson for biting me!" Kawazu said as he lifted his foot in the air.

"NO DON'T!" Levy screamed.

"Shut up you stupid bi—"

Just then Kawazu was silenced as someone's fist struck the side of his cheek hurling him off to the side crashing into the grass. Before Yomazu had a chance to react a foot came barreling down directly in his face shattering his nose. His hand immediately reached for his face as blood squirted out like a fountain.

Levy took the opportunity to regain her composure and distance herself away from Yomazu. She wiped away her tears and patted some of the dirt off of her skirt when a hand reached down to help pick her up. "Thank you," she sniffed as she was lifted up to her feet. Once she stood up she was astonished to see that her rescuer was none other than Gajeel. "G-Gajeel?" Ley said in disbelief as she stared at the black haired boy.

Gajeel wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were focused on Yomazu and Kawazu. He waited for the two to get back up, but from the looks of it only Kawazu had been able to recover.

"Listen Levy," Gajeel said, "get back to school. You'll be safe there all right?"

"Okay," Levy said nodding her head. No one had to tell her twice. She knew it was dangerous and all she wanted was to get back to school where she would be safe. As she ran she took a quick look back at Gajeel her heart full of worry for the young man. As she ran their eyes met and for a moment the whole world seemed to have stopped. Gajeel gave her a friendly smile. Levy's face flushed as she turned away a little embarrassed. She turned around again only this time Gajeel had turned his attention back to her two assailants. Her heart began to beat quickly and she wasn't sure that it was from running.

"Asshole," Kawazu hissed as he stood back up rubbing his cheek. "Yomazu you okay?" Kawazu asked.

"I think he broke my nose!" Yomazu cried, his hands still covering his face. Blood poured from the open gaps and trickled down his face forming a pool around him.

"You stupid bastard," Kawazu hissed as he stood up, still clutching his cheek. "I'll make you pay—" he didn't even have time to finish before Gajeel kicked him across the head knocking him out.

Gajeel looked back to see how the other were doing. Jet and Droy were on the ground trying to regain themselves while Natsu and Gray were busy fighting one boy and Leo fought the other. Just a few paces behind them Gajeel could see Teboo and the others only a few meters behind them. Gajeel burst out in full speed running towards the others readying himself. A huge grin crossed his face as the adrenaline of a fight coursed through his veins.

Gray swung at the one boy who jumped backwards to avoid the blow only to be tripped up by Natsu. As the boy stumbled Natsu swung an upper cut nailing the boy in the abdominal just below the ribs. The blow lifted the boy a couple of centimeters off the ground before collapsing to his knees struggling for breath. He didn't have long before Natsu finished him off with a strong strike to the side of the head knocking the boy to the ground.

Leo didn't have a problem with his opponent. The boy took a swung at him that he easily dodged. Once he did he grabbed the boy from behind the neck and with all his strength threw him into the ground. The boy cried as a loud hit the ground with a loud thud. He coughed picking himself up, but once he did Leo grabbed his head and with all his might kneed the boy in the face knocking him unconscious.

"Now we got you!" Teboo yelled as he and the other dozen or so local kids came running up.

"Shit!" Gray cursed. He gazed back towards the school gate. They were still about 30 meters away. They could take the chance and run back to the school, but there were no guarantees that they were going to make it now. "What should we do?" Gray asked. "Should we try to fight all of them?"

"Your mine Natsu!" Teboo roared as he sprinted towards Natsu. Natsu's scowled as he turned to Gray and Leo. Leo thought of running back towards the school but like Gray he figured that they might not be able to out run the local kids now. They would have to fight. "I'm going to kick you ass!" Teboo bellowed.

"Bring it on bitch!" Natsu yelled as he ran forwards. Gajeel wasn't a step behind as he launched forward to. Leo and Gray turned to one another. The two of them exchanged nods before they too rushed forward.

A/N: Oh guys I am so sorry this took so long for me to upload. I had midterms and essays and anyways I'm sure you don't want to hear me make excuses. Here's the latest chapter, hoped you enjoyed and I will be updating soon. Tried to get this out as fast as I could without trying to bored you all to death. Again thanks to everyone who reviews and thanks to everyone whose been reading this. I hope this isn't a disappointment!