Chapter 2: 1st Year, 11th Year

"So, you're the new recruit, eh?" Makarov asked.

"New recruit? This isn't a military academy." Lucy said.

Makarov laughed. "No, but I like to run it like one. You have to keep it a tight ship or all hell will break loose. Although, I'm sad that your father couldn't be here today to see you off." Makarov said.

Lucy's gaze hit the floor; she would rather look at her own feet than look her principle in the eye.

"Yeah, well, he considers his business more important than his only daughter." Lucy mumbled.

Makarov sorted some papers on his desk into a bundle as he spoke: "Well that is quite unfortunate but I do hope you enjoy your time here at North Magnolia High."

"And Lucy, I may not be as sharp as I once was, but I can't see this disguise working for far too long. Both Lucy Heartfilia and Layla Heart look far too alike to just be a coincidence." Makarov said.

"I know, but this is my only chance…" Lucy murmured as she placed her hand over the door knob, ready to leave the principal's office.

"I understand your situation so I will keep this secret just between the two of us." Makarov said.

"Thank you." Lucy said with a small smile as she walked out the door.

Lucy brought her arm up to cover her face from the blistering heat of the sun. She opened her backpack and took out the school's rulebook. Flipping to the middle of the small book she found the small map of the school grounds printed in poor quality black ink.

Lucy found herself having a hard time deciphering the hieroglyphics of the school map. Sighing in frustration she placed the rulebook back in her bag and started asking around for the location of the senior student's eating area.

"Hello, do you know…"

"Um, excuse me, but I was…"

"Do you know where the…"

Each and every time Lucy tried to ask someone they would just walk away, or pretend they couldn't hear her. After a few minutes of asking around, Lucy realized no one cared about helping the new girl, they were all far too wrapped up in their own complex high school lives.

Lucy once again tried to ask around for directions, but when she went up to a slim young man with an athletic build, he glared at her before shoving her to the hard ground.

Lucy was dazed and confused. "Wha-why would he do that?" She sat on the ground for a few moments until a girl with long black hair that ended at her waist and long slender legs offered to help her up.

Lucy gladly took her hand and stood on shaky feet.

The black-haired girl's kind face became hideous when she opened her mouth. "So, did you forget it's that time of the month again?"

Lucy looked down and realized her thighs were scraped from the fall and bleeding, the blood trailed down her legs.

Lucy heard the black haired girl and her friends laugh.

Lucy's face lit up in a bright red blush and she slapped the black-haired girl across the face as hard as she could.

Lucy ran. She ran as fast as her legs could take her. She didn't care if people saw or what they thought of her in that moment. She didn't know where she was going nor did she care, Lucy just let her legs take her away from her problems.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this! I was ment to prove father wrong…not have this happen…" Lucy said as she slumped back against the back of a classroom, far off from where anyone could see her.

Lucy brought her legs close to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself, crying into her arms. She could hear the sound of a football match in the distance. She could have sworn she could have seen a head of pink hair but she brushed it off, thinking of it nothing more than a coincidence.

Lucy thought back on the start of her day. "It was all going so well too…"

Bzzz…

Bzzzz…

Bzzzzz….

Lucy groaned, her eyes shooting open as she heard the annoying buzzing of the alarm app on her phone. She turned the alarm off and read the time

"7:00am… it's too early for school." Lucy grumbled as she made her way to the bathroom. She stripped out of her pajamas and had a quick cold shower.

Lucy wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door to her walk-in closet and stopped when she spotted her school uniform. She brushed her fingers against the crest near the top of the shirt.

The crest was shaped like some sort of mythological creature with a pointed tail and wings, above the crest read 'North Magnolia High School' in letters curving around the creature. On the bottom of the crest there was writing in an old language Lucy knew about, but couldn't read, despite her father's private teachers' best efforts.

"A real uniform…" Lucy murmured.

Lucy looked at herself in the mirror, now dressed and ready for school. She liked the way the muted maroon colour of the shirt complimented the dark gray skirt that ended at mid-thigh.

She walked down the steps to the first floor, fed Plue, kissed him goodbye and headed to school, locking the door behind her.

Lucy was panting by the time she made it to the school grounds, having run the last few miles when she realized she was going to be late on her first day.

She double checked the schedule she printed out the night before to make sure she got the correct classroom.

'12-K' read a little silver plaque nailed to the door. Lucy grabbed hold of the doorknob and took in a deep breath as she prepared herself for her first class.

Lucy opened the door and scanned the classroom finding it empty, except for one petite girl with blue hair sitting in the middle of the classroom reading a book.

The blue haired girl looked up from the book she was reading and looked at lucy and said "Oh, hello." Before going back to her book.

Lucy walked up to the petite girl unsure of what to say. "Um… excuse me… but why is this classroom so empty?"

"It's 8:30am, there is still another half hour before school starts." The petite girl said.

"8:30?! But how? I swore I was running late." Lucy looked at the clock hanging on the wall in the front of the classroom and sure enough, it read 8:30.

Lucy groaned, dropped her backpack to the floor, and plopped down into the seat next to the blue haired girl. "I could have slept for another hour…"

Lucy picked up a book from her bag she packed the day before to read. Lucy knew she didn't have any friends so having a good book to pass the time during lunch was a necessity.

The blue haired girl glanced over towards the busty blonde who was sitting next to her when suddenly, her eyes budged out of her skull in shock. "T-that's the newest Kemu Zaleon novel!"

"Huh? What!?" Lucy yelled. She was so focused on reading her book that when the petite girl started talking, Lucy got a fright.

"Oh sorry! I hope I didn't scare you." The blue haired girl said.

"Oh no, it's alright." Lucy said.

"How do you have that book? It isn't supposed to be released for another 3 months." The blue haired girl said.

"Well, I um…" Lucy's tongue was tied. If she spoke, she might spill the fact her father brought the book early for her, and the only people who could get an early copy were…

"The press!"

Lucy almost jumped in her seat. "Y-yeah?"

"You must be one of the lucky few who got an early press release." Lucy looked at the petite
girl who had stars in eyes. She looked like she was on cloud 9.

"That's it! Press release… haha" Lucy awkwardly laughed.

"Could I read it? I mean… only if you want me too." The petite girl started to fiddle with the bookmark in her book as she spoke. "But I mean I wouldn't want to beg you to let me read it, but it's just that I've been waiting months for 'Daybreak' and I promise not to read the whole thing and spoil everyone, but maybe one chapter?"

Lucy burst out in giggles, she could not imagine anyone being a bigger bookworm than herself and yet, here she was staring at just the person.

"Sure." Lucy said, handing 'Daybreak' to the petite girl. "You can read It until class starts."

"Really?" The blue haired girl said, her face breaking out into a huge smile.

"Yes, really." Lucy replied with a smile of her own.

The petite girl took the book and started reading the book, only to close it.

"I'm sorry. I'm borrowing your book and I don't even know your name. I'm Levy, what's yours?"

"Layla. Layla Heart."

"Well, it's finally nice to meet you, Layla." Levy said.

Buzz…

Buzz….

Buzz…..

Lucy heard the sounds of cicadas buzzing and shoes scuffing against dirt and when she momentarily looked up, she saw the boy getting closer and closer, and when she lifted up her head to reach his eyes, her breathing hitched.

"Hey you, okay?" The sweaty boy said with a look of concern written all over his face, holding out a hand to take.

Lucy wiped her eyes clean of her tears as she took the boy's hand. She stood on shaky knees and almost fell, but the boy caught her.

"It…it's you!" Lucy said, her voice wide with surprise upon seeing the boy was in fact Natsu.

"Yeah, of course it's me, or did you forget what I told you?" Natsu said.

"Forget what?" Lucy mumbled.

"That we go to the same school, ya weirdo!" Natsu said, playfully flicking her forehead.

"Hey, stop that!" Lucy said before she broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Why are you laughing? I didn't do anything funny." Natsu asked, completely confused as to why the blonde who was just crying less than a minute ago was now bursting with laughter.

Lucy held her stomach as she bent over laughing, feeling butterflies in her stomach. "I…I don't know."

"Man, you are a weirdo." Natsu said.

She slowly calmed down as she stopped laughing. "I guess…I guess I just didn't expect my first day of school to be so…" Lucy gestured to the state of herself with her crumpled clothes, ruined eyeliner, and bleeding thighs. "…so, this!"

Natsu's eyes widened in shock seeing her cut up thighs. "Your hurt. I gotta take you to the old hag!" Natsu said as he grabbed Lucy's wrist and dragged her off.

"The old what?" lucy said

"The school nurse, who else?" Natsu said with a straight face.

"It's not that bad, Natsu. Really." Lucy said.

"You're not fine." Natsu abruptly stopped running and looked into Lucy's big, brown eyes with an intensity that made a shiver run down her spine. "Your hurt. End of story."

Natsu had dragged Lucy to the front of the school, down to the 'Student Services' section of the school's administration block.

They walked down a short-enclosed path that led to a small building with an old wooden door. Natsu knocked once and nothing happened, so he tried again this time a little louder, but no one came to the door.

Just as Natsu was about to knock for a third time, an old woman opened the door, almost ripping it off its hinges with a scowl on her face.

"Oh, what is it this time, Natsu?! Here to waste my time again?" The old woman grumbled.

Lucy watched on as Natsu and the school nurse were arguing like an old married couple, that was until she noticed the nurse had pink hair. Faded yes, and a lot less vibrant that Natsu's hair but still pink nonetheless.

'Maybe they're related? That would explain why they both have pink hair.' Lucy thought.

Lucy's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she was yanked into the small building by the surprisingly strong grip of the old nurse.

"Sit over there." Porlyusica said, pointing to a small foldable cot that was shoved in the far corner of the room.

As Lucy made her way over to the cot, she saw numerous generic posters covering the walls of the building. Most were tacky motivational posters with cats, while others were informative, but bloody photographs showing you what happens when you don't tie your hair up in woodwork.

Lucy internally cringed at the image of a girl with ripped hair and a bloody scalp.

"Aww, come on! Let me in. I gotta know if Layla is alright." Natsu whined.

"No! you're not injured so stay out!" Porlyusica yelled as she slammed the infirmary door shut.

Porlyusica put on some latex gloves and grabbed a tin of antiseptic cream and a few bandages before she made her way over to Lucy.

"Excuse me, what's your name?" Lucy asked.

"Porlyusica, or Miss. P to you." She spoke.

Porlyusica applied the antiseptic cream to the cuts on Lucy's thighs. "So, you go by 'Layla Heart' now do you? Tsk. Anyone with even half a brain could figure it out in an instant. Your lucky that the students don't even have that."

"What are you trying to imply?" Lucy said, brows furrowed.

"That you should leave this town, if you stay any longer nothing good will come of it. Go back to your mansion in Crocus and enjoy yourself." Porlyusica grumbled as she placed some bandages around Lucy's thighs.

Lucy glared at the old healer. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do."

"Oh, and one last thing. Don't associate yourself with Dragneel, He is bad news." Porlyusica said.

Lucy sat there on the cot for a moment thinking about what she just heard. 'What is she going on about? And why does she talk about me like she knows me?'

Lucy was broken out of her thoughts when Porlyusica started yelling at her.

"Now go! Shoo. Off to class." Porlyusica said, gesturing to the door.

"But it's still lunch break…" Lucy said.

"I don't care, just get out of my infirmary!" Porlyusica yelled.

Natsu was leaning against the infirmary wall waiting for Lucy when she opened the door, and when she saw him, he gave her a big toothy smile.

'Him? Natsu could never be bad news. He's so sweet.' Lucy thought as she smiled back.

"Hey. How ya feeling now?" Natsu asked, pointing to her bandaged thighs.

"Good. Did you wait for me this entire time?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah? Why not?" Natsu said.

Lucy started fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "Well, because you don't me that well…"

"Since when did that ever matter? I told you we were friends." Natsu replied.

Lucy blushed slightly. "Oh, well never mind."

Natsu stood up and patted his pants down. "Well, speaking of friends…" A mischievous smile creeped onto Natsu's face as he grabbed Lucy's wrist and dragged her across the school grounds.

Natsu and Lucy stopped when they came across a large, cemented Amphitheatre with an equally large gray tarp covering it a few feet in the air.

Natsu was pointing out a group of people as they made their way closer to said people. Lucy saw a redhead, a girl with blue hair, and a guy with black hair. They smiled when they caught sight of Lucy.

Lucy smiled, took in a deep breath, and said:

"Hello!"

I'm back! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

This story will be partially based off my own experiences in High School. (I can't believe i finished five years ago now...) And obviously a lot of the drama is totally fabricated, but that's what makes the story interesting.

For instance my high school really did have an amphitheatre that the senior students sat around and ate during lunch break. Also, if anyone is wondering, the story is set in an alt universe Fiore, but with Australian elements to it. That's why the school isn't one big interconnected building like you see in the United States.

Please leave a review because they help me to know if what i am writing is good or not. Until the next chapter, Cya!