Lucy stared at her worried reflection in the mirror. She just sat down at the vanity table her rental provided to get ready to meet Cana for drinks in an hour. Lucy felt rejuvenated when she got back to the cabin after chatting with Levy and Cana, but as the day turned into night, she began to second guess everything.
Everything felt like it was going too right. Friends weren't easy to come by for Lucy and she just made two amazing new friends? And on her second day of being in town? She couldn't shake the feeling of unease as she tried to locate the deceit in their intentions.
Her search came up empty; there was no deceit. She wasn't sure why, but she could say this was the truth without hesitation. They had no idea she was wealthy. They weren't being kind to her to get close to her father's fortune. Levy and Cana actually wanted to be her friend.
Lucy would never get a chance to be on her own like this ever again. She had been given the gift of freedom—as short lived as it may be. When her father finds out about the engagement being a rouse, she would be under lock and key forever. Her father wasn't a bad man. Lucy even hoped that he loved her in his own way. But he was a man of power who got what he wanted, damned be the consequences to those around him, and he wanted her to marry Laxus.
It was settled then. Lucy refused to waste her time in Clover Town. She was going to savor every moment of freedom while she still had it. Nobody ever said the journey to finding yourself couldn't be fun, so she planned to make memories to last her a lifetime.
Lucy finished getting ready and requested herself a Lyft ride, grateful the service was offered in such a small town. She never drank and drove.
As she waited for her ride, she gave her ensemble a final once over in the mirror. She went for an understated look for the night since it was only a local bar. She wore a pair of high waisted white denim shorts with a tight, low-cut, lilac colored cropped tee shirt that emphasized her cleavage and slim waist. Not knowing what the night held for her she decided on comfortable shoes—her favorite pair of white low top converses. Her only accessory for the night was a gold choker; she opted against a purse and kept her credit card and ID in her pocket.
Understated didn't have to mean plain. Her outfit said she was there to have a casual fun night, but she would look freaking cute as she did it.
The Lyft driver dropped her off at the Old Tavern, which was Cana and her father's bar. A man was exiting the bar as Lucy walked up and he held the door open for her. She thanked him and presented him with a smile for the gesture. After getting to know Cana earlier, Lucy anticipated the Old Tavern to be exactly what she saw before her.
It was nothing like the bars she would hang around sometimes during university while she dated a guy who liked to party. Those were rooftop bars that served expensive frilly drinks that barely had any liquor in them.
The Old Tavern was more of a sports bar; it offered pool and darts and there were multiple TVs on the back wall with various games on. The place even had a small stage for live music. Lucy could see one of the walls to the side opened wide to an outdoor grass area that had plenty of cozy setting and a large firepit.
She imagined all the memories that'd been created here over the years, and she instantly knew she preferred this bar over the fancy rooftop ones from her past.
Alternative rock mixed with laughter and the sound of pool balls clanking together filled the space. It was loud but Lucy didn't mind it. It was nice to see so many smiling faces.
"Luce! You made it!" Cana hollered over the commotion as she strolled up to Lucy with a large beer. She took a big swig from her mug and gave Lucy a satisfied grin. "Let's get you drunk." Apparently, Cana wasn't working tonight; her job was to show Lucy how the residents of Clover Town had a good time.
The two women made their way over to the bar. Lucy leaned against the counter, laughter creasing her face at the patrons' shenanigans, as Cana told the man behind the bar to get them two shots of fireball. Lucy had a feeling Cana was testing the waters to see how committed Lucy was to having fun tonight.
The man behind the bar had two shot glasses filled to the brim with whiskey within seconds. With raised eyebrows at Lucy, he glided the shots across the bar top to stop in front of each female. His face displayed his doubt in her ability to handle the shot. Cana left hers alone and just peered over at Lucy curiously.
Lucy was no stranger to liquor. She grabbed the shot, tilted her head back, and let the spiced whiskey coat her senses as it went down smoothly. She plopped the glass back onto the counter with a straight face and grinned at Cana.
Cana's eyes lit up with amusement. She threw her arm around Lucy's shoulders and slapped her arm good-naturedly. "Your one bad bitch." She declared with another swig from her mug before she downed the shot. Dang could this woman throw it back.
"Thank you?" Lucy didn't think it was an insult, but she wasn't sure it was a compliment either.
"High praises coming from my daughter." The man behind the bar laughed. He gave her a wide toothy smile. "You've got spunk kid!"
Cana and Lucy joked and laughed at the bar top until the clock reached 7 pm. Lucy flagged down Gildarts for another round of fireball, no longer feeling the impact of the whiskey from the shot she did with Cana about an hour ago.
She guffawed at an inappropriate story that Cana was telling her about Cana's boyfriend Bacchus when the door slammed opened and a group of men off to the side hollered. "Natsu! Gray! Over here."
Natsu. That was the name of the insufferable pink haired guy from earlier today at the coffee shop. Too excited over meeting some new friends, Lucy had forgotten about her quarrel with him. She watched him with dismay as he hustled over to the table, followed by a good-looking man with black hair who looked similar in age to Natsu. He seemed more levelheaded than Natsu.
She barely noticed when her dismay morphed into interest at the way he was joking with his buddies. He may be insufferable, but he sure seemed like fun. Lucy forced down the longing she felt to go over and introduce herself. They were too different.
Different or not, she couldn't deny he looked tantalizing in his all black ensemble. He had on a pair of black loose fit jeans, black shoes, and a black form fitting long sleeve top with Dragon Force security in white on the back. Lucy's eyes lingered on his arms where you could see the curvature of his muscles through the shirt's thin material. Lord have mercy. She thought as she envisioned what those strong arms would feel like wrapped around her body.
"Let's get wild!" A man with crazy eyes yelled from the Old Tavern's entrance. Cana woohooed loud enough from beside Lucy that everybody in the place glanced over to see what the ruckus was about. Natsu's eyes locked with hers.
"Babe come here and meet my new friend Lucy!" Cana beckoned him over with a wide sweep of her arm. Lucy exchanged introductions with Bacchus, sneaking glances over at Natsu the whole conversation.
Cana's gaze bounced back and forth between the blonde and her pink haired friend. She noticed the crimson hue dusting Lucy's cheeks. "Oi! Tank's empty." She held her mug up in the air and grabbed ahold of her wild man's arm. She hauled him away, ignoring his cries of protest at how she was manhandling him.
Lucy turned around in her seat when she was alone. She needed to stop staring! Natsu was going to think she was a creeper. She welcomed the distraction as Gildarts slid her second shot in front of her. He left Cana's next to the seat she previously occupied.
She sat towards the far left of the bars counter by herself. As her hand reached for her shot she felt a warmth radiating from besides her, indicating a person had dropped onto the stool. Lucy knew it was Natsu. She was determined on ignoring him in hopes that the pesky butterflies that swarmed in her stomach every time she saw him would settle down before they spoke.
She could see him giving her a lazy grin out of her peripherals. He was propping his head up with his hand that rested on the counter as he stared over at her. "Gunna keep ignoring me?"
His deep gruff voice broke the silence between the two of them and it sent an electric shock down her body. Oh boy. "How can I be ignoring you when I don't even know your name?" She lied. She knew his name, but he didn't know that. It would be weird if she knew it without him telling her; then he'd know that she'd been talking about him with Cana and Levy.
"The name's Natsu." He snatched Cana's shot up off the counter and threw it back. Lucy's eyes were glued to his lips as his tongue peaked out to wipe the liquor away. His eyes dilated when he saw what she was so focused on.
Her eyes finally made their way back up to his gaze, cocky recognition brightened his eyes. "My name is Lucy. It's nice to meet you."
This felt awkward. Baffled by her nerves she drank down the shot of liquid courage.
Desperate to find something to talked about she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "That's a cheery outfit you have on." What in the world was she talking about? Guys don't want to chat about their outfits. Especially when the outfit was clearly a work uniform. Stupid. Stupid. Stu—
"Yeah, I guess the boss man thinks black makes ya look tough." He responded and she noticed he relaxed more into his spot next to her. It looked like he was preparing to stay for a while. Lucy decided she liked that.
"Where do you work?" She inquired as she settled into conversation with him.
"During the day I run my dad's auto repair shop here in town, the Iron Fist. But at night I'm a security guard at the Dragon Force club in Oshibana." It made sense that he was a mechanic from how interested he was in Laxus's car.
"You just passing through town?" He changed the subject as he pointed to something on the dinner menu the bar offered as Gildarts walked by with a drink for another customer. "Want something? I need to be to work by 9 pm and I'm starved." Lucy scrutinized how he also needed to soak up the shot of whiskey he stole from Cana if he was driving anywhere.
She shook her head at his second question and answered his first. "No, I might be staying here for a while."
"Might?" He quirked one eyebrow up in question at her. "What determines an extension?"
"It depends on how interesting this place turns out to be." She replied. It was the truth. Lucy had only rented the cabin for a few months. If she didn't find what she was looking for here she would move on.
"Stick around and you may find out how interesting things can get." Now that was one loaded statement. She studied his face for the meaning behind his words. His gaze met hers and held her captative—transfixing her into being unable to look away. They stared into each other's eyes and her breath hitched at how a simple exchange like this could feel so sexual.
A chorus of giggles had Lucy tearing her gaze away from the enthrallment Natsu had her under in search for the source. The table closest to them contained two curvy and scantily dressed women. Their outfits stood out in a bad way compared to the bar's atmosphere. Lucy quickly established the pair of women were twins.
She turned her attention back to Natsu and, unable to shake off the moment they just had together, gave him a nervous smile. She could tell he was about to speak when Gildarts interrupted him by placing the burger and fries he ordered a few minutes ago in front of him. Unsure of how she would have responded to whatever he was about to say, Lucy was thankful for the interruption.
The way he devoured his meal was effective at calming her racing mind. She didn't think he even chewed. She welcomed the quiet that fell over them while he quickly finished his meal.
He took the last bite of his burger and decided his fries could wait. He eyed her intently, a question evident on his face. "Alright, don't get upset at me. Whose ride were you drivin' today?"
She knew the car would be brought up again, he was a car guy after all, but Lucy didn't have the same violent reaction to his prodding like she did earlier. "It's an extremely long story, but the car is my friends." She responded.
He considered her answer for several seconds with a frown. His face was furrowed with a negative emotion Lucy couldn't read. "A male friend?" He asked.
"Why? Are you jealous?" She responded immediately without thinking about what she was saying. Oh my god. She wasn't drunk, only buzzed. Why was she saying such cringy things around this guy?
The look he gave Lucy told her that she hit the nail on the head. He was being jealous. "Just curious if you're taken." He leaned over to her so what he said next could only be heard by her ears. "I couldn't imagine how on earth a girl like you would be single."
She had been single for over a year now. Her last boyfriend was a dud. They were never in love, Lucy didn't think she'd ever been in love, and ending the relationship was a mutual decision. Maybe it was time she tried something new. Woah, hold up there Lucy. She reprimanded herself. Don't go making any life decisions while under the influence!
Out of nowhere, Lucy's stool scrapped against the floor as she was pushed aside by one of the twins from the table. There hadn't been enough room for the female to slide in between Lucy and Natsu, and Lucy fell off her stool as she stumbled. Fortunately, she didn't fall down but the shock was enough to clear her mind of the haze Natsu had her brain swirling in.
"Sorry didn't see you there." The woman's nasally voice sounded anything but apologetic. She sat down in Lucy's stool and batted her eyes up at Natsu. The twin dismissed Lucy, thinking she wasn't going to put up a fight, but Lucy was no push over. This woman can't just come and interrupt someone's conversation like she did.
"I'm surprised you could see anything with your boobs all squished up in your face like that." Lucy scoffed at the audacious twin. Natsu's eyes went wide in surprise at her words, but he was clearly amused.
The twin looked at Lucy and her lip lifted into a sneer. "Excuse me?" The twin tilted her head forward with aggression.
"You heard exactly what I said. Back off my spot; I'm sitting here." Lucy stayed calm. She would not stoop to this woman's level, but she wasn't going to give in. This had nothing to do with Natsu. Obviously, Lucy wanted to keep talking with him, but this horrible woman cannot get away with treating others this way.
The woman flew off the stool and towered over Lucy due to the 6-inch stiletto heels she had on. The other twin came over after realizing the confrontation between Lucy and her sister. Lucy stood there and crossed her arms in defiance, glaring up at the tacky twins.
"Is there a problem here Luce?" Cana's voice held none of the laughter from before. The tall brunette came to defend her friend.
"Nope. This one—" She pointed at the sister that recently joined them and then at the twin that had rudely interrupted her and Natsu, "—just came to take that one back to their table, right?" Lucy's voice and demeanor remained calm when she felt anything but. She did not want to cause a scene at her friend's bar.
The original twin shook her head ferociously in exasperation. "Who the hell is this bitch?" She snarled at Cana. Big mistake.
Cana let out an annoyed grumble. "The bitch that's kicking your skank asses out. I own this place." The twins' expressions instantly transformed from anger into regret. Cana grabbed the arm of each woman and forcibly walked them to the entrance. A waitress quickly followed behind them with the twin's stuff.
"You're sugar and spice aren't ya?" Natsu chuckled from the bar where he still sat. He was way too entertained with what just happened. Lucy just laughed at him. The situation was so bizarre it was pretty funny.
"I'm used to dealing with obnoxious personalities." She told him. Lucy grew up around rich kids that all thought the world owed them everything. She had to deal with this type of nasty behavior on a daily basis during high school. School was where Lucy realized you have to match that type of rude behavior or you would be walked all over.
Natsu tapped the stool Lucy was occupying with his hand and she went to sit next to him once again. She let out a sigh. Over the last 2 days since she came to town Lucy had experienced more emotions than she had in a long time. It felt good and draining all at the same time.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that Luce. We get a lot of trash in here thinking they can use the tavern as a replacement for whatever dating app is popular nowadays. Clover Town has a bit of a reputation." Lucy did notice this town had more than a normal number of attractive residents. Cana shrugged with a sheepish expression. "It's good for business though so we don't exactly discourage it."
Cana left Natsu and Lucy alone once more. He bought her another shot, she happily accepted his offer, and blushed at his praise in her choice of fireball whiskey. He must be a whiskey guy. After a few moments her mood eased, and she fell back into conversation with Natsu. He was hysterical. He had her belly laughing as he told her stories and messed around with Gildarts as the man walked by. Lucy was delighted when she was able to make him laugh too. They got along really well.
The two sat at the bar and spoke until he had to leave for work. When the time came it felt too soon for Lucy. She could had kept talking with him for hours.
"How are you getting back to the cabin?" Natsu asked as he dug his keys out of his pocket. Lucy explained during their time together how she was renting a cabin in town.
"Oh, I'll just order a Lyft when I'm ready to head back." She told him. He didn't seem too happy about the idea.
He glanced at his phone to check the time. "I could give ya a ride if you're ready to head out now?"
She considered it for a second but shook her head. "No thanks, I wanted to hang with Cana some more. I'll stay a few hours longer." She only got to spend about an hour talking with Cana. She felt guilty that she spent the whole night with Natsu when she made plans to hang with Cana.
He rocked back and forth on his heels and crinkled his nose at her. "Most of the Lyft drivers aren't locals." Lucy knew even if she wasn't a little tipsy that the statement still wouldn't have made sense. And that was important why? It sure seemed to bother him.
He grabbed a napkin and a pen that was left behind from when a customer signed their receipt. "I'm gunna give you my cellphone number. If you need me, give me a call or a text. I'll come even if I'm at work." He said as he wrote on the napkin. Was he worried about her? She'd never had a bad experience with a Lyft driver, but she'd heard stories of women who had.
Her face softened at his concern. She marveled at how he went from driving her nuts this morning at the coffee shop to being so sweet now. It was thrilling to Lucy that she didn't know what to expect from him. He was playful one second, more than slightly annoying at times, and completely charming the next.
Lucy reflected on what it would be like to have somebody like Natsu in her life. "Can I see you again?" She asked. Lucy had to see him again.
The Old Tavern came into view as Natsu drove up and parked. He finished late at the Iron Fist, trying to fix his brother's wife's old mini cooper. Unpredictable British clunker. Natsu told them it would take him longer to work on it than other cars.
He watched as he saw Gray walk up to the tavern. They both lived within walking distance of the bar, so he didn't need to drive like Natsu did. He only drove so he had easy access to his car when he needed to leave the bar for his shift at the club.
"Yo! Tell Juvia I'll need to keep her car tomorrow too." He told Gray as he strode over to where Natsu was getting out of his car.
"I told her it was a waste of time taking the car to a mechanic that can't fix cars." Gray snarked at him.
"Ha-ha. You're a fuckin' comedian." Natsu retorted. Gray knew damn well he was an incredible mechanic. It's just that everything about the blasted car was mini! Including the engine bay. There wasn't much room for him to get in there and comfortably work.
Gray couldn't fix her car; he would work at the shop when he was younger but he mainly maned the front desk. He wasn't interested in fixing cars. When he left the shop after his schooling was finished Erza took his position. Before that she would only help out whenever Gray needed time off.
The two brothers walked into the bar. The familiar atmosphere lifted his spirits immediately. Gray and Natsu frequented the Old Traven most nights with friends. Gray's wife Juvia would often accompany them, but she was having a rough pregnancy and stayed at home most nights now. "Natsu! Gray! Over here."
Natsu's eyes followed the voice to the table where Gajeel, Sting, Rouge, and Loke sat at. They were already several beers in by the level of rowdiness emanating from the group. Gajeel's wife Levy and Erza didn't join them tonight; Levy was helping Erza study for an exam. The blue haired shortie was super supportive of his little sister, and he was forever grateful.
He joined the tables commotion without delay. Eager for a good verbal match with the metal head, Natsu made a joke about Gajeel's horrible performance from the open mic night yesterday. Cana's obnoxious holler from the bar's counter made the whole table look to see what had the drunkard so excited.
Natsu's heartbeat picked up when he saw the breathtaking blonde with Cana.
"Check out the stunner with Cana!" Loke exclaimed with a whistle. All the single men at the table ogled her from a distance. Natsu forced himself to not lash out at his drunk friends for their comments. She wasn't his to shield from the admiration of other men. He was sure she got attention wherever she went.
The blonde's eyes met his and stopped. The conversation around her at the table turned annoyed at how Natsu must have caught her attention. Whether that was true or not, he knew he shouldn't pursue her. He was in a fucked-up situation with the loan sharks and he couldn't afford a distraction.
Bacchus approached the two females and put an arm around his woman. Natsu watched as he spoke with the new female and felt a surge of envy. He wanted to be the man talking with her.
She was both incredibly sexy and undeniably cute—completely not his type. Sexy was his type, yes, but cutesy was not. He appreciated cutesy, but cutesy usually didn't appreciate him. He was rowdy and didn't tone that part of him down for anybody.
The rational part of him knew it wouldn't work out, but the glances she kept sneaking over at him dissolved any rational thought process he had. Suddenly, Cana dragged her wild man away from the blonde. Natsu's gaze found Cana's and she flicked her hand towards the female they just left. Cana gave him a look that told him to go for it.
He didn't need to be told twice. He let the group know he'd be back later and Loke groaned out a frustrated statement about how Natsu got all the hot chicks. To Natsu, no girl from before had even come close to the beauty of this blonde.
As he approached her Gildarts placed two shots in front of her. He grinned at the whiskey. He didn't even know her name but she just kept ticking off all his boxes. Cutesy or not all signs pointed to her being a fireball.
Natsu introduced himself and the rest of the night flew by. He thought Lucy was extraordinary. She was beautiful, spunky, and really fun to be around. If he wasn't as attracted to her as he was, he could have sworn he just found his new best friend.
He checked his phone for the time and grumbled; he needed to head out to the club for his shift. He asked her how she was going to get back to her cabin for the night and he paused at her answer. She told him she was going to call a Lyft.
He really didn't like that. He's heard horror stories about those driving services. Who would be there to stop some psycho guy from taking advantage of a drunk beautiful girl? She wasn't shitfaced but that wouldn't stop a man with bad intentions. Natsu had a protective nature, which could air on the side of paranoid, and this didn't sit well with him. He always thought better safe than sorry.
He checked his phone once more. He knew where the cabin she was renting from Makarov was located and he had enough time to drop her off and still make it on time to his shift. "I could give ya a ride if you're ready to head out now?" He offered hopefully. Maybe she was ready to leave.
Her reply squashed his hopes. "No thanks, I wanted to hang with Cana some more. I'll stay a few hours longer."
Natsu thought about asking one of the guys to drop her off at the cabin when she was ready to go but they were all too drunk. He one hundred percent trusted all of them with her, but he didn't think they'd remember how to get her there. And she hadn't met any of them yet; any female would be pretty uncomfortable with that.
He doubted she'd be okay with him asking Gildarts to make sure she got home safely. She seemed really independent. Well shit.
"Most of the Lyft drivers aren't locals." He told her and she gave him a quizzical look. He knew some of the guys in town that drove for Lyft every so often for some extra cash, but since the town was so small most people didn't order the driving service.
Realistically, he knew the chances of anything bad happening were slim. Having run out of ideas, he wrote his number down on a napkin for her and told her to call him if she needed help.
Hopefully if she felt anything weird from the driver, she wouldn't accept the ride and would call him. Natsu was close with his boss at Dragon Force. He'd be able to dip out for a bit to come back and help her if she needed it.
He couldn't help feeling so protective over her. He was completely smitten.
She accepted the napkin with his number and beamed up at him. "Can I see you again?"
Fuck yes! Is what he wanted to say but he took a second to regain his composure before he responded. "Absolutely." Her smiled winded and the impact it had on him made him dizzy. "We'll figure something out tomorrow. I gotta head off to work now. Don't go starting any more fights while I'm not around to see it." Her fiery attitude as she put those twins in their place is what sealed the deal. He wanted her, whether it was friends of more was up to her, but he wanted her in his life.
He chuckled at her annoyed appearance and left her with a wave. What a great night it turned out to be.
AN: I've been loving writing this so much that I've been putting off my school assignments until the last minute so I can write lol. As of right now I don't have the rest of the chapters written, but I'm planning on this story being at least 20 chapters. I hope everybody enjoyed the chapter! :)
Special thank you to FairyTailxFanGirl and the 2 guests that left a review on chapter 2! So happy you all like the story so far!