Chapter 1: Pink hair, a salamander, and a rich girl
Natsu leaned his head against the bus window as he struggled to stop bile from coming up his throat. The other passengers gave him dirty looks as he moaned in pain every time the bus would hit a pothole.
Maybe they were afraid he would vomit on them all, but it's not like it would matter. The bus was rundown with chunks of foam missing from the seat under him, probably from the various teenagers at his school he would rather not think about.
Natsu had to be careful when he placed his hands on the railing next to him, gum covered it almost head to toe like moths to a flame, except for the stop button, which Natsu was thankful for. He pressed the button and a short buzz was heard, indicating that the bus would be stopping at the next available spot.
Natsu staggered off the bus still feeling sick, He held a hand to his stomach to try and make himself feel better.
"Why did Wendy have to take the last motion sickness pill? I hope she isn't getting it." Natsu mumbled to himself as he walked the rest of the way to his destination. He swore he could kiss the ground as his motion sickness slowly went away.
'What a sight that would be, a teenager kissing the dirty ground.' Natsu thought, as he rummaged through his jeans pocket to fish out a crumped piece of paper advertising an event.
'Come one, come all to the South Gate Park to see the Mighty Salamander control the deadly element of fire! Watch him eat fire, breathe fire and even bathe in the mighty flame of creation!
From 12:00pm to 1:30pm The Mighty Salamander will take your breath away!'
Natsu would never give up the chance to see someone control fire like a wizard. Natsu thought back to all the punishments Igneel gave him for lighting various objects on fire. Natsu snickered, knowing nothing would stop his little fire obsession.
As Natsu made it closer and closer to Sough Gate Park, he saw columns of fire shooting high into the sky. Natsu checked the time on his phone and he almost had a heart attack when it read 1:15.
"No way! There's no way the show is almost over! How can I be so late?!" Natsu complained.
Natsu held his hopes high, knowing that he still had fifteen minutes of the show left to watch before it was over.
Natsu's hopes were dashed when he turned the corner saw the show had just finished. There was a rather large crowd of people, some were lining up to admire and get autographs from the 'Mighty Salamander' who was standing in front of the gigantic sola tree.
Natsu took no notice as the man grabbed a blonde girl's wrist and pulled her closer towards his chest despite her protests, and whispered something in her ear that made her eyes go wide with shock.
Natsu was so furious that he missed the show, and he stopped his way up to the mighty salamander, pushed the blonde girl away from him, and shoved his phone in his face. "Look! It's only 1:16! There's still fourteen minutes until your show is supposed ta finish!" Natsu yelled.
The 'Mighty Salamander's' face broke out into a scowl as his one chance with the blonde girl was ruined. "Listen boy, it's 1:36 not 1:16! get your time right!"
Natsu furrowed his brows in confusion as he checked the time on his phone yet again. He went into his system settings and checked the time to make sure it was correct.
While Natsu was doing that, the fire breathing man leaned over Natsu and peeked at his phone.
"Look, you imbecile! Your phone isn't even set to the correct time!" The Mighty Salamander grunted in annoyance.
"Oh! I musta have slept in. Sorry bout that!" Natsu said with a sheepish smile.
The man who called himself 'The Mighty Salamander' looked around for a head of blonde hair, and when he couldn't see her in the crowd, sighed in defeat.
As Natsu began to walk away from the crowd of adoring fans, he suddenly tripped over a rock and fell onto the cement walking path and grazed his knee.
"Crap! My phone!" Natsu grumbled. He saw the device a few inches away from him, facing screen side down.
He crawled his way over to his phone and went to go pick it up and inspected the screen. "Damn, it's cracked, and I just got it too." Natsu said to himself.
Natsu saw a shadow in his peripheral vision and when he glanced up, he saw a blonde girl with a kind smile holding out her hand for him to take.
Natsu took her hand and she helped him up from the dirty ground.
"Hello. I'm Layla. It's nice to meet you." Layla said with a smile.
"Do I know you?" Natsu asked.
"No, but you did save me back there, thanks! How about I take you to get something to eat? My treat." Layla said.
Natsu's eyes almost buldged out of his head. "Free food!?"
Layla giggled at the scene. "Yep."
As the two teens were walking to a fast-food restaurant, Layla couldn't help but steal glances at the pink haired boy walking by her side.
"Pink hair! Who has pink hair!? Well obviously, he does!" Layla berated herself.
Natsu turned around, hearing Layla mumbling something he couldn't quite make out.
"What did you say?" Natsu asked.
"Oh nothing! But anyway, we're here." Layla said, waving off Natsu's question, hoping he didn't hear her.
Natsu looked up and noticed the store was quite small, about half the size of an average burger joint. He read the name of the store in big, red, letters that looked like they were haphazardly nailed to the front of the store.
"Is this place new?" Natsu asked.
Layla shook her head. "No. I've been told it's been around for quite a few years."
"Well, I've never been to a place called 'Cancer's Crab Shack' Before." Natsu said.
"I'm sure you will love it. They sell the best crab sandwiches here!" Layla excitedly said.
When Natsu entered the restaurant, he started having second thoughts about letting this strange girl buy him food. He didn't want to drain her wallet and he knew he tended to eat a lot, so he'd feel bad if she spent all her money on him.
"Hey, uh…" Natsu nervously scratched the back of this head as he thought of what to say. "I don't think you should buy me lunch… I can eat a lot."
Lucy waved off Natsu's concerns with a smile. "Don't worry, it's okay. Plus, I doubt you can eat all too much."
"Hello, Layla! My most loyal customer! What can I get for you today?" Cancer said as he walked out from behind the kitchen.
"Hello, Cancer. Just one crab sandwich for me and whatever he wants." Layla said, pointing to the pink haired boy standing next to her.
Natsu looked up at the menu behind the counter and he hesitated for a second before deciding. "It all looks so good!"
"I know right? Cancer's food is to die for!" Layla excitedly said with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Um…I'll have one of everything." Natsu said, a sheepish smile on his face.
Cancer didn't bat an eye at Natsu's huge request. He nodded his head in understanding. 'Coming right up!" And with that Cancer disappeared into the kitchen to prepare their meals.
Natsu and Layla sat at the table they shared and sat in awkward silence for a few minutes and neither knew what to say to start a conversation. Lucy was about to open her mouth when Natsu started talking.
"So, why are you feeding a stranger, let alone one who orders so much food?" Natsu gestured to all the food stacked up around them on the table.
Every few minutes Cancer would come out of the kitchen to give Natsu another plate of food and then scurry off back to the kitchen to make more.
"Well, like I said before, you saved my life." Layla replied.
Natsu cocked his head, clearly confused about the whole thing. "I don't get it."
Layla giggled at Natsu's innocent behavior.
Layla locked eyes with Natsu as she spoke. "I was lining up to get an autograph from that Salamander guy so I could show my father how much fun I'm having out here, but when it was my turn in, he grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him. He said things I'd rather not say…"
Natsu's face turned into a scowl at the implication of Layla's words. He clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles were white. Natsu needed to punch something to let off steam, he considered the wall beside him, but then he realized he would have to pay for damages. Natsu took in a few deep breaths to calm himself from doing anything rash.
"I swear I hate people like him!" Natsu almost growled like an animal at the thought of that guy getting his hands on Layla, or any girl for that matter.
Natsu flinched, caught off guard for a split second before he realized Layla was resting her hand over his enclosed fist.
"It's okay, Natsu. Don't worry." Layla said.
"But that's not the point! He could have hurt you!" Natsu protested.
"But he didn't and that's all that matters, so thank you for saving me." Layla said.
A small blush crept its way onto Natsu's face. Natsu pulled his hand away from Layla to scratch the back of his head in nervousness.
After waiting what felt like forever, Cancer finally delivered Layla's food to her. It was a steaming hot crab sandwich with fries on the side.
Layla took a bit of her sandwich as she watched Natsu eat.
'Was he raised by a dragon? More food is going on the ground then in his mouth.' She thought.
Cancer walked over to the table Natsu and Layla were sitting at and Cancer handed him a milkshake.
"Wait, do you even sell milkshakes?" Layla asked.
Cancer just shrugged his shoulders and walked off.
"So… what school do you go to?" Layla asked the pink haired boy.
"School?" Natsu said as he tried to talk in between mouthfuls of food. "North Magnolia High."
Layla's eyes lit up in excitement. She put her elbows on the table and leaned in closer to look at Natsu's face.
"Really? That's the same school I go to!" Layla said.
"How come I haven't seen ya before then?" Natsu asked.
Lucy started to twirl a lock of her golden-blonde hair around her index finger, trying to push off her nervousness. "I…I actually start this Monday…"
"Oh! That makes sense. Erza told me she was expecting a new student to be around soon." Natsu said.
"Who's Erza?" Layla asked.
Natsu shivered at the mention of her name. He rubbed his arms to try and get warm before devouring the fries on the table.
"Erza is a friend, she's the vice-captain of the student council. But I think she's just there to get closer to Jellal, don't tell anyone I say that tho, Erza would kill me!" Natsu said.
Layla's curiosity got the better of her and she asked Natsu who this 'Jellal' person was, and that led to more and more questions.
Natsu didn't mind that this strange, pretty girl was asking so many questions, but after a while it started to get a bit tiring. As tired as he was, Natsu kept answering what felt like to him to be infinite questions, since, after all she was the one who was nice enough to buy him a whole ton of food.
Natsu felt his phone vibrate in his jeans pocket and when he pulled it out and checked the notification, his face almost went bug eyed.
"It's almost 4:00PM! Don't tell me we've been here talking for what?" Natsu started to subtly count the time on his fingers, only moving each finger just slightly enough so no one would notice. Unfortunately for Natsu, the girl with the golden hair happened to notice.
Natsu suddenly jumped out of his chair, to the surprise of the girl sitting Infront of him. "I gotta get going but thanks for the food, Layla! You're a good friend!" Natsu said.
"I'm your friend?" Layla asked.
"Of course! Anyone who feeds me is a friend of mine!" Natsu said with a big toothy grin.
A small smile crept up on Layla's face.
"Well, I'll see ya on Monday?" Natsu said.
"M-Monday? What's happening Monday?" Layla said. Caught off guard by Natsu's question.
"School." Natsu replied.
"Oh, of course. Just school." Layla said. Her beating heart started to calm down when she realized it was nothing more.
"Whacha think it was, ya weirdo?" Natsu said.
"Nothing…" Layla mumbled to herself.
"Well, see ya!" Natsu said. He waved her goodbye as he ran home in the opposite direction of the restaurant.
Layla sat there stunned as she watched the pink haired boy run out the restaurant, holding overflowing bags of leftover food. She felt tears start to prick the back of her eyes when she could no longer, she him.
'He thinks I'm a friend? There's no way…' Lucy thought.
Natsu walked up the driveway of the small but slightly rundown flat he called home and smiled when he noticed his father's red truck parked there.
'Dad's back!' Natsu thought.
Natsu walked up to the front door and kicked it open with a yell. "I'm back!"
A short, blue haired girl who was sitting on an old brown couch, playing on her phone, jumped when she heard her brother's voice.
"Natsu, your back!" The girl said.
"Haha yep. And I brought food too, Wendy." Natsu said while ruffling his little sister's hair.
"Did you say you brought food?" An older woman with silver hair said, poking her head out from behind the fridge.
"Yeah. I went to this restaurant and this girl offered to pay, so I got everything on the menu!" Natsu said proudly.
His mother walked out from the kitchen and scolded him. "Natsu! You shouldn't take advantage of someone's kindness!"
"What's this about a girl?" Igneel said, dusting off his dirty hands on his pants.
"Dad! Don't start. It's nothing." Natsu whined.
"It can't be nothing if she brought you food." Igneel said as he attempted to steal a piece of crab meat from one of the take-out containers, before his wife, Grandeeney, slapped his hand away.
"No. Go wash your hands first." Grandeeney said.
"Okay, okay, I'll wash em." Igneel laughed as he made his way to the bathroom.
"Wendy dear, could you help set the table?" Grandeeney asked.
"Sure thing, mum." Wendy said, racing off to gather the plates and cutlery.
"And Natsu!" Grandeeney yelled.
Natsu turned his head to look at his mother. "Yeah, mum?"
"Change Happy's litter. It stinks." Grandeeney said.
Natsu cringed. "Uh…sure thing."
After Lucy had her lunch with Natsu, she walked home and unlocked the giant double sized door to the mansion she was living in.
"I'm home!" Lucy said. Her voice echoed through the empty house.
Lucy's mood instantly soured when she remembered her situation, but suddenly, a small, white ball of fluff came running down the steps to the second floor and jumped into Lucy's arms.
"Plue! How have you been, Plue? Have you been a good boy? Of course, you have! You're a good boy!" Lucy cooed at her dog.
Lucy walked in the door, plopped her backpack on the floor, and went looking in the fridge for an afternoon snack. She grimaced as she made her way to the fridge, because every little action would echo in the house, from her and Plue's footsteps to opening a fridge door.
The fridge was empty besides a tall glass bottle of sparkling water and a lone apple. "Guess I'll take the apple."
Plue trotted after Lucy as she made her way over, and sat on an expensive looking leather couch. She didn't like how it felt, it wasn't comfortable, but she knew she wouldn't be getting any new furniture any time soon so she delt with it.
As Lucy looked around at the empty house devoid of decoration or furniture besides the bare minimum, her loneliness set in. The bare white walls hurt her eyes if she stared at them for too long
"Hey, Plue? Do you think It was bad that I lied?" Lucy asked, not expecting a response from her dog.
Plue said nothing, he just tried to jump on to the leather couch as his owner continued to talk.
"I mean, he was a nice guy and all… but I just…" Lucy mumbled.
Lucy picked up Plue, who was struggling to jump up on the couch, and placed him on her lap. Plue curled up into a ball while Lucy stroked his fur.
Lucy continued to eat her apple and when she was about to take another bite, her bottom lip started to tremble and felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She dropped her apple and it hit the ground with a thump. She put her hands to her face as she loudly sobbed.
"I hate it here, Plue. I just wanted to see what school was like, to see what it was like to have friends... but I'm a fool…Father was right, no one cares about me…. No one loves me…"
Seeing his owner's distress, Plus jumped up on lucy's chest and started to lick her face.
"Oh Plue. How could I forget… I'll always have you. And besides, I think I made my first ever friend today." Lucy murmured.
Hello Everyone! I'm back and with a new story. I know what you must be thinking. "Update Keys and Fire!" or "Where is the next chapter for The Celestial Journey?" I want everyone to know that both of those stories will still be updated, but i just had to write this! It was an idea i had stuck in my head for a while now.
I hope you enjoy it and i can't wait to see what you think.