Chapter Two
When Lucy left her room the next morning, Natsu was leaning on the opposite wall already.
"Mornin' princess." He greeted and pushed himself off, casting a quick glance down her body while she did the same. While Lucy was wearing a navy-blue skirt and a white turtleneck, combined with white boots and a dark blue backpack, Natsu wore black jeans and a black sweater beneath his black leather jacket. Did he not know any other colours than those depressing tones?
"Good morning, Natsu." She purred and started walking down the hall. "Were you standing there all night?"
Natsu chuckled and admitted. "No, I slept in a very comfortable bed in another wing of the estate."
Lucy gave him a surprised look. Did that mean..? "But before you make any false assumptions, my partner was guarding your room at night, so don't try anything in the future." He crushed her hopes and gave her a wicked grin. He knew exactly what Lucy was thinking, and it irked her.
"Will you have breakfast with me, then?" She asked, trying to conceal her hopes by sounding as if she were up to something. She hated eating alone.
"Sadly, no. I've already eaten." He said and glanced towards her as she stared strictly forward, lips pressed to a thin line. He wasn't entirely sure how to interpret that reaction, but she gave him no further room to speculate.
"Then I will see you when I depart from the estate." She pressed with a smile and turned around to face him one last time before entering the dining room and slamming the door behind her. Natsu looked at it baffled. Had he offended her?
During breakfast Lucy took out her phone and decided to check the Fairy Tail group chat.
Levy: What?! New bodyguards? Again?
Erza: How many more of those is your dad going to hire until he realizes that you're able to get rid of them all?
Juvia: Lucy, be nice! Those poor guys don't know yet what they're dealing with.
Lucy: Then it's time they found out, don't you think?
The answer was almost immediate.
Juvia: But be a little nicer than you were with that Hibiscus guy from the Unicorn agency!
Levy: You mean Hibiki from Blue Pegasus?
Juvia: Yes, that one. How am I supposed to remember all their names? There were so many.
Erza: And there will be many more, so you better start remembering.
Lucy: Uhm, maybe not…
Levy: What do you mean?
Lucy: The new agency? They're Strauss and Co. I met their boss, Mirajane Strauss, yesterday.
Erza: Strauss and Co.? Those are said to be the best! Mirajane is my absolute idol!
Juvia: What's so interesting about her?
Erza: She was in the military before she started the agency, and from what I've heard the woman's a beast! There was no mission she didn't complete excellently, and she received loads of medals.
Levy: When she was such a great soldier, why'd she stop just to become a babysitter?
Erza: I'm not sure, they never really dropped the details. All I know is that her sister Lisanna was somehow involved, and that since Mirajane left the military, nobody has ever seen Lisanna again.
Lucy: You think she died?
Erza: I'm don't know, but at this point I think it's probable. But that was years ago.
Juvia: But Lucy, why did you say that maybe there wouldn't come any more agencies?
Lucy: I'm hoping that if I just get Strauss and Co. to fail as spectacularly as possible, my father will realize that it's useless and stop hiring bodyguards. They're said to be the best, after all.
Levy: That sounds wicked.
Levy: You got a plan already or need some help?
Lucy: As a starter, I'm gonna start sneaking out and running away from them, beginning with Sting's party. Oh, and I've got to introduce someone to you once we're at the University.
Erza: That sounds interesting.
With a smile, Lucy put her phone away and stood up from the table. Just like before, Natsu was waiting right outside the room she was in, this time leaning next to the door.
"You ready?" He asked, and Lucy nodded. Together they walked out to the car and got in the backseat.
"We're ready, Gajeel." Natsu called and the driver, a man with long black hair, started the car.
"What happened to my usual driver?" Lucy asked curiously and watched Natsu lean back in his seat.
"We decided that it would be better if someone of our team would drive." He said and watched out the window.
"That doesn't answer my question." Lucy smiled sweetly and scooted closer to the pink haired man.
"What can you tell me about your friends?" He asked instead of answering her question and pretended not to notice how she got closer still. Of course, he knew all about her friends, but maybe this would distract her from asking further questions he didn't want her to know the answer to. Her previous driver had turned out to be in close contact with several very intrusive paparazzi.
"Well, there's Levy, for one. Levy McGarden." Lucy began listing them up and he was surprised about how willing to help she seemed. "She's a total bookworm, we often exchange books that we liked reading. She's really sweet, but also a bit of a shark. Once she finds something interesting, she will go beyond herself to find out everything about it."
Levy McGarden was the daughter of a very famous publisher and a slightly less famous Instagram celebrity. She was in all probability as harmless as her babyface made her look. Her and Lucy had known each other since kindergarten.
"Then there's Erza Scarlet. She's been one of my best friends since middle school, and she loves strawberry cake. Probably would kill for a slice. She's the mom friend of the group, and really nice."
Natsu frowned. Erza Scarlet was the heir to Scarlet Inc., a company that sold cars. It seemed that her parents were, just like Lucy's father, more interested in building an empire than raising their daughter, who early on started to rebel against their plans for her. She was versed in all kinds of fighting sports and taught self-defence via videos on social media. Natsu wasn't all too sure if she was actually as sweet as Lucy said.
"And last but not least we have Juvia Lockser. Her Mother has this great fashion label, Loxar, and she herself wants nothing more than to become a designer like her one day. She's really cool, like the friend you can go on rollercoasters with." Lucy concluded, and Natsu raised his brows at the odd comparison.
Juvia Lockser had transferred to Lucy's high school in eleventh grade, and they had spent the year as sworn enemies. Apparently because of some boy they had both had a thing for, but nothing had ever been confirmed. All he knew was that they ended eleventh grade with catfight and started twelfth grade as best friends.
"Are you telling me something about your team too or will I have to figure out everything by myself?" Lucy asked, now so close that their bodies were touching, and Natsu made the mistake of turning his head to look at her. Their faces were only centimetres apart anymore and she glanced seducingly down towards his lips, before her big brown eyes met his again. For the first time Lucy realized that his eyes were not just really dark but seemed to be actually black.
Natsu cleared his throat and tried to move closer to the door, but he was already pressed against it. There was no escape from Lucy's attempts to…yeah, what was she even doing? Trying to seduce him? Yeah, that had to be it. He wasn't entirely sure why she was trying to in the first place, though. Was she hoping for him to make a mistake because he was distracted or to give in to her advances and get fired for it?
"Well, uh," He stammered and cleared his throat again. "Mirajane you already met. Then there's Gajeel, our driver."
"What's Gajeel's last name?" Lucy interrupted, and he gave her a startled look.
"His last name's Redfox. My partner, who's guarding your room at night, is called Gray Fullbuster, then there's Cana Alberona, who takes care that extern locations are secure. You happy 'bout that answer, princess?"
Lucy hummed while thinking it through. Little did Natsu know that those names would wander directly to Levy, who would crack her knuckles twice and then find out everything about the team there was to know.
"What's your last name, Natsu?"
"Dragneel."
"Natsu…Dragneel." She repeated slowly, and a shiver ran down Natsu's spine. He had to give it to her: She knew the game she was playing very well.
Suddenly, Lucy retreated back to her seat, and just as Natsu gave her a puzzled look, he saw that they were right in front of the University.
"You ready, love?" She asked and looked at him through her lashes. Natsu swallowed and nodded, shaking off all the insecurity she brought up in him. Two could play the game she was playing, and it was time for him to step onto the field.
"Ready when you are, princess." He retorted and watched, as Gajeel opened her door for her before getting out himself and walking around the car. Lucy hadn't bothered waiting up for him, but Gajeel still stood there smirking.
"Good luck with that one, Salamander. Seems like she's got you by the balls."
"Fuck you, Metalhead. At least I don't have to play the driver." He muttered and followed after his fake girlfriend, who just at that moment reached her friends in front of the stairs.
"The pink haired one?" Levy asked curiously, and Lucy nodded.
"He's actually my bodyguard, but he's acting like he's my boyfriend in public, so it doesn't seem that obvious that I'm protected." She whispered and watched him approach. He even had a backpack slung over his shoulder that she hadn't noticed before.
When he reached them, he laid an arm over Lucy's shoulder and she smiled up at him sweetly.
"Guys, that's Natsu, my boyfriend." She introduced him and he raised his hand in a small wave.
"Nice to meet you, girls. Lucy's told me already so much about you."
"And those are Erza," the red haired one who gave him the evil eye, "Juvia," the one with the dark blue hair who just eyed him curiously, "And Levy." The one with the light blue hair and the glasses, who gifted him an honest smile.
"So, Natsu," Erza spoke and Lucy tried to push down her grin. "Where did you two meet?"
"At the bookstore. We were reaching for the same book and that's when we first noticed each other." He chuckled and scratched his neck, and the girls almost melted into his smile. That was actually a very sweet idea, Lucy thought, but they didn't give up so soon. After all, her friends enjoyed playing Lucy's games at least as much as she did.
"Oh, you like to read? What genres?" Levy questioned with shining eyes. If there was anyone in the world who loved reading more than Lucy, then it was Levy. Natsu feigned thinking for a second, when he was probably actually wondering what game the girls were playing. He was pretty sure that Lucy had told them the truth already.
"I think my favourite's probably action, though I really like YA and Romance too. The book we reached for was romance, if I remember it right. Wasn't it, Lucy?" He thought aloud and glanced down towards the blonde who gave a slight nod.
"Yeah, it was."
"You know, I've gotta say, you're kinda pretty. I'm sure I would've noticed you by now." Juvia stated and smiled wickedly. "You don't go to this University, do you?"
They were trying to corner him, Natsu realised. They were trying to make him make a mistake, and suddenly he was very thankful for Mirajane, who always insisted that he learned every last detail of his faux background story by heart and even practiced answering questions about it.
"Well, I've been going to this Uni for quite a while now, but I chose to attend via online lessons. I've always found those more practical anyways. But since I met Lucy I want to spend as much time with her as I can, and thus am going to come to Uni in person." He smiled just as sweetly back and could see the exact moment Juvia decided to test his limits.
Lucy snuck her arm around his waist and said: "It's pretty late already, I think we should go inside."
The girls agreed, and so everyone went to their lessons.
Lucy took a seat at the back of the classroom and neatly laid out her laptop, a notebook and a biro pen in front of her. Natsu simply put his backpack to his feet and slouched back in his chair.
"Are you even going to pay attention?" Lucy asked curiously and propped her chin on her hand. Natsu nodded.
"Of course I am. Just not to your chemistry lesson."
"It's physics, actually." Lucy gave him a sly smile.
"Ain't gonna pay attention to that either." He retorted and tried not to let his embarrassment show. He should have known that.
"Of course not." Lucy teased and directed her attention to her professor.
During the lesson Natsu kept watching the students surrounding them like an eagle. He was aware of every movement, every glance in their direction.
When Lucy turned her attention back to him, at first, he didn't even notice, too busy glaring down a fellow student who seemed to have a little crush on the blonde beauty. Determined to focus his attention back on her, Lucy inconspicuously pushed a pen towards the edge of the table. Natsu noticed it the moment it rolled off the edge of the table but was too slow to catch it.
"Whoopsie." Lucy feigned surprise before leaning down to get the pen that had rolled under Natsu's seat, knowingly invading his space. Startled, he tried to scoot a little away, but there was only so far he could go before falling off his chair.
"Found it." Lucy looked up to him with a smile, still bowed over his lap, providing a great view of her cleavage. In that moment Natsu understood perfectly how Lucy had gotten rid of all her previous bodyguards. Either they quit because the teasing was too much, or they were fired because they had given in and walked right into her trap. And if they were actually professional enough to not be affected by how she acted, she would have found a way to prove them incompetent.
"Great." Natsu pressed and let out a breath when she sat back up again. He needed to find a way to make her give up.
When they finally left the classroom, Lucy snuck her hand into Natsu's and leaned into his side.
"Did you find the lesson interesting, love?" She purred and batted her lashes.
"Yes, it was quite the entertainment, princess. What did you like best?" He answered, smile dripping poison. Lucy sported a smug expression.
"The part where I dropped my pen." She bit her lip, and Natsu finally had enough. He started walking faster, trailing Lucy after him by her hand. She almost stumbled, but as quickly as he had started, he pushed her into a janitor's room and closed the door behind them.
"What-?" Lucy stuttered, but he immediately shut her up by pressing her against a wall. There was only a little red lamp that barely lighted the room, but she could see his glowing dark eyes clear as day.
"Listen up now, princess." He growled, one arm propped to the wall above her head, leaning down right beside her ear. "I know exactly what you're trying to do, and I don't like it."
"Oh, is that was dislike looks like, love?" She interrupted, having quickly recovered from the surprise. Natsu got closer, pressing a leg between hers, hoping to wipe some of that smugness off her face. He knew it failed tremendously the moment she put a hand on his chest.
"Yes, that's what dislike looks like. I won't fall for your games. I've read your files. I know exactly how you got rid of all those before me and let me tell you that I won't follow them. The only way you're getting rid of me is if someone puts a bullet in my head." With the tiniest bit of self-satisfaction, he felt Lucy's body react to his. She wasn't as immune as she would have liked him to think, after all. Little goosebumps appeared on her neck and went down her spine, and instead of drawing circles with her fingers like before she grabbed his sweater as her breathing got heavier. Natsu leaned back a little, just enough to look her in the widened eyes. She looked at him like a deer in headlights.
But then she grabbed his sweater tighter, and though still breathing heavily, she bit her lip and smirked. "I know where daddy keeps the guns, love."
Natsu narrowed his eyes, trying not to let his exasperation show. How the fuck could he intimidate her if not like that?
Letting out an irritated breath, he retreated from her, and watched how she almost slipped down the wall. Looked like someone had gotten weak knees, huh?
Natsu rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the hand as soon as her knees seemed steady enough to carry her again and pulled her out of the room and to her next class.
SATURDAY
Lucy was humming while putting on her make up. She hadn't managed to get another reaction out of Natsu for the entire week and was now determined to not let this evening flop. She had eaten about two hours before and had officially already gone to bed. It worried her a little that Natsu had known about her sneaking out in the past but she calmed her nerves by reminding herself that, in fact, everyone knew about it. That had been the whole point – to be seen and get rid of another useless team of bodyguards.
When her lipstick finally seemed to have the perfect angle, she thoughtfully eyed the cylindrical box that sat on the counter next to the sink. It was opened, and in it there was a bright pink wig Lucy usually used to sneak out and be unseen. She was still debating with herself whether or not to wear it. Did she want to be unseen or did she want to let people know she was there right away?
Carefully taking the wig out she chose the first option, thinking about remaining incognito until later at night so that her bodyguards couldn't have a chance to crash the party earlier than she wanted them to.
When everything was finally at the right place, she picked up her phone and threw a last checking look in the mirror. The black dress she was wearing barely reached to her mid-thighs, and the v-neckline was quite revealing too. Her high heels would already have killed her feet by the time they reached the club, but she didn't care. All Lucy cared about was that she looked smoking hot and hardly recognizable with the hot pink wig that reached straight to her shoulders. It even had bangs.
Levy: We'll be there in ten, Lu. Same spot as always?
Lucy: Of course. See you.
To climb out the window, Lucy took her shoes off again, not wanting to fall and break her neck, and as she snuck her way through a small passage in the garden and then through that part of the bushes, knowing no one from the estate would be able to see her, she kept them dangling from her fingers. Last but not least she finally reached the gate for the delivery men and snuck through it with a security card she had stolen some time ago while seducing one.
Finally taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the fresh night air.
"Man, how I love being right." A raspy voice broke her out of her peace, and she jolted around to see Natsu leaning on the wall, grinning cockily.
"How- how did you know?" Lucy stuttered, trying to register what was happening just now. Damn it! Natsu pushed himself off the wall and slowly started walking towards her.
"As I said before, I know about how you got rid of all the others. Doing the necessary research about what way you could get off the property so easily made me genuinely worried about the laziness of your previous bodyguards." He explained and stood still right in front of her. Lucy swallowed hard and watch as he raised a hand to twirl a pink lock around his finger. "Nice wig, by the way. I was already wondering if you went out to just get some fun, too."
Trying to recollect her thoughts, Lucy pushed his hand off and bowed down to put her shoes back on. She didn't see how Natsu averted his eyes from her very revealing pose, but she sure hoped he did. When she stood back upright, she was almost as tall as him.
"So, what's the plan now, love?" She asked and narrowed her eyes at him.
He sent her a knowing smirk. "I'm gonna bring ya back to your room and save mine and Mira's asses. You are gonna come with me without a fight and nicely go to sleep as you announced almost three hours ago you would."
Lucy scoffed. "And what if I won't come with you?"
"I have no problem picking you up and carrying you, princess."
Debating her chances of getting away from him in that kind of situation, Lucy frowned. Eventually, she raised her hands in defeat. "I don't wanna go back. I still want to have a night out with my friends."
"Hah, no. You're going home." Natsu said coldly.
"Please, I can never have some fun! And they're already on their way here." She pleaded and watched as his cold façade slowly started to melt.
"No, no fucking way. You're not going to some party just because you don't like your life, princess. Out of the question, your friends are gonna have to turn around."
"Please, Natsu! Let me go and I swear that I'll be nice. Don't take this away from me too." Lucy boldly laid her hands on top of his crossed arms and he glanced down for only a moment before sending her a warning glare.
"You're gonna stay by my side, you hear me? The first time I can't see you for more than three seconds will be the moment we go home." He instructed gruffly and opened up his arms so her hands would fall off. Instead, she darted forward and threw her arms around his neck to embrace him in a tight hug.
"Thanks, Natsu! You're the greatest!" She cheered, genuinely grateful but none the less already thinking of some kind of plan B.