FIVE: Her skimpy clothes
(Natsu's Point of View)

Fairy Tail University

Standing in one of the hallways of the Literature department, I patiently waited for Lucy to come out of her third-period class. At this hour, we both have an hour of free time before we head on to our next class again.

The last class I had, had an early dismissal since our professor had to go to a convention in which he was to present an experiment regarding molecules. So as soon as our professor dashed off our room, I quickly ran to the English and Literature department building so that I could catch Lucy instead of just meeting up in a café.

Kring! Kring! Kring!

Sounds of chairs being pushed back were heard and a loud older woman suddenly announces the submission of projects. Soon enough, the doors to the classroom open and students began to flee out with their bags over their shoulders. Some just walked past me while others greeted me sultry, which I quickly dismiss as I try to look for Lucy.

Since Lucy started having new a fashion style, it makes it hard for me to find her. Before, I'd just look for a girl wearing a large t-shirt and a baggy pants and poof! I'd spot Lucy. But now, I have to find a blonde girl, wearing either a skirt, or a dress, or shorts for school, and bam! I'd easily mistake any blonde girl for her.

Groaning in annoyance as I couldn't find my best friend, I finally sneak inside the room only to see Lucy standing by the corner of the room, talking to her classmates. This view shouldn't be annoying at all because, first, Lucy is just talking with her boy classmates, and second, they were talking about the project, I think...

But I couldn't help but feel the irritation with how the guy was obviously trying to flirt with Lucy. Even though Lucy is passively talking to him, I can sense the sensual gaze of that black-haired moron.

"Lucy!" I suddenly shout as I see the filthy hands of the guy try to touch Lucy by the arm. Startling Lucy, she whipped around to look at me with a stunned look.
"Ah-Natsu! Wait! Just a second!" Lucy pleaded to me before she looks back at her classmate and said, "Hey, let's just talk it over in Language Synthesis later, okay?" She then dashed to get her backpack and run towards me.

And that's the only time I noticed her clothes. Of course, she had to wear something girly again. Wearing her dress that ends right at the middle of her thighs, and as she hurriedly runs towards me, making her dress ride up a little, I suddenly commented.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked as my brows furrowed in question
When Lucy stood before me and looks down to her attire, she quickly glanced up and said, "No, I have my jacket," Lucy the shrugs her shoulder to emphasize her jacket to me.

I just rolled my eyes at her as I turn away and headed for the doors. Following next to me, Lucy slightly bumps me and asks, "Why'd you ask anyway?"
"Nothing…" I denied as I kept my gaze in front
"Shut up Natsu, I know you're lying…" Lucy then walks ahead of me and quickly turns to walk backward and face me, "Still not used to my clothes?"
I shrugged my shoulders as I kept my gaze away from her. Although, my peripheral view was on her just to make sure she wouldn't bump anyone.

"Oh, come on Natsu," Lucy then walked back to my side and entangles her arms to mine as she tries to tug me done, "It's Wednesday already, by now you should be okay with my clothes,"
"I'm okay with your clothes, alright?" I reply back as I looked at the smaller girl next to me. Lucy then draws her brows up, questioning me silently, "It's true…it's just that, you're gaining attention from others,"
"And since when did that matter to you?" Lucy asks back as she pulls her arms away from me to fix the straps of her backpack on her shoulders
"Lately?" I answer back, "But I'm not talking about popularity here, Luce. I'm talking about unwanted attention from perverted guys,"
"Like you?" Lucy quickly injects that I immediately countered back
"I'm not a pervert," I then gave a stern look to the blonde, who just chuckled at my face. Rolling my eyes, I then suddenly took Lucy's hand as I made a right turn, heading towards the Sweet Tooth Café.

"Do you even get my point, Luce?" I looked at Lucy who was looking back at me. Lucy then nods her head before she tucks her hands into her jacket's pocket and looked away
Lucy then replies, "Yeah, but I don't think you should worry too much about it" she then glances at me, "Many girls wear exactly just like mine, sometimes even shorter. So you don't have to worry. I can do Lucy kick if they get too cocky on me," Lucy then grins at me, making me scoff at her.

Soon enough, I drape my arm around her shoulder and shook my head. Of course, Lucy isn't afraid to deal with people. She's got this punkish attitude at times and I wonder sometimes why I should worry about her. She's pretty much capable of taking care of herself.

"You know, if you do some Lucy kick, you'd probably give them more of a bonus than pain," I stated as I imagined Lucy doing her signature kick
"What do you mean?" Lucy curiously asks under my arm
"Well," I then looked down at her and then chuckles. I quickly looked away and continued, "With you wearing skirts or dress, I bet, the moment you raise your legs, your panties would show," and with that, I was shoved by my side
Lucy then shouts out to me, "Pervert!" and that made me laugh even more.

As I continue to laugh, Lucy and I barely noticed that we have arrived at the café already and a few of our friends were there as well. Sitting in the corner booth of the café, Laxus and Hibiki sat at one side while Cana sat at the other. The instance we walked in, Cana raised her hand and waved at us.

"Oy, Lucy! Natsu! Over here!" Cana invites and waves us to come over

Without hesitation, Lucy and I walked up to them and Lucy quickly took her seat next to Cana. Since Laxus and Hibiki took most of the space in the booth, I diligently pulled a chair from a table and sat in the middle of the booth.

"Hey, Lucy, you look lovely today…" Hibiki then takes the hand of the blonde and kissed her backhand. Lucy then gawks at the sandy-brown-haired man before she pulls her hand away, "Hibiki, that would be your last," she warned and we all laughed
"Oh come on, Lucy," Hibiki then flutters his eyelashes as if to entice the blonde girl, "I just want to compliment you,"
Cana then scoffs at the words of the boy, "Shut up Hibiki, you want me to tell this to Jenny?"
"Jenny?" Lucy asks before she glances at Hibiki again, who was now slightly blushing, "As in Jenny Realight? The girl who has been competing Mira in different bikini contests?"

Instead of answering Lucy, Hibiki glared at Cana and exclaimed, "Shut up Cana! That was just a one-time thing!"

Laxus then scoffs and laughs next to the smaller guy, who quickly yelped in surprise with the sudden menacing laugh of the blonde
"Laxus! Please don't tell Mira!" Hibiki then turns to look at Laxus and relentlessly bowed his head to the man

As the sandy-brown-haired man continued to plead for mercy from Laxus, Lucy and Cana just chuckled together before they mentioned of ordering their snacks. Since Lucy knew what I always ate for snacks, she didn't bother to ask me and instead just asked for my contribution of money. When they have walked to the counter, Hibiki finally stopped from wailing and Laxus suddenly nudged my leg.

"Since when did you outwardly checked out Lucy like that?" Laxus comments at me when he saw me sternly looking at Lucy. Abruptly gawking at the bigger man then scrunches my face in shock, I furiously shook my head at him
"What the hell, Pikachu? I'm not checking out Lucy," I countered back but I was immediately struck in the head, making me yelp in pain, "Gah! What was that for?!" I shouted
"Don't call me that you flame-princess," Laxus grunts before he crosses his arms and smirks at me

"Hey, Natsu, are you going to ask Lucy out? 'Cause if not-"
"Not in your fucking dreams, libido boy," I said interrupting Hibiki, making him pout and fume about how I'm unfair, "Just because Lucy starts wearing skirts, you get your pants so excited. You want me to knock some senses to your little weiner?"
"Stop!" Hibiki blushingly shakes his head, "Fine, I'm not going to ask Lucy out,"

"You know Hibiki, stick with Jenny. I'm pretty sure you get plenty excitement with her," Laxus then grins mischievously when Hibiki turns red again
"Hey, stay away from my sex life would you?!" Hibiki then scoots away from Laxus as he crosses his arms and begins to ignore us.

As Hibiki does that, Laxus then turns his attention to me and nudged my leg again, "Oy, Natsu, seriously, why are you checking out Lucy?"
"Who said I'm checking her out?" I infuriatingly questions
"The way you look at her. I know what I'm talking about because damn, I look at Mira like that," Laxus then chuckles to himself
"Shut up, Laxus. I'm not checking Lucy out, okay?" I then glanced for a moment at Lucy who was still in line with Cana, "I'm just curious about something,"
"Which is?" Laxus insists on making me spill the bean

Looking back at Laxus, I thought for a moment if I should really ask the man. It has been bothering me for quite some time now, but I never made any action to find some answers. I know, asking Laxus could result to me being laughed at but then, it was better to be laughed at than continuously wonder.

"Have you ever been bothered with the way Mira dresses up?" I ask as I fumble with the ends of my scarf all of a sudden, damn it! I shouldn't be nervous! Why am I nervous!
"Bothered, with Mira's way of dressing up?" Laxus repeats my question as he thought for a second before he chortles in his seat, "Seriously? Why would I care? Seeing Mira wear those sexy shorts and skirts gives me free access to stare at her legs,"

I then groan with his response. Of course, Laxus is one pervert for his girlfriend, "Why did I bother to ask?" I questioned myself as I lean forward to the table and hid within my arms. Soon Laxus boisterously laughs at me while he occasionally slapped my back. When I had enough slapping, I sat up straight and glared at him and this only made Laxus laugh harder.

Soon enough, Lucy and Cana came back to the table brought all our food and we all quickly dig in. Since we only had a few more minutes left before our next class started, Lucy and I quickly bid goodbye to the others and went ahead back to campus.

As we strolled our way back to our respective buildings, I took one last look at Lucy's appearance; Lucy looks like some model out of a fashion magazine. I then shook my head as I stopped in my pace, "Luce," I called. As Lucy looks at me with a gentle smile on her face, I continued, "What time is your lunch break?"
"Around 12:30. What about you?" She asks back
"Too bad, my lunch starts at 2," I then kicked the ground as I expressed my dismay
"Oh, it's alright," Lucy then ran up to me and gave me a quick hug, "Text-text?" she asks at once when she pulled away
"Yeah, sure," I said back as I nodded my head. Soon Lucy ran off towards the English and Literature building after she waved goodbye to me. When she was no longer in sight, I went on to the Engineering department building.

x…|X|…x

1:30 PM-Fluid and Particle Mechanics class- RM. E306

As our class started 30 minutes ago, there is no topic in class that made me so interested to listen. After all, there is this question that keeps on lingering in my mind. Sighing again for the nth time as our professor continued to discuss the 13th chapter of our textbook, Gray suddenly jostles his elbow to me, making me snap out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked as I glanced at the raven-haired man
"Would you quit sighing? It's annoying," Gray remarks to me before he grumbles and looks back at our professor

Rolling my eyes at the man, I just continued to slouch further in my seat until I was barely seen by my teacher. Still not in the mood to listen, I then returned to my own thoughts when Gray intentionally nudges my foot.

"What the hell is your problem, Ice-princess?" I enraged asked with a glare towards him
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Gray mutters as he stares at my lousy seating, "What the hell is your problem, flame-brain?"
"Shut up," I murmur back as I sank deeper into my seat but then Gray kicked my leg again, making me sit up straight and smack his head, "What do you want?!" I whispered loud enough not to disturb the class
"Besides from looking like a shit, you look like some lost ugly-lizard," Gray barks back to me with a smirk on his face
"Hmph, I'm a salamander you ice-dick," I muttered back as Gray rolled his eyes on me
"Whatever lizard," Gray then looks away to pretend he was listening, "But seriously pyro, what's up with your pants? Thinking doesn't suit you,"

I then thought for a moment. Should I ask Gray? Shit, Ice-princess will just laugh at me the way Laxus did.

"You and Juvia aren't a thing, right?" I asked to clarify something before I consider the thought of asking the real question
Gray slowly looks at me with a bored expression, "How many times did I say this before? Juvia and I aren't a thing. We're just friends,"
"And she's just your stalker?" I added before I stifle a laughter when Gray stiffen and glared at me
"Shut up," Gray muttered before he looks away again
"Okay, so you and Juvia aren't a couple, so technically, you shouldn't be so…" I then trailed off to think of the right word to mention, "…overprotective? Or um, very concerned about-"
"What's your point?" Gray interrupts me as he is obviously annoyed with my hesitation

I then thought about his question, what is my point?

"My point is…" I then hesitated again, making Gray glare at me. So I just gave up and asked my true question, "Have you ever been bothered with how Juvia dresses up?"
"You're still bothered with Lucy's new get up?" Gray answers to me, barely answering my questions which irked me because I wanted his opinion and not his questioning
"Shut up and just answer my question," I irately state back
Gray then scoffed at me before he shakes his head and looked down at the blackboard full of writings made by our professor, "I never really pay much attention to Juvia. So, what more of her clothes," Gray then gave a side glance to me as I thought about his answer
"So, it doesn't bother you that Juvia wears dresses or skirts that, I don't know, flaunts her legs?" I asked back as I tried to remember how Juvia dresses up
"Are you seriously checking Juvia out?" Gray suddenly sounded irritated, obviously, hates the idea that I am thinking of Juvia in dresses. To annoy the ice-head, I grinned at him and shrugged my shoulder
"She's single, right?" I then smirked to myself when it was clear Gray was fuming in anger
"Yeah, so?" Gray replies back to me madly but he's trying not to sound bothered at all
"So, I can stare at her if she wears shorts, or skirts, or dress-"
"Shut up," Gray quickly cuts me off, "You can't look at Juvia like that,"

"Now do you understand my point?" I immediately ask back when I noticed Gray's reaction is similar to my own reaction every time I hear someone or see someone laying eyes on Lucy

Gray's brows then fly up in confusion but his confusion was quickly clarified when he realized what I was trying to do.

"Ah," Gray then tightens his lips as he thought for a moment before he slowly drags his body down to his chair and looks at me, "It shouldn't bother us, flame-brain. Technically, it's their choice and we don't own them to tell them what they should and shouldn't wear,"
"But you're bothered as well?" I clarified as I lean closer to Gray and whisper, "Just like me,"
Gray then knuckles my forehead and I quickly flinched away in pain. When I was able to contain my fury and just glower at Gray, he chortles at me as he says, "Read between the lines and just shut up already pyro," and with that, he looked away and leaned away from me as he tried to listen again in class.

Thinking to myself, I pondered at his words. Just like me, he's bothered by the idea that other guys could ogle Juvia. But he has never been bothered with the way Juvia dresses up. His explanation told me that I shouldn't mind that I see Lucy dress up more girly than I'm used to. It's Lucy's choice and I shouldn't stop her if she's comfortable with how she dresses up. It's just a matter of getting used to her skimpy clothes.


Dragneel Residence

Saturday finally came and Lucy came home with me back to our neighborhood last Friday night. Since there was nothing much to do in the dorm, Lucy told me a day before that she would be going home and that she wanted to hang out with me this weekend. Agreeing to her idea, I told her to come by the house on Saturday morning so that we could do many things together.

Lucy came by the house as expected while I was still in bed snoring away. Totally forgetting to alarm my phone. So, when Lucy came to barge into my room, she audibly groaned as she sees me still sleeping.

Feeling my leg being nudged, I stirred in bed and heard Lucy's voice waking me up, "Oy, Natsu, wake up," she gently shook me awake by my shoulder but I just continued to ignore her as I thought I was dreaming
"Hey, sleepyhead, you promised me…" she mumbles to me as she slightly pokes my arm, only making me brush her hand off and turn on my other side. But then, she didn't stop as she poked my cheek this time and mutters, "Na~tsu, wakey-wakey,"
"Luce?" I finally moan as I brought my head up to glance at the blonde hovering over me and she quickly smiles as she pull away
"Come on, I want to do a lot of things!" Lucy cried out before she walks away from the bed and goes up to my closet.

Lucy then began to pull a towel out and throws it at me as I slowly sat up in bed. Hitting me right in the face, I groan in annoyance for the early bossy-ness of the blonde. Pulling the towel away from my face, I saw Lucy rampaging my drawers and disgustedly pulls out my boxer to throw it again at me.

"Luce, seriously, don't you know what privacy is?" I grunted as my boxers flew and drop on the floor, right next to my bed
"I know what it is. But you're taking so long to move so I'm helping you out," Lucy then turns to look at me and scowled, "See, you're not even standing up yet. You're practically just watching me invade your privacy,"
Moaning in exasperation, I pulled my legs off the bed and lazily stood up to pick up my boxers. As I stood next to Lucy, I roughly took my pants away from her and pulled a drawer open to get my shirt. With that, Lucy stepped back and sat instead on my bed.

"You happy now?" I then showed her the clothes I was holding, only to see her sitting on my bed with crossed legs, making her dress fall back to her hips, revealing too much of her thighs.

"What are you wearing?" I suddenly uttered, making Lucy look down to her own clothes
"A dress," Lucy then inspects the ends of her dress, revealing her panty to me, which made me turn away because I knew it wasn't appropriate to look
"I know," I answer back, "But, do you even know how to sit when you're wearing a dress?"
"What do you mean?" Lucy then brought her legs down and stood up
I then turned to look at her again, knowing it's safe to do so, "You just showed me your underwear,"
Lucy raised her brows at me, obviously not believing me, "Yeah, right,"
Scoffing at her, I then answered, "Yeah, I did. I know what you're underwear is. It's a black and white stripes underwear,"

Soon Lucy blushed, telling me I was right. She quickly pulls her dress down and glares at me, "Why did you look?!"
"I didn't mean to," I said shrugging my shoulders before I turned to my bathroom and disappear inside as I closed the door. When I got in, I thought to myself that I didn't want anyone else witnessing what I just witnessed so, I opened the door once more and called Lucy's attention.

"Oy, Luce,"
"What?" Lucy whipped turning to look at me
"I don't like other people seeing your undies...why not pull out some sweatpants from my drawer and wear them instead?" I then closed my door, leaving Lucy utterly confused.

x…|X|…x

Once I was dressed, I spot Lucy lying down on her stomach on my bed, with her legs folded up and swinging back and forth. Seeing her like that, still, in her dress, I couldn't help but groan in disbelief. Closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose, I muttered to Lucy in a deep voice, "Luce, your dress,"
Lucy quickly turns as she yelps in surprise. Pulling her dress down, she stuttered, "L-look away!"

I suddenly opened my eyes wide and looked at Lucy astonished, "Luce! I told you to change in sweatpants!"
Sitting up on her shin, Lucy pulled her dress down again as to cover as much skin as possible, she answered, "Can't I just wear my own clothes?"
Grumbling in my spot, I threw my hands up and gave up on the blonde, "Fine! At least find something to cover up your legs so that you wouldn't continuously pull down your dress!"

Lucy leaped off the bed and ran to the next room. Following after her, I saw her enter Wendy's room and asked if she could borrow some leggings. As I stood by the door frame of my sister's room, I saw the two were trying our different leggings but it was all too small for her.

"Wendy, don't you have a bigger size?" I asked. Wendy then leans to the side to look at me and answer
"Natsu-nii, do I look like I'm as tall as Lucy-nee?" Wendy then grouches at me before she looks away and continues to help Lucy
"Natsu, there is no leggings Wendy could lend me," Lucy states to me over her shoulder
Sighing in defeat, I answer, "Fine, let's just go," and with that, I turn away from them and headed to my room to grab my wallet, cell phone, and scarf.

When I secured the scarf around my neck as I stepped out of my room, Lucy was already in the living room, standing at the back of the couch, while my mother animatedly talked to her.

"Lucy! I really love your dress!" Mom exclaims as she closes her magazine to gaze at Lucy
"Thank you," Lucy replies as she shyly smiles at my mother
"You know, you look more beautiful when you wear these kinds of clothes. Since when did you decide to change your style?" Mom inquires as she stood up and walked up to the blonde, to check out her outfit
"Eto...it started during Wendy's birthday," Lucy timidly looks away, "Levy practically took all of my old clothes and gave it away,"
"Ah, Gajeel's girlfriend?" Mom then snickers, "I knew that girl is smart,"
"And tricky," Lucy adds before she chuckles along with my mother

"Mom," I suddenly called, cutting off the conversation of the two, "Lucy and I will just head out,"
"Alright, take care of Lucy," Mom said as she ushered Lucy towards me before she winks at me

Shaking my head in disbelief, I gestured to Lucy to step out first as I opened the door for her. When Lucy was out, I looked at my mother again and saw her winking at me. She also mumbles something about me and Lucy going on a date. Rolling my eyes to my mom's weird thoughts, I stepped out of the house and closed the door behind me.

"Ready?" I asked Lucy after she slipped into her leather jacket
"Yep," Lucy then grins to me before she tugs me away with her


Magnolia City

(Third person's POV)

Walking on one of the streets of Magnolia, the two best friends aimlessly strolled around the city. The city is filled with different shops and selling different items. The place isn't new to the two since they grew up in the city they are living in now. But it always brought happiness and excitement to them as they walk around the streets of Magnolia.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Natsu asks with his hands inside the front pocket of his pants as he glances at the girl next to him, who was happily humming while she walked
"Hmm…" Lucy thought for a second before she looks back at Natsu, "I don't know actually. I just feel like walking around the city,"
"Walking around the city?" Natsu echoes back before his brows went up, "And why do you want to do that?"
"I don't know," Lucy shrugs answering, and then she suddenly stops in her tracks as a store caught her attention. Pointing at the store, Lucy giddily bounces in place as she tugs the shoulder sleeve of Natsu's shirt.

"Natsu, let's go there!" Lucy excitedly exclaims, finally making Natsu look at the same direction Lucy was pointing at. It is a music store where old records and phonograph is being used instead of the latest technology to listen to music. Lucy immediately tugs Natsu as she hurried to enter the shop.

The place was still deserted, only an old man standing by one of the photographs, cleaning the oldest kind of record player. After the chimes rang when Lucy opened the doors to the store, the old man greeted with a shaky voice without really looking back at them.

"Welcome to the Old Music shop. Choose any record you want to play for the day," the old man said as he continued to wipe the old record player
"Good morning! Um, I was wondering if you have some mellow music." Lucy said before she glances at Natsu, who was looking at the old man as well
"Oh sure," the old man then turns to look at them, only to be quite surprised with his young costumers, "I didn't expect young adults to be my first customer for the day,"
"Well, we were just strolling around when Lucy found your shop," Natsu said before he begins to walk up to the different tables filled with records
"Oh really?" The old man then chuckles to himself, "Well then this day is going to be interesting,"
"How so?" Lucy asks this time as she walks up to Natsu and does the same thing he was doing
"I can't say but let's just assume this day is going to be filled with colors," the old man then chortles before he places the stylus to a record and music begins to flow around the store.

Soon a smile grew on Lucy's face as sweet mellow music floated around the place. Unconsciously, Lucy let her footing move on its own, swaying to the rhythm of the music. Sooner than later, she begins to dance on her own, twirling around as to match the pacing of the music.

Chuckling to himself, Natsu amusingly watched Lucy dance around. For the first time, he appreciated the dress she was wearing. Her dress floated around at every sway she makes, then it would turn balloon whenever she twirls around. Seeing her like this brought a new sensation to Natsu. He was like watching a goddess dance around in paradise when suddenly the soft music turned into a hard music.

Abruptly turning his head, Natsu looked at the old record player, only to see another customer standing by the old record player. Cocking his head in confusion, he looked at Lucy and whispered, "I didn't notice him,"
"Neither did I," Lucy whispers back before she shuffles back next to Natsu and pushed him towards the front desk
"Hi," Lucy greets the old man, who had a wide smile on his face, "Um, how much was for the music played?"
"For you it's free," the old man answers in a soft voice before he winks at her and made Lucy chuckle along with him
"Thanks," Lucy smiled at the man before she waves goodbye to him and exits the store.

"That was fun for a starter of the day," Lucy mutters as she and Natsu began to stroll around the city again
"Yeah," Natsu answers back with a grin on his face, "I really didn't expect that change of music type though," the two best friends then laugh when they recalled their faces when the mellow music was suddenly changed into something more punkish.

"So where do we go next?" Lucy questions as she gives a fast glance at the pinkette
"I don't know," Natsu replies
"Think," Lucy instructs as she slightly nudges him, "It's your turn to pick,"
"Hm, okay…" Natsu then trails off when he suddenly remembered he wanted to do some video games, "How about arcade?"
"Arcade?" Lucy chimes in excitement, "Sure! I miss doing that!" and with that, Lucy pulled Natsu into a sprint as they ran towards the usual arcade place they go to when they were in high school.

As expected, the place wasn't crowded yet since it was still just a quarter past nine in the morning. Basically, all the usual customers of the place were still asleep. Soon, the two ran up to all the video machines and played every game available. They wasted their coins in every machine slots and won from several games.

The two barely noticed that the time past by so fast. They didn't even feel any hunger as they just continued to play. Time only became an issue when the arcade suddenly became crowded. It was obvious that the usual customers of the place were now back, making it difficult to walk around. So, in an instance, Natsu grabbed a hold of Lucy's hand and pulled her along as they headed out of the arcade.

"Woah," Natsu expresses as he stumbles out of crowding arcade. Soon, he was laughing to himself as he felt adrenaline run in his veins. Chuckling softly as well, Lucy pulled her hair-tie and began to brush her blonde hair with her fingers. When Natsu caught this in his peripheral view, he abruptly faces her and grabbed her hand.

"Put your hair down," Natsu said as he brushed off the hands of the blonde and fixed her hair instead, "You look better when your hair is down,"
"Really?" Lucy asked surprised
"Yeah," Natsu nods his head while he flicked a few strands of hair away from Lucy's eyes, "You always tie your hair in ponytail so people can't really see how nice your hair is...there," Natsu finishes with a smile before he stands next to her and drape his arm around her shoulder as they begin to walk again.

As they continued to walk around Magnolia, Natsu's stomach began to rumble, making Lucy laugh hard. Apparently, Natsu was hungry and Lucy couldn't help but be amused how outspoken Natsu's hunger could be. So, stepping out of his grasp, Lucy looped her arms to his other arm and tugged him to the nearest eatery they could find.

"Should this be your treat?" Lucy asked with an amused smile
"I just treated you last Thursday," Natsu whines back
"Exactly, so this is your treat!" Lucy then sprints, making Natsu stumble, while he wail and shout how he has no money

Soon, the two were at Big Mike's burger. It was half crowded so Natsu immediately said that he'd look for a table while Lucy heads on to the counter and order them their lunch. Since Lucy knew the appetite of the teen, Natsu didn't bother telling her what he wanted. So, Lucy just agreed and headed to the counter to line up.

As Natsu found a table located a few meters away from the counter, Natsu was still able to spot Lucy standing in line waiting for her turn to be accommodated. He leaned over the table and pulled out his phone to check on his social media account.

As he was in the middle of scanning his feeds, he suddenly hears some laughter from the front. Natsu slowly looked up with a bored expression only to sit up straight in an instant when he saw a few guys standing behind Lucy and was grinning mischievously at her bottom. Lucy wasn't particularly aware that the boys behind her were actually staring at her ass. She was more focused on the idea that she wanted the girl before her to finish in giving out her order so that she could speak with the crew already.

When Natsu felt his blood boil in anger, his fury heightens, even more, when the guy right behind Lucy suddenly brought out a cell phone and positioned it close to the ends of Lucy's dress. Abruptly standing up from his seat, he dashed to Lucy and wraps an arm around her shoulder, making Lucy stumble to the side as she shrieked in surprise.

"Ah, Natsu, what are you doing here?!" Lucy questions when she somehow regains her balance with the help of Natsu's grip. Natsu wasn't looking at her but instead at her back, with rage in his eyes. Confused for the expression of the man, she poked his cheek and Natsu quickly looks back at her.

"Yeah?" Natsu softly answers, making Lucy even more confused. But she shook her head and asked the same question again
"What are you doing here? Did you find us a table or should I just ask for a take out?" Lucy then furrows her brow when Natsu shook his head
"Nah, I found us one. Why don't you guard our table and I order our lunch instead?" Natsu offered as he slowly switched places with Lucy, making her stand outside the line
"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked puzzled but Natsu just grinned at her and brought out his hand
"Can I have my wallet?" Natsu open-closes his hand as Lucy slowly pulled out his wallet and places it on his hand
"Are you sure?" Lucy continues to ask, still mystified for the sudden change of roles
"Yep, go. Save our seat before someone steals it," Natsu brushes Lucy off and the blonde soon left to head back to the table Natsu has gotten.

When Lucy was no longer in earshot, Natsu rapidly turns to look at the two young teens, who looked like high schoolers. He gave a stern look to them, making the two boys gulp in nervousness just like the instance Natsu came and gave them a death gaze.

"Try to peep under my friend's dress again, I'll make sure your faces will be remodeled by my fist," Natsu threatened and the two boys furiously nodded their heads, feeling their spine paralyzed in fear
"oh and one more thing," Natsu said bringing one finger up as he remembered a value he needed to share, "Don't you ever do that to other girls. You stupid little-perverted boys, keep your little weiner in check, would ya?!" Natsu exclaims and the two quickly shrieked in fear

"Next!"

Natsu then turns away from them and quickly puts on a smile towards the crew. He walked up to her and said, "Hi, can I have meals B2, D4, and E3…oh and add meal D3, then one unlimited coke and a regular,"

x…|X|…x

After having their lunch and spending a few more hours chatting, Lucy thought of going home already but Natsu insisted that they'd go to the park since it was still early afternoon. Giving into Natsu's wish, the two headed for the park within their neighborhood.

The playground was quite deserted since it was early afternoon and the sun is still high. Lucy quickly ran to the swings and sat down as she licked her ice cream. Without being told, Natsu shoved his ice popsicle to his mouth and stood behind Lucy to gently push her back so that she'd start swinging.

As Lucy swings with her feet up, she starts to giggle when warm wind caresses her cheek. Smiling to himself as he pulled the ice popsicle out of his mouth while he continuously pushed her with one hand, he then suddenly mumbles, "I told you, you'd enjoy the park,"
"Yeah, yeah," Lucy replies back as she jokingly rolled her eyes before she giddily laughs again when Natsu pushed her harder, making her seat fly higher

"You know, there were these two boys at Big Mike's that were trying to peep up a girl's underwear," Natsu suddenly shared as he remembers to the two pervert kids
"Really?" Lucy astonishingly exclaims as she looks over her shoulder
"Yeah, but I stopped them before they could even do it," Natsu boosted his ego as he thought of his good deed
"Wow! My best friend is such a good guy!" Lucy compliments and quickly laughs when she noticed Natsu brought his chest out in confidence. But her laughter slowly tones down when Natsu didn't reply back anymore

"Let me guess…you're worried that guys would start acting perverted towards me?" Lucy then shifts a little in her seat, making the swing change direction slightly. Natsu then nods his head, completely forgetting to push Lucy again.

Soon enough, the swing slows down and Lucy quickly stops it with her feet buried in the sand. Standing up, she walked up to Natsu and quickly hugs him. Embracing the man, Lucy felt Natsu stiffen for a moment before she felt him wrap his own arms around her back.

"Please don't worry too much about me because if you do, you'll never leave my side and I'd be taking so much of your time," Lucy mutters over Natsu's chest, barely able to rest her chin on his shoulder due to height difference
"I don't mind," Natsu mumbles back in her hair as he tightens his hold to her
"Natsu," Lucy said his name like she was reprimanding him, "Relax with the over protectiveness,"
"How can I when boys can take advantage of you anytime?" Natsu disputes but Lucy just chuckles at him and slightly pulls away from the embrace
"How about this…I'll start wearing pants more often and lesser skirts and dresses," Lucy asks as she hope it would make Natsu agree
"Promise?" Natsu asked for reassurance. Lucy then nods her head and smiles at him, "Promise,"


Fairy Tail University

(Natsu's Point of View)

Monday came and I was about to sneak inside the female dormitory when Hilda-sama suddenly stood in front of the entrance and made me stop right at the front steps of the building.

"And where do you think you're going?!" Hilda-sama shouts to me as she placed her hands on her hips

Awkwardly laughing, I scratched my head and bowed before the elder woman, "G-good morning, Hilda-sama,"
"Scram!" She exclaims as she brushes me off right away and turns her back on me as she takes her seat by the counter.

Left with no choice, I settled down to the front steps and brought out my mobile phone to text Lucy. I told her I'd be waiting for her outside the building since their matron is already at the front desk. Within a few minutes, she texted backed an 'ok' and adds, 'I'm on my way out,'

So patiently waiting for my best friend, I was quite surprised when someone suddenly taps me on the head. I quickly looked up and saw Lucy standing behind me, with her hair down and her long bangs tied with a small ribbon.

"Morning," she greets with a smile before she steps away and stood in front of me.

At that instance, I saw her outfit. But it isn't just about the outfit; it was how her clothes accented her body. With her three-fourths shirt, skinny jeans, and heeled sandals, it is obvious Lucy has wide hips with lean legs, tiny waist, flat stomach, and enormous chest.

Shaking my head, not liking how my brain is processing the image of my best friend right in front of me, I quickly stood up and smiled at her, "Well, you look great! With that jeans…"
"I knew you'd like it," Lucy winks at me before she chuckles and pulls me away from the Fairy Hills dormitory.

x…|X|…x

Classes for that day finally ends and I barely got to see Lucy today besides our first class. Most of her major subjects were on Monday and so was mine, so we barely got to see one another. But I guess it should have been a blessing for me because I had a good reason not to worry about her, about how she was gaining unwanted attention. But that was not the case; after all, I heard a lot of unnecessary comments.

From time to time, while I stroll to my next class, I'd hear some marketing students talking about a blonde girl from the Literature department who used to be a tomboy is a full blown girl now. Then there would be some group of girls from my department, talking about Lucy, as in literally mentioning her name, and saying that the reason she was all girly now is because she was dating someone from another school. And the worst I have heard that day was a bunch of my teammates from basketball, talking about a blonde girl they saw from the literature department, who has a nice ass. I would have shrugged it off since there were a few more students from that department that had a blonde hair. But then, a freshman student suddenly named the girl and uttered Lucy's name.

Whipping my head to look at them, I suddenly shouted, "Shut the fuck up Kyoru!"

The whole team suddenly turns quiet as they didn't expect my sudden outrage. Of course, the moment I shouted and realized who they were talking about, they turned embarrassed knowing Lucy is my best friend.

"Don't you ever talk about Lucy like that again," I muttered to them dangerously before I turn away and headed for the locker rooms to change.

When I was done and our coach was blaring some instructions, I quickly ran back to my team and started doing warm ups. We were divided into two groups, the Alpha, and Bravo team. The boys I shouted at were mostly from the bravo team, so it didn't bother me much when my literal teammates looked at me

"I heard you shouted at Kyoru," Daicho, one of my teammate next to me states as we both bend to the side to stretch
"Yeah, that freshie is getting a hang of Buck's ugly attitude," I replied back before we stood up straight and bend on the other side
"huh, what did Kyoru say that irked you?" Daicho asks again
"He just said Lucy's name but the topic they were talking was really inappropriate," I said back
"Ahh, no wonder..." Daicho and I then stood up straight before we did a fast jog in place

When we felt our lungs burn due to lack of air, we slowed down to our pace and did a slow jog. My other teammate then talks to me, "So, Dragneel, when did Lucy start abandoning those big shirts?"
"During my sister's birthday..." I reply back before I glanced at Hideki, "Apparently Mira and the others, especially Levy, took away all of Lucy's clothes and changed it to something more appropriate for a girl," I then scoffed at the thought making my two teammates chuckle along.

Before we could continue to chat while we warmed up, Buck's voice was suddenly resounding in the whole basketball court. Glancing at him, I saw him laughing out loud while other boys were grinning mischievously. At first, I thought it was nothing, probably someone was just a point of interest of the big guy but then something caught my vision.

A girl with a white loose tank top and dark blue cardigan that ends past her bottom, and a ripped jean shorts, suddenly came to strut inside the basketball gym. I didn't recognize who it was at first, not until I noticed her messy high bun, Lucy?

"Hey, Dragneel, isn't that Lucy?" Daicho asks as he gestures his head towards the newly arrived girl, who sat at the third bleacher and waited for the practice game to start.

I was about to run up to Lucy and ask why she was here but then I remembered Lucy texted me that she'd drop by before she meets up with Levy and the other girls. So, stopping myself, I just shrugged my shoulder and replied, "Yeah, she's just passing time,"

I then squatted and placed my palms over my knees and pushed one shoulder forward while the other backward, to stretch out my spine and limbs. I just continued to warm up, trying to subdue my habit of walking up to Lucy. But I was quickly distracted when I heard Buck say out loud, "Hey! Aren't you the lesbo?!"

All the basketball team players suddenly look up and stare at Buck, who was slowly walking towards Lucy. As for Lucy, she slowly looked back at Buck with the most confused look I have ever seen on her face.

"Are you talking to me?" Lucy said though she said it softly, barely heard by everyone afar
"Yeah," Buck answers with a loud voice and a menacing grin, "Who would have thought the lesbo has a great body under those big sweatshirts?"

Without hesitation, I ran up to Lucy and decided to protect her. Knowing Buck, he would probably sexually assault Lucy verbally even in public.

"Shut up Buckerson, you're just a second-rate player," Lucy insultingly answers, making Buckerson tick off in annoyance but he smiled with sinister in his eyes
"Oh yeah?" Buck dared, "Who said so, Lesbo? You're just some shitty slut-"

I then pushed Buck away hard, making sure he'd lose balance but he was too much of a bigger guy than me so I only managed to push him a few meters away.

"Flinch, just shut up and leave Lucy alone," I said precariously as I stood in front of Lucy
"Leave her alone?" Buck then cackles out loud with his head thrown backward before he stands up straight and looked at me passively, "Sure, I'll leave her alone. But I doubt she'd get it," he then snickers again, "With her damn body-"
I then ran to tackle Buck again, but he just stepped back while other basketball players stopped me from punching Buck, "Shut up! Don't talk about Lucy like that!"

"Natsu!" Lucy calls out to me in alarm, obvious in her voice that she was nervous and surprised

"What? Can't handle the idea that your best friend is somehow a sex symbol around campus?" Buck sniggers a mean laugh

"Gah! Let me go!" I shouted back as fury continues to build up within me

"Natsu!" Lucy shouts again

"Just an advice pinky, if you don't want people roaming around that lesbo with a perverted mind, might as well keep her in a box where they can't fantasize about her,"

"Flinch! Dragneel! Enough of that!" The booming voice of our coach was suddenly heard, making everyone nervous, "What do you think you're doing?! Fighting right at my court?!"

"No, coach..." Buck said with a smug look as he shrugs his shoulder, "I was just giving Dragneel a senpai advice,"

"Fuck you!" I exclaimed as I tried to tackle Buck again but then coach immediately pushed me back and gave a stern look at me

"Dragneel!" Coach shouted, making me pay attention to him, "Step out of the court for a moment..." His gaze then went past me and stared at someone from behind me, "Bring along your friend so that there won't be any more commotion,"

Coach then pushed me further and made me turn around. When I did, I saw Lucy was slightly trembling in her spot; fidgeting with her hands as she stared at me with worry. Without words, I took Lucy's hand and hauled her after me. We stepped out of the basketball gym and went straight to a deserted area near the gym.

I hear Lucy whine about how she can't keep up and how I'm holding her too tight. Quickly letting her wrist go, I turned to look at her with an angered expression. I don't know what to say but I'm full of rage, I just don't know where to start.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asks me, hesitating to come closer
"What do you think?" I reply back, sounding more annoyed than expected. It was obvious because Lucy suddenly stepped back a little and looked down to her shoes
"I'm sorry," She mutters back before she starts fumbling with the ends of her cardigan
"What were you thinking, going to the basketball gym wearing those kinds of clothes?" I asked menacingly, making Lucy look back at me with a stunned gaze
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Lucy questioned me, sounding so surprised and annoyed, "Are we back to this discussion again?"
"Apparently yes!" I exclaimed back. Lucy widens her eyes to me as she clenched her fist close, "Why don't you listen to me?! I told you not to wear those kinds of clothes when you roam around school!"
"What's so wrong about my clothes?!" Lucy stomps her foot, "It's not like I'm walking around school naked!"
"Bullshit your clothes! With those clothes you wear, you barely cover anything! They just wish you were walking around naked!" I shouted in outburst when suddenly I was slapped in the face. With the stinging feeling on my cheek, I hesitated to look at Lucy but then the rage inside of me hasn't dwindled.

"I guess, you don't mind it because for the first time…" I slowly looked at Lucy, who was trembling in tears and anger, "People pay attention to you. They give you the attention you never had,"

Lucy then slaps me again. After that slap, she pushed me and punched me in the chest. She repeated these three assaults to me until I brought up my arms to cover myself as I felt sore with her punches and slaps.

"How can you say that to me?" Lucy finally spoke, with her voice cracking up as she cried, "Of all people, how could you think so low of me?" She hiccupped very hard, clearly, she was having a hard time to breathe, "I thought you were my best friend. I thought you'd be on my side, ignoring those people who have nothing good to say…"

Slowly, I looked at Lucy and immediately broke my heart when I saw her red puffy eyes, tear stained cheeks, and trembling lips. She was truly hurt and disappointed.

"But I'm wrong…" Lucy weeps hard, making me want to console her but my hand wavered to reach out knowing I was the reason why she was crying, "You're just like them. You think I'm pathetic and you think I changed the way I dressed up because I wanted attention. Fuck you!" Lucy pushed me again and pointed a finger, "I can't believe, all this time you have thought of me shallowly," she shook her head, slowly backing away from me as I feared I'd never see her again, "Don't you ever talk to me again"

And with that, Lucy sprinted away from me with tears trailing behind her. Suddenly, I felt weak as I stood alone in the empty grounds of Fairy Tail University.

What have I done?


Up Next: 6: "What's wrong with you?!"


Author's note:

Sorry for the late update! I do hope you enjoyed the chapter somehow...


Author's response to reviews:

Tomoe Dragneel- Here is the next chapter! Now you know what Natsu's reaction to Lucy's body physique.
RandomAnimeNerd- Thank you for loving the story! I hope I gave you a good chapter...
Krishnaaaa- Thanks for liking my writing style, it's nice to know someone likes my way of writing. Enjoy the chapter!
Crystalic Lotus- I hope I didn't break your heart this time...
sarara1.8- I really really like you too for supporting this story! Enjoy the chapter
Curlygurl05- Here is the update! and I hope I gave you enough NaLu action...