hello, im back again so soon, a surprise I know. Please let me know any feedback you have on the story and it's direction with a review, I always love to hear from readers, thx!
(Lucy)
I took Natsu around the school for about an hour or so. It was great fun, hanging out with him, almost like we were kids again just having a blast in my backyard. Our parade was halted by a familiar voice.
"Hey Lucy, you know Levy's work schedule at all?"
I turned around to face an orange-haired boy with a man-bun, "Oh hey Jet. Nah I don't know it yet, she only just told me the other day she had started working. Guess she's too busy with Gajeel to worry about the rest of us now huh?"
It was meant to be a joke but Jet frowned. Maybe I shouldn't have rattled that cage just yet; I was pretty sure he'd had a crush on Levy since way back.
Jet rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I guess I'll ask her myself later then, we're supposed to work on this group essay together so I wanted to lock down a schedule with her. Who's this by the way?" he glanced over at Natsu now for the first time, "I didn't think you were the type to volunteer to show transfer students around Lucy."
"He's an old friend Jet, I'm sure you remember him too," I said with a coy smile.
Natsu stepped forward with his hand, "Natsu Dragneel at your service!"
Jet took his hand wordlessly, "Natsu? Natsu.. Natsu... where have I heard that name before... wait?! That Natsu Dragneel? The one who was super fat and hung out with Lucy a lot?"
Natsu winced a bit at the word 'fat' but smiled nonetheless, "Well, yea that's me, I moved back to Magnolia."
"Wow I can't believe it's really you, sorry about calling you fat just now I was just really shocked I mean, wow, dude you look like you went to a fucking bootcamp or something!"
Jet looked as if he had just ran 5 miles, his breathing was very quick and his eyes were lit up like a Christmas tree.
"This is really something, I've gotta go tell Droy later, he'll never believe me!" Jet said excitedly, as though Natsu's weight loss were some sort of trending news.
Noticing Natsu's discomfort, I stepped in, "Yes, well anyway I still have to finish giving Natsu here the tour so, we'll get going now, bye Jet."
"Yea see you guys," he called out, "Invite him out sometime Lucy, I'm sure he'd enjoy it!
I waved to Jet and took off, Natsu close behind me.
When we turned a corner, I held his arm, "Hey, you're ok right? Sorry about Jet, he't not exactly what you would call subtle, to be honest most guys here aren't."
Natsu shook his head, "Lucy I'm fine, this is nothing, really. All I care about is how my close friends look at me anyway, and right now the only close friend I have is you so, I'm fine."
He put his hands on my shoulders to steer me forward, "Come Lucy, we still have a tour to finish!"
I was happy he was fine, but I was still worried. I made a note to scold Jet later, he had been insensitive. I was really glad that Natsu still relied on me.
Still, the more time I spent with this new-look Natsu, the more guilt built up in my heart. The conversation with Jet just now illuminated some of the implications of Natsu's change. It was wrong of me to feel so attracted to him now. It made me feel like a shallow bitch. I had never really thought of him this way back then had I? Sure he meant the world to me, but do I really deserve to feel this way? When everyone called him Fatsu Fatneel, I always scolded them, but did I ever actually defend him? I even sometimes found myself secretly agreeing with his bullies about how much he ate, obviously more-so because I was worried about his health than anything else, but still not a good look.
Did I really deserve to have this sudden attraction to him now that he lowkey looked like a swimsuit model? Steeling myself, I glanced over at Natsu, who grinned at me. That smile should never falter again, and so, I resolved to temper my newfound feelings. It wasn't fair to him, and I'm sure he would feel offended if he could read my mind. He meets his best friend after three years and the first thoughts she has are about how fuckable he is?
Honestly the more and more I thought about it the more disgusted I was with myself. Natsu deserved to be treated like a dear friend not a piece of meat. He had never really shown much interest in girls back then anyway, no way he would be interested in me.
"Lucy? Lucy!" Natsu broke me out of my pondering, "Hey, you were zoning out. Anyway I think you've shown me pretty much everything. It's a pretty amazing school I've gotta say, I even saw a few people from before I left."
Alarmed, I turned to him, "What? They didn't recognize you did they?", I hated the thought of what would happen if his old bullies resurfaced.
"Oh, I don't really think they saw me, and even if they did it's been three years, I'm sure everyone who knew me back then has forgotten about me. Unless I talk to them like I just did with Jet, I doubt anything will happen," Natsu said nonchalantly.
"Don't count your chicken before they hatch, Levy and Lisanna remember you of course," I said, "Actually speaking of that you should come meet my friends some time this weekend, I can properly introduce you to everyone."
We had made our way back to the front of the school, Natsu looked like he was about to head home.
"Of course, how could I forget Levy," Natsu laughed, "She was always nice to me, it'll be fun hanging out with her again, Lisanna as well. Anyway, even if people recognize me, I can just let bygones be bygones right?"
I wasn't so sure about that, some of the bullying he had endured had been quite vicious. Natsu, being quite aggressive himself, never backed down and always ruffled their feathers in turn.
"Just be careful Natsu, I would hate it if people started ganging up on you again."
The sun was really shining now, I felt the heat of its rays warm me up a bit, but I managed to keep a resolute expression.
"Thanks Lucy, I can always count on you to watch my back." Natsu said, and he then gave me a pat on the head before darting off, dodging my punch with a snort.
Ugh, he knew I hated that; still I could feel my heartstrings being pulled but I quickly suppressed it.
Operation, "Don't have feelings for Natsu", was now underway.